1/11/22

It’s the first of November today, and the (arbitrary!) day I decided I would begin the next book. I had meant to be working on it already, but other things got in the way, giving me barely a moment to even think about this book.

I’ve flip-flopped a few times on which book this next one should be, seesawing between a Selena book, or going back to Wilde Grove. But I’ve got it now, and it’s begun.

This new book, most of which I’m hoping to write this month, is going to be the third Selena Wilde book, picking up from where The Otherworld ended and continuing the tale of Selena, Rue, Clover, and their friends. I really only decided this last night. I was going to write another Selena book but skip ahead in the action to when they were back from their trip to Wilde Grove, and tell what happened there only in retrospect. However, I threw that notion out the window and this story is following Selena’s determination to take the children to Wilde Grove, where I know they’re going to have a very interesting time.

Like most writers I’m sure, I have a bit of a ritual I follow when beginning a new book. This is particularly so for the Wilde Grove books. Let me tell you about it…

Each of the first three books in the first series begins with a scene from Ravenna’s point of view. The Singing begins with Grandfather Oak appearing to Morghan in a dream and is exactly the dream I had just before beginning the book, except that it was me sitting across from Grandfather Oak rather than Morghan.

The beginning Ravenna scenes came to me from visions, or shamanic journeys, or ‘travelling’ – call it what you will. The first came unprompted for The Gathering, and indeed, I didn’t even know it was part of the story when I experienced it. Only when I sat down to write did I realise what I gift I’d been given.

For the next two books, I sought out the visions that would tell me the story I was going to write.

When I came out to my writing room this morning (the weather is warmer now, so I’m back to working in the garden shed) I had little idea of where I would begin this new book, or what the main storyline would be. I knew only the setting (Wilde Grove) and that it must contain somewhere Clover’s wizards and Rue’s white dragon.

I set up to do my main daily prayers, and stepped into the Wildwood straight away, without intention (I had planned to do a journey for the story afterwards) but with a great deal of gratitude.

I travelled to Wilde Grove, and there watched as a storyline unspooled around me. Here was the outline of everything I hadn’t come up with but needed to know. When I returned, I finished my prayers and sat down to write.

My goal for a first day’s writing is never more than 1000 words, and I achieved that, feeling my way into the story, finding my voice again after a longer than intended break, and greeting the characters, seeing how they’d like to begin the story. I’m very excited for this new book, and I have a feeling that writing it will be a joy and a gift.

I wish I could tell you what happened in my travelling this morning, but that would be the spoiler of all spoilers! Suffice to say, that when I offered my service – ‘let me be the voice of your purpose,’ – I was answered.

And so a new story begins.