5 Facts About My Current WIP: DIsability Detectives: The Spanish Stalker

5 FACTS ABOUT MY CURRENT WIP: DISABILITY DETECTIVES: THE SPANISH STALKER

Last week I talked about my other WIP (found here) and this week I thought I would give you five facts about this WIP. It's the third in a series and the two posts on the others in the series can be found here and here. I have to say that I have been loving getting to spend more time in this series. It's a callback to those stories I wrote at the start of my writing journey that were usually just a plain old mystery/thriller book. I had the idea for Disability Detectives, and I wanted to carry it through to a whole series.

So for those who haven't read the linked posts, or for those who have and just want a refresher, lemme fill you in on this series. Again, I'm limited in what I can say because of spoilers, this being the third in the series, but I do think it's one that brings it's own threads to the series as a whole.

Disability Detectives is a young adult crime/mystery series. It deals with Veronica, who's fifteen and her friends, Daisy, Jake, and Malik. They all have some kind of chronic illness and/or disability and attend Rosewood which is a boarding school mostly for those with disabilities and additional needs. Veronica and her friends have been involved in solving a few crimes at the school, and the third book is no exception. While there's been a murder, and a thief, this book is a little more low stakes, but still a fun time!

FACT #1: VERONICA HAS PLANS FOR THIS TERM
While Veronica is pretty sure that there is bound to be some kind of mystery playing out when she arrives back after half-term, she's also of the belief that she has her own goals to achieve. With Hilary joining their close-knit group, and Daisy's reported crush on someone, Veronica wants to meddle somewhat and get the two lovebirds together, even if all she seems to do is make a mess of things. She knows that Daisy wouldn't appreciate the help, but that's what you do for your best friend, right?

FACT #2: LOVE IS IN THE AIR
At the end of book two, Jake and Malik finally admitted their feelings for each other, and though Malik has his reasons for wanting to keep the relationship from his parents, that doesn't really stop them from being goofy and in love while at school. Of course, that also is impacted by the fact that someone else is pretty sure that Jake is their soul mate and won't let anyone get in the way of their goal, to tell him the truth and get to be with him themselves.

FACT #3: THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME CROSSED-WIRES SOMEWHERE
Veronica and the others are of course exceptionally happy for their friends, but while Veronica finds out about the stalker before anyone else, it feels like that's all for the wrong reasons. Jake doesn't tell anyone to begin with, but when that stalker seems to blame Veronica personally for keeping Jake away from them, it feels like someone somewhere thinks she's the reason Malik and Jake are together.

FACT #4: SCHOOL GETS IN THE WAY OF EVERYTHING ELSE
As with most mysteries, and with most things, even at a boarding school, the amount of work piled onto their shoulders, Veronica especially finds it hard to keep on top of keeping her friends safe and happy, playing cupid for Daisy and also getting the chance to maybe stay ahead of the deadlines and actually get her homework done. After everything that happened before, with the thief caught, the murderer sentenced, you'd think Veronica would get a break, but no such luck.

FACT #5: VERONICA ISN'T SURE THAT THINGS ARE AS OKAY AS PEOPLE SAY
She has always been the protector of the group, and while everyone is aware just how much she's struggling, she can't help but be happy in that role. She doesn't want things to change, and she wants to make sure her friends are as okay as they can be. Of course with her parents doing a complete 180, she's not sure she can trust in that either. Her friends might be doing okay, but she's barely holding her head above water and she's not sure what she can do about that.

So there we go, those are five facts about this WIP. Like I said, I've been loving getting to go back to plain ole mystery, and adoring the way these books have nicely come together. I love the dynamic between Veronica and her friends and getting to just dive into their stories.

Any questions? Lemme know in the comments!

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5 Facts About My Current WIP: Viral Infection

5 FACTS ABOUT MY CURRENT WIP: VIRAL INFECTION

It's that time again when I've recently started two new projects and so I come and tell you 5 facts about each other them. Both of them this time are book in a series, so there'll be limits on how much I can share because of spoilers, but that said, I'm happy to be diving into them today.

The first one of these posts is about the second book in the Virals series, Viral Infection. For those who haven't read the facts about the first book, you can find it here, and for those who want a refresher, lemme just give you the basics of what this book, and this series, which is a young adult dystopian, are about.

Nia is sixteen, a twin, and growing up in a futuristic England where a virus has pushed the Powers into keeping people living in pods. There are only ever six people to a pod, and you, usually, grow up with your parent(s) and then are matched anywhere from the ages of fourteen upwards, to someone who you will start a family with and move into your own pod. Once you leave your home pod, you never speak, nor see, those people again. Nia started the first book in her home pod with her twin, Neema, and then was soon ejected and off on our own adventures. Everything is controlled by smart watches that make sure you stay healthy, stay free of the virus, and also are monitored with everything you do.

Book two picks up directly following the events of Viral Detection, and like I said above, limited in what I can say because of spoilers, but we're in for a bumpy ride. I've been loving getting to explore the world I created all over again and getting to know the characters and the like and how they would react in this situation and any others I might throw at them!

FACT #1: THE POWERS WILL DO ANYTHING TO GET THEIR HANDS ON NIA
Nia has grown up in this world. She's used to the Powers being the final say on a lot of things. The issue is that until recently, she never really had a reason to fear them. After all, they were the reason the population had survived and still thrived under the rules. It made sense to trust in them, and given that all the adults in her life had done the same, it's not really all that surprising that she's followed the rules. Of course, the more she discovers about the truth behind the Powers, the more she realises that, to them, she is an asset that they can't afford to lose.

FACT #2: NIA WILL DO ANYTHING TO SAVE HER TWIN
Neema is Nia's identical twin. They have grown up together, and even with the events that pulled Nia from her home pod, she never really believed the lies she was told about Neema. Now that she's out of pod life, tracking through the wilds, she's not really sure of many things other than she will stop at nothing to save Neema, whatever that takes, even if it means sacrificing herself.

FACT #3: THOSE WHO SEEM LIKE ALLIES CAN TURN QUICKLY
While Nia had to grow up quickly, and make sure that she was confident in her choices, she did make allies, and she did learn that sometimes those allies can't be trusted. That said, she never expected things to turn the way they have, or for things to get as dicey as they are now. Nia will do anything to save Neema, but she doesn't yet realise the depth of the choices she will be forced to make, and that those around her may not be all they claim to be.

FACT #4: NIA IS FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT THE POWERS AND WHAT THEY STAND FOR
Growing up, Nia never had any reason to question the way the Powers ran things. She trusted in them completely because they had the ability to govern, and save the population. However since she was ejected, that trust has been eroded and now that she's without a pod to call her own, the truth about life in the wilds, for the Unknowns has eaten away at what the truth according to the Powers actually is.

FACT #5: NIA IS HOLDING ON BY A THREAD
So much has happened in the past few months, so many changes, and so many things have switched from a life of safety and security, to the life that she lives now. Nia has to save Neema, but maybe Neema should be the one saving their sister. Nia's not used to asking for help, she's not used to having to stand on her own, and while life in Hail's pod taught her a lot, she's really struggling with the way her life has gone and whether or not she has the strength to survive it all.

So there we go, those are five facts about Viral Infection. I'm only just getting started with this project and like I said, I'm loving every moment of it. It's a lot of fun to dive into and see where it all ends up going!

Any questions? Lemme know in the comments!

Follow Joey here on her blog, or on Facebook or Tumblr to be kept up to date with the latest news regarding Joey and her books. 

Writing Characters: Jonah & Co

WRITING CHARACTERS: JONAH & CO

Last week I gave you an insight into the other POV for my upcoming release, Invisible. You can find it here. This week I thought I would talk to you more about Jonah, and what part he plays in the story.

To recap for those who might have missed it last week, Invisible, which is the first in a young adult dystopian quartet, is set in England in the far distance future. The country is split into nine self-governing segments, all of which trade and work with each other to become sustainable. Jonah is in North-West, and completely abled. He's at school with his best friend, Jackson, and the two of them don't think anything's wrong, beyond some weird emails that Jonah's been getting.

Jonah and Jackson are one of the first to escape the school when bombs are dropped all over the segment. It soon becomes clear that there's something in the air that is not just killing some students and teachers, but making others very ill. While the two of them, with help from other students, manage to get off the campus and towards the hospital, neither have escaped the gas and the virus from the bombs.

By the time Jonah wakes up, his whole world has changed. He's gone from being with his parents, and completely abled, to having chronic pain and fatigue that doesn't have a name. He's lost his family, lost his home, and is, at seventeen, having to jump into a working role to be able to afford to live. While he has Jackson alongside him, who has developed his own conditions, despite having been perfectly healthy and abled before the bombs, but with such a massive loss of life and the world changing, it's hard to adapt even though they pretty much have no other choice.

Writing Jonah allowed me to showcase just how weird things were in both segments. Having abled characters becoming struck down with a new disability meant that they could be the eyes that some readers would use to see themselves in the story. Jonah's view of life in the segment before, and life afterwards is startling as a way to showcase just what a new disability is like.

I loved writing him, and I think his viewpoint was sorely needed to present some kind of mirror to what Zya was experiencing herself. Both of them were loud in my head when writing this story and the other books in the series, and both were very much valid protagonists if just for different reasons. Like I said last week, this whole series is written and was done so way before COVID happened, but I can see the fact that some people will not know that or even see the similarities in the way things are dealt with.

While Jonah and Zya have never met, they do make contact, but that's through Jonah's connections rather than anything she does. The two of them grow close, they rely on each other even though they're not in the same segment, and the chances of leaving are very slim. While Zya's worries about Further Training and the Exit Exam are pivotal to her story, Jonah's lack of worry about them to begin with are just as important, showcasing the disabled experience and the abled one.

I love this book, love this series, and can't wait to share with you more as we go along towards release, and the second book which should come out in 2025. If this all sounds interesting, you can pre-order Invisible here, it's out on November 14th, and if you do pre-order, you can sign up for the SWAG here which is open internationally.

Any questions? Lemme know in the comments!

Follow Joey here on her blog, or on Facebook or Tumblr to be kept up to date with the latest news regarding Joey and her books.   

Writing Characters: Zya & Co

WRITING CHARACTERS: ZYA & CO

November 14th, my next book, Invisible, releases (pre-order here). It's the first in a young adult dystopian quartet that deals with a lot of disability and has a whole heap of disabled rep. I thought that this week and next, I would take a bit of a deep dive into the characters that make up the book. The story is dual POV and so this week I'll start with Zya and her friends and the things she and they bring to the story and then next week I'll delve into the other POV.

So what's the book about? The UK is split into nine self-governing segments. South-West, where Zya is based and has lived her whole life is pretty much similar to the other eight segments with how they deal with things. Zya was not born disabled, but she did have a stroke when she was a baby that paralysed the left side of her body. She's been in a wheelchair, and mostly segregated schools every since.

With the book set in the far distant future, it allowed for some tech advances like wheelchairs that were charged by solar power, and were able to be steer by the user's torso movements. Zya's is like this and it gives her more independence than a different kind of chair would. She's seventeen, about to face the Exit Exam, which should, hopefully, allow her to be placed into a working position. Of course there's always the risk of Further Training, something that's painted as a way to help those less able to learn skills that will one day help the segment. Zya, being disabled, is terrified on F.T. It's usually disabled teens who fail the EE and end up there, and they are usually never heard from again.

Zya has her best friend, Lena, who's completely abled, and looking forward to the EE herself. The day the book starts, they're both just at school, in lessons, and then all hell breaks loose when several bombs are dropped in the segment, decimating the population, and leaving many injured or sick with an unknown virus. Going from pretty sure she'll never see the working world, to being thrown into the aftermath of the attack, seeing new diagnoses comes from seemingly nowhere, Zya can only watch as one by one every one of her abled friends becomes disabled in some way.

And that's when the real work begins. That's when everything starts to slot into place and we follow Zya through her navigating this new and strange world. When I was planning this novel, I had a different kind of plot in mind, but once I got to know Zya, and got to know the world better, I knew it could only go a certain way. Zya was a loud voice in my head telling me what she expected from me and where things were going to go and there was little I could do to disagree.

Writing Zya, writing her friends, those disabled before the bombs, and those who became so because of them, was a delight for me. I've had sensitivity readers, editors and the like, all point out the mirror this book holds up to society and the way they view disability and disabled people. I didn't write it with that intent, and this book was written long before COVID became a thing as well, but it does seem fitting to be releasing it into a world that has somewhat experienced the feeling of terror that comes from the unknown.

Zya felt like a character that would look at our world and realise that a lot of things were the same as in hers, only hers had gone more extreme in another way. I wanted to tell this story because it wouldn't leave me alone. I'd sit there and think about other plots, and there would be Invisible just demanding to be told. I adore the story, I adore the characters, and while the next three books are written, I'm itching to get started on revising them because I know where this story goes, and know how it ends and I want people to be able to go along this journey with Zya and the others as well!

If you want to pre-order Invisible, you can do so here, and if you do pre-order, you can sign up for the pre-order SWAG here, which is open internationally.

Any questions? Lemme know in the comments!

Follow Joey here on her blog, or on Facebook or Tumblr to be kept up to date with the latest news regarding Joey and her books.