Accountability and progress report, Nov. 7, 2025 edition
Um. Sorry for the radio silence.
MY BOOK IS NOW AVAILABLE TO PREORDER IN EBOOK!!! (https://books2read.com/u/m2kDLR)
State of me and how that impacts my work
In September I had a mini-retreat, which was very helpful for productivity, followed by a depressive slump, which was NOT.
Then... WE GOT KITTENS! The Snack Pack are kittening (one is napping behind the laptop right now) , and growing rapidly. They have greatly improved my overall mood, which is helpful.
Mid-October, I got hit with the worst cold I've had in years--possibly ever. It knocked me flat for an entire week (I still have some lung congestion) and left me foggy for another week (no, test said it wasn't COVID.)
I didn't feel like I had the brain power to function until this week. Whereupon I did a shitload of work in a few days, so I'm feeling a tad better about things. Apparently I needed some bedrest. The kittens thought that was delightful, although they're not fond of my coughing.
What I've learned/practiced over the past several months
What haven't I?
I've learned how to make Vellum do most of what I wanted it to do, and how to throw up my hands and declare things good enough when I can't.
I've learned a bit more about International Phonetic Alphabet, and also that I really should have included explanatory info/links for people who aren't familiar with those symbols (Note to self for that glossary in book two).
I learned how to publish via draft2digital, and Google Play, and Kindle.
I learned how to work with Ingram Spark.
OH, I've discovered via PERSONAL experience that Drumpf's tariffs have raised prices for the average person. My paperback WAS going to cost $16. Thanks to the man in the Oval Office and his idiotic lack of comprehension of basic economics, you'll have to pay $20.99 plus shipping. I am not kidding. That price hike in the cost of paper, etc. was between July and November of this year and my books are printed in the United States. Just... ridiculous. I hope to be able to offer some discounts periodically--but that'll be tied to the advertising budget because there's not a huge margin in that price. Like, their estimate is I'll make $2 or so on each copy I don't hand-sell.
Ordered my first ad, in a mag I want to support.
Still practicing breathing and staying in learning mindset. Still getting rattled by "but I might make a mistake" or "I don't know if this is going to work or not." Correct. You WILL make mistakes, it WON'T be perfect, and some parts won't work and you'll have to figure them out, just like in the rest of your life. Breathe, you can do this.
What I want to practice next week/month
Learning how to celebrate, because BOOK! At long last, BOOK!
I still don't have a launch party scheduled because I don't have physical copies yet (I have the ARC copies but I've fixed some things since then). But also, I'm just crappy about fun celebrations and parties and ... in this economy and in this political climate? I know fun celebrations are necessary but I find them daunting. This introvert can attend parties but planning one is ... overwhelming and confusing. And rife with the "throwing a party and having nobody come" probabilities. So. I have a few ideas and I'll explore them this weekend/next week.
Also, marketing. In general.
What I've been reading and what I've appreciated/learned from it
Honestly I've been escaping into Facebook reels (don't shoot me) for the past several months. It's a really bad habit I need to break, but I don't do movies or TV much so... it's what I got.
Most recent books I have read are Blackheart Man by Nalo Hopkinson and Stonelands by Joseph Malik. I'm also working through a nonfiction on ADHD and still struggling through that book on Facebroke.
Blackheart Man was well crafted, as I would expect from a Hopkinson book, tightly plotted with a rich evocative world. Her protagonist is annoying at the beginning, his intellectual curiosity the only tether I had to draw me through the book, but given the threat to his community, it was a hook that worked, as did the world building. So the learning involved was in terms of "ways to keep readers hooked when your protagonist is an annoying arrogant twit." Also, how multiple POVs can inform the story without having to result in equal time on the page; something my work could probably benefit from.
Stonelands is a military portal fantasy "guaranteed to piss off the worst people." It'll probably do that; I liked it. In terms of learning from it, it does a good job at portraying conflicts within a group that are supposed to be on the same side as well as very succinctly implying much grander conflicts up the chain of command; i.e., scope, scale and consequences in the greater scheme of things without using a lot of text.
Projects status update
A DUBIOUS HOPE
Launches Nov. 14. Ebook available for preorder at https://books2read.com/u/m2kDLR.
You can order paperbacks from your local bookstore or at SlimhornandWren.com after Nov. 14. (IngramSpark won't give me a link until the release date).
THWARTED
Got some good progress on the rewrite in September, which stalled after I got home. I need to get back to this soon.
A DEEP BUT MODEST APIQUAI
Haven't touched this in months. Still with editor.
Short Stories
Got a nice personal rejection on my last piece. Need to ship out more.
Submissions and rejections so far this year: seven and seven.
Marketing
Gods. So much to do.
Bought one ad.
Next steps
Set up some book events, which I should have done back in July, but hey, learning, amiright? Ship out more books to reviewers; set up an ebook on netgalley, find some tie-in shorts and submit them to mags.
Since it's November, maybe write out some "end of character arc" stories for the characters in Thwarted. It's a duology with A Dubious Hope right now, but I'm (shockingly) feeling the urge to write another book that time-wise would come right after it. That would give me two three-book series. The first book I WROTE, A Deep but Modest Apiquai (Purpose) as a mostly-written sequel; the sixth book is unwritten and I'm also itching to write IT. So. If I write a bunch of tight short stories, it might give me some direction about which direction to head. We'll see.
Other
Community and friend support. Life is hard right now, be kind.
