The Struggle is Reel

 This isn't a training update, so I won't put my countdown in.

Whether you know me in real life or not, if you've followed this blog for a while, you know that I LOVE to write. If I could, it would be my full time job, but for now it's a side hustle and hobby. I just ghost wrote two books that helped pay for my new dress and a few other dance related things.

I'm in between freelancing jobs at the moment and after almost seven months of not writing a word for myself, it is so nice to have the freedom to work on my own projects again. I finished a four book YA Sci Fi series almost a year ago and was debating on what to work on next even before I got the Western Christian Romance gig (Another story for a different blog).

I have this space opera Star Wars meets Final Fantasy X saga in my head. It's fully outlined, I've purchased covers, etc but I wasn't quite ready to commit to a long heavy series. I've got a few books that are done and just need to go through proofreading. One of them is my debut novel, Enshrine's sequel Eminence. Part of me wants to add more books to that series as well, but we're also looking at probably YEARS before I'd be doing anything else. It's just too hard with the full time job right now to focus on more than one project at at time.

I'm starting to ramble...

ANYWAY. I wanted to write something fun and totally different. About a year ago when I was missing dance hardcore but wasn't ready or able to wrap my head around coming back, I outlined this little thing about 4 competitive Irish dancers and The Struggle is Reel was born.

I'm about to show my age, but I LOVED the show Make It or Break It on ABC Family (I think it's called Freeform now). It was about 4 elite level gymnasts navigating preparing for the Olympics as well as family, friends, relationships, etc. IT WAS SO DRAMA. The character Lauren especially was nuts with some of the problems she would start.

If you didn't watch the show, can you guess which one was the psycho girl? LOL

There are not enough books about Irish dance. I want to change that. I also want to push my boundaries as writer while writing something that dancers and YA fans would want to pick up and read at the same time.

I'm writing it in episodic format and each episode is the POV of one of the 4 girls. So far I've got everything outlined for a "season" where Nationals is the major they are preparing for, but I plan on doing one for Oireachtas and Worlds as well. My first episode is already about 7500 words and I usually add more words on the second draft. Maybe they are novellas instead of episodes...

I may post more about it at a later date, but here's a basic idea of my leading ladies:

-Maeve: Mom is a former world champion and they don't see eye to eye about her future.

-Claddagh: A daddy's girl who always gets what she wants. Do not mess with her.

-Riley: Was 2nd in the world the previous year. Laser focused, but injury prone.

-Madison: Mainstream dance background. Late starter in Irish dance. Feels like she doesn't belong.

Hopefully more updates soon?

If you'd like to read my other titles while you wait, click the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/Kay-Bennson/e/B08DHPSSBY?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1653595885&sr=8-1

Talk to you Saturday,

Kay