Shortly after completing work on The Moreau Witches, I mentioned that I was working on a new novel called Alanis, Land of the Undead. The working title is a long one, so most days I refer to it as Alanis Undead. The original plan was to publish this novel on Halloween, just like the novel before. In fact, I was hell-bent on publishing a new novel every Halloween for the rest of my life. What better way to celebrate my favourite day of the year?
Then, in February of this year, while writing the last few chapters of the novel, I took a break from fiction writing. I wanted to focus on taking two university classes that would better inform my words. Though the book is fantasy, it is more a case of alternate history than an alternate world, so I wanted to better understand the subjects that formed my base.
To achieve this, I completed an Ancient Egyptian Civilisation course with the University of Pennsylvania and a Medieval Magic course with the University of Barcelona. If you think these are two strange topics to put together, wait ’til you read the novel!
Reasons for Book Delays
Unfortunately, that is unlikely to be this year. Publishing The Moreau Witches cost me almost $2,000. So, I budgeted for $3,000 for this new book. All of this funding comes from one source: my company, Alexis Chateau PR. All sales also go directly back to it. However, this year, my company has a much bigger project on its hands, i.e. relocation.
If all the stars align correctly, by January 2020 I will begin building a new home with the inclusion of a home office. My company, naturally, will have to fund its own portion of the build. If you have ever built or even bought a home, you already know that real estate is not an inexpensive investment.
I will, however, keep working on the novel. There are aspects of writing that do not cost me a penny, so these will be my focus. Hopefully, the book will be available for pre-order for Black History Month 2020.
Staying on schedule ultimately depends on USCIS. I am still on a green card extension, and as a direct result, banks avoid me like the plague. My immigration status made it difficult to finance my car and led to the rejection of a tiny house loan I tried to pre-qualify for this year.
Some banks won’t even allow me to open a savings account! Trust and believe, I am making a note of all these banks. I will be applying for my citizenship so I can vote in the 2020 Presidential Elections, and when I have that American citizenship, it is me who will be avoiding those banks like the plague. That will be my thanks for discrimination.
If you are also a legal U.S. immigrant facing similar issues, please consider Capital One. Maybe next week I will explain why Capital One is my absolute favourite bank of all time. I have a total of four accounts with this bank because it is one of few banks who never gave me hell over my immigration status and immigrant-new credit.
Look Out for Updates
But, we digress! As the year progresses, I will have more updates on the status of the Alanis Undead project, as well as the continued feet-dragging of USCIS with processing my paperwork.
Every week, people ask me how the new novel is going and I know a lot of you were looking forward to it, but unfortunately I cannot change the ways of ‘MURICA. I can only use the opportunity to plan and save. Please bear with me!
For those of you who follow me on Twitter—or would like to—I do post real-time updates via the hashtag #AlanisUndead. Through the hashtag, I was able to name two characters with input from my followers, so feel free to chime in on our discussions!
