Even though I haven’t had time to work on my novel/novella series recently, I wanted to write a blog post that’s a sneak peak into my whole Twins series and where I’m at in writing it. I will update the My Stories page too, but I wanted to include a more in-depth blog post!

Twins

Twins has been a writing project for probably ten years. It was the first story I’ve actually finished and I’ve written at least four drafts of it. The story has changed a lot over the years, and while it still needs a lot of work, I am hoping it will be ready for publication in the next few years. Draft 4 is 42,081 words long.

“Gather your things and go find her. But do not cling to hope. They’re probably already dead.”

Roy couldn’t answer. He had to cling to hope.

Roy was a prince, and his life was perfect. He was heir to the throne of Leoninus, he had loving parents, and though he had his responsibilities, he could pretty much do as he pleased.

When Roy is betrothed to Princess Celia from the neighboring kingdom of Ravenshire, he worries that his carefree days are over. However, it soon becomes clear that much more than his comfort is at stake. Leoninus’ enemy is moving to carry out plans that started over eighteen years ago, and Roy discovers he wasn’t the only child born to the king and queen.

Roy must venture into enemy territory and face hunger, cold, destruction, and loss. His efforts seem hopeless and his courage fruitless. He risks losing everything. Roy finds friends even in the unlikeliest places, but his greatest companions are the fiancee he didn’t think he wanted, and the sister he never knew he had.

Sisters

So far Sisters is my favorite story I’ve worked on. I started writing it as a better writer, so I was able to incorporate things I’ve learned into the first and second drafts instead of trying to fix things much later like I’ve done with Twins. I enjoyed writing a larger cast of characters as well as a villain into this story. The third draft of Sisters is 55,452 words; the longest draft of any story I’ve ever written!

“I’m not ready. I’m not ready at all.”

“Christa, you will never feel ready. But our people need you.”

In the absence of Richard, Eleanor, and Roy, Christa must bear the burden of ruling Leoninus alone. This proves to be an even greater task when a suitor reveals ulterior motives, and the royal counselor ends up dead. With the help of a trustworthy general and a faithful maid, Christa and Celia must go into hiding until the kingdom is ready to overthrow him.

Beloved

I have only written a draft of Beloved and it’s only 16,994 words long and needs a lot of work (including a real plot, lol). However, I’ve read the draft a few times and I think the story has a lot of potential. I look forward to working on it more in the future and learning how to better write a romance plot.

Beloved is the love story of Eleanor and Richard. Eleanor is the despised youngest sister in a family of cold and cruel monarchs. Richard goes to the kingdom of Attenborough intending to make an alliance and he is captivated by the young Eleanor, despite her parents and two oldest sisters thinking so little of her. Due to circumstances, they are married immediately, and they must spend the time back at home learning what the other is really like.

Daughter

Daughter is still in the brainstorming phase, and I need to write a better draft of Beloved before working on this one.

Daughter is the story of Eleanor’s sister Emmalia. Emmalia grew up in the shadow of her favored older sisters as “the wild one”. She grew up knowing the man she called father couldn’t look at her. She grew up knowing her mother had had another lover and she was the result. When Emmalia finds herself with an unwanted wedding date approaching, she knows she must act quickly if she wants to run away with her true love, the gardener. She has no choice but to find the lord who she suspects to be her real father and ask him for help.

Friends

I hope the fifth book in the series will be a climax that brings all the stories together in a compelling and closing way. I’m not 100% sure what that looks like yet, and even the name is not finalized yet. Friends takes place about 10 years after Sisters. It stars Christa’s son, young Prince Roy, and Edmund, a village boy from Sisters. Edmund must go on a journey of some sort on a ship, and young Prince Roy sneaks aboard as a stowaway. The ship wrecks and they must find their way back as well as complete their quest. The story will pull in a lot more characters from the other stories including Celia and her children and at least two of Eleanor’s older sisters.

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I hope you enjoyed getting to read about all my story ideas! If all goes well, you’ll get to read them all someday! What do you think? Which one looks the most interesting to you? I’d love to hear your answers in the comments!