NEW STORY: A Panther In the Snow | #OliviaJisPublished

"I am aware of being in a beautiful prison, from which I can only escape by writing," -Anais Nin

First off, thank you to everyone for purchasing my book! I have about 25 copies left, so buy them before they're gone. My novel is also available on Amazon, but why pay tax and shipping and wait 3 business days, when you could have it for a flat rate of $14?

Anyway, yes, I've already started on a new project. What else do you expect me to do with my time?

If you've substantially started or finished A Cactus In the Valley, then this will make more sense and you can highly anticipate this next installment. Regardless, my newest project is a novella about some of the minor characters in ACITV. 

It's going to be a novella because I've projected that it's going to be about half the size of A Cactus In the Valley. ACITV  is about 103,000 words, however, I'm about halfway done with A Panther In the Snow, and it's only 22,000 words. 

Now, onto what it's actually about, since that's the meat of this post anyway. Here's the back cover blurb I've dreamed up: 

The companion novella to A Cactus In the Valley, A Panther in the Snow follows Harper Holmes, Nick Lombardi, and Lilly Murphy-Hartman as they grapple with the loss of Terra and Wyatt. Through their pain, they connect by creating a memorial video of the two lost teens, and find that they have their own struggles amidst their shared loss. 

Told through Harper's poignant and witty narration, A Panther In the Snow takes a glimpse into what goes on in Wyatt and Terra's families during the events of A Cactus In the Valley. 

Harper Holmes is Terra's lifelong best friend, and Nick is obviously her brother. Lilly Murphy-Hartman is Wyatt's beloved half-sister. As stated above, this novella is about what happens in the aftermath of the crash, and how the families handle it. Harper takes center stage, along with Nick and Lilly as they mourn and push some of their own boundaries. 

tentative cover

Beware, though. If you loved the emotional and intricate style of ACITV, then take note that this is substantially different. Not only because it's a drastically different story surrounding a drastically different character, but also because I wanted to experiment and write in a whole nother style to push myself. 

My dilemma now is - do I publish it? Part of me wants a nice beautiful copy right next to ACITV, but I'm not sure if I want to spread it so widely, or even make it canonical with the world. I'm writing this story not to write the story, but so Harper Holmes' voice will get out of my head. ;)

I still will be taking beta reader requests - just email me! Only requirement is to like reading and have already read A Cactus  In the Valley. 

Excuse the rambles, <3

~The WordShaker