As I sit here to write, I realize that it still has not sunk in … Gatina’s story is on page and screen.  Terry Mancour, the Spellmonger Universe creator, has graciously allowed me to play in his sandbox, with my toys and some of his.  I’ve edited the Spellmonger works for years.  But this is different.  This venture has given me the chance to join the world as a co-creator.  And that’s huge.

The book and the audiobook both go live in a few days — today is Sept 27 and the release date is Oct. 5.  It was not until last night that everything really hit me.  Victoria, Podium’s Publisher sent me the draft of the ebook.  I had previously seen the covers, the animated covers, and have listened to the lovely Fiona Hardingham perform the book and bring Gatina’s spoken voice to life.  But this seemed so much more real, for lack of a better word.

Soon, it will be out there for the world to see and hear.  For the Spellmonger Universe to hate, like, or love (I really hope you love it). 

So, how did this happen? 2020 brought a lot of bad things, but it also brought opportunity.  I transitioned from face-to-face work to remote hours, while also managing (or micro-mom-aging) a fourth-, then fifth-grader’s workload, the normal household duties, marriage under pandemic, etc.  

I found that because I wasn’t leaving the house much, I could carve out more time to write.  My only rule was that my exercise had to continue (exercise helps me focus and release stress).  I had to retire from running (kept getting hurt — stress fractures get old fast).  The hours I spent training for marathons and ultras became vast windows of writing time.  The time I spent at the gym did, too.  Instead of the gym, I bought an inexpensive indoor cycling bike and found an amazing online instructor/coach (YouTube is fantastic).  The hubs built up the weights and kettlebell collection.  No reason to leave, except for coffee.

In May 2020, I spoke with Terry about opportunities in the Spellmonger Universe for additional character backstories, akin to Dara and the Cadet series.  I sent a few proposals and he got back to me.   I honestly thought I would be writing additional Dara stories, but then, while rereading the series, I reconnected with Gatina.  I wanted to know more about her, her family, their history.  Who doesn’t want to hang out with a magical thief? 

By June, I had written a draft of the manuscript. It was very much a draft. I did not have the rule book for Terry’s sandbox, yet.  By July, we had worked out some benchmarks and he had given me some rules.  The first rule was to slow down my pace.  I’m a former reporter (newspaper) and in that line of work, we get to the news quickly because readers don’t spend time on print news.  So I had to shift and slow it down and that was a challenge. 

In August, we joined Terry and his family at the beach for a planning meeting and vacation. And, by September, Gatina as you will see her was in revision mode, with both of our voices joined to create the story.  

By February 2021, the Podium team welcomed me into the fold.

In June 2021, while at The Weymouth Center for Humanities and Art, I made final edits and revisions to Shadowplay and sent those to Podium for production.  I also used my week at Weymouth to plot the initial chapter outline for book two of Gatina’s story.

By September 2021, as I mentioned above, it’s really happening! I have a book, co-written with Terry, arriving in a few days.

How did this work?

Our process was enjoyable.  I wrote the story outline.  He provided feedback. I wrote chapters/draft one. He provided feedback, additional narrative, and writing tasks for me to complete.  There was a learning curve.  A lot of what I thought I knew, I didn’t.  A lot of the backstory and details were locked in Terry’s brain.  And, what’s also exciting is that this process has provided me with a greater insight into his plans for the Spellmonger Universe, which helps me plan, plot, and consider which guns I should place on the mantels for our audience.

If it seems as though writing Shadowplay was a whirlwind, it was.  I had these grand plans to crank out books at the same Terry Mancour speed.  Guess what?  Terry wasn’t at the speed for book one.  He had young children then, worked, and Laurin worked, too.  He reminded me, again, to slow down. 

So, that brings me to this …What began as a one-off proposal has developed into a three-part series that will take us from Gatina’s childhood in Shadowplay to her magical training and meeting of Rondal. Haven’t you ever wanted to know why Gatina is as she is? This series will answer questions about her character and her motivations, and, I hope, it will deliver engaging stories that you didn’t know you wanted but are thrilled to have.