As long as it’s to your music, I’ll dance for us.
September is one of the busiest months of the year in my field(s), authors are in need of covers and characters’ art for their upcoming novels, there are festivals every weekend, and the magazine I work for publishes its fall issue in the midst of all that. Coincidentally, it’s also one of my favorite time of the year. The cold is back, leaves turn red, we start making pumpkin soup, and the shutters in my office no longer have to be drawn down to hide from the sun (a personal arch-nemesis). As the days grow darker, my workplace lightens up (and my mood, with it).
SoulSkin approximately takes place over a year. It starts in Spring, and ends in Winter. Each season represents a step in Blanche’s journey. In Fall, she has to let go of the past, her life’s spring, learn from the violence of the summer, and prepare for her last hunt (symbolized and set in winter). But Fall’s also about the people around her, those who matter, those who take care of her, and her of them. While having some painfully dark moments, Fall fills her with hope as Winter promises her with death.
As for the editorial process, a few editors friends are reviewing the book and, as there are only minor modifications so far, I should be able to send it for queries soon. The process is a bit different in France, but basically the publishing houses I am hoping to work with have specific calendars for manuscripts openings (authors can directly send it to them without an agent). Some won’t be before early 2024, for example.
As for the beta-reading, I have been strongly advised not to open it to a too-wide audience, and regarding comments I have been getting about using this damn story to feed AI with, I’m getting cautious. It sucks, but I don’t want to risk burying this book before it has any chances to get published. I might still do a small batch of betas, as they are incredibly helpful, but it would only be in French for now.
In the meantime, I’m working on the illustrations, experimenting with symbols and decorations that could be used in the book. I can’t spoil it too much, so I’ll leave you with this religious pattern, which bears an ill-fitted name, like most of the divine figures in SoulSkin. Gods are like men, beware.
Love, and lots of pumpkin soup,
Aude
How exciting! You've come such a long way already. I hope everything goes well with the editing and such.
I love fall as well, we usually make butternut squash soup this time of year 😋