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SHANNON MUIR’S THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF!

BEYOND THE SHELF is general commentary about the blog or the mystery and crime writing business by author and site administrator Shannon Muir that doesn’t fall in the scope of a regular column. The topic today focuses on Shannon’s decision to try NaNoWriMo again after a five year hiatus.

When I left doing NaNoWriMo after a successful ten year streak (I did also try two Camp NaNoWriMos in there, but found that setting my own goals in isolation actually didn’t work for me), I truthfully felt burned out on doing it. Not long after, I became unemployed for a long stretch, during which I used my NaNoWriMo writings to learn the process of e-publishing. However, being without any income or a network of friends, the two things I didn’t do were hire editors or have beta readers. This has come to bite me over the years, as I had to spend a couple years issuing revised versions for things I’ve missed, and pulling some versions and reissuing them in other ways (such as the WILLOWBROOK SAGA collection) as I’ve learned more about how I want to brand myself.

IN ROYALE PERIL, the project for 2019 NaNoWriMo, will be the first full-length adventure for Marnie and Zane, who have appeared in past self-published stories and novellas. The decision to do this book came from the long-delayed, and ever evolving project SNOWBLINDED BY LOVE,  which has been in “pre-order” status on Smashwords for years. This story wasn’t even originally intended to be a Marnie and Zane story, but I soon found them taking over. Then, I realized I would need to take a step back, and set things up before SNOWBLINDED BY LOVE could take place.

So I began outlining IN ROYALE PERIL, and the timing of the 2oth anniversary of NaNoWriMo – along with being in a group that wants to give it a try – may be just the incentive I need.