Category: Blog Maintenance

NaNo Update: Moving Right Along

A screenshot from my laptop

Traditionally, the goal for National Novel Writing Month is 50,000 words in 30 days, usually of a brand-new project. I am trying to completely rewrite Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea for self-publishing. The version that lives here on the blog is just under 80,000 words, so I’m shooting for that higher goal by the end of the month. Hopefully I can get it published before Christmas!

I think I’m well on my way to finishing NaNo, and I’m staying on track for finishing this draft so far. If you’re writing, whether you’re doing NaNo or not, I wish you speedy writing and quiet time free of distractions!

Directory

Welcome! For a brief tour of this blog and my writing, click below:

Continue reading “Directory” →

Welcome, One Shot Campaign listeners!

Thanks for listening to my ad! You’ll find all the content I have available under the Stories and Modules tabs above. If you like them, you can subscribe to the blog through WordPress or via email and get notified every time there’s a new post:

Welcome! I’m happy you’re here.

I now have a Patreon!

Hello, friends! If you are interested, you now have the ability to support me on Patreon. There is only one subscription tier, for $3 a month, which is about the price of a medium cup of black coffee or a small candle in a jar.

Patrons will get new chapters A WHOLE WEEK EARLY, which means that you’ll get the next chapter of Journey to the Water next week instead of the week after! You can read exciting plot twists before all your friends. You also get access to some writing playlists, plus a community board where you can give me feedback or just talk about whatever.

There will be more rewards later, and possibly more tiers, as I continue to grow my audience.

Don’t worry, blog content will still be free. The same chapters will be available here a week later, and don’t feel bad if you can’t or don’t want to support me monthly! I appreciate you for reading.

You can see my Patreon page, and subscribe if you want to, HERE.

You may also notice the new link buttons at the bottom left of the home page. My Ko-fi will still be active, if you’d prefer to leave a one-time tip.

As always, thanks for reading. You make all this worthwhile.

Journey to the Water Prologue: The Citadel

Journey to the Water cover image: three evergreen trees stand on a hillside, shrouded in bluish fog. Subtitle reads: the sequel to Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea.

Table of Contents

He had been in the citadel for so long that he could not remember being anywhere else. Surely, he thought, there was a world beyond the city’s borders, past where the streets faded into fog and the marble walls turned blank and white, but no matter how far he walked, he always found himself back at the center square. Here, there was a temple he could not enter, with crystal archways that shone fiery red in the perpetual twilight and windows of many-colored glass. The stone door was far too heavy for him to move on his own, and he had been alone here for an eternity. Or, perhaps, it had only been an hour—the sun had never moved, after all, and the city stones did not change with the seasons as a forest would, or a field. 

Continue reading “Journey to the Water Prologue: The Citadel” →

Vote on my next project!

With Part One of The Book of the New Moon Door finished, it’s time for me to start a new project, and I want to know what my readers think. Do you want to know what happens next, or is it time for something new? The poll will stay open for a couple weeks or until I get around to closing it. ETA: The poll will close Sunday, September 19, or most likely early Monday morning.

Thank you for voting! Feel free to leave me a comment if you have any thoughts or opinions.

Song of the Week

Florence + the Machine, “Addicted to Love” (Robert Palmer cover)

Happy Monday! Please enjoy this song.

Not much to report for this week. If you missed the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door, it’s available under the Stories tab above (or you can just scroll down from here on the home page). I’m trying to get back to a regular two-week posting schedule for the remainder of Part One. By the time that’s done, I might be in a position when I can post a chapter every week, but I’ll have to wait and see.

Until then, did you know you can get email notifications every time there is a new post on this site? You can do it right here:

Or there’s a similar widget at the bottom right of the page, where you can also subscribe via your WordPress account.

You are, of course, welcome to refresh this page all week, waiting for a new chapter, but this might save you some trouble 🙂

Thank you and have an excellent week!

Announcing the Tea and Sidequests channel!

A sword, a teapot, several cups of tea, a couple of bound books, a handful of polyhedral dice, some small shells, and an antique key lie scattered over a map of Skyrim.

My husband and I have created a joint Twitch channel! You can find it here!

We’re going to be streaming Monday and Saturday evenings, starting next week, from 6 to 8 in the evening (US Central time).

I’m very excited to start sharing some of our favorite games with you. In this time of isolation, I’m also looking forward to chatting with old and new friends. I hope you can stop by sometime!

If you miss a stream, we’re going to be uploading them to YouTube here. I’ve also updated the social icons at the bottom of the blog to these new sites.

Happy New Year!

Year in Review, part the second

I had high hopes for 2020, back at the end of 2019. For me, this year was a lesson in political involvement, compassion, listening to people who know more than me, and determining what I can and cannot change and acting on the things I can. I think next year can be better, but it will only be better than this one if we make it so.

With that being said, here is what I managed this year:

  • I got a new day job.
  • I finished both The Well Below the Valley and Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea, the projects with which I started this blog last year.
  • I also posted the story Love Song in Six Verses and the module Singer Lake.
  • I started The Book of the New Moon Door.
  • I hosted a game at Midwinter Gaming convention, back in January before the pandemic, and also learned more about game mastering.
  • Unfortunately, I didn’t finish the draft of my book. As of right now, I’m 511 pages and 144,881 words in, though.
  • I managed to pay down a lot of my debts.
  • I marched and donated water and snacks during the protests this summer.
  • Thus far, I continue to survive the pandemic.

Here are my plans for next year:

  • Finish this draft of my book! Then make one major plot change, and then give copies to beta readers and start editing. Hopefully it will be ready sometime in the next year so I can start looking for a publisher.
  • Finish The Book of the New Moon Door.
  • Edit Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea and self-publish it for the minimum price. It’s the most successful story on this site, and I’d like it to be accessible to more people.
  • Start the sequel to Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea here on the blog. Eske’s journey isn’t over yet.
  • Start another tabletop module.
  • Reach more people with the blog and social media.
  • Finish paying down debts so we can buy a house!

Happy New Year. May we all have a better 2021.

There will be a new chapter this week

…but it might not be until Friday. Or possibly the weekend. Yesterday was a long day, and it looks like it’s going to be a long week.

Hang in there, take care of yourself, and I will be back with more things to read soon!