October Weeks's Blog, page 8

Good Page Day

A little over 2.1k words on Tuck #4 today, which is seven solid pages- I’m very happy! It was a great scene and I’m excited to write the next one.

Tuck may not be *grin* but I am!

*sigh* She’s going to hate me by the end this, that’s for certain

An Announcement

Firstly, I’m still in the “Stew cooking” stage today, but I’ve made a lot of notes. Tomorrow I should be back to the keyboard!

Secondly, I unexpectedly got the rights back to Salt & Iron, so that will be unavailable for the time being. I will try to have it back up as soon as possible but I am still a bit surprised so I need to figure out where to fit that in. Hopefully by the end of the year but I can’t promise that.

Stew Is Still Cooking

Today has been an idea day, and a day to focus on where certain stories are going. These are my “Stew is Cooking” days. The idea needs to form, become clearer, before words can hit the laptop. My notebooks fill up a lot during these times.

I’ll make a lot of notes on all of the ideas I’m having, all the different ways the plot can move. 9 times out of 10, once that’s done, the stew is ready and it’s time to write.

Sometimes you just have to put the keyboard aside and let things cook for a day or two

Vampires, Oh My

I was recently having a discussion with a friend about vampire movies, which was prompted by my recent podcast, Vampires, Oh My Mostly we discussed  Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula and the Underworld movies.

Now, I am not a huge fan of Coppola’s version but I do own it. It has some redeeming qualities, like showing the horror that Dracula is, but I’m not a fan of how romanticized he made parts of the film. Dracula is not a love story- it was never a love story- and I hate when it’s spun as one. Dracula was not written as romantic- there’s a reason it’s horror.

As a side-note, my favorite Dracula is Christopher Lee.

Now, my friend isn’t a huge fan of the last Underworld movie- Blood Wars. I’ve spoken about that on the blog before, when the movie came out. I love all of the Underworld movies- including Awakening and Rise of the Lycans- but the one thing I especially love about Blood Wars is that we see more fighting with swords as well as hand-to-hand skills. That cage fight with Marius and Selene is a favorite. I also love that we see more of how the different vampire covens work. One of my favorite things throughout the series is that it doesn’t make the vampires just humans with fangs. They have abilities humans do not so you can’t place human restrictions on them.

And I kind of wish that we had a movie about Semira…and one about Amelia as well. Hells, just do one with the entire Eastern Coven. Those would be kickass!

What’s your favorite vampire movie? Thoughts on Dracula and Underworld?

Progress On All Fronts

This morning I finished merging the new Tuck 4 with the original Tuck 4. It took a lot of new words to smooth the merge, but it’s all good now It’s also now above 30k words, which is awesome! I also got the five pages for Shards from my main computer to my writing laptop, and I also wrote some on The Scrying House.

So all around, the books are moving along at a nice clip!

I’m trying a new tea today- Blue Lotus tea. It’s a unique taste, to me, but I’m liking it. I’ve literally just had my first few sips so I’ll let you know if it’s a keeper.

I’m very happy with today’s progress, and now that I’ve got my tea, I’m going to do some more writing!

A Productive Day

Not only did I get a blog written and a podcast recorded and released yesterday, but today, Sunday, I’m making amazing progress on Tuck 4. Not just new words- I’m almost through the revisions of the original version.

I’m three chapters away from being done with merging the two versions, and I’m hoping to get that done before the end of the day. I’ve got a few hours left! Once the two are fully merged, I can move forward with the rest of the book, and if it keeps writing like it is I’ll be done with the rough draft by the end of September.

That makes me very happy! It means that I can have Tuck 4 out within a year of re-releasing book 3, so readers don’t have to wait years for the next book

I am a happy writer!

Of New Ideas and Pre-Order Links

The pre-order links are all now live, so I’m going to give this a go. Amazon won’t allow me to put the paperback up for pre-order alongside the ebook, so unfortunately you won’t be able to pre-order that format. However, the paperback will be available the same day as the ebook.

AMAZON ~ BARNES & NOBLE ~ KOBO

Yesterday I wrote five and half pages on Shards as well as one page- the opening scene- of a brand new book. The idea hit me out of the blue on the new book and I didn’t want to lose it, so I wrote the opening page. It does have vampires *grin* However, they are not the same vampires that are in the Tuck Houston series. We’ll see how that new idea pans out, but what I can tell you is that it’s definitely a stand-alone and full-length novel. I’ve got to make some notes on the fragments the main character has given me about the rest of her world and the story she wants to tell, but that first page sure packs a punch

The Decision

I have decided to put The Arena up for pre-order: I’m waiting for all the links to go live before posting them. I’ve also decided to try and get all of my books uploaded to Apple Books, which has given me fits in the past so we shall see how it goes. If I’m successful I’ll add the links to the main website.

Yesterday I finished adding the fixes to one of the books- that I mentioned a couple of days ago- onto the laptop. Now the book can move forward because I’ve fixed the issue that had stalled the story. Yay! I also wrote five new pages on said book, which is double yay! All of the books are moving along well now. It’s just a matter of what to work because they all want to be written at the same time, and that, unfortunately, is just not possible *sigh*

Stay tuned for the pre-order links. I suspect I’ll have those all up tomorrow, fingers crossed. If this pre-order goes well, I may try to do one for each release. They’ve not worked for me in the past, but no harm in trying again

New Release Date

I’ve decided to set the release date for The Arena, Tuck Houston #3, for Tuesday, September 5th 2023. I’m excited to get it back on the shelves, and, yes, it will be in print as well. For those who’ve already read it, I do suggest picking up the new version. The ending has changed enough that you’ll need to reread it before book 4 comes out.

I’m still on the fence about setting it up for pre-order. I think I might, and if I do it’ll be done this weekend. I’ll get the links up on the blog and website if that happens.

I haven’t gotten much writing in since getting back from my trip, but I’ve made a ton of notes. I’ll be back to writing today, but I needed a day to decompress before getting back to my laptop. The characters are calling to me and refusing them is never a good idea

Manifesting the Dream

I’ve mentioned before how my goal since I was six years old was to be a full-time author. That’s not an easy goal to reach, but I strive for it every day. I’m buoyed by the knowledge that many of my favorite authors didn’t reach that goal until they were in their 40s, as I am now, or even into their 50s/60s. But some days it feels as if I’m never going to get there.

My passion is writing. Creating worlds gives me joy and I absolutely love it. I want to give all of my energy to it so I can reach that ultimate goal of being a writer full-time.

But every day- every single day– I put as much energy as I have into that goal. As much as I struggle, I do what I can to push myself forward and keep going. That dream is RIGHT THERE. I see the light on the other side of the tunnel. A light that I’m lighting by myself.

I’m not giving up on that goal. I just have to keep reminding myself that I’m consistently working toward that dream, and that is the most important thing.