Wow, it has been a minute since I wrote the third edition of this post. Like, I wrote an entire duology that wasn’t even on the list since the last one was posted. I’ve finished some, set aside others, and started work toward new ones. Some of these will look familiar, and I’ll honestly probably copy and paste some bits, particularly for ones like Mason, but it’s been over a year since I last wrote about my current projects, so here we are. For reference, here are the first, second, and third editions of this post!

As before, some of the ideas have disappeared throughout the editions as their novels are just so far from the realm of possibly being written that they can’t realistically be considered current projects. I’ve also decided to keep all finished novels on this list, as well as mark where I stand with each. And, again, I’ve also linked their Pinterest boards because I think it’s a great way to really see what the story is about, they’re all in chronological order of when they came to me, and I’ve also linked any actual writing from any of these that have appeared on the blog. You’ll also notice that almost all of these that have appeared before have mysteriously been switched from young adult to new adult. Mysterious in that I’m a total fool, and I should have realized this sooner.

Vamos começar!

vampire detective: Sim, tudo bem, past!Mary, not including this on a list since, jfc, 2017??? Who even am I. Although, Andrew & I have been through such a chaotic journey in the last three years that I’m really not surprised I haven’t considered his story a current project in so long.

Status: Coming soon? After finishing sister witches, I had an urge to work on Andrew because spoilers, and I decided to write the novella of his & Rafael’s life together because writing them in the 21st century after 600 years together felt insane, and I wanted some background info. That novella made it hard to separate that story from the present, so I gave up after about five chapters, and, since then, I’ve made some big decisions about the story as a whole. Am I going to write Andrew’s entire 2000-year history? YUP.

About: NA | urban fantasy | lgbtq+ | BIPOC
Over the course of 2000 years, Andrew Levi (ancient, vampire, gay, Greek) has seen empires rise and fall, kings live and die, and his country, once a place of love and home, become somewhere too steeped in horrible memories to ever return. When a young soldier from Portugal arrives seeking solace, Andrew feels the weight of years begin to ease a little, and this long, winding tale will tell Andrew & Rafael Vilar’s (still under his first millennium, vampire, gay, Portuguese) story in two parts before they weave together for an eternity.

Mason & Co.: Lolllll at my past self, she knew what was up: “This story is going to be on my current projects list until I die.” THAT IS ACTUALLY A FACT. We’ve made some serious strides together in the last years, though, and I truly think I’m closer than ever to actually diving back into Mason’s story, so fingers crossed!

Status: I wrote the first version of his novel in December 2017, lost my best friend via him telling me it was the worst thing he’d ever read, among other things, and then took several steps back for a few years. I tried to restart it in 2019, failed, and have been working through a lot of healing throughout 2020, and he feels closer than ever. Not quite close enough to write, but we’re getting there. I also posted a short story and did a character spotlight on Mason.

About: New Adult | urban fantasy | faeries | lgbtq+
Look, if anyone knows the plot of this story and wants to tell me, that’d be great. The things I do know, but am not sure where they’ll appear, is that Mason (mid-20s, angry, gay) owns a tea café, Madhouse, that caters to humans faeries alike. He’s also the latest in a long line of constantly dying fire elementals, but he’s got a thing or two to say about the whole succumbing to ash and brimstone. I don’t know how long it’ll be, or even the general arc of his story, though I do know where he ends up several years in the future, and that’s just not helpful at all.

the Pen boys: I’m putting this on here because it’s my post, and I’ll do what I want, even if I have no idea if I’ll ever come back to this. My heart and soul right here, honestly. After everything that happened with Mason, this was my saving grace. The first novel was 180k words, and even when I did massive edits, I only got it down to 130k, and it was a complete mess. I’ve since decided that I have to start over from scratch, which I’m no longer upset about, but that means it’s on the back burner right now.

Status: COMPLETE! But also not. I know what the plot is, and I know the overall arc of the story, and though I wrote the entire first book and about half of a novella, I’m going to probably scrap most of that. I have, however, posted a short story about Oliver, the MC, and a character spotlight for James, his love interest.

About: YA | urban fantasy | magic boarding school | lgbtq+ | BIPOC
Penhallam Academy is an all-boys school that teaches its students about the kind of magic you see everyday–crystals, tarot, intuition, herbs, potions. The secret? All of this magic is actually real. It’s located in Gloucester with several trips to Rockport. There’s some demons, a hell of a lot of angst, mental illness and friendship, and my favorite four boys ever: Oliver Hollands (sad, gay, white), James Goddard (angry, gay, Latin), Harrison Eldridge (Dad, bi, Spanish), and Jasper Marlow (basically a Weasley twin, ace, Black).

sister witches: Of everything on this list, this is the one that has the most coherency. It’s got a title, the whole trilogy is finished, and I’m actively working on revision. I started working on it at the end of 2018, and, at that point, I thought it was going to be a trashy paperback series that goes on for a million years, and BOY WAS I WRONG.

Status: COMPLETE! Wow, the last time I wrote this, I’d only just finished the first novel, and I posted the first chapter. Since then, I’ve written the second & third book, decided it was a trilogy, and am aiming for second book revisions next. I also did a character spotlight for Theodore & Henley, the two MCs, cried about it in several #marywrites posts, and published a short story about Henley & Luciana!

About: New Adult | urban fantasy | WITCHES | lgbtq+ | BIPOC
Three witches, who live in the heart of Salem, accidentally summon a demon, and then, while trying to piece together how to banish him over the course of a year, also accidentally fall in best friend love. Our witches–Henley: HWIC, lesbian, Spanish; Margot: loves bees, bi, Black; Adelaide: Aesthetic™, straight, Asian–will literally do anything to protect their always scowling demon–Theodore: can turn into a cat, gay, Irish–even if that means a) defeating Henley’s estranged sister, b) going up against the literal horseman of war, and c) bringing together the most unlikely of mythical creatures.

Saintsverse: Remember that time I didn’t put a picture of a cathedral here because I thought grey stripes of paint was more aesthetic to this religiously-steeped book of darkness and living shadows? LOL @ PAST ME. For a second, I thought I also wasn’t going to include this on the list before I remembered I was putting finished projects on here, even though this is no longer finished. This was the first of the books that I realized was supposed to be new adult rather than young adult, and I had to rework a bunch of stuff anyway, so yeah. These need some serious revision.

Status: Alright, buckle up. First, we have King of Saints, which is complete. Before, I called it compete complete because it’d been written, edited, and revised, but some distance of a couple years has made me realize just how much work I have left. A very old version of the first chapter can be found here, and I’ve also done a character spotlight for Landon, the MC. This is a duology, and I’ve also written the second book.

Then, we’ve got The Wolf King. Post-Saints duology, we have Saints at sea, which takes a few characters from the original duology and drops them into the ocean with a gang of pirates. The first novel is complete, though it needs serious work, and I got about a third of the way into the second one. A short story version of the first chapter can be found here under Massachusetts’s Emerging Writers: A Fiction Anthology. The story of publishing A Boy and the Ocean can be found here.

Finally, The Bastard King. Post-Saints at sea duology, we’re with all new characters (that we’ve met previously, just not actual Saints) on a different island for a (probably) trilogy. This hasn’t been started yet, but you can bet your bottom dollar it’s happening. Someday? Who knows. I love these characters, and there are dragons, so I want it.

About: NA | high fantasy | lgbtq+ | BIPOC
The first duology, beginning with King of Saints, follows a ragtag group of misfits who smuggle people out of their city that the church is targeting. Those with magic are not tolerated in the city, and thus persecuted. The Saints are trying to avoid an all-out war with the church, but, as with all persecutions, it’s inevitable.

The second duology, beginning with The Wolf King, follows another ragtag group of misfits, but this time, they’re sailing the high seas. There’s a plot afoot to kill off the last of the Ash children and to incite a war between several different islands, and Julian Mallory, captain of the Wolf, is smack in the middle of it.

The final trilogy, beginning with The Bastard King, follows recently crowned King Qadir and his three closest allies. His city has always referred to the four as the bastards, and now the name has stuck. The plot of this is still forming, but it’s probably going to be your standard high fantasy with kings and dragons and ANGST, duh.

the weight of us: These boys will break your heart. This was originally inspired by a fanfiction I wrote years ago, and I thought about that story so many times that I decided to make it an actual thing. Of course, as always happens, it’s taken on a life of its own and become something else entirely.

Status: COMPLETE! This was started in June 2018 and finished in April 2019. The mad dash to the end can be found here, which includes the first chapter. Since then, I’ve grown to dislike the opening chapters very strongly, and I need to revise this big time.

About: NA | contemporary | romance | lgbtq+
Will (23) and Émilien (23) have been friends since they were six and bonded over books on the jungle gym. Now, as adults, they’re trying to navigate a world that sways between love and loss. There’s a lot of French, a lot of books, and lot of quiet, soft moments.

space thieves: If you’d asked me a month ago to write this post, I wouldn’t have included this on the list, but it’s probably going on the goals list of books to write next year, sooooo. I’ve figured out some key pieces of the structure of this story, and I’m really excited.

Status: This came about via a short story that I wrote and that is now available here under America’s Emerging Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers: Northeast Edition. While I am not actively writing this right now, it’s coming, friends.

About: NA | SPACE fantasy | lgbtq+ | BIPOC
When Soraya (angry, ace, Portuguese) was little, all she wanted to do was belong. Orphaned at a young age, she yearned for friends, for community, and for a sense of ah yes I’m here now. She finds it through Ilyas (soft, gay, Arabic) at the orphanage, Veda (fierce af, lesbian, Indian) and Dejan (dumbass, straight, Middle Eastern) in primary school, and through space and the stars at the Academy. This was supposed to be a trilogy, but I’ve got new plans, and, instead, I’m going to blend together the three parts of Soraya’s life–her journey through schooling at the Academy & learning to become a pilot, her journey through space as a stowaway & eventually to a new planet, and her journey to go back to Earth & bring the remaining people to their new home–into one massive story.

between two lungs: My newest joy! This literally came out of nowhere, and it was nothing more than “what if some angsty dude was determined to summon a demon and there were a lot of books involved” that transformed into a short story that, somehow, became a duology in a half year.

Status: COMPLETE! Well, almost. The first book is complete, and, actually, at the time of posting this, I might be done with the second book. I wrote a short story that I was hoping would exorcise the idea, and it did exactly the opposite.

About: NA | urban fantasy | lgbtq+ | BIPOC
When Freddie Wright (late 20s, exuberant & annoyingly smart, gay, British) receives an anonymous letter promising his finances taken care of in exchange for years of research regarding the summoning of a demon, he packs up his bags and moves to Portugal with his sister, Florence (twin, pyro & angry at everything, ace, British). There, he’s assigned a librarian, Hugo (wants to be left alone, exhausted with Freddie, bi, Portuguese), and the years of occults research and slow burn love are everything and nothing that Freddie expects.

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And that is, finally, a wrap! Of these 8 ideas that I’m either currently entrenched in or steadily working on in the background, I’ve written 8 novels that will actually see the light of day, 3 that will not, and a whole slew of short stories. Plus, a novella! I’m actively working on a lot of these, and I sometimes update here on the blog where I’m at with different ones, so if you’ve made it this far and are still interested, keep a weather eye on the horizon!