Welcome to the fifth month, readers. I’m here with a wrap-up of April and what you can look forward to in May and June. This is a public update (and will be crossposted to my Patreon). Patreon members will get some exclusive/early-access content this month or next, so please consider supporting me at patreon.com/marklinfoster.
With that out of the way….
I broke 55k words in April (55,342 to be precise), putting a dent in Accidental Monarch (the second book in the Taledin series) but mostly on a brand new story that ended the month just past 45k.
“You Are My Water, My World” is a curious contemporary romance (present day, present time, as SE Lain began) that started with Kelvin, retired young man, sitting on a beach in central-ish California. A strange woman appears, briefly, in the water nearly at the extent of his vision. A less strange woman ends up in his bed soon after, but with her permission, he pursues the stranger in the water.
There is a paranormal aspect, and a harem has formed as Kelvin starts to get hints of his future with the strange woman and her people. I can’t really say yet that it’s haremlit per se, although it might meet the requirements for that branding. I crossed 45k with lifelong commitments formalized between Kelvin and the three women in his life.
As an aside, I love writing wedding ceremonies–I wrote my first back in the late 90s and probably still have it around here somewhere. And I have at least three if not four in my works so far. And maybe one funeral.
Anyway, my goal in Reedsy for this story is 60k, but I’m trying to decide between running long for a standalone novel, or wrapping at 60k before cutting to a second volume of a trilogy.
Looking at what else has been touched recently, it looks like I’m due to go back to Trade Show Trade, the first of a “club” series I started earlier this year. It might be halfway done. The second woman in that story got a week alone with the male main character already, but I haven’t decided where it’s going from there. The female main character has a receptionist who’s rather sweet on the MMC, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Man of Miracles, the sequel to Sex and Taxes, has started but it’s gone slowly. I could see putting more time into that over my summer break.
The Mendocino Series “final” epilogue will be done by the end of this month, probably sooner. It will be exclusive Patreon content for a week or two before coming down to be included in the Mendocino omnibus that I’ve been promising for months. It will also go up as a standalone 99 cent short closer to Christmas. And I’m working with the cover design on Mendocino for paperback as well. Cleaning up the formatting from Kindle Create and Reedsy is planned for this month, and if I really feel masochistic, I may build this book in Scrivener.
That’s all for now. Keep an eye on this site, my Patreon, and my X account for the latest updates. And thanks as always for reading.
New to my writing? Everything’s at my Amazon author page, and all but Photo Booth is free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Want an untraditional sweet romance? Mendocino is your jam.
A little interracial spice from a casual encounter? Calissa is who you’re looking for.
Some medieval lust and love? Majesty of Defeat is the start of my Taledin series.
A short, spicy, contemporary why-choose involving a mother/daughter situation? The Road Home should do nicely.
But really, I wouldn’t post anything I wouldn’t want to read myself, so browse and pick something to meet your personal taste.
Marklin Foster 