Hi, friends! Can you believe it’s somehow September? The end of summer was a blur, but my kids are now back in school and the weather is turning crisp. I’m so excited for the fall months ahead.
This email is coming to you a little late. I’m playing a bit of catch-up now that I’ve regained some work hours, and I hope you can forgive my tardiness. Better late than never, right?
Recently on insta, a reader DMed me, asking (paraphrasing) “Are you writing anything these days?”
At first, I was surprised, because I’m always working on something. How could anyone not know this? But after some reflection, I realized that I’ve been pretty secretive about my writing projects lately. I keep details pretty vague here on the newsletter and I haven’t said a peep about my writing projects on insta in years. No wonder this reader was unsure if I was still writing!
If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know I’ve hit roadblock after roadblock these past few years and simply don’t have book news to share. However, I know I have fans out there who are eager for my next book, and they want to know what might be coming down the pipeline.
I’m so grateful for these fans; your continued interest and support, especially through this dry spell, means the world. I very much hope to have something new for you soon.
I know all too well that no book is guaranteed a deal. I also know that deals can fall apart even after selling to a publisher. But I feel like it’s time for me to talk about my WIPs again. Not in excessive detail, because I prefer to write in a bit of a vacuum. If I pull the curtain back too much, I feel like it invites other voices into my head, and that messes with my process. But I’m ready to share a little bit about what I’ve written recently and what I’m working on now.
What I spent 2023-2024 on:
First, there’s Project TIMELOOP, a MG fantasy time-travel adventure. This is the book that sold and then fell apart because the publisher restructured before we got a contract signed.1 This project was SO FUN. Think summer, sailing, a rag-tag crew, time travel, magical sea creatures, found family, and a story-within-a-story. Because of some complicated details I cannot get into, we were unable to take this book back on sub to other editors, but I’m hopeful that maybe some day, this book will get another chance.
Second, there’s Project ORCHARD, a second chance adult romance that failed to find a home after a 18-months on sub and a very close call. First loves, second chances, watercolors, yearning, New Hampshire, apple orchards… This book was a joy. I love these characters dearly, and the main character’s relationship with art and how she grapples with her own ambitions while searching for happiness was deeply cathartic to write. After not touching this book for a year, I recently re-read it and am still obsessed. I have some ideas of how to revise it and make it stronger; perhaps it’s not completely dead yet. (I plan to discuss this with my new agent sometime soon.)
What I’ve spent 2025 on:
Project CITY, a YA dystopia that I’m co-writing with a close friend. This book has felt like a homecoming—a return to the type of story that got me my start as a published author. Utopian-on-the-surface world, enemies forced to work together, dual POV, treasure hunt, with some super powers mixed in. I never thought I could co-write a novel, but it turns out that with the right partner, it’s actually amazing. There’s always someone there as a sounding board, and chapters just magically appear in the doc, already written. A dream! It’s about halfway done, and we hope to finish the draft this fall.
Project CABIN, an adult horror/thriller following a mother trying to keep her children safe during a deadly pandemic. I first started writing this back in 2020 but only this year began working on it in earnest. I have 75K+ written and can see the end in sight. I’m slow though, and this particular project has required so much rewriting and layering. That said, I’m immensely proud of it. It also scares me a little, which I think is a good thing. It means I’m challenging and pushing myself. With any luck, I’ll be able to wrap the draft this month.
This has not been my typical writing advice or publishing insights post, but I wanted to share this update for the readers who are interested. (If you don’t like these types of update emails, be sure to adjust your newsletter preferences so you only receive the type of content you’re interested in.)
If you have any writing/publishing questions you’d like answered in a future newsletter, please drop them in the comments. I plan to get back to my typical content next month.
Until next time,
Erin Bowman is the critically acclaimed author of numerous books for children and teens, including the Taken Trilogy, Vengeance Road, Retribution Rails, the Edgar Award-nominated Contagion duology, The Girl and the Witch’s Garden, and Dustborn. A web designer turned author, Erin has always been invested in telling stories—both visually and with words. Erin lives in New Hampshire with her husband and children.
Had this not happened, it would be publishing this fall. Sob. 😭
This was a fun update! Thanks for sharing it. Been curious about what you might be working on. My wife and I co-wrote a manuscript for an adult fantasy many years ago, and it was a lot of fun. We did have some arguments (one was hilariously absurd after we resolved it), but most of the experience was fun, almost like having a third child. I think the part I enjoyed most was getting to throw things into the story she didn’t know I was planning to do (and vice versa). We actually wrote two manuscripts, but the first one wasn’t publishable (the bright side was that it let us figure out our method for writing together). We got to the point of an agent looking at the full manuscript, but then got ghosted. We’ve been talking about revisiting that manuscript and updating it, possibly indie publishing it.
Second chance romance are my favorite, favorite thing, so keep the candle burning on that one PLEASE!! And on all of these, because they all sound fantastic!! Good luck. We got this.