So yeah. That project I’m working on. Working title of Archetype, currently planning to have a series of 5 books. Wanted to give a little bit of an intro to the project without giving away all my secrets…boy do I hate spoilers. Don’t you?

I started working on this project in earnest in November of 2010, after I learned about National Novel Writing Month. The timing was right – I’d just had yet another financial life crisis and it struck me how embarrassing it was that I hadn’t written a book yet, despite it being my life’s goal from the age of 6, and I’m already ((oh hell)) 27. So the idea of a devoted month of writing sounded spectacular. I’d had the basic idea for Archetype floating around in my head for years, and I’d only just begun attaching characters to it in a way that began to look like a real story was forming. Basically, I had like two days to outline shit before I had to start cranking out words. I didn’t make the goal of 50,000 words in a month – I made like 22,000 – but it was a spectacular jump start. It made me think quickly and in a concentrated space about a single story. I actually got focused. Ideas improved rapidly. And I ignored all my friends for a month. ((Heheh.))

I’m really looking forward to getting that experience again in August with Camp Nanowrimo – and maybe, just maybe, I’ll hit that magical 50,000 word goal this time. I’ve been saving up outlines and scene ideas since April for just that purpose.

When I began in November, I knew that I’d end up with more than one book eventually, but I didn’t want to worry about that so early – unlike my usual over-plan-the-hell-out-of-it approach. But I’ve got a bit more structure now. I’m still trying to focus on book 1 first – i.e. jot down notes on ideas I get for later books, but the primary focus needs to be **finishing a book.**

Due to being terrible at naming books up front ((ironic, I know)), I’ve given them all Venture Bros. quotes as titles just in the interest of being able to refer to them in a more interesting way than “numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.”

Ergo vis a vis concordantly:

1. Rocket and Sunchoke (abbr. R+S) – quote taken from VB season 4, episode 4 “Return to Malice.” Chosen because though the Monarch has no idea what rocket and sunchoke is, he knows it’s fancy. Kind of like me when I started this series.
2. Russian Guyovitch (abbr. RG) – quote taken from VB season 2, episode 12 “Showdown at Cremation Creek pt. 1.” Chosen because this is a Hank quote, Mac reminds me of Hank, and there’s a lot of Mac in this book.
3. Mecha Shiva (abbr. MS) – quote taken from VB season 1, episode 12 “The Trial of the Monarch.” Chosen because this is a classic Hank and Dean moment, and twins factor into the main plot of this book.
4. Tapestry of Quiet Desperation (abbr. TQD) – quote taken from VB season 2, episode 11 “Viva Los Muertos!” Chosen because this book is slated to be…rather dramatic. Also I just love this quote. Orpheus ftw.
5. Affection Directions (abbr. AD) – quote taken from VB season 3, episode 8 “Tears of a Sea Cow,” which might be my favorite episode of the Venture Bros, though I can’t quite pinpoint why. Chosen for that reason.

Obviously at this point the most I can offer you is a teaser on R+S and the series as a whole…

Life is complicated. We’ve all heard it. We all know it. Juliet Graham is starting to think that’s an understatement. After her father’s disappearance, Jul is sent to her estranged grandmother’s dilapidated plantation in the deep south, where her initial fears of boredom and lack of companionship are quickly replaced by fears of an unknown creature that prowls the woods at night and has the town on edge. But more troubling than that is the growing certainty there is something unnatural about herself – something that may have driven away both her parents, and her grandmother may know more than she is letting on.

Could a seemingly innocuous book hold the key? Can Jul keep her secrets safe from her newfound friends before they reject her entirely? And why is there a hanging mirror in the orchard?