November 2015. The first year I participated in NaNoWriMo. I had heard of it, but never bothered to do any research into exactly what NaNoWriMo was all about. In 2015, after seeing a post by another writer, I did some checking and decided I would give 50,000 words in a month a try. November is a busy month for me as I host Thanksgiving for a large extended family, but what’s life without challenges?

I’ve always been a structured person, so I set my writing time (5-7 am every morning before work, plus evenings after work if my schedule allowed). I created a new world, named plants, creatures, and people and started writing on November 1st. I loved the process and discovered that 50,000 words in one month is an attainable goal. I was surprised at the friendships that grew from NaNoWriMo, and I’m grateful for them. I also learned a lot from what others posted in various groups on the site. I found the entire process worked well for me.

It was great fun and I completed the first draft of the first novel in my new series, Finding Earth. The premise for this series is simple. With earth’s resources depleted and the planet dying, world leaders build twenty-five transport ships capable of space travel. Each ship carries 5,000 people with the hope of finding a healthy planet to populate. Each novel will center around one of the ships, either its journey to a new planet or life on the planet they populate.

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Drifters Rising World Map

Drifters Rising (working title was Cetus Landing during NaNoWriMo 2015) is a science fiction novel set on another world. It has a young adult coming of age theme and also includes some fantasy elements.

Want to learn more about this world? Link to FLASH FICTION, MAPS, and CHARACTER LISTS set in the world of Drifters Rising.

Link to PURCHASE the novel.

And if you’re wondering about NaNoWriMo 2016… I wrote the draft of the second book in the Finding Earth series, working title Pyxis Landing. It’s scheduled for publication in the spring of 2018. And yes, I plan to participate in NaNoWriMo 2017.

I will continue to publish a novel from my other series, The Farseen Chronicles, each fall.