The Long Road to Power Inversion’s Publication
Once upon a time, I posted on this site at least once or twice a month, whether it was a book review, craft post, recipe, or something about teaching. Alas, it has been about six months since I posted any original content. A lot has happened since then.
The most exciting of all the things that have happened was that I had a book published. A year and a half after Power Surge was released, its sequel, Power Inversion, is finally out in the world. It happened months later than I expected, but after setbacks, tears, and hard work, it’s finally here.
Writing this book was a blast, but editing it was not. The story was so clear in my head while I was drafting that I just flew through it, but shaping it into something readers could enjoy proved more challenging.
When I thought the book had shaped up well, I sent it off to my publisher. After waiting for months, my publisher finally offered to contract for it. I thought that meant my revisions had been a success. However, after another six months passed, I got the book back from my editor, and realized that was not the case at all.
No. I had to do another major rewrite.
I usually have somewhat thick skin when it comes to feedback, but I hadn’t been expecting it this late in the process. It really blindsided me and shook my confidence.
And the timing was the worst. The edits came the day before I left for a convention. My students were turning in drafts of their essays, which I needed to turn around quick. The weekend after the convention, I went to New York City for a launch party for an anthology I had a story in.
Weeks passed before I had time to really process the amount of work the book needed, let alone get started.
Then COVID-19 exploded in my area and I found myself scrambling to switch my face-to-face classes to remote learning. I liked working from home, but switching the method of instruction mid semester was extremely time consuming.
Getting through that rewrite felt like it took forever, but eventually, I finished. I let it rest. I read through it again and sent it back. The second round, the copy edits, and the proof read all had very quick turn-around times.
Just when I thought the book was finally ready to come out, I learned that it wouldn’t be coming out in early June like I’d been told. The release had been pushed up to the end of the month.
Finally, on June 22, 2020, Power Inversion was published.
I’ve ordered my copies, but they haven’t come in, so it still doesn’t quite feel real. It probably won’t until I finally get to hold the paper in my hand.
Erin is just settling into their new life as a Demon hunter when José is literally snatched away by humongous Demon’s tentacles. On their journey to save him, Erin strengthens their relationship with their family while also finding out what lines they are willing to cross to save someone they love.