In the grand scheme of things, I have very little to complain about. The big one, of course, is not being able to make a living by being a writer (yet!). Everything else in my life that I could complain about sort of pales in comparison.
That stated, technology can be a fickle, fickle thing. Friday I had my exam review class for the Shakespeare course I am taking (“Tragedies and Histories”), and my laptop had decided at some point between Wednesday and Friday morning to lose 3 days worth of lectures.
Now, normally, this would be a minor annoyance, but with the exam looming, this is 4.5 hours of lectures I have to re-watch, re-take notes on, and then start studying. I mean, the upside is that I am going to know Antony and Cleopatra really well! Downside… ain’t nobody got time for that! I have to be at work in about an hour today… thankfully I should have the required time afterwards, but this is pushing back the review part of “exam review” quite precariously.
Oh well! As I said, few things I can really complain about. Never enough time, not making a living from writing… and then everything else. Can’t be too upset about that, I suppose!
Hope everyone out there is safe and healthy!
Had to happen sooner or later!
Well, it’s official. I’ve received my first 1-star review on Amazon. It was going to happen eventually, and considering it’s my 12th review (11 of which are four or five stars)… I think I’m okay with that.
Let’s be honest. There’s no such thing as perfect art. Some people will love it, some people will hate it, and at the end of the day that’s probably a good thing. It means different people like different things, and I’m really okay with that! Sure, I’d like to rack up a better ratio (100-to-1 would be nice!), but again, if we project this forward (unsafe), 90% of readers loving my work and less than 10% hating it… that’s okay!
It is even, in its own way, kind of a good thing. This means that people are seeing my work! And (probably) paying for it… that’s good! I mean, they may have downloaded it for free (legally through Kindle Unlimited, for example), but even then, more eyeballs on my work is almost always going to be a good thing, and I am definitely not so arrogant that I think my work is perfect and that everyone will love it.
Anyway, it was going to happen eventually, and it has. Hopefully the only one for a while, though, but I suppose if you’re here reading my work you kinda agree with me on that (unless you’re hate-reading in which case… maybe get a different hobby? Lots of books out there, mate, I’m sure there are ones you’d like better!).
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
The Queen of the A.I.s is now available!
Woo! Happy to see it up and available for purchase! My first YA-novel, and sci-fi (of course) out in the world.
Heck of a ride with that one. But I’m happy it’s available to people, and I am very, very proud of the story that I made. The last few chapters in TQotAI are among the best things I’ve ever written.
So that leaves me with no pressing stories (as we established a few days ago), which is fine. This is always a bit of a frantic time to write anyway… under the best of circumstances, which December 2020 is most certainly not. But that’s okay! I’m going to take a few days off writing, and just do my best in the few remaining classes I have this semester (and the exam, of course), and then just try to make it through to the end of the holiday rush without stabbing anyone.
Then I’ll have a few days to do some world-building (one of my favourite parts of writing new fiction!), layout some plot points, outline a few new characters… exciting!
Anyway! For now I’m going to bask in the joy of having finished 3 novels this year. And for everyone out there who has purchased one (or more!), thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Stay safe and healthy, everyone!
Next novel submitted!
And that’s three novels for the year. A little shy of the four I was aiming for, but honestly, considering the year… I’m going to call it a win.
It’s been submitted, so hopefully in the next week or so “The Queen of the A.I.s” will go live on Amazon, and I’ll announce it here (and over on Patreon, of course!) shortly thereafter. I have no super-impending homework assignments (aside from listening to Antony and Cleopatra, since I’m struggling mightily against the length of the work), which is nice, and this wraps up my writing obligations for the year (aside from a short story I still haven’t finished… whoops…), but since I am going to be up to my ears in retail work for the next 23 days, that’s okay! Home stretch, as it is.
Anyway! Good news for me, at least, and hopefully people like the new novel! And it leads them to more of my other novels! That would be great. Now I just have to decide if I want to increase my advertising budget for it for a few weeks, try to get more eyeballs… ha, why does everything cost so much money…
Oh well! Upwards and onwards!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
New Cover Purchased!
So once again the stage of finding a cover for my book has been completed. This is an interesting process… I really look forward to being able to pay for custom artwork at some point in my work, but for now finding good pre-generated covers is just part of the process.
The artist I use (guy named James) is pretty consistent. Some of his covers are very, very not for me, but by that token I’m sure there are people out there who don’t like the covers I choose. And of course these aren’t a perfect fit, but I think most of them are pretty good!
Anyway, nice to have that step done… and I think that will be it! When I get that artwork in, I am going to put it on the book (which is edited and ready to go!), and then decide if I want to spend far too much on advertising for the holiday season for a very-not holiday related novel.
But this is good, since I want the novel out in 2020, and this looks like it will actually happen!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
Good news for loyal readers!
Well, it’s official. Barring major calamity, I will be releasing a 3rd novel this year! Who said nothing good happened in 2020!?
All joking aside, the groundwork has been prepared, and the novel itself is in good shape. I am really proud of my first leap into YA, and lovingly refer to “The Queen of the A.I.s” as “How to Train Your Dragon meets The Matrix”. It’s funny! It’s touching! It’s got some great space battles, and a handful of awkward not-quite-kids doing some amazing things and maybe, just maybe, saving their entire planet in the process.
I think it will be nice to send this story out into the wild. And after I finish this, I get to start working on my next novel which will be… I don’t know! Ah, the joys of the unknown… I am actually really excited about getting to start an entirely new story from scratch. It’s been almost 7 months since I’ve done that! Far too long.
Anyway, I am already hunting for a cover, and there are some pretty strong contenders. Hopefully I can have one picked out for next week! Oh, and somehow find time to read “Anthony and Cleopatra” by Monday. Piece of cake, right? Right.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
First Snowfall
“First” is a weird concept in many ways. I mean, this isn’t the first snowfall of 2020 (that would’ve happened back in January), and it’s certainly not the first snowfall in the winter of 2020 in any meaningful sense (the Canadian North has had snowfalls months ago, and the Antarctic likewise has had considerable accumulation, one would assume).
But for me, in my very localized geographic sense, yesterday was the first accumulation of snow in the winter of this year. And boy-howdy is it a doozy… about 30cm around my home. And as much as I hate going out into the snow (which I do, a lot), I do love staying inside and watching it snow, and appreciating what it does to the landscape. It’s beautiful.
Now, that stated, I can make that observation because I do, in fact, get to stay home today. And I will be spending most of today working on the next novel to come out in only a few weeks! No worries, folks, this isn’t something I threw together at the last minute, but a novel I’ve been sitting on for some time, waiting for the right moment to release it. I think “Holiday Season 2020” is the right moment.
So, I’m going to get back to that, with my continued wishes for everyone out there to stay safe and healthy… and heck, if you live someplace it is snowing, stay warm too!
Reward Reading
Well, I finished all my immediate book-related tasks this week, and as a reward I finally let myself read John Scalzi’s newest sci-fi novel, “The Last Emperox”.
It was, unsurprisingly, very, very good. Light as a feather, heavy as lead, with a plot twist you could see coming but that still was sublimely satisfying. “Inevitable but surprising”, I believe Mary Robinette-Kowal says about such plot devices. It was a joy to read.
One day I will write fiction that’s as good as his, but until then I shall continue to toil and improve and work at my craft such that I can make that statement true. Talent doesn’t just ‘manifest’, and you have to work at the things you want to be better at. I really want to be a better writer, and so… I write!
Anyway. No writing for me at the moment (a lot of reading, mostly King Lear at the moment, which is heavy to get through and even heavier to try and analyze), but I’ll be back at it this weekend when I have shorter work days (although, as is tradition, we’re starting to open earlier and stay open later… whee…). Who knows, maybe somebody with a shred of common sense in the government will shut Canada down again for a few weeks and I can get some writing done… I won’t count on it, but oh will I dream of it!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
No Rest for the Weary
Well, I released another novel out into the world. For the 10 of you who have purchased it already: thank you so much! I know money is tight for almost everyone these days, and spending a little bit of your recreation budget on me and my work means the world to me.
But, of course, as soon as the novel went live (and I frantically updated the cover art because ARGH), I had no time for relaxation or celebration… immediately on to the next novel! I actually have a short story I’d really like to get done before the end of the year, and I may actually have time for that in the coming day or two, but we’ll see.
And then I’m going to prep the next novel for publication so it’s ready to go by mid-December, and then I’m going to start writing a brand new novel! Yee! Getting a story started is always the most fun part! Getting introduced to the characters I’m excited about, and introducing the world/universe we’ll be playing around with. Makes me smile just to think about it!
Anyway, thank you again everyone who has purchased “Tintian and the Chimera’s Secret”, I hope you enjoy it! Please take a few moments to leave a 5-star review after you’ve read the book, since those reviews really, really help to get my work into new hands!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
Argh... Typo on the cover!
See, this is why self-publishing sucks. In “real” publishing, there would be somebody else I could blame for the fact that I definitely sent a typo to the cover artist who then dutifully put that typo on the cover itself.
Oopsies!
I have contact the artist, and they are correcting my mistake, but that means a slight (additional) delay in getting the book out. But that’s okay! Eagle-eyed visitors to this here website may have even seen the offending cover and wondered at how such a mistake made it into the final artwork, and to them I can only say that I pour all my energy and effort into making the best story possible, and therefore little things like artwork assets and formatting sometimes don’t get the attention they deserve.
Anyway. I’ve pulled it off Amazon temporarily (it was up for a few hours), and I’ll push it back out as soon as I get the updated artwork, so hopefully by the end of this week at the latest!
In unrelated news, I also made a dead-tree format for Tintian Book 2 (The Mysterious Meteor), so for those of you out there who prefer real paper, that should be available for purchase through Amazon.com! Updated links on this here website, of course, that should take you straight there.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
EPUB File "Fun"
Ah, converting books into EPUB file format. So much fun.
It’s really not. But it at least isn’t hard, it’s just time consuming and tedious. But it’s gotta get done if the book is going out, so I’m doing it.
Just to give you a quick idea, the first three steps are all Find/Replace commands in MS Word. Find all quotation marks (“) and replace with… quotation marks (“). Basically to make sure that the entire document’s quotes are left-quote and right-quote aligned properly. Then repeat that with single quotation marks, and then with ellipses (…). Fun!
But then you convert the whole thing into HTML, strip out all the formatting, and put that back in with code. That’s okay.
And then find and replace all the correctly aligned quotation marks (both single and double) with code. THAT’s the slow part. Faster now, but still slow.
That’s the part I’m working on today. Which is good, because it’s basically the last part! I don’t do any fancy-schmancy formatting stuff with my books (chapter flourishes or pictures or whatever). Maybe someday, but not for Tintian Book 3, at least. Oh, and I have to get another ISBN… just a self-reminder.
Anyway! Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
Edits Done!
Well, that’s the lion’s share of the work for this novel done! Cover art is set, words are all where they’re supposed to be, and all I have to do is convert it into a format that can be uploaded to ye olde Amazon and then it will be available for sale!
Of course, when I say “all” that has to be done, I simplify. The process of converting documents into ebooks isn’t trivial, even in the rude and rough way that I do them. But hopefully I can finish that today (I have an essay to write for class first, but I have 5 hours to do most o that work before I can dive into finishing the novel).
So progress! Glorious, glorious progress. And I have decided that I will, indeed, self-publish one more novel this year, which should be out mid-December.
Anyway, lots to do, never enough time for it! Hope everyone out there is safe and healthy!
New Novel, This Month For Sure!
I really should be better at hitting deadlines. I’m usually pretty good about that sorta thing, honestly… I have an essay that’s due on Friday, for example, that I should have finished by the end of today. But this novel… it’s causing me some headaches, that’s for sure.
Regardless, the current plan is to finish it after my online classes today, and then push it along to the digital publishing sites on Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. Means I missed my October deadline, but… such is life.
And, hey, with any luck I’m still expecting another novel out in December… one that I’ve had finished for a while now, and I think it’s one of my better ones, personally! Excited to get it out there!
After that one, though, I’ll “need” to write the next novel. And that’s great! It’s been far too long since I’ve had the chance to write something because it needs to be written, rather than edited or modified. So that’s cool!
Right, back to work for me! Hope everyone out there is safe and healthy!
Making My Bed
There was a “motivational” speech given a while back by a military man of some stripe (admiral? General? Somebody important in the USA) that stated the most important thing you can do to start your day is make your bed. It gives you a sense of accomplishment, it focuses you, and so on.
I can’t say I agree with him, but that stated, I rarely bother to make my bed because the moment my feet hit the floor I’m preparing to go running, getting coffee started, packing lunches… you know, the usual sorts of things that one does as a wage-monkey in a modern society.
That stated, today I have a new bed being delivered! In preparation, I disassembled my current bed (a loyal companion for almost 20 years), and it’s all packed away to be donated. And in an hour or two, some skilled gentlefolk will show up to quite literally make my bed! That feels a bit like progress, honestly.
Anyway. In other news, today is the day I get the novel edited, and then digital ready, slap the cover on it, and prepare to send it off into the wild. AND, exciting news, I am 98% sure I will have a third novel to release this year! That one will go live in December. Three for 2020, considering all this is pretty good, I think!
Right! Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
A Few days of "Peace"
Am I the only one that thinks of Tybalt’s speech any time they write the word “peace”?
”Peace? Peace. I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee.”
Anyway! I have a few days off my other job so I can focus on THIS job and get all my editing done so I can send out my novel to you lovely, lovely people! Should be done by Wednesday (let’s make that concrete: WILL be done by Wednesday), and then live on the Amazon market probably Thursday night or Friday.
There, called it. Gettin’ it done!
Other than that, I have an essay to write for my Shakespeare class (no, I’m not studying Romeo and Juliet… that particular quote has always lived rent-free in my brain), a long walk to plan for tomorrow, and lots and lots of sleep.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
I'll Edit! Eventually!
I think today I may actually get the chance to dive into the editing for the new novel… of course, I have said that before, but I really mean it this time! I have a little class work to finish up, a meeting with the prof to discuss my test results (I did okay, but not great, and I really thought I did great… but I don’t argue for grades, I just want to know how to do better next time!), and other than that just editing to do! I may actually get the novel finished this week and out before November! That would be keen.
Speaking of which: how is it almost November already! Where did October go!? Man, this year has completely messed with all sense of time for me.
Anyway. Nice to have a chance to get more writing work done, even if it’s not “writing” but just the work involved with writing. But that’s okay! All part of the process!
Hope everyone out there is safe and healthy!
Back to the Grindstone
So last week was a busy week. This week is going to be a busy week… next week? Busy week.
I am sensing a pattern here… and, tragically, I think it’s going to get much, much worse before it gets better. Working at a game store is kinda nice most of the time (current pandemic notwithstanding), but the holiday season is full on bonkers at the best of times.
Still! I have a little time to get the novel polished up and published, and that will be nice, and then time to dive into my studies, essays, and exams before the worst of it hits, so all in all I can’t really complain aside from a general lack of time. But that’s been true now for years.
Just finishing up reading Henry IV Part 1 for class today, and then I have guitar practice in about 2 hours… which leaves me about 2 hours to get some editing done! I’d better get to that!
Hope everyone out there is staying healthy and safe!
Short Week!
Hey folks! Meant to write over the weekend but it was Canadian Thanksgiving, and so that slipped away in a blur of food, chores, and writing, and then I almost didn’t write today because editing!
So, it’s been busy! I suppose that’s a good thing? A good problem to have, one might say.
Anyway, stuff is moving along at a healthy clip, and we’re approaching the holiday season with the velocity and impulse of a freight train… going to be running out of days off real, real quick very soon. And nobody knows what the holidays are going to look like this year, so even that’s up in the air.
Anyway! Just wanted to stick my head in, wave at everyone, and then get back to work. More updates very soon! Hope to have the novel out… oh, end of next week? Before November, at the very least!
Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!
Edits Returned!
My lovely editor has sent back my novel with some lovely words of encouragement and a whole slew of recommendations. I’ll be diving into those this weekend (a holiday weekend for us in Canada, although it doesn’t actually result in me having additional days off this year). So with any luck you should be able to find the novel available on Amazon in the next two weeks or so!
Other than that, not a lot to share. Week off of school next week (although I have to read the next play we’ll be studying in that time… shouldn’t be too hard, since I managed Richard III in about two days. Lots of reading aloud. For whatever reason, speaking Shakespeare has been the only way I’ve ever successfully been able to absorb it.
Oh! And Scalzi’s new book, The Last Emperox! I’ve been waiting for that one for a few weeks, but I’m going to try and hold off until after the edits are done. And then probably jump straight into it and be reminded about how fantastic a writer he is (and how good I hope to be someday!).
So! Exciting times! Until the weekend, going to try and finish my short story for White Noise (and do another interview for them tonight! That’ll be fun!). Busy busy busy!
Hope everyone out there is staying healthy and safe!
Slowing Down
Well, it’s nice to see that I’m not the only creative getting my butt kicked by this pandemic (and the soon-to-hit second wave that’s already upon us). My editor is still working on the novel, hence why it didn’t release in September (not her fault at all, by the by, since it did take me an extra two months more than I expected to finish writing it!).
Still, this leaves me with some extra time, which is good because I have a test coming up this week (Richard III), and my secondary job is maintaining its breakneck pace. And, of course, probably no time off between now and the end of the holiday season unless we hit lockdown again.
I’m already dreaming up the next novel, which is dangerous (since I’m technically not done the novel I’m working at until I get it back and it goes live), but it’s still nice to think about.
Oh! And new weird business news: I’ve been occasionally hitting my daily dollar limit for advertising through Amazon. That’s unusual (for me). Now, I have a pretty low daily limit due to the strict financial constraints I have (which is a fancy way of saying “I have no money”), but up until a few months ago my ads were never shown, period. Now they’re showing up often enough that Amazon gets to charge me for them occasionally, and that feels kinda like a success. Hopefully it leads to a few more book sales, and I can funnel that back into more ads!
Anyhoo, hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!