JP McLean

Writing Addictive Fiction

What to Write Next?

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Small girl using fingers like binoculars

I’m in an interesting phase of the writing process. It’s the world-is-my-oyster phase; the time between writing projects. What to write next?

I’ve finished writing Book III of the gift trilogy, Book II is about to be published, but as I learned after I finished writing Book I, the ideas don’t just stop because the book’s done. They flood in, rudely interrupting thought and sleep and other moments they choose.

But this time around, with the trilogy complete, the possibilities are even bigger. Do I start a brand spanking-new project or continue with Emelynn’s story in the trajectory in The Gift? Do I continue writing in the fantasy thriller genre or do I change genres? What about the narrative? Do I continue with first person POV, or switch it up with multiple POVs?

There are so many possibilities for how and what to write next and so few hours in each day. What to do? It’s a time of asking questions, researching and brainstorming.

What would you do next?

 

2020 update: I did, in fact, continue Emelynn’s story. The Gift Legacy stands complete at 7 books. You can read about the books here.

What readers are saying about Secret Sky:

A thoroughly enjoyable read
—Island Gals Magazine

Fun . . . sensual, full of adventure
—Bill Engleson, author of Like a Child to Home

Kept me turning the page
—Diana Stevan, author of A Cry from the Deep

It’s gentle and lyric, and it’s dark and hard
—J.F. Kaufmann, author of the Langaer Chronicles

 

Photo by Edi Libedinsky on Unsplash

Why Write a Trilogy?

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Photo of JP McLean, torsoWhy write a trilogy? The Gift Legacy didn’t start out as a trilogy. When I wrote Awakening, I concentrated on producing one story that was strong enough to call a book. It was a personal project for me—a bucket list accomplishment. Publishing wasn’t even on my radar at that time.

I Missed Writing

But in the lull after I’d sent the draft off to the editor, I realized that I missed writing. I don’t know why that surprised me. After all, I’d been writing almost every day for six months and loving it. It had become a habit. Soon, I found myself back at the computer picking through the story, rewriting, adding bits, and rethinking scenes.

The writing process, and writing fiction in particular, is harsh.  With each re-write, perfectly good, but ill-fitting or excessive ideas and scenes are cut. But with computers the cuts are never really gone—just pasted inside another document.

While I was busy incorporating the editor’s input into the next draft, I realized that the document I had titled “discards” could be renamed “ideas for book 2.”  That’s when I started toying with the idea of a continuation of the story.

Book 2 Takes Shape

Before I knew it, an outline for a second book took shape.  It surprised me and at first I didn’t even tell anyone (friends and family were still reeling from the revelation that I’d written the first one!).

There were huge holes in the second outline, but I knew a good and unique story was there.  From that point on I knew The Gift Legacy would be more than one book*.  I didn’t know three books were lurking, and perhaps there are more, but what I do know is that I’m not going to stop writing.  It’s too much a part of me now.

Tap here to learn more about JP McLean.

Update to Why Write a Trilogy: There are now 7 books in the The Gift Legacy. You can get started with Book 1 here.

Coming Soon, JP McLean’s Debut Novel, Awakening

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JP McLean author photoJP (Jo-Anne) McLean’s debut novel, Awakening, is coming soon. JP lives and writes from her home on Denman Island. Her debut novel is an urban fantasy thriller. Awakening* is the first book in The Gift Legacy and it’s coming soon. Look for it in hardcover, paperback and e-book from FriesenPress.

Release Date TBA
353 pages
$19.99 Cdn

Have you ever dreamed you could fly? Emelynn Taylor did.
Except . . . it wasn’t a dream.

*Update! in 2017, The Gift Legacy books underwent a rebranding. Awakening is now titled Secret Sky. You can read about the rebranding here: JP McLean’s debut novel gets a makeover

When Emelynn Taylor wakes up in the emergency room, her injuries present Dr. Avery Coulter with more questions than answers.

Who is this guarded young woman? Why was she found in the middle of Sunset Park? How can she have injuries consistent with falling from above the tree line? Seemingly from nowhere?

And, more importantly: Why is she lying about it?

The truth is stranger than anyone could have imagined – least of all Emelynn herself.

Nine years earlier, during the same summer she’d lost her father, 12-year-old Emelynn accepted a ‘gift’ from a mysterious woman called Jolene.

Now, as she recovers in Dr. Coulter’s emergency room, she’s left wondering if that blessing was really more of a curse.

Jolene’s gift planted the seeds of incredible power within Emelynn – but what’s the point of such abilities if you can’t control them?

Her emerging gift of flight, for example, nearly killed Emelynn when it sent her plummeting to the sidewalk in Sunset Park. Next time, she might not be so lucky.

But Emelynn is determined to master her abilities, and returns to the seaside cottage where Jolene had once granted her this ‘gift.’ There, Dr. Coulter guides Emelynn in uncovering a secret society of others just like her, who inhabit a mysterious world-within-a-world that challenges everything Emelynn thought she’d known.

But the more she uncovers, the murkier the truth becomes. Soon, Emelynn is left questioning the motives of those she’d trusted the most – and is forced to rely on her barely-mastered powers in a desperate fight for survival.

Secret Sky is the first book in the thrilling, otherworldly The Gift Legacy series by JP McLean. Seamlessly blending paranormal mystery, fantasy, and romance, this beautifully written and deeply resonant adventure will swoop you into a vivid, new reality and leave your imagination soaring.