My NaNoWriMo project

Coming attractions

Last week marked the bookversary of my novel Amiga. But when you’re a writer, you can’t just rest on a single book. The way to build readership is to offer more books. Fortunately, I have some good news about upcoming novels and learned about a new independent bookstore in my area.

An Amiga live reading

But first, you have a chance to listen to a live reading from my novel Amiga and works by other authors and poets. Join the One True Promotion Live Reading show on Instagram on Tuesday, December 8 from 8:00–11:00 pm US Eastern Time (0100–0400 UTC). Updated: The Amiga reading by Alec Pangia should be around 10:20 pm Eastern (0320 UTC).

My next published novel

I’m happy to announce my second novel to be published by Black Rose Writing. The Remainders is the second of my Reseda series, and it is coming out in September 2021. Here’s the trailer:

The Remainders tells the story of a homeless son and his troubled father. Dylan Glass is thrown out of his mother and stepfather’s palatial home in Dana Point and finds himself sleeping in his SUV behind the Reseda Theater. His father, Oliver Glass, is a doctor with a troubled past who seeks to build a new relationship with a fellow doctor and her two sons. Both father and son must struggle with past demons and reconnect before it is too late.

Look for more information about The Remainders coming soon.

My NaNoWriMo project

I won NaNoWriMo this year, but by winning, I mean I have the first 50,000 words of a first draft. As I said when I won NaNoWriMo in 2016 (with the novel that became Amiga), just getting started is a win.

So how is Haunted shaping up so far? I have the basic story together, and it has taken me in unexpected directions. I shipped couples I didn’t expect to ship. I also found myself crying at parts in the story. There is one scene where a character gets off her chest a lot of things I’ve been feeling about the pandemic and the general state of the world.

There was one scene I wrote today that chilled me. I’m setting the book when I expect it to be completed in October 2021, and I had a character talk about how she sees the world after the pandemic. Since we’re not in this world yet, I had to make some guesses about what it would be like. This included a placeholder of how many people might have died by then. I pray that I overestimated.

For us in the 2020s, as we deal with the aftermath of violence and a pandemic that killed nearly a half a million Americans, Christina’s story becomes more important. Each person who lost their lives deserves to have their stories told. 

I plan to finish a draft as part of Fun A Day Reseda in January. I will be looking for beta readers after that.

A new independent bookstore in Orange County

The pandemic has devastated small businesses, including independent bookstores that had been going through a revival. I was happy to see a new independent bookstore open not far from where I live in Orange County, California. Arvida Book Company opened in Tustin, and they were recently profiled in the Orange County Register.

Wherever you live, please support your local businesses and follow your area’s COVID safety guidelines.

Here’s wishing all of you a safe and happy holiday season.