Dear Writing Diary Entry #46
Magic, Revisions, and Comic-Con Adventures
July 31, 2026
Dear Writing Diary,
As the summer temperatures rise, I am preparing to dive back into revisions for my 2027 untitled fantasy novel. My editor just got back to me with her feedback, so I am looking forward to jumping into the story once more and fine-tuning its elements to create something even more special. Here is a sneak peek at the first sentence of the current draft:
It is said if you hold a desire close enough to your heart,
a market of wishes will reveal itself to you.
And here is the first sentence of the prologue that follows:
Far above a world without sun, a winged girl falls through a star.
While my focus will shift to revisions, I am still working on my secret project, which has now reached over 62,000 words!
✨ Bookish Events for August
I am thrilled to be attending some bookish events this next month. So, if you happen to be in the area, feel free to come say hi!
August 1 - I will be at the Barnes and Noble in Encinitas, CA for the afternoon to sign copies of The Fated and hand out bookmarks I designed.
August 22 – I will be attending the KPBS San Diego Book Festival and selling/signing copies of The Fated and The Phoenix & The Neverending Winter (along with some other bookish goodies!)
✨ Tales from San Diego Comic-Con
After wanting to go for years, this summer I finally attended San Diego’s Comic-Con, and it was a blast! I went to a panel that featured several science fantasy authors, including Matt Dinniman, author of the runaway hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series. A piece of writing advice that he shared, which I found interesting and helpful, was that in his opinion, a writer needs to only know two things about the characters they create in order to understand them: 1) what they want most, and 2) what they most fear. In his view, once the writer has discovered these two dimensions to a character, the rest of their traits, habits, and choices will fall into place.
By far my favorite part of Comic-Con, however, was discovering so many talented artists and authors through their art and graphic novels. You can see their covers in the photo above, but here’s a little more about each in case you want to check them out for yourself!
Wanderlust by Yoichi Nishikawa – This art book immediately caught my eye because of the beautifully painted nature landscapes and city scenes inside. Turning the pages made me feel the same wonder and nostalgia I feel whenever I watch Hayao Miyazaki’s anime movies, and I didn’t learn until later the reason why. It turns out Nishikawa himself was one of the painters that Miyazaki hired to paint the dreamy and breathtaking background landscapes for Howl’s Moving Castle (my favorite animated movie of all time!), Ponyo, and The Wind Rises.
Above the Clouds by Melissa Pagluica – This fairytale-esque graphic novel grabbed my attention for its pastel-colored and dreamy art aesthetic. It is a story within a story and focuses on one girl’s quest to convince an author to write the ending to the book he has left incomplete. Melissa also designed the medieval woman bookmark in the photo above as well as the whimsical Valerian Tea sticker.
Slices of Life by Qu – This book is full of silent, vibrantly colored comics that portray quiet and quirky moments of our everyday lives in such a charming way, I can’t help but smile whenever I crack open a page.
📚 Indie Books Showcase
Check out these fun reads by other indie authors!
Whispers of the Selkie by Lisa A. Moore
Dive into this urban and contemporary fantasy woven with Scottish folklore, family secrets, and ancient magic. Morwenna Brightwood’s tranquil life shatters with the arrival of a shimmering, otherworldly letter. Whisked away to the misty Scottish Highlands, she faces long-buried family secrets, mysterious figures with shadowy intentions, and the chilling grip of a generations-old curse.
Winter’s Handmaiden by J.C. Wade
Maryn Ferguson never expected to be the one to uncover the artifact tied to the goddess’s disappearance—or to be thrust through it into a realm of faeries, gods, and monsters where her choices may determine humanity’s fate. When disaster plunges her into the realm of the dead, Maryn’s carefully guarded heart begins to unravel under the gaze of Arawn, a god of smoke and shadows whose mercy is as dangerous as his wrath.
To save millions of lives, Maryn must decide what she is willing to sacrifice—her dream of returning to the safe, detached world she once knew… or everything she has left to lose.
Hope you’re enjoying your summer so far.
Here’s to diving into revisions this month and squeezing in one last vacation!
-K
P.S. Whoever’s reading this, if you’ve enjoyed these glimpses into my writing life, could you please hit the subscribe button? I would love to share more of my writing journey with you in the future. :)