Category: Updates

An Intermission

So, a couple of changes will be coming up in the near future. I’ve got some things in the works, so there will be some things changing priority.

This will be the last scheduled “Blog Post” for a while. I feel like I don’t have enough happening with my writing/publishing journey to justify having a super regular post. I get anxious about repeating ideas or reposting old blog posts. This means the first Sunday of the month will no longer be regular posts. When ideas come up, I’ll probably create a blog post, but I’m running out of ideas to keep up with a monthly Non-Fiction post. I’ll continue doing monthly fiction, both as a way to keep the blog active and give myself the motivation to keep writing even when I run out of ideas. I’m hoping that having this be the primary focus of my time outside of work will mean more quality writing to continue providing to you for free.

Secondly, like many other people, I’ll be closing down my Twitter. I no longer use it and it’s frankly not really bringing in a ton of traffic. If you only follow me there, please consider signing up for my newsletter or following my page on Facebook!

The Superb September Submission Scramble!

Be honest, you really opened this one for the alliteration, didn’t you?

Yes, friends, believe it or not, we have made it to September. The slow drudge of March 2020 has finally made it to September of 2021. I regret to say that my writing has had to take a back seat to a few things: a new job, finding a new apartment, and working on my mental and physical health. It’s been a busy time these past few months and my writing has suffered because of that. Not that I haven’t been writing or editing–I’ve been doing that almost daily since we were first told to stay home to help other people. But the work you never share never sees the light of day. Yes, I’m talking about submitting.

Whether your submitting a short story, flash fiction, or a novel, the process of submitting your work is daunting. It’s one thing to post my short little fiction pieces here so that people can get a taste of my writing, but presenting my work to an agent or editor with the sole purpose of them deciding if the piece’s worth? It’s terrifying! That being said, the easiest way to win at poker is to hold as many cards as you can. I know that’s against the rules, but that’s the thought behind the September Submission Scramble.

Every day this month, I will submit one thing to an agent, magazine or contest. I have a long backlog of things that have been rejected and edited, but I so rarely send them out for round two. Why? Fear, maybe. But that’s the point of the Scramble: submit with reckless abandon. If you get a rejection, I tell myself, you’re no worse off than if you don’t submit. If someone bites, you put your effort into it. So, I’m in the act of submitting as much as I can over the next month. Rejections, Acceptance, or Non-Responses: when there’s only three options? It doesn’t feel so bad. Try, Fail, Try Again, and Fail Better.

If you write, how are your submissions going? We’re entering magazine season again, so if anyone wants to join on, let me know! Part of the Scramble is to encourage each other to try.

Reflections: August

I was thinking about making yesterday’s giveaway announcement my post for the blog, but my completionism nature won out. I decided to take a quick moment just to give everyone an update on what’s going on so far.

The book is doing really well, in my opinion! There were a couple of minor hiccups and things that I might do differently next time (and, believe me, there will be a next time), but I feel like this has given me a massive boost in confidence in my writing. There’s a really big difference between having people read things you post for free and having them pay for something you wrote is a very different experience! I’ve been working on writing more books for the future and I’ve been submitting my work to more agents. The confidence boost has been huge and I am so appreciative of everyone who read my book and wrote reviews. You have made this experience so much more enjoyable and really lit the fire for me to keep working on my writing. So thank you! This would, quite literally, not be possible without you.

I’m in the process of moving (relocating in September), so I’m glad I’ve been able to get things with my book relatively stable in terms of things that are in my control. I’m gonna keep posting about it and appreciate each and every one of you who have helped spread the word. As of right now, I’m only able to get the news out by word of mouth and I’m so grateful you’ve been willing to give me a chance. So, thank you.

I will probably go back to more normal things (if such a thing ever exists again) after my move, but keep an eye out for my writing and other updates. And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

Stay safe and stay well!

Found Mysteries Giveaway!

Starting today, August 1st, I’ll be hosting a special giveaway to celebrate the release of Found Mysteries: The Rebirth of Violet Franklin and Other Tales! The grand prize will be a $25 Amazon Gift Card and this beautiful print designed by Emily Congdon (who designed the stellar cover of this book).

To enter, retweet and share the special post on my social media for two entries (one share and one retweet, multiples don’t count). On September 1st, I’ll do a drawing and contact the winner! This contest, sadly, has to be limited to within the US because…laws. So, good luck to everyone who’s entering and thank you so much for your support so far! I’m looking forward to everything that’s going to come!

Found Mysteries: In Your Hands!

You read that correctly!

If you follow me on any social media (which you should), I recently announced that my physical book came to my hands for approval! There’s a lot of emotions that came with that (namely shock), but it feels so good to have something physical in my hands! I had to make a few minor revisions that I couldn’t identify until I had a physical copy in my hands, but those issues have been resolved and I can comfortably say that the book is finally ready for you, dear readers!

You can get it online through the expected resources, but I highly recommend asking your local independent bookstore if they can order a copy for you! It’s available through IngramSpark and, if it’s needed, the ISBN is “978-1-7351463-0-0” (but it’s also the only book under my name).

I am so excited for everyone who was waiting for a physical copy to finally get their version, but I wanted to make sure that you were all getting the best possible product I could promise. If you bought a digital copy, don’t worry, none of the stories have changed.

Keep an eye out at the end of the month, as I’m going to be having a contest for the month of August for an opportunity to win a special prize!

Big Announcement!

I am self-publishing a book!

Since we are all currently in the clutches of a pandemic and staying indoors, I took some time to take a few stories that I had written and self-publish them as a complete set! I worked with my friend Emily Congdon (emilycongdon.com) to design what I think is a gorgeous cover.

The book contains three novellas:

The Death of Venus Harlow:
Venus needs to solve a murder: her own. She turns to Bryce, a local medium who helps ghosts finish their unresolved business. Together, they work through the investigation. While Bryce can’t make any formal arrests, he agrees that he’ll get the police enough evidence to make one. Venus is still learning how to use the full extent of her ghostly abilities and Bryce needs evidence before Venus’s missing person case is filed away as a cold case.

The Star Map:
Arielle sees stars, but not from familiar constellations. The stars become her obsessions. The glow-in-the-dark decorations dominate her ceiling, but she can’t figure out how she knows how to arrange her strange constellations. Her struggles turn to confusion when she sees a customer sketching bits of her star map on napkins at his table, and he introduces her to others with the same knowledge. The question that drives them all on: what might this map of stars lead to?

The Rebirth of Violet Franklin:
Death was only the second most painful thing Violet Franklin had ever experienced. The most painful thing was being brought back from the dead. Her father, a brilliant surgeon driven mad by grief, brings Violet back from the dead. After feeling like a prisoner, Violet escapes from her father’s basement and flees to a friend’s house. The only way that she’ll be able to be truly free is if she can prove she’s legally who she says she is to the court. However, Violet’s fingerprints don’t match any records, her DNA is from a dozen different people and most signs that she is physically Violet have been washed away by her father’s procedure. She needs to convince the court that she is Violet or she’ll never be able to recover from her trauma. 

We’re going to release the book early next week pending any major, unforeseen circumstances. Stay tuned with me on Twitter and Facebook for more updates as they arrive!

What’re you workin’ on?

Anyone who’s a creative (visual artist, writer, musician) dreads and fears this question. How do you consolidate weeks, months or years worth of work into a few sentences? It’s daunting, especially when you’re trying to justify all the time and effort spent making your art.

For me, answering this question results in a few vaguely connected sentences about what I’m currently working on. Usually, it ends with ‘…or something like that, I’m still working on it.’ This year in particular, with my goal to write four hundred words a day, I have three or four projects cooking at any given time. Either short stories or novel length projects, drafting has been my main goal this year. The answer to this question changes so often, it could be one thing during one week and something completely different not long after. So, I usually try to mention whatever project I’m working on: Dinosaur Westerns, Endless Summers, Werewolves, Fauns in the Modern World, or whatever else might draw someone’s interest.

As much as I’m enjoying my writing streak (which I plan to go more in depth about in January), I’m also looking forward to being able to sit with what I’ve written and really make sense of it all. I think a lot of artists feel this way at some point: so many rough ideas, sketches or tunes that you need to just get out on paper. In a way, it’s freeing to do it, but there’s so much going on that it’s hard to make sense of it all at once.

A Brief Announcement

Apologies for the past few posts for those who felt spammed. Technology, for all its delights and advantages, doesn’t always cooperate. That being said, this will be a brief announcement for today’s post.

I’ve decided, after some consideration and thought, that I’m going to be doing fewer blog posts on here. While I enjoy the act of posting and keeping my blog active, my current situation makes the blog a little overwhelming. So, starting this month, we’ll be on a new schedule to make things a little easier for me and a little more predictable for you.

The First Sunday of every month will be a general blog post about my writing life and all the Behind The Scenes stuff that people are curious about. I still enjoy those posts and feel like I’m connecting with people and letting them see the side of the writing life that is normally kept very private and unspoken. The Third Sunday will include a new piece of fiction for you to enjoy. I feel like my “One Fiction Piece A Month” pattern is good, but it’s getting lost in between all the other posts (ideally, this will also keep me posting lots of new things on a regular basis). I like posting on this blog, but I also feel like it should be a vessel for my writing, not just ramblings.

This schedule may change as my situation changes, but I feel for my health and this blog, that I need to slow down a little. I have no intention of stopping, just cutting myself some slack. My Twitter will still be very active and I’ll try and keep my Facebook more active. But coming up with totally new content every week is just a drain on resources I don’t have. So, I’m gonna try and step away from the keyboard once in a while.

So, this will be the Behind the Scenes post for the month. Stay tuned for the fiction piece!

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