Well, sort of. Though I do enjoy this YouTube channel. But I’m working on a project I’ve named for this. It might be procrastination (ok, it’s probably procrastination) and avoidance of the topic of what exactly I should do with the Witch Novel (it’s definitely that), but I figured it might as well try to create the basics of modern publishing. I’ve been working on a synopsis, jacket copy, and – most terrifying – comparison titles.

The synopsis was mostly a matter of cutting and cutting until I got it down under 1,000 words. The jacket copy was fun. I’ve written the jacket copy for all my novels, and I used to do freelance copywriting, so I enjoy that part.

The comparison titles/authors are another thing all together. The online advice is to keep these to recent books/authors, which effectively elements the two writers who have the biggest influence on the book. In a perfect world, they’d let me use Patricia McKillip and Tanith Lee, but while both of them are influential, neither are recent, and both of them are dead. So I’ve been making lists of possible comparisons, trying not to have my automatic reaction be either “but I’m not worthy” or “it’s not quite what I’m doing”. I’ve been having about as much success at this as I’ve had at coming up with the title.

So if anyone has any ideas, please weigh in. In the meantime, here’s my pass at jacket copy.

A girl on a cold seaside hill, sentenced to be hung as a witch

A girl in a sunlight southern garden, making magic from numbers

A girl in a gilded city, picking the wrong pocket

Erzabet. Leontine. Vedette. Three women linked by the consequences of one spell. 

In the Kingdom of Varenne, all magicians serve the crown. The Council Magica will rescue Erzabet from the gallows and train Leontine in its university, eventually raising each of them to the heights of power as Royal Magician.

Erzabet, driven by ambition and bitterness, pursues all that power can give her. Leontine, whose magic is music and mathematics, flees from the terrible prophecy that it shows her. Vedette possesses a gift that will make her a weapon against it.

But power has its price…

Flight offers no redemption …

And a weapon can cut two ways.

The magic meant to counter one threat unleashes another and sets the three women on a path of betrayal and vengeance across a sweep of years through a rich and compelling world.