How precious are Your thoughts to me, O LORD ... how vast is the sum of them!

Thursday, January 19, 2017

2017 in Writing

If you set yearly goals, doesn’t it sometimes seem like it takes all of January to grasp just what they are and where you’d like to go in the year ahead? Several weeks into the new year, I finally feel like I know my writing goals for 2017. 

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Goal number one I’ve actually known for a while now: publish my 1930s Sense and Sensibility retelling, Suit and Suitability. Thankfully, it’s temporarily out of my hands now and in the beta-reader domain! (I appreciate these people so much!) I hope to post a few articles on the 1930s era leading up to my release, and I can’t wait to be able to announce the actual publication date. The whole Vintage Jane Austen series should be debuting in the coming months.



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Goal number two is something I haven’t even hinted at until now. In the midst of editing S&S last year, I desperately needed to exercise different writing muscles now and then: creativity, whimsicality, simplicity . . . and so I pulled up a backburner idea and wrote a fairytale retelling. Have you ever heard of the Grimm Brothers' “Bremen Town Musicians”? Four old farm animals have outlived their useful years and, with their lives now threatened, leave their homes to be musicians in the fine town of Bremen, Germany. I had so much fun spinning this story I’ve always loved into a short children’s novel. I’m editing it now, and Lord willing if all goes well, it should be published later this year. In a future post I’ll share more!
Ivana Ebel

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Goal number three is to write another Six Cousins novel. The one I’ve begun, however, is focused on Marielle and her mom instead of all the cousins. (Though Reanna has recently informed me, in her quiet manner, that she would love to be included; since she never asks for much, she’ll probably get her way.) It takes place on Prince Edward Island (I made sure to record my P.E.I. impressions while I was there in September!) and should be much shorter than the other two. I’m happy to be writing about Marielle again and exploring how she’s grown, as well as revisiting this beautiful island in my imagination.

So those are my writing goals for 2017 so far! In the coming months, I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about each of them. What are your goals, writing or otherwise, for this year?

10 comments:

  1. I'm so excited about all of these books!!!! Can't wait to read them :)

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    1. I should probably hurry up and read the second Six Cousins book ^_^

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    2. YES, you should! England Adventure is even better than the first book! :D

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    3. Thank you, Eliza! It's great to have your encouragement! I hope you enjoy the second book!
      Thanks, Deborah! :)

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  2. I enjoyed reading your goals, Kelsey! Your Six Cousins novels are on my to-read list - They came highly recommended to me, so it is with joy that I hear that there may be another coming up soon. :-)
    Yes, I know what you mean about taking all of January to settle on goals for the new year. I've finally got a handle on where I believe God wants me to focus my writing this year and have written it down to keep before me. :-)

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    1. Thank you, Alicia. I appreciate your encouragement - your books are on my to-read list as well! I love that they are set in the 1930s.
      Taking our time to pray and settle on our goals is a good thing...I prayed about another Six Cousins book for a while before the idea finally started coming together. I hope that you are able to accomplish what God has set for you this year!

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  3. I totally know what you mean... I haven't been setting "official" goals but I'm starting to get a better idea of some things I might want to aim for. I so enjoyed reading this!! *hugs post* I'm super excited for S&S (soon!) and to hear more about the Breman Town story (eep!) and ooooh, Reanna?? That would be fun. :D I wish you the very best in all your writing goals (and life in general!) for this year, and I can't wait to hear more about them all! Happy writing, and thanks for sharing! ^_^

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    1. That's great, Deborah! It's so helpful to have something to aim for. :)
      Thank you!! Usually I just have one story in a year, but now I have three to think about, and I feel very blessed. :) Yes, I'm excited to include Reanna as well!
      Thanks so much. Happy writing to you! I can't wait to hear more of your stories!

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  4. So looking forward to the S&S release. :) I'll share about it on my blog at that time. I knew there was talk of a third Marielle book a couple years ago, but that was the last I heard of it until now!

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    1. Thank you, Sarah! I so appreciate you beta-reading. Marielle has been out of mind for a while I worked on S&S, but I'm really missing the characters now. This is a different story from what I had a couple years ago, but I think I have a stronger idea of this one's theme and the plot so I feel more sure about it.

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