It’s almost November, so I’m getting ready for NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. For the past several years, I’ve used this month as a time to revise and polish on-going writing projects. But The Stepsisters (my steampunk Cinderella) and A Mobius Tale (my Snow White with a twist story) are in fine shape, so it’s time to introduce my new project:

The Little MERmaid

This story has been percolating in my mind for many months, and I’m excited to use NaNoWriMo to begin writing it. The Little MERmaid is a steampunk version of the Hans Christian Andersen tale. My main character is a coal-mine automaton, a MER (Mechanical Emergency Responder) who becomes human after seeking help from the mischievous Prince of the Elves (a character from my Snow White story). She has one year in which to make a certain boy fall in love with her–if he doesn’t, she’ll return to her automaton form and be made into scrap metal. Intrigued? My story is more similar to the Andersen version than the Disney version, but with the steampunk elements, it’s my story now.

November is a busy time of the year for me, so I don’t anticipate finishing a first draft. But, with NaNoWriMo, I’ll keep track of my word count, and I’ll get lots of support from other writers.  If you’ve never participated in NaNoWriMo, you should visit the website. November wouldn’t be November without NaNoWriMo!