Well, it looks like nearly six months has gone by since I sent out an update via this newsletter and wow, a lot has happened.
TLDR:
I sold another book, wrote two books, my publisher closed (it’s okay!) and we got a puppy!
Before all the updates and ramblings, I wanted to share this creative motto I wrote for myself last year. I was on submission with Accidental Demons (when my brilliant agent was working her magic selling the book) and was struggling with how many things were out of my hands. In the many months since then, I’ve returned to it often, and today I want to share it with you:
I surrender my desire to control the timing while knowing I am ready to step into my soul’s purpose. I keep my dreams big while I let cosmic momentum do the work. I ride the waves of my own creative power. Mastery is a journey I’ve already embarked upon.
Okay, now here’s the updates in reverse order, because puppies take precedence, obviously.
First and most importantly, this is Carbs. She’s a corgi and possibly part demon. But utterly perfect in every way. She joined our family on May 11, she is now six months old. We are very tired.
And now for the doozy: Inkyard Press, the amazing publisher who bought Accidental Demons, has been closed and folded in to Harper Collins Children’s Books. All is not lost, but damn, it really sucked.
What this means is that I lost my editor. I gained a new, fabulous editor, but working with Olivia Valcarce was absolutely incredible. (btw, she’s going freelance for now, so if you’re looking for a freelance editor, I truly cannot recommend her highly enough).
The huge silver lining is that my YA fantasy debut I Put a Spell on You was already being championed by an amazing editor at Harper Children’s, David Linker, and he took Accidental Demons (and the sequel) under his very capable wing!
The transition means the release date got bumped a bit, but it’s still coming out next year (in one of my favorite months, can you guess which!?) and you can add it on Goodreads and Storygraph and I’ll definitely be bombarding y’all with updates once pre-orders are up and the cover is revealed (it’s amazing, like, beyond my wildest dreams amazing)
And speaking of my YA debut…
My YA fantasy romance debut is a GO! I can’t wait for you to meet Shane, the enby protagonist who crafts their enthrallments spells on their vintage typewriter! (You’ll have to though, this book is scheduled for fall 2025!)
Two of my favorite ways readers have described this book so far are:
Horny, indulgent OC with magic
If Maggie Stiefvater wrote Gossip Girl
You can add it on Goodreads and Storygraph as well!
I’m also inordinately proud of the temp cover I made for it, so please enjoy:
After turning in Spell to my amazing editor, I turned my attention to the sequel to Demons, but then the Inkyard news dropped a bit of a bomb and I was left on pause for most of my projects. So, I did a perfectly reasonable thing and…
I didn’t set out to do this. The social media break was intentional, but I’d meant to spend the entire month of August drafting. It just…didn’t quite happen that way. (I’m honestly a bit miffed how effective the social break was though still hopeful that particular magic might be replicable.)
I’m now deep in revisions for this new project and I’ve been strangely quiet about it. Part of that might be the residual social media reticence following my break, but I don’t think that’s all.
So I’ve been keeping this strange book a bit close to the chest (when not flinging it at a dozen brilliant beta readers who have helped me improve it immensely). It’s so different than anything I’ve written before. There’s no magic, for one. And it’s sad. Like, soul-achingly, poking at the trauma with pointy-things kind of sad.
It’s an idea I had last September that needed to percolate in the back of my mind, but like a geyser, once it was ready, it was ready, and it has erupted out of my soul with cathartic and terrifying force. I truly don’t feel as if I wrote it, Nell did. I was taking transcription.
It’s been a strange summer.
There’s been euphoric levels of creative expression, deep grief, unendurable heat, and an unexpected level of productivity.
As we head into autumn, I’m working on yet another brand new book (my first foray into adult romance!!) and waiting for things to resume on Demons and Spell.
I’m feeling incredibly grateful to be living my purpose so profoundly.
Final thoughts:
TikTok remains confounding, I’m enjoying threads, and puppies are the most exhausting creatures on the planet.
Finally, as always,
trust your magic,
clare