Update: busy busy busy, plus kittens

Okay, so last week, I did primary fast revision of INVICTUS, both parts, and then slower revision of INVICTUS: CAPTIVE. Not sure what other early readers will catch there, but undoubtedly stuff will be caught. That was the primary thing I was working on this past week. Now I’m moving ahead with the slower, more tedious revision of CRISIS. Hopefully I’ll get through it by this time next week!

However, also a certain amount of time spent proofreading and final-final-final revision to the World Companion. My goodness, look at that, I see from the preview at KDP that I forgot to take the words “BOOK TITLE” out of the header when I dropped the manuscript into the paperback template. I note some other formatting weirdness. Well, I will finish THIS proofing run and then fix up that file and order another paper copy for proofing and THAT one should let me check and correct formatting. Still working on things like maps! Otherwise, closing in on the actual final version.

Commenter Mona Z turned out to be far better with Canva than I am and kindly volunteered to redo the frames for the World Companion, plus get the paperback cover in shape. I do know how to do a pdf cover in theory, so I could have done the paperback cover, but I definitely could not have done as good a job. I would most likely just have made the back cover black and the text white, because I was again struggling with getting any kind of frame to look okay.

Here’s the paperback cover, and I trust you will all admire the attractive frames. If you ever do covers using Canva, you will discover why these are something to admire.

As you see, I gave up on trying to write real back cover copy and just threw on a bulleted list that lets readers know what’s in the book. I trust the maps will actually appear, argh.

Let me see, what else was going on this past week? Oh, I finished beta-reading the Regency mystery, which was entertaining, but I did think the tone of the story absolutely revealed the identity of the killer. He was the only guy mean enough to make sense as the killer, given the story was pretty lighthearted.

ALSO

Awwww

Aren’t they adorable? I’m trying harder now to find these two kittens a new home. Everybody likes the tortie, no one wants the gray tabby, and I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s hard to get people to look at a kitten whose color is so perfectly ordinary. I understand that (I really do! aesthetics is a thing!), but I would really like to place them together, partly because the tortie will be happier that way and partly because I definitely do not want a gray tabby kitten languishing in a cage at a shelter for heaven knows how long because he’s the wrong color. I really do not want to keep three kittens myself. (I would be okay not keeping any.) (I don’t object strenuously to keeping two, though.)

I will add that the tortie would have been a problem to place last week, but she is at last! eating ordinary food! out of a dish! I was getting a bit concerned, but I treated her like a hard-to-wean puppy, softened kitten kibble in water, and added stuff. Canned kitten food, chicken baby food, whatever. I got her eating that and finally to my great relief she started crunching ordinary dry food with her brothers. Boom, she is immediately gaining weight much better. She hardly gained at all for the first several days. I’m not bothering to weigh the male kittens; anybody can see they’re fine. But this little female, I’ve been weighing every couple of days. She crept very slowly up from 1 lb to 1 lb 2 oz to 1 lb 4 oz. Then she started eating more, but not enough to make me happy. Now she’s eating much better, her special food plus dry food, and she shot up to 1 lb 11 oz and is looking less starved.

Also!

I’m happy to say that TASMAKAT topped all previous records for preorders, has continued to creep upward with direct sales, and absolutely, totally blew away all previous records for KU pages read. TASMAKAT is a third again as long as TARASHANA, but the earlier book never came anywhere near this many pages read per day. It’s not remotely close.

This is interesting and also it’s fantastic and deeply satisfying. The only interpretation is that the series gained significant traction between 2021 and now. Everyone who suggested TUYO to a friend in the past few years, thank you! I hope you’ll keep that up!

Here’s a Twitter thread with ALL THE SPOILERS, do not read this thread if you have not read the book! But the pictures, gifs, and comments are delightful if you’ve already read TASMAKAT.

25 pages into TASMAKAT and it sooooo good.

I last reread the TUYO series in… February? I think? (Whenever my DMs with @kilerkki hit a frequency of 35 texts per minute ) and it is SO much fun to sink back in Ryo’s narration. https://t.co/w87uH2GO0J
— singeli (@Singeli6) July 16, 2023