November is National Novel Writing Month, when would-be authors from around the country try to crank out a 50,000-word novel in 30 days. I did it for the first time last year and the result was "OtherSpace: Red-Eye Flight."

This year, I’ve got something new in mind.

First, the creative endeavor for NaNoWriMo will focus on Chiaroscuro. Second, it’s going to be a pair of dueling novels. I’ll be writing one; Chalice, one of my creative co-conspirators at will write the other. The stories will parallel but stand alone as separate books. Tentative title for mine: “The Exile Emperor.” Tentative title for hers: “The Raven’s Shadow.”

Currently, we’re both working on outlines for the novels. We won’t actually start churning out the chapters until the competition kicks off on Nov. 1.

Should be a fun challenge! Stay tuned!