2023: The F*ck Was That?
When I say this year was a lot… This year was A LOT. The first seven months were incredibly stressful, which I think will reflect in things like word counts once we get to them. So, what the fuck happened this year? Let’s break it down: January – 12,043 words This is my peak depression month. I do not make life decisions in January and February. But January 2023 was worse than usual, because my spouse was in a car accident that totaled his car. The good news is that he was completely unharmed. The Kia Soul did everything right and protected him when he was t-boned. But, we were suddenly a single car household after each having our own cars for over a decade. We were also a single-income household at the time. After taking most of December off from writing the book, I’d picked back up and made…
2023 Awards Eligibility
It’s that time of year. The holidays are upon us, and the publishing world begins its wind down into the New Year. With that comes a slew of Awards Eligibility posts – writers, editors, and publishers sharing their 2023 publications eligible for the various awards ceremonies in 2024. I’ll be honest. I don’t fully understand SFFH awards, how nominations work, or how a work is or isn’t eligible. I think the only true requirement for eligibility is that the piece be published within the given year. Which means I have four eligible pieces: The Stories “In the Librarian’s Garden” (F, 4,781) – Issue 6 of Tree and Stone Magazine (Feb./Mar. 2023), ed. by Kevin M. Casin “The Lament of Kivu Lacus” (SF, 4,180) – Life Beyond Us: An Original Anthology of SF Stories and Science Essays (Apr. 2023) ed. by Julie Nováková, Lucas K. Law, and Susan Forest, pub. by…
The Recap – May 2023
Not gonna lie… this month feels like it dragged on for.e..v…e….r…… May is hell month in the education world, where everyone is burnt out and over it, wishing that everything would just slow the eff down as it inevitably hurtles toward a finish line everyone wants and no one is ready for. So, yeah. A great time to try and write a book! Last Month Finish the novel Return to blogging schedule How’d I Do? Finish the novel LOL. No. Return to blogging schedule Yes? I feel like I made a pretty good effort at getting the blog back on track. Total Word Count: 5,544 This was an absolutely unhinged month. I feel like I only have glimpses of the things that happened, or the stuff that I did. I can’t grab onto any one thing as concrete. Other than my Story Hour reading, mainly because it was recent and…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #11
Yes, this post is on time. No, it is not a miracle. My weekend was actually fairly normal, and it was so, so so so nice. What isn’t normal is that I have a little bit of news to share before we dive into the meat of this Goals Summary. Announcement! IT’S RELEASE DAY, babeyy! You can read my short story “In the Librarian’s Garden” TODAY at Tree and Stone Magazine! A quiet story about finding yourself and your true home, it holds a very precious space in my heart. I really hope you enjoy it. You can read it (and other stories) online here. (It officially releases later this afternoon. I’ll post on socials about it.) Or, you can support a young magazine and buy an ebook copy here. Thanks so much for your support, and for reading! And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Last Week Write…
The Recap – February 2023
February’s come and gone in a flurry of snow days and frozen cul-de-sacs. I spent the dreariest of months consuming television and movies, reading an insane amount of all kinds of books, and writing. An actually decent amount of writing. But don’t just take my introduction as proof! Let’s look at the stats! Last Month Write at least 3x/week Read 4 books Keep on schedule How’d I Do? Write at least 3x/week Nope. I wrote two times a week, every week in February though! Read 4 books Yep! Actually, I doubled it – I read EIGHT books in February! Keep on schedule Yes? Aside from not writing the three times I week I wanted to, having a set schedule for writing, blogging, and marketing has been critical to my consistent output this month. Total Word Count: 11,787 In true February fashion, the month went by in a blur of snow…
Goals Summary 2023 – Wk #4
It is a frigid 37º outside right now, and with the wind it feels like 29º. But the sun is shining and the skies are a crisp, bright blue. Not a cloud in sight. On our drive home from our walk this morning we saw Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens, which always feels like a special treat. What a lovely way to start the week! But before we can start looking forward, we gotta take a minute and look back on where we started… Last Week Write 3x this week Prep Newsletter Record Podcast Read a book How’d I Do? Write 3x this week Yes! I sat down to work on the novel exactly three times this week! Prep Newsletter Yep! There’s just a couple of finishing touches, but it will be out by Sunday afternoon, yesterday as of this reading – check your inbox! Record Podcast Yep! It’s…
NEWS: Short Story Acceptances!
That’s right, Blogland! Acceptances – plural! I’ve been sitting on this news for a little while and I’m so excited to finally share it with you! The First Back in May, I received the acceptance letter for a short story called “Bell Biv Derailed,” which will appear in LOLcraft: A Compendium of Eldritch Humor from Dragon’s Roost Press this Fall! You can read about the anthology so far, and check out Dragon’s Roost’s other publications here. As I get updates on publication date and ordering, I’ll be sure to share! I’m really excited for this one. This story is a strange, fun one and I can’t wait to see what my fellow writers have come up with. Horror/Comedy is one of my favorite genres, so I’m excited for this anthology as both writer and reader. The Second You may have seen on twitter (or my other, personal socials) that I…