Monthly Review and Weekly Words: N.K. Jemisin’s The World We Make

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Happy Last Friday in February!

I've felt both conflicted and free since getting rid of my rotating schedule. A Weekly Words on the FOURTH FRIDAY, WHAT!? I suppose it's because I've been blogging for so long and had built this little system that worked for a while, getting rid of it comes with some weird sense of guilt as though they have their own feelings. I'm killing my blog-darlings, and as a writer that's hard.

But to the trash with that! The freedom means I don't have to wait until X Week to tell you all about something, and that's a good thing! It should lead to less unplanned breaks because I have nothing to say on a particular topic.

So on that note, this week I applied for an LCCN for Fractured Princess. That's exciting, because that gives it a better chance at being available in libraries. Once I receive a number, I'll be able to set up the Kindle edition for pre-sale! May will be here before I know it. 

I've also written a few more words in the new draft of Divided Princess. I do think this restart is going to help me get to the end of the book. It's on my mind more and more now that FP is on the move again.



My reading is also on the move again! I've been beta reading a friend's work the past few weeks, but this week, I was able to start N.K. Jemisin’s next book in her Great Cities series: The World We Make!

All is not well in the city that never sleeps. Even though the avatars of New York City have temporarily managed to stop the Woman in White from invading—and destroying the entire universe in the process—the mysterious capital "E" Enemy has more subtle powers at her disposal. A new candidate for mayor wielding the populist rhetoric of gentrification, xenophobia, and "law and order" may have what it takes to change the very nature of New York itself and take it down from the inside. 

In order to defeat him, and the Enemy who holds his purse strings, the avatars will have to join together with the other Great Cities of the world in order to bring her down for good and protect their world from complete destruction.


I'm almost 100 pages in, and I'm already stressed out! The action in the first book was amazing, so seeing even more magical city avatar action almost right out of the gate again is exciting! I'm sad that this will be the last book, but I can dee how weaving current events into a world of magical realism could get exhausting. I wish I loved Delaware enough to write a love letter book to it hahaha.

See you in March!

Another Writing Update: The Dreaded BLOCK


Happy rainy Friday! Well, at least in the mid- Atlantic.

While I'm preparing for the big re-release of Fractured Princess, I also realized that I hit a big roadblock in writing its sequel. One I couldn't figure my way out of. Sometimes, my writer's block is because I'm hesitant to write the next scene or can't figure out how to get a scene down the road. This time, I realized what I was writing wasn't connecting.

And since I figured out some of the biggest pieces of the puzzle, I realized a couple things:

1) I needed to start from the beginning, from scratch; and

2) I needed to *gasp* plot it out. 

I've been a pantser my entire life, just writing things how they came to me, even if they came out of order. This was especially how I wrote FP, but also, I never planned on writing a sequel. FP was going to be a standalone book, albeit with a bittersweet ending. I don't even remember preparing for a sequel when I decided to self-publish.

But then, ideas came, and damn them, I liked them! And unfortunately, creating a sequel means figuring out how to connect it to the first book and make sense, so of course I need a plan. It's just aaarrrgggh.

I will say, though, that I like the first paragraphs I've written. I plan on repurposing some of the scenes from the first version, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose a lot of them. *sob* I was about halfway done the first draft.

I can't be too upset, though, because this will most likely mean a better story overall! I certainly hope so.

Lastly, if all goes well, pre-ordering of the Kindle edition will be available mid-March/early April! Stay tuned for more news!

Writing Update: ***NEW COVER DESIGN REVEAL***


Graphic of a Computer that reads "Writing Update" on the screen

Happy February and Happy Black History Month!


I don't have a lot to say today, but I did decide it was the perfect time to reveal the updated cover for the new edition of Fractured Princess, the first book in The Shattered Chronicles! Returning to self-publishing has been both a relief and a big undertaking. This time, I definitely want to make sure I do things right, including more promotion up to the big day, which will be May 30th!

As a reminder, this is the blurb for the book:

Jonnie is the last princess of the Crystal Bearers, once a powerful people. When she was a baby, the metal army destroyed what was left of them, and now it is hunting her. Her watchmen keep her just out of the metal army’s reach, but she has spent her seventeen years running and hiding. Instead of standing by while her watchmen keep risking their lives for her, she decides to learn how to fight alongside them.

On the journey to hone her skills, long hidden secrets about her people reveal a connection between the Crystal Bearers and the metal army that only fuels Jonnie's will to defeat it. But the more she learns about her own powers, the more she realizes she may be responsible for the metal army – and the destruction of her people.

And now, without further ado, I present the newly designed cover, originally created by Racheal Scotland:

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Actually, as another reminder, here was my original concept sketch that I gave to Racheal way back in 2019:

pencil sketch of a girl in front of a willow tree
All right, now back to the reveal.

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book cover with three girls Title: Fractured Princess. Subtitle: The Shattered Chroncles Pt. 1. Tagline: Past, present, future, Jonnie must fight for them all. Author: Debra Renee Byrd

I updated the design with Canva. It's a really great program. I'm so excited. The first cover, I didn't really do anything with, but with this one, I also made sure to get the spine right, and I continued the design on the back cover!

back cover with a broken glass design and blurb on the back

I hope you guys like it! More updates to come soon!