It’s been no secret that writing Gate of Myth and Power has been kind of rocky, and not because of the story itself but because of the plethora of surgeries and procedures I’ve had since late 2021. Because of surgeries/procedures, I’ve been on a variety of medications that have made for some interesting story telling choices I made while writing that my editor and/or I were given the joy of rediscovering during the editing process.
Now, typically you’ll find some funny stuff while editing books, and since I have a reading disability, my stories tend to have more errors than average–so bless my poor editor’s heart for tackling my books with me, hahah. But apparently Kitty-on-heavy-meds-while-writing is a totally new level of editing hilarity. So let’s go over some of the top five finds!
Embroidered Garden Cloth: So what I was attempting to describe was one of those fancy embroidered arm chairs that has a floral pattern, similar to the one pictured below, which happens to be Aristide’s favorite chair. What I wrote was “A chair covered in embroidered garden cloth.” Welp. So much for elegance.
Self Given Head Message: No, I don’t mean head massage, I mean message. I have no idea what I meant here–neither did my editor–and the context of the story didn’t help. Did I mean Chloe’s thoughts? Did I mean Chloe was rubbing her head? No idea. I had to change the paragraph entirely because there was no way I could make any sense of it.
Salad Wof eyes: It was supposed to read “Ker looked at Chloe with sad wolfish eyes” what I wrote was “Ker looked at Chloe with salad wof eyes,” and then I proceeded to write “salad wof eyes” three different times on THREE DIFFERENT DAYS.
An Entire Scene of Grimly: For one entire scene, literally every character said said things “grimly,” including things that were not at all grim, like a reference to donuts and several jokes. I have no idea why I did this, it was near the end of the book so it might have been that I was personally feeling grim about meeting the deadline and it was slipping out in my writing…
Cuckoo Clocktower: For an entire scene, I apparently lost all sense of setting, and I wrote in King’s Queen that the clocktower, seen multiple times in King’s Shadow, was a cuckoo clock. As in, I had some clockwork figures pop out to ring bells–it was a thing.
Honorable Mention: This mess-up is actually from Fated–Pack of Dawn and Destiny’s last book, but I wrote that in 2022 and tied it up right as my health started to take a serious nosedive, so we’re going to count it. For the entire book–and I mean the entire book–I forgot the word pride/prideful existed. Whenever I was in a situation that should have used those terms, I wrote–I kid you not– “Full of Proudness.” Yep. Characters all over were getting “Full of Proudness.” And this was after I’d written it AND edited it! It was only after my editor emailed me to remind me that the word “pride” was a thing that it got fixed.
So yeah, it’s been an amusing experience–and that would also be why I’m so tight to the deadline with this one! (Well, editing and the actual writing since King’s Queen was just so loooong.) Speaking of which, King’s Queen is next week! Are you ready for it?!
Thanks for reading, Champion, and have a lovely day!
I was reading your post while trying to get my baby to sleep. Reached “salad wof eyes” and was trying so hard to chuckle quietly! I failed, and she woke up, but oh it was worth it for a good laugh. Thank you for sharing this with us! Take care of yourself. You are awesome!
Kitty, I’m so glad you’re not too full of proudness to share your mistakes with us. These internet words made my lips stretch sideways and pig noises come from my face holes! Barely holding it together waiting for King’s Queen!!!
Oh, goodness! I’m so sorry for all you’ve been going through, but I laughed so hard at this. 😂Love you, Kitty! I hope things are going to be on the upswing for you real soon!
This made me laugh sooooo hard!!!!!!!
I‘m soooo ready for King‘s Queen!!!! I‘ve been counting the weeks 😀
Thanks for sharing this particular post, I laughed so hard at the cuckoo clocktower xD also thank you for all the other fun things you whipped up to keep us happy while waiting <3
But seriously, as stoked as I am for next week‘s release, I hope you continue to take good care of yourself Kitty 🙂 we all need you for a long time to come! And we’ll be patiently waiting for your next book while you’re nursing your health. Sending much love!
Kitty, I feel your pain (and not just with editing)!
But yeah, hilarious!!! However, gonna let you know: Clocktowers with moving life-sized figurines ARE totally real. My grandfather fixed clocks (never less than 150 years old) for years, so yeah, whenever he and my gran would visit Europe, you could bet they’d drive hours to see all the various clocktowers in the area. I do remember they actually had video of one clocktower’s hour-chiming that had a performance that lasted about 15 minutes as all the characters came out, marching, dancing and more to the music. It was a huge tourist trap for the town. Unfortunately I can’t remember where this was, but watching the grainy video with horrible sound definitely has remained in my memory.
As far as Salad Wof Eyes, are you sure your autocorrect isn’t to blame? I’m catching mine changing my correct words to incorrect ones all the time these days 😉
Hang in there! Thank you so much for all you do, and especially for your work when you don’t feel well. Dealing with pain is so very hard. But glad you can see the humorous silver-linings! Praying for you to heal well with as little pain as possible!
This post, along with the much needed reminder that King’s Queen is FINALLY coming out soon, provided me with a much needed laugh.
I’m sorry for all of your health issues, and I hope that they get resolved soon.
At a message posted by one of my favorite authors, I decided to read these as they came out. (She had mentioned it was more helpful for authors, something about the profit line, I think…)
I really wished I had checked for the release dates for this trilogy. The wait has been excruciating. (I’m poor and Kindle Unlimited is a huge help when I can’t find something to read.) I’m really looking forward to how this ends – and am extremely grateful that Book 2 didn’t have a cliffhanger.
for the record, my brother, who has not read the books, thinks that the cuckoo clocktower was a great idea.
I was laughing so hard, I could barely drink. and, for the record, my brother, who has not read the books, thinks that the cuckoo clocktower was a great idea.
Can’t wait for the last book!
I giggled reading this. I have made similar mistakes in my college essays. I haven’t had time or the motivation to write creatively. I am hoping that once my kiddo starts kindergarten next year, I cam get back to it. I have a lot of ideas for kids books.
Thanks for sharing Kitty, definitely laughed at the ‘salad wof eyes’! Absolutely cannot wait for the King’s Queen next week – I’m so psyched. Doing a reread of the Gate of Myth and Power to refreshen myself with the plot, so I’ll be ready!
It’s always good to start your day with a hardy chuckle. Thanks for helping me start my day off right!