HELP ME WITH BOOK 4 OF THE KINDRILY SERIES?

Besides all the heartwarming emails from fans asking for more Kindrily stories, the universe has also been giving me signs lately that I should probably create a book 4. I want to keep my readers happy and I don’t like to ignore signs from the universe, but I’ve been perplexed about a fourth book ever since I released Fighting For Infinity. So, who better to turn to for help than my wonderful readers?

*SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read all three of my Kindrily books, LOOK AWAY. Seriously, I’m about to give spoilers galore here, so don’t ruin it for yourself. Stop reading.*

 What should book 4 be? 

Do I back up a bit and tell Krista and Carson’s love story?

(I’m tempted because it would be so much fun and many readers love Carson and Krista. But some of the timeline would overlap with what has already happened, just from a different POV. Not sure if readers would enjoy that or hate it.)

Do I start where we left off and keep telling the story from Maryah’s POV?

(I worry this would be too much of a drastic change because her voice would change SO much now that…well, you know. See? I’m still trying to keep this spoiler free.)

Do I continue onward from Nathan’s POV along with another (different) narrator?

A honeymoon book has been a very popular request and while that would be very fun indeed, *blushes* I don’t think it would be enough for a whole book. I may possibly offer that as a bonus short story or novella later down the road. (Hang in there, ladies!)

I’ve already started a story that takes place almost eighteen years after FFI ends. But I feel like jumping ahead that far would be unfair. There’s so much that happens between “now” and then.

I’ve also toyed with the idea of a secondary couple turning to our beloved Kindrily for help. Anyone remember James and Lilian? They were the couple from Marcus’s kindrily who Dedrick had mind-controlled and they were helping him with his evil plight. My imagination has been brewing with a whole big story about them that could turn into another book or two. I could tell that story from Nathan’s POV along with Lilian’s.

I’ve even got a spinoff series idea based on Edgar’s patients. If I go this route, it wouldn’t be a book 4 to the current series, but it would feature many of your favorite characters from The Kindrily. And, of course, there would be lots of magic, reincarnation, supernatural abilities, and romance.

HELP! Do you see my dilemma? It’s so hard to choose!

And instead of choosing one and working on it, I’ve gone and started a whole new and different book idea which I LOVE (and I hope you will too) but deep down I know that I also need to return to my Kindrily peeps. So many more stories are waiting to be told from their world, I just don’t know where to start.

I’m open to suggestions. Let’s discuss. You can comment below or on my FB page in the comments of this post. https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKaren/

Tell me, what should be written in the stars next?

I’m hoping to make a decision by the end of this weekend so I can start plotting next week. 

Please and thank you!

I JOINED THE 500 CLUB and it's fabulous!

Good grief, look at that. I haven’t blogged since October 13^th. Shame on me. 

I didn’t even blog when Sacred Seas came out in November. Eek. So, in case anyone missed it, I released the third and final book in my Sea Monster Memoirs trilogy. Yay! *throws belated confetti.*

I sort of took a break from writing for several months after releasing Sacred Seas, but now, I’m back and operating at full-steam ahead!

I decided to post an update about how and why I’m feeling so productive in case it can help other writers out there. While on a writing retreat last month, I read this post on The 500 Club by Randy Ingermanson.

If you are a writer, want to be a writer, used to be a writer, and/or beat yourself up for not finishing your story or not consistently writing every day (like I did) then you MUST read this. Seriously, it was a gamechanger for me.

I joined The 500 Club on June 10^th. (SPOILER ALERT! There’s no actual club to pay for or join. Just go read the article!) I have written a minimum of 500 words every day since committing. Every day. That means I’ve officially been writing EVERY day for over a month. Through good times and bad, while on vacations, when not feeling well, even one night when I was exhausted and REALLY wanted to pass out in bed and excuse myself from writing my 500 daily words, but I didn’t. I stayed up the extra twenty minutes that it took me to write my minimum of 500 words and I slept peacefully because I didn’t let myself down. I kept my streak going.

After a month of doing this (it’s SO doable) I feel a million times better about myself and my productivity. I’m an actual writer again. My word counts keep climbing on my current two projects and my brain consistently churns with ideas for scenes, conversations, details, etc. It’s fabulous. I forgot how great it feels to consistently be in creative mode, but wow, it’s exhilarating to be in that mode again. Each day, my story grows. Little by little, crappy scene that needs editing by crappier scene that needs editing, but it grows. I can edit and revise crap. I can’t edit and revise a blank page.

Two of my writing partners, Meg and Marie, are also in the club. We check in with each other via text each day. We’ve learned that Meg likes to be rewarded with GIFs of Ryan Gosling. (Actually, we all do.) It’s encouraging to see one of them say they finished their words for the day. Also, I like to give them grief if they slack off and vice versa. Whatever works, right?

So, I’m still here, I’m still writing, and I will be contributing more books to the world in the near future. Lately, my focus has been a standalone novel that’s a supernatural romance. The MCs are adults (no YA this time) but I’m hoping my readers will enjoy it since it’s still my usual themes of star-crossed lovers in a magical setting.

Also, I’m dabbling in additional books for The Kindrily series. I’m having such a hard time figuring out which other couple’s story to tell first. So many great options. #authorproblems

And, finally, I hope to finish Sea, Stars, and Beyond. My trio of short stories from my three YA series. For some reason short stories are so much more difficult for me than writing full-length novels. But I promise, I’m working on it.

I’d love to hear how YOU are doing. What’s new and exciting in your world?