What on earth is she doing?

To all my recent followers:

(don’t ask about the gif, it just is)

This is one of those posts where I go on and on about my writing progress. If you are not a writer (or a reader inexplicably interested in my nattering about the words I write), here’s an old video about sheep and l.e.d. lights you might like to watch instead:

Okay, now that I’ve lost about everyone except my most dedicated friends (bless all three of you), I bet you’re wondering what I’ve been up to…right?

Sure you are. You want to read this. Trust me. (Or don’t. I understand…maybe…)

Writing Progress/Projects

In my last update, I didn’t really detail my writing plans for 2015. I didn’t because I didn’t really have any. I had the novel I was working on, from which I provided a snippet. I wrote a lot more of that story, but half way through it, I came upon some major plot flaws. I’m mentally working through those. In the meantime, I went back to a story I wrote sometime in 2014. It’s a paranormal urban fantasy. Not exactly the sort of genre fiction I normally write, but several folks liked the character and setting enough to encourage me to fix the story (which was all a-jumble).

So, I’m trying something ambitious: a serial. I plan on three to six short stories in this urban fantasy world of mine. It’s called Ghost Stories and is set in Oakland, California, one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States. Added bonus: it’s close by. It’ll be easy to research the various locales where dastardly deeds occur in the story. So far, the first “episode” is going well.

What’s really ambitious about my Ghost Stories project is that I plan to self-publish each installment on Amazon. There are very few markets that accept serials. So, unless I want to just keep it to one short story or write a novel, self-publishing is really all that a wannabe writer like myself can do with it. I’m sure the only person who will buy them will be my mother and maybe my brother, but hey, if they get a kick out of buying it – I’m happy.

SFFWorld.com Anthology

While I still have my (grubby) hands in it, I have ceded editorial duties for the SFFWorld.com anthology to Andrew Leon Hudson. In his capable hands, I’m sure this year’s short story collection will be just as good (and probably a great deal better!) than our previous publications. If you are interested in submitting a story, head on over to the forum for a look at the theme and submission requirements. I look forward to reading your stories!

Marketing

Eek, such an ugly word. For a writer, marketing ranks right up there with editing and formatting. No one really likes to do it, but if we want folks to read our work, gotta do it.

Did you notice I started a newsletter? (As of this writing, I have 10 whole – no halves – subscribers!)

I know! It’s crazy. I didn’t think I would start something like this, but I figured I’d give it go. While it is yet one more thing for me to fret and stress about, I think it could help, well, sell my work. I’m not entirely sure I want to dedicate so much effort into selling my upcoming Ghost Stories series, but I figured I could use the newsletter to announce other things, too.

Other Things?

Like other author’s great upcoming fiction. I get to read many good stories over on SFFWorld.com, from both established and up-and-coming authors. Inevitably, they offer signed books.

No. They are not bribes for a review.

Well, okay, maybe they are bribes, but just because someone gives me a free, bad book, it’s still bad.

But I also get free, good books. Since I read primarily on my Kindle, and we live in a super small place, I really don’t want the hard copy. But you might.

I figured it would be fun to do some random-drawing giveaways via the newsletter. The first will be Oracle by U.K. author Susan Boulton. For a chance to win a copy, sign up for my newsletter. I’ll thank you with a free story by me. And in my first newsletter due out in mid-June, I’ll announce how to enter the drawing for a chance to win that hard copy of Oracle.

So, come on, join my posse.