R.J. City's Blog, page 3

#60: Just. Art Fight 2021

Hey, everyone!

So July happened... I was mainly consumed by Art Fight this past month, which actually helped inspire me to work on the overarching PLOT for my stories! Yeah, for some reason, seeing gift art of my characters (when I wasn't drawing someone else's character for the fight, of course) made me think about them a lot more, which led to new plot developments! And character developments, too! Hell, I even CREATED a new character earlier this month as a welcome addition to my cast~

Does that mean I was writing as well? In sort of an indirect way, I guess you could say I WAS! I still hope to devote all available time in the next couple of months editing/smoothing out the rough edges of book 2 -- yes, I know I keep saying that, but I was genuinely distracted by Art Fight for the whole month of July -- but at least I didn't abandon my characters completely!

Personal life's been a bit hectic (well, maybe not a BIT) lately, and so most of the time, I'm just trying to escape that... so why not escape through my writing? That's what I hope and plan to do! <3 And since I'm so burnt out with drawing, I can at least use editing/rewriting as my outlet until my desire to draw my characters returns!

This isn't much of a monthly blog, seeing as my sole focus was Art Fight, but I also wanted to showcase a couple of attacks - 10 to be specific - that I received during this year's battle:

Anyway, I hope to see you all next month for (hopefully) more UPDATES! In the meantime, keep spreading the word about my book! <3 And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on any future updates (which includes these blogposts)! Thanks for reading and keeping up with this blog of mine! Stay safe and stay awesome, everyone! <3

CARRD

~ Fangs & Kisses ~

Rachel Joy

#59: A Month of Anniversaries!

Hey, everyone!

Happy June! Hoo boy, this month was actually pretty busy, despite the fact that it certainly didn't feel that way in the moment~

This truly was the month of anniversaries, ya know? I celebrated 7 years on Wattpad earlier this month, as well as the posting of The Blood Diamond over on said site! Also, this past Friday, The Blood Diamond celebrated its first book birthday through Limitless Publishing & Amazon!! So that's fun~

Now, I didn't necessarily do anything special or celebratory for either milestone, but just know that I acknowledged it both on social media and in my own personal time. 'Cause man, my personal life has really been eating most of my time and energy lately... but what else is new, right?

Other than those anniversaries, the month was pretty mundane, actually... I finalized some references for the upcoming Art Fight (my fourth one)! I actually have plans to not participate as hardcore and devote all of my time and energy for it like in previous years (for PLENTY of reasons) but I do still plan on drawing stuff for my fellow artists~

The plan is to draw on the side but make July the month where I tackle most of the rewriting needed for The Wolfsbane Ruby (that's my most recent WIP, for those who are newbies 'round here) So I guess just... wish me luck?

That's actually pretty much it... oh wait! I also wanted to showcase the pride month pieces I did for June!

Quick Update: I know it's pretty early for the blog but I'm about to have a BUSY day so why not post this month's blog early? Yeah, you're welcome ;)

Anyway, I hope to see you all next month! In the meantime, keep spreading the word about my book! <3 And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on any future updates (which includes these blogposts)! Thanks for reading and keeping up with this blog of mine! Stay safe and stay awesome, everyone! <3

CARRD

~ Fangs & Kisses ~

Rachel Joy

#58: 'Spring' Cleaning & Hardcore Procrastination

Hey, everyone!

I hope everyone's May was productive! Mine in particular was-- in some areas, anyway...

To be very honest with you all, May was a total wash when it comes to writing and/or editing, I'm afraid to report! My personal life sort of took over, so a good chunk of this past month has been dealing with life at home getting progressively worse. As per usual, I won't go into detail, but just know that I'm TRYING to make time for writing, but it's difficult to focus with the *ahem* arguments cropping up on the daily...

Onto more positive topics! While I struggled to write, rewrite and edit this month, I DID manage to draw a whole lot! It was done mainly for stress relief, but I honestly don't mind~ I was able to draw my characters and get ahead in drawing references so I can prep for this year's Art Fight (which starts on July 1st, for those unaware) So yeah, producing art was a nice stress-reliever for the weekdays!

I was also slightly more productive in other areas as well; I managed to fix up this site (authorracheljoy) as well as a place where you can now find all my socials, linked both at the bottom of this blogpost as well as over on my main/personal Twitter (@RJCity95)

Last but certainly not least, my final update regards something I commissioned from a fellow author -- and cover designer! In short... they animated The Blood Diamond's book cover~ Check it!

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/c2b534_7c993e432430402a8871a65601601b4e/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Full Credit goes to Morgan Wright!

Anyway, I hope to see you all next month, when I'll HOPEFULLY have more to say and more progress to speak of! In the meantime, keep spreading the word about my book! <3 And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on any future updates (which includes these blogposts)! Thanks for reading, everyone! Stay safe and stay awesome! <3

CARRD

~ Fangs & Kisses ~

Rachel Joy

#57: A Flood of Creativity!

Hey, everyone!

I hope you all had a productive April because HOO BOY I sure did!!

I find it funny how, literally last month, I made my blogpost about how hard it has been to be creative ever since the pandemic started... and then April ended up being one of my most creative months yet! Seriously!

Totally unplanned, but I became more active on social media in general, met other authors in the meantime, and even managed to promote my book a lot (namely on Twitter, but still!)

I got back into art and drawing my characters, to the point where I have almost TOO many pieces to work on in the upcoming months. Let's hope I can get them all done... but even more importantly, I returned to my rewrites for The Wolfsbane Ruby! It was pretty fun rereading my outline/notes for the upcoming sequel, reconnecting with my characters and their personal struggles, and I think I even have a good plan to go about with my edits so that no one has to wait TOO LONG for the next book! in other words... I have a plan now! Not making any promises that it'll be ready for launch by this summer but definitely (hopefully) before the end of 2021! Sound good? OK!

I know I said I thought that I needed a break from writing and art but... this past month brought all of that back into the spotlight~ And the creative outlets have also helped me out with anxiety and family stressors, for the most part anyway...

I'm not 100% sure if that summarizes my month as a whole? April went by so FAST. Oh, and on a more personal note, I received my second dose of COVID vaccine and will be considered fully vaccinated by this upcoming Monday (May 3rd) so YEAHHH!

Anyway, I hope to see you all next month! Keep spreading the word about my book! <3 And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on any future updates (which includes these blogposts)! Thanks for reading, everyone! Stay safe and stay awesome! <3

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook (Author) | Facebook (Series) | Tumblr

~ Fangs & Kisses ~

Rachel Joy

#56: The Pandemic's True Toll

Hey, everyone!

No writing news, editing news or even art news this time around, I'm afraid... since it's been basically a year since my life became MUCH more burdensome and anxiety has weighed me down quite a bit.

I want to be honest with you, whoever reads these blogs of mine. Because you deserve to see this side of me, just as my future self deserves to see the old me and how I've actually been struggling with writing, art... basically anything creative in general - for the past few months, HELL, probably the past YEAR. And considering the odd coincidence that I resurrected this blog only a month after COVID took over as a major focus in the world, I haven't exactly been too forward with its affect on me and my mental health.

Sure, I've briefly mentioned my anxieties, my family problems (which are only growing worse, by the way) and other new responsibilities that cropped up as the pandemic showed its ugly head, but I don't think it actually reflected on my work... until just recently!

Literally last night (the 30th), I had a moment where I realized that I wasn't being as creative as I usually am. I'm not always thinking about my characters, and I'm certainly not daydreaming about future scenes-- (okay, that one... maybe just a little bit! But it's still rare...) Instead, I've been so focused on staying healthy, staying ALIVE in this crazy world where wearing a mask is considered an infringement of someone's 'rights' and 'freedom'??

But, yes. My focus entirely on that has made it a bit hard to think, brainstorm, and even edit my writing! Thankfully, as of earlier this month, my parents (both of whom are 65+) became fully vaccinated against COVID. Yes, I know that doesn't full protect them from the virus, but it DEFINITELY makes me relax a bit more... I can trust that if they somehow DO become exposed to it, that they won't be hospitalized or die from it. And in other news, I actually just recently received MY first dose of the vaccine and, if all goes to plan, hope to be fully vaccinated by the end of April! So that's the really good news in my personal life right now!

Things SEEM to be stabilizing, but the household still feels like a war zone. I won't get into more personal issues, but just know that it hasn't been easy for anyone in my family. I hope that things can start to relax more soon, but since I'm still putting myself at risk every other week, I can't let my guard down just yet...

I guess all of this is just to say... this pandemic really did a number on both my mental health and my ability to be creative. But that's to be expected, right? I'm definitely not saying my personal experience is in any way unique! Some people have had it MUCH worse! But man... my artistic ability has really slowed down to a crawl in the past few months. I've actually been working on a piece for Easter for the past few weeks, and it's STILL not done! So... yeah, snail's pace I guess! Hey, at least it's better than my progress in the editing department which is practically nonexistent *sweats*

Gosh, this blogpost is getting long and I didn't mean for that to happen. To be very honest, I originally didn't even think this one would be NEARLY this long or wordy. Guess I had more to say than I thought!

Did I have a point? I just wanted to be honest with you (and myself) about what's felt like writer's/artblock for months now and I only just realized why. I'm tired. I'm exhausted. I want to find joy in writing again... Right now, I'm really loving the mindless distractions of social media and endless clicker games (looking at YOU, Blush Blush--), and I'm pretty sure editing and intensive focus on art don't count... that doesn't mean I'm giving up. But I might actually take a break in order to clear my head. I've been really struggling lately when it comes to getting ideas out, so maybe a break will help as I wait to get a better handle on my life. I'll really think about it...

That being said, I really hope to see you all next month! Even if it's just to update you on how I feel mentally, and if I've made any progress whatsoever!

In the meantime, please stay safe and stay awesome! Keep spreading the word about my book! <3 And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on any future updates (which includes these blogposts)! Thanks for reading!

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook (Author) | Facebook (Series) | Tumblr

~ Fangs & Kisses ~

Rachel Joy

#55: Working on Key Changes!

Hey, everyone!

February really came and went, didn't it?

Thankfully, I do actually have a couple of announcements! While working on book two (The Wolfsbane Ruby) I realized that a few key scenes needed serious reworking. Now, obviously, I can't go into detail on which scenes are being changed because that would involve spoilers! But just know that they really are important, and will hopefully enhance the characters that the choices ultimately affect!

In other news, my publisher is working to put many of their works - including The Blood Diamond - onto other platforms besides Amazon! And I'm happy to announce that my book is ALREADY available on Barnes & Noble's website~ You can find that here by the way -- just know that it's paperback only right now! I'll be sure to let you guys know when the ebook version is available!

Not much else happened this month other than the usual stressors of personal/family life... I DID manage to rewrite a couple more chapters of the sequel, but it might be another month before I'm ready to pitch it to Limitless for publication! I just wanna make sure it's perfect, ya know? And I just can't seem to make time to write anymore... too many distractions and a global pandemic will do that to you, I suppose.

Anyway, I hope to see you all next month! In the meantime, please stay safe and stay awesome! Keep spreading the word about my book! <3 And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on any future updates! Thanks for reading!

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook (Author) | Facebook (Series) | Tumblr

~ Fangs & Kisses ~

Rachel Joy

#54: Your Reviews Give Me LIFE

Hey, everyone!

So... not much happened this month, I regret to inform you. In regards to writing especially... I seem to have lost all - maybe MOST - of my motivation since personal life has been begging for my attention during a good chunk of this month!

However, I hope to change that! Not just because said personal life should be calming down in the next couple of days (although the next week looks to be pretty busy-) but also because I'm going to take a small hiatus from social media in order to rewrite key chapters from the upcoming sequel! :) Here's hoping I stay true to that, yeah~?

Anyway, I guess my only spot of good news is that The Blood Diamond has been gaining steady sales - and more importantly, REVIEWS/RATINGS! Noticing that my book has another rating on Amazon, while slightly nerve-wracking at first, is genuinely an exhilarating feeling! I'm so glad people are enjoying my writing~ That alone should be motivating me to get around to writing for book 2, right? Right??

Not much else to say except... I hope to see you all next month! In the meantime, please stay safe and stay awesome! Keep spreading the word about my book! <3 And don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss out on any updates! Thanks for reading!

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook (Author) | Facebook (Series) | Tumblr

~ Fangs & Kisses ~

Rachel Joy

#53: I Survived 2020 (And So Did You)

Hey, everyone!

So 2020 is nearly over... this year just didn't feel right :/ I mean, a big part of that was due to the ongoing pandemic, but even after growing accustomed to the shifting social environment, something doesn't feel right. Ever since NaNoWriMo ended, I've written NOTHING.

I sort of want to keep today's blogpost short enough so I don't waste anyone's time, but I realize that, since it's the end of the year, I should probably reflect on 2020 as a whole?

Anyway, despite the global crisis and worsening mental/physical health of my family members, I would love to boast that my own mental stability has gotten better since taking medication for my anxiety <3 I won't lie and say my anxiety and panic attacks have become nonexistent, but I've definitely been able to get a better handle on them so they don't happen as frequently as before. I was also able to republish The Blood Diamond with better (I think) results/reviews and a better product in general!

Other than that, nothing's really changed... I know I'm not the only one who had a tough year, but I think I also grew more responsible in 2020... on a personal level, if not on a professional level as well (when it comes to writing and editing).

I really hope I can write a lot more in 2021! I think that's a given, especially with my plan to publish the sequel in the upcoming months <3 As always, I'll keep you all posted on any publishing news - either through these monthly blogs or, better yet, my social media! You can find those linked below, by the way~!

Anyway, I feel like 2020 had a LOT of ups and downs, lots of challenges... but a good payoff too, especially when it comes to my writing goals and personal anxieties! I survived 2020, and I should be relieved. And I am, don't get me wrong. I'm just hopeful that 2021 will be less anxiety-inducing. I'll keep up my responsibilities and pray that I'll be able to publish another book this upcoming year so... here's to 2021! May it not suck NEARLY as much as 2020! <3

See you on the other side, everybody! In the meantime, please stay safe and stay awesome! Keep spreading the word about my book! <3 And don't forget to subscribe!

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook (Author) | Facebook (Series) | Tumblr

~ Fangs & Kisses ~

Rachel Joy

#52: I Wrote 50k Words in a Month!

Hey, everyone!

I hope everyone had a nice November! Mine was pretty busy in all departments, but I'll try to keep it short this time around~

In case some of you were unaware, this past month I participated in National November Writing Month! I worked on my first fanfiction, and it's unfortunately not ready for public eyes to see JUST yet but hopefully by the end of the year (maybe?) Anyway, it was definitely a challenge, as I had to juggle time and other aspects of my life, including plumbing issues that are actually still not fixed... I hope everyone had a safe Thanksgiving <3

Other than NaNoWriMo and a slew of personal problems that demanded my attention, there isn't really much else to announce or touch on-- nothing that comes to mind anyway! I'll likely use December to revise chunks of the 50k that I wrote during this past month as well as doing more for The Wolfsbane Ruby, which I HOPE to actually continue at the start of next year~ Here's hoping! <3

Not much else to say except thank you! Thank you for sticking with this blog and reading it! I'll probably have a lot more to say next month, considering it'll be the end of December, the end of 2020, and I can reflect on this year as a whole-! Won't that be fun?

Anyway, thanks again for reading thus far! I hope to share any writing blurbs I can from my latest WIP~ Make sure you're following my Twitter account if you're interested in such sneak peaks!

I'll see you next month, everybody! In the meantime, stay safe and stay awesome! Keep spreading the word about my book! <3 And don't forget to subscribe!

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook (Author) | Facebook (Series) | Tumblr

~ Fangs & Kisses ~

Rachel Joy

#51: Halloween Sale + NaNoWriMo Prep!

Happy Halloween, Little Vamps!

I have a surprising amount to talk about in this here blog, so let's begin shall we?

First off, if you have yet to see it all over my social media, The Blood Diamond is having yet another ebook sale! Right now (and until the 3rd of November), you can grab a free copy of my book over on Amazon! Linked HERE!

Speaking of The Blood Diamond... the official trailer just recently reached 100 views over on YouTube, and that's still so crazy for me! It makes me realize that people actually DO see and watch the trailer, maybe to give them some sort of preview for The Blood Diamond? Ehhh anyway! It's awesome, regardless!!

On a more personal note, I just turned 25 on the 27th of October and I... don't really feel that different. I guess I was hoping I'd feel older or more mature even but... this pandemic has honestly made me more responsible, so I guess I've already matured and my birthday did shit- anyway! I have no Halloween plans other than sit at the back of my house and hoard the small amount of candy I managed to buy the other day~ Sorry, kids!

I wanted to save my last bit of news for the end now, mainly because it's a future plan... I plan to participate in NaNoWriMo this year! Yes, that stands for National November Writing Month, where I basically have a goal to write 50,000 words in 30 days (a month - November, of course) Unfortunately, I won't be working on The Wolfsbane Ruby or any other original content you might expect from me this year. Instead... I'll be experimenting with FANFICTION! That's right! I've had this fanfic idea for forever now, and I feel like this is my chance to finally jot it down on paper - er, Word! For updates on my progress, I'll likely keep a log over on my Twitter (since it's where I frequent the most of my social media accounts)! And the reason I'm trying out fanfiction instead of tackling some original stuff is, to put it simply, I'm a bit tired of my characters... I still love them to death, don't get me wrong! It's just... I want to try something new and a bit challenging (since my goal is to write the fanfic in 2nd person perspective AND in present tense - two techniques of which I have NO experience with whatsoever)!

Anyway, that's about it for me this time around! Thanks for reading this slightly lengthy blogpost! I hope you enjoyed hearing me ramble about past, present, and future goings-on!

I'll see you next month, everybody! In the meantime, stay safe and stay awesome! Keep spreading the word about my book! <3 And don't forget to subscribe if you have yet to!

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook (Author) | Facebook (Series) | Tumblr

~ Fangs & Kisses ~

Rachel Joy