Tag: publishing adventure

Year in Review, Part the Second

2022 is almost over. Where to start?

I lost my beloved cat Odin, my steadfast writing buddy, this year. He was the sweetest, most anxious boy, who needed constant hugs (over the left shoulder, so he could rub his face against your face). No one could ever replace him, but we did adopt a kitten in the summer. Shepard has adjusted well to her new home, and gets along all right with Solaire (who quite liked being an only cat for a few months).

This was also a year of civil engagement for me, as I voted in all four elections by mail so that I could work at a polling place each time.

I did some writing, too!

  • I published Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea in January! It is now a real book that you can hold in your hands, keep on your e-reader, and/or place on your shelf. If my math is correct, I’ve sold 97 copies so far. It’s not much, in the grand scheme of things, but that’s more people than I ever expected to read anything I’ve written.
  • I continued Journey to the Water, the sequel to Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea, and though Eske’s adventures aren’t finished yet, he’s made a lot of progress.
  • Though I didn’t finish NaNo this year, I did complete Part Two of The Book of the New Moon Door! Those chapters will continue to post week by week as I begin Part Three.
  • I started adapting my Call of Cthulhu module, The Well Below the Valley, into the script for an audio drama, released (mostly) once a month on Patreon.
  • I started The Tarot of the Gates, a collaborative project with Brooke Marie Miller, my very good friend and the artist behind the Figuratively Speaking Tarot.
  • Also with Brooke, I went to my first event as an author: Bitchcraft Fair Milwaukee!
  • The second Reader Poll indicated some interest in an email newsletter, and I finally started it at the end of October.
  • Lastly, I did finish a (truly awful) draft of the “big book,” a 500+ page manuscript, and read it over.

Here are some of my goals for next year:

  • I want to finish The Book of the New Moon Door and publish it by the end of 2023.
  • I also intend to finish Journey to the Water for a 2024 release.
  • The script for The Well Below the Valley will continue! It’s too early to say when it will be finished.
  • I want to make a plan for the publication of the Tarot of the Gates book and deck, and get started on that.
  • I hope to go to more events in 2023 and sign more books!
  • I’ll return to the “big book” and start a better draft.
  • I’m not great at short stories, but I want to be better, and publish some short fiction on the blog.
  • I also want to write more discussion posts.
  • To help with my reach, I want to do more with Twitch and YouTube.
  • Depending on when my current projects finish, I might start a new serial novel.

Happy New Year! May 2023 bring you good things.

Song of the Week

Poe, “Fingertips”

Good morning! It’s Monday again.

Between my many, many projects, the holidays, and various personal complications, I’ve lost track of NaNoWriMo and I won’t be able to finish. It’s the proverbial plate I’ve chosen to let drop so I can fulfill my other obligations, including getting chapters out to you on time. Even though I won’t “win” this year, I made a ton of progress on The Book of the New Moon Door, and will be finishing Part Two this week! Like I’ve mentioned before, this has moved up the timeline, and it’s looking like I’ll be able to publish New Moon Door next year.

Also happening this week: a new chapter of Journey to the Water goes up on Patreon tomorrow, the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will be up here on Wednesday, and a new episode of The Well Below the Valley will also be on Patreon on Thursday.

Also also: the November edition of the newsletter will go out Wednesday! If you’re not signed up yet, put your email into the box at this link, and then check your inbox for a confirmation email. (You won’t get the newsletter if you don’t click the confirmation link.)

As always, I appreciate you. Have an excellent week, stay warm, and stop by again soon.

Song of the Week

Kamelot, “On the Coldest Winter Night”

Good morning! I hope you’re well on this chilly Monday.

I am slightly less behind on NaNo as of today, and I’m continuing to try to catch up. Part Two of The Book of the New Moon Door is almost done. I think I’ll be able to start Part Three before the month is out. What this means for you, dear reader, is that I’ll have a lot fewer interruptions to the posting schedule going forward, and New Moon Door will be finished and ready to begin the publishing process (including many, many rounds of edits) around mid-2023, and (tentatively) published by the end of the year. This is very exciting for me, because I didn’t think I’d be able to get another book out next year, as both New Moon Door and Journey to the Water are looking to be much longer than Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea.

So, for this week: a new chapter of Journey to the Water will be up on Patreon tomorrow, and the latest chapter of The Book of the New Moon Door will be here on the blog on Wednesday.

I think that’s all my updates for today! Take care and have an excellent week.

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: A Comparison

The title image for the serial version
The published version, sitting on my bookshelf

The version of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea that you can purchase and hold in your hands (or your e-reader) is the same story as the serial version that was published chapter-by-chapter here on the blog between 2019 and 2020, but it has been improved upon in several key ways! I thought I would spend some time talking about that process and the work that went into making it a “real book.”

Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea: A Comparison” →

Not the post about reviews that I was intending to write

I had originally planned something much longer and cleverer than this, but things are Bad on all scales from the personal to the global, so this is what I’ve got.

Okay. Reviews. By now, you’ve probably gotten your copy of Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea and maybe have had a chance to read it (no judgment; I either read books in a single day or over the course of several months, so I get how it is). I would love it if you would write a brief, honest review on the platform that suits you best.

Lots of people will tell you that leaving a review on a book helps boost it in the Amazon algorithm. I don’t know if that’s true; it seems like sales and clicks are the things that make the algorithms happy, but they’re inscrutable and threatening, so who knows. What reviews do is help readers who would like the book find it, and keep readers who wouldn’t like it from wasting their time and money. This is true whether the review rates the book one or five stars. I’ve read plenty of one-star reviews that make me want to read the book in question, because my taste is evidently the opposite of the reviewer’s.

Reviews are not for authors. The book is already published; if there’s a typographical error or misplaced comma on page 37, for instance, the author can’t go back and change it. They also can’t change major plot details or unsatisfying endings. You can give constructive criticism if you like, but the author can’t put it to use until the next book (or several books in the future, depending on when the review is published). Reviews are for helping readers to determine whether a book is a good investment of their time and money. What that looks like is entirely up to the individual reader.

There has been a lot of drama in the independent publishing world surrounding reviews, ranging from authors throwing social media tantrums to stalking reviewers and turning up at their homes to harass them. Given this history, I want you to feel safe and free of judgment if you choose to leave a review for my book. I can’t promise that I will never read your review, but I give you my word that I will never try to figure out who you are, doxx you, turn up at your house uninvited (some of you are my real-life friends, so I will turn up at your house eventually, but only for normal things), argue with your review on any platform, or even complain about it on social media. I’ve written this promise here on the Internet, where everything lasts forever, so you can hold me to it.

You also don’t owe me a review. All you owe me, if you choose to read my work, is to acquire it legally (purchasing it/getting it secondhand from a shop or a friend/borrowing from a library/reading it for free here on the website). I’d love it if you wrote a review–again, it helps new readers find my work–but you’ve got your own stuff going on. If you have the time and inclination, great. If not, I still appreciate you reading. You’re what makes this all worth it.

That’s my post about reviews. I’ll be back on Monday with a new Song of the Week. In the meantime, let’s voice our opposition to war, protect trans kids, and tell our pets we love them.

Song of the Week

Wendy Melvoin, “Carnivàle Main Title Theme”

It’s Monday again! Welcome.

In case you missed it, Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea released on Friday! It’s been three or four months of non-stop work, not to mention all the time I spent writing the thing, so I’m very excited to share it with you.

You can purchase it from these handy links:

Amazon (ebook and paperback)

Barnes & Noble (ebook and paperback) It says large print, but it’s the standard edition paperback. I am working on fixing it.

Kobo (ebook only)

If you want to read the first chapter before making a decision, you can do so here.

The earlier, serialized version will remain up on the blog, but I highly recommend buying the book, as it’s far more polished and of better quality, in addition to being easier to read in your preferred medium.

Other stuff happening this week:

There will be a new chapter of Journey to the Water up on Patreon! My Patreon is only $3 a month, and it gives you access to serial chapters a week early, plus Patreon livestreams and an exclusive project or two that I will be announcing in the next couple of weeks.

I’ll be on Twitch tonight and Thursday night with the Tea and Sidequests channel.

I will also be doing a minor blog remodel, so you may see some things move around. My goal is accessibility and readability, so if there’s anything I can do to make your blog experience easier, please let me know! Comments are open on almost every post.

Thanks for being here! Have an excellent week.

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea is now available!

Read the first chapter!

After losing everything in a foolhardy quest to slay a sea serpent, Eske of the Bear Clan journeys across the world to the holy city of Phyreios. There, he meets warriors from faraway lands, a rebel leader with the courage to defy the gods, and a gentle healer whose dreams foretell a great calamity.

While at first Eske seeks only an opportunity to test his strength and a distraction from his grief, he soon becomes entangled in a clash of gods and monsters that will change the fate of Phyreios-and the world-forever.

Inspired by Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian and Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea novels, Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea is an epic tale of love, loyalty, rebellion, and ruin.

Amazon (ebook and paperback)

Barnes & Noble (ebook and paperback) It says large print, but it’s the normal paperback.

Kobo (ebook only)

If you want to order the paperback directly from me (good for bulk orders, and you’ll get a significant discount), please fill out this form, and I’ll be in contact with you within the next 24 hours:

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TOMORROW!

All my files are approved and we are back on track! Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea will release tomorrow (Friday) as planned!

I’ll be back tomorrow with all the links you will need to purchase your preferred format, as well as a link to my Virtual Launch party, which will be 6pm tomorrow (US Central time).

Thank you for being with me on this adventure! I’m so excited to share this story with you again.

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea Chapter I (Free Preview)

In which the tale begins.

Listen. Let me tell you a story. 

I will tell you of my journey, from the ocean at the other edge of the world to the mountain of iron, beneath which slept a horror of an age long past. 

I will tell you of the daughter of the stargazer, who found me on the northern wastes at the end of my long winter.

I will tell you of those who dared to defy the seven gods of the citadel.

And I will tell you of the barefoot prophet, for the man who now sits on the throne of Phyreios is not the same as the one who walked among its people in the days before the cataclysm. 

Continue reading “Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea Chapter I (Free Preview)” →

Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea Update: The Final Countdown

THREE DAYS, YOU GUYS

IngramSpark is still processing my files. Based on their three-business-day turnaround, everything should be ready tomorrow. That means that tomorrow (Wednesday), I *should* have a way to preorder the book.

Thank you so much for bearing with me on this endeavor.

I have a Facebook author page as of about an hour ago, if you’d like to follow it. I’ve also updated the widgets in the bottom left corner of the blog (under “Find Me Elsewhere”).

No new chapter this week–sorry! We’ll be back to our regular posting schedule next week.

I’ll be back later this week with more information on buying the book (a Real Book! that you can hold in your hands or e-reader!) and about my Virtual Launch Party on Friday.

I appreciate you!