Apollo Blake's Blog, page 5
June 13, 2020
June 23rd, and That's That
Force is coming out on June 23rd. Pushing it back eleven days shouldn't feel like such a huge deal, but it is. I have to hunker down and get this novella done. It's so intimidating though. I love editing, because it's magic, but it also feels like ramming my head into a wall sometimes, because it's dense, heavy work and it intimidates me. So much can go wrong. But it usually goes right. And I'm trying to do this thing where I cut off and replace negative thoughts with positive ones, so I'm going to do that and remind myself writing and editing are my hobbies, and they're a lot of fun, so I have to let them be fun and do what I think is right.
Anyway, aside from musing over my own editing insanity, I've been rereading the Shatter Me books; I just finished the first one last night and I'm about seventy pages into book two. It's the one where Juliette acts annoying and hysterical for the entire book, but she has PTSD so you gotta cut her some slack.
It's weird because even though Superhero High and Shatter Me are both dystopian superhero stories, I think mine is both more and less dystopian. In mine people still have cell phones and Spotify and like, Chinese takeout. So it feels more typical and normal. But then you see surveillance drones and propaganda posters and remember it isn't. In Shatter Me the world has really gone to shit. It's like Fallout where everything is rusty and radioactive and just, you know, shitty.
I think half my problem is I would rather be drafting. And I can't. I love it, but right now I need to work on this one project and finish it, and that makes me feel locked down, so all my brain is doing is thinking of new stories and narratives and situations it wants to write to get them down and out of my head, but I can't, because if I keep falling for shiny new ideas, I will never finish any of them! I don't want to fall into that trap. So instead I'm going to go and edit my damn book again. And it's coming out on June 23rd, and that's that.
Anyway, aside from musing over my own editing insanity, I've been rereading the Shatter Me books; I just finished the first one last night and I'm about seventy pages into book two. It's the one where Juliette acts annoying and hysterical for the entire book, but she has PTSD so you gotta cut her some slack.
It's weird because even though Superhero High and Shatter Me are both dystopian superhero stories, I think mine is both more and less dystopian. In mine people still have cell phones and Spotify and like, Chinese takeout. So it feels more typical and normal. But then you see surveillance drones and propaganda posters and remember it isn't. In Shatter Me the world has really gone to shit. It's like Fallout where everything is rusty and radioactive and just, you know, shitty.
I think half my problem is I would rather be drafting. And I can't. I love it, but right now I need to work on this one project and finish it, and that makes me feel locked down, so all my brain is doing is thinking of new stories and narratives and situations it wants to write to get them down and out of my head, but I can't, because if I keep falling for shiny new ideas, I will never finish any of them! I don't want to fall into that trap. So instead I'm going to go and edit my damn book again. And it's coming out on June 23rd, and that's that.
June 10, 2020
This Is Not Enough
I'm still working on editing Force. It's been a long, grueling job - mostly because of my own procrastination, but let's ignore that - and I'm not pulling my hair out yet, but I might be close. Which would be bad, because I cut my own hair recently and I really like how it turned out. I'd rather not mess it up. Or mess up my book.
I was saying on Goodreads a few days ago that it will probably be out on the 12th, which is tomorrow, and that is so not happening. That said it's going to be soon. I'm not even saying a date because at this point it's comical how many times I've delayed this book. Novella. Whatever it is.
I really do love it, and I think it's super good, which is why I need to take my time with it and make sure it's perfect before I put it out. I don't want to have to touch it for another five to ten years; I already have way too many books I need to update the backmatter and front copy material for and it's such annoying grunt work to have to update it every two or three years for every title...
I finished Shadow of The Tomb Raider the other night and was underwhelmed with the ending. I wish they'd announce the next game already, but I try to be patient. It's obvious there has to be another one because, well...money. Companies like money. And in return they better keep blessing us with these Tomb Raider adventures.
Anyway, now it's back to playing Fallout 4 every other night for hours on end. I really, really love the Fallout universe and the atmosphere but I hate that this installment really wants me to care about my randomly generated spouse and baby. Let me make my own backstory please! The Courier was ideal as a blank slate, but I was also fine with the Fallout 3 backstory. The backstory for the player character in 4 is just way too involved and detailed. Dead/absent parents are one thing, but making players roleplay a parent who had a hetero marriage and basing so much of the story around it removes so many roleplay and character options, and that's half of what the fans love...
Honestly if I could have one DLC for this game it would be to edit Pickman and make him a fully fleshed-out character and available companion. It would be so good. Painting with blood only makes you a psychopath if you're not using raider blood, guys. IT'S TECHNICALLY A PUBLIC SERVICE.
It's a lot of fun to make your own characters in video games though, whether you're developing new OCs or just creating versions of existing ones, it's a lot of fun. When I was playing Dragon's Dogma last summer I made Dru and Vincent from my book Blood of Midnight and played with Dru as the arisen and Vincent my main pawn. That game is literally Dungeons and Dragons come to life and I adore it.*
(*And I never beat the game, so I have to go load up this save and play some more soon. I'm like barely into it, and it's huge, and I have so much to explore. I really do recommend it, even though I've been taking my sweet time getting back to it since I got my ps4.)
Aside from wandering the radioactive wastes I have been making progress on Force and the general outline/timeline/plans for the series as a whole. It's going to be 5 main installments ranging in length from 25k to 45k, and at least one short story of unknown length. I'm really excited for it, it's not like it's redefining the superhero genre or anything of the sort, but it is a cool, confident story. It's heavily influenced by the song Coming Right Along by The Posies, at least tonally/emotionally. I was listening to that on repeat while drafting the first story back in November 2019.
I've got a lot of editing to do tonight, but I do have a lot of faith this story is coming out soon. No sooner than it's ready, but soon.
In the meantime my new short story Faces in Weeds has gotten like no love, though not for lack of deserving it. If you'd like to read it you can check it out here for 99 cents. It's about a girl who commits a murder and her attempts to cover it up, and it's set in Georgia. Also, today's title comes from the song All The Things She Said. Poppy just released a new cover of it and I've been listening non-stop. I like it much better than the original, not going to lie.
I was saying on Goodreads a few days ago that it will probably be out on the 12th, which is tomorrow, and that is so not happening. That said it's going to be soon. I'm not even saying a date because at this point it's comical how many times I've delayed this book. Novella. Whatever it is.
I really do love it, and I think it's super good, which is why I need to take my time with it and make sure it's perfect before I put it out. I don't want to have to touch it for another five to ten years; I already have way too many books I need to update the backmatter and front copy material for and it's such annoying grunt work to have to update it every two or three years for every title...
I finished Shadow of The Tomb Raider the other night and was underwhelmed with the ending. I wish they'd announce the next game already, but I try to be patient. It's obvious there has to be another one because, well...money. Companies like money. And in return they better keep blessing us with these Tomb Raider adventures.
Anyway, now it's back to playing Fallout 4 every other night for hours on end. I really, really love the Fallout universe and the atmosphere but I hate that this installment really wants me to care about my randomly generated spouse and baby. Let me make my own backstory please! The Courier was ideal as a blank slate, but I was also fine with the Fallout 3 backstory. The backstory for the player character in 4 is just way too involved and detailed. Dead/absent parents are one thing, but making players roleplay a parent who had a hetero marriage and basing so much of the story around it removes so many roleplay and character options, and that's half of what the fans love...
Honestly if I could have one DLC for this game it would be to edit Pickman and make him a fully fleshed-out character and available companion. It would be so good. Painting with blood only makes you a psychopath if you're not using raider blood, guys. IT'S TECHNICALLY A PUBLIC SERVICE.
It's a lot of fun to make your own characters in video games though, whether you're developing new OCs or just creating versions of existing ones, it's a lot of fun. When I was playing Dragon's Dogma last summer I made Dru and Vincent from my book Blood of Midnight and played with Dru as the arisen and Vincent my main pawn. That game is literally Dungeons and Dragons come to life and I adore it.*
(*And I never beat the game, so I have to go load up this save and play some more soon. I'm like barely into it, and it's huge, and I have so much to explore. I really do recommend it, even though I've been taking my sweet time getting back to it since I got my ps4.)
Aside from wandering the radioactive wastes I have been making progress on Force and the general outline/timeline/plans for the series as a whole. It's going to be 5 main installments ranging in length from 25k to 45k, and at least one short story of unknown length. I'm really excited for it, it's not like it's redefining the superhero genre or anything of the sort, but it is a cool, confident story. It's heavily influenced by the song Coming Right Along by The Posies, at least tonally/emotionally. I was listening to that on repeat while drafting the first story back in November 2019.
I've got a lot of editing to do tonight, but I do have a lot of faith this story is coming out soon. No sooner than it's ready, but soon.
In the meantime my new short story Faces in Weeds has gotten like no love, though not for lack of deserving it. If you'd like to read it you can check it out here for 99 cents. It's about a girl who commits a murder and her attempts to cover it up, and it's set in Georgia. Also, today's title comes from the song All The Things She Said. Poppy just released a new cover of it and I've been listening non-stop. I like it much better than the original, not going to lie.
June 2, 2020
The One Where I Get Anxiety From Everything & I Play Tomb Raider About It Instead of Coping
I think I've neglected this blog enough for the year. I've also been neglecting my personal diary, so there's enough of that to go around, but tonight I'm saying no more, and I am going to update both!
I have seriously been slacking off lately. My work has gone untouched while I play more Tomb Raider than I have any right to. I bought Rise and Shadow so I've been running through them both for the first time. I love Rise most, it's got the sturdiest writing and I think the world is more open. Shadow is fun though, it's got beautiful puzzles and more challenging tombs, although some of them have wonky spots in them. I also enjoy the more emotional moments between Lara and Jonah. She's been bottling up her angst for an installment or two and seeing it all pile up and break out is amazing.
The first game is still my favorite and always will be, though. It felt the most emotionally complex and grounded at the same time, even with the samurai zombies and stuff. I feel like we've never understood Lara and seen inside her mindset as much as we did in the first game. In Rise and Shadow she's bad-ass, sure, but she's also more withdrawn and it's hard to really get into her mind even with her journal entries.
I'm not going to play video games tonight until much later, though, because I'm determined as all hell to get in a round of editing on Force tonight. I only need to update and clarify a few things but I've pushed back the release date so many times and now it's ten days away so it needs a bit more brushing up before I finally put it out.
For those of you who don't follow, Force is book/novella 1 in my Superhero High serial that I recently announced. The Goodreads page is up, and it's got the placeholder cover and a cool blurb, as well as a bit more information. The proposed release date this time is on the 12th of this month, and it's making me majorly anxious because I'm not ready, never mind the book itself. I know it's good, but release is making me antsy. What if nobody reads it?! What if everybody reads it?! What if there's a huge gaping problem or plot hole I'm skipping over because I'm too close to it? And this is why I should stop neglecting my journal; it causes me to build up way too much anxiety!
I'm going to go do some self-care and get my emotional and mental state in check, now, but that said you should definitely check out the Force page on Goodreads I linked above and add it to your TBR!
Thanks for reading. :3
I have seriously been slacking off lately. My work has gone untouched while I play more Tomb Raider than I have any right to. I bought Rise and Shadow so I've been running through them both for the first time. I love Rise most, it's got the sturdiest writing and I think the world is more open. Shadow is fun though, it's got beautiful puzzles and more challenging tombs, although some of them have wonky spots in them. I also enjoy the more emotional moments between Lara and Jonah. She's been bottling up her angst for an installment or two and seeing it all pile up and break out is amazing.
The first game is still my favorite and always will be, though. It felt the most emotionally complex and grounded at the same time, even with the samurai zombies and stuff. I feel like we've never understood Lara and seen inside her mindset as much as we did in the first game. In Rise and Shadow she's bad-ass, sure, but she's also more withdrawn and it's hard to really get into her mind even with her journal entries.
I'm not going to play video games tonight until much later, though, because I'm determined as all hell to get in a round of editing on Force tonight. I only need to update and clarify a few things but I've pushed back the release date so many times and now it's ten days away so it needs a bit more brushing up before I finally put it out.
For those of you who don't follow, Force is book/novella 1 in my Superhero High serial that I recently announced. The Goodreads page is up, and it's got the placeholder cover and a cool blurb, as well as a bit more information. The proposed release date this time is on the 12th of this month, and it's making me majorly anxious because I'm not ready, never mind the book itself. I know it's good, but release is making me antsy. What if nobody reads it?! What if everybody reads it?! What if there's a huge gaping problem or plot hole I'm skipping over because I'm too close to it? And this is why I should stop neglecting my journal; it causes me to build up way too much anxiety!
I'm going to go do some self-care and get my emotional and mental state in check, now, but that said you should definitely check out the Force page on Goodreads I linked above and add it to your TBR!
Thanks for reading. :3
May 22, 2020
Maybe You're My Enemy, You're The Only One Who Knows The Way I Really Feel
Title from Enemy by Charli XCX.
I'm pretty sure this blog is dead but that won't stop me from writing updates for it. In fact, I actually find it kind of comforting that very few people, if any, read my insane ramblings here. I'm almost done my next book, and I have a couple finished and semi-finished things I've been sitting on for a long time now, or at least what feels like a long time; I think the oldest of them dates back to November or so.
I have to edit a novella tonight and I'm having a nervous breakdown about it, so instead of actually doing it I thought I'd come complain about how long it's taking Rise of The Tomb Raider (a game that came out like five years ago while I was still working at Bath and Body Works, lol) to get here. I ordered it way too long ago. I can't really complain though because there's a pandemic and all, and the truth is it's amazing we can even still order stuff at all with all the craziness going on.
Since everybody is laid-off right now, I don't have the house to myself and everyone I live with is driving me insane. They're not really doing anything annoying, I just can't focus or think when people are around. Luckily, they go to bed weirdly early, and I can be the only one awake all night, and actually experience the silence and peace I need to work. Some people party all night - I just get around to doing the chores and work I should've done during the day, because I'm amazingly efficient and productive and on top of things. Yup. :)
My main problem in life right now is that the main character of the most recent book I wrote/am writing is Sam, and a major male character in the Superhero High stories is also named Sam, and I don't want to change either of them because it fits them both in different ways. It's fine, or at least I think it's fine, since plenty of people IRL have the same name, God knows there's a million men named Kai out there, but still, I don't like reusing them.
I think if Sam from the First War series met Sam from the Superhero High series, they'd either ignore each other entirely, or they'd build a bomb together. I don't think they'd be friends, (mainly because First War Sam is a college student who doesn't hang around with high school freshman) but they'd definitely team up in a pinch to pull of a con or an escape act.
Anyway that's what's been going on in my corner: intense internal debates about character naming choices. I also spent the better half of the day trying to catch a tiny mouse before my cats did so I could free it outside. Eventually got the little buddy safely out of the house and away from Angus and Cami and their little hunting party fantasy. I don't think either of them were happy I spared their prey, but I feel pretty happy for defying fate and sparing the mouse. He'll probably be eaten by an owl or a hawk before the night is through, but hey, maybe not. Maybe he's the Chosen One of the mouse world and he's off to fulfill a prophecy. Really none of my business, is it?
I also beat inFamous Second Son and Horizon Zero Dawn and I'm kind of emotional over both. The fact that they don't seem to be planning anymore inFamous games is a literal fucking crime. I guess four should be enough, but it's not. I'd love to see Cole come back, or another Delsin game, or a Eugene game, or something with new conduits. I don't care. I still have to finish my replay of inFamous 2 and play Festival of Blood for the first time, but then I'm done with the series and I'm kind of not ready for that. I don't want any other superhero games, these are the only ones that matter honestly. (Although I guess the jumping/leaping powers in Saints Row 4 were pretty fun.)
So pretty much all I've been up to is writing and gaming and writing and gaming and editing and sleeping. And gaming.
I'll probably stay doing that, since nobody is allowed to leave the house. :L
If you want to keep up with what I do you can find me on Insta at @ApolloBlakeBooks or check out my latest release, a short story called Faces in Weeds! It's about a girl who commits a murder and her attempts to cover it up/splintering mental state.
I'm pretty sure this blog is dead but that won't stop me from writing updates for it. In fact, I actually find it kind of comforting that very few people, if any, read my insane ramblings here. I'm almost done my next book, and I have a couple finished and semi-finished things I've been sitting on for a long time now, or at least what feels like a long time; I think the oldest of them dates back to November or so.
I have to edit a novella tonight and I'm having a nervous breakdown about it, so instead of actually doing it I thought I'd come complain about how long it's taking Rise of The Tomb Raider (a game that came out like five years ago while I was still working at Bath and Body Works, lol) to get here. I ordered it way too long ago. I can't really complain though because there's a pandemic and all, and the truth is it's amazing we can even still order stuff at all with all the craziness going on.
Since everybody is laid-off right now, I don't have the house to myself and everyone I live with is driving me insane. They're not really doing anything annoying, I just can't focus or think when people are around. Luckily, they go to bed weirdly early, and I can be the only one awake all night, and actually experience the silence and peace I need to work. Some people party all night - I just get around to doing the chores and work I should've done during the day, because I'm amazingly efficient and productive and on top of things. Yup. :)
My main problem in life right now is that the main character of the most recent book I wrote/am writing is Sam, and a major male character in the Superhero High stories is also named Sam, and I don't want to change either of them because it fits them both in different ways. It's fine, or at least I think it's fine, since plenty of people IRL have the same name, God knows there's a million men named Kai out there, but still, I don't like reusing them.
I think if Sam from the First War series met Sam from the Superhero High series, they'd either ignore each other entirely, or they'd build a bomb together. I don't think they'd be friends, (mainly because First War Sam is a college student who doesn't hang around with high school freshman) but they'd definitely team up in a pinch to pull of a con or an escape act.
Anyway that's what's been going on in my corner: intense internal debates about character naming choices. I also spent the better half of the day trying to catch a tiny mouse before my cats did so I could free it outside. Eventually got the little buddy safely out of the house and away from Angus and Cami and their little hunting party fantasy. I don't think either of them were happy I spared their prey, but I feel pretty happy for defying fate and sparing the mouse. He'll probably be eaten by an owl or a hawk before the night is through, but hey, maybe not. Maybe he's the Chosen One of the mouse world and he's off to fulfill a prophecy. Really none of my business, is it?
I also beat inFamous Second Son and Horizon Zero Dawn and I'm kind of emotional over both. The fact that they don't seem to be planning anymore inFamous games is a literal fucking crime. I guess four should be enough, but it's not. I'd love to see Cole come back, or another Delsin game, or a Eugene game, or something with new conduits. I don't care. I still have to finish my replay of inFamous 2 and play Festival of Blood for the first time, but then I'm done with the series and I'm kind of not ready for that. I don't want any other superhero games, these are the only ones that matter honestly. (Although I guess the jumping/leaping powers in Saints Row 4 were pretty fun.)
So pretty much all I've been up to is writing and gaming and writing and gaming and editing and sleeping. And gaming.
I'll probably stay doing that, since nobody is allowed to leave the house. :L
If you want to keep up with what I do you can find me on Insta at @ApolloBlakeBooks or check out my latest release, a short story called Faces in Weeds! It's about a girl who commits a murder and her attempts to cover it up/splintering mental state.
May 4, 2020
Suddenly I'm a Twihard again...
Wake me up when it's August sluts
February 13, 2020
Faces in Weeds: Short Story Announcement, Cover Reveal + Release & Links!
Surprise, I just put out a new short story! I'd like to say I'm craftier than I really am and that I've had this up my sleeve for a while now, but the truth is, I wasn't really planning this at all. I drafted this story a few days ago after a stroke of inspiration hit while I was playing video games. I wanted to build a story around a sense of rising dread and it was essentially structured around the opening and closing lines that came to me before anything else did. Before I knew it I had a draft and a cover! I listened to a lot of southern gothic music during this one, and I was flying high on some Stephen King bullshit, so those two vibes combined to inspire the atmosphere and tone.
The story, in case you were wondering at all, is called Faces in Weeds and you can get it here on Amazon US, or here on Amazon Canada if you'd like to read it. You can also hit me up on the comments of this blog or comment on my Goodreads review if you'd like a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads.
Here's the super pretty cover...
Soooo dark and mysterious and perfect. Neither a snake or pink flowers appear in the story, but it does kind of fit with the themes/who the narrator is and how she's perceived vs. who she actually is. It was such a fun, twisted project for me to work on and I really hope I can put out a lot more short stories this year, but in the meantime, please enjoy this crazy little slice of horror, if that's your kind of thing!
The story, in case you were wondering at all, is called Faces in Weeds and you can get it here on Amazon US, or here on Amazon Canada if you'd like to read it. You can also hit me up on the comments of this blog or comment on my Goodreads review if you'd like a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads.
Here's the super pretty cover...
Soooo dark and mysterious and perfect. Neither a snake or pink flowers appear in the story, but it does kind of fit with the themes/who the narrator is and how she's perceived vs. who she actually is. It was such a fun, twisted project for me to work on and I really hope I can put out a lot more short stories this year, but in the meantime, please enjoy this crazy little slice of horror, if that's your kind of thing!
February 7, 2020
In The Belly of The Voodoo Machine
Title from Hades Pleads by Parker Millsap...
I'm staying in bed all day today in order to edit Dreamseeker and try to draft (or mostly draft) book 2, Dreamsinger. I think it will be good to take a break from my current novel WIP today and draft a novella, plus I've wanted to update the front- and back-matter of book 1 for a long while!
Book 2 is a rock star romance AND it has a human protagonist who serves in a damsel distress role a lot, so it's a lot different than book 1 and it will be a lot of fun to write. I still have to finish glossing over book 1, though, and I'm dragging my feet.
I've already had way too much coffee and tea today and I've been pigging out on potato scallop and baked ham. I played a little Fallout earlier and I'll probably play more tonight, but for now I'm cooped up in my room avoiding writing to blog. I also really want to read a lot today, but I can't let myself be sucked into some good book before I work on some of my own. My output for the last week has been shameful and I have to wrangle February back on track, productivity-wise.
Lately I started binging The Good Place and it's hilarious, but it's also made me cry a couple times. Definitely an amazing show. I already knew the season 1 plot twist before I went in and I still enjoyed it immensely as I saw it pulled off. I highly recommend it! I love afterlife stories so I wish I had started it sooner, but I saw a bunch of people in the BoJack subreddit ranting and raving about it during the BoJack finale threads (because they used similar plot devices but in opposite ways) and I had BoJack hangover from that shotgun blast of an ending to what is probably the best show ever, so I started The Good Place to help distract me a little...
Now I really am going to stop ranting and raving about TV shows and stuff and go write my damn book. Because I am a capable author who promised himself he'd make 2020 his bitch...
I'm staying in bed all day today in order to edit Dreamseeker and try to draft (or mostly draft) book 2, Dreamsinger. I think it will be good to take a break from my current novel WIP today and draft a novella, plus I've wanted to update the front- and back-matter of book 1 for a long while!
Book 2 is a rock star romance AND it has a human protagonist who serves in a damsel distress role a lot, so it's a lot different than book 1 and it will be a lot of fun to write. I still have to finish glossing over book 1, though, and I'm dragging my feet.
I've already had way too much coffee and tea today and I've been pigging out on potato scallop and baked ham. I played a little Fallout earlier and I'll probably play more tonight, but for now I'm cooped up in my room avoiding writing to blog. I also really want to read a lot today, but I can't let myself be sucked into some good book before I work on some of my own. My output for the last week has been shameful and I have to wrangle February back on track, productivity-wise.
Lately I started binging The Good Place and it's hilarious, but it's also made me cry a couple times. Definitely an amazing show. I already knew the season 1 plot twist before I went in and I still enjoyed it immensely as I saw it pulled off. I highly recommend it! I love afterlife stories so I wish I had started it sooner, but I saw a bunch of people in the BoJack subreddit ranting and raving about it during the BoJack finale threads (because they used similar plot devices but in opposite ways) and I had BoJack hangover from that shotgun blast of an ending to what is probably the best show ever, so I started The Good Place to help distract me a little...
Now I really am going to stop ranting and raving about TV shows and stuff and go write my damn book. Because I am a capable author who promised himself he'd make 2020 his bitch...
January 26, 2020
Force & Other Ghosts
Force is still coming out! I've postponed it until next month or the next, but I will probably put it out once the second book is done. I just want extra time to polish it, but I want to stress it is done and it is coming soon! I felt like I had to take some time and be extra patient with it, even if it meant pushing back the date.
On the bright side the new Lilac editions are happening this month and early next month, and I'll have updates about them as more of them come out. I also have a couple other finished and semi-finished projects I'm just being very patient with. I want all of them to have a lot of love and a long journey that ensures their quality. I can't make anything perfect, but I want to be sure it's 'ready' at least, whenever I feel that it is.
Anyway that's all I really have to say, and I wanted it to be up here that I am working on it, and it's still coming out, as are other cool things!
On the bright side the new Lilac editions are happening this month and early next month, and I'll have updates about them as more of them come out. I also have a couple other finished and semi-finished projects I'm just being very patient with. I want all of them to have a lot of love and a long journey that ensures their quality. I can't make anything perfect, but I want to be sure it's 'ready' at least, whenever I feel that it is.
Anyway that's all I really have to say, and I wanted it to be up here that I am working on it, and it's still coming out, as are other cool things!
January 20, 2020
All The Fancy Books
I got my copy of The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich in the mail today and can't wait to start reading it, but I should probably wait until after I finish the third Riverdale book, and maybe a couple of Amanda Hocking books I'm reading/rereading (I'm halfway through my My Blood Approves series reread, and I'm also reading her book Freeks for the first time.) I also bought the Beautiful Creatures graphic novel and The Body Electric by Beth Revis in paperback.
Honestly I think 2020 is going to be a good reading year for me. I've got a lot of reads and rereads slated and I'm super excited about all of it. I even have the final Emily The Strange book coming. I've only read the first three, and I just reread books one and two, and am moving onto three, so I can be prepared to finally, finally read the last book! I really enjoyed rereading the first couple these past few days, for the first time in two or three years.
I want to put out some new music sometimes this year, too. So that's a thing I'm stressing about. I have ideas but no real products to show for them. I'm still tooling around with the vocal mixing on songs on my last album.
Okay actually since I wrote that last paragraph the other day I HAVE made and released some new music, 2 songs; Aries and No More. I'm not even sure if I like them but they certainly do exist and I had a lot of fun making them. I made some more cool shit but Bandlab decided to delete the stronger songs because of course. It was during a storm and the internet was acting up, so I can't fully blame them for the sync issues, but damn, I loved those vocals and they're gone.
Anyway, Aries and No More are here and exist and I like them a lot. I think. Aries is kind of corny, but I had written the lyrics a few nights ago and wanted to try them on a couple of different beats, and then before I knew it I had made 2 tracks and I DID like them enough to put them out. I think I'm improving but I also think my vocal mixing needs a lot of work and my level of skill is obviously not high enough to execute the actual song ideas I usually have. It's fun making music, though, so I can't see myself stopping even though I hate half of what I make.
In other news, I've hit 25k on my current wip!
I can't even say anything about it, just that it's gay romance and it has a psychopath in it. I mean, I can say I like it, and it might have at least one sequel, but aside from that, nah. Nothing. I'm trying to hold it in mind that the most important tool writers can develop is patience and even though things aren't coming along or coming out as fast as I want them to, doesn't mean I'm a failure or things are going wrong or 2020 is off. It's just that books, even shorter ones, take a lot of love and time and work and PATIENCE. I draft fast so it's hard for me to let things sit or let editing drag on even if a book needs it, because I want to release things so badly, but I'm not rushing these stories or myself.
That said, I am going to get back to work, because I am finishing this book this week, and that is that. Once it's drafted I can hop back over to my focus on editing that I just ruined and build that back up. I have so many finished titles to polish up it makes my head spin!
Honestly I think 2020 is going to be a good reading year for me. I've got a lot of reads and rereads slated and I'm super excited about all of it. I even have the final Emily The Strange book coming. I've only read the first three, and I just reread books one and two, and am moving onto three, so I can be prepared to finally, finally read the last book! I really enjoyed rereading the first couple these past few days, for the first time in two or three years.
I want to put out some new music sometimes this year, too. So that's a thing I'm stressing about. I have ideas but no real products to show for them. I'm still tooling around with the vocal mixing on songs on my last album.
Okay actually since I wrote that last paragraph the other day I HAVE made and released some new music, 2 songs; Aries and No More. I'm not even sure if I like them but they certainly do exist and I had a lot of fun making them. I made some more cool shit but Bandlab decided to delete the stronger songs because of course. It was during a storm and the internet was acting up, so I can't fully blame them for the sync issues, but damn, I loved those vocals and they're gone.
Anyway, Aries and No More are here and exist and I like them a lot. I think. Aries is kind of corny, but I had written the lyrics a few nights ago and wanted to try them on a couple of different beats, and then before I knew it I had made 2 tracks and I DID like them enough to put them out. I think I'm improving but I also think my vocal mixing needs a lot of work and my level of skill is obviously not high enough to execute the actual song ideas I usually have. It's fun making music, though, so I can't see myself stopping even though I hate half of what I make.
In other news, I've hit 25k on my current wip!
I can't even say anything about it, just that it's gay romance and it has a psychopath in it. I mean, I can say I like it, and it might have at least one sequel, but aside from that, nah. Nothing. I'm trying to hold it in mind that the most important tool writers can develop is patience and even though things aren't coming along or coming out as fast as I want them to, doesn't mean I'm a failure or things are going wrong or 2020 is off. It's just that books, even shorter ones, take a lot of love and time and work and PATIENCE. I draft fast so it's hard for me to let things sit or let editing drag on even if a book needs it, because I want to release things so badly, but I'm not rushing these stories or myself.
That said, I am going to get back to work, because I am finishing this book this week, and that is that. Once it's drafted I can hop back over to my focus on editing that I just ruined and build that back up. I have so many finished titles to polish up it makes my head spin!
January 2, 2020
Night of The Dragon (Definitive Edition) & Where Six Souls Meet
So, the first Lilac Xia Jones story, Night of the Dragon, just got a new round of extensive editing and a new cover. The new, definitive edition of the story is out. I'm very happy I was able to go back and edit this, and I'm not going to lie, I edited...a lot. I added about 4k to 5k words of new material and rewrote a lot of the other material.
You can get the new edition here!
I'm much happier with this version of the story. I wrote this when I was about 17 and it probably wasn't ever ready to come out when I published it. I'm about to turn 24 so being able to go back and fix a lot of the stuff I didn't like or didn't have the technical skill to pull off the first time I wrote it was very satisfying.
I also love the stylish new cover, which is definitely more in line with the rest of my catalog:
I included the cover for the 5th story, which is coming out sometime mid-February! This week I'm focusing on editing and publishing new editions of volumes 2, 3, & 4, and then I'm going to get to work drafting Where Six Souls Meet, which is the first chapter of the 2nd act of the story. I'm really excited for this phase, and I'm glad to finally have an overarching plan and end-goal in place for this series and these characters. There will be 13 stories total, and then they'll all be bound up in a special omnibus.
I'm devoting the first half of 2020 to my three serials; Lilac Xia Jones, Superhero High, & Dark Territory (which I haven't talked about at all yet, but will have more details on later in the month!) and editing my previous novels (Shadows is already mostly done and on the way, and Blood of Midnight and Divinity are both next!) and the second half of the year to writing sequels for some of my novels, particularly for the Deadheart saga and Divinity.
I'm also devoted to writing a second Liesmith book this year if the stars align! I have a lot of ideas for it and I'm gearing up for it but I still have a lot of mental anxiety about it, because I'm stubborn and weird like that.
I actually had a lot of fun editing the first story this last week, even though I drank way too much coffee and beer. It doesn't count if it's after Christmas but before the New Year, though ;)
Anyway, you can check out Night of The Dragon here or add Where Six Souls Meet to your Goodreads shelves here!
I hope you all have a happy new year!
You can get the new edition here!
I'm much happier with this version of the story. I wrote this when I was about 17 and it probably wasn't ever ready to come out when I published it. I'm about to turn 24 so being able to go back and fix a lot of the stuff I didn't like or didn't have the technical skill to pull off the first time I wrote it was very satisfying.
I also love the stylish new cover, which is definitely more in line with the rest of my catalog:
I included the cover for the 5th story, which is coming out sometime mid-February! This week I'm focusing on editing and publishing new editions of volumes 2, 3, & 4, and then I'm going to get to work drafting Where Six Souls Meet, which is the first chapter of the 2nd act of the story. I'm really excited for this phase, and I'm glad to finally have an overarching plan and end-goal in place for this series and these characters. There will be 13 stories total, and then they'll all be bound up in a special omnibus.
I'm devoting the first half of 2020 to my three serials; Lilac Xia Jones, Superhero High, & Dark Territory (which I haven't talked about at all yet, but will have more details on later in the month!) and editing my previous novels (Shadows is already mostly done and on the way, and Blood of Midnight and Divinity are both next!) and the second half of the year to writing sequels for some of my novels, particularly for the Deadheart saga and Divinity.
I'm also devoted to writing a second Liesmith book this year if the stars align! I have a lot of ideas for it and I'm gearing up for it but I still have a lot of mental anxiety about it, because I'm stubborn and weird like that.
I actually had a lot of fun editing the first story this last week, even though I drank way too much coffee and beer. It doesn't count if it's after Christmas but before the New Year, though ;)
Anyway, you can check out Night of The Dragon here or add Where Six Souls Meet to your Goodreads shelves here!
I hope you all have a happy new year!
