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Showing posts with the label ramblings

August Got Away From Me

No blog post or newsletter in August. Or maybe there was a newsletter. Hang tight. There was one! So I'm not doing tremendously horrible. There won't be one in September. I'm actually contemplating on shutting down my newsletter, and starting a Discord server to distribute news, new releases, and the like. It's much easier for me to maintain that, and I don't have to come up with content. I'm shit at coming up with content. I'll probably make a final decision on that at the end of the year. Still chugging away at re-writes for Outside The Game. I lost all motivation to work on it or anything for that matter, but I'm going to get back into it this weekend, and try to get out of this fifth chapter and get into the sixth. A part of the lack of motivation is due to work. Going into the office 3 days a week and then staying until 5 or 6P and dealing with traffic is just exhausting. Miss the work from home days. With all this being said, will this book come o...

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

That title is as far as I got in my Spanish Duolingo education, who I learned just laid off contractors to implement AI technology to do the work they were doing. While it's supposedly being framed as "no big deal" in this article, it's still something that goes against my morals. If the layoffs and AI integration meant an increase in wages for full-time and part-time employees without lowering the quality of the their software then I'd approve, but if neither of those are the case (which I'm certain it is), then I'll shame. Either way, I've cut ties with Duolingo because I don't like the taste this leaves in my mouth. That was not how I was supposed to open this post, but clearly I'm in my no-filter year--I did have a birthday in December--so I'm gonna go for it. On to business! Welp, I've just completed the final read through for my first newsletter of the year, which is also a dive back into sending it out. This January newsletter w...

Hibernation Season Is Upon Us

Hope we're all fattening up and getting ready for a long winter's nap. Ha! Wouldn't that be fantastic? Just be like a bear or a chipmunk and get fat over the course of fall then sleep my way through winter. Ugh. Such a good life. The closest thing humans get to hibernation is the food coma we fall into after a big meal. Speaking of big meals, Turkey Day is coming up for USians, so I'm excited to stuff my face and the 2 weeks I will be off during November. It's much needed. A couple of weeks ago, instead of editing the first book of my novella series, I read the second book in the Detective Miller series, which is titled Grisly Politics . I hadn't meant to do that, but I completely forgot how the story ended since it has been a year since I finished writing it. I opened it up, and I was cool with reading just the ending, but when I did that, I was like what happened here? So, I ended up reading the whole thing. I am really happy with how that story turned out. L...

Short September Update

Welp folx we are in that time of year where the next few months either blow by really fast or they go really slow, and you end up spiraling. No? Not you? Hmm. Maybe just me then. At least we're easing into my favorite season of the year. Anyway, on to why I'm here. Edits for the first book of my novella series are going fantastically. Fingers crossed that I will have them completed by the end of next month. After that, they'll be heading to my editor. Hopefully it will be a quick turnaround time frame from them. Doesn't look like it'll be ready in time for publishing this year, but I feel as long as I'm on the right path to publishing at the beginning of next year then I'm not going to sweat it. I've been enjoying editing this story and writing the next book for it, so I can't wait until I'm in a good place to finally talk about it. September is when people start looking to the dreaded holiday season, and I think this year, I will be doing sales ...

I Live!

It's been 9 months since I've posted anything, and my goodness am I sorry. I've been in such a hole and have been trying so hard to dig myself out of it that I've completely let everything slip away from me. Which, in all honesty is a disservice to the people who are out there waiting for me to come out with something new or pick up on one of my series. While I know I have no obligation to put out stories and what not, it does make me feel shitty. At least from a reader's standpoint. As a writer, I know I can keep writing for myself because I've been doing that for decades now, but as a reader to get invested in an author and have them just vanish is a little upsetting. So, I want to apologize for the vanishing act and I will try to get better at it. Let's talk about a huge thing though. I didn't realize how many people followed my author pages on Goodreads, Amazon, and Smashwords. It's not a big number or anything, but there are a number of people f...

Oh, October Is On Her Way Out The Door

And here I am late with posting, but vibing out to Beyonce's "RENISSANCE" This is a no-skips album for me, but her last couple albums have also been that for me. I love me some Bey. I know you all didn't wander over to hear me talk about Beyonce. Anyways, this might be the last blog post of the year. Between real life obligation, holiday ruckus, and me plain old forgetting I might not update the blog. I'll try to, but just know it is a possibility. Have you been to my site? Well, if you haven't, there isn't much happening there. In fact, it has been brought offline. I had originally taken it down to do some changes, but then I was like, "Y'know what? I'm just going to take it down for the rest of the year." It's one less thing I have to think about and I can do the updates and changes at my own pace without having an imaginary clock ticking in the back of my mind. I've provided a link on the landing page to buy books and to contac...

Welcome To The 'Bers

We've hit the 'ber months (September, October, November, and December), which means there will be a crap ton of holidays coming our way annnnd my birth month! Even though the days are getting shorter and the weather will be colder it's still a great time of the year. Anywho, it has been a minute! I honestly have no excuse or explanation for it. My mind was elsewhere and I didn't post anything in July or August. I was about to skip September, but then I saw how long it had been and decided against it. I'm certain some of you (maybe 5 people in total. I think mostly bots come to my blog wanting to spread their spam) are wondering what I've been up to. Well, I am proud to announce I've finished writing the second book in the Detective Miller series, Grisly Politics . The fact that it only took me nine months to write is actually a little surprising because, 1) it felt like it was taking forever to write, and 2) my drive has been complete shit the last few month...

The Last Week of Pride!

Goodness it feels like June flew by, but not really. I think I owe it to those two weeks I had off from work. During one of those weeks, I went to Mass to visit some friends, and it was a bit of a culture shock. Back in 2016, Mass legalized marijuana and this is also the same year I happened to move out of the state. When my friend and I got into the Springfield area, there were cannabis dispensary billboards everywhere. It was SO wild, but like I loved it because I'm pro-marijuana. Then on top of that Springfield got a casino, which I knew about, and when they announced it, I thought they were going to build some gigantic skyscraper thing and mess up all of Downtown Springfield, but nope. They actually didn't do a bad job. The building blends in with the other ones, which have been there since forever, and it's pretty nice. Honestly, if it weren't for the signage, you wouldn't know there was a casino there. I did do a bit of gambling. I had managed to break even, p...

*Hacks Through The Door With An Axe* HERE'S JOHNNY!

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It has been three months since my last blog post, which is fine by me, but I'm sure you all are patiently waiting for something from me. Possibly an update to one of my unfinished fanfics or maybe even a book. Luckily, I have been doing things, but y'all won't be seeing any of these things until 2022. However, with me doing things it means I'll have a backlog of already written things. They just need to be edited, which is a whole different animal on its own.

The Struggle Bus

 I know we've all heard about pandemic "burnout" and all that jazz, but is pandemic inadequacy a thing? When it comes to my writing, I have felt so inadequate about it since the start of the pandemic. Like I've been trying to edit the second Avery Lawson book for the last year and some change, and I've barely made a dent in it. I've been working on it in starts and fits, and when I am able to get into it, I get maybe three or four pages done. This is why I'm getting bummed out because I know I'm able to write, edit, and publish a book in a decent amount of time. I mean in 2018, I put out two books, one of which was outlined, written, edited, and published with quick turnaround. So quick, I fcking impressed myself, but I'm seriously having a hard time putting the pedal to the metal on this second Avery Lawson book. This feeling of inadequacy is wreaking havoc on my confidence as a writer, and I've been questioning if I even want to continue with...

Things Are....Going. Yep. They're going.

I started typing this up while I was logged into work since I was left to my own devices, and thought it was a good time to blog. Priorities am I right? I know it has been awhile, but with Spring being sprung, I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. I fcked up the blog. Fricking blogger changed their customizing page and everything looks horrible, especially with all that Arial font. Psh. Moving on.... Other than that, I would like to say in my absence I have actually been productive. I slowly getting a hang of my chord changes (anchor fingers are key), but more importantly, I have been chipping away at Fate Unseen bit by bit, and I've been outlining the second--and angsty as all get out--Detective Miller book. Can I pause for a moment to talk about this second Detective Miller book for a second? Of course I can. It's my blog. All right, so when I first started this series, I planned for it to be a rom-com that was sort of inspired by JD Robb's (Nora Roberts...

Change Of Course

It has been a full month since I've posted a blog post. There also hasn’t been a newsletter in a hot minute, but despite my absence, I am alive and well. I hope everyone reading this can say the same, if not, I'm sending some positive vibes your way. It has been a long weekend, but I saw some family I haven’t seen in eons which is a wonderful thing despite the reason why my family got together this weekend. We were missing a few members of the family, but all 10 of my grandpa's kids were there to give him a proper send off. I'm sure my grandma has some words for him since he had 2 girlfriends after her, but I'm sure he'll get back into her good graces. I’ll get to the point of this post here in a minute, but being around my family, immediate and extended, is wild. A lot of my family hasn’t seen me since I transitioned so there is a lot of “who are you?” and “who do you belong to?" and you know, I’ve got to give props to my mom for how she handles it. She te...

3rd Time Is A Charm

Oh, man, trying to write a blog post has been a challenging thing for me this month. Hopefully this round will stick. I hope we're all doing okay and keeping safe out there. I know some states are opening up, and I hope those of you that are affected by that are doing the best you can to keep yourselves and your inner circle healthy and minimize your exposure. I'm not going to say anything further because if I do, it's not going to be nice and next thing I know the NSA is coming to me saying, "We just wanna talk to you." In the last iteration of this post, I had no updates. That all changed on Monday. Fate Unseen was returned to me after being in my editor's very capable hands. Let's give a shout out to my editor who has worked tirelessly to get this back to me in a timely fashion despite everything going on personally and pandemically. She is a wonderful lady. Now the ball is back in my court. Normally when my editor sends a manuscript back to me, I...

*leans against wall, huffing and puffing* Goodness....January Is Almost Over

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...

December, what the fu...?

I know. December is almost over, and I have been incognitus. For you Last Pureblood fans, you can blame your second book. That's right, it's your second book because I am completely through with it. Through. No major updates today, just thought I'd make a blog post for the month. I'm still elbow deep in typing up my edits for Fate Unseen . Next week will be beyond wonderful because I will have so much time to finish doing that. I might even make some hot cocoa to celebrate. As soon as the edits are typed up, it'll go to my editor. Also at that same time, I'll be doing a cover reveal, and I might have a ball park time frame for a release date. Keyword there is ball park. I know I said by the end of first quarter it would be out, but I'm sort of leaning for an April release just because that's when the first Avery Lawson book came out. So, it would be like, "Oh, here's the second book. Two. Years. Later." Y'know? I've been going...

Whew! It has been a minute...

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...

The Plight of The Last Four Months of The Year

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, ...

August is almost over...whoops.

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...

March Is Halfway Over

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...

A Little More About My Upcoming Book

Last week, or the week before last, I posted an update saying I would be publishing my standalone book before the second Last Pureblood book. The story isn't one I have talked about with really anyone. I think I've spoken with one person about it, and that is about it. Then I posted an excerpt of it on Twitter to give my followers a taste of it. In the excerpt one of my main characters is talking about my other one, and though it wasn't the best sample of the story, I'm sure it piqued everyone's curiosity. Especially since one of my main characters is a sex worker, so I'm going to go into it a little bit more here. The story is set in present day New York City, but in a universe where sex work has been legal for the last two years. Readers are first introduced to Detective Eliza Miller and her partner Billy Chilowski, and we dive head first into the murder of a sex worker. As Eliza and Billy work the case they discover a link between the victim and an indiv...