Blurb Reveal! And writing hard things

Lately, I’ve had to write some difficult things. When you’re a writer and this happens and you complain about it, people just say, “Jess, you’re a writer! You can do this.” 🙃 Uh, it’s still hard!

The first hard thing I had to write was the matron of honor speech for my little sister’s wedding, which I’ll soon be reading in front of a bunch of people. No sweat, right? Wrong. I did finish it, though. I’m proud of it, and I’m really excited for the day for many reasons!

The second hard thing I had to write was the blurb for my upcoming debut novel, THE GREAT TREE OF IRIS. Writers since the beginning of time, now including me, ask: How does one write a less-than-200-word blurb for a 120,000 word novel?

It will be on the back cover. People will pick it up and decide if they should buy and read the book based on those words. It’s going to be on StoryGraph and Goodreads and all over my marketing. It’s how I describe what I wrote about for 2.5 years. It has to be good.

I have legitimately been working on this blurb on and off for 2 years. It’s even changed since I queried my book to agents. I’ve probably rewritten it 50+ times, and countless trusted folks gave feedback to improve it (THANK YOU).

The blurb is below, but all of this to say: writing has rarely been easy for me. Drafting and coming up with ideas? Lovely, for the most part. Editing and making everything be palatable, nay, outstanding, for other humans’ consumption? Difficult as f*ck (my dad reads this). But if it wasn’t a process, I wouldn’t be doing it. I love the journey. And I’m so glad you’re a part of mine, dear newsletter friends!

BLURB:

The Great Tree of Iris: a place of unmatched healing power for humans. Top scholar Lia Tovar protects the Tree in honor of her dead father, but she has visions of its tragic demise.

When Rory Elatha, an elf from the hidden city of Kyrali, arrives seeking experts to save the decaying, sacred sunflower fields, Lia cannot help but wonder if their situations are connected. For once, her books do not hold the answers, and she chooses to answer the call.

To save the Tree, Lia must learn to trust six allies:
- A youthful jeweler
- A haunted scholar
- A vibrant secret-keeper
- An inkdelver on a mission
- A wizard seeking a friend
- A dragon looking for home

When they discover one part of a deadly prophecy, Lia, Rory, and their party search desperately for a way to challenge fate. But as more natural disasters arise in their race across the continent, Lia must decide if she can let Rory into her heart, and if that will free or destroy her.

-Besides the blurb release here and on social media, this month brings working with my cover designer and a character artist. I’m still tinkering with my website (it’s not published yet), and the best news of all is I’m planning for a June cover reveal with preorder links (you’ll see it all here first!). So, lots of administrative work. But it’s all necessary to get this book published.

-Upcoming Events: I’m teaching a poetry workshop at the Noble Quills open mic in Easton, PA (Book and Puppet Co.) on June 5! We’re going to write “good things” poems, which is my way of cataloging things I love without delving into toxic positivity. If you’re local, I hope you can join us! I’m also featuring (reading 10-15 minutes of my poetry) at the same event on June 20.

Watching: I have seen Our Flag Means Death (affectionately known as the “gay pirate show”) no less than three times already, though it’s been about a year since I watched the two seasons. Started rewatching just to feel something, and I’m in deep all over again. YOU CAN’T TELL ME THAT SHOW WASN’T A MASTERPIECE. Still mad that it was canceled. I was a little annoyed that I waited to rewatch so long (I worried that it would put me off of all my ongoing work on my Pirate Princess book). Quite the opposite, in fact.

Listening: Speaking of the Pirate Princess book and my ongoing revisions, I’m deep into my 12-hour-long book playlist and adding more songs all the time. Currently, the ones that capture the vibes best are “End of the Earth” by MARINA, “Inkpot Gods” by The Amazing Devil, “This Woman’s Work” by Kate Bush, and “Running with the Wolves” by AURORA.

Crafting: I’m getting close to finishing a rainbow/pride shawl that I’ve been knitting for over 2 years now (unfortunately, there’s only so much hand and wrist work every day my body can handle after working full time on the computer and writing books). If I do just a little bit at a time (a half hour), that seems to work best.

Reading: Reading has been a bit of a whirlwind lately, as in I’ve read some great stuff but I’m having trouble remembering and keeping track. Maybe it’s the death spiral state of the world and working 2 jobs, idk, right? At this moment, I’m entranced by When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley (romantic fantasy) and We Need Your Art by Amie McNee (nonfiction for creatives).

This week, we discovered that Amber loves perching on boxes as well as being in them. She hopes to see you back here in June for the COVER REVEAL! Shit is getting real, y’all. Celebrating whenever I can.

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