One of my favorite parts of the author journey is sending out my latest novel to my beta readers. I have a great team, comprised of kids, teens and a few adults. All these people come from my life, mostly friends of mine or my teen-aged daughter. Oh, and of course my kids are beta readers too — at age sixteen and fourteen, they’re still in my target range.
Here’s the beta copy of Vasilisa, hot off the press. My cover designer will get started in late October, so for now, it looks pretty humble. Stay tuned for cover ideas — I love to gather impressions and take reader advice!
Vasilisa is based on Russian folklore (duh!), and it’s been a labor of love since I started it, about three years ago. I’ve lost track of how many revisions it’s been through, but this last one was pure magic. The writing process is more like learning to ride a bike than reading a manual. You can read as many books on craft as you like (and you should), but the real magic happens “on the court.” Suddenly, you find yourself with new capacities, able to see things in ways you couldn’t before. And you realize that you are the product, and your books, as they grow and develop, are expressions of your own development.
Like I said, pure magic.
In this last revision, something “popped” around character, and they came to life for me — real, flesh and blood people. I fell in love. So that makes this round of beta reading especially exciting. Will my first readers fall in love too? Stay posted — Vasilisa will be released in February!
