Hello, everyone! Once again, my Taleweaver’s Desk update is coming out a month after I originally intended it to; if this happens a third time, I’m going to have to think about permanently adjusting the schedule. In any case, the post is here now, and that’s the important thing. As a reminder, On the Taleweaver’s Desk is my quarterly broad-view update on my writing projects. If you want to know more about any project in this post, you can ask me in comments or take a look at my Works in Progress page. Also, you may notice that a couple projects have been removed from the list. This doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned them entirely; it just means that they’re not currently a significant enough consideration to include.
On the Taleweaver’s Desk Issue 6: November 2022
On the Desktop
These are the projects you might find open on my laptop or desk if you took a peek at it during a normal day. They’re currently in progress and at the top of the priority chart.
Bastian Dennel, PI #4
What is it? Book 4 in my Bastian Dennel, PI series and my first murder mystery.
Status: Three chapters and a bit down . . . many more to go.
I’ve had this idea playing in my head for a while (ever since I read a particular writing prompt in a screenshotted Tumblr post), and I’m glad I finally get to write it. It’s turning out a little differently than I expected, and it had a rocky start — nine chapters in, I realized I didn’t have enough tension and had to go back and start all over. But the new outline seems promising, this draft is flowing better, and I have high hopes for how it’ll turn out.
Through a Shattered Glass
What is it? A dark-ish portal fantasy remix of Lewis Carroll’s Alice books combined with The Snow Queen.
Status: Drafted, edited one-and-a-half times, and ready for the rest of edits.
I got some excellent feedback from my alpha and beta readers on this book — a fair number of suggested changes, but also some excellent reactions and a very definite sense that the story is doing what I intend it to do. I need to start edits soon, but I’m waiting on feedback from one more person and trying to get to a good pause point in BDPI#4 before I do. On the upside, I also have a very shiny cover finished! Keep an eye out for the reveal of that and for information on preorder and release date in a couple weeks.
D&D Campaign: Defenders of Serys
What is it? Defenders of Serys is the homebrew D&D campaign that I run for my D&D group.
Status: Still slowly writing Season 4 Module 2.
Summer is not the best time to move quickly through a D&D campaign, haha. The party is still in Middle Earth, since we’re only averaging about a session a month, maybe two if we’re lucky, and I’m trying not to write too far ahead — since I know what’s going to happen overall, I’m writing up to decision points and then pausing so I can figure out what to prep next (as opposed to my usual method, where I try to prep a full adventure including material for the most probable paths the party will take). Even so, I’m somewhat hoping the group will be done with the Middle Earth adventure and ready to head back to their own world for a while by the end of the year.
Stacked on the Side
These are the stories that I’m not actively working on (at least not officially), but I’m keeping close at hand because I plan to get back to them soon (or I just work on them sporadically as the urge takes me).
There are no significant changes to any of these projects since my last update, but I’ll leave the list here for anyone who hasn’t seen it before!
Blood in the Earth
What is it? Blood in the Earth is the sequel to Blood in the Snow and a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses crossed with the myth of Hades and Persephone.
Status: First draft finished; awaiting rewrites. Definitely won’t happen this year unless there’s a miracle . . . but I do keep getting more and more thoughts about character dynamics and how to improve how I write my main character.
Once Upon a Dream
What is it? A light steampunk (or gaslamp fantasy?) Sleeping Beauty retelling; the predecessor to The Midnight Show
Status: Edited several times over. Awaiting another round of rewrites/expansion/edits.
Shelved for Now
These are stories that are also on hold, but which I don’t have specific plans to work on very soon. They’re still within easy reach should I decide to return to them, but they aren’t a top priority.
There are no significant changes to any of these projects since my last update, but I’ll leave the list here for anyone who hasn’t seen it before!
Dust of Silver
What is it? Classic-ish fantasy retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses crossed with Rapunzel, the first book in what has the potential to be a rather long series. Also, a rewrite of a book I wrote years ago that won’t let go of me because CHARACTERS.
Status: Several chapters into the rewrite, though those several chapters haven’t been touched in a few years.
Between Two Worlds
What is it? A portal fantasy adventure about what happens when you come home from the adventure, only to discover that the adventure isn’t quite as done with you as you thought.
Status: Awaiting another round of edits/rewrites while I write other things and daydream about its sequels.
The Way of the Pen
What is it? Self-aware fantasy adventure about a girl and her author.
Status: The first draft is sitting on my shelf, patiently waiting for its turn back in the spotlight, as it has been for some time. Of everything in this section, this is the most likely book to move up to Stacked on the Side or On the Desktop, as I occasionally have wild thoughts of editing it and shopping it ’round to traditional publisher
Berstru Tales series
What is it? A classic epic fantasy series and the longest-running series I’ve worked on (either in the number of books written or in how long I’ve worked on it.
Status: Needs to be rewritten from the ground up, but the bones are good. There’s a particular character who’s getting a whole new arc, and I’m really excited to write it . . . when I have time.
Awaiting Delivery
These are the stories that are on their way, but haven’t quite arrived yet to the point where I can write them: ideas I’m toying with but haven’t even started to draft because they’re still too nebulous.
Additional Bastian Dennel, PI novels
What is it? Exactly what the heading said.
Status: Books 5 and 6 have been locked in as far as plots and source stories go — barring calamity, Book 5 will be Jack and the Beanstalk, and Book 6 will be The Little Mermaid (plus a surprise non-fairytale that will be revealed at a later date). I’m hoping Book 5 will be short to make up for the fact that Book 6 will almost certainly not be. I am very excited for both stories, especially Book 6 — I’ve been doing a lot of planning for it via brainstorming chats with one of my author friends (hi, Wyn), and it’s just going to be so good. Another reason I want to hurry up and finish Book 4, ha! Past those two, I have another three ideas that are reasonably solid in terms of what fairy tale I want to retell (The Goose Girl, The Nutcracker, and part of the story of Pwyll, Prince of Dyved) and how they’ll fit into Bastian’s world, though I don’t know exactly what order they’ll land in.
Novellas from the world of Blood in the Snow
What are they? Currently, three ideas for spinoffs, most of which are also fairy tale retellings: one Puss in Boots (no, really), one Orpheus and Eurydice (probably crossed with a similar Japanese myth, Izanagi and Izanami), and one that’s not currently a fairy tale retelling but would be about Gan and Azuma before they were animal-keepers at the emperor’s palace (inspired the summer I spent watching a lot of Hogan’s Heroes).
Status: Won’t be written until after I edit Blood in the Earth.
Unnamed Fantasy Murder Mystery
What is it? Exactly what the headline says. A prominent noble is murdered; his adoptive daughter is poised to inherit his lands and position — but some are saying her hand was behind his death.
Status: Still just an idea, but it’s an idea with a really good soundtrack. Still not going to be tackled until after Blood in the Earth.
What projects (writing or otherwise) are you currently working on? Any guesses what non-fairytale I’m planning to mix with The Little Mermaid? Have you signed up for the Broken Mirrors Release Tour yet? Tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
Sarah Pennington 