November 2019 – The Guild of Ornamental Hermits

Posted on November 24, 2019November 24, 2019 by Amy Marsh, EdD, DHS, CH, CI

The Witching Work Meets a Norse God

I completed my 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo and the first draft of The Witching Work of the Guild of Ornamental Hermits on Friday. This book is the second in my fantasy series. It’s a whimsical, queer-saturated book in the “urban fantasy” genre.

Today, I begin the second draft revision.

Lucky LaFey (the Norse god Loki in mortal disguise) is a leading character. You’ll meet him in the middle of his search for Vali (his long lost son who was turned into a wolf by the Aesir, and made to kill his brother Nali).

In addition to my plucky cast of human “Hermits” and outlier Elves who comprise the Guild of Ornamental Hermits, you’ll also meet Lucky’s seventeen witch daughters (called “troll women” in the lore–Loki gave birth after eating a sacrificed burnt woman’s heart); his part mortal/part elf/part Jotun son (with two biological dads–just ask me how!); a giant multi-dimension hopping salamander named Vesta who digs human architecture in a big way; the “Big Dipper”–a sinister Lake County CA guru; and Sigyn and Angrboda both make cameo appearances. Plus, the first book’s star villain, Anna Phylaxia, known as the “Martha Stewart of Kink” due to her line of BDSM-themed luxury housewares and linens, makes a comeback appearance. In the shadows, the lurking menace of U.S. government surveillance…

Thrill as Lucky (in his female-ish form of Lucia LaFey) battles the Big Dipper at a celebrity banquet by parodying his/her own Lokasenna. Sob as Lucky and his daughters uncover the nefarious doings of “the Dip.” And ponder as the human Hermits try to get a grip on what exactly their “witching work” is meant to be!

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Posted on November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 by Amy Marsh, EdD, DHS, CH, CI

50,000 Words/First Draft Complete

I did it. The first draft of The Witching Work of the Guild of Ornamental Hermits is now complete.

Posted on November 16, 2019 by Amy Marsh, EdD, DHS, CH, CI

NaNoWriMo 2019

This month, during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), The Witching Work of the Guild of Ornamental Hermits has gained 34,548 words so far, bringing the total word count for the first draft up past 80,000. I just paused at the end of Chapter 25, to do a little updating on this website. I have slightly over 15,000 words to write to meet the NaNoWriMo challenge of 50,000 words in one month.

I’m mindful that I need to wrap up this draft soon, before ending up with an unwieldy word count that no one agent will want to touch. Honestly, though, it’s too much fun to stop writing, so my plan is to wrap up the end and then get started on the first few pages of the third book, if I have to. Then, I’ll rewrite this first draft so that I get a polished second.

The Hermits and the Elves are tangling with yet another supernatural bad guy as they attempt to come to terms with a new setting for their adventures. And the changes are not over yet!