I am STILL working on a kid's book. The past few months have been personally challenging, with my husband's illness and sudden retirement. Life is calmer now so am getting more writing done.

My latest project:

Spidergirls: Escape from the Mad Scientist.

Steampunk

A group of school girls were on their way to a nature study week at the beach in early summer. They awake in a  strange hospital in an ancient castle--and it is fall. Their human legs are gone, replaced by strange metal spider legs, four on each side.

World Building

I write fantasy and scifi romance in my other writing life so do quite a bit of world building. Here's a little of my process.

I use the software Scrivener and start with a binder named for the project. If I have a series planned I set the binder up with the series name. Each individual manuscript will be within that binder.

I love Scrivener. I split my screen horizontally and have the cork board on the bottom. On the top, my manuscript setting, I start a brainstorming page. I take all kinds of random notes there--names, snippets of dialogue or characterization or plot. Anything.

The cork board is the organizational aspect. As I choose place names, I copy them to an place index card(virtual). Same with character names. Object names--maybe they call an 'airship' something else!

I also search the internet for graphics--mountain vistas, or castles, spaceships, whatever, and put them on my cork board. I'm visual and that give me a better sense of place. I often find people who resemble my characters, and perhaps clothes they might wear.

Eventually I replace the brainstorming manuscript with a rough narrative synopsis. Once that is done I start the first draft. For me the synopsis stage is fun and creative. I often visualize scenes and sometimes even dream about them.

"Victorian Source"  link  "http://lacetoleather.com/victorian.html."