This was the most fun I’ve ever had writing a book. I banged out 137k in seven months AND edited while I was at it. Now it’s been a bit since a beta reader had something other to say than, “Wow! I love this!”

Barring changes down the line, I think I can call this one done.

Despite being my first adult fantasy, I can see where my earlier stories informed this one– It has a strong hero-heroine ‘partners in crime’ dynamic at its heart, just like The Magicians on Anise Street, and a road trip centered on siblings, just like Proverbs for the Forsaken. One of these siblings is a malevolent undead monster though. That’s new.

It feels frankly weird querying Proverbs at the same time as CQ. What I should’ve done was query Proverbs months ago, after betas helped me cut the word count down. But I didn’t, because CQ had me by the brainstem until I finished writing the last chapter.

There may very well be 0 agents who have interests encompassing “deconstruction of Christian fiction with a gay teen POV, inspired by a Guardian article” and “fae fantasy set in a modernish but supernatural world centered on an apocalyptic curse, the resulting malevolent jungle, and mind control.” I feel like I can safely assume no overlap and query these stories at the same time, separately. I will definitely write more things like both of them, and like Anise Street, in the future. Might as well hedge my bets.

Ngl, though, I’m really hoping both of them sell, for different reasons. Proverbs is topical, informed by current events. CQ, I’m not done with the characters– The draft was a duology that I decided would be better executed as a trilogy. If CQ sells, I’ll jump on writing the next one. If Proverbs sells, I have like three or four outlines ranging from MG to YA that I can slap on a burner. After writing a mammoth fantasy in less than a year, I have full confidence that I can finish a book with a more normal wordcount in no time flat.

So I’m not worried about next steps. Looking forward to it.