I couldn’t let Valentine’s Day pass without sharing a glimpse of my (current) favourite couple, Jade and Warner.
Category: writing
Ah, the muse …
I’ve been working through the first half of Dowser 8 for the last couple of weeks, having gotten derailed writing the first draft by editing Dowser 7, the holidays, and the rather lengthy to-do list that comes with releasing a book. I’ve been only getting 600-800 newish words a day. But the idea is that these ‘easy’ second draft words were supposed to ease me back into the writing.
But the muse is a funny thing … I can write without it, without the words and ideas flowing, but it feels heartless and ungrounded. Eventually the idea that the story will never flow again starts to take hold and erode my sense of how the writing is supposed to be. Yes, there are often a few tough days in a row that I need to weather, but I’ve just gone through the longest period of feeling like I had nothing in my head that I’ve ever experienced. Dowser 8, Dowser 9, Necromancer 1 are all plotted out, with detailed outlines, and before I hit this drought I was also working on a brand new series that will launch this fall.
But, even with all that story worked out, nothing was flowing.
And between you and me (and poor Michael who was probably getting tired of me yammering on about being in a weird ‘nothing’ headspace), it was starting to freak me out. I needed NEW words, not just rewritten ones. I desperately needed the muse to visit.
So, yesterday I reached the end of what I had written for the first draft of Dowser 8. I wasn’t exactly staring at a blank page (I rarely do because I outline) but I was daunted. So I complained a bit on social media. I fussed around. Yadda, yadda.
Then I wrote. I told myself all I needed was 2000 words. I reminded myself that they didn’t need to be brilliant, because there are many, many stages to writing a novel (at least 5 to 6 drafts on my part alone, not including all the work the editor does) and I just needed words to get me through to the third act – aka the ending that I’ve been running in my head for over a year now.
So I got 2400 words. This number is in no way brilliant in and of itself, and should be easily achievable. But it hasn’t been. And I yet managed it. Satisfied with that solid day, I put the chickies to bed and started a new knitting project.
And this morning?
The muse came rolling back, specifically while I was cleaning out the litter box. But hey, I’m not complaining!
Taking a little tidbit from the new scene I wrote yesterday (a scene I thought was pretty throw away at the time), the muse dropped a bloody, dark deed on me – an idea that expanded a beat set up in Dowser 7 and Dowser 8 but was actually more fully exploitable in one of the short stories that I’ve been muttering about possibly writing.
And the muse wasn’t done, because in order to share this new deviously dark idea with Michael, I needed to explain how it came about and where it fit. And in doing so, I realized that the two short stories were actually two parts of a novella (if not a novel) that fits between Dowser 8 and Dowser 9. And that’s not all … it’s actually THREE parts, not just the two shorts I’ve been toying with writing.
So there you go. You may now make chocolate sacrifices to the muse, she’s just given you Dowser 8.5.
But!
Here’s the twist.
It’s not a Jade book.
Oh, no. *insert evil grin*
It’s Mory, Rochelle, and Jasmine’s tales. All outlined and interconnected, thanks to the muse this very morning.
I will now have a hot chocolate in celebration.
The muse is back and she’s full of wicked ideas!
Dowser 8: the ‘girls’ go hunting
Jasmine glanced between us. “You two are a little crazy, you know.”
Kandy shrugged. “You’ll get it, baby girl. When you’re all grown up and never meet your match.”
Jasmine twisted her lips wryly, tugging her phone of out her jacket pocket. “I’ve already met him.”
Kandy laughed huskily, shaking her head. “The nearly immortal are more vulnerable than us three, darling. They’ve forgotten they can die. And it’s the possibility of death than keeps us sharp.” Kandy tapped on her temple.
Jasmine raised one eyebrow at the green-haired werewolf, texting without looking at her screen. “Thanks for the life lesson, wolf.”
Kandy snapped her teeth. “You can owe it to me, vampire.”
I laughed. “Shall we continue?”
– Dowser 8, first draft [unedited and unproofed]
Click here for the reading order of the Adept Universe.
Dowser 8 to be released late-spring 2018.
Dowser 7: chapter one, part two
Click here to read chapter one, part one first.
Continued …
“Nine minutes,” Kandy said.
I jutted my chin out. “This isn’t the right spot.”
The werewolf bared her teeth. “It’s exactly the right spot, dowser.”
Belligerently, I took two wide steps to my left. I might have been only half-witch, but I could still feel the slumbering current of magic that I was about to try to tap into underneath my feet.
Kandy narrowed her eyes at my position adjustment, but she didn’t comment.
“We could have at least set up distraction spells.” I gestured around the empty park. “People jog at night around here. Chalking runes on the seawall is going to look weird, even in Vancouver.”
“You know that any other spells might interfere with the casting of the grid.” Kandy’s tone was unusually cajoling. She was babying me in response to the baby I was being.
I exhaled harshly. No matter my previous bravado and declaration of might, in truth, I was worried that I was going to ruin the intricate spell that my grandmother and Kandy had spent six months planning and constructing. Twelve witches — most of whom had flown into the city for the occasion — were currently set up all around the borders of Vancouver, waiting for the stroke of midnight. Because together, we were going to attempt to raise a magically triggered boundary around the city.
In its primary phase, the grid would help the witches track magic users within a wide area — from the north edge of the Lions Gate Bridge to the property that Rochelle, the oracle, owned in Southlands; from the western edge of the University of BC to three eastern points along Boundary Road, the border between Vancouver and Burnaby. And if that initial grid held and functioned properly, the witches had plans to expand the coverage to include all of Greater Vancouver — aka all of the territory held and regulated by the Godfrey coven.
“Eight minutes.”
“Screw you, werewolf.”
“Any time, any place, dowser.”
I laughed. Kandy flashed her teeth at me.
“Fine. I’ll give it a go.” I glanced down at the runes carefully printed on the paper Kandy had given me, wishing I had more light and that the paper wasn’t so crumpled. “Why is it all wrinkled? It looks like someone balled it up and threw it away.”
Kandy shrugged.
All right, then.
I hunched down to chalk the first rune, copying it as precisely as I could from the paper onto the concrete. It looked a little like a —
Kandy cleared her throat expectantly.
I cursed under my breath. “What? Do you have a freaking checklist?”
“Hand them over, Jade.”
“You know it doesn’t matter if I’m wearing them, right? They are me.”
“Illuminating.”
“You know what I mean. What if I told you that you were going to have to take off the cuffs?”
“I refer you to the T-shirt,” Kandy said, her tone deceptively mild. She was pointing at her chest, where the words I do bite were emblazoned in thick black lettering on orange cotton. The aforementioned cuffs — gold, rune carved, and three inches across — adorned her wrists, creating a perpetual aesthetic conflict with her sporty outfits.
CHAMPAGNE, MISFITS, AND OTHER SHADY MAGIC (DOWSER 7)
COMING JANUARY 18, 2018
PREORDER NOW
AMAZON – iBOOKS – KOBO – BARNES & NOBLE – SMASHWORDS
New to the Adept Universe? Find the reading order here.
Dowser 7: chapter one, part one
The green-haired werewolf handed me a broken stick of bright-pink chalk, fishing a crumpled wad of paper out of her backpack and halfheartedly smoothing it out on her blue-Lycra-clad thigh. The fake leather backpack was dyed bright purple and adorned with puffy leather spikes, mimicking some sort of dinosaur. It clashed spectacularly with the lithe werewolf’s deep-green-dyed hair and orange T-shirt.
I had needled Kandy about the backpack when she’d shown up wearing it, just before she dragged me from the comfort of my apartment fifteen minutes before midnight, forcing me to jog to one of the many parks along Kitsilano Beach. But needing to deflect the tension I was feeling over the spell I had been asked to cast, I couldn’t resist teasing her again.
“So … did you lose a bet? Or what?”
Once again, Kandy refused to engage on the backpack topic. Instead, she offered me a deeply disapproving glower and the still-wrinkled piece of paper. Of course, I might have been reading the judgement into the look.
I glanced at the carefully printed design, noting the handwriting of both my grandmother, Pearl, and my mother, Scarlett. Apparently, I was now expected to chalk the ornate circle they had scribed on paper onto the seawall. At exactly midnight. With only a smoke-shrouded sliver of a moon overhead for light.
“Runes?” I moaned dejectedly. “I thought it was just supposed to be a simple circle. And, like, just standing here.”
Kandy shrugged her backpack-laden shoulder. “The witches decided you might need some help. You know, focusing.”
I eyed her snottily. “I’m one of the most powerful Adepts in North America. A renowned dowser and skilled alchemist. I can tear down wards with my bare hands!”
“And you bake the tastiest cupcakes,” Kandy said mildly. Then she glanced at her phone. “You’ve got ten minutes.”
Still grumbling under my breath about my magical prowess, I surveyed the well-worn concrete path under my feet. Then I glanced to either side of the seawall running along the edge of Kits Beach Park. The Maritime Museum was just a short distance away, but this part of the seaside park was pretty much just a wide stretch of trimmed, mostly brown grass. So other than a large-leafed chestnut tree to our left, we were standing out in the open.
The eclectic mix of homes across the swath of grass behind Kandy were mostly dark, though I could see that someone was watching TV in the uppermost window of a Spanish-villa-inspired converted triplex on the eastern corner.
Those houses along Ogden Avenue rarely came on the market, as teardowns or otherwise. Hence the mixture of architecture. Practically every decade since Vancouver had been established was represented in this one residential block, from the fairly modern sandstone-clad mansion on the western corner, to the untouched Cape Cod. Across from where I was supposed to be chalking a rune-marked witches’ circle, a recently painted Craftsman stood, which I vaguely remembered was one of Godfrey Properties’ long-term rentals.
So yeah, I was dithering. Over architecture.
CHAMPAGNE, MISFITS, AND OTHER SHADY MAGIC (DOWSER 7)
COMING JANUARY 18, 2018
PREORDER NOW
AMAZON – iBOOKS – KOBO – BARNES & NOBLE – SMASHWORDS
New to the Adept Universe? Find the reading order here.
Cupcakes mentioned in Dowser 7
Champagne, Misfits, and Other Shady Magic (Dowser 7) features Jade back in her baking groove in Vancouver. Since readers last saw her (in Reconstructionist 1) she has created seven new cupcakes, and I’ve been sharing some of those recipes in my last few monthly newsletters. I will update the Dowser Cookbook to include those new recipes, and re-release the free PDF ‘aka the third edition’ to my new release email list on January 18, 2018.
But! I know that some of you like to bake cupcakes on or around release day (I normally do as well) and since there are numerous cupcakes mentioned in Dowser 7 – twenty-four!! – I thought I’d share the entire list ahead of time.
Cupcakes marked with an asterisk (*) appear in the Dowser Cookbook. Cupcakes with double asterisks (**) have been released in my newsletter and will be added to the cookbook for release day.
In order of appearance:
- Elation in a Cup** – peanut butter cake with chocolate buttercream
- Delirium in a Cup** – chocolate peanut butter cake and chocolate peanut butter icing
- Clarity in a Cup* – apple spice cake with honey buttercream
- Happiness in a Cup** – peanut butter cake and honey buttercream
- Enchantment in a Cup – chocolate peanut butter cake with peanut butter icing
- Glee in a Cup** – peanut butter cake with peanut butter icing
- Exultation in a Cup – chocolate peanut butter cake with dark chocolate buttercream
- Wonder in a Cup – white cake with dark chocolate buttercream
- Lust in a Cup* – dark chocolate cake with chocolate cream cheese icing
- Charm in a Cup* – citrus yellow cake with strawberry buttercream
- Hug in a Cup* – dark chocolate cake with buttercream
- Buzz in a Cup* – mocha fudge cake with mocha buttercream
- Comfort in a Cup* – banana cake with buttercream
- Cozy in a Cup* – chocolate chip banana cake and dark chocolate buttercream
- Serenity in a Cup* – carrot cake with cream cheese icing
- Bliss in a Cup** – fudge cake with peanut butter icing
- Tart in a Cup – blackberry cake with blackberry buttercream
- Vixen in a Cup* – chocolate gingerbread cake with salted caramel buttercream
- Love in a Cup* – dark chocolate cake with strawberry buttercream
- Sass in a Cup* – chocolate blackberry cake with chocolate blackberry buttercream
- Flirt in a Cup – blackberry cake with chocolate blackberry buttercream
- Harmony in a Cup – white cake with cherry buttercream
- Sex in a Cup* – cinnamon chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream
- Ecstasy in a Cup – double chocolate cake with lemon buttercream
I think I’ll either bake Cozy in a Cup or Serenity in a Cup. Join me live on Facebook at 4pm PST January 18 to find out which cupcake I decided to bake!! And seriously, between you and me, getting through chapter five of Dowser 7 without cupcakes is going to be difficult!
Will you be indulging in any treats and/or cupcakes while reading Dowser 7? If you do, and you enjoying sharing photos, please tag me in your social media posts!! I’d love to see what you’ve baked/chosen.
Tags: Facebook/Instagram: @meghancianadoidge Twitter: @mcdoidge
Possible hashtags: #dowserseries #cakeinacup #[cupcake name]inacup #amreading #dowser7
GETTING EXCITED!
Dowser 7: Kandy’s motto
CHAMPAGNE, MISFITS, AND OTHER SHADY MAGIC (DOWSER 7)
COMING JANUARY 18, 2018
PREORDER NOW
AMAZON – iBOOKS – KOBO – BARNES & NOBLE – SMASHWORDS
New to the Adept Universe? Find the reading order here.
Dowser 7, chapter 1: taste of peppermint
Walking the seawall, rather than cutting through the streets of Kits Point, we rounded a wide corner as the sandy stretch of Kits Beach came into view. The ocean was to our right, with a stretch of sparsely spaced evergreen trees interspersed with picnic tables to our left.
The taste of peppermint tickled my senses. My step hitched.
“What?” Kandy whispered, immediately alert.
I glanced around. The moon was still a tiny sliver overhead. The buildings ahead of us were dark. I could see a pair of joggers in the distance, lights clipped to their wrists.
But no magic.
No vampires.
Specifically, no Kett.
“Kett,” I murmured. “I thought I tasted Kett’s magic.”
Kandy grumbled under her breath. The werewolf was seriously peeved at the executioner and elder of the Conclave, who hadn’t been in Vancouver for longer than a day or two since the previous October. And who had barely communicated with either of us since late April.
“He’s coming for the engagement party, isn’t he?” I asked, slightly annoyed at the needy note that twisted its way into my question.
“He RSVPed,” Kandy said with a shrug.
COMING JANUARY 18, 2018
PREORDER NOW
AMAZON – iBOOKS – KOBO – BARNES & NOBLE – SMASHWORDS
WONDERING WHAT KETT HAS BEEN UP TO SINCE DOWSER 6? You find out in the Reconstructionist Series, starting with Catching Echoes. If you haven’t had a chance to read Wisteria and Kett’s trilogy yet, you still have 21 days to catch up!
Dowser 7: synopsis
Coming January 18, 2018
Synopsis:
I had everything I’d ever wanted — a successful business with a second bakery in the works, a sexy fiance who I adored, and good friends who loved to laugh almost as much as I did.
So of course it couldn’t possibly last.
Unfortunately, this time the trouble was homegrown in Vancouver, threatening my own backyard and those who were under my protection — whether they wanted to be or not.
I was, after all, the wielder of the instruments of assassination.
Apparently, cutesy cupcakes and being nice only stretched so far.
PREORDER NOW
AMAZON – iBOOKS – KOBO – BARNES & NOBLE – SMASHWORDS
***
New to the Adept Universe? Start with Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1) and you can find the full reading order here.
A conversation with Michael ten minutes ago
Me: *getting a drink of water from the kitchen, and – lets be honest – some chocolate.*
Michael: How is the writing going?
Me: *introspectively, speaking mostly to myself* Ah, good. I know how the rest of the chapter unfolds, I just have no idea what complication occurs in the next chapter. But, I had this idea last night when we were putting the chickies to bed, about this really … well, about this really horrible moment that happens when … *I look up to see Michael grinning to himself gleefully* What? Did I say something funny?
Michael: *shaking his head, still grinning gleefully as he rubs his hands together in anticipation* Oooo, a horrible moment!
Me: *indignant* I don’t write them for the shock value, you know! It’s just how the story unfolds sometimes.
Michael: *grinning even wider, his eyes beginning to twinkle.* Sure, sure.
Me: *narrows eyes at him* I’m going back to the office.
Michael: *laughing*
So yeah.
I’m writing.
Dowser 8.