Lilly Avalon Monthly Writing Update #1 for May 2020

Friday, May 29, 2020 No comments

Every month I share an update about what I'm writing in my Monthly Writing Update!
Here's the latest for the month of May.

At the end of April, I finished writing the third book in my upcoming Risqué Series. This completed the set of three I had planned out. Starting at the beginning of May, the plan was to revise all three books.

Have I accomplished this?

Not quite... Desiring the Dancer, the first book in the series, has been revised. Right now I am currently revising Enticing the Escort, book two of the series. That leaves the third book, Seducing the Star, still at the first draft stage. As of right now, I am about halfway through the second book, which means I'm halfway through revisions on all three.

You'd think I would be disappointed that I couldn't reach my goal of revising all three in May, but I'm actually quite pleased with my progress. I haven't revised anything longer than a short story (under 5k) in a long time. To be completely honest, I was dreading revisions at the beginning of the month. Getting started on them took me a few days. Once I really dove into it and began not only taking away huge chunks of nonsense but also adding in more words. I would take away 100, then add 300, making it a gain of about 200 words for a chapter.

The more I tightened up the story, the more I wanted to revise.

This didn't necessarily mean I went out of my way to revise. I still had my moments of frustration, especially with certain scenes that needed more work than others. I spent a lot of time working on the last two chapters of the first book because there were several sections that needed completely rewritten. Those parts usually ended up with me staring at the screen with several new paragraphs started, all reworded over and over until I got it right.

Once I finished Desiring the Dancer, I felt a huge sense of relief. I was one-third of the way finished! Plus, finishing the one made me want to start the second right away... but I didn't.

To clarify, it made me want to, not that I actually put forth the effort to dive in. Once I did, the good feelings from the first one returned and gave me the motivation to keep going. I'm hoping that once I finish revising Enticing the Escort  that I won't delay too long before starting revisions on Seducing the Star.

Am I on track?

Surprisingly, yes. If I can stay on schedule with these revisions (I set new achievable deadlines), I will still be able to publish within the timeframe of my estimated release dates. What are those dates? Hmm, can't say just yet. I need to make sure the rest of the revisions go off without a hitch. If I miss the deadline or something comes up, I may have to push those release dates back by a week or two. As of right now, though, I am doing very well. Wish me luck that it continues down that path!

Goals for June

Finish revisions of Enticing the Escort  and Seducing the Star  of course! Once these initial revisions are complete, I'm going to read through all three books once more and then send off to my editor. While I wait for her edits, I'll be outlining the book I want to publish before the end of the year. I don't have much to say about this project just yet, but I will say that it is requiring me to do some research and I'm really enjoying that research. If I get edits back before the end of the month, I'll be working on implementing them right away.


In the meantime, take care, everyone! Stay safe! Love you!


The Latest From Lilly Avalon - May 2020

Tuesday, May 5, 2020 1 comment

Hello lovelies!

Ever since my last post on Camp NaNo, I've been itching to tell y'all more details about what I've been working on. There are reasons why I haven't gone into many specifics regarding these stories, and I'll explain that here as well.

Here's the rundown!

When I initially began publishing, I had the tendency to speak too soon about the writing projects I wanted to pursue next. I actually looked back on old blog posts to read about them and had to facepalm a few times. There were so many instances  where I would make statements about what's next and when to expect it... and I never did. It's something I still feel bad about to this day. I learned my lesson, though, and since then I refrain from getting too specific about my plans or talk in too much detail about my project unless there's either been progress and it will be finished soon or  the first draft has been fully written.

Which brings us to today...

As of April 29th, I have completed the first drafts of three novellas. Since I've reached this point, it's time for me to talk about my projects in more detail. What are these three novellas? Well, I'll tell you!

These three novellas are part of a series of stories about naughty men. Each novella follows a woman interested in a man who is in an unconventional job. What kind of unconventional job?

Book one is about a male stripper.
Book two is about a male escort.
Book three is about a male porn star.

Intrigued yet? I hope so. I liked the idea of choosing taboo professions for the men. It makes the story more fun, especially tackling the stereotypes and showing that they're just the same as a man in a conventional job.

What about the titles?

Let me tell you... I had three titles picked out a long time ago. They brought me great amusement because they were part of my plan to use the word "cocky" in a book title (or three) after the whole Cockygate scandal. When I told my husband what the titles were, he didn't particularly care for them but told me I could title the books however I wanted to. I thought about what he said, and asked myself if all of the love interests were indeed "cocky" men. And they really weren't. So I came up with new titles, ones that honestly suited the stories much, much better. And here they are:


Desiring the Dancer (The Risqué Series #1)
Enticing the Escort (The Risqué Series #2)
Seducing the Star (The Risqué Series #3)

All three of them are now on Goodreads. The blurbs still need to be written. Also, I haven't selected release dates because I'm in the early stages of revisions. They are about three different couples and can be read as standalones, although in order works better so you can see where it all began (and they're set in the same world with people who appear in the other books). I do have tentative dates in mind, though, so cross your fingers that I can knock these revisions out of the park.

That's all I've got for you right now! I should have the blurbs and release dates picked out by the end of the month. Once those are ready, it'll be time for a triple cover reveal!

Stay posted with how everything progresses by joining my reader group on Facebook. I've been trying to keep everyone updated every few days/every week with what's going on.

Until next time, take care of yourself!