writing Archives - Page 4 of 4

Why Write a Trilogy?

September 28, 2012 By JPMcLean Leave a Comment

Why 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.

Awakening Coming Soon

September 11, 2012 By JPMcLean 1 Comment

It’s one step closer. FriesenPress has listed Awakening as “Coming Soon” on its website.

Seeing it up there further reinforces that I’m really doing this!

I’m excited, but at the same time, I’ve never felt so vulnerable.

Every Gift Has Its Price

For Emelynn Taylor, the laws of gravity are more like suggestions. And gravity doesn’t play nice. It abandons her without warning and sends her airborne, terrified and unchecked. Vowing to tame the phenomenon, she returns to the seaside home where it began. Here, she discovers a dangerous underworld. One that knows her secret and has been awaiting her return.

Update:

Awakening is now titled Secret Sky. You can learn more about the series rebranding here.

The series is now published by WindStorm Press.

What readers are saying:

A thoroughly enjoyable read

J.P. McLean captures your attention from the get-go, and you’re hooked before you flip the first page. Before too long, she skillfully manages to have you question what you once thought impossible. A thoroughly enjoyable read that had me looking forward to her second book, long before I was through with the first.

—Island Gals Magazine

Fun…sensual, full of adventure

This book is a lot of fun…sensual, full of adventure, rooted in the underlying story of a young women coming to terms with her life and yet managing to incorporate the burden of her gift. I am hooked and am deeply in to part 2 Revelation.

—Bill Engleson, author of Like a Child to Home

Everything you’re looking for

I don’t give 5 stars easily, but I gave them to J. P. McLean’s Awakening with no hesitation. It has everything you’re looking for in a contemporary fantasy: masterfully crafted characters, exciting plot, believable magic. What a treat!

—J.F. Kaufmann, author of The Langaer Chronicles

You Wrote a Book?

August 9, 2012 By JPMcLean Leave a Comment

After my friends get over the shock that I wrote a book, the question I get asked most often is, “What prompted that?”

Good Question

Like many people, I’d entertained the thought that it would be great to write and work from the comfort of home. But I dismissed the notion thinking I’d never have an idea big or captivating enough to fill a book.

Then I came across the story of Stephenie Meyer, who wrote the very successful Twilight books. Those books grew out of one scene that she wrote based on a dream. One scene! The thought stuck with me. Could it really be that uncomplicated?

I Gave it a Shot

Late in the fall of 2010 with a long, rainy, west coast winter set in for the duration, I pulled my computer into my lap and started playing. I wrote one scene; an uncomplicated one. It started life as a paragraph. I rewrote it a dozen times and with each rewrite, I added detail and nuance. That first paragraph quickly expanded into a page, and then two. The more I wrote, the more absorbed I became in the process. I learned about writing from different points of view, and the structure of past, present and future tenses. I learned the importance of using all the senses to paint a picture, and the super power of a good simile or metaphor.

Ideas Came Out of Nowhere

Ideas came at me out of nowhere and soon my one uncomplicated scene matured into the gangly first draft of Awakening. No one was more surprised than me that first time I typed “the end.” I lingered on Cloud Nine blissfully unaware of how much work was still to come.

I am so grateful I had the time that winter to explore that one uncomplicated scene. I’ve discovered a passion I didn’t know was in me and now my one scene has turned into a trilogy. Who knows where it might take me next?