Why I wrote LOST VALYR

One of the things I always do for a new book is to write a post about why I wrote the book. I started it because no one else asked me, but it stuck. 

I also do a Behind the Book interview, but that’s a different focus from why I wrote this particular book. 

The first answer to the question of why I wrote Lost Valyr is because I told my readers I would write another book. When I rebooted my Project Enterprise series, I tried to look further out than this seat-of-the-pants writer usually does. 

How I usually write a book:

1. Think to myself, I should write a book.

2. Ask me, what should this book be about? 

3. Ideas swirl around and either a vague plot or a character emerges from the murk.

4. I try not to make eye contact with idea or character because I don’t want it or them to dive back into the murk.

5. I coax it out and start to tease out the story.

6. It goes both well and badly.

7. After a time, the outlines of the story form and I write it down quickly so it won’t fade away. 

8. I get excited and can’t write fast enough. Now the characters are with me (mostly). We work together.

9. We have a rough draft!

10. I celebrate, followed almost immediately by doubts. Lol

So what was different this time? 

1. I should write a series. 

2. Ask me, what should this series be about? 

3. Ideas swirl around and either a vague plot or a character emerges from the murk.

4. I try not to make eye contact with the series idea because I don’t want it to dive back into the murk.

At this point in this wildly different process, I divert back into my single book process, but with the basic idea for the series (which I still know little about) in mind. 

5. My head wants to explode.

6. Yeah, still wants to explode, but  I coax the characters out of hiding and start to tease out the story.

6. It goes both well and badly.

7. After a time, the outlines of this book form and I write it down quickly so it won’t fade away. Still not sure about the series.

8. I get excited and can’t write fast enough. Now the characters are with me (mostly). We work together. Except on the wider series idea. 

9. We have a rough draft! Of the book, not the series. 

10. I celebrate, followed almost immediately by doubts. Because the series is still hanging out there taunting me. 

So I’m pretty excited that I wrote a book, using my usual process, but one that also highlights a bit more about the wider story that is still swirling out there in the mist. 

I know people who have multiple books completely plotted out and I wish I were one of them. The reason I’m not, when I write a detailed plot, my brain/Muse gets bored and won’t re-engage with the story. 

Every book I’ve written has begun with a fragment of an idea or bit of character. Some even started from a fragment of a dream. And somehow they end up as whole books. I’ve learned to trust my process even when it leaves me hanging over a dark and deep abyss for way too long. 

It’s how I roll—over and over down a hill and slam into walls and trees. 

So…I kind of lost the plot. Lol Oh yeah, why did I write Lost Valyr? Because my Muse made me do it. 

What’s it about? 

She’s a scientist in the wrong galaxy. He’s an alien in the wrong century. Can their love reset a terrifying future? If you like heart-pounding chemistry, ragtag bands of misfits, and action-packed space battles, then you’ll love Pauline Baird Jones’ rollicking romance. Tap here to preorder the book today! 

Perilously yours,

Pauline