R.F. Gammon Author: October 2024

Know the Novel: Both My WIPs

by R.F. Gammon - October 15, 2024

HELLO it is that time of year again! I am not participating in FicFrenzy this year (because I have an insane amount of stuff happening in October/November) and I am not participating in NaNoWriMo this year (because MY GOSH who needs NaNo? Who LIKES NaNo? I'm literally so over NaNo. Gonna write a breakup song about how NaNo broke my heart), but I'm still doing tons of writing (to procrastinate all the stuff happening in October/November!) so I wanted to jump on the Know the Novel tag!

This tag is originated and maintained by the immaculate Christine Smith and if you don't follow her...what are you doing with your life? Go read about her amazing sounding book and more.

Anyway, today we have not one but TWO WIPs to discuss because I am an over achiever and cannot sit still. Let's talk my two current novels!

Pentegreens Book 1: The King's Daughter

WIP Known only as: Trucker

1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?

TKD: This WIP is so old that I couldn't even tell you at this point. It's been kicking around in my brain in some form or fashion since I was 6 years old. That thing is older than some of my readers at this point. I don't know where it came from, but at this point: I'm writing the non-toxic romance we all need to see in this Booktok world.

Trucker: A combination of my fascination with long-term nuclear waste storage, my visit to Washington State and the North Cascades, and my constant inability to not write complex and painful brother-sister relationships

2. Share a blurb (or just an overall summary)!

TKD: Six months of war have brought the enemy to Princess Esma Pentegreen's very city. The revelation that the mysterious Lord Dauthang has been hunting her down all along is bad enough, but then the enemy general's son appears in her father's throne room, begging for amnesty. They can't trust him. Esma knows she can't trust him. But as her family begins to fall under the weight of war and the enemy draws closer, she begins to wonder: could he be less of a monster than she'd imagined? Or is he just another enemy?

Trucker: Tyler hauls vegetables from Canada to Seattle in the aftermath of nuclear war. His sister, Sienna, defends their town from looters and enemies. But when Sienna's ex, Franco, shows up to warn them that his definitely evil father is trying to take over the supply chain, things go dicey.

3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects of the setting?

TKD: This book in the series takes place almost entirely in Esma's capital city of Misue and the surrounding forests. It's a lot like Minas Tirith, but as the years have gone by, I've really worked to try to make this place more of its own unique setting and not just Middle Earth. What that leads to? A whole heck of a lot of industry. Also a military encampment in the middle of the woods.

Trucker: This is set entirely in the northernmost part of the Pacific Northwest. I fell in love with this area when I visited and I cannot wait to go back. The tallest mountains in the Lower 48 and tiny towns nestled among them? Mountains literally named Mt. Tribulation and Mt. Damnation? I love this setting and it is one of the most surreal real-world places I've ever been.

4. Tell us about your protagonist(s).

TKD: Princess Esma Pentegreen is our main character. She's a shy but determined girl who is determined to see justice and who loves good and beautiful things. Her entire thing is trying to stop a war by understanding the other side, and her heart is so full of love for everyone around her.

Trucker: We have two in this one, Tyler Harris and Sienna Harris. Tyler is a happy-go-lucky mountain man who's prepared for anything, because he knows what happened last time he wasn't. Sienna is a tough-as-nails sharpshooter who cannot feel any emotions or love or anything else, because she knows what happened last time.

5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?

In both books: the MMC's evil dad!

TKD: There is a real series villain, Lord Dauthang, who the DnDers would probably call the BBEG. But in book 1, he's entirely offscreen and behind the scenes. In TKD, the real villain is Burashna Woods, general of Dauthang's army and governor (read: king) of Esma's neighboring nation, Venaria. He's made a deal with Dauthang for nefarious reasons (vengeance and power), and he's ready to do whatever it takes to get what he perceives as justice...and to protect his family from the Pentegreens at any and all costs.

Trucker: The villain is Peter Bismark. Sienna was in a relationship with his son, Franco, until Franco started working for him. Sienna still blames Peter for killing her dad. For years, Peter has had a rival trucking and logistics business, which Sienna's father never saw as a big deal...until Peter started caring less about the money and more about gaining power in a nuclear apocalypse. Now everyone has concerns.

6. What excites you the most about this novel?

TKD: I feel like I've finally unlocked the story and I'm so excited to finish this draft, edit it, and start PITCHING IT EEP

Trucker: I've never written apocalyptic before, but it's so fun and also I'm in love with my prose so far

7. Is this going to be a series? standalone? something else?

TKD: First of a series of four, plus two prequel novellas

Trucker: currently standalone

8. Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?

TKD: the whole book is already written and this is just a scene by scene rewrite, so...plotting I guess?

Trucker: PANTSING BABY WHO NEEDS A CONCLUSION

9. Name a few unique elements in this story.

TKD: fire and ice motifs! Extremely slow burn to the point where you're concerned that they'll never actually 'fess up! Multiple villains! Soft, kind female protagonist who never actually stops being soft and kind!

Trucker: long-term nuclear waste storage! Magical realism in the apocalypse! Folklore!

10. Share some fun “extras” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!).

Since I'm already writing both of these: How about a couple of snippets from each?

TKD snippets:

Esma looked up into her mother’s eyes and saw the flames still dancing there. Mama had not given up.

She couldn’t either.

“I’m so weak,” she whispered before she could stop herself. “And I’m so afraid. I’m useless and hopeless and—”

“None of that is true, my love.” Mama ran her fingers through Esma’s hair. “You are not hopeless. Your hope is the fire that burns in your heart and it keeps all of us looking up. You always, always point to the Mighty One. You find something bright. You grit your teeth and you keep going.” She placed both hands on Esma’s shoulder, and the warmth in her fingers dispelled the cold entirely. Esma let out a sigh of relief in the sudden heat. “You don’t have to fight. Letting your eyes stay on the stars and your hands stay full of warmth? That’s enough. That’s all you need to do. It makes you strong.”

A sob choked from Esma and she fell forward. Mama sank to her knees before Esma’s chair and pulled her into her arms. Her shoulder was so soft against Esma’s cheek.

The murmur of Mama’s words filled her ears, like a lullaby from beyond the sky, from the Mighty One himself.

“Listen to me, my daughter. You are not a failure. You are my brave, beautiful girl. You are the most precious thing in my life, and if I lost you, I would tear the world apart to get you back. I will never let you go. I love you more than you can ever even imagine. You are my strong, strong daughter and you are enough.”

There, in the safety of her mother’s arms, Esma could finally let the tears fall fast and thick and free.

There were eyes on Rishatta. He could feel their weight, their judgment, their questions. He had always been the camp enigma, the one no one understood. He was the general’s son, a man without a rank, unwilling to fight, unwilling to stand down. His father was the most powerful man in Venaria, and all he had was a thin chill. He loved Venaria. He loved his people, his nation. He was a living scandal. He had never belonged. He had never found somewhere he wanted to belong.

Trucker:

Donna shook her head. “It’s funny. You know Yellowstone?”

Sienna nodded. When she was a kid, Mom and Dad had taken them there on a road trip. At the age of six, she’d done nothing but complain about how long the car ride was. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, she just wished she could get back in that car and see them again. This time, she’d do it right. This time, she wouldn’t take it for granted.

“When I was small, I heard about how if Yellowstone erupted, it would kill us all. It would be the worst possible natural disaster. And Mami used to take no end about Krakatoa and the ashfall from that, and how it made the sun go black. People remember volcanoes forever.”

Sienna tried to smile but couldn’t find it in herself. “I try not to.”

“I was so afraid that there would be a natural disaster, back in the day. So scared that Yellowstone would blow up and kill us all with ash.” Donna shook her head. “Who’d have thought that humans could do that ourselves?”

“We’ve always been capable of destruction far beyond our greatest dreams. It’s just that people decided to think past their dreams. They made it reality.”

The Keeper did not blink. He did not move. Tyler had never, in all of his years, seen the Keeper blink. He stood motionless as stone, staring at the mountains like he belonged to them. Perhaps he did. Perhaps he was a spirit, just like the mountains.

His boots, pure new leather, creaked as he took a step toward Tyler.

Tyler gulped and backed up.

“They call it the Blast,” the Keeper whispered, his voice echoing through the canyon, even louder than the rushing water below. “But it was far more than that. The trees, the earth, the fields…they will all die, Tyler Harris. They will burn, and no one will stop this.”

Roaring sounded behind them. Tyler’s stomach turned to ice. The biker gang? The ruffians who would simply not leave him alone?

The icy air bit into his neck. It was too early in the year for heavy snowfall, but he had to hurry. Perhaps the prickling on his neck was just his fear, but he knew better. Fear would be easy. Snow was far harder. “I have the coin,” he said, trying not to rush, because everyone knew better than to rush the Keeper. “Let me get it, and I will pay passage and cross.”

“You must not let this place perish,” the Keeper whispered. “They warned of thousands of years of fallout. They warned about all of the darkness stored below, of the things no one has ever seen. But they do not know anything. There is far more below.” He raised his hand to the waterfall.

Tyler’s skin was ice, far more than the air. “What are you saying?” he hissed.

“This place,” the Keeper whispered, “is not a place of honor.”

Ice. It was creeping down Tyler’s neck, drowning him, gripping his throat with fear. The words were familiar, somehow, hidden somewhere in the back of his mind like he could think of something, anything, that he’d heard before—

So anyway that's my WIPs! What are you all working on? Which of this stories intrigues you more? Chat with me in the comments!

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Know the Novel: Both My WIPs

1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?

2. Share a blurb (or just an overall summary)!

3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects of the setting?

4. Tell us about your protagonist(s).

5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?

6. What excites you the most about this novel?

7. Is this going to be a series? standalone? something else?

8. Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?

9. Name a few unique elements in this story.

10. Share some fun “extras” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!).

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