Val Prozorova's Blog, page 2

New Year? Same Old Me

Happy New Year! Who knows what 2018 will bring, but I know for a fact that I have a lot of writing plans for this year, and I'm excited to hear what yours are!

First of all, my rejection count from 2017 was sitting pretty at a mere 41 rejections. Out of 100. This year, I'll set the bar at 100 once more, but aim to get more than 41 to consider this an accomplished goal. I think I can do it! If you want to know more about what this rejection goal thing is, have a look at my blog post about it.

I'm also going to be taking part in the Smut Marathon, which consists of 10 assignments that are given throughout the entire year. It is a contest, so it will be a great way for me to see how I measure up to the awesome writers in the genre I started out in. Want to be a writer for the marathon? Sign up! It will be a lot of fun and incredibly useful for feedback and motivation. Can't dedicate the time to write, but love to read? You can sign up to be a reader too! That way you get to vote on your favourite stories and see your favourite writers come to the fore.

If that wasn't enough, I'm also taking part in the 12 Short Stories challenge too! This one isn't a contest, like the above, but more of a NaNoWriMo motivation and inspiration deal. Excited to see what work comes out of that, and hoping I can write for all 12 prompts before their deadlines!

I'm really looking forward to the writing goals I have set this year - with the above, that's 22 new stories in 2018!! - and can't wait to see what new challenges come up and what inspiration strikes me. It's all about keeping on, after all, regardless of the difficulty and bad days.

Whatever you've planned for this year, I believe in you! Never feel that your dreams are too big or not big enough - they're your dreams, and perfect for you.

V

#Trans Anthology is an Award Winner!

This is incredible anthology, collated, organized, and brought to life by the AMAZING Eve Deshane, has won first equal and second place at the 2017 Rainbow Awards!!

We were tied first place for Best LGBT Nonfiction Biography/Memoir Category, and won second place for Best Transgender Book!!

Look at the amazing reviews we got for this brilliant anthology:

Trans was somewhat painful to read - not by any fault of the author but as a collection of difficult and heartfelt stories it was heart wrenching, but I felt it was a book that needed to be written and will be loved by many.

I rather like that each piece was allowed to create it's own setting. The diversity of the pieces was part of the power of the book. The voice of each essay allowed me to glimpse into different worlds and gave me a clearer understanding of many things.

#Trans brings use collection of genuine stories from transgender and non-binary writers who share their heartfelt experiences and insightful thoughts on identity formation and how it has been impacted by technology, film, literature, social media, and music. Well written and edited, this is a must read for youth and adults.

#Trans is by turns academic, thoughtful, and provocative, providing insights and deconstruction of what it means to occupy a body in space and time... and how the internet has made it more possible than ever to find the others asking those same questions.

Thought provoking and informative, well written and edited, I really loved this book. It sparked quite a few family discussions! 

Check out #Trans over on Goodreads, and buy it on Amazon in e-format or paperback!

13 days to Christmas... and 26 days til Bali!

You know how sometimes you wake up and you get a message you have to read several times over, just to make sure you didn't dream it up, because it's just too good to be true?

This was the message:

Bali?? Me?? Two days after applying (apparently either after the deadline or so close to it it was considered yolo-level)???

This doesn't happen to me. This happens to lucky people.

But... here we are. It's not a joke. It's not a hoax. It's a bonafide offer to participate in not only daily travel writing and blogging workshops, but to learn the Balinese language, to experience the culture and cooking with classes, and to explore the island and write a guide.

You can find out more here, and you really should give it a look, because this is such an amazing idea and project!

Now... once the excitement wore off, it hit me that I needed to get the funds to go... with less than a month til takeoff! Yipes!

Unlike Connecticut or Eroticon, I don't have a few months to set this up and squirrel some savings away. I have 26 days from go to landing in Denpasar.  So... I need your help. I need your help fast!!

I've set up a findraiser

and even a dollar brings me closer to my goal than I would be without it. If you have a dollar to spare, or a few more, please donate to help me secure my spot! I'm going to be offering writing commissions, writing and art commissions with my incredible friend Mel Paisley, and anything else I possibly can to make sure that you feel your donation hasn't gone into a void.

This is an opportunity of a lifetime for me, possibly a first step into my dream career, and it would mean the world if you could help me spread the word!

Post it on Facebook, on Twitter, on Tumblr... anywhere you think it might gain even a little traction. Remember, every dollar helps, and you could be making a life-long dream of mine, of becoming a travel writer, come true.

Thank you all, and keep checking in for updates!

How is it already DECEMBER??

I'm not sure about you guys, but for me the first half of the year tends to drag, and the latter half flies by. Already it's December, and people are putting up Christmas decorations; most retail places have been torturing their workers with carols for at least a month, and slowly but surely it's dawning on me that we are nearly at the end of 2017.

So much has happened this year, and I can only hope that more exciting things are in the future once 2018 rolls around. But I'm also worried, as I think a lot of people are, who don't want to admit it, that next year will be worse than this year. That next year you will have less successes and do fewer things.

In the last few months especially I've been wondering just how quickly life can turn around and change, and push everything you ever knew out from under your feet and leave you with a choice to float or fall.

It's scary.

Change is scary.

But through the fear, I would like to look back on all the successes I have had this year - with your help, most of them! - and see just what the future might hold for 2018. I'm not one for mindfulness and gratitude journals; they just don't work for me. But sometimes it's really important to understand that you have had successes, even if they don't feel like successes to you. Seeing it written down really grounds it and reminds you that you did - and can do - so much more than you think.

So here are my 5 successes for 2017:

1. I got my novel published. After months and months of writing it and months more of editing, the novel is available in paperback and e-formats.

2. I've gotten beautiful reviews on the novel. Of the 12 reviews on Goodreads, all have been four or five star reviews, and I could not be more humbled and honored.

3. I've published 14 short stories and articles. That's amazing for one year!

4. I've accumulated 38 rejections out of the 100 I was aiming for. I'll write a more in-depth blog post about this later this month, but it's a lot harder to get 100 than you might think!

5. I got to participate in Eroticon in London, and spend my birthday there. And I got to participate in the amazing Cabins retreat and spend my summer on a lake in Connecticut.

Not a bad handful of things to be proud of, no?

Tell me about the things you're proud of having achieved this year. Nothing is too small. Nothing is insignificant. Remind yourself how awesome you are!

Home? Or Away?

A lot of people who come to New Zealand for a visit, wonder how anyone could possibly want to leave it. Then they do, go back to their much more exciting countries, and long for another holiday.

As someone who lives in New Zealand, I can tell you there is a huge difference between living here and visiting here. A visit allows you to see the sights (which are undoubtedly beautiful), experience the culture, which to many is exceedingly novel and exotic, and return home. A life here brings to the surface the mundane existence that one faces here. 

In short, it's an island. It's small. There are little to no opportunities unless you fall into a specific category of "creative", and after a few years here (almost twenty-two, for me) you realize that without a hefty income you can't often leave the country for longer than a few weeks. Even a trip to our neighbour, Australia, is a minimum of $400 one way.

This is why, I think, I get so jealous when friends casually talk about taking a roadtrip to a new state or Canada (if they're on that continent) or an entirely new country (if they're lucky enough to live in Europe). Because they can. Because for them, driving from Luxembourg to Germany is literally a 3-hour endeavour, and not a 32+ hour flight and stopover experience like it is for me. Because for them, flying across state lines doesn't cost them several months of their entire taxable income.

I had a friend recently post about how she cannot understand how people in New Zealand would want to leave it when it is so safe, and so beautiful. She herself is from South Africa, and has seen things I can only imagine in my nightmares, so on the one hand I entirely understand her perspective. But on the other, she has experienced SOMETHING. She has lived somewhere (sure, not a safe and comfortable somewhere) and now can look back and because of that retrospective glance appreciate the country she lives in now.

I don't have that.

I don't have experiences that bring forward the beauty of life in New Zealand.

I left Ukraine when I was six years old, I didn't even attend school there, I barely remember where we lived. Although I have extended family back in Kiev, and worry about them every day with what is going on there, I can't personally relate to the plight at all - I've never experienced anything like that.

Without experiences, a person remains only partially filled. Without experiences, good or bad, a person is empty. I understand why my friend would rather I take a road trip of the country instead of flying to a new one where I could get stabbed or beaten, but the reality is that I can get beaten or stabbed right here in this "paradise on earth", too.

Another thing tourists rarely experience are the local gangs and violence that goes on behind the scenes, behind the countryside covered in sheep and Maori performances in Rotorua.

I think the reason why I'm thinking about this again is because I feel stuck. My muse has been slow and sluggish of late, allowing me to plan stories but not write anything new. I feel like I've run out of creative ideas. I feel like I'm failing as a writer because I can't produce a continuous stream of new work for my readers and supporters. I feel empty.

And I know I speak from a place of privilege, I know that I am in huge debt because I chose to travel outside of New Zealand instead of staying put, paying off my student loans and just roadtripping the country instead (for the third time, mind you). I also know that the last time I was away from New Zealand was just a few months ago, when I was lucky enough to participate in the Cabins Retreat in Connecticut.

But my heart is screaming.

My soul is screaming.

My muse is shuddering in a dark corner devoid of ideas because I can't continuously be on the move. Because I can't just drop life and go, and hope for the best. I wish I could. That would be the one brave thing I could imagine myself doing.

Do you ever feel stuck? In your actual physical places, in virtual places, in your mental palaces? How do you kickstart the inspiration again? How do you turn those negatives into positives?

"Haunted" Anthology Release!!

Today another awesome anthology from Mofo Pubs releases!! Haunted brings together all things ghostly and ethereal - with more than a hint of sexiness.

You can find it on the Mugwump Press website, Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, and over on Goodreads!

There's also a playlist and a promotional video with some awesome quotes to get you bouncing with excitement. Go check them out!

What an Incredible Reception!

It's been just over a month since The Unmentionables was released on Less Than Three Press, Amazon, BookDepository and other online stores, and I am overwhelmed by the positive response and feedback I've gotten on the novel.

My co-writer and I wrote this with one idea in mind: to share this story, of these people, who had lived in our minds and hearts for so many months. Getting a story out there is easy - people do it every day - but getting it read, and getting it received... that's where it gets tougher. 

But we couldn't have been more lucky.

Not everyone who received an ARC has reviewed the book, perhaps they haven't finished, perhaps they didn't want to; but those that have, have had the most incredible things to say. I am flattered. I am humbled. I am honored. And I am sure my co-writer feels the same.

This might possibly be the only novel I ever write. It could be the start of an entirely new adventure, I'm not sure. But what I am sure of is that I am so proud of our work and I am so happy it has resonated with people as it has.

If you would like to buy your own copy, they are available throughLess Than Three Press, Amazon, and BookDepository, in both eversions and paperback. And if you'd like to get one of the remaining signed paperbacks (by me only), then head over to the store and get yours before they're gone!

A huge thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed, who is reading and planning to review, who has yet to read and curious... all of you. Thank you all of you. We could not have had a better experience with our first novel release than this.

15 Signed Copies Left!!

I don't know about you, but I love the idea of holding a first edition. I also love holding a first edition with a signature in it. I find it amazing that the person who wrote the book I'm reading set their pen down on that same paper to write their name and squiggle awkwardly nearby.

If you're anything like me, then this link right here is for you.

This one right here

It leads to the store on this site, and gives you the chance to order a signed paperback copy of The Unmentionables!

But hurry, there are only 15 left - 5 gone since I posted the listing a day ago! - and I'm not sure there will be any more once these run out!

See Another Side of Me!

For those of you who haven't known me for very long, you might not know that as well as writing, I am a huge advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and work for RainbowYOUTH in Auckland, New Zealand.

We were very lucky to be featured in a series of videos for LGBT week on RE: over on Facebook and the interview turned out so well! A huge thank you to Sieska Verdonk, for your interesting questions, your curious nature, and an all-round great experience!

I was also lucky enough to be asked to give an interview for their upcoming Trans Week series, which is due out in a month or so. This is the first time I've been able to share my experiences this way, and it is so special and so wonderful that this is available to our community through an organization that is run by young people in New Zealand.

Thanks, RE: for all your hard work, we look forward to working with you again!

If you'd like to help out RainbowYOUTH, go to the website and drop us a line or a donation - we would love the help!

"The Unmentionables" - available on Amazon today!!

Are you a bit like me and love to hold a book in your hand rather than scan your eyes over a screen? You can, now!

Go grab a copy, give it a read, and throw a review my way! I'd be incredibly grateful!