Editing a Series That is Years in the Making

Time changes a lot.

I wrote Rose’s Wrath as a senior in college who was desperate to actually finish a writing project that I was passionate about. Amidst college applications, my senior thesis, and more drama than I could handle, I was able to write the precious first draft to a little fantasy novel full of hope & resilience. I poured bits of myself into each character and was delighted to refine them and their stories through editing.

That was over four years ago now.

It’s funny, it’s taken four years to dust off this series, look it in the eye, and promise it that this time, for real, I’ll publish the rest. My writing has always ebbed and flowed. I tend to be rather scattered in my ambition – I’ll pour my heart & soul into a project… for a solid week and then it’s off to the next thing. Of course, I just had to go and make Rose’s Wrath the first in a series.

What made it especially challenging was how well-received the first book was! People wanted more. Looking back at Rose’s Wrath, while I do love it, I cringe a little at high schooler me. She didn’t know half the stuff she wrote about. The stakes are too convenient, the characters too conventional, and the dialogue? Downright embarrassing at times.

That’s part of the reason I have struggled to keep writing this series. The version of me who is writing now is nothing like the girl who wrote that first book years ago. In fact, I’m sure as I keep writing this series, I’ll feel the same way about the version of me currently writing this blog post.

All this to say, Rose’s Ruin, the prequel, is coming along nicely in edits. But when it’s published? I’m not sure you’ll still recognize the author of Rose’s Wrath. I’m not sure she’s still in these new pages. But I’m hoping even if you don’t see her, that you’ll see something better. An author who continues to improve her craft and loves the novels she creates on that journey.

Till later, friends