Updates

Hi All!

CC&C is officially back from the editor and sitting in my hands again.

Well. Digitally in my hands. You know what I mean.

This is one of those milestones that somehow feels both huge and like it should come with a dramatic trumpet fanfare.

That means Ana, Moonstone & Mischief, the rabbits, the magical oddities, and all the other inhabitants of Foxglove Crossing have survived another round of professional scrutiny. 😂

I’m working through the edits and getting everything incorporated into the final manuscript. Once I finish that pass, the book heads to the proofreader for its last typo-hunting adventure.

My goal is to have the proofreading underway and the physical proof copies ordered by the end of September.

After proofreading is complete, the digital edition can head your way fairly quickly. For those of you getting physical books, I’ll be ordering proof copies first so I can check the actual printed books before I approve the final run. Because discovering something wonky after a pile of books has been printed is not an adventure I need. 😆

So, at the moment, our production path looks like this:

There is something especially satisfying about reaching this point because this is where the story starts feeling less like the giant pile of words living in my head and more like an actual book that you are going to get to read.

And I am really excited for you to read this one.

Thank you, as always, for helping make this ridiculous, cozy little corner of the universe real. Every time we hit another production milestone, I get to remember that there are actual people waiting on the other side of this process.

Which is both wonderful and only slightly terrifying. 😆

More soon as I work my way through the edits!

❤️
Claudia

Crystals, Carrots & Cosmic Clues went to my editor today (8/18! 🎉

It is out of my hands and in someone else's, which is exactly where it belongs and also a bit like handing over your car keys and watching them drive away.

Here's what got handed over: 67,239 words. 52 chapters. One burned-out therapist, one shop that made its own decision about who should own it, one ghost-fish familiar, and a rabbit with a pocket watch and a deadline who has been the most demanding coworker I've ever had.

The last few months were the unglamorous part — the pass where you fix the week that happens out of order, and the scene that referenced a conversation that hadn't happened yet, and the four separate places where a mug was in two rooms at once. Nobody will ever notice that work, which is the point of it. 

Bunzila signed off. He returned the manuscript with no notes, which from him is a standing ovation.

My editor has it until roughly mid-September. Then I do the revision pass, it goes to the proofreader, and after that comes formatting and final files. My current estimate for rewards reaching you is November-December.

What you need to do right now: nothing. No survey yet, no address needed, no action. When the BackerKit survey goes out, I'll send a separate update so it doesn't get lost. That's the one where I'll ask for your shipping address and personalization.

Thank you for being patient with a pace that is ridiculous and personal in roughly equal measure. You backed a book that didn't exist yet, and it exists now, and someone qualified is currently telling me what's wrong with it. That's a good day.

Carrot cake when we get there.

With carrots, Claudia Belle

Hi all,

I'm officially moved in.

I didn't expect the move to turn into an epic side quest, but here we are. I ended up pulling my first all-nighter since college after the movers ran out of room with only hours left before I had to be out of the house. That led to me renting a storage unit from my phone and making runs until everything was finally cleared out.

It was a lot, but I'm here, I'm settling in, and I'm very happy to be in the new place.

On the CC&C front, I now have an August slot with my editor, and I'm really excited she was able to squeeze me in.

One unexpected upside of packing up my entire life is that I had a lot of time to think, and I finally worked through some of the story issues that had been making me feel stuck. That feels like a huge win.

So at this point, CC&C is moving into the next phase. The plan is:

Thank you for sticking with me through both the book chaos and the life chaos. I’m excited to keep moving this project forward, and I’ll check in again soon with the next update.

Thank you!

Claudia