Since signing on with my agent Lynette Eason a little over a year ago, I’ve had a few writing projects going on that I’ll update you on here.

• Wannabe Lifeguard on Duty – folks, this is the manuscript that I’ve been talking about for almost four years now, the one that I pitched to the Steve Laube Agency two years ago. I love this story’s characters and I think it’s my best writing to date. Lynette has been diligently pitching it to traditional publishers and we’re getting just as many “no, thank-you’s” in response. Talk about disheartening. At this point, it’s looking like I’m probably going to wind up indie-publishing Wannabe, unless we get really surprising news from any of the few publishers Lynette most recently pitched to. Here’s the book description:

Jada Travers has a burning desire to become a lifeguard and teach swimming lessons to young children, but how can she pursue it with her past haunting her and with the judgmental eyes in her small town? It’s only been six years since Cambree drowned while Jada was babysitting.

Anders is a no-nonsense lifeguard who detests the overly-flirty girls who try to distract him at work. He has lives to save. When Jada drives all the way from Shell County and practically begs him for lessons, he is purely annoyed. The last thing Anders wants is for Jada to discover his darkest truth, but his sage boss Booker insists that Anders teach her. Can Anders and Jada learn that facing the past together is exactly what they need to move forward?

---

• Where Your Heart Is (which I used to call Shipwreck Novel)- this is a standalone novel I began while waiting to hear if the Steve Laube Agency wanted to represent Wannabe. The manuscript is complete at 79,000 words, but it is still undergoing edits as suggested by my beta readers and a sensitivity reader who is helping me out (a ton) with my main character’s Hispanic heritage. Once I finish all the edits still coming in from beta readers and my sensitivity reader, I’ll finish the proposal for Where Your Heart Is and send it to Lynette. Here’s the book’s description:

Ruby has grown up in her twin brothers’ shadow. The whole treasure diving community applauds her brothers and abuelo for finding the famous El Enrique, a sunken Spanish galleon that held a massive treasure. She and her best friend and diving buddy Tanner spent hours researching another, more famous sunken galleon, Dos Hermanos. Until Tanner died. Ruby hasn’t been searching for Dos Hermanos since Tanner’s tragic death, but when the family’s nemesis Marco tries to convince Ruby to tell him what she knows about where Dos Hermanos might lie, the race is on. When Marco abducts her brothers and abuelo, Ruby takes it upon herself to find her family. Sure the cops are helping too, but Ruby would rather search on her own and beat Marco at his own game. Along the way Ruby will learn the meaning of Matthew 6:19-21, the value of family (even if they were trying to find Dos Hermanos without her), and about forgiveness and healing.

---

• Jordy’s Story, aka Wannabe’s sequel – the first time I spoke with Lynette, she told me how much she loved Wannabe and she highly recommended I begin a sequel. At first I thought, “This is a standalone novel. I see no sequels in its future.” Lynette encouraged me to focus on another great character in the story, and her first suggestion was Jordy. It took me a few days of brainstorming, but before long, Jordy’s story was taking shape in my mind and then on paper. I was about halfway through that first draft, a bit over 34,000 words when Lynette gently let me know that because of all the rejections Wannabe was receiving, it was time to work on a new project, possibly even for Christian Women’s Fiction rather than YA. At that point, I set aside Jordy’s Story and returned my attention to Where Your Heart Is, finishing its first draft and working on changing the main character from 19-21 years old to just old enough to pass as Women’s Fiction age. However, a big part of me is very antsy to wrap up Where Your Treasure Is and get back to Jordy’s Story because Jordy and a new character named Naomi and I were having some hilarious and meaningful times together, and writing the first half was an absolute joy.

---

• Off the Itinerary Special Edition: the Search and Rescue Files – when I began and completed Ablaze, I was 100% confident that the Off the Itinerary series was a wrap. I wanted to end on a high note and not drag it out like a soap opera, and besides, my characters were growing up and my heart is for YA readers. Then the emails from readers started trickling in – teenagers and parents from across the country asking if there were please going to be any additional stories. For a long time, I kindly thanked these readers for their encouragement and gratitude and explained my fear of turning the series into a soap opera. As the emails continued though, I knew I needed to be loyal to my readers and I started to wonder about a special edition. In my spare time I’ve been working on this idea, which is a compilation of short stories. Marlee and the rest of the gang are helping with search and rescue missions, so each short story details these rescues. So far I’ve written: a cave rescue, an injured hunter rescue, a lost hiker rescue (with a helicopter), and an abducted mountain biker rescue. Next, I plan to write a swift water rescue, a sick hiker evacuation, and as a grand finale to bring the series full circle, an avalanche rescue. The manuscript is at 30,000 words written so far, and my goal is 45-50,000, to be consistent with the lengths of the other books in the series.

---

I’m the type of person and writer who likes to focus on one project at a time. As a mom, there’s always some multi-tasking going on, but what I love is giving my all to a project and completing it. So this back-and-forth, work on this WIP, now work on this WIP, oh, and then decide to work on a special edition book is a tremendous challenge for me. I feel like I’m letting my readers down since I’ve been talking about Wannabe for so long with no release date in sight. As soon as I start making good momentum with one manuscript, I’m pulled in another direction. I’m definitely learning patience as I wait for news from publishers, and I’m very thankful to be able to work with trustworthy agents who know the publishing industry a thousand times better than I do. I think (and hope!) that [soon] all the hard work will pay off and I’ll be able to release these stories to my dear readers. In the meantime, thank you for not giving up on me, and I promise I’m doing my best to write meaningful stories for Christian readers 🙂