Springing Forward

A Few Updates, and What I'm Working On

It’s a put-the-pedal-to-the-metal kind of year! I have a boatload of writing to do and I don’t plan on being online much, aside from sharing news and likely ramping up promotion closer to fall, what with two new books coming out.

I find that I don’t have much incentive to be on social media anymore. Engagement is abysmal and I can’t justify the time and effort it takes to produce content when so few of my followers even see it! Also, the community of writer friends I rose up with, which had been dwindling with each passing year, has all but disintegrated since the pandemic and the vast majority are no longer writing. Lastly, I just don’t like the way I feel after scrolling online these days.

So I will focus on my work and do my best to keep up this newsletter as regularly as possible. I’m so grateful to those of you who are here, especially my lovely paid subscribers. Many thanks for your support!

What I’m Working On

• NOW COMES THE MIST is inching closer to being finalized, and I’m almost as nervous about it as I was when my debut was getting ready to be “done.” (Does a book ever truly feel done?) Nine novels out or under contract, and I still need to give myself a pep talk before letting a book go and accepting that soon, it won’t be all mine anymore. The developmental edits are complete and we are entering copyedits next. I’m so excited that the sure-to-be breathtaking audiobook is getting recorded and produced this summer!

• I’m working on the sequel next, which has not one, but two potential titles I need to run past my team. I can’t believe I’m writing an actual sequel! The books in my YA and MG series have all been standalone companions, so this is a first for me. I can’t believe I thought this story was going to be one book once, especially after reaching 150,000+ words without even getting halfway to The End. You’d think that would have been a clue. MIST 2 needs to be in solid shape before the end of the year, so that’s my #1 priority.

• I don’t know what’s going on lately, but I keep getting hit with new and increasingly urgent story ideas! I think it’s because I’ve been reading so much more as a result of spending less time on social media and putting my phone away at bedtime. It’s wonderful. I’m toying with one particular idea that I find very exciting, which means I’d better start writing it immediately before someone else announces their version in Publishers Weekly. That’s not even a joke anymore, not after it happened twice.

• Speaking of getting scooped, I should really get back to DANGER BOOK next. All we need to do with this one is tweak the pitch before we take it out on submission. I’ve got a good chunk already written and planned, so I think it makes sense to finish this before I start something new. I can hear my agent’s voice in my head: “Focus, Julie!” But, oh, those new ideas. So fresh! So fun!

• Every spring, my teacher friend Caitie invites me and a cohort of published authors to her middle school to teach writing workshops and help the students prepare for NaNoWriMo. I look forward to hanging out with a new batch of awesome kids every year! I’m working on my presentation right now and hoping to give them tips on how to choose and expand a story idea.

• I’m also preparing to lead another novelists’ retreat at the Highlights Foundation in May. We still have open spots! Come hang out with me and graphic novelist Wendy Xu, listen to our talks on craft, eat delicious food, take a walk, write, draw, and get inspired. You can also pay for a one-on-one consultation with Wendy or me if you want personalized advice on writing and publishing.

What I’m Reading and Watching

• OUT THERE SCREAMING: An Anthology of New Black Horror, edited by Jordan Peele: For Black history month, I filled my TBR with horror and thrillers written by Black authors, and this was one of my favorite reads. I listened to it on audiobook. As with every anthology, there were some stories I liked more than others, and I was amused — but not surprised — to look at my list of favorites and discover that they were all written by women: N.K. Jemisin, Nnedi Okorafor, Rebecca Roanhorse, and Erin E. Adams (whose thriller, JACKAL, was another book I read and enjoyed last month).

• YELLOWFACE by R.F. Kuang: I finally read this on audiobook and it was like a ten hour long anxiety attack, but I enjoyed it!

• MISADVENTURES IN GHOSTHUNTING by Melissa Yue: I blurbed this delightful MG adventure about a Chinese-Canadian girl who can see ghosts and gets caught up in dark family secrets. It was so fun and a real page-turner!

• AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS by Margaret Rogerson: I’ve been craving classic fantasy and recently reread this. It came out the same year as my debut, but it has the whimsical feel of the books I read as a kid. The YA space has become very dark and very sexy because of all the adults who read it, and I think there needs to still be room for YA that feels YA and suits a young reader who might not want steamy content. This charming, quiet romance between a mortal girl and a faerie prince fits the bill.

• LEGENDS & LATTES by Travis Baldree: Speaking of charming and quiet, I finally picked up this book from the library and I liked it so much! The voice is excellent, and somehow, the author got me to care about the main character within twenty pages. I’m in the mood for gentle, pleasant, low stakes fantasy like this, so if anyone has more recommendations, let me know!

• WHAT THE RIVER KNOWS by Isabel Ibañez: I’m listening to this YA fantasy on audiobook next. I’ve been eager to read it ever since I heard it was a blend of The Mummy, a movie I love, and Death On the Nile (I am a huge Agatha Christie fan and I’ve seen pretty much every Poirot adaptation). With comps of that caliber, I’ve got very high expectations!

• The Brothers Sun: I will watch anything with Michelle Yeoh in it. This show was very violent, but a lot of fun and made me laugh out loud! It explored the weight of responsibility of being an eldest child, which was nice to see — though I would have loved a story where Charles was a daughter instead. I think that dynamic would have been super interesting.

• Avatar: The Last Airbender: This live-action version of the show was well done. It’s always hard to live up to the original, but they did a nice job and the cast was filled with Asian and indigenous actors, which was exciting to see. And it was a stroke of true genius to cast Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Uncle Iroh! I loved him in “Kim’s Convenience” and “The Mandalorian.”

And that’s all I’ve got for now. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the beginning of spring. 2024 is going to speed right by us at this rate, and I wish you many great books to read and lots of exciting progress on your own projects!