self published writer

atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: I don’t do April Fools

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I’ve been editing the completed manuscripts over the last week, but I’ve also resumed working on First Brood 4: Emma. Shelley (my Freewrite Traveler) has three spots. I’m using one for Emma, one for short smut, and the last for Dewey. Sure, I’ll crank out the short erotica to make some extra cash (I need it, I have no Patrons, and there won’t be any OT in the summer), but I need to work on things that make me happy for a while. 

  • Emma: 17,515
  • Smut: 161
  • Dewey: 15,778

I went back and forth between editing and writing today. That’s why the numbers aren’t that impressive. I’d like to finish both those big novels this year since I have book 5 in the First Brood series cooking in the back of my head already. Not that this series is super popular, but I love working on it. I started that back when I was a teenager, and somehow, it’s been a constant in my brain ever since. I did post the chapters of Emma I have so far on Patreon if anyone would like to see what it’s all about.

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: I cannot EVEN

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Since nothing in my life can just happen without a meandering, dramatic plot full of twists and turns that nobody fucking asked for, the infection that my cracked tooth had seemed to have migrated to the bottom tooth. I called the dentist and told him that I had an abscess and he said to just rinse with salt water and if it’s still there, call him tomorrow. Even though I said it’d been there since Monday… That it went back and forth between hard and soft and was leaking puss at various times.

Not the best flavor, I can tell you.

I was so fucking annoyed that I immediately looked up the nearest urgent care and the doctor there? She was so nice. She did warn me that my blood pressure was high (I am stressed the fuck out) but gave me the antibiotics to kill whatever the fuck is going on in my mouth. She took a look at the bump and said “Yeah, that’s infected.”

Ya know… What the dentist probably should have done? Even if he thinks I’m being paranoid, what if I’m not and there’s a real problem?

At least the doctor said that the actual extraction site is healing well. Just in time for there to be a recall on my car!

I’m gonna need life to stop life-ing for like… Six months. Give me six months of some fucking peace.

Whatever. Here’s the counts:

  • Long Smut: 19,579 (completed, may add more in the editing process)
  • Short Smut: 4,135 (completed, may add more in the editing process)
  • Dewey: 15,779 (still untouched) 

I’ll be editing while I wait for the car to eat my tax return (if I even get it in time to pay for that) and from now on, I won’t be working on more than one smutty project at a time. Yes. I am aware those are my money makers but I still would like to continue my dark fantasy/dystopian projects.

Since I’m a week out from the actual extraction, I can get back to any sort of activity like biking or walking. I’m working my way back up to running but hey, I can write with lower intensity workouts! I’ll get more words in that way. And it being so late in the day for me, just one dose of antibiotics helped that disgusting postule go down. Almost like the dentist should have listened to me…

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: Owwwwwwwww

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The cracked tooth has been removed from my mouth. The poor dentist really had to pry the thing out. I felt like I was a car with a particularly rusty stuck lug nut… Wrenching and pulling… The tearing sound way too loud in my ear… Even now, later in the day, that entire side of my face is so, SO fucking sore. And I’m hungry. At least I’ll lose weight on a liquid diet? Nah, liquid diets suck… I like real food.

But that’s not why we’re here. Here are the word counts:

  • Long Smut: 17,016
  • Short Smut: 3.277
  • Dewey: 15,778

It’s easy to see which one I’ve been working on the most. The first two are almost finished, actually. I bet I can get these done pretty fast if my face stops hurting. The pain is pretty distracting. I don’t want to take too many painkillers because of what happened last time. I’ll just have to muddle through.

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atthequillsmercy

Late WIP “Wednesday” and Other Assorted Nonsense

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Althought things have been less cursed, I still need to catch up from all the absolute fuckery I’ve had to deal with. I forgot to update yesterday, so you’re getting it today.

I am very, VERY slowly easing back into working out. The desk peddler has been doing well enough that I got on the treadmill today for a brisk 30 minute walk. Nothing too intense and my knee felt fine. At least I can be active again.

Ive been doing the most random shit with my food. It’s basically “What’s in the house and will it taste good together?” I’m spending less on food when I can. I love how I mangled the egg in one picture and nailed it in the other… Eh, it tasted good either way.

Anyways, on to writing news:

  • Long Smut: 15,597 words
  • Short Smut: 2,695 words (6 prompts published)
  • Dewey: 15,778 words

I’m not hitting my daily goals but I am making progress on publishing those short stories. I am making some sales with the Read an E-Book Week event going on. While of course it’s mostly the free ones that are selling, I am SO glad to see something other than the smutty stories actually selling. Yes, I wrote those to make money faster, but it’s nice to see my regular work getting some love. If you have picked up any of my work, I can’t tell you how grateful I am!! The sale lasts till the Saturday the 7th. There’s still time to snatch some up if you want!

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atthequillsmercy

Smashwords Read and Ebook Week!

It’s Smashwords Read and Ebook week and my books are on sale! Please click the link and check them out. Some are even free! Sale Dates: March 1 – March 7, 2026

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: At least its fixable?

This is all the stuff that’s been going on at home. All the moldy gross stuff is out and as soon as the old pipes are replaced, the contractors will come in and fix everything up. I am absolutely of the mindset of “God is testing me and I did NOT study.” I am consoling myself with the fact that once this stuff is fixed, I won’t have a ticking timebomb in my basement. But, enough complaining. Here are the numbers:

  1. Longer Smut: 14,118
  2. Short Smut Prompts: 406 (5 prompts complete, 4 published)
  3. Dewey: 15,699

I took time out for editing to release the short smut as often as I can (no more than once a week). I can’t write and edit at the same time, sadly. I’ve taken advantage of a sale at bookcovers.com for these to save some money since that’s my biggest expense when it comes to self-publishing. I self edit, so any mistakes you see are totally on me. I try not to drive myself crazy editing those since they’re not my passion projects. I also try not to take any low reviews on that stuff to heart, either. 

I have another long day of repairs coming up and hopefully things will be back to normal for a bit. It’s hard to be creative when you’re in constant fight or flight mode.

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: Am I Cursed?

I am at that point where I would love for shit to stop going wrong, but also like “That all you got? Bring it on, bitch.”

If you’ve been keeping up with my posts on Bluesky, things are just all bullshit right now. I had a leak in the basement, and by “leak”, I mean it sounded like water was POURING out onto the floor if I ran the washing machine. I called the emergency plumbers, who not only found that the main line in the house was backed up, but my water heater also had a slow leak, was rusted out at the bottom, and the venting failed at the top. Hadda get a replacement. And since there was water, I had to have a remediation team come in, and THEY discovered not only mold but asbestos. Come Monday, I head to work and hit a massive pothole. Popped the tire, ruined the rim, and my struts. Got a tow to the repair place, which also noticed a leaking oil pan and bad brakes.

Things are fixed now, but the plumber (they were SO nice) also noticed that most of the pipes are old and will need replacing. I can’t even think about that right now. Between the house and the car, I’m 10k more in debt. Those pipes will have to wait for their turn.

One upside to this was that being trapped for 5 hours at the repair shop gave me plenty of writing time until the battery on Shelley died. I named my Freewrite Traveler “Shelley.” Because I’m a big fucking nerd. Anyway, here are the numbers.

  • Smut: 14,118 words
  • Kinktober prompts: 112 words (Finished prompt 5 and published the 3rd prompt, meaning I’ve published 3 out of the completed 5 prompts)
  • Dewey: 15,699 words

I’ve also been catching up on my ARCs and reviews. Since prompt 5 is finished, I’ll spend some time editing that. Editing doesn’t take that long. All of these prompts hover around 3-5 pages (8.5/11). It’s just a matter of making sure the details are right, and I find as many typos as possible. I’ve put needlework and running aside for a bit. I’ll have to start fresh with that once all this repair stuff is done. Wish me luck! Apparently, I need it!

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atthequillsmercy

WIP Wednesday: New Goals

I get way too much use outta this GIF…

I was watching this YouTube video and a lot of the complaints in it I am totally feeling: Underpaid, underappreciated, overworked… And with no end in sight. I’m sure my bestie will scold me for overworking myself, but I am upping my daily word goal from 2k to 5k. Doesn’t matter that I usually don’t make 2k, I’m doing it. I am just so sick and tired of struggling. I shouldn’t have to turn the heat off in certain rooms of the house to save money. I’m also concerned about where the government is going and if my insurance will even cover my son’s surgery anymore. I mean, they probably will, but who knows these days!? Everything is so uncertain…

I’ll still be working on the blog and needlework, but writing will be the priority. Let’s get to the numbers, as they say on Dead Meat:

  • Smut: 13,540
  • Short smut: 882
  • Dewey: 15,588

These are my starting points for the day, and I’ll try to make a habit of tallying up my words at the end of the day. I’d like to put the total words added in each WIP post to hold myself accountable. I will also give myself grace if I need to spend a day or two editing. Maybe with a higher output overall, I’ll have more stories to publish and pick up some members on my Patreon. I have a book I’ve been using for outlines to write faster. I was also talking with my bestie about some new ideas I’ve had, and I can’t get to those until I finish what I’ve got. And I gotta say, she’s my hypewoman but will absolutely tell me if one of my ideas is shit. That’s why she’s my bestie.

I guess see ya’ll in a week to see how this goes.

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atthequillsmercy

It’s on!! 9th Annual Smashwords End of Year Sale!

Starting today!! I’m super excited to announce my books are on sale from Dec. 8th till Jan. 1st. Some titles are 50% off and others are even free! You can find them here and here! Thank you for taking a look and I hope you enjoy and leave a review!

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atthequillsmercy

“WIP” Wednesday. Kinda…

I don’t really have any updated word counts because I ran through the completed stories for editing and one was complete enough for me to finally release it! The others need more work. I have high hopes they’ll be done over the next week or so.

In other life news, I haven’t been working out like I should be. I come home, jump in the shower, and get right to work writing. I will try to get back to it but hey, here’s some random photos of the stuff I’ve been cooking!

I dunno. I took the pictures and uploaded them. I might as well post them. Out of all these, the fish and pork belly ramen were my favorites. And if anyone wants to give me shit about eating fish at work, the only comments I’ve ever gotten were either “Wow, that smells good,” “Did you bring enough for everyone,” or “How did you make that?” Things are going to be switched up a bit since I’m trying to get more iron in my diet to help my nails grow back attached. Is that relevant to writing? I guess. I have to look at my hands a lot while I’m working and it annoys me to look at the ones that haven’t quite come back yet.

Next week, I hope to have more in terms of new words! 

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