Behind the scenes drafting Emily Wilde Book 5

Happy July! I hope you’re all enjoying a restful summer (or winter, for those down south) so far. As I mentioned in my previous newsletter, my summer will be all about the Emily Wilde Book 5 draft, so I thought I’d do a bit of a behind-the-scenes post for those curious about the next two Emily books.

I just announced a new short story I’ve written for Amazon’s Magic & Mystery collection, out July 28th. It’s called “A Labyrinth of Honeybees,” and it’s a very summery, very pagan fantasy/mystery that is cozy-ish, I’d say, while still containing a decent amount of murder (also bees). I love the mystery genre and had fun dipping my toes into it myself for the first time, albeit within the comfort of a fantasy setting. For those wondering, “Honeybees” is its own world and not connected to any stories I’ve written previously.

You can click here to preorder the story or the entire collection (which features some of my favourite authors!)

In addition to “A Labyrinth of Honeybees,” I have a few other things up for preorder:

There’s Wondrous, my cozy YA fantasy sequel to Alice in Wonderland, out in October (B&N exclusive edition here).

There’s the beautiful special edition of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, out in September.

AND there’s the fourth Emily Wilde book, Emily Wilde’s History of Dark Faerie, out in January 2027. (How is that only six months away??)

In other words, it’s a busy few months for me, release-wise!

I’m going to be taking August off from the newsletter so that I can focus on writing. September will be an Ask Me Anything issue, so to that end, please send me your questions about my books, writing routine, writing advice, publishing or career questions, reading recommendations, etc. etc. You can put them in the comments below or email them to authorheatherfawcett@gmail.com (ideally put “newsletter” in the subject so I can find them easily.)

Thank you, and I look forward to reading them!

Book 5: how it’s going

I finished my outline for Emily 5 back in the spring and have been drafting ever since. Usually I aim for a certain word count each day (1-2k words, depending on other tasks I have). I don’t write every day, but I do write most days. I find that taking time off is important for my process, as is reading on my days off, to rest and refill the creative well.

I am still writing in coffee shops. Ideally with a croissant, one of the most perfect foods.

I’ve also discovered the benefits of running away from home for a little while and getting a hotel room somewhere so that I can focus solely on drafting. I took a short trip to Banff in May and got SO MUCH writing done. It’s amazing what being away from your usual distractions can do for your concentration. Needless to say, this is something I will do again in the future.

Also, the view from my balcony was pretty inspiring.

I initially had trouble thinking about how to write about my progress with this book, because to be completely honest, it’s just going well! The world of Emily Wilde is one that I’m fairly familiar with at this point (as you’d expect, nearly half a million words later) and I know the characters inside and out. In some ways, writing a new Emily book is like travelling to a city I’ve visited numerous times. Some buildings may have changed, and I might not take the same routes I did last time, but I know how to get around.

That doesn’t mean each book is entirely smooth sailing, of course.

Some (very mild) spoilers to follow.

If I’m wrestling with anything, it’s the characters. Not figuring out who they are and what they’re up to, but who should be part of this particular adventure. For instance, I felt like we didn’t see enough of Orga in Book 4, and thus I’m currently planning for her to play a larger role in Book 5 (coming off of Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter, I think I just want cats everywhere).

However, at this point in the series, I’ve accumulated quite a few characters that I find interesting and to whom I’d like to ascribe larger roles. So part of the struggle is coming to terms with the fact that some readers might be disappointed that certain characters don’t appear in Book 5 (or they’re in Book 5, but not Book 4, etc).

This is because I don’t want the Emily books to be doorstoppers, which they absolutely would be if I included subplots for every character I’ve introduced thus far. I want each book in the series to feel focused on the particular faerie mystery at hand, and to feel a bit like its own folktale, which, as weird and inexplicable as folktales can be, are also quite focused, pacey, and concise.

I also want Emily to remain the focus, and giving roles to a lot of characters in each book means less page time for her journey (and Wendell’s too!) (This is not to say that NO side characters make appearances in Books 4 and 5. Just that I’m selective.)

So, keeping the story within the boundaries of the rough shape I have in mind is going to be one of the main things I wrestle with as I work my way through the draft.

I also don’t have a title for Book 5 yet, but I’m hoping that will come to me over the summer! For now it’s just “Book 5.”

Q&A

I answer reader-submitted questions at the end of each newsletter; you can email yours to authorheatherfawcett@gmail.com or leave it in the comments.

Q: To someone who's interested in writing middle-grade without having professionally written before, and isn't sure where to start, what advice would you offer? How do you shape your stories to connect with that age level specifically?

A: First of all, it’s great that you’re interested in writing middle grade! The world needs more compelling books for young readers, not fewer.

My advice is fairly simple: in order to write middle grade, you yourself have to love the category. So I would start by reading every middle grade book you can get your hands on. People will usually recommend that you read books published within the last five years, but I find it’s also useful to read the classics to get a sense of the history of a genre/category. I’d also recommend reading diversely—different genres but also books that had different levels of success.

In terms of connecting with younger readers, I have an older post about writing across age categories that may be helpful.

Q: Do you know if (a particular book box) will do a release of the new additions to Emily Wilde to match the first three?

A: I really wish I could answer this one—I’ve had a few questions about different book boxes—but unfortunately I’m not able to announce special editions of the next two Emily Wilde books until I get the go-ahead. You can follow me on Instagram; announcements of this type will appear there first.

What I’m reading

As a Tolkien nerd, I enjoyed Humphrey Carpenter’s J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, which was not only one of the most engaging biographies I’ve read but told me a lot about Tolkien’s life and inspiration that I didn’t already know. I also enjoyed The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed, a literary dystopian novella.

I’m also currently on a quest to read more classic fantasy from the twentieth century; the narrative structure is so different from modern fantasy, and I really enjoy that. To that end, I re-read The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin (the audiobook is particularly good as it’s narrated by Rob Inglis) and Watchtower by Elizabeth A. Lynn.