Audely Bensen Writes

A while ago, I saw Jade Legacy author Fonda Lee post a poll on twitter with a bunch of page numbers, asking when readers hated her the most. Months later when I read the book, I understood. When I got to the poll's winner, I screamed. My husband came running to where I was flipping pages, shouting, "No no no no no no" at this monster of a book.  And then I kept reading. This giant book was everything I could ask for in a conclusion to a series that's stuck with me through five moves. I will always link Jade City to reading on the 60 bus, to the lull of being part of a city. Jade Legacy hit at just the right time, after we'd left said city and dreamed of returning, knowing that the life that waits there isn't what we left, because everything changes, as the world of Janloon shows us.  Sappy feelings of belonging and home aside, I loved existing with these characters, and watching them grow. Watching them age--I can't think of another book where we see a ca...

First half of January: Slogged through The Seaming. I couldn't figure out why it felt like pulling teeth to revise, even though I had such a clear picture of where I wanted to go. For a while I thought that maybe November's Nano-induced burnout still lingered.  Second half of January : Realized that the struggle with The Seaming was because I was writing scenes chronologically, across 3 POVs and 2 timelines. I couldn't keep the urgency and the emotional tension in-tact while jumping from place to place, especially with most writing sessions occurring while the morning's coffee was still making its way through me. Once I switched to writing each individual POV and timeline as its own chunk, the writing began to flow again.  First half of February: Finished the Seaming and developed query materials. Felt good--so good about this draft. Then as successive rejections rolled in, I made a series of tweaks to my opening pages. Next time, I resolve to wait longer, to let the...