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NECROMANTASY IS IN. SHE IS OFF MY DESK. (for like three weeks). I CAN TAKE A NAP. (i can finish marking papers, then finish Traitor Bride proofreader queries, which are very much still on my desk).

a snippet:

He stepped back. Grimaced. Nodded to the fire extinguisher. “You’ve really got to stop doing that,” he said, cupping his hand around his nose to catch the gushing blood. “It’s disrespectful to the dead.” “Yeah, well maybe the dead need to stop being disrespectful to me,” Iris bit out.

#wip #necromantasy #the dying season #hey kids writing is cool #after today i am off deadline for this first time this year #besides like the stuff i have under contract but yknow what that's a next week problem #can't worry about people reading the book i spent years on (hello norecas) if i'm head down working very hard on the next book #anxiety??? who?????#honestly i'm way less stressed about people eventually reading this book because it's way more along the vein of what i've already publishe #like if goblin market book worked and no one got mad at me for the decapitations in devil this one is FINE #gory but fine

i know it's been 84 years but i am, indeed, still on deadline

i'm currently on a schedule that's roughly a book every 6-8 months, which is good in a lot of ways! what that means: locke was sept '25, shadows was jan '26, traitor bride is sept '26, the dying season is ?jul? '27, then locke 3 is ?feb? '28, and adult horror 2 will probably be summer/fall '28. like, in practice, that is very good that books are happening and i am busy, but it also means i have been on deadline since november of last year (after, like, 3 months off deadline) and i have 2 more books to write in the next 7 months after I hand in this draft.

basically: i am sleepy, lol. not complaining, because this is genuinely what i've always wanted to do and i'm happy to have books coming out. just sleepy.

necromantasy snippet to justify the whining:

“I didn’t know Odysseus was a necromancer,” Iris said. “That part of the Odyssey must’ve passed me by.” “Not exactly,” Hart agreed. “But he spoke to shades, and he saw his own death.” “He also fought a bunch of people naked when they came onto his wife,” Iris said. Hart sighed. “Nothing escapes you, Hall.” He led the way down a narrower side path that diverged from the main route, going towards a thicket of trees. “Unfortunately, as interesting as it sounds, naked fight club did not make it into the core practices of necromancy.”

#the dying season #necromantasy #wip #writing wip #maybe katabasis is just the slow descent into deadline-induced madness #yet another moment where i overshare on tumblr #it remains nice to have the grounding of a real world setting and not make everything up #logic though........ she evades me #working on that

mothermara

what if orpheus was butch and she unclipped her carabiner and held it out behind her and then eurydice clipped it onto her belt loop and then orpheus didnt have to look back because she could hear eurydice jingle jangling behind her. follow me for more dyke solutions to famous tragic literature

ok i know it has been like a month or two but sometimes Deadlines Be Like That (aka I had to divert away for Traitor Bride copyedits and some other stuff in the background) but we're back on the necromantasy train, literally

like my babygirl Iris, i am also sleepy.

a snippet:

If it was any other night, she might’ve waited, but Kensington. Hart thought she was incompetent no matter what she did. She just hated proving him right.

#wip #the dying season #necromantasy #if necromancer why hot #or maybe that's the whole point eh #ok but like truly what were the greeks even talking about #like odysseus my guy are you okay #the answer is obviously no #the only other thing i wish i could rip from the odyssey for this is how odysseus fought those dudes naked for no reason #if you're like “woah tori there is a lot of greek questioning on this post about a book” then just you wait for the annotated bibliography #the best day of this book's life will be when i can post the annotated biblio on my website and be done with it

traitor bride has a cover!

very thankful for everyone who watched me spin my wheels here during edits lol so here she issssss

#the thief and the traitor bride #the second death of locke #norecas #locke 2 electric boogaloo #the hand and the heart

we're back on deadline, and this time, it's the necromantasy!

the book: iris hall is a handler on the necromantic railway that runs under london, but also, her ex best friend, hart, is a necromancer, and he sucks. hart sucks even more because, after iris is attacked by a corpse, he's the only one who can help.

the first line:

Far below the drizzle of the sleeping London streets, Iris Hall was alone on the tracks of the London Necropolis Railway, escorting the dead.

#necromantasy #the dying season #so deeply thrilled for a london book

Traitor Bride is officially off to copyedits :)

As a little treat, here's my favorite epigraph:

Found out the reason Aurelian was banished: left formal Lochan/Eprainish engagement early citing stomach ailments, was discovered in a larder with two of Locke’s attendants, apparently in a compromising position near some of the delicacies cooling for the evening’s feast. The Viper handed down the order of banishment for “Insulting my lady, embarrassing my staff, and ruining my dinner.” Nore Gordon’s notes, decoded, 1636

#the thief and the traitor bride #norecas #kier seward

on a side quest again. it is ill-advised.

a snippet:

“Losing your edge,” Grey muttered, pivoting to block his sword, arcing toward her left side. “That’s what happens when one commits to a life of bureaucracy,” Kier said, nearly landing a hit to her hip. Grey covered quickly, then went high—but of course he was already there. And if they weren’t surrounded, if the guards weren’t taking bets on their fight and the idle maids in upper floors weren’t watching through the windows, Kier might’ve taken the chance then to lay his hand on her waist, to draw her in, to kiss her over their crossed blades. Instead, he only winked at her.

#grier #grey flynn #kier seward #no this is not locke 2 electric boogaloo

editing log: I have finished this pass :) currently on the read-through, so I can clean up anything I didn't Frankenstein together properly, and then I'll do another check of problem areas with a clear head before I hand in next week!

thanks for joining me on this journey x

last snippet (for now):

“My volatility is worse than you had heard, I fear,” Locke said. “And my blade sharper, too.”

#norecas #the thief and the traitor bride #locke 2 electric boogaloo #wip #yeah it's still long but let's see if we can cut 5k for fun #i think the thing is these characters have been Mine for so long #but some of them aren't mine anymore technically #so it's this interesting balance of taking them back but still making them work within the existing narrative #idk yall no one loves grey flynn more than me #so i think you're just gonna have to trust me on this one

editing log: 100 PAGES LEFT TO GOOOOOOOOO

current listen: SPEYSIDE by Bon Iver on a loop. Probs gonna switch to Francesca or Buckle in a bit

snippet:

Caspian drew a breath. Shook his head. “Take care of my cat for me, Finch,” he whispered, his eyes still closed. Nore laughed, the sound wet with tears. “He’s not your fucking cat,” she said.

#norecas #the thief and the traitor bride #right so fun fact i used to work in production #and if someone handed me the draft i am about to turn in i would've cried #so like apologies in advance to everyone at my publishers who has to deal with the length of this book #truthfully it is not THAT big of a deal #we ball etc #but she is LONG she is BRICK #she is definitely more on the side of epic fantasy and sometimes that means brick-like tendencies #how long do u ask #well babes if we keep it under 180k we will be doing great #something something i still feel like i'm rushing parts but then i look at the word count #and yknow what friends and scholars we can have some places that feel a lil speedy to keep this brick in line

editing log: THE END OF PART 3 IS IN SIGHT. I am fully into the fun part.

referring to earlier weeds: the problem is, this book does a lot of magic theory, which i have to make up, and i cannot make it up as i go because it must make sense and also work within the logistics of book 1 (sob)

a snippet:

“Oh, gods,” Locke said, rubbing her eyes. “Bell.” She looked up at Ola. “Whatever you do, do not let me go into the southwest hall again until he leaves.” “You could kick him out,” Garna said. “He is your guest, you know.” Locke withered. “I promised Sela—” “A Stratan friend,” Garna supplied, catching Nore’s confused look. “—that he could help us figure out what is historically significant and what needs to stay or go or be protected or guarded or thrown into the sea.” “We should not throw any of it into the sea,” the Viper said gently, as if he was comforting her. “It’s all historically significant to someone. Probably to many people who are not you, because most of us do not live in an ancient fortress full of priceless objects.” “You do, in fact, live in an ancient fortress full of priceless objects,” Ola said to the Viper. Nore glanced at Caspian quick enough to see his lip twitch. “Then you can keep them at your house,” Locke said, possibly to Ola, but also possibly to the Viper. She turned her attention back to Nore. “He’s using the hall as some sort of office/museum/archive while he works on his research—he’s taken over the entire hall, and the adjoining rooms. I swear to you, he kept me for two hours last week to talk about a shoe. A shoe, Ol. I could not even talk about my own shoes for two hours, let alone one belonging to someone dead whom I’ve never heard of.” “I thought it was a purse,” the Viper remarked. Locke buried her face again in her hands. “An unidentifiable piece of leather."

#the thief and the traitor bride #norecas #wip #they are standalones but that doesn't mean the friends can't come along #is this part of what i'm afraid of? probably!

editing log: i think we are well and truly out of the weeds AND i get to poke one of my favorite scenes tomorrow, plus add one I have been looking forward to

a snippet:

All this suspicion about Caspian—and yet, here she was, ruining her own mission. And for what? Insecurity? Jealousy? For him? Yes, that small, unwelcome voice whispered. For him. Everything, for him.

#norecas #the thief and the traitor bride #hopefully the crisis has been averted #honestly though i've been working on this book for two years and i'm just a little protective of it #it's weird! i don't know if it's technically romantasy! what are marketing terms anyways!#this is probably a knock-on effect of me plotting the whole series before locke sold and not knowing what marketing would actually stick #thank u to everyone who was so kind during yesterday's spiral #appreciate u

editing log: are we out of the woods? someday i will talk about how many times i rewrote the first 80k of this book. someday i will be free of the first 80k of this book.

She felt it when he sighed, when he leaned his forehead down, tucked his face into her spine. Perhaps he only allowed this because he knew that she, too, was not fully in her right mind. “Nore,” he said again, and she felt his lips move against her shoulder blade.

#the second death of locke #the thief and the traitor bride #norecas #wip #the hand and the heart #the endless struggle between the book i want to write and the book i think readers want #what if they are actually two very different things #what if i don't actually contain multitudes #the answer is i have rewritten the first 80k 5 times in the last 4 weeks #sorry it's going to be the book i want and i live in perpetual fear that actually that is the opposite of what everyone else will like #yes this is probably too honest but what is creativity without a little bit of suffering eh

editing log: still feeling bad!! i'm just in the weeds, which happens, and i know it'll be fine, but it feels not great at the moment.

anyways! a snippet:

“You’re afraid of my magic,” he murmured against her skin, his lips grazing her ear.

#the second death of locke #norecas #locke 2 electric boogaloo #i cannot watch heated rivalry until i hand in this book

editing log: the real treasure is the angst we added along the way

Caspian was chained again, the fetters on his wrists and ankles connecting him to the wall. He sat with his back against the wood, cross-legged, wrapped in blankets. When he gazed up at her, his eyes shone damp with heat, his cheeks fever-bright. Nore stopped in the doorway, blinking at him. “You’re unwell,” she said, forgetting completely the speech she’d rehearsed on her way downstairs. “I’ll live,” Caspian said. Nore pressed her lips together. “Pity, that.”

#locke 2 electric boogaloo #norecas #i have actually been v anxious about both writing and this book in general #just the nature of being perceived #and moving from tiny bubble to bigger bubble #but sharing snippets here to like 10 people has felt okay actually #i do still miss my sour skittles though #idk yall just feel like there is Pressure! on this book that i didn't feel for locke #that delicious editing feeling of “what if everyone hates it and me”#anyways!

editing log: day ? of ?????

It was easy enough to find the page she was looking for, the web of Luthrite noble families. Easy enough to trace her fingers over the names, uncoded—even in a jumble of meaningless letters and symbols, she knew exactly where to find him. She traced the name with the tip of her finger. It was crossed out—but she knew better. He was many things, but he was certainly not dead. She let her eyes slip shut. Let the memories slide over her. Then she tore the page from the dossier and held the corner of the paper to the flame, watching the paper blacken and the names disappear as it burned.

#will i finish this book or will it finish me #norecas #locke 2 electric boogaloo #the infinite struggle of finding 100 word snippets that aren't actually spoilers #but i'm too deep in this one to know what a spoiler is anymore #and i left my sour skittles in america #what will i burn my tongue with as i edit

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