We’ve had a mild winter in Colorado! Spring is here already: The crocuses and daffodils in my garden are blooming, the days are getting longer, and I have a new novel growing in Scrivener.
Generally when I write, I try to stay focused on one novel, even when other ideas pop up (and they do — it seems like the more you write, the more ideas you get). But sometimes there’s an idea that comes along and grabs you so thoroughly that you can’t help but start writing it.
I had that moment about a month ago. My previous novel project had languished all throughout 2025, and while I had gotten back to work on it in 2026, I had lost some of the excitement for it — I was just doing the minimum on it every day to satisfy my to-do list task.
But this idea — basically a thoroughly steampunk retelling of Oz — grabbed me on February 14th. I wrote a little of it and decided I needed to read the original book (since all I knew of it was from the original movie and the Wicked movies). My retelling will be different, of course, but still very much a story for our times. I’m tentatively calling it The Last Automaton of Oz.
I’ve updated my TrackBear profile to display my current projects — this new one, the novel that I have on hold, and a short story I wrote a while back and need to revise. I also have (but didn’t include on my profile) the pair of suspense novels I wrote in 2024 that need a second draft, but that will be a big undertaking. For now I’m going to keep working on Oz since it feels the most timely.
It feels good to be excited about a project again. I don’t plan to let my unfinished novel project stay unfinished, but with everything going on in the world right now, I needed something that would be a more compelling competitor for my attention.