News, Updates, and Minor (Major) Ramblings

It's November, which means food and it's also the point in the year where everyone at work starts disappearing for holiday festivities. I cannot wait for Turkey Day. The PWHL also returns this month, so you all need to mentally prepare for me to talk about hockey in future posts until about June or July. New to the blog, TL:DR . Click the link and you'll jump to a summary of the blog post. Not AI-generated. Just me calling out the important things in the post.  I don't plan for this to be a long post, just trying to get back into the habit of posting. Still working on  Grisly Politics . I've only been able to work on this book in the mornings on the weekends due to the course I'm taking and work, but once I finish my course in the next week or so, I'll be able to dedicate more time to it. I'm actually getting close to the first inciting incident of the book. If you know me, I like to have a couple or a few of those depending on the book. This is excludi...

By productive I mean, I'm further along in the manuscript for the second Detective Miller book and I've been doing some work on my website. I hope May has been treating you all better than it has me. I got Covid the week before last—thanks to my sister's husband—so I've been in isolation for the last two weeks. It was a mild case and felt more like a head cold, but it left me super tired. Last Saturday, all I did was sleep and it was glorious.

I was supposed to put up a true update on what I'm doing at the end of June, but then I quit being a human. Shout out to my depression and feeling 100% like crap for that one. I'm trying to work through it with my therapist so I can get back to something that look like a functional person, but it currently remains to be elusive. Onto what you actually came here for....author ramblings! Fate Unseen....Fate Unseesn...FATE UNSEEN! It's like Bloody Mary. Say it three times and it'll pop out of nowhere, or so I wished. Still editing it. My editing has been reduced to fits of trying to get it done because I have lost all motivation for it, so I'm doing what I can. What does that mean for the book coming out this year? A miracle. That's it. If I manage to publish it before the end of this year it will definitely be a miracle and I'm gonna have me some peach Jim Beam and tea to celebrate. My struggle with editing has nothing to do with the story itself because once ...

I would say happy New Year, but at this point, it would be supremely awkward. I honestly have no idea where this month has gone, but here we are. Just a quick blog post to let everyone know I'm alive. Fate Unseen is getting put out of its misery this weekend, if not the beginning of next week. I have taken some time off from work to dedicate my life to it, so that is exciting. Once I get it to my editor, I'll be doing a cover reveal. Newsletter subscribers will see it first, and a few days later, I'll make a blog post about it. I hope I don't forget to do that, but I'm sure someone will keep me on track. Teaser chapters will be posted on my Patreon once I review my editor's edits. If I'm happy with the chapter, it'll go up as soon as I'm done with my review. Remember, I only put out 3 teaser chapters. For book release time frame, I am looking at April or May. Way later than I wanted it to be, but that's fine considering how much I was str...

I live! I live! I know it has been a long time since I put up a blog post. I'm so delayed with this that I'm only doing one post this month. I know I put out the newsletter, but I feel like blogging is more intimate. I can ramble a bit, and don't feel like I'm being annoying. With the newsletter I feel like I am even though it comes out once a month. But enough about me and my thoughts. I have the greatest news ever! I finished the first round of edits for Fate Unseen, which is book 2 of the Last Pureblood series. Next up for me is....more editing! Which is actually me typing up the edits from the first round since I do those by hand, but I also keep looking for ways to tweak the story, and make sure it's consistent and makes sense. But this second round of edits shouldn't be as strenuous as the first ones since I'm not taking a blob of story and turning it into something that you all would want to read. Because I feel confident that the second round of...

I failed in getting that last September blog post up. I had it drafted and everything, but I never got to posting it. Full stop, I've been in a meh mood lately. I'm not sure if it's because of the weather change or if I'm doing too much, but I think I am getting out of it, and I am making progress. Before I get into everything, a couple of announcements. First, because it's spooky month, Avery Lawson: The Last Pureblood on the sale the entire month. I know it's not really a scary book, but the themes of it go quite well with the month. Witches, vamps, werewolves....they own October. Go grab a copy if you haven't yet. Next order of business, I have enlisted Reappearance of Summer in a lesfic/wlw fiction giveaway . I think it is among some great company, and you should check out the other authors' books. Go get yourself a free book. This won't be the last time I mention it. Okay, I have been editing book 2 of the Last Pureblood series, also kno...

Is it just me, or does the last four months of the year seem to fly by? We are halfway through September, and this is my first blog post for the month. August ended so fast, I didn't get to post a second one, but I am on it this month. Maybe. I think. Anyways, despite my inability to grasp the concept of time, I have been busy editing Fate Unseen, the second book in the Last Pureblood series. I want to lock myself in a room until I have it done, but life and work have other plans for me. However, I'm going to focus a lot of my time on getting it done. It is shaping up to be an interesting read. When the second book starts, there really is no breather from the last one, so if you don't remember what happened in the last one then you'll need to re-read it because I don't do any recapping in the second book. I'm too busy trying to move the story forward lol. Expect teaser chapters for Fate Unseen in November, and hopefully by the time I start posting those, ...

The month has completely passed me by and I feel like September will do the same. Oh, boy. Thought I'd make a quick blog post before the month finishes out. Tomorrow, August 26th, Murderous Profession will be out on Kindle and Smashwords! I'm still working on the paperback formatting, but that should be out in a week or two. Between life and work, time just got away from me. Lame excuse, but it's surprising how busy I was in August. But anywhoo, grab yourself a copy of the book and tell me what you think about it. I found it to be a quick read and entertaining, as did my editor. Of all the characters, I have a fondness for Dax and Billy. I had a fun time writing them. I know some of you are waiting with bated breath for the next Avery Lawson book, and I am actively editing it as we speak, however, I'm taking the tortoise route with it--slowly but surely. I don't want to miss something that should have been mentioned in this one, or I mention something that shoul...

This means I have to write two blog posts before it ends. Great. I hope everyone has had a wonderful pride month. Learned some queer history, celebrated yourself, and was defiant by being your beautiful queer self. We are definitely in a period of time where people's perception of the queer community is changing, but there are a lot of things we still need to work on, and we can only do that together. So, lift each other up and fight in memory of those that came before for us, those who are currently here, and those who can't fight for themselves. Sorry, I got in my solitary feel, but the state of the world got me feeling some type of way. Any-gays, this month has been a wonderful month of progress on book two of the Last Pureblood series. I am near the end, and once it is done, I'll take a break from it. By then my editor will be all set with Murderous Profession , but we shall see. I am at the point where I'm setting up some new plot elements for book three, and...

The store is back up on my website. A couple of call outs; if you're an EU based reader, sorry, but VAT gave me a headache and you can't purchase from the site. However, you can still order through Amazon and Smashwords , and when I start up the serials, you can purchase those through my Gumroad store. Any tangible items, like signed copies, are only shipped to US readers, and if you try to purchase a signed copy, Paypal will say, "Sorry, but this seller doesn't ship outside the US." This may change, but the landscape of selling things online is changing, so who knows. I have thoughts on it, but they have nothing to do with this. We have a cover for Murderous Profession, and it is below. For those who voted for Cover B, a winner has been chosen and has been contacted. If they want me to announce their win publicly I will, but they will remain anonymous. The winner is getting a signed copy of the book that will be printed by the new book printing company I'm ...

I blinked, and next thing I knew it was March 16th. Decided it would be a great time to do an update. I think the main reason why March flew by is because I was busy trying to obliterate the first draft of my next book, which as of 10:15pm of March 12th, is finished. I'm intrigued to see how this book will be received because this will be my first book where my main characters won't be two women who love women. This time I've got a cis, female, bisexual main character, and a trans, sexually fluid, main character who is a person of color. It'll be different, but I hope people will have an open mind about it. I mean you really need to because it's set in a world where sex work is legal, and Dax is a sex worker who loves his job. But all seriousness aside it's a fun book, and there are some serious moments, but overall it is a light read. My goal for it is to be a quick, fun read that also gives you some feels. I'll have more information about the release of...

Sigh. Let's rap good people. It has been a craptacular January for me, but I think things are getting back on track, especially after that bout of the food poisoning. I'm waiting to receive my survey on it, would not recommend. Last Pureblood Book Two I honestly have been plugging away at it and there is a nice chunk of it done, but I'm finding myself at a point where I feel like the pacing is sluggish and there are some elements I am truly struggling with. I find myself growing frustrated with it, but at the same time I also haven't been able to give it the proper attention it needs. Between the holidays, work, and life in general it barely got my full attention. I'm getting a new work schedule, and life is becoming less intense, so hopefully I can focus on the story and give you all the proper book you deserve considering the first one. I think my lack of patience is the cause of my frustration because book two is like the second part of laying the foundati...

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a good time ringing in 2019. Nothing exciting with this post. Just wanted to announce the new site is up and running. I have plans for it which is why I moved to a different provider. I'm downsizing the number of places my books can be bought, and when it is all said and done you will only be able to get them on Amazon and my website. Jury is still out on Smashwords. I'm also going to start selling exclusive content through the site, so the change was a needed one. One thing on the site I want to talk further about is I put up a form for anyone to fill to become a beta reader for me. I don't have anything yet, but it'll be nice to have people waiting to give me feedback before I put out a story. It'll be pretty cut and dry. You fill out the form, I reach out and let you know I got it. Then once I do have something I need feedback on I'll reach out and see if you can read it. There will be time frames, but they will be loose ...

I hope everyone is excited because on Monday, Reappearance of Summer will be available digitally. I hope all those who have pre-ordered will tell me what they think once they finish it. For my folks who pre-ordered a physical copy of the book I have pushed that back due to my poor perception of time. I will send an e-mail about the particulars. With another book under my belt, more or less, I'm looking to my next once which we all know will be the 2nd book in the Pureblood series. I am diligently working on it as we speak. I think it should be out late March or early April. I'll let everyone know once I'm ready. I'm going to change things a bit in regards to the release, but I'll say more once I have a better understanding of my plan. It may include using an actual calendar. I've got some things coming in January, but again, I'll talk about them when it get closer. Right now, I'm going to decompress, jump into the Last Pureblood sphere and hopefull...

I feel like it has been sometime since a blog post, but I haven't been doing anything except working. Kidding, I have been doing book and author things. A newsletter wasn't one of those things because I completely forgot, but October will have a newsletter. Reappearance of Summer is still with the editor and I should have it back by the end of this week. Once I do my review I think I'll be two steps closer to being ready for the book's release at the end of October. If you haven't done so already you can pre-order the ebook on Amazon , my Gumroad store, and Barnes and Noble . Signed copies can also be pre-ordered through the Gumroad store. I'm only ordering enough to fill the pre-orders I recieve so if you want a signed paperback of Reappearance of Summer do it now because pre-orders end on October 15th. For the last year or so I've been trying to figure out what to do with my serialized short stories. I was going to do Patreon, but honestly I couldn...

I can't seem to spell the word reappearance and spell check on my browser seems to only want to work 75% of the time. Thus, screwing up my metadata because I have to go back and change everything which takes like 24-48 hours to switch over. Anyway....rant over. Pre-order your copy of Reappearance of Summer today! Physical copies can be reserved on my Gumroad page. Digital copies can be reserved on Amazon , Gumroad , and Barnes and Noble . This is me putting my foot in my mouth. I said I wasn't going to do Amazon pre-orders because of how they do them. Well, I figured out if I schedule the book release for two weeks later than the release date then I can compensate for any incidents which may arise and cause me to delay the release. This being said, the release date on Amazon says 11/15/2018, but it is actually 10/29/2018 barring any complications. So, no one is getting jipped. This is me trying to get around Amazon's tight policy in regards to delaying pre-orders. Any...

Before I lock myself in my cave, to finish updating the digital copy of Reappearance of Summer , I've got a few thing to get out there. To everyone who has read the teaser chapter of RoS, thank you so much! I'm just excited as you are to get to have you read the rest of the story. It is an intense one and you only got a taste of it. If you haven't read the teaser chapters got to my Wattpad and check them out. Since I am on the subject of RoS, I also want to thank those who saw the many renditions of the cover and my newsletter subscribers for giving me input on it. I'm sorry you had to go through that, but it helped. Went back to the drawing board, stopped being a lazy git, and came back with a cover that does capture what I feel is the essence of the story. It's up on the Wattpad and on my Twitter header, but here it for you to see up close and personal. I feel like the font has a Law & Order feel, but I've come to appreciate it. Next up, is pre-sa...

 Yep, that's right. Reappearence of Summer is eight scenes and an epilogue from being done. I should have it done by the end of next week. Which means I can finish reading The Last Pureblood and get started on outlining book two. I started reading it last week, but I'm focused on getting ROS done. First chapter of ROS will be posted on the blog and Wattpad next week. This also means I'm going to do the cover reveal the same day. Next week will be a big week if you have been anxiously waiting to hear more about this book. Other than that, Avery Lawson: The Last Pureblood is on sale at Smashwords until the end of July. It is 75% off. An Amazon sale will happen in August, but definitely check out the Smashwords sale. Update on the super secret project, everything is in line for it being announced in September. There is this and that, and more of this. Okay, I'll be unveiling a new story which will be released in a serial format. There I have said enough. When we g...

Oh my goodness....this week has been a trying time for me, and it has only just started. Not only am I about to get to the second half of Reappearance of Summer, but I had a mild crisis. The crisis involved the second book for 2019. I had no idea what I was going to do. I did have a story idea in mind, but I'm currently writing into a script and I'm not quite ready to turn it into a novel, so I found myself needing a second book for 2019. Here's the thing I am a series writer. My ideas grow and expand on top of one another until I feel I have reached an adequate conclusion. It's very rare that I come up with a standalone story. It's because of this quirky writer trait that none of my current ideas work for 2019. I don't't want to tie myself up creatively with two series. But! I have circumvented that and have a standalone story for 2019. I just need to outline it and it will be gravy. I think it's going to be on the side of comedy/mystery/drama. Now ...

I have finished all of the updates for the website. As you can tell I've added a new page where you can go buy my books from their respective stores.Then there is the privacy policy under the About link. If you run into any trouble let me know. All right so from here on out I am back to author related posts. -DJ Small