“If there’s a book that you want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” – Toni Morrison
I realize it’s already been a couple months since my last post… but for my writer-friends out there – no worries! Progress is still happening. Slow steps are sure steps.
I’m back in the US for now, and it’s been so good to spend time with family and get caught up with friends. I recently got the chance to go camping, and there’s nothing like being out in fresh air to help stir up creativity. Or in this case, organization. My sister (who also loves writing), was telling me about having a master list of her story ideas on a single, comprehensive document – and I was inspired. Since I frequently get asked questions about what I write, here’s my simplified master list.
(Including some stories that I wrote years ago and no longer mention… for good reason). 😅
Finished Stories:
The Sen Series
A sci-fi/fantasy series of six. The first novel begins in 1950, at an archeological site in Tunisia, and the series follows cousins Jim and Josie (and their eccentric companions) throughout a mysterious abduction to an enslaved planet.
Strengths: Fun cast. Solid ending.
Weaknesses: Book 3. 🙈
Thornbrook Academy
A historical fiction drama divided into four parts. The story begins in 1937, with twelve-year-old self-proclaimed detective, Hannah Jo Turner, who is privileged to attend an elite boarding school outside of London.
Strengths: Humor. Steady character growth.
Weaknesses: Random tangents. Filler scenes.
Knight Ranger
A classic medieval fantasy story, stacked with clichés and heroics. In the oppressed kingdom of Gelmont, two princes wonder whether they should obey their father and carry out their assignments, or side with Knight Ranger, the masked vigilante who definitely has a death sentence awaiting him.
Strengths: Aadon Elessonder 🤩
Weaknesses: Gunter’s story is Predictable with a capital P.
IFF I save the World
A typical dystopian story, also full of clichés and sacrifices. In a radiation-poisoned world ruled by mob-bosses, Miranda de la Mora escapes her mafia-esque life (with a veryyy important antidote in her possession). While in hiding, she meets an unconventional family…who just might change everything.
Strengths: Hilarious.
Weaknesses: Violent?? 😳
Works-in-Progress:
Mission Danger (Title Pending)
A historical adventure set in the late 1970s. Cousins Justin, Jeanine, and Chava head to the South Pacific to visit their grandparents’ mission base for the summer- only to find that vacationing with missionaries is not always safe.
Strengths: Interesting premise/history.
Weaknesses: Character-hopping. (Aka, the Sherman family scenes).
Hastings Academy Series
A series of six, that follows the lives of Alistair Prefect and his classmates. Though they live in the normal world, they each have a secret skill in common: the ability to travel through time. This power, however, is extremely restricted by the Time-Sensor government…which leads to unrest and dangerous schemes by figures like the Time Rover.
Strengths: Wacky characters. Interesting politics.
Weaknesses: Too many random scenes? Looonngg.
The Free Society Coterie Series
A series of five, set along the eastern coast of Canada in the late 1600s. After the condemning crash of an English slave trading vessel, the sailors on board decide to start their own little colony. Years later, a new generation tries to understand why they’re so different than the other native tribes…and the dangerous colonists.
Strengths: Character dynamics.
Weaknesses: Plot?? Research needed…
The Perfectus Protocol
When a genius scientist is expelled from his homeworld, he attempts to earn reinstation by gifting seven children from different parts of his exiled world—Earth—with “perfected” abilities. Each of the seven grows up with superhuman skills…that still may not be enough to save them when the crafty Madame Sherah decides to classify the “Perfecti” as a threat.
Strengths: Intersecting stories. Teamwork!!
Weaknesses: Potential plot holes are just everywhere.
Outside Ghorthali (Title Pending)
Set in a village in Nepal, year 1958. Haral, a perpetually curious thirteen-year-old girl, has been told to avoid the woods on the edge of town. However, in order to save her schoolteacher (and crush), she ventures into unknown territory and discovers why the forest was so forbidden.
Strengths: Gianprakash Jha x Mithu Rajak. ❤
Weaknesses: Lack of cultural details…
AS to AH to AW
A bildungsroman centered around teenaged Addie Sloan. In her search for friends at a new school, she finds herself signed up for a spring break mission trip to Venezuela… which involves orphans and abductions and human experimentation.
Strengths: Plot Twists!
Weaknesses: Random scenes…slow start.
All these stories are intended for middle grade and/or young adult readers. Meaning pre-teen and teen audiences.
However, as C.S. Lewis sagely says, “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”
And so, I’ve got my work cut out for me. 😅
Thank you—as always—for all your support and encouragement!!
Which story sounds the most interesting?