Rachael Ritchey

State of the Writer Address

Get ready for a speech to inspire. Just kidding. While I am sometimes inspired by the things I think about, what you have here isn’t going to blow your mind, but it might encourage you in your own way. The following is a snippet from my Newsletter (on Substack).

If you want to check it out: https://substack.com/@rachaelritchey

From: Winter Wonder on Wednesday

First I shared about the snow we got in FL! (See newsletter for pictures)

Then I moved on to share a book cover reveal:

Morlave’s School of Magic by Courtney Denelsbeck is the first book
in her new series publishing this year! You can snap up this
YA fantasy adventure April 2nd, 2025!

But now on to what I wanted to share today!

Rachael’s Writing (and Brainstorming) Update

Still plugging away at Ismene and Othniel’s prequel story. I feel like I’m going soooo sloooowwww. BUT, progress is happening. It’s amazing how hard it has gotten to turn off my inner editor. I have to stop myself from going through everything I’ve already written EVERY DAY. It works okay to pick up a little before where I left off and refresh myself in the tale before moving on most of the time, though.

Random classical music for concentration has become my jam in the background, and I do enjoy it. I don’t think listening to music necessarily changes how I write, but sometimes I wonder if maybe it bleeds in without me knowing.

Oh, I’ve adjusted my mood board for Ismene & Othniel, and I really like the changes:

But then, when I was searching through stock images I also came across a particular fella that made me totally think, “Florian!” who happens to be one of the twelve guardsmen of Prince Theiandar. Florian has made appearances in all three books in the Chronicles of the Twelve Realms so far, playing a HUGE part in The Treasonous, and he happens to be a conflicted character that I love.

Something fun I did back in 2016 is drew some simple character sketches of all twelve of Theiandar’s guardsmen and decided which was which. So here’s a side-by-side of my old sketch I named “Florian” next to the stock photo guy that jumped out at me and said, “Hey, I’m Florian!”

Not an exact match, but I’m sure you can see why that face screamed “I’m your character!” at me. Do you agree? No?

I think it was really this picture, though, that stuck with me in my imagination:

This seems to capture that serious aspects of his character, and I love the intensity of his gaze, a pained yet determined expression.

Can you picture him as Florian? Or vice versa? 🙂

The Treasonous is really Florian’s story of risking everything to save his sister, but a large portion of it is dedicated to the tumultuous love story of Idra and Ahmad.

SO, while I’m working on the prequel for Ismene and Othniel, I’m also thinking ahead to book four of the Chronicles of the Twelve Realms. I can’t wait to write where it will take Sir Florian and his fellow guardsmen as they continue the battle against hidden forces of magic that, if left unchecked, will enslave their world. And there will be sweet romance and adventure along the way!

Note

I’m still trying to decide how I want to be posting and sharing, but for the last year I have posted almost every single week on my Substack profile. You get the email newsletter from there. The biggest reason I’ve transitioned my updates and things to Substack as that eventually I plan to offer serial stories and want to monetize, and that feature is available. (although I see that my WordPress might also have this available right here, but will have to check it out later)

The Substack platform is easy to use and works a little like a blog/social media combo.

If you’d like more regular or in-depth updates from me, a word of encouragement now and again, and book recommendations, check me out over there: https://rachaelritchey.substack.com/p/winter-wonder-on-wednesday

~ Rachael