Writing Update TRH #1

I promise the next blog will contain some helpful info about writing, but between allergies kicking my butt, stepping up my writing, and other random life goings-on, my brain is not working. Instead, I wanted to talk a little about The Reanimator’s Heart, which is my current work-in-progress.

Since we last spoke about The Reanimator’s Heart, several exciting things have happened. The first being that I finally finished the synopsis/blurb!

A reluctant necromancer, a man killed before his time, and the crime that brings them together.

Felipe Galvan’s life as an investigator for the Paranormal Society has been spent running into danger. Returning home from his latest case, Felipe struggles with the sudden quiet of his life until a mysterious death puts him in the path of enigmatic Oliver Barlow.

Oliver Barlow has two secrets. The first, he has been in love with the charming Felipe Galvan for years. The second, he is a necromancer, but to keep the sensible life he’s built as a coroner, he must hide his powers. That is until Oliver finds Felipe murdered and accidentally brings him back from the dead.

But Felipe refuses to die again until he and Oliver catch his killer. Together, Felipe and Oliver embark on an investigation that will take them to the darkest corners of New York to uncover a plot centuries in the making. As they close in on his killer, one thing is certain: if they don’t stop them, Felipe won’t be the last to die.

If you are a writer, you understand the head-on-desk weeping that is involved in writing a blurb. Shockingly, this one came together after only about three drafts, which makes me incredibly happy. I highly recommend How to Write a Sizzling Synopsis by Bryan Cohen if you’re struggling to write your blurb. Right now there isn’t a preorder link for The Reanimator’s Heart as I am waiting on the cover from my cover designer first before I set it up, but you can add it on Goodreads if you’re so inclined.

Speaking of the cover, I have been talking to my cover designer for this book and I am super excited to see what he comes up with for this story. His artwork fits the aesthetic perfectly, and he’s done the covers for one of my favorite authors, so I am very excited.

In the meantime, I’ve been writing, playing catch up, and writing some more. Everything around my house is in full bloom, so I am in allergy hell. My body likes to overreact to things I’m allergic too, even with the medicine I’m on that is supposed to tamp that down, so my brain is swimming through the fog most days. April has been frustrating to say the least. I set my word count goal at a very manageable 500 words a day since I’m still restretching my writing muscles, and I managed to fall behind within a few days of the month starting. It took until last Friday to finally hit my current target word count, so now all I have to do is stay on track. Cue the panicked laughter. Truthfully, all I want to do is watch Our Flag Means Death (hooray for the gay pirate romcom we all deserved) and play video games, and if I get a day ahead in terms of word count, I’m taking a day off to rest my brain. During my procrastination time, I also made these character mood boards for Felipe and Oliver, respectively, and commissioned character art from @bloodwrit on Twitter (thank you, Vic!)

I know I’m biased, but I really love Oliver and Felipe. Oliver is brilliant but reserved and sort of sheltered. Felipe is worldly but deeply unsettled about what his life has become though he won’t admit it. Together they’re a fantastic team with enough knowledge to take on almost anything, but can they manage to help each other find a way forward toward the life they want is the question. What I’m also loving about writing this is where future books in the series will go. Oliver’s necromancy really only starts to bloom in book 1, so there are so many places it can go while the specter of past necromancers looms large over him. The Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow meets Pushing Up Daisies feels are ever present in this story, and my hope is that the strange mix of gruesomeness and tenderness are something you all are into.

I think this is where I will leave you all today. If you want a little more of The Reanimator’s Heart to tide you over, you can check out its Pinterest Board and playlist.