Feral Sephrian's Blog: Wild Words in a Blank Box
March 5, 2018
January 21, 2017
I'm Alive!
Wow, once again I completely forgot this was a thing. So much has happened though.
Beasts Like Us, the story I had been working on since 2015, has been published AND sold so many copies that my publisher has made it available in print! My first solo book that I can put on my shelf (next to Cowboy Roundup and Love Is Proud) and loan to people who want to read it! The lucky 13th published story. So proud.
My latest, Fostered Affections, is also now available. Started working on that one way after my last blog post, but it was based on an idea I got from a flyer at the vet's office (my dog is old and fat, and thus needs frequent check-ups, so I saw that flyer a lot). I like the way it turned out, and hopefully you'll like it too! *nudges you to my JMS Books author page where you can buy it*
Ironically, I didn't buy the WoW expansion. In fact, I uninstalled the game. Instead, I've been playing a lot of Heroes of the Storm and I got a new job, so those both have taken a chunk out of my productivity time. I did just sign the deal for my 15th story, the long-promised sequel to Ace of Hearts, so it's not like I've been sitting on my hands for eight months. Now the issue is deciding whether I want to work on my fantasy story, my paranormal story, my contemporary college story, my fresh attempt at an F/F piece, or finish my most recent NaNoWriMo project.
There's also the sliiiight time-eater that is my return to college this coming spring. I'm shooting for a second Bachelor's degree, this time in film (puns). As such, some of my creative juices will be diverted into school projects instead of my ever-growing Works in Progress pile. Hoping to get as many done, or at least fleshed out, as possible before that happens. Knowing me, I will spend the majority of my time gaming and watching Markiplier videos.
So it goes.
Beasts Like Us, the story I had been working on since 2015, has been published AND sold so many copies that my publisher has made it available in print! My first solo book that I can put on my shelf (next to Cowboy Roundup and Love Is Proud) and loan to people who want to read it! The lucky 13th published story. So proud.
My latest, Fostered Affections, is also now available. Started working on that one way after my last blog post, but it was based on an idea I got from a flyer at the vet's office (my dog is old and fat, and thus needs frequent check-ups, so I saw that flyer a lot). I like the way it turned out, and hopefully you'll like it too! *nudges you to my JMS Books author page where you can buy it*
Ironically, I didn't buy the WoW expansion. In fact, I uninstalled the game. Instead, I've been playing a lot of Heroes of the Storm and I got a new job, so those both have taken a chunk out of my productivity time. I did just sign the deal for my 15th story, the long-promised sequel to Ace of Hearts, so it's not like I've been sitting on my hands for eight months. Now the issue is deciding whether I want to work on my fantasy story, my paranormal story, my contemporary college story, my fresh attempt at an F/F piece, or finish my most recent NaNoWriMo project.
There's also the sliiiight time-eater that is my return to college this coming spring. I'm shooting for a second Bachelor's degree, this time in film (puns). As such, some of my creative juices will be diverted into school projects instead of my ever-growing Works in Progress pile. Hoping to get as many done, or at least fleshed out, as possible before that happens. Knowing me, I will spend the majority of my time gaming and watching Markiplier videos.
So it goes.
July 7, 2016
Climbing Back Up the Hill
I've had a good last couple months. My contribution to the JMS "Men at Work" series, Sign Here, Please, is available and already has good reviews. The sequel to Daniel in Distress will be part of the Summer Lovin' series, and is set to release in August. My big project, a 56k contemporary shifter romance, will come out in September, roughly a year after I started it. Perhaps the most important of my upcoming publications, though, is a 5k short story that will be part of the "Love Is Proud" anthology. All net royalties from "Love Is Proud" will be donated to Equality Florida to support the victims and families of the Orlando shooting. The story I submitted for it is a quick follow-up to the first story I ever published with JMS Books, Yule Be in My Heart, since I once had a reader ask to see more of the characters but I didn't have many plans beyond the bit that made it into "Love Is Proud." You can preorder the anthology here:
http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?ma...
As a result of all this, my "Works in Progress" pile is down to about 25, and some of those were concepts I wrote up a couple years ago that I might flesh out if I get more ideas for them. About twelve or thirteen are stories I've worked on over the past couple months, and more often than not I'll have two to four Word documents open so I can alternate between pieces. There is one story with a deadline, and since that deadline is the end of this month I'm trying to pay more attention to it, but I keep finding articles that give me ideas for the other stories. I want to keep my momentum going, though. I've had four stories accepted for publication since I switched jobs two months ago, and I don't want the lull between submissions to last too long.
However, since I finally finished reading the available "A Song of Ice and Fire" books and have been burning through the TV series, my productivity has taken a small hit. I'm halfway through season 5, so only one and a half to go, but no doubt something (most likely the Legion WoW expansion) will come along and further distract me shortly thereafter.
So it goes.
http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?ma...
As a result of all this, my "Works in Progress" pile is down to about 25, and some of those were concepts I wrote up a couple years ago that I might flesh out if I get more ideas for them. About twelve or thirteen are stories I've worked on over the past couple months, and more often than not I'll have two to four Word documents open so I can alternate between pieces. There is one story with a deadline, and since that deadline is the end of this month I'm trying to pay more attention to it, but I keep finding articles that give me ideas for the other stories. I want to keep my momentum going, though. I've had four stories accepted for publication since I switched jobs two months ago, and I don't want the lull between submissions to last too long.
However, since I finally finished reading the available "A Song of Ice and Fire" books and have been burning through the TV series, my productivity has taken a small hit. I'm halfway through season 5, so only one and a half to go, but no doubt something (most likely the Legion WoW expansion) will come along and further distract me shortly thereafter.
So it goes.
May 7, 2016
A Strong Comeback
Okay, this time I have two good reasons for not updating: a full time job and three weeks with no computer. I have since left that full time job and my computer came back from the repair center fine and dandy with everything backed up on a 500 GB external hard drive just in case.
Now for updates on my work: I recently counted how many works in progress I had. Twenty-eight. And that was a couple weeks ago, so that number has changed. I started another one, maybe two, but two have been submitted for publication, one of which is part of JMS Books' "Men at Work" series and should be available June 11th. Currently, my main project is the sequel to Daniel in Distress because I'm trying to submit that for the JMS Books "Summer Lovin'" series, though it might be too long. It all depends on how much rising action I want to throw in there. I also have the sequels I mentioned in my last blog update, plus a fantasy short about which I will only say one thing; it contains a wolf/boar killer dong beast. Looking forward to that one. I think I'll have a lot of fun with it.
I wanted to briefly thank everyone who has been reading Ace of Hearts. That was the story my publisher was hesitant to accept, and I am so glad it has earned its keep. I see a lot of people who want to see more non-binary main characters, and I am happy to write them. As such, Blake and Felix will be back for more adventures soon. Since The Silk Dungeon was published first I am giving priority to its sequel, but I'm hoping both sequels will come out later this year. How much later remains to be seen, and depends on how distracted I get by other projects.
So it goes.
Now for updates on my work: I recently counted how many works in progress I had. Twenty-eight. And that was a couple weeks ago, so that number has changed. I started another one, maybe two, but two have been submitted for publication, one of which is part of JMS Books' "Men at Work" series and should be available June 11th. Currently, my main project is the sequel to Daniel in Distress because I'm trying to submit that for the JMS Books "Summer Lovin'" series, though it might be too long. It all depends on how much rising action I want to throw in there. I also have the sequels I mentioned in my last blog update, plus a fantasy short about which I will only say one thing; it contains a wolf/boar killer dong beast. Looking forward to that one. I think I'll have a lot of fun with it.
I wanted to briefly thank everyone who has been reading Ace of Hearts. That was the story my publisher was hesitant to accept, and I am so glad it has earned its keep. I see a lot of people who want to see more non-binary main characters, and I am happy to write them. As such, Blake and Felix will be back for more adventures soon. Since The Silk Dungeon was published first I am giving priority to its sequel, but I'm hoping both sequels will come out later this year. How much later remains to be seen, and depends on how distracted I get by other projects.
So it goes.
November 17, 2015
Greetings from NaNoWriMo
Hey everybody, got more news for you. Not only is Cowboy Roundup out and doing splendidly, but I have a short story coming out as part of JMS Books' Stocking Stuffer series. They're releasing a new story every day in December, and mine comes out on the 12th, but you can preorder it (at a 20% discount) here:
http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?ma...
Other than that, I'm way behind in my NaNoWriMo project, but that's partially due to my non-writing job taking up a lot of my time. I had the day off yesterday and today though, and I'm starting to catch up. I'm excited about this project because this is the one I mentioned a while back that's based on the first NaNoWriMo novel I ever finished. However, since I wrote it when I was 19, the old version is frustrating to read because I was trying too hard to sound experienced and came off as pretentious. Also, I tried to cheat by not using any contractions, and it slows down the pace of the book tremendously. This time I'm using a more casual tone, but I'm trying to stay true to the ideas that I had back then. The fact that my ideas were fanciful and uninformed is another reason I wanted a do-over. I like the changes I've made and I'm looking forward to how this turns out.
As for the rest of my projects, my shifter story that I spent the past couple months working on has been put on hold until the end of NaNoWriMo, but my intent is to release that book before my WriMo book because I already told a lot of people it would have a spring release. However, that means I need to have it in by the end of the year. I didn't think I had 50,000 words left to write in it, so I focused on this revamp instead. Once both of those are under control, I have so, so, SO many sequels to write. The Silk Dungeon is still getting a sequel (and may wind up as a long-running series with four or more parts because I like the characters), I do have plans for a sequel to my Cowboy Roundup submission, Daniel in Distress, and now, inspired by the request of a reader named Gyvareva, I am going to write a sequel to my surprise hit, Ace of Hearts. On top of all this, I have ideas for a sequel to my (hopefully) spring shifter story, even though it's neither published nor even finished. Not to mention the half-a-dozen standalone WsIP I need to finish. Like I said, I've got a lot of work ahead of me.
So it goes.
http://www.jms-books.com/index.php?ma...
Other than that, I'm way behind in my NaNoWriMo project, but that's partially due to my non-writing job taking up a lot of my time. I had the day off yesterday and today though, and I'm starting to catch up. I'm excited about this project because this is the one I mentioned a while back that's based on the first NaNoWriMo novel I ever finished. However, since I wrote it when I was 19, the old version is frustrating to read because I was trying too hard to sound experienced and came off as pretentious. Also, I tried to cheat by not using any contractions, and it slows down the pace of the book tremendously. This time I'm using a more casual tone, but I'm trying to stay true to the ideas that I had back then. The fact that my ideas were fanciful and uninformed is another reason I wanted a do-over. I like the changes I've made and I'm looking forward to how this turns out.
As for the rest of my projects, my shifter story that I spent the past couple months working on has been put on hold until the end of NaNoWriMo, but my intent is to release that book before my WriMo book because I already told a lot of people it would have a spring release. However, that means I need to have it in by the end of the year. I didn't think I had 50,000 words left to write in it, so I focused on this revamp instead. Once both of those are under control, I have so, so, SO many sequels to write. The Silk Dungeon is still getting a sequel (and may wind up as a long-running series with four or more parts because I like the characters), I do have plans for a sequel to my Cowboy Roundup submission, Daniel in Distress, and now, inspired by the request of a reader named Gyvareva, I am going to write a sequel to my surprise hit, Ace of Hearts. On top of all this, I have ideas for a sequel to my (hopefully) spring shifter story, even though it's neither published nor even finished. Not to mention the half-a-dozen standalone WsIP I need to finish. Like I said, I've got a lot of work ahead of me.
So it goes.
September 2, 2015
End of the Summer Update
I need to stop playing Candy Crush. That game is dangerous.
Despite my many distractions, I have gotten stuff done this summer. My contribution to JMS Books' Heat Wave series came out a month ago (Heat Wave: Manheim) and a short short story of mine made it into an anthology called "Cowboy Roundup" that is scheduled to release in October, so be on the lookout for that! In the meantime, my main project involves furries, folklore, and Darude Sandstorm. Be on the lookout for that as well. I really like it and it's a longer story that I'm doing a lot of research for so I can get it balanced between realism and fiction.
Other news: there is a "Silk Dungeon" sequel in the works. It's currently on the back burner while I put my main efforts into this longer project, but when I get ideas for it I write them down. We're going back to the Dungeon with Nick and Victor and a couple new faces. Also, "Ace of Hearts" has been getting a lot of action ever since someone (not me, but thank you whoever did it) added it to the Asexuals in Fiction list. My publisher was hesitant to accept that one because JMS Books doesn't have much in the way of asexual fiction and they weren't sure how well it would do, so I'm happy to see that people are taking to it like that.
Gonna go rock out to Darude Sandstorm some more, hopefully get work done. Might end up back on Candy Crush though.
So it goes.
Despite my many distractions, I have gotten stuff done this summer. My contribution to JMS Books' Heat Wave series came out a month ago (Heat Wave: Manheim) and a short short story of mine made it into an anthology called "Cowboy Roundup" that is scheduled to release in October, so be on the lookout for that! In the meantime, my main project involves furries, folklore, and Darude Sandstorm. Be on the lookout for that as well. I really like it and it's a longer story that I'm doing a lot of research for so I can get it balanced between realism and fiction.
Other news: there is a "Silk Dungeon" sequel in the works. It's currently on the back burner while I put my main efforts into this longer project, but when I get ideas for it I write them down. We're going back to the Dungeon with Nick and Victor and a couple new faces. Also, "Ace of Hearts" has been getting a lot of action ever since someone (not me, but thank you whoever did it) added it to the Asexuals in Fiction list. My publisher was hesitant to accept that one because JMS Books doesn't have much in the way of asexual fiction and they weren't sure how well it would do, so I'm happy to see that people are taking to it like that.
Gonna go rock out to Darude Sandstorm some more, hopefully get work done. Might end up back on Candy Crush though.
So it goes.
May 12, 2015
New Accomplishments at Long Last
This whole "vanishing for several months and returning with news aplenty" thing is becoming par for this blog, but I apologize nonetheless.
I have a new book coming out in a couple weeks. This is the asexual romance short story I mentioned in last year's July post, now titled Ace of Hearts, because when in doubt with titles, sometimes word play is the right way. What happens when an asexual homoromantic hits it off with a pansexual man? You'll have to read it and find out!
I've been working on a couple prompt pieces, one for a summer series and one for a cowboy anthology. The summer series story is nearly ready for submission, and the cowboy manuscript is about 2/3 of the way complete. I also have a full manuscript for another story, however I recently read an article pertaining to something I could add to that story, so heavy edits are needed. Then, you guessed it, I came up with MORE stories to add to my ever-growing list of Works in Progress. At least two, if not three (depends on how I want to handle the third one).
In more specific news, The Silk Dungeon sold 8 copies last quarter and received a very nice review from The Novel Approach. Shortly after publishing it I came up with an idea for a sequel, and a couple weeks ago I had an idea for a THIRD Silk Dungeon book. Not sure if it's going to stop at a trilogy either. I know other JMS authors who have a favourite set of characters who go on multiple adventures, and when you have a basement full of sex toys and BDSM equipment, AND you know more than half a dozen people who are willing to come over for an orgy at any time, the possibilities are somewhat endless. So far no one has ever responded to these posts, but if you, my reader, also ship Nictor and want to see more of their adventures, please let me know!
Now off to edit and write, because an author's work is rarely done.
So it goes.
I have a new book coming out in a couple weeks. This is the asexual romance short story I mentioned in last year's July post, now titled Ace of Hearts, because when in doubt with titles, sometimes word play is the right way. What happens when an asexual homoromantic hits it off with a pansexual man? You'll have to read it and find out!
I've been working on a couple prompt pieces, one for a summer series and one for a cowboy anthology. The summer series story is nearly ready for submission, and the cowboy manuscript is about 2/3 of the way complete. I also have a full manuscript for another story, however I recently read an article pertaining to something I could add to that story, so heavy edits are needed. Then, you guessed it, I came up with MORE stories to add to my ever-growing list of Works in Progress. At least two, if not three (depends on how I want to handle the third one).
In more specific news, The Silk Dungeon sold 8 copies last quarter and received a very nice review from The Novel Approach. Shortly after publishing it I came up with an idea for a sequel, and a couple weeks ago I had an idea for a THIRD Silk Dungeon book. Not sure if it's going to stop at a trilogy either. I know other JMS authors who have a favourite set of characters who go on multiple adventures, and when you have a basement full of sex toys and BDSM equipment, AND you know more than half a dozen people who are willing to come over for an orgy at any time, the possibilities are somewhat endless. So far no one has ever responded to these posts, but if you, my reader, also ship Nictor and want to see more of their adventures, please let me know!
Now off to edit and write, because an author's work is rarely done.
So it goes.
January 26, 2015
Forgot This Was a Thing
Remember last time when I said my workload was shrinking? Well, I accidentally grew it again. NaNoWriMo came and went, and that project is currently on the backburner while I juggle FOUR stories for which I currently have ideas, not to mention the five or six other projects I have started at some point. My New Years resolution was to publish at least one story per quarter, and I'm trying to stick to that. I'm hoping to have one or two finished by the end of February and ready for a spring release.
In the meantime, I do have a new short story out, The Silk Dungeon. I wrote that over a couple weeks as sort of a joke/imagination dump. It started as a joke while playing World of Warcraft when a friend and I were running dungeons for loot. My character needed silk for her profession, so I asked if he knew any "two-man silk dungeons," then remarked that that sounded like the setting for a book I would write. The idea nagged at me for the next ten minutes, and a month later I submitted the manuscript. Goes to show that inspiration can come from anywhere.
Unfortunately, that adds to my work load. I would rather have too many ideas than too few, but being tugged in all directions while trying to keep your plots and characters straight can be exhausting. I really like some of my current characters, so I don't mind spending this much time with them, but I also want to see them get to their happy ending as soon as possible, which takes a while when I haven't even written the scene where they meet their special guys. I suppose that means I should get off this blog and get back to work.
So it goes.
In the meantime, I do have a new short story out, The Silk Dungeon. I wrote that over a couple weeks as sort of a joke/imagination dump. It started as a joke while playing World of Warcraft when a friend and I were running dungeons for loot. My character needed silk for her profession, so I asked if he knew any "two-man silk dungeons," then remarked that that sounded like the setting for a book I would write. The idea nagged at me for the next ten minutes, and a month later I submitted the manuscript. Goes to show that inspiration can come from anywhere.
Unfortunately, that adds to my work load. I would rather have too many ideas than too few, but being tugged in all directions while trying to keep your plots and characters straight can be exhausting. I really like some of my current characters, so I don't mind spending this much time with them, but I also want to see them get to their happy ending as soon as possible, which takes a while when I haven't even written the scene where they meet their special guys. I suppose that means I should get off this blog and get back to work.
So it goes.
October 17, 2014
Finally Getting Things Done
My "Works in Progress" pile is starting to shrink. It's a good feeling. My latest story, Vitia ex Virtus, now has its own page, although it will not be officially published until next weekend. Of course, I recommend you check it out via the JMS Books website as soon as it becomes available. It's a tale of love, lust, something jealousy-related that begins with L, and Nazis are involved somehow. Wait, no! Don't leave! It's not all Nazis, I promise! You'll just have to read it and see what I mean!
As for everything else, I submitted the query for a new story this afternoon, so we'll see how that goes. If it gets approved, I'll have something to fill the gap between Vitia and the novel I'll be writing for NaNoWriMo. The latter is going to be interesting, because I keep coming up with new plot twists and surprises and conflicts, and while I'm sure I could waffle on for 50,000+ words, I don't know if I'll be able to keep it coherent or interesting. Oh well, that's what the editing phase is for.
I have one or two other stories that I might might miiight be able to finish before NaNoWriMo begins, even if it's just one or the other. However, I recently got back into World of Warcraft, which has been punching holes in my productivity. Fortunately, the guy I usually run dungeons and quest with has a different work schedule than I do, so while I'm waiting for him to get home I tend to force myself to sit down and write for an hour. It's all about balance. Hopefully I can knock out a few of my more progressed WsIP before I get any more story ideas. Even if I don't...
So it goes.
As for everything else, I submitted the query for a new story this afternoon, so we'll see how that goes. If it gets approved, I'll have something to fill the gap between Vitia and the novel I'll be writing for NaNoWriMo. The latter is going to be interesting, because I keep coming up with new plot twists and surprises and conflicts, and while I'm sure I could waffle on for 50,000+ words, I don't know if I'll be able to keep it coherent or interesting. Oh well, that's what the editing phase is for.
I have one or two other stories that I might might miiight be able to finish before NaNoWriMo begins, even if it's just one or the other. However, I recently got back into World of Warcraft, which has been punching holes in my productivity. Fortunately, the guy I usually run dungeons and quest with has a different work schedule than I do, so while I'm waiting for him to get home I tend to force myself to sit down and write for an hour. It's all about balance. Hopefully I can knock out a few of my more progressed WsIP before I get any more story ideas. Even if I don't...
So it goes.
August 17, 2014
Things Are Getting Out of Hand
Currently up to TEN works in progress. Granted, one of them is submitted to my publisher, but I have yet to sign the contract for it, so it still counts. I just came up with one...this morning? Last night? These things tend to blur together on my days off.
As per usual, I'm taking short break from serious writing now that I have "finished" a large project. Once I sign the contract I'll have to go through and edit it, so that'll take up some of my time, but I don't have to write it anymore. Well, not true. My publisher did say I may have to rewrite the ending because the one I have is a bit too dark. The whole last chapter is dark, and it's supposed to be; it's being released around Halloween. However, if it's what has to happen, it has to happen. Sometimes your publishers dictate what you write as much as you do, and if you're willing to be flexible that makes them like you more.
Regarding my other WsIP, now I have to prioritize them. I want to crank out a few shorter pieces (the one I just submitted is 32,500+ words) before going back to my two massive projects. I'm saving one of those two for NaNoWriMo, which means I'll need to be done with whatever I'm doing now by then. The lesbian coming-of-age story is the one I'm least enthusiastic about, and since I don't think I'll ever be entirely enthusiastic about it, I want to write that one and be done with it. When I say "least enthusiastic about" I don't mean "not caring about at all." I do have plenty of ideas for it. However, I will admit, I'm mostly writing this just so I can tick off the L in LGBT(AQ) and say I've written one of each. In that sense, yes, I would much rather be writing something else. It's like eating your lima beans before you can have mashed potatoes. Sometimes you just need to pinch your nose and go for it so you can get it out of the way and only have the good stuff remaining.
I have today and tomorrow off from my day job, so perhaps by tomorrow I will have made some sort of progress. In the meantime, I'm sitting here recharging and waiting to hear back from my publisher about how many changes I need to make.
So it goes.
As per usual, I'm taking short break from serious writing now that I have "finished" a large project. Once I sign the contract I'll have to go through and edit it, so that'll take up some of my time, but I don't have to write it anymore. Well, not true. My publisher did say I may have to rewrite the ending because the one I have is a bit too dark. The whole last chapter is dark, and it's supposed to be; it's being released around Halloween. However, if it's what has to happen, it has to happen. Sometimes your publishers dictate what you write as much as you do, and if you're willing to be flexible that makes them like you more.
Regarding my other WsIP, now I have to prioritize them. I want to crank out a few shorter pieces (the one I just submitted is 32,500+ words) before going back to my two massive projects. I'm saving one of those two for NaNoWriMo, which means I'll need to be done with whatever I'm doing now by then. The lesbian coming-of-age story is the one I'm least enthusiastic about, and since I don't think I'll ever be entirely enthusiastic about it, I want to write that one and be done with it. When I say "least enthusiastic about" I don't mean "not caring about at all." I do have plenty of ideas for it. However, I will admit, I'm mostly writing this just so I can tick off the L in LGBT(AQ) and say I've written one of each. In that sense, yes, I would much rather be writing something else. It's like eating your lima beans before you can have mashed potatoes. Sometimes you just need to pinch your nose and go for it so you can get it out of the way and only have the good stuff remaining.
I have today and tomorrow off from my day job, so perhaps by tomorrow I will have made some sort of progress. In the meantime, I'm sitting here recharging and waiting to hear back from my publisher about how many changes I need to make.
So it goes.
Wild Words in a Blank Box
Venting frustrations, recording milestones, and generally typing up nonsense, all for those who find it interesting, amusing, or otherwise.
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