SeaHeart

A lot of people ask me: "Sarah, I'm really excited about your XXXX novel(la), when is it coming out?" I am HELLA HAPPY that you're so psyched about something my crazy-and-slightly-unicorn-filled mind came up with, so I thought to myself: SELF, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD MAKE A USEFUL LIST OF SPARKLY THINGS WITH TENTATIVE DATES ON THEM SO THE PEEPS CAN BE KEEPING TRACK INSTEAD OF HAVING TO SEARCH OUT INFORMATION LIKE AN EASTER EGG HUNT.

Hence, this list was born. <3

I hope to put this out on a bi-weekly, status-type-thingy basis, so people can keep track of the novels/novellas/short stories/sparkly bits they're most looking forward to!

If you have any questions, ask me! I'd love to answer. :)

Coming Soon (As Sarah Diemer):

The Bone Girl (Novel) -- Gay YA, dystopia/dark speculative fiction. Will hopefully be released at the end of June--a tentative date we're shooting for is June 26th. Read the synopsis/add it on Goodreads here!

Marrow Moon (Novella) -- Lesbian fantasy. Second in the Maja Trilogy, shooting for a June release date!

Sparkle Princess Were-Unicorn (Short Story Collection) -- Gay YA, speculative fiction. Shooting for a release date on my birthday, July 6th. :) Read the synopsis/add it on Goodreads here!

The Dream Queen (Graphic Novel/web comic) -- Gay YA, speculative fiction--a lesbian retelling of "A Midsummer Night's Dream!" Written by me and illustrated by the incomparable Stephanie Blackwell, the collaboration begins (the first page is released) on Midsummer, June 20th!

Coming Soon (As Elora Bishop):

Sappho's Fables, Volume 1 (Novella Collection) -- Lesbian Fairy Tales! This collection will contain Crumbs (Hansel and Gretel), Braided (Rapunzel), and Seven--both Crumbs and Braided are released, and Seven should be released at the end of May, so that's when we're hoping to release the collection, too! :)

Shimmer: A Lesbian Rumpelstiltskin (Novella) -- Part of the Sappho's Fables series, fairy tales retold from a lesbian perspective! We're shooting for a June release for Shimmer-- it starts the second volume of Sappho's Fables!

In the Farther Out Stages (As Sarah Diemer):

Ragged: A Post-Apocalyptic Fairy Tale (Novel) -- Gay YA, dystopia. I'm actually (crazily) re-re-re-writing this with a July release date in my head. Lesbians, fairies, the end of the world--it's my most anticipated release, and the one that I've worked the hardest on, and I'm hoping it continues to be nice to its author. ;D <3

Twixt (Novel) -- Gay YA, dark speculative fiction. Twixt is The Bone Girl's sister novel--not that they're in the same universe or are remotely similar, but I came up with their plots I think...two days apart? And have been working on both for roughly the same length of time (about five years). I have a tentative release date for August for this one, and it will probably be pushed back--out of everything I've ever written, this is my absolute favorite.

Burning Moon (Novella) -- the third in the Maja Trilogy! Shooting for an August release date!

Keeping the Moon (Novella Compilation) -- Sugar Moon, Marrow Moon and Burning Moon (in other words, all three novellas of the Maja Trilogy), gathered in one volume--this will include a print release! Coming August 31st!

Love Devours (Short Story Collection) -- Dark Speculative Fiction. I'm about half-way through with the stories for this volume, but keep pushing off the release date, due to other projects. I'm hoping September or August on this one!

In the Farther Out Stages (As Elora Bishop):

One Midsummer Day (Novella) -- Lesbian Fantasy/original fairy tale. The second installment of The Benevolence Tales! I'm looking to a June release date on this one, but it may have to be pushed back--I'm hoping not to!

(Please note: these are just projects that I've announced--there are actually lots of other things I'm working on, but haven't made a peep about yet! Watch this space for other sparkly things~)

Salem was everything it needed to be--and more. I am refreshed, rejuvenated, filled with passion and constant and consistent energy. I had this week off from work, so once we got home from Massachusetts, I did a complete rehaul of my Temple Room (I do this about every six months or so--it keeps it fresh, and I get so reinvigorated in the sacred space!), sat down in it and finished "The Witch Sea," came up with the storylines for the rest of my anthology, Love Devours: Tales of Monstrous Adoration, created the cover...

(I THINK IT SHINY. <3)



And then I wrote down the outline of the final re-write of Twixt. And began it.

If you have been with me from the beginning of Twixt, you know what this book is to me, what it does to me, how deeply and passionately I have loved and hated it. It is my muse of a book. It is my ultimate book. It has taken me through the worst depression writing has ever given me, and the most ultimate of highs that writing has ever given me, and it is my magnum opus of creation...

And, this last re-write, literally years in the making, has begun.

I am ecstatic beyond words. And I feel so fucking satisfied, I could burst.

It's about time, Twixt. You were worth waiting for. <3

Dear Twixt,

It took a year to write you. You were the novel I couldn't quit. And, when I was done, I went back to the beginning and edited you for an entire year.

Two years I spent with you. And you did not conform to me. You were wild, untameable, and I loved you in those periods, yes. And I hated you, too.

I wonder, sometimes, if I still hate you. I'll talk about you and bring you up and out, and I'll re-read a chapter I loved, or I'll spill out my heart to Jenn, and--in the back corners--there's always this little flutter whenever I think about you. My heart still skips a beat when I talk about you. I've hated you, yes--but, oh, how I've loved you.

They say that every writer has one story...one story that will tear them apart and build them anew and gut them and make them notice the stars. I know that you are my one story, and that frightens me. You have gutted me. At my darkest, you made me wonder if I should even write anymore. Me. The writer. The girl who knew, when she was six, that she would always and forever tell stories. You made me doubt the very marrow of who and what I am, and I will never forgive you for that. But time heals things, and because I've spent almost six months out of your company, I have forgotten the scars, the late nights where I wept because I could not make you conform to my idea of what the story should have been.

Perhaps not all of this is your fault. You were my child and my story, and I am just as much to blame as you are.

So, where does that put us? I am wary of you, and you are thinking tempestuous thoughts, and I have a rough draft and a cobbled together second draft, and so many variations on a theme it's a wonder I can keep track of how, exactly, I wanted you to end, with your fifty odd endings.

But, I've come back to you. I've thought about you in an amorous way. I've read the letters, and I've read the chapters, and I think I know how I can fix you, my darling. I think I know what I need to do to smooth the sheets, to make it better, to rebuild you from the ground up so you are no longer a monstrous, creaking thing, but something driven through the fire and made beautiful.

So, I have a proposition.

You are my story, and I know that I must write you. Every bit of you is outlined, I have your skeleton and muscles, your sinew and your Achilles heel, and together, I will stitch you into creation. But you must conform. You must alter. I can only provide so much of my own marrow to help you live, for--darling Twixt--you have taken so much of me already, I have very little left to give. If you can agree to be kind to me, your writer, your author, your mother, I will come to you again, each day, and I will stitch you something beautiful.

Please promise. We can only do this together.

With love,
The Author

- The very first fireflies of the year came out last night. I was on the phone with Jen on the back deck, lazily curled up in a chair when I though I saw a star wink at me. I looked up, speechless as, very slowly, the firefly drifted towards me. Fireflies are so special to me, they mean so much joy, so much love and happiness. Writing my personal mythology of fireflies into Twixt makes me endlessly happy, and they show up in my life, just as I'm spinning the web of them into my story? Wow~ I felt so blessed, so joyful. I stepped down from the deck, went and wandered through the backyard, watching them slowly wake up until I was surrounded by stars~ <3

- I'd had plans to do my full moon ritual *after* I talked to Jen, but I had an impromptu epiphany, and asked her if she'd do a ritual with me over the phone. Hey, it's an era of TECHNOLOGY, why the heck not. XDDDD It was amazing, fulfilling, joy-filled~ <3 Jen is an incredible lady and writer and witch, one of my best friends, and being able to share ritual space (even if it was only over a telephone line) was pure magic. What a beautiful blessing, what a bright omen for the summer months to come--hope filled and joy touched. <3 I am so incredibly grateful~

- They say it takes a village to raise a child...well, it takes a village to raise a novel, too. The support, the love, the "YOU CAN DO THIS!s," the offers of help, the offers of reading...maybe it's lessening my own involvement and work in it to admit that without this support and awesomeness from my loved ones, maybe Twixt wouldn't be the book it is--but it's true. Jenn, Maddie, Laura, Jen, Bree and Jacqueline--I admit fully that I could not have woven this together without you, and I love you, and I appreciate you more than I can ever articulate. Everyone else who has been SO supportive and kind and "I can't wait until this gets published!"...I'm overwhelmed by your love and kindness and BELIEF in me and I'm made speechless by it. Thank you, thank you, thank you~ <33333 I can do this. I can DO this.

- Katie and Pete came over for a little dinner party, Tuesday night--it was heaven~ <3 Being able to articulate about stories among people I so vastly love and appreciate--such happiness. The Twilight Rifftrax afterward, was also joy on earth. XD (I've seen this thing literally six or seven times now, the most I've seen any Rifftrax--it never gets old!)

- My excitement for the long weekend knows no bounds~ Gardening, reading, writing, playing with the behbehs and happy outings with my amazing wife...what a beautiful way to ring in summer!!

- I'm meeting Bree for a very long lunch today, because we get out so early~ <33333 And, after I pick Jenn up from work, we get to go meet Maddie and Jared's new kitty-cat, Lando (Catrissian) XDDDDD that they adopted from our shelter~ I remember him and his roly-poly-ness~ I can't wait to "officially" meet our new furry nephew.

- I'm a very visual person, and Tumblr makes me very happy. My blog there, When Ariel Dreams, is filled with images I love, images that inspire me for stories, and images that make my heart sing.

- My wife is this amazingly incredible person, and I fall in love with her deeper every single day. It amazes me, this love.

may my heart always be open to little
birds who are the secrets of living
whatever they sing is better than to know
and if men should not hear them men are old

may my mind stroll about hungry
and fearless and thirsty and supple
and even if it's sunday may i be wrong
for whenever men are right they are not young

and may myself do nothing usefully
and love yourself so more than truly
there's never been quite such a fool who could fail
pulling all the sky over him with one smile

~ e. e. cummings

- In conclusion, I give you ridiculous cuteness:

My life in the past few weeks, in lovely little digestible noms~

<3 I got my Star Girl added to my fairy tale sleeve, FINALLY!



( Her heart was filled with stars )

<3 We picked poppies from a wild field~



<3 I'm working endlessly on editing Twixt. I have this totally unrealistic goal of being finished with edits by my birthday, July 6th. XDDDD Um. We'll see what happens.

<3 We're planning our first annual Midsummer extravaganza, which we're endlessly excited about and covered in glitter for.

<3 All of our fur babies are finally healthy~ I gave baths to Pan and Poesy last night, and told Link he was far too clean and dainty to get one. XD To which I'm sure he agreed. My two little wild muppets are always tangled in something, and their taller and more more esteemed brother is fretting on the sidelines while they chase frogs and find more ways to store grass clippings in their coats. XD

Poesy--practically CLEAN, compared to what usually happens on such outings. XD


<3 We finally have our vegetable garden rotatilled! I'm going to be consecrating the ground on Thursday (the full moon) and planting on Saturday~ My excitement knows no bounds~ <3

<3 I'm surrounded by people who love me and believe in me and my stories and never, ever, ever let me give up. That's pretty incredible, and something I am endlessly and forever grateful for. <3333333

I keep saying it to myself, so I wanted to put it down here for posterity's sake. I've been working on one version or another of Bite, the first book in my magnum opus series, "The Red Quill," since I was fifteen. There are SO MANY VERSIONS OF THIS BOOK, and each time, I stopped writing it for one reason or another. The most common reason was that, each time, I was getting it wrong. This was--of course--for an even bigger reason...

I could not possibly have written Bite ten years ago. Oh, I could have. But it would have sucked (no pun intended ;D). In my original story, there is so much stark black and white. The Red (vampires) are evil, and this set list of characters are good, and good must triumph over evil, or--whoopsie--evil sort of triumphed, but good ends up winning out in the grander scheme of things. In the original version, everyone who is evil is like...the most evil thing in the planet. Everyone who is good is tortured and emo. It was a fifteen year old's book, to be certain...and while it had merit, it was so far from the complete story that if I had written it, and if I had gotten it published, to this day, it would be my biggest disappointment in life.

Now...here...everything is shades of gray. The despicable, hardened, and utterly psychotically evil Red Countess from the first version of the book is a sad, frightened teenager who hides behind a thin veneer of cruelty that is a joke to the other Red, meanwhile showing kindness to those she should destroy. She's gray. Brutus--in the original, an evil sadistic bastard--is now protective and strong armed into doing something that he does have the inevitable choice in...and that's what it really comes down to. Everyone in this book has a choice to be a certain way. There experiences and their stories are based on those choices...and choices in myth, as we all know, are never black and white. Only gray.

I write twist endings. Or...I do now. In my own teenaged years, my endings were pretty straight forward. You could see the epilogue miiiiiiiiiiles away, and you wanted it, but it was pretty predictable stuff. Now, in the past five years, I'd say, I've honed myself into being able to tell a pretty good twist ending. I love challenges, I love being able to sculpt and create the story into something that intrigues and captivates you. And, hopefully, you never see it coming. My writing is such a sweet, soft art...until it bites you.

Twixt is one huge mystery, which I never really intended, but there you go. What are these creatures? Why is everyone so afraid? What is hunting them? The ending shocks, and when I wrote it, I felt chills through me...I knew that in the rough draft itself, it had not been sloppy, but it could have been so much better. So now, I'm tightening everything up, I'm making it as flawless as possible...and when the ending comes, hopefully your heart will thunder as you turn that page, as it all falls into place, perfect puzzle pieces to a whole.

Everything is ending. Slowly, but surely. Twixt is getting there, that final cut, and Bite is getting there, that first cut. I've found the balance that makes it all work (I would never have thought that writing a book while editing one was a good idea, but it keeps my mind working, and I never feel pressured to work on one project if another is more insistent...in writing, as in life, I follow my intuition, and it constantly serves me~).

Two nights ago, I dreamed another novel. "Really?" I said, upon waking, looking towards the ceiling. "How fast do you think I get these things written...?"

The crystal Ganesh on my bedside seemed to twinkle.

I swear, the Gods find this almost as amusing as I do.

Dear Lottie,

I love you. I am not your god, and you are not my creation...I'm more your mother than anything, really. A year ago, I found you on the edges of a river, in my mind's eye, and I knew I had to tell your story. You were so afraid and cold and lonely...and you didn't know who you were. I empathized with that, my heart broke for you, and I took you under my wing, entered your world--I told the story.

I put you through hell. It was hard to do that to you, writing what I did...the terror and the horror and those moments where you wanted--more than anything--to commit a Sleeper form of suicide to escape it. But you didn't. You found strength, you kept going, and in the end you saved those you loved the most. A fitting epitaph, if you had a grave.

Now, I am not testing our love. I am not checking the links, one by one, to see if they will survive, because I know they will already. I love you, I love your story, and I love your novel with all my heart. I'm proud of you...and I'm not afraid to admit it. You are the most beautiful thing I have ever written, and in your sadness, there is loveliness, and in your horror, there is redemption. No...now, you are metal, hard and shining, but what I must do is smooth it, shape it, take hammer and forge and hot, dancing fire and work in the secret cover of darkness as shadows move along the walls. Now, I do right by you.

All of those who have come before you, darling...that is an element I failed to accomplish. But in my failings, in my own inadequacies, I found a path that ran straight and true...if I dared to take it. Until you, I have not. Until you, I've known of it, I've hidden it, I've ignored it. But not this time.

What I do now is for your good, as well as my own. Your story, of all others, will ring truest, because I told the truth. I stayed the course, I'm finishing what I started. You don't know the girl of fifteen...the one I once was. You never met her. She was a sweet girl, and she was a storyteller as much as I am now, yes...but when she lost her way, she lost it completely. I look back at her, wish with all my heart and soul I could have comforted her when no one would. But it doesn't matter anymore.

Lottie, you might not be the one. I wanted to tell you that. It might not be you, your story, your book that gets published. But it won't have mattered, sweetheart. For the first time in my life, I will be proud of you, I will love you anyway. To be a published novellist...it still rings as my truest dream, but that's not what stories are for. If I've told your story, if I have done my absolute best by it, if I am proud of it completely and without question...that will be completion enough for me.

Tonight, we meet again, under cover of darkness. I'll do my best to work through your sad moments and your bright ones, give you the best words I possess, shine you up until you glow. I look forward to it, as I always do.

All of this, until April, darling. Come...let us tell stories.

Fondly,
Your Author