JP McLean

Writing Addictive Fiction

A New Title in The Thorne Witch Series

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A New Title in The Thorne Witch Series

January has blasted out of the starting gate. I hit the keyboard running at the start of the year and I’m making great headway with the second Thorne Witch novel. I’ll update this blog as I hit new milestones. But in the meantime, I can already tell you the title:

HEXBORN

The Hexborn are children born under a curse. The storyline continues where The Never Witch left off. Adeline Thorne is back in the main character role, and the warlock, Luke Churchwell returns as well.

Upcoming Events

I’m excited to bring The Never Witch to Nanaimo on Friday the 13th of February. Not only is Friday the thirteenth a perfectly witchy day for a book signing, but it’s just in time for Valentine’s.

I’ll be signing books at the Chapters store in Nanaimo, at the north end of the Woodgrove Centre, 6670 Mary Ellen Drive, Nanaimo, BC (250)390-0380. I’ll be set up by noon and stay until three p.m. I’d be delighted to inscribe a book for your valentine.

1.1 Million Words in Print

Author JP McLean holding a stack of the books she's written.When The Never Witch came out, it pushed me over the 1.1-million-words-in-print mark. It’s a shocking reminder of how far I’ve come. When I wrote my first novel, Secret Sky, I never imagined this would become my full-time gig. I also never imagined I’d still love the craft of writing, the actual putting together of these books that are akin to word puzzles. And I’m blessed and lucky to have the time and space to do it.

In Other News

I’m making a big change with my website. I’m moving to a new hosting platform. There will be kinks to work out, I’m sure, but I have confidence in the experts who are doing the transfer. The moving pieces include my email addresses, blog, and this newsletter, so keep you fingers crossed for a smooth transition.

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JP McLean Author Headshot #4If you’d like to know more about me, my writing life, and my home on Denman Island, sign up for my monthly newsletter, where I share photos, updates, FREE short stories, and insider scoop. I never share your email address, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Until next time…

XO

Jo-Anne

Denman Island’s Annual Herring Spawn

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March has been a busy month with Denman Island’s annual herring spawn.

The island where I live is home to an annual herring spawn that occurs between late February and early March. The millions of herring that arrive on our shores turn the water the colour of the Caribbean. A cacophony of sea lions, seals, eagles, and seagulls, follows, along with the fishing fleet. I took this video in early March to give you an idea of what it looks and sounds like.

Oceana Canada provides a more in-depth explanation on YouTube.

It’s loud, it’s bright, and it’s busy. At night, when we’d normally only see stars and a few distant lights on neighbouring islands, we instead look out on what could be mistaken for a cityscape with glaring lights in constant motion.

I wouldn’t want to live with that full-time, but once a year it’s an exciting change of pace.

Witch Book Progress

I’m thrilled to report that my WIP (work in progress) now sits at 80K. The finished draft will end up between 90-100K.

image

When I’m writing, I find it useful to find a photo that looks like the character I’ve created in my head. This is who I picture for the main character, Adeline Thorne. Adeline is a thirty-four-year-old witch who didn’t come into the magic she should have inherited. In real life, this woman is Magdalena Zalejska, a Polish model.

Upcoming In-Person Events

Can you believe I’m already booking Christmas? Continue Reading