It’s that time again! My books are now on sale at Smashwords here and here. Some are even free! Thank you for checking them out, and I look forward to finding some awesome titles myself!
self published writer
First June Writing WIP Update and a note on AI
June is always a crazy month. It’s the month my kid was born, so all his checkups happen around this time. Either way, I’ve been plugging away at my projects, and here are the word counts:
- Dewey: 11,524 words
- Other Pen Name: 1,041 words
I’ve been focusing on these two. That’s why Emma’s book is not on the list. I’m having that problem of feeling super inspired until my fingers hit the keyboard and then my brain just locks up. Not only that, but I’m trying not to go overboard on the naughty stuff. It’s supposed to be short and quick stories for like $0.99, but then it blooms up to a novella that I didn’t mean to happen. I’ve noticed people are less willing to take a chance on more expensive books, and I price my books by word count: The longer the book, the more it costs. It’s only fair. I do this in whatever spare time I have, and that time is still worthy of some sort of compensation.
Aside from that, my inspiration has seemed to strike at the oddest times. I’ve fallen asleep on Shelley (I named my Freewrite, remember) a couple of times this week or taken her out to stare at the screen. And since AI is a legit concern these days, I am taking a moment to say no AI is involved in the creation of my work save for whatever bot powers Grammarly. They didn’t used to use AI and I still use the free version. I even make sure the covers I buy aren’t AI at all. I am very against people using it in place of their human creativity. That is a shortcut I will never take and I stand on that. Authors are leaving whole ass prompts in their books! I get paranoid when I put “eye color here” because I might forget to remove that. I can’t imagine leaving AI text in my work like that, let alone using it to copy another’s writing style. Allegedly. In Minecraft. I’m not trying to get sued, accusing people of anything, but yeah, the industry is trippy right now, and I’m just a tiny indie author. I just wanna tell fun stories, not have a robot write for me.
Happy Pride and Cover Reveal! FotD S1E3
I’m still getting used to this new design interface and it’s a pain in the ass but I think I’m getting the hang of it. I may tweak it (if the damn website lets me) but since there’s fire involved, I wanted a flames lookin’ cover.
What does this have to do with Pride? I don’t know. I’m just gonna be working on a lot of super LGBTQ+ stuff this month and getting it out to you as fast as I can. This episode should be out before the end of the week but I’ll keep you posted!
Writing Update: New Cover
The help desk didn’t get back to me about being able to edit the old cover so now the first part of Fruit of the Dead has a new cover. I was hoping that each season would have a different cover but ah well. In terms of problems, this isn’t a big deal. Now, as for the word counts:
- FotD S1E3: 2443 but I’m not happy with how it flows so this may change
- Dewey: 10,441 and I’m posting this in the middle of the day ,and I bet I’ll end up with more later
Also, due to a lovely surprise $4,000 bill that I didn’t think I needed to pay, I will be putting more time into my S00PER SEEKRIT smutty pen name because as much as I love to write fantasy, the smut is what makes me any money at all every month. I will do my best to ensure this does not delay my progress on my non-smut projects.
Off Schedule Writing Update
Happy Mother’s Day! If you’re into that thing. If not, happy I finished a project day!
The next part of Fruit of the Dead is finished and the rough draft is 2397 words. I absolutely have a ton of editing to do on it. I gave it a quick read through and there are things I need to add, details to expand on, etc. I have a much needed day off where I can do that and read a bunch of ARCs I’ve been dying to get to. I haven’t outlined the next bit yet but I have some ideas in mind. My book cover site has completely revamped and I no longer have access to edit the cover I’ve been using for this series. I did email them and support told me they could have it moved into the new editing software but it hasn’t happened yet. I really hope I don’t have to delay publishing the story when it’s ready or buy a new cover and have to go back and change it for the first two parts. It may not matter to others but, it’s important for me to have cover continuity. I hope they’re able to help me out soon so I can give this next part to you all.
Weekly writing updates? Let’s try.
I have been working on three projects right now so, let’s do a quick status update:
- First Brood 4: Emma – 16823 words
- Dewey – 9300 words
- Fruit of the Dead S1E3 – 223 words
Fruit of the Dead should cap at about 3000 words. I’d like to keep each installment short as I build the story. No clue how long the others will end up. I tend to bounce between these three. I may be working on one then have a brain wave for another one and I just go with it. Hopefully FotD will be finished this month but, we’ll see. I may hit my stride with the others so, I’m not making any promises. If you’d like a teaser for the first two, check out my Patreon. The first chapters are posted there for free.
Smashwords Read an Ebook Week!
Patreon Updated!! First Brood 4: Emma Chapter 6
Part of my 2025 goals is to keep my Patreon updated at least monthly, so here is the update for January! Chapter 1 of this story is still available for free, but every chapter after that is for paid members. Click here for the update!
Smashwords 2024 End of Year Sale!
Patreon Updated! First Brood 4: Emma, Chapter 4
My Patreon is updated with my current WIP. You can join for just one dollar!
Remember this is a work in progress and things may change when the final draft is published. And the prologue is available to read for free.