With the first two books of Cary Simms coming out over the next few weeks, the third book is already well underway. I'm almost halfway through the first draft, with much of the topics already handled. As with most of the books so far in this series, there's a lot happening in the beginning of the book over the span of just a few days, before the more drawn out storyline that lasts for the semester (or in this case, summer break). And I'll be going into that part of the storyline in the next few days.
Part of the reason why I had decided that this would be a summer break book instead of moving on to Cary's first semester of seventh grade was just how much material I had for the summer. Just with what I had for the start of the book, it was eleven chapters before I could settle into a decent time jump, with all of them taking place on the same day. There was a lot of ground to cover in the start of the book, with introducing several of the over-arching storylines that are running throughout the series.
And in Chapter Fourteen, Cary just learned her first advanced spell, flying, which she struggled to cast. That hadn't happened on any of the other spells she's had, with Invitalus Dolcas (invisiblity) being her weakest. But it's important for the characters to struggle, even when it's something that they really want. That was one of the many reasons why this series is going to be running so long. Why it won't be until book five that Cary starts to come to terms with her gender identity. And why it wasn't as simple as Cary going to TPS that first day, someone just "reading her aura" or something and telling her that she's a girl, before transforming her immediately.
And I hate to break it to you, but that's only going to get worse over the course of the series. Cary has a long journey ahead of her, not just in her being trans, and her learning magic, but in everything that's about to happen in the magical realm. At the end of Book 2, we first get a hint at who Cary's parents were before they died. That continues in Book 3, with Cary learning more and more. But even that is a journey for her, with her grandparents not wanting to talk to her about it.
I can't wait for you all to get a chance to read Cary Simms: The Lost Yule Log next month. I hope you all stay tuned as the rest of the series comes out over the next few years. Look for Cary Simms: The Fairy Mushroom Forest next week (the 26th) and Cary Simms: The Lost Yule Log on the 10th. Plus Cary Simms: The Last Testament and Cary Simms: The Witch Ring sometime next year.
