Guess who’s doing Camp NaNo next month? *flails hand wildly in the air* And I am EXCITED!

Confession: I’ve only done an official Camp NaNo once. And it was back in APRIL 2014. Yeah. YEAH. It’s been a whiiiile. NaNoWriMo during November is LIFE, but I always end up with other things distracting me during the Camp seasons. Well, NOT SO THIS YEAR, GOOD SIR. This go ‘round I’m doing it! …Sorta.

Since Camp NaNo is tailored to fit ANY sort of project, not just the first draft of a brand new novel, it’s great motivation to make a lot of progress on any project we’re working on. WELL. I just happen to be at the beginning of a big rewriting project, so why not use Camp NaNo to give me a good motivational boost?

Sooo (pretending the title of this post didn’t totally give it away), for camp I’ll be working on draft 2 of…

THE NETHER ISLE

I mentioned back in my Goals of 2020 post that my Big Project for this year was TNI rewrites. And, AT LAST, I have started them! I’m not far in yet, but there was a lot of pre-editing prep to be done and HEY. Camp NaNo should push me through a good ways. I don’t want to rush this ‘cause this book needs WORK and I just want to enjoy the process (cuz I actually like editing????). But a little goal on Camp and the amazing support of fellow Wrimos should help me make some good progress.

I’m hoping to edit 10 to 12 chapters in April. More would be better, but we’ll just have to see. Either way, IT’S GONNA BE FUN. This is truly one of my most beloved stories. It’s kinda different from most of my other works, has the smallest cast I’ve ever written (!!!), and a camera that takes pictures of the past. So there’s that. I just love this novel and am so very ecstatic to whip it into shape (‘cause it’s a MESS, guys).

This was the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo ‘17, and I really haven’t talked about it much since then. SO. Since it’ll be taking up much of my time in April, I thought it’d be fun to reintroduce it to the blog with a little aesthetics post. Hopefully it’ll be fun? Yeah? Maybe?  OKAY. LET’S DO IT.

THE NETHER ISLE

ABOUT THE STORY

The Nether Isle—a mystery, a danger. And a prison.

Seventeen-year-old Karis Levine had only ever heard stories of the infamous island where the most savage of criminals are taken. Never in her life did she suspect she’d be flying on a prisoner airship, doomed to live the rest of her days on the island herself. What few days she has left. For the Nether Isle is not a kind one.

The moment Karis is dropped from her cage into the Isle’s clutches, she is swept up in all its oddities—from doorways that transport a person to different sections of the island, to ruins of a formerly thriving town, to items imbued with magic, to a redheaded phantom girl. Then there is Jonah, a young man who doesn’t appear savage at all. With his help, she might just be able to stay alive.

But why does the Isle exist at all? And who once lived in such a place?

With the aid of a magic camera that produces pictures from the past, Karis and Jonah work together to discover the riddles of the Isle’s forgotten days. But the closer they get to answers, the more Karis begins to question everything—including Jonah.

Because on The Nether Isle, nothing is safe.

The Nether Isle is a YA fantasy (duh, this is me we’re talking about) and it’s STEAMPUNK. But not Victorian steampunk. Instead it’s set in a more 1920s world, so the technology is a smidge more advanced.

The story follows Karis, a 17-year-old who apprenticed to the physician in the High City of the continent of Ilderwind. Until she got sentenced to the Nether Isle—the place where only the worst criminals go. So why did this bubbly, 17-year-old get sent there? That is the question. *smile, smile*

The Nether Isle itself is thought to just be a wilderness land, full of beasts of prey and deadly prisoners who’ve managed to survive. Except when Karis gets there it’s practically empty and OH LOOK there’s a small, abandoned town full of technological breakthroughs. Maybe MAGICAL technological breakthroughs? HMMMM.

Then of course, since this is YA, she runs into a boy her age, Jonah, who’s also stuck on the island. But why is THIS cinnamon roll of a person on the prison island? MORE QUESTIONS.

When Karis starts being haunted by a phantom girl and finds a camera that can literally show images from the past, she and Jonah work together to discover the mysteries of the Isle.

(Don’t you just love my professional, coherent pitching skills???)

SO YEAH. It’s part mystery, part steampunk, part fantasy, with plenty of creepy things and feels along the way. And hopefully more coming. I feel like the first draft did not convey the creep and feels factor nearly as much as I meant them to. Literally most of my editing notes are just “MORE FEAR. MORE HORROR. E M O T I O N.” True story. It’s gonna be fun really bringing out the feels. *maniacal laughter*

But seriously. I love this story. I love these characters, I love the setting, I love the mystery and the eerie, magical isle. It’s going to be wonderful to have an actually polished version of this! I wrote the whole 117k of it in a 30 day haze so, um, yeah. Basically every. single. word. needs to be rewritten. But it’ll be a labor of love!

THE AESTHETICS

Gnarled trees | abandoned buildings | twisting vines | crunching leaves | morning sunlight filtering through the hazy woods | creaking cages | the soft breeze | lost things | found things | old cogs and screws | rippling water | butterflies | secrets | dusty books | rusty fire escapes | quiet tears | moss on old cracked steps | whispers in the night | photographs | dark truths | old diaries | loyalty | friendship | seeking purpose wherever you are

KARIS

ENFP | bright smiles | sunshine | lost | so much energy | family always comes first | laughs at inappropriate times | fun > safe | easier to pin down a cloud | distracted | creative | nonsense is way more fun than logic | searching for purpose | explosions are also fun | the more the merrier | scared of an empty life

JONAH

ISFJ | quiet and thoughtful | a hidden inner strength | so soft | awkward silence | reading beats sleeping | button down shirts and rolled up sleeves | actual nerd | fiercely protective | let’s think before we act | sorry is a default word | needs things to make sense | quiet heart-to-hearts | hidden smiles | must find answers | way too many secrets

PLAYLIST

SPOTIFY LINK

YOUTUBE LINK

(WordPress was being weird about embedding the Spotify playlist so we’re gonna have to go with links. Also, yes, I made the exact same playlist on Spotify and YouTube. Sometimes it’s easier to listen to one place or the other for me.)

I am quite in love with this little playlist. Still adding to it here and there, but these songs work so well for the story. It’s a very different sounding playlist for me. Somehow songs from The Host work best for it? Even though they’re not even the same genre??? I’ve never even SEEN The Host (or really care to) but, man, the OST is beautiful. Soft strings and ethereal eeriness—exactly the musical aesthetic of my novel.

PINTEREST BOARD & FANART

Of course I’ve got a pinterest board.

ALSO. My absolutely amazing friend Christine Eyre surprised me with some art inspired by snippets I shared back when I was first writing this. Just look at these gorgeous things!

Karis on her way to the Nether Isle.

Ruins on the Isle.

One of the “Doorways” that may or may not be portals…

Representing a rainy library scene. And possibly my favorite of the set. <3

A common sight on the Isle.

Aren’t they so beautiful? They definitely keep my motivated. <3

A FEW RANDOM FACTS

• Back when I first starting getting ideas for this story I had the thought that it could possibly be a Peter Pan retelling with the whole magical island thing. That idea lasted for all of five minutes. Though I suppose the faintest of Peter Pan threads can be found within.

• This story actually has functioning family groups. Like…living, nice parents. CRAZY, I KNOW.

• Karis has literally no survival/fighting skills whatsoever so that’s fun.

• Also this is not a romance-centric story. (Oooh, look at all these YA tropes being broken.)

• A big theme focuses on how everyone, absolutely everyone, has a purpose in life, but sometimes you have to seek it out.

• There is a whole long, library scene that’s like my favorite section of the book.

• JK. My favorite section is the darkest, most painful section. Did someone say Dark Night of the Soul? Mmmm yes. (Why am I this way?)

• I wasn’t kidding when I mentioned Karis liking explosions. That’s a big part of the book and it amuses me endlessly.

• There’s like 4 different mysteries going on. It’s a great time.

• Nighttime is a Very Dangerous. But that’s all I’m saying about that. *secret smile*

• I need to stop before I give away spoilers.

So there we have it! Some totally random, vague tidbits about my child. Hopefully it’ll behave itself as I whip it into shape for the next little while. I’ve got the first couple of chapters rewritten already, and so far the rewriting is going really well. Here’s hoping it’ll continue!

Camp NaNo literally starts day after tomorrow, guys! AAAAHHHH!!! We got this!

LET’S TALK!

First things first, who’s doing Camp NaNo??? If you are, what are YOU working on? I want to know all the things! Also, I’d love to buddy you over there if I haven’t already! (Here’s my profile.) What do you think of The Nether Isle? Does it sound like something you’d like to read one day? Anything else you’d like to know about it (within reason)?