First Editing Letter for Xtractors

I'm back! I've been hiding in the Creative Writing Cave for the last two and half months writing the first draft of a new sci-fi novel, Xtractors. At this time I can't give very much away, but it's a futuristic thriller and includes virtual reality, video games, drones,

Robots!

robots, self-driving cars, politics, super moguls, and dragons.

Dragons!

Wut?

Yep! Frigging dragons. How cool is that?

Okay, so when can we get our hands on this thang? Well, unfortunately, not for a while. The rough is just the rough, and I still need to edit the heck out of it. I was lucky enough to get to write a post for Touchstone Editing's blog about editing from the author's point of view. Besides my brilliant and stunning bride, Erin Rhew, Anya Kagan (who works for Touchstone) was the other editor for my novels 122 Rules and Birth of an American Gigolo.

For each of these books, Anya wrote me an initial editorial letter. So to kick off the Xtractor editing process, I decided to write myself one!

Wut the wut?

Yes! I figured I would try and get ahead of the process.

Okay, so what's in the letter? So far, it's a page and half of plot holes, plot development, character development, character motivations, conversations that came up short, and nuggets of information that I figured out later that need to be sprinkled in throughout the story.

Also, there are a ton of scientific notes.

Science!

I've always wondered about the brilliant minds, such as Erin's, that can build entire worlds. I cannot image being able to create people, religions, and lands. However, in this book, I found myself doing nearly that.

In future we have an entirely different set of problems. So I found myself which groups of people would protest and why? How would they would react to changing situations? What the shifting political winds would they whisper about? What would day-to-day life be like when technology has advanced by several decades?

Hint: It's

Anyway, I have another week to finish the editorial letter to myself, and then I begin filling in the pieces of the story. After that, months of rewriting and filling in the blanks will ensue.

The story is starting to take shape. I have the basic bones of it cleaned off, and now I'm off to keep on refining, molding, and shaping.

Look out world, here comes Xtractors!

Until next time, peeps. Adventure on!

Katie L. Carroll - Pirate Island Cover Reveal!

PIRATE ISLAND

by Katie L. Carroll (katielcarroll.com)

Cover Illustration by Susan Tait Porcaro (susantaitporcaro.com)

Coming October 2017!

PIRATE ISLAND blurb:

A thrice cursed island, a legendary pirate treasure, and one not-so-brave boy. What could possibly go wrong?

For centuries, the whereabouts of Captain William Kidd’s lost pirate treasure has remained a mystery. When Billy’s best friend, Andy, proposes they look for it on nearby Pirate Island, Billy thinks it’s just another one of their crazy adventures. It’s usually Billy who ends up in trouble as a result, but he goes along for the ride…like always. The more he delves into the life and death of Kidd, the more he thinks the treasure is real and that it might be buried on the small island in Long Island Sound. Billy—nope, call him William—becomes obsessed with the captain of the same first name. He even believes he’s possessed by Kidd’s restless soul. Now he and the spirit of a long-dead pirate are leading the crazy adventure on Pirate Island. And what they find is far bigger than the treasure they imagined.

About the Author:

Katie L. Carroll always says she began writing at a very sad time her life after her sister Kylene unexpectedly passed away. The truth is Katie has been writing her whole life, and it was only after Kylene’s death that she realized she wanted to pursue writing for kids and teens as a career. Since then writing has taken her to many wonderful places, real and imagined. She has had many jobs in her lifetime, including newspaper deliverer, hardware store cashier, physical therapy assistant, and puzzle magazine editor. She works from her home in Connecticut that is filled with the love and laughter of her sons and husband.

In addition to PIRATE ISLAND, Katie is the author of the YA fantasy ELIXIR BOUND. Find Katie on her website, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.