While my selkie novel, ‘Second Skin,’ is in the skilled hands of HQ’s copy editing team (more on this process soon), I’ve been chipping away at book 2, my witchy, dual narrative historical novel set in Ireland, Tasmania and New York.
I’ve heard many established authors say writing never gets easier, no matter how many books you have under your belt, and its ringing true right now. I love my characters, and the longer I spend with them the more they speak to me, but my god it’s hard to put their lives onto the page. My writing process is fairly chaotic. I brainstorm scenes free hand in journals and then spew them onto my laptop in an inspired frenzy, and then I go back and edit them into something readable. Some days it’s a real slog, but I feel like I’ve got my momentum back and I’m over the halfway point.
In September I’ll be traveling to the UK where I’ll be spending almost a week in Killarney, Ireland, where my story starts, a place I fell in love with in 2019 and promised myself I’d return. I can’t wait to absorb myself in the forests and folklore of this gorgeous part of the world, where fairies are wholeheartedly believed in and revered.
The photo below was taken by my wonderful friend and fellow writer Lucia as we explored New York City together in 2023. Travelling to the places your stories are set is such a privilege.
Arianne James 