Progress so far...

What is the Derby and why did I agree to this insanity??

About the derby | Progress so far | Let’s get some dates

About the Derby

Soultaming the Serpent is being written and published as a part of Inkfort Press's 2023 Publishing Derby.

The Publishing Derby is an annual event where authors are challenged to write a story, novella, or novel within two months, based on an assigned pre-made cover.Learn more about the Derby by visiting the Inkfort Press website.

Now… why did I decide to do this to myself? I got goaded. Seriously.

I saw a tiny bit of what the authors were going through for the derby last year and told myself, “they’re all crazy!” I mean, it sounded cool to finish a book so fast, but it wasn’t my thing.

And then the day before the covers went out I got to chatting. And then the covers came out and I fell in love. And then I signed up and bam! I started writing!

---

Progress so far…

Soultaming the Serpent is a queer fantasy romance novella(??), meant to inspire you to follow your dreams no matter how old you are.

After not getting my top or second or even third pick for a cover, outlining was hard. My goal was to start writing the day (minute, second) I got the cover, but then I got stumped… and yes, I did rank this cover high for a choice but I was still a little thrown because I was already in love with the ideas I came up with for my top three choices.

And then this one arrived and I realized something even worse… I read the title as soulmating the serpent!! There went my very distant and rough idea of a spicy fantasy romance.

And then I realized… it’s not that different, really, right? But instead of spicy, I was in a weird mood when outlining and well…

Looking at the cover told me the MC is going to be young, adventurous, and romantic. Instead… I created an older MC (she turns 60 in the beginning of this book), who has never left her village other than visiting the near forest, and is aromantic (though she does end up in a poly relationship).

The cover also told me purple. Flowers, forests, dragons, magic… and yes, while purple is a big theme in my book, that didn’t come into power until the second draft! My setting is desert, sand, desolate, lack of water.

So… how do both of these tie into the cover?

They do, I promise! You’ll have to read to find out.

---

Let’s get some dates!

• Cover received 1 Jun.

• Outline finished 2 Jun.

• Writing started 2 Jun.

• First draft finished 28 Jun.

• Second draft started 6 Jul (currently happening)!!

Other important dates to keep in mind…

• Going out to beta readers 1 Aug.

• Serialization here, RoyalRoad, and Wattpad on 1 Aug (or before?).

• Going out to arc readers 31 Aug (has to be done by then!!)

• Launching on 25 September.

---