2024 Know the Novel: Part 1 – Introduction

Hello and welcome to the third annual Know the Novel focused on Lightning and Thunder! Y’all asked for a re-introduction post, so here we are, and today’s post will be a little different from the previous two because I’m primarily working this year on finishing Thunder while the past two years have been spent working on Lightning. I’m going to do my best in this post to focus on Thunder without giving away spoilers in the process. Thanks, as always, to Christine Smith for hosting the Know the Novel link-up!

1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?

While I was outlining Lightning, I realized the story was longer than I’d thought and would need to be split into a duology. Plus, with a title like Lightning it was only natural to follow it up with Thunder, so I was pretty pleased to have an excuse to use that pairing of titles.

2. Share a blurb (or just an overall summary)!

My blurb is decidedly spoilery, so, um…

The city is a bigger part of the setting in Thunder, there’s a lot more tech focus, just about everyone is faced with hard choices to make, and I got to write about a gala heist.

3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects of the setting?

It takes place primarily in the city of Newbridge. There are a few specific settings within that, including the Grantech facility of course, a townhouse, a garage, and a fancy gala venue. My favorite thing about the setting, I think, is how I get to use it to showcase the characters and who they are (and aren’t). As I flesh out the world more between drafts, I’m sure other details will be a lot of fun to work with, but right now I really like the effect of the setting and I’m excited to strengthen that as I strengthen the setting itself moving forward.

4. Tell us about your protagonist(s).

As she was in Lightning, Erika is the first POV character. She’s sarcastic, doesn’t take (or dish) any nonsense, and likes to think she’s invincible. She’s often abrasive and thoughtless, but we get to see a bit more of her heart in Thunder. She and Nyla butt heads quite a bit over their differences in values (and sometimes morals), but she’s beginning to learn how to be a team player. Mostly.

Nyla is still the most frequent POV character, despite the fact that she doesn’t get to start telling the story until chapter 5 in this book (she kicks off with chapter one in Lightning, beaten out only by Erika’s prologue). She’s kind and selfless but she’s still getting over her feelings of being less-than and unwanted. Ever since Grantech’s experiments on her, she’s dealt with chronic pain and malfunctioning powers that she generally tries to ignore. (Guess who has to face her fears anyway?)

Ash is the only main character who doesn’t have any scenes or chapters from his POV, through either book, but he’s a key member of the team all the same. There’s a lot going on with him in this book that I can’t really talk about, but I’ll just say his arc is going to be really interesting when all is said and done (after lots of revisions and help from beta-readers and editors, lol).

Alaric and Rhys are still critical to the story as well, but they largely take a back seat to these three. For anyone wondering, Rhys is my new problem child since Ash vacated the role, and I owe thanks to my friend Bethany for pushing me to make Rhys more desperate in order to make her more interesting, because I think that’s actually going to help, lol.

There’s another character, too, but that’s literally all I can say.

5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?

Still Grantech, but now with an added force that you’ll just have to read Lightning to learn about. Also, inter-personal issues cause a lot of conflict in this book, for… reasons.

6. What excites you the most about this novel?

Um… having it done? This draft has been so. slow. and I’m very excited to check it off the list. But also, the climax is one of the most interesting parts so I’m excited to get to the end for that reason as well. Plus, I want to be another step closer to getting this duology into your hands, since I know a lot of y’all have been waiting for it for a while and are anxious to read it.

7. Is this going to be a series? standalone? something else?

‘Tis a duology. I’ve thought about adding a third book that’s basically just the story from Ash’s perspective, since he doesn’t get to share his perspective in the main duology, but I don’t think that’s really a necessary addition. (Maybe I’ll change my mind if readers and I both have enough interest and I’ll offer it as a newsletter freebie or something, but right now the idea is off the table.) Of course, the duology also fits into a much larger series of books taking place in Concordia over hundreds of years, and it’s actually on the later end of that timeline, so expect some “sequels” and a lot of “prequels” in the future.

8. Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?

I’ve plotted this series. Most of Thunder‘s outline was written all the way back in January, so that tells you how long I’ve been trying to get this thing drafted, lol. It’s entirely outlined; I just have to sort out the knots that pop up as I’m writing–like Rhys being problematically boring. But we’re working through those things, and right now I feel confident about the plan, so hopefully the remainder of the draft will go fairly smoothly! I’m about halfway through the draft, altogether, so we’re looking at a 58k word count if the current count doubles, which is probably about right since my ultimate target is 80k and Lightning was close to 20k under its target word count too, lol.

9. Name a few unique elements in this story.

  • Chronically ill “superheroes”
  • “Superheroes” with mental health issues
  • A mix of 3rd-person and 1st-person perspectives

Any of the more unique elements I can think of that are specific to Thunder vs. the duology as a whole are, unfortunately, spoilery.

10. Share some fun “extras” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!).

 

Also, here are the previous Know the Novel introductions for this series: 2022, 2023


There you have a little more insight into Thunder! Let me know what you think, what aspects of the story intrigue you most. And if you’re working on a project this fall, whether as part of an event or not, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

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6 thoughts on “2024 Know the Novel: Part 1 – Introduction

  1. Oh, I remember this story! I still love your inclusion of chronic illness and mental health issues :D

    Erika sounds like a super fun character to write – very full of personality. Honestly, just looking at this, I can see how much character conflict you can create with her and Nyla, they sound like they’d be a really interesting duo. Also, your music taste is impeccable.

    I hope the writing goes well!

    1. Aw, thank you!

      Erika is definitely fun to write–even though she’s not always a “likeable” character. And yes, definitely a lot of conflict between her and Nyla at times!

      Thank you!

  2. A gala heist?? YES PLEASE. I adore heists, especially when they’re at fancy venues. It’s just way too fun! This whole duology sounds like such a blast! And I love that it takes place in a whole series of stories set in this world. Stories that expand like that are incredible–it brings the world so to life. Thank you so much for sharing with us and joining Know the Novel! I am cheering you on, friend. I hope the writing goes well!

    1. The gala heist has definitely been a highlight of this book! It’s super tropey, but it’s a trope I love so I’m just owning it. XD

      Thank you for the encouragement to participate–and your encouragement for the project! <3

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