Its Been a Hell of a Good Week!

Its been a busy week, despite nothing really changing. I have a novella I'm trying to edit so I can send it out to a reader, I started editing another book, and I'm still trying to finish writing book 4. In addition to that, I've been trying to get a whole slew of things finished, both to do with my writing and not. In addition to that, I've been waiting on another potential editing client (and while they may take up some of my time, its wonderful to be working, helping out my fellow authors. 

Despite everything that's on my plate, its been a hell of a good week. I wish I'd gotten more done, of course; having multiple projects on the go offers some freedom if you're having trouble finishing a task, but it also put tons of extra tasks on the docket. That said, I'm super glad to have had Black Desert Online to play when I need an hour away from a task. Its relaxing and helps me to feel all the more eager to get back to my work.

Unfortunately, this leads to a very quiet week for me to talk about... That said, keep an eye out. I should have a few awesome things going up over the next week! I've been working super hard behind the scenes and things are finally falling into place.

Keep your eyes out for those updates and I promise you won't be let down.

Hunter's Gambit- A Year in Review

     Its been a little over a year and since all is quiet on the noveling front, I thought I'd take some time to look back at what's happened for Hunter's Gambit in the last year. 

     Hunter's Gambit was released a little over a year ago. It didn't get a lot of fanfare, but it did get out there. I had 3 signings, two of which were at local bookstores and one at When Words Collide. I wasn't surprised that the convention was the best for recognition over the year... I gave presentations there and did a lot of networking, with both fans and other authors. What did astound me was that people were searching for me out of all the amazing authors there. I was honored beyond words. 

     Aside from that, I've gotten 5 reviews (which doesn't sound like many but pleases me since its known that only 1% of people tend to leave reviews at all). On Goodreads, my star rating is 4.40 out of 5 and on Amazon, its 5 out of 5 (though I only have 2 ratings right now, one on .com and one on .ca). I've also found my novel in bookstores worldwide. This probably means that one day I'll have to think about getting it translated, though that will be for later. 

     So, where is this series going? Well, first off, this is a series, not a trilogy. I'm getting near the end of the rough draft for book 4 and have a lot more planned out for these characters. I'm expecting somewhere between 8-12 books, but I couldn't tell you for certain yet. Just know that I'm young and in it for the long haul. I'd also like to get an audiobook done for it. Let me know if its something you'd be interested in!

     What were your favorite scenes in Hunter's Gambit? What about your favorite characters? 

All Quiet... on just about every front

It's been a great week. Even with the weather bringing more migraines, my way. Why? Well, my second editing job came in and I got an inquiry from a third person. If it keeps going like this, I'm going to have to rearrange my working schedule. Which, honestly, is a great reason to make a change. Also, working on development edits like this feels very natural. I wouldn't mind taking a course to brush up on my other grammar so I could offer line edits as well. It's something that I'm going to be keeping in mind as I move forward. It would be nice to keep working from home.

Other than that, I have been working on my writing. I am about 2 chapters further on book four than I was before and I'm nearing the end. Maybe 10k more and it should be done. I haven't gotten my novel back from my editor yet, but I should have it by the weekend. After that, I'll be putting in my order for my cover. Of course, that means that I've been working on my back cover copy. This is literally my least favorite part of writing. Its all technical writing and it uses a different set of skills than writing a novel does. I have gone over this thing nearly 3 dozen times, playing with word choice here and there, tweaking and tweaking. I've got something I like... But I know I'm still going to have to go over it a few more times before it's finished.

In slightly more global news, some parts of Canada are looking to opening up again. This would be good news for most people as life could return to normal. Alberta isn't one of them yet, but we are keeping ourselves inside and safe, so hopefully, it will be soon. I hope all of you have more freedom coming to your areas soon as well.

That's it for me today. Hopefully, I'll have good news with my update next week.

Here Again, Gone Again, Jiggity-Jig

I received my novel back from the editor! She loved the changes, said that I managed to fix 99% of her originals issues with it. I was able to fix those in under a day and have already returned them to her for a final grammar pass. So, this is it, guys. I'm waiting on payday to order my cover, but that is the last thing big thing that I need to do. I have been working on the back cover copy so as soon as we have the cash I can send in my request. Hopefully, it won't take too long and I'll be able to do a cover reveal in May.

I am stupidly excited about it.

I still have work to do for its release of course. Arranging cover reveals on other sites and blogs, putting the book up for pre-order on Amazon and the rest. Getting the novel up on Goodreads, ordering the print copies... all of that fun stuff.

It's going to be awesome.

In less stellar news, due to Corvid-19, our local government has finally put official restrictions in place for the summer. No groups of more than 15 may congregate for any event. This means that for the first time in literally over a century, we won't be able to celebrate the Calgary Stampede. It also means that our writer's convention most likely won't be going ahead. Or, at least, won't be going ahead as scheduled. We've been told to expect an email later today on how they expect to proceed. I'll keep you guys updated on what that means as well. I am disappointed though. I was so excited, finally knowing that I was going to be able to share a new novel with all of the readers there.

In a final bit of whimsy, I'll let you know that I started playing Black Desert Online this week as well. While I will never be a hardcore gamer, I thought I would let you guys know that I am finding horse wrangling most enjoyable in it. Here is my character riding her two horses. The brown one is Alenos (a tier 1 stallion, the lowest tier and my first catch) and the grey is Dapple (a tier 3 stallion).

I'll end this post off with the hope that you guys are all staying safe out there. And let me know if any of you are playing Black Desert. I'm still hanging out in Valia mastering my animal training skills... let me know if you play and what you think I need to go and see out in the big wide world if you do? 😊

My First Panel!

Its been a heck of a week. My headaches happen when the temperature/pressure can't decide where it wants to sit. That means that in summer and winter, I may have a bad migraine or a bad day, but in the other two seasons, I'll get weeks when I have headaches every day and migraines on worse days. This week was one of those. Still, I got my editing finished and will be jumping back into writing again, either tonight or tomorrow.

Despite having one of those weeks, head-wise, I had a great time though. The most interesting bit of news is that this year at WWC, I am going to be on at least one panel, which is awesome. I'm gunning for three, but I haven't heard on the other two yet. Part of the delay is that we're just not sure if it's still happening. But the most exciting news is that I am going to have a workshop all my own that I'll be giving on being an author/artist with aphantasia. The main difference between a workshop and a panel is that a workshop is just me giving the talk. It's going to be my first one so I'm stupidly excited and really hoping it still happens this year.

The only other bit of news I have is really no news. I haven't heard back from my editor yet. I'm not worried and I've been keeping myself busy trying to finish book 4. Don't worry if I don't get book 2 back immediately. As soon as I finish book 4, if two hasn't arrived, I'll be picking up book 3 to start editing it, so I still have tons of work to do.

And that's where I've been all week. Hopefully, I'll be able to report back that my headaches have disappeared with warmer climes next week and book 4 rough draft done, if not book 2 in my hot little hands. Either way, you'll be the first to know!

Woot! I have my first paid job!

This week, I am still waiting for my novel. It isn't late yet, but I can't wait to find it. I have finally started writing on my novel again. I think I finished another 4k and then got a paid editing gig from Fiverr, so now I'm working on that. While I can't talk about the actual job, I can talk about the task of actually doing it.

I think I've mentioned before that I really love doing developmental edits. I have done this three or four times now and I love it every time. One of my favourite things to do is looking at books and trying to think about how to fix them. It frustrates the heck out of my husband because I'll tend to do it while watching movies, too. I remember watching Moana in theatres with him and getting to the part where she hands Maui the Heart so he can return it. Within seconds I was excitedly whispering to my hubby that this clearly couldn't be the end battle of the movie since Moana is the character that needs to change and grow, not Maui. My husband grumbled since he prefers leaving the retrospection to the end if at all possible. Heck, I like figuring out stories so much that I've taken courses specifically on understanding how good stories work.

This doesn't mean that I don't think my editor isn't useful. It is, after all, a truth, rarely acknowledged outside of the writing community, that you are always too close to your own story to judge it correctly. The Rules of Being an Evil Overlord, #5, states "One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that they are able to spot will be corrected before implementation." Like that evil overlord, everyone needs somebody to cough slightly to gain your attention and then tell you kindly but firmly what your problem spots are and why they are causing problems in your draft.

Anyways, that is what I'm doing this week. I'm hoping to finish it before my editor sends me my manuscript because it will kill me to not be able to work on it immediately. I am super excited to do so!

Eeek!

Hey guys! Sorry for no post last week. We are still self-isolating up here and while I'm used to staying in the house all day, I am not used to having my husband home all day. Thus, I've temporarily ended up changing the hours I spend awake and I'll be honest, its kinda weird. Nice to wake up in the AM, but that's about it. Fortunately, I've finally managed to change my sleep schedule somewhat. 

However, having my husband home all day means that I end up having no idea what day it is anymore. I'll try to do better next time.

As to what I've been doing, I've been working just a bit on writing, I've been spending half an hour or more trying to work on jewelry every day, and Hunting Fiends for the Ill-Equipped was finally released yesterday, so I spent most of the day reading that. I also made a point of baking some cookies to enjoy while I read. Aside from that, I've rediscovered my love for a little known game called Unholy Heights. The devil owns a condominium for monsters. Fight your way to world domination, while dealing with renters who refuse to pay their rent and must be evicted as well as defending your turf from adventurers set on taking your stuff. Its a great game. Simple, but hilarious. 

And that's about it. I'm signed up for camp Nanowrimo and set myself a goal for 50 hours. I'm at just over an hour now, but I'm enjoying the work. 

And that's about it. What have you been doing to keep yourself entertained?