S.M. Carrière's Blog, page 2
February 19, 2024
Well, Bugger it All
Good morning, Readers! 
Image by Gundula Vogel from Pixabay Don't let my writing and publishing of today's post fool you. I am not on top of things. Even remotely.
The burnout is coming fast and hard, and it's not even my insane schedule this time. I've been very good about resting and not taking too much on. But my headspace cannot help but be affected by the world around me, and so I find myself unable to do much at all.
First and most obvious, the catastrophic situation in Palestine. It's not just all those beautiful souls being made to suffer with deliberate and inexcusable cruelty that has me crying very nearly daily, but it's the absolute refusal of the western powers to do anything about it; ignoring all pretence of caring about human rights or international law or anything and using my money to aid and abet the crime of crimes. I am beyond disgusted. I am beyond rage. I would not cry to see them fall hard and fast. More than that, even, it's my absolute inability to affect any kind of change. I have written letters, sent faxes, shared information on social media... And it's as if I'm throwing things at a glass wall. They see. I know they see. But they do not move.
I used to believe that perhaps our government here in Canada were just cowards. It's deplorable, but at least a little understandable. It's so hard to stand up to a bully. That's why so many bullies get away with being the literal worst their entire lives. It's a hard thing to do what's right, and noble and just, when everyone around you, your 'friends' seem hellbent on doing the exact opposite. It's not an easy task. That's why we have heroes, I suppose.
No one would ever mistake Trudeau for a hero. But now I'm becoming convinced that this country is governed by monsters.
I'm angry, feeling horrifically impotent and impossibly sad.
Also, I have a foot injury that's impacting my ability to train. So far, I've taken several weeks off, and have later returned one day a week (in addition to teaching Saturdays). It doesn't seem to be getting better. The injury itself is frustrating enough, but the fact that I can't work out my frustrations as frequently or as thoroughly in training as I usually do is compounding it all.
I'm also quite behind in my deadline for finishing the third book in The Three Worlds War trilogy. I will need to extend the deadline, which I hate and it's stressing me out. And because I'm stressed about it, and with all of the things above, I'm struggling to write at all.
It's a brutal vicious circle at present.
But it's not all bad. I am eeking out some words in the manuscript, and I am able to train a little, and I'm not being entirely idle about the state of the world, either. But it's taking a lot of effort. The burnout is real. I think what I need to do is take a week and vanish from the world for a bit; maybe find a way to go camping or rent a cat-friendly cabin somewhere where there isn't internet, and just... chill.
But that will have to wait as I don't really have the holiday days available from work, and no money to rent such a location anyway. Best I can do is do what I'm doing right now. Sleeping it off. And venting.
I already feel a bit better. Thanks for listening to me.
Right, I'm off to attempt a normal day. It's a holiday here in Ontario, so I'm going to spend it relaxing as much as possible and doing a few of my most neglected house chores.
I hope you're all well, and please know that even though I'm exhausted, it's not actually that bad, and I'm doing okay, really. I just needed to bitch for a bit!
Ciao!
Image by Gundula Vogel from Pixabay Don't let my writing and publishing of today's post fool you. I am not on top of things. Even remotely.The burnout is coming fast and hard, and it's not even my insane schedule this time. I've been very good about resting and not taking too much on. But my headspace cannot help but be affected by the world around me, and so I find myself unable to do much at all.
First and most obvious, the catastrophic situation in Palestine. It's not just all those beautiful souls being made to suffer with deliberate and inexcusable cruelty that has me crying very nearly daily, but it's the absolute refusal of the western powers to do anything about it; ignoring all pretence of caring about human rights or international law or anything and using my money to aid and abet the crime of crimes. I am beyond disgusted. I am beyond rage. I would not cry to see them fall hard and fast. More than that, even, it's my absolute inability to affect any kind of change. I have written letters, sent faxes, shared information on social media... And it's as if I'm throwing things at a glass wall. They see. I know they see. But they do not move.
I used to believe that perhaps our government here in Canada were just cowards. It's deplorable, but at least a little understandable. It's so hard to stand up to a bully. That's why so many bullies get away with being the literal worst their entire lives. It's a hard thing to do what's right, and noble and just, when everyone around you, your 'friends' seem hellbent on doing the exact opposite. It's not an easy task. That's why we have heroes, I suppose.
No one would ever mistake Trudeau for a hero. But now I'm becoming convinced that this country is governed by monsters.
I'm angry, feeling horrifically impotent and impossibly sad.
Also, I have a foot injury that's impacting my ability to train. So far, I've taken several weeks off, and have later returned one day a week (in addition to teaching Saturdays). It doesn't seem to be getting better. The injury itself is frustrating enough, but the fact that I can't work out my frustrations as frequently or as thoroughly in training as I usually do is compounding it all.
I'm also quite behind in my deadline for finishing the third book in The Three Worlds War trilogy. I will need to extend the deadline, which I hate and it's stressing me out. And because I'm stressed about it, and with all of the things above, I'm struggling to write at all.
It's a brutal vicious circle at present.
But it's not all bad. I am eeking out some words in the manuscript, and I am able to train a little, and I'm not being entirely idle about the state of the world, either. But it's taking a lot of effort. The burnout is real. I think what I need to do is take a week and vanish from the world for a bit; maybe find a way to go camping or rent a cat-friendly cabin somewhere where there isn't internet, and just... chill.
But that will have to wait as I don't really have the holiday days available from work, and no money to rent such a location anyway. Best I can do is do what I'm doing right now. Sleeping it off. And venting.
I already feel a bit better. Thanks for listening to me.
Right, I'm off to attempt a normal day. It's a holiday here in Ontario, so I'm going to spend it relaxing as much as possible and doing a few of my most neglected house chores.
I hope you're all well, and please know that even though I'm exhausted, it's not actually that bad, and I'm doing okay, really. I just needed to bitch for a bit!
Ciao!
February 5, 2024
One Step Closer!
Good morning, Readers! 
Image by Michaela from Pixabay I have some awesome things to share. If you've been following my socials, you know that I now have the comments from my second beta reader for The New Haven Incident. Along with the comments, she sent a long email explaining a few things. Honestly, it's the frikkin' best list of comments I've ever received this way.
As of the writing of this blog post, I haven't yet opened the document to work through the edits. But I have read over that email several times. I might print that email and frame it. Honestly, it's great.
I thought I'd take the time to share with you some of my favourite things my beta reader sent to me about this book. So, in no particular order (but my favourite is the last one), here are some quotes that I adored.
On the character of Lilith:
I'm working through the edits now and will send it off to my final beta reader soon. I'm excited about this one! Right, we all have work to do.
Ciao!
Image by Michaela from Pixabay I have some awesome things to share. If you've been following my socials, you know that I now have the comments from my second beta reader for The New Haven Incident. Along with the comments, she sent a long email explaining a few things. Honestly, it's the frikkin' best list of comments I've ever received this way.As of the writing of this blog post, I haven't yet opened the document to work through the edits. But I have read over that email several times. I might print that email and frame it. Honestly, it's great.
I thought I'd take the time to share with you some of my favourite things my beta reader sent to me about this book. So, in no particular order (but my favourite is the last one), here are some quotes that I adored.
On the character of Lilith:
Goddamn. We need more characters like this, kind, compassionate, and BADASS. Also, her backstory. Man. I was not prepared for that.On the story overall:
Jesus Christ. What a whirlwind of a novel. It's compelling, interesting, and also quite terrifying.On the character of Sebastian (which made me laugh so hard):
He may be blond but he's smart, fast, an opportunist, and generally seems to have a good moral compass despite all of his rigorous and brutal training.On the characters in general:
I love how you wrote the characters... They aren't cardboard NPCs. These characters are real.On an event I won't spoil:
Patricia Cornwell eat your heart out.And my personal favourite:
I'm sure you had a great time writing a PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR SEX SCENE. Jesus fucking Christ I was crying Sonia. CRYING. DURING A SEX SCENE. Fuck my life.So, I traumatised my beta reader, for which I am very sorry... but I am heartened to see that everything I tried to achieve in this story landed. I'm now even more excited to bring this one to you.
I'm working through the edits now and will send it off to my final beta reader soon. I'm excited about this one! Right, we all have work to do.
Ciao!
January 29, 2024
It’s a Beginning, Not a Failure
Good morning, Readers! 
Image by Enrique from Pixabay It’s been almost a month post the launch of my subscription thingy and I have some thoughts I’d like to share about my experience so far.
First off, I’d like to thank the two people who did subscribe. That’s two more than I was expecting, and I’m genuinely thrilled to have you on board with this stupid little project of mine. Honestly, your support means the world to me, and I’m very grateful for you.
Now, to the obvious… I have two subscribers. That’s a little less than $1.50 extra a month (after all the fees etc) in my pocket. Obviously, as a means to replace the income I’m getting from working full time for someone else, that looks like an utter failure. And, I suppose, it is on the outside of it. I am hoping that I’ll be able to reduce my hours at the office, but no one can life on $1.50 a month. So, that’s just not in the picture right now.
For all that it looks like a failure at launch, it’s not really feeling like a failure to me. First, is that anyone subscribed at all. It doesn’t matter if they’re my friends, or if these are pity subscriptions (I’ll take it!). People did subscribe, and are getting a few things other folks are not. And to be fair, if I had any more than two subscriptions at launch, I’d be mightily suspicious.
Second, despite an increase in my workload this month (which will hopefully have calmed down a bit now, and I can start devoting more time to other awesome things in my life), I managed to keep up with the work I’d set for myself for the subscription - mostly. There was one week that proved hellish, and I didn’t get anything done for this blog, let alone my other one. But I did make that up, so I didn’t fall terribly behind, and my subscribers still got their exclusives; just a bit late.
Granted, at $1.00 a month for the subscription, there isn’t a lot on offer, but my subscribers are still getting nice little extras where I can provide them. They are getting the extra blog post a week, they are getting news first, and, as a little treat, they’re getting daily writing updates. Unlike my other socials, my subscribers are also getting little snippets of what I’ve written that day. I did that once with Facebook while I was writing The Seraphimè Saga. Now, it’s a perk for my subscribers. It’s a small thing, granted, but with my current workload, it’s something extra I can provide.
As a third point, I’m actually kinda enjoying myself. I have a little secret club that I can offload all of my excitement as the exciting things happen - I don’t have to hold it all in until the appropriate time to make the news public. I like being able to share bits of my writing with people. I like creating things for others to enjoy.
I realize that not an awful lot is expected for $1.00 a month, and since that is the case, I’m okay with what I have going on right now. I have ideas, though, and more stuff coming down the pipeline that will be fun to share with my subscribers. Here is what’s on offer for my subscribers currently:Free yearly calendar with original artwork (three months to a page) for downloadDaily (in as much as I can) updates on writing projects with exclusive looks at the day’s work.First read of Monday blog posts.Exclusive weekly blog posts (usually on Wednesdays)Free, first access to any serials I write There’ s’more I’m planning on creating, but they’re going to require a few more pieces of equipment in order to properly set up. This, of course, requires funds (it’s a vicious circle, friends), but these are tucked away for the future, either in addition to the first tier or for different tiers. These include:A private, subscriber only Discord server.A monthly exclusive livestream where we can all craft together.A monthly movie club where we can all sit and watch a movie together online.ARC club - where folks can get Advanced Reader Copies of any books I publish.A bookclub (if anyone wants that, we’ll see)Exclusive artworkDiscounts for my Ko-Fi shop… when I start adding things properly. I have to set up the shop properly. I’m rather surprised that I don’t feel badly about what outwardly looks like I didn’t succeed. I don’t feel like this is a failure. I think this is a start. And we all must start somewhere. Instead of feeling disheartened, I’m excited about the future. I really cannot wait until I get The New Haven Incident out into the world. I can’t wait to get it to my subscribers first. I’m hopeful that I will eventually be able to replace my income; not necessarily with my subscriptions alone, but in combination with what I earn from my writing, my art, and the leatherwork and bookbinding I’m going to eventually offer (once I’ve practiced some).
So, again, thank you to my subscribers. You’re awesome. Thank you for your support. If you want to support, for only $1.00 a month, you can do so here . Right, I have a bunch of other blog posts to get written for this week. I must go.
Ciao!
Image by Enrique from Pixabay It’s been almost a month post the launch of my subscription thingy and I have some thoughts I’d like to share about my experience so far.First off, I’d like to thank the two people who did subscribe. That’s two more than I was expecting, and I’m genuinely thrilled to have you on board with this stupid little project of mine. Honestly, your support means the world to me, and I’m very grateful for you.
Now, to the obvious… I have two subscribers. That’s a little less than $1.50 extra a month (after all the fees etc) in my pocket. Obviously, as a means to replace the income I’m getting from working full time for someone else, that looks like an utter failure. And, I suppose, it is on the outside of it. I am hoping that I’ll be able to reduce my hours at the office, but no one can life on $1.50 a month. So, that’s just not in the picture right now.
For all that it looks like a failure at launch, it’s not really feeling like a failure to me. First, is that anyone subscribed at all. It doesn’t matter if they’re my friends, or if these are pity subscriptions (I’ll take it!). People did subscribe, and are getting a few things other folks are not. And to be fair, if I had any more than two subscriptions at launch, I’d be mightily suspicious.
Second, despite an increase in my workload this month (which will hopefully have calmed down a bit now, and I can start devoting more time to other awesome things in my life), I managed to keep up with the work I’d set for myself for the subscription - mostly. There was one week that proved hellish, and I didn’t get anything done for this blog, let alone my other one. But I did make that up, so I didn’t fall terribly behind, and my subscribers still got their exclusives; just a bit late.
Granted, at $1.00 a month for the subscription, there isn’t a lot on offer, but my subscribers are still getting nice little extras where I can provide them. They are getting the extra blog post a week, they are getting news first, and, as a little treat, they’re getting daily writing updates. Unlike my other socials, my subscribers are also getting little snippets of what I’ve written that day. I did that once with Facebook while I was writing The Seraphimè Saga. Now, it’s a perk for my subscribers. It’s a small thing, granted, but with my current workload, it’s something extra I can provide.
As a third point, I’m actually kinda enjoying myself. I have a little secret club that I can offload all of my excitement as the exciting things happen - I don’t have to hold it all in until the appropriate time to make the news public. I like being able to share bits of my writing with people. I like creating things for others to enjoy.
I realize that not an awful lot is expected for $1.00 a month, and since that is the case, I’m okay with what I have going on right now. I have ideas, though, and more stuff coming down the pipeline that will be fun to share with my subscribers. Here is what’s on offer for my subscribers currently:Free yearly calendar with original artwork (three months to a page) for downloadDaily (in as much as I can) updates on writing projects with exclusive looks at the day’s work.First read of Monday blog posts.Exclusive weekly blog posts (usually on Wednesdays)Free, first access to any serials I write There’ s’more I’m planning on creating, but they’re going to require a few more pieces of equipment in order to properly set up. This, of course, requires funds (it’s a vicious circle, friends), but these are tucked away for the future, either in addition to the first tier or for different tiers. These include:A private, subscriber only Discord server.A monthly exclusive livestream where we can all craft together.A monthly movie club where we can all sit and watch a movie together online.ARC club - where folks can get Advanced Reader Copies of any books I publish.A bookclub (if anyone wants that, we’ll see)Exclusive artworkDiscounts for my Ko-Fi shop… when I start adding things properly. I have to set up the shop properly. I’m rather surprised that I don’t feel badly about what outwardly looks like I didn’t succeed. I don’t feel like this is a failure. I think this is a start. And we all must start somewhere. Instead of feeling disheartened, I’m excited about the future. I really cannot wait until I get The New Haven Incident out into the world. I can’t wait to get it to my subscribers first. I’m hopeful that I will eventually be able to replace my income; not necessarily with my subscriptions alone, but in combination with what I earn from my writing, my art, and the leatherwork and bookbinding I’m going to eventually offer (once I’ve practiced some).
So, again, thank you to my subscribers. You’re awesome. Thank you for your support. If you want to support, for only $1.00 a month, you can do so here . Right, I have a bunch of other blog posts to get written for this week. I must go.
Ciao!
January 22, 2024
Post Read-Along Review and Thoughts
Good morning, Readers! 
Image by Daria Głodowska from Pixabay Sorry about last Monday. There wasn’t a post. I was terribly busy with several of my jobs, and it completely skipped my mind. Things should be winding down with two of them, though, so there’s that. Hopefully things will be less hectic in the future.
Anyway, today I want to talk about The Dusty Bookshelf and the first Read-Along I did via Storygraph. It’s technically not over yet. It doesn’t finish until the end of the month, but the book was short and a very easy read, so I’ve finished it. There’s still time for you if you’re a quick reader and would like to join. It’s here . Here’s a short, spoiler-free review of the book, in case you’re interested.
As an experience, the Read-Along was actually quite nice! As of now, there was one other who joined me (thanks so much!), which is fantastic, because I honestly thought there’d be no one. It was quite fun to chat with someone about each section as I read it. Some interesting ideas and opinions on characters and whatnot. It’s great fun.
I really enjoyed that it was entirely low pressure. I had designed the Read-Along so that you could only talk about the sections as you finished it, keeping spoilers out of the forums. There were dates to aim for to complete each section, but they weren’t hard and fast rules. You could finish each section earlier or later (it was earlier for us both, in this case), and still discuss it. Not having that pressure, like a defined meeting date as with a bookclub, made it easier on my already beleaguered time. It didn’t feel like a must. It was a want. I find this a vital difference for enjoying something.
The last thing I want to do is make reading “work.”
I am thinking I might do a long form review for YouTube, but I currently do not have the spoons to script, film, edit and upload the review. We’ll see how I feel this weekend, as if I’m going to do it, I’d like to have it done and out in the world at the end of the month, so I can announce the next book in the Read-Along.
I do have the book selected and the Read-Along set up, but you’re going to have to wait for the announcement of all of that (my subscribers will know first) until the technical end of the first Read-Along.
As a thing, I really liked the Read-Along. Of course, the other reader helped a tonne. I imagine it will suck infinitely more to have obnoxious or belligerent readers in the thing. There is a remove option for them, but I don’t see a block function. Hopefully, I’ll never need such a thing. As it stands, it was good fun, and I’m glad I decided to do it.
I have a very modest goal of reading a book a month this year, and this will help keep me accountable. Hopefully I can keep it up. It’s worth it thus far.
Alright, I’m off because I have a horrific headache and staring at a screen is not helping.
Ciao!
Image by Daria Głodowska from Pixabay Sorry about last Monday. There wasn’t a post. I was terribly busy with several of my jobs, and it completely skipped my mind. Things should be winding down with two of them, though, so there’s that. Hopefully things will be less hectic in the future.Anyway, today I want to talk about The Dusty Bookshelf and the first Read-Along I did via Storygraph. It’s technically not over yet. It doesn’t finish until the end of the month, but the book was short and a very easy read, so I’ve finished it. There’s still time for you if you’re a quick reader and would like to join. It’s here . Here’s a short, spoiler-free review of the book, in case you’re interested.
As an experience, the Read-Along was actually quite nice! As of now, there was one other who joined me (thanks so much!), which is fantastic, because I honestly thought there’d be no one. It was quite fun to chat with someone about each section as I read it. Some interesting ideas and opinions on characters and whatnot. It’s great fun.I really enjoyed that it was entirely low pressure. I had designed the Read-Along so that you could only talk about the sections as you finished it, keeping spoilers out of the forums. There were dates to aim for to complete each section, but they weren’t hard and fast rules. You could finish each section earlier or later (it was earlier for us both, in this case), and still discuss it. Not having that pressure, like a defined meeting date as with a bookclub, made it easier on my already beleaguered time. It didn’t feel like a must. It was a want. I find this a vital difference for enjoying something.
The last thing I want to do is make reading “work.”
I am thinking I might do a long form review for YouTube, but I currently do not have the spoons to script, film, edit and upload the review. We’ll see how I feel this weekend, as if I’m going to do it, I’d like to have it done and out in the world at the end of the month, so I can announce the next book in the Read-Along.
I do have the book selected and the Read-Along set up, but you’re going to have to wait for the announcement of all of that (my subscribers will know first) until the technical end of the first Read-Along.
As a thing, I really liked the Read-Along. Of course, the other reader helped a tonne. I imagine it will suck infinitely more to have obnoxious or belligerent readers in the thing. There is a remove option for them, but I don’t see a block function. Hopefully, I’ll never need such a thing. As it stands, it was good fun, and I’m glad I decided to do it.
I have a very modest goal of reading a book a month this year, and this will help keep me accountable. Hopefully I can keep it up. It’s worth it thus far.
Alright, I’m off because I have a horrific headache and staring at a screen is not helping.
Ciao!
January 8, 2024
The Dusty Shelf Book Club
Good morning, Readers! Hello and welcome to the first ever book club update. There’s a fair bit to talk about with this, so this one will be a long one. The rest shouldn’t be this long.
First up, another one? Well, not quite. I’m shelving (hah!) Nights at the Round Table for now. It was tough finding panellists, and I don’t really have the time to devote to trying to organise each episode. What’s different about The Dusty Shelf, then? Well, for starters, books won’t be randomly selected. We’re reading what books I choose to read. Like Nights at the Round Table, we’ll be reading one book a month. You are not required to keep up, or even finish the book. Did Not Finish (DNF) is as valid a reaction to a book as any other review. Life is short, and there are many excellent books. You don’t have to read what you don’t want to.
I may or may not be posting a video review on my personal YouTube channel, but there will be no formal meeting for the bookclub; at least in person. There will be a complete by date, when we move onto the next book. Online discussions of the book will be allowed to contain spoilers after that date.
If you want to join in, there is the online book club, which you can join here. We’ll be hosting a general discussion of the book there. I’m also on Storygraph, which I like so much better than Goodreads. I’m hosting a read along - basically, we read the book together and chat about each section/chapter as we finish it. It is open to the public, so hopefully a fair few people will be sharing their love/hatred of the book. For now, I’m expecting it to just be me.
Our/my first book is Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham.
I received this book for Christmas, and was told that this was the gifter’s weirdest, most favourite read of 2023. That sounds like it’s right up my alley.
If you’re interested in joining our public read-along on Storygraph, you can join in here. Granted, because of my posting schedule, you will be a week behind at this point, and we should be well into Part Two right about now. Sorry! But if you’re a quick reader, there should be no problem catching up!
I’ll see you there, if you like!
Ciao!
First up, another one? Well, not quite. I’m shelving (hah!) Nights at the Round Table for now. It was tough finding panellists, and I don’t really have the time to devote to trying to organise each episode. What’s different about The Dusty Shelf, then? Well, for starters, books won’t be randomly selected. We’re reading what books I choose to read. Like Nights at the Round Table, we’ll be reading one book a month. You are not required to keep up, or even finish the book. Did Not Finish (DNF) is as valid a reaction to a book as any other review. Life is short, and there are many excellent books. You don’t have to read what you don’t want to.
I may or may not be posting a video review on my personal YouTube channel, but there will be no formal meeting for the bookclub; at least in person. There will be a complete by date, when we move onto the next book. Online discussions of the book will be allowed to contain spoilers after that date.
If you want to join in, there is the online book club, which you can join here. We’ll be hosting a general discussion of the book there. I’m also on Storygraph, which I like so much better than Goodreads. I’m hosting a read along - basically, we read the book together and chat about each section/chapter as we finish it. It is open to the public, so hopefully a fair few people will be sharing their love/hatred of the book. For now, I’m expecting it to just be me.
Our/my first book is Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham.
I received this book for Christmas, and was told that this was the gifter’s weirdest, most favourite read of 2023. That sounds like it’s right up my alley.If you’re interested in joining our public read-along on Storygraph, you can join in here. Granted, because of my posting schedule, you will be a week behind at this point, and we should be well into Part Two right about now. Sorry! But if you’re a quick reader, there should be no problem catching up!
I’ll see you there, if you like!
Ciao!
January 2, 2024
Where I Hope to Be
Good morning, Readers!
What? A second blog post in as many days? Listen, hush. Yesterday was a holiday, so it was a scheduled post I wrote ages ago. Today is the actual first day back at work, so you get a proper blog post.
Image by Rosy / Bad Homburg / Germany from PixabayWell, what a shit year 2023 was, am I right?
I’m not going to lie, it’s been a pretty rough week leading up to today. I struggled with a migraine for much of last week, and so got nothing I wanted done at all. I’m quite far behind in my writing. I promised myself I’d catch up by Christmas, but alas, did not. I am blaming my migraine for that too, even though that happened after Christmas. So, I’m starting this new year fresh…ish. I’m using this first week of the year to settle back into my regular routine, catch up to where I should have been as of today, and throw in some bonuses.
Before I get into my goals for this coming year, I have a happy announcement! If you were looking for ways to support me (you know, other that your already incredible emotional support) in the upcoming months, you can! As of last night, my monthly subscription thingy has gone live. It’s just the one tier at $1.00 a month (that’s in Canadian dollars, in case anyone is wondering) for now, as I don’t have much time to devote to this (yet), and I don’t feel like I can deliver much more than that amount’s worth of material in a month for you.
So far, monthly subscribers will have access to something free in my shop… it’s the only thing in my shop as of now… and you’ll be getting an extra blog post a month, plus early access to whatever I write for my own platforms first. Except for this blog post. The thing only launched last night, after all. Anyway, if you can spare the time and funds, please subscribe. But no not, and I mean this, do not if you can’t. You must look after you first. Fill your own cup, and then you can think about filling others’. There are plenty of ways you can support a creative, most of them free, and I’m grateful for it all. Don’t you dare feel bad! Okay? Okay.Right, onto the goals for the coming year. I’m not looking at last year’s goals. I know I didn’t hit the majority of them, so I’m not going to depress myself with my failures. Looking forward only! On that note, here is what I’m hoping to achieve:
Writing Get an answer on The Lioness of Shara Mountain. I haven’t heard from the publisher yet. If the manuscript is rejected, I have to decide what to do with it. Should I shelve it? Self-publish? Try to acquire an agent for it? I’m not sure yet. The first step, however, is getting an answer on it. This one’s easy. It’s out of my hands, so I don’t have to actually do anything about it. Because I can’t. *flips hair sassily* Publishing.Complete Book Three of The Three Worlds War. As of the writing of this, I’m just shy of a quarter of the way through. I should get it finished by the middle of the year.Start and finish a new title - The Tournament. I want to write this book and then adapt it into a stage play. First thing’s first, though, is to write the damned thing. I can think about adapting it later. The goal - write the novel. The stage play is for another year, perhaps.Create and launch my monthly subscription. This one’s a cheat. I’ve already done it. Hey, it’s sometimes nice to cross something off your to-do list early on, okay? Don’t judge.Try to get the number of subscribers to 25. That might seem like a very small number for a year’s worth of effort. There are two reasons for this: the first is that I’ll be very lucky if anyone signs up at all, and the second is that I know these things take time. I have a very small following of wonderful readers (thank you, by the way!), and that means getting known by a larger group, and having anyone from that larger group want to subscribe is going to be an uphill battle. 25 may even be too large for someone just starting out, especially since there isn’t that much on offer, and I’m so bloody awful at self-promotion. We’ll see. Health Eat enough. I know I’ve been sinking into old habits of not eating enough, and then collapsing into a binge (though my binges have been healthier of late) every so often. I have to ensure that I’m eating enough. I’m switching to a protein-focussed diet. I’ve been doing some reading, and it’s supposed to help ‘mature’ (snicker) women and women suffering from hormonal issues to maintain decent muscle mass.Get to unassisted pull-ups. Damn it, this was my goal last year and I failed so hard. This will be the year I do it. I have some supplies I need to pick up (work out rings), but I’m going to get so strong. Get to a full split. This was not on my list last year. I know I need to work on my flexibility. I’ve never been able to do the splits, and I’ll try for it this year. I need some equipment to help (yoga blocks so I can hold myself upright, for example).Get back into weight training. I have all the equipment that I need for the level I’m at. What I lack is the will. The thing is, I really like feeling strong, and get stroppy with myself when I’m being lazy, so I have really no excuse.Do more yoga. Okay, this ties into the flexibility thing, but also my mental health. Yoga is gentle, it doesn’t take very long, and there are plenty of free resources to get me going. I’ll be focussing on yoga for relief of lower back and hip pain, because that’s where I hurt the most pretty much all the time.Meditate more. I suck at meditation. I’m no good at it. My brain does not, will not, and cannot be still. I figure if I start out slowly, with some of the guided meditations I have on a free app (I’m not paying for anything I don’t have to. In this economy? Are you mad?), I should be okay. It’ll also help with my stress, which I’ve been terrible at managing. Chocolate is not a management strategy. General Life Recommit to learning French. This has been off and on for the past few years. I can understand a lot, but speaking is hard, and active listening is exhausting. I would like to be able to listen and understand without having to do the translating in my brain.Pick up my guitar again. I started lessons and stopped. I don’t have an awful lot of time, so this might have to go, but for now, I desperately miss making music. And learning is good for the brain. I need to start up again. How will I manage with so much already? I don’t know. Man, I hope my writing takes off and I can reduce my time at the office some.Stop isolating. This is a big one for me. Which is why I’ve buried it here. The last couple of years were stressful and difficult. When I’m stressed or overstimulated, I shut down, withdraw and hide. It’s all part of a coping strategy related to my CPTSD, or so said my therapist when I had one. It can be good, but done to the extreme, like I tend to, it’s actually very harmful. I felt it when I went to a friend’s Christmas party this year. I very nearly had an anxiety attack at the door, because it had been so long since I’d been near a group of people purely in a social setting (it’s always been my martial arts crew, and they’re safe - if that makes sense). There were many events that I wish I could have attended, but I was unable to - not for financial or scheduling reasons, but because the very thought of being around people drove my adrenaline through the roof. I couldn’t cope with the idea. I even got so worked up over one that I ended up throwing up. That was cool (it was not cool). The problem with isolating is that each successive occurrence makes it harder and harder to get back out and be social. So, this year, I’m going to try to force myself out into the world more… and hope I don’t have a complete breakdown.So, that’s what I’m aiming for this year. I always feel like I bite off way more than I can chew and so end up dropping all the plates I’m spinning. This year doesn’t feel like that tendency has changed, but I’m hoping that if I introduce them slowly to my routine over these first couple of months, I’ll be okay… so long as the routine doesn’t break. It takes me forever to recover a broken routine, if I ever manage it.
As always, I’m trying to be gentle with myself (hence the no recapping of last year’s goals). I have a terrible habit of expecting too much and then being quite awful to myself when I inevitably fail. Be kind to yourselves, too!
Anyway, if you’ve made it this far into my overly long post, thanks so much for sticking with it. And thanks for reading at all, and thanks for all your support over the years, even when I wasn’t producing anything. I mean it. It’s been a huge help having you here, even if only virtually. With some pretty exciting projects lined up for the future, I hope your patience with me will be rewarded. You’re all wonderful.
Ciao!
What? A second blog post in as many days? Listen, hush. Yesterday was a holiday, so it was a scheduled post I wrote ages ago. Today is the actual first day back at work, so you get a proper blog post.
Image by Rosy / Bad Homburg / Germany from PixabayWell, what a shit year 2023 was, am I right?I’m not going to lie, it’s been a pretty rough week leading up to today. I struggled with a migraine for much of last week, and so got nothing I wanted done at all. I’m quite far behind in my writing. I promised myself I’d catch up by Christmas, but alas, did not. I am blaming my migraine for that too, even though that happened after Christmas. So, I’m starting this new year fresh…ish. I’m using this first week of the year to settle back into my regular routine, catch up to where I should have been as of today, and throw in some bonuses.
Before I get into my goals for this coming year, I have a happy announcement! If you were looking for ways to support me (you know, other that your already incredible emotional support) in the upcoming months, you can! As of last night, my monthly subscription thingy has gone live. It’s just the one tier at $1.00 a month (that’s in Canadian dollars, in case anyone is wondering) for now, as I don’t have much time to devote to this (yet), and I don’t feel like I can deliver much more than that amount’s worth of material in a month for you.
So far, monthly subscribers will have access to something free in my shop… it’s the only thing in my shop as of now… and you’ll be getting an extra blog post a month, plus early access to whatever I write for my own platforms first. Except for this blog post. The thing only launched last night, after all. Anyway, if you can spare the time and funds, please subscribe. But no not, and I mean this, do not if you can’t. You must look after you first. Fill your own cup, and then you can think about filling others’. There are plenty of ways you can support a creative, most of them free, and I’m grateful for it all. Don’t you dare feel bad! Okay? Okay.Right, onto the goals for the coming year. I’m not looking at last year’s goals. I know I didn’t hit the majority of them, so I’m not going to depress myself with my failures. Looking forward only! On that note, here is what I’m hoping to achieve:
Writing Get an answer on The Lioness of Shara Mountain. I haven’t heard from the publisher yet. If the manuscript is rejected, I have to decide what to do with it. Should I shelve it? Self-publish? Try to acquire an agent for it? I’m not sure yet. The first step, however, is getting an answer on it. This one’s easy. It’s out of my hands, so I don’t have to actually do anything about it. Because I can’t. *flips hair sassily* Publishing.Complete Book Three of The Three Worlds War. As of the writing of this, I’m just shy of a quarter of the way through. I should get it finished by the middle of the year.Start and finish a new title - The Tournament. I want to write this book and then adapt it into a stage play. First thing’s first, though, is to write the damned thing. I can think about adapting it later. The goal - write the novel. The stage play is for another year, perhaps.Create and launch my monthly subscription. This one’s a cheat. I’ve already done it. Hey, it’s sometimes nice to cross something off your to-do list early on, okay? Don’t judge.Try to get the number of subscribers to 25. That might seem like a very small number for a year’s worth of effort. There are two reasons for this: the first is that I’ll be very lucky if anyone signs up at all, and the second is that I know these things take time. I have a very small following of wonderful readers (thank you, by the way!), and that means getting known by a larger group, and having anyone from that larger group want to subscribe is going to be an uphill battle. 25 may even be too large for someone just starting out, especially since there isn’t that much on offer, and I’m so bloody awful at self-promotion. We’ll see. Health Eat enough. I know I’ve been sinking into old habits of not eating enough, and then collapsing into a binge (though my binges have been healthier of late) every so often. I have to ensure that I’m eating enough. I’m switching to a protein-focussed diet. I’ve been doing some reading, and it’s supposed to help ‘mature’ (snicker) women and women suffering from hormonal issues to maintain decent muscle mass.Get to unassisted pull-ups. Damn it, this was my goal last year and I failed so hard. This will be the year I do it. I have some supplies I need to pick up (work out rings), but I’m going to get so strong. Get to a full split. This was not on my list last year. I know I need to work on my flexibility. I’ve never been able to do the splits, and I’ll try for it this year. I need some equipment to help (yoga blocks so I can hold myself upright, for example).Get back into weight training. I have all the equipment that I need for the level I’m at. What I lack is the will. The thing is, I really like feeling strong, and get stroppy with myself when I’m being lazy, so I have really no excuse.Do more yoga. Okay, this ties into the flexibility thing, but also my mental health. Yoga is gentle, it doesn’t take very long, and there are plenty of free resources to get me going. I’ll be focussing on yoga for relief of lower back and hip pain, because that’s where I hurt the most pretty much all the time.Meditate more. I suck at meditation. I’m no good at it. My brain does not, will not, and cannot be still. I figure if I start out slowly, with some of the guided meditations I have on a free app (I’m not paying for anything I don’t have to. In this economy? Are you mad?), I should be okay. It’ll also help with my stress, which I’ve been terrible at managing. Chocolate is not a management strategy. General Life Recommit to learning French. This has been off and on for the past few years. I can understand a lot, but speaking is hard, and active listening is exhausting. I would like to be able to listen and understand without having to do the translating in my brain.Pick up my guitar again. I started lessons and stopped. I don’t have an awful lot of time, so this might have to go, but for now, I desperately miss making music. And learning is good for the brain. I need to start up again. How will I manage with so much already? I don’t know. Man, I hope my writing takes off and I can reduce my time at the office some.Stop isolating. This is a big one for me. Which is why I’ve buried it here. The last couple of years were stressful and difficult. When I’m stressed or overstimulated, I shut down, withdraw and hide. It’s all part of a coping strategy related to my CPTSD, or so said my therapist when I had one. It can be good, but done to the extreme, like I tend to, it’s actually very harmful. I felt it when I went to a friend’s Christmas party this year. I very nearly had an anxiety attack at the door, because it had been so long since I’d been near a group of people purely in a social setting (it’s always been my martial arts crew, and they’re safe - if that makes sense). There were many events that I wish I could have attended, but I was unable to - not for financial or scheduling reasons, but because the very thought of being around people drove my adrenaline through the roof. I couldn’t cope with the idea. I even got so worked up over one that I ended up throwing up. That was cool (it was not cool). The problem with isolating is that each successive occurrence makes it harder and harder to get back out and be social. So, this year, I’m going to try to force myself out into the world more… and hope I don’t have a complete breakdown.So, that’s what I’m aiming for this year. I always feel like I bite off way more than I can chew and so end up dropping all the plates I’m spinning. This year doesn’t feel like that tendency has changed, but I’m hoping that if I introduce them slowly to my routine over these first couple of months, I’ll be okay… so long as the routine doesn’t break. It takes me forever to recover a broken routine, if I ever manage it.
As always, I’m trying to be gentle with myself (hence the no recapping of last year’s goals). I have a terrible habit of expecting too much and then being quite awful to myself when I inevitably fail. Be kind to yourselves, too!
Anyway, if you’ve made it this far into my overly long post, thanks so much for sticking with it. And thanks for reading at all, and thanks for all your support over the years, even when I wasn’t producing anything. I mean it. It’s been a huge help having you here, even if only virtually. With some pretty exciting projects lined up for the future, I hope your patience with me will be rewarded. You’re all wonderful.
Ciao!
January 1, 2024
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Good morning, lovely readers! 
Image by from Pixabay How is it 2024 already?! What nonsense is this?
Whether you're new to me and this silly little project of mine, or an old hat that's been following me since I've had one (self) published book, I want to thank you for being here.
I really mean this:
I would not be who I am today without you. I appreciate you all so much.
Here's to 2024 being an incredible year for us all. May it be full of love, light and laughter.
PS - in case you're keen, the monthly subscription is now live. You can check it out here , if you like.
Image by from Pixabay How is it 2024 already?! What nonsense is this?Whether you're new to me and this silly little project of mine, or an old hat that's been following me since I've had one (self) published book, I want to thank you for being here.
I really mean this:
I would not be who I am today without you. I appreciate you all so much.
Here's to 2024 being an incredible year for us all. May it be full of love, light and laughter.
PS - in case you're keen, the monthly subscription is now live. You can check it out here , if you like.
December 25, 2023
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Image by December 18, 2023
A Monthly Subscription!
Good morning, Readers! 
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay Hey! Hi! Hey!
How ya doin'?
It's Christmas next week, so I'll be taking a break from blogging. I'll take the time now to wish you a very Happy Holidays, whichever one you celebrate. I hope you're able to put your cares away and spend some quality time with loved ones. I know I am fortunate that I shall be.
Since I can't do it next week, I should probably tell you now that as of January 1st, 2024, I will be starting a monthly subscription service! Sonia, I hear absolutely no one ask, what the devil is a subscription service? Thank you for asking! I'll tell you.
A monthly subscript service is just that. You pay some amount a month and in exchange you get a bunch of stuff that ordinary folks don't get. People who don't subscribe, for example, won't be getting sneak peaks at works in progress, or subscriber-exclusive art and offers etc. What you get generally is up to the whims of the person you're subscribing to, and how much you subscribe (most places offer levels of subscription options).
There are multiple platforms that offer subscription options. Most everyone is familiar with Patreon , for example. But Patreon isn't the only one out there. There are many. I did think for a long time about which to use. I explored and researched and compared for months, actually. There were two that were very closely tied.
The first is extremely writer-specific. It's called Ream , and I already know of one author on there. They love it. I did almost go this route, because it is so very directed at writers and readers. I did baulk a little at the reduced separation between the two, though. I know it really works for some authors, but I don't know that I'd be that comfortable with it.
The second front-runner, and the option I decided to go with, was Ko-Fi . I already had an account, though it was rarely used. When I returned to my account some years after I abandoned it, much had changed. Ko-Fi is no longer just a tipping site, which is how it started. It also offers so much more. Not just the monthly tiered subscriptions, but it also boasts a blogging platform, streaming integrations, a store (where I can offer things exclusively to my members and have other things that are publicly available), and there's also the option to offer commissions.
This was perfect for me, as I have many other interests - I live stream my gaming on Friday evenings, and I'm trying to get into custom book binding and bookish leather creations like custom dust jackets and whatnot (and perhaps other crafts... we'll see). The ability to have it all - my writing, my art and crafting, and my gaming - all in one convenient location and with a store made Ko-Fi too good a platform to pass up.
So, I spent a couple of months figuring stuff out. I asked people about what they'd like to see from a subscription and at what tier, and was kindly brought back down to earth with reminders about what I would be able to offer. Let's be honest, I have a terrible habit of taking on too much and then collapsing into a heap and falling terribly behind. It took a lot of thought and reckoning with my desire to please and tendency to overwork to figure stuff out.
But it's done now, and I'm just about ready to launch. In fact, I will be properly launching as of the New Year. Starting Jan 1st, you'll be able to sign up to a monthly subscription from me. Now, if you go to my Ko-Fi page, you'll note that there is so far, only one tier. This is for two reasons, mainly.
The first is that it is my dream to earn enough money from my writing to support myself; that I won't be forced into an office for forty hours a week, and have all of my time and energy drained for someone else. It's not that I hate where I work, I don't. But every time I sit at the desk, I chaff at all the hours I could be spending writing or painting or book binding. I'd have finished manuscripts so much sooner to offer to you, the reader. Unfortunately, that is not that case. I do have to spend forty hours a week at work in order to put food on my table and keep a roof over my head. Because of this, I have limited time and energy to put into my other projects - including this subscription.
The second is that I'm only starting out. I don't expect a giant influx of subscribers at all. I'll consider myself lucky to have even one! I have a terrible tendency of over-promising and then crashing, and I don't want to do that with this. So, I must start small and see how I get on. If I'm finding the workload bearable, I'll be able to offer a little bit more, but I won't know that until launch. I've set the tier's offerings at what I think is manageable while also working a full time job and three other part-time gigs, with the expectations that the exclusives on offer will be sporadic for now.
So, I only have one tier available. It's for $1.00 a month and with it you will be getting early access to all the things I offer for free, plus exclusives that are only for you. That means you'll get my weekly blog posts a day ahead of everyone else, plus an extra blog post a week especially for you. If I restart my YouTube journey, you'll be getting all those videos first before they go live to the public. There will be items in the shop that only subscribers will be able to access (and there's one there already - a three month a page calendar with my art to make it pretty. It's free and exclusive for my subscribers).
Exclusives take time and energy to create, so they'll be a bit sporadic, and so I don't feel comfortable charging anyone any more than $1.00 a month for access.
I have plans for more - perhaps a dedicated discord server, a monthly live-streamed write-in/paint night, a book club maybe, if folks are interested, first dibs on ARC copies of my books, other things I haven't thought of yet. In order to be able to deliver on those, however, I need the time to do them. And I can't have that time if I'm in the office forty hours a week. It's a terribly vicious circle, my friends!
This is new for me, and it feels a little weird. I will forever feel like I'm not doing enough, I think. But I figured I'll give this a shot. I'm a little fearful that this will be a giant flop, as most things I try usually are. But even if so, what's the worst result of that?
I will feel disappointed, but carry on as normal. Life will not have appreciably changed.
I've managed it thus far. So it's not the worst failure I've ever experienced.
May as well try as not, you know?
So... yeah. As of January 1st, I'll be offering a monthly subscription. Who knows, if it gets enough traction, I might be able to reduce my hours at the office so I can get to creating more things for you. I will say, now is the time to get in, as I'm approaching the final edits for The New Haven Incident. Subscribers will be getting that serial a full month before everyone else, so you'll be four chapters or so deep before the rest of the world gets to start the first chapter. I'll be keeping that schedule for any future serials I write. If you want to check it out, my Ko-Fi page is here . I haven't launched the subscription yet. That will happen on the 1st. Or the 31st. I haven't decided.
Before I sign off, I want to make a special mention that it's more than alright if you can't support this financially right now. There are so many other ways you can help support the creatives in your life. Sometimes just sharing their stuff or leaving a review can move mountains. Please don't offer me money if you're struggling yourself. Take care of you first. Then you can worry about other people. Don't feel guilty about it, either. I forbid it!
Alright, this was a hella long post. I'm sure you're tired of me now, so I'll sign off.
Ciao!
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay Hey! Hi! Hey!How ya doin'?
It's Christmas next week, so I'll be taking a break from blogging. I'll take the time now to wish you a very Happy Holidays, whichever one you celebrate. I hope you're able to put your cares away and spend some quality time with loved ones. I know I am fortunate that I shall be.
Since I can't do it next week, I should probably tell you now that as of January 1st, 2024, I will be starting a monthly subscription service! Sonia, I hear absolutely no one ask, what the devil is a subscription service? Thank you for asking! I'll tell you.
A monthly subscript service is just that. You pay some amount a month and in exchange you get a bunch of stuff that ordinary folks don't get. People who don't subscribe, for example, won't be getting sneak peaks at works in progress, or subscriber-exclusive art and offers etc. What you get generally is up to the whims of the person you're subscribing to, and how much you subscribe (most places offer levels of subscription options).
There are multiple platforms that offer subscription options. Most everyone is familiar with Patreon , for example. But Patreon isn't the only one out there. There are many. I did think for a long time about which to use. I explored and researched and compared for months, actually. There were two that were very closely tied.
The first is extremely writer-specific. It's called Ream , and I already know of one author on there. They love it. I did almost go this route, because it is so very directed at writers and readers. I did baulk a little at the reduced separation between the two, though. I know it really works for some authors, but I don't know that I'd be that comfortable with it.
The second front-runner, and the option I decided to go with, was Ko-Fi . I already had an account, though it was rarely used. When I returned to my account some years after I abandoned it, much had changed. Ko-Fi is no longer just a tipping site, which is how it started. It also offers so much more. Not just the monthly tiered subscriptions, but it also boasts a blogging platform, streaming integrations, a store (where I can offer things exclusively to my members and have other things that are publicly available), and there's also the option to offer commissions.
This was perfect for me, as I have many other interests - I live stream my gaming on Friday evenings, and I'm trying to get into custom book binding and bookish leather creations like custom dust jackets and whatnot (and perhaps other crafts... we'll see). The ability to have it all - my writing, my art and crafting, and my gaming - all in one convenient location and with a store made Ko-Fi too good a platform to pass up.
So, I spent a couple of months figuring stuff out. I asked people about what they'd like to see from a subscription and at what tier, and was kindly brought back down to earth with reminders about what I would be able to offer. Let's be honest, I have a terrible habit of taking on too much and then collapsing into a heap and falling terribly behind. It took a lot of thought and reckoning with my desire to please and tendency to overwork to figure stuff out.
But it's done now, and I'm just about ready to launch. In fact, I will be properly launching as of the New Year. Starting Jan 1st, you'll be able to sign up to a monthly subscription from me. Now, if you go to my Ko-Fi page, you'll note that there is so far, only one tier. This is for two reasons, mainly.
The first is that it is my dream to earn enough money from my writing to support myself; that I won't be forced into an office for forty hours a week, and have all of my time and energy drained for someone else. It's not that I hate where I work, I don't. But every time I sit at the desk, I chaff at all the hours I could be spending writing or painting or book binding. I'd have finished manuscripts so much sooner to offer to you, the reader. Unfortunately, that is not that case. I do have to spend forty hours a week at work in order to put food on my table and keep a roof over my head. Because of this, I have limited time and energy to put into my other projects - including this subscription.
The second is that I'm only starting out. I don't expect a giant influx of subscribers at all. I'll consider myself lucky to have even one! I have a terrible tendency of over-promising and then crashing, and I don't want to do that with this. So, I must start small and see how I get on. If I'm finding the workload bearable, I'll be able to offer a little bit more, but I won't know that until launch. I've set the tier's offerings at what I think is manageable while also working a full time job and three other part-time gigs, with the expectations that the exclusives on offer will be sporadic for now.
So, I only have one tier available. It's for $1.00 a month and with it you will be getting early access to all the things I offer for free, plus exclusives that are only for you. That means you'll get my weekly blog posts a day ahead of everyone else, plus an extra blog post a week especially for you. If I restart my YouTube journey, you'll be getting all those videos first before they go live to the public. There will be items in the shop that only subscribers will be able to access (and there's one there already - a three month a page calendar with my art to make it pretty. It's free and exclusive for my subscribers).
Exclusives take time and energy to create, so they'll be a bit sporadic, and so I don't feel comfortable charging anyone any more than $1.00 a month for access.
I have plans for more - perhaps a dedicated discord server, a monthly live-streamed write-in/paint night, a book club maybe, if folks are interested, first dibs on ARC copies of my books, other things I haven't thought of yet. In order to be able to deliver on those, however, I need the time to do them. And I can't have that time if I'm in the office forty hours a week. It's a terribly vicious circle, my friends!
This is new for me, and it feels a little weird. I will forever feel like I'm not doing enough, I think. But I figured I'll give this a shot. I'm a little fearful that this will be a giant flop, as most things I try usually are. But even if so, what's the worst result of that?
I will feel disappointed, but carry on as normal. Life will not have appreciably changed.
I've managed it thus far. So it's not the worst failure I've ever experienced.
May as well try as not, you know?
So... yeah. As of January 1st, I'll be offering a monthly subscription. Who knows, if it gets enough traction, I might be able to reduce my hours at the office so I can get to creating more things for you. I will say, now is the time to get in, as I'm approaching the final edits for The New Haven Incident. Subscribers will be getting that serial a full month before everyone else, so you'll be four chapters or so deep before the rest of the world gets to start the first chapter. I'll be keeping that schedule for any future serials I write. If you want to check it out, my Ko-Fi page is here . I haven't launched the subscription yet. That will happen on the 1st. Or the 31st. I haven't decided.
Before I sign off, I want to make a special mention that it's more than alright if you can't support this financially right now. There are so many other ways you can help support the creatives in your life. Sometimes just sharing their stuff or leaving a review can move mountains. Please don't offer me money if you're struggling yourself. Take care of you first. Then you can worry about other people. Don't feel guilty about it, either. I forbid it!
Alright, this was a hella long post. I'm sure you're tired of me now, so I'll sign off.
Ciao!
December 11, 2023
Perpetually Playing Catch-Up
Good afternoon, Readers! 
Image by Ingo Jakubke from Pixabay I don't have a lot of time to write this before I'm off, so I'll try and keep it brief.
I am not quite where I should be this week with my writing. I was hoping to spend the weekend catching up on the 1000 words I didn't get written on Friday (it was the staff Xmas party at work, so my usual lunch hour writing sprint was interrupted). That... did not happen. So I spent lunch today getting to last week's target. I'll be spending tonight catching up to where I should be as of the end of today.
Also, perhaps more pressingly given the season, I haven't even started my holiday shopping. I had intended to make my gifts again this year, but I've done exactly one thing since August. So... I'm going to buy gifts as back-ups, because I'm sure I won't get any of it done. I'm going to try in earnest tonight after I'm done my writing -catch up.
I feel like I don't have time to do anything at all. There were so many things I wanted to get done, but I'm nowhere near completion. Why do I do this to myself?
In any case, I will be up late for a couple of nights in the next few weeks, I suppose.
I'm feeling pleased with myself that I wrote and scheduled a number of blog posts to go up while I'm away on holidays. Go me. At least I did that right.
Okay, I have to go. It's near the end of the day, and I've a long walk home before me.
Ciao!
Image by Ingo Jakubke from Pixabay I don't have a lot of time to write this before I'm off, so I'll try and keep it brief.I am not quite where I should be this week with my writing. I was hoping to spend the weekend catching up on the 1000 words I didn't get written on Friday (it was the staff Xmas party at work, so my usual lunch hour writing sprint was interrupted). That... did not happen. So I spent lunch today getting to last week's target. I'll be spending tonight catching up to where I should be as of the end of today.
Also, perhaps more pressingly given the season, I haven't even started my holiday shopping. I had intended to make my gifts again this year, but I've done exactly one thing since August. So... I'm going to buy gifts as back-ups, because I'm sure I won't get any of it done. I'm going to try in earnest tonight after I'm done my writing -catch up.
I feel like I don't have time to do anything at all. There were so many things I wanted to get done, but I'm nowhere near completion. Why do I do this to myself?
In any case, I will be up late for a couple of nights in the next few weeks, I suppose.
I'm feeling pleased with myself that I wrote and scheduled a number of blog posts to go up while I'm away on holidays. Go me. At least I did that right.
Okay, I have to go. It's near the end of the day, and I've a long walk home before me.
Ciao!
