Happy Release Day to THE DAPPER DETECTIVE!
That's right! My newest book baby has just been unleashed upon the world and I'm so excited to share the second installment of this duology with you all! I hope you love it as much as I do!
Read THIS POST to find out more about the behind-the-scenes of writing this book.
Haven't read the first book? It's on sale for a limited time!
Happy Reading! ❤
THE DAPPTER DETECTIVE releases in one week (November 4)! I'm so excited to finally be able to share the sequel to THE DANDY MEDIUM with you all! This story has been a journey to write and it's so satisfying to finally see it being published and ready for the world.
I began writing THE DAPPER DETECTIVE at a time when my life vastly changed. Due to medical bills and *gestures widely at the economic state of things*, I went back to work full-time. As you can imagine, it's taken me quite a while (a year now) to find my optimum writing time with a fully packed life schedule. Especially, as someone who primarily feels like writing comes more naturally in the middle of the day (not very doable with a full-time job). Along with trying to optimize my schedule, I ended up facing more health challenges which slowed me down. The short version is that over the past year, I had COVID for two weeks and a mysterious illness for several months which turned out to be a distended gallbladder that I then had to have removed. Shortly after recovering from that, I switched jobs and had to have time to adjust to another schedule. All of this is to say that writing this book was a struggle, not because of the story but because life was just A LOT. But then again, when is it not? Even though it took me much longer to finish this story than I would have liked, I'm extremely proud of how it turned out. And although it took me a full year, I finally feel as though I'm finding a good writing groove again and I'm looking forward to creating more stories!
THE DAPPER DETECTIVE picks up shortly after the events of THE DANDY MEDIUM. Alfie and Sebastian have been working together on cases for months and Alfie has realized that he's ready to make the permanent change from working out of Madame Violetta's psychic shop to being a full-time consulting medium in Sebastian's department. But leaving the Night District doesn't wind up being the positive change he's hoping it will be.
Supernaturals begin to go missing and Francis, the lead vampire of the Crimson Bat Society, reaches out to a reluctant Alfie for help in solving the disappearances.
In this second installment, we dive deeper into the world of Nott Haven's vampires, werewolves, and the founding families' secrets. Alfie and Sebastian must fight their way through cemetery brawls, vampiric curses, betrayal, and the effects of a rare magic mushroom.
As with every story, one of my favorite parts of the writing process is immersing myself in inspiring imagery and music. These curated pictures and songs are a reflection of the characters I've developed and the scenes I've crafted. Feel free to enjoy diving into my inspo board and playlist!
INSPIRATION BOARD on Pinterest
What's Next?
The first question I get with any book release is always: "When does the next one come out?" ๐
Well, the next book in line to release is actually the follow-up to the Dreampunk anthology, MIRRORMAZE. The second anthology, SOMNISCOPE, is set to be released by early 2024. I have a short story included titled, Looped. If you like surrealism and psychiatric ward settings, then be sure to grab a copy once preorders go up! I'll keep you updated.
As for my Nott Haven books, I'd originally planned for this to be a duology. And it, quite possibly, will stay as that. However, while this book doesn't end on a cliffhanger, it does end with a lingering sense that things aren't over; and the Nott Haven world has proven to be so rich in characters and possibilities that I'm considering revisiting it at some point. I don't know if it would be more Alfie/Sebastian stories or spin-off stories set in the same town but featuring other characters (I'd love to write from Roxie and Bernard's perspectives at some point). There's hope for more, but they're down the list in terms of priority of projects for the time being.
My next writing project, which I'm currently outlining and world-building, is a new LGBTQ Dreampunk series! If you enjoyed my ROAM series then you'll probably love this one too. I haven't decided if it will be set in the ROAMverse or if it will completely be its own thing; still ruminating on that. I like the idea that cameos could happen, but I also see the value in starting fresh. I'll share more as that project moves along!
To keep up with my writing projects, please follow me on Instagram or Facebook as I'm most active on those two platforms.
As always, thank you for your continued enthusiasm and support! Being able to share the characters and worlds I create with other people who love them as much as I do is the best gift and keeps me motivated to keep imagining exciting new stories! I hope you all enjoy THE DAPPER DETECTIVE!
Your Friend in Words,
❤ Dez
Cover + Blurb Reveal
I had intended to post a Camp NaNoWriMo update halfway through the month and then got too busy and forgot! But we're nearing the end now and I'm here to report that I've made it halfway through my developmental edits of The Dapper Detective! This means I'm right on track to where I'd hoped to be at this point.
My goal is to now finish up the rest of the dev edits over the next two weeks and then I can begin a short round of, what I like to call, "Atmospheric Edits". This is where I go through the manuscript and make sure to sprinkle in descriptions that help maintain the atmosphere/vibe of the story throughout. I've actually done pretty well with this in the manuscript so far, so that should only take a few short writing sessions and then I'll be on to line edits.
One of my favorite parts of revisions/edits is coming across lines I've written but forgotten about and feeling as though the characters took on a life of their own and wrote them themselves. Here's one of my favorites from this story:
Have a great week and Happy Reading!
❤ Dez
I've been hard at work on The Dapper Detective (the sequel to The Dandy Medium)! It's coming along, I assure you! Out of all the books I've written, this one has taken me the longest to write. Partly, because I had some health issues slow me down. And partly, because I just want to make sure everything about it is as close to perfect as possible. I know you can never make a story perfect, but I have a vision for this one and where it might possibly lead in the future and I just want to make sure I get it right.
I'm currently working through the second draft (over halfway through it) and I already know I'll probably add several scenes before I call it complete and begin the editing process. I hate to attach deadlines/timelines to creative projects, especially knowing how quickly a health issue can throw you off course; so I won't give any solid release date yet but I will say that I'd love to have this out to you by October/November. I am certainly working very hard to try and make that happen!
Here's what you can expect:
๐ฉ Alfie & Sebastian return for another murder mystery!
๐ฆ The Crimson Bat Society takes a leading role!
๐ A deeper dive into the lore of the Nรณtt Haven world!
๐ Woodland Magic!
Another thing in the works is SOMNISCOPE: A Dreampunk Convergence, the anthology sequel to MIRRORMAZE. I have a short story entitled, Looped, which will be featured. You can see the full list of contributing authors HERE. Release date is TBD, but hoping for a late 2023 / early 2024 publication.
If you'd like to catch up on this anthology series, you can read my short story Thatcher Maugden and the Dream Witch in MIRRORMAZE.
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Future Projects
Once I complete The Dapper Detective, I have several other projects I'm considering. It'll depend on my mood at the time; but in the future, you can look forward to these projects:
- The Dead Oaks: Omnibus
- A new Dreampunk series
- A Nรณtt Haven Spin-Off
There are other, more abstract at the moment, stories I would love to write as well. I really want to get some other LGBTQ books out there that aren't just M/M. I have few series ideas for F/F stories and I'm also tempted to test the waters of releasing a Kindle Vella series as well.
So, as you can see, I'm not lacking in ideas! Just the time to execute them all. ๐
Until then, if you haven't had a chance to read The Dandy Medium, it's available on Amazon!
Happy Reading!
❤ Dez
I hope you all had a very happy Halloween/Samhain! Salem loved the pumpkins but wasn't as big of a fan of the trick-or-treaters. ๐น We had a decent amount come by (though, surprisingly only one Eddie Munson!) but still ended up with three bags of candy left over, so we're all set on treats for the rest of the year.
This week also kicked off National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)! If you subscribe to my newsletter or saw my last blog post then you already know that this NaNoWriMo I'm working on the sequel to THE DANDY MEDIUM which is titled THE DAPPER DETECTIVE. It's MM Gaslamp Fantasy and will complete the Duology. Although, I do have plans to write other books in the future within the same universe.
I'm also participating in the #LGBTQWriMo tag on Twitter. However, seeing as Twitter is in a bad place at the moment and its future is unsure, I would love it if you would follow me on other platforms so we can stay connected. You can find me on: Instagram, Facebook, and this blog! ๐ค
This first week of NaNoWriMo went well overall thanks in large part to the fact that I had already started early and entered the month with 12K on this project. I was only able to write 3 of the first 5 days since I'm also now working a full-time job and my personal life was very busy. I don't imagine that changing over the rest of the month. In fact, I expect it will only become busier; so I'm not going to be too hard on myself if I can't make time to write every single day. I'm just glad to finally be making some good progress on this story and I'm looking forward to sharing more with you all about it!
I hope you all have a great weekend and here's looking forward to more words written for NaNoWriMo week two!
Thanks for reading!
๐ Dez
