Interspersed between those, I tried to get rooms cleaned and boxes unpacked before our Halloween party on Saturday. I think any writing will have to be set aside for tomorrow and Friday in order to finish cleaning and making some pies for the party.
So TL;DR - don't expect too much brilliance from me until Monday when National Novel Writing Month starts.
Have an awesome Halloween!
Only to be awakened at 10:15 a.m because Significant Other was trying to call me. After the initial surge of adrenaline that something was wrong, my heart calmed down at the video chat of Adorable Spawn taking his first bites of solid food.
This little rapscallion has grown so much in the last four months. I miss him terribly, and I'm so happy he and his parents shared one of his milestones with us this morning.
It was worth the lack of sleep.
A Very Hero Wedding (888-555-HERO #8) dropped last Friday on Amazon. It should be live on other retailers soon-ish.
"A Place at the Table" will be released somewhere between October 25th and November 2nd under the WMG Holiday Spectacular. On November 4th, the anthology Halloween Harvest will be released by WMG with "A Place at the Table" among the many great stories that were selected.
On November 15th, another holiday story "The Yule Switch" will drop. It's currently on pre-order across all online stores.
On December 1st, my last New Hallowthanksmas story A Very Hero New Year (888-555-HERO #9) will hit stores.
I'm still playing catch-up with my Angry Sheep Publishing paperbacks. Hero Amicus Curiae (888-555-HERO #7) will be out in a couple of weeks if I can get a breather next week to review the print interior. That leaves the latest two Justice and latest two HERO books to put together for paperbacks.
Once A Very Hero New Year is finished (hopefully, this weekend *fingers crossed*), I'll be going full bore on the Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse series. I plan on doing something a little different with this series. I'm going to do my first Kickstarter and release the series all at once to my backers before the books go on sale in stores.
Why am I doing this? Because outside deadlines make a bigger impact on my production focus than internal deadlines do. Second, I've been supporting Kickstarter projects for the last ten years, and now, I want to try one. Third, I've already been ordering some nifty rewards to make sure I have them in time for my Kickstarter. So stay tuned for the official Kickstarter announcement!
Oh, the picture above? That's the magnet currently on my refrigerator. I'm so excited about this project! 😎
I'm writing a holiday novella in the 888-555-HERO universe. Secrets explode, but fear is conquered with hope and joy. The goal is to finish it this weekend.
Next week will be a force majeure of unpacking and cleaning since we have house guests visiting next weekend.
And after that is National Novel Writing Month.
So I'm relishing the peace and quiet while I can.
No such luck.
And since I promised DH coffee and the Starbucks down the street closes at 1 P.M. on weekdays, I had to drive to the next town.
I'd planned on going to Las Vegas for 20Books, but with the fall surge, I nixed that plan. So did several friends. Even my doctor was "Nope-nope-noppity-nope. You're still a high-risk cancer patient. Stay here and go get your booster shot."
So I did. Again, unless your doctor tells you not to get a vaccine because of REAL health issues, like you're allergic to the ingredients, get your damn shots, folks. Everyone I personally know who's had this damn disease wouldn't wish it on their worst enemy.
In the meantime, an idea flashed for a holiday novella regarding a secondary character in the 888-555-HERO series. So between writing that this week and getting some boxes unpacked, I'm slowly but surely getting some shit done.
BLURB
Aisha Franklin’s baby brother is
getting married, and the whole office has been invited to the big event in
Atlanta. However, trouble follows them across the country, and it’s not the
usual superhero shenanigans. Personal conflicts may tear the firm apart before
they even get to the nuptials.
Can the bride and groom rebuild
their family and friends’ relationships before a super battle erupts at their
reception and becomes the leading story on the evening news?
Call us at 888-555-HERO. The Law Offices of Winters
& Franklin, where the only thing more dangerous than a superhero is his
attorney.
Amazon, all countries
Halloween is a nice cutting off point for me creatively. I try to have all my projects for the secular year finished at this point, and it gives me a little breathing space to focus on my prime project(s) for Kindlemas.
For those who don't know, Kindlemas is the indie term for December 26th through the end of February. Folks who have a Kindle or received one for their winter holiday gift go on a book buying spree. That period is the indie equivalent for the Black Friday through Christmas sales for brick and mortar retail stores.
I came up with a good holiday story idea for one of the side characters in the 888-555-Hero universe. It'll be a novella, so I should be able to finish it before Halloween.
But next year? I'm taking off September, October, and November. With the chaos, both good and bad, in our lives, I would like to kick back the week of my birthday and catch up on reading and watching TV and movies that I've missed out on during the pandemic.
Really, I need some decompression time. Something I haven't had since my two-week trip to Las Vegas in February of 2020.
I hope all of you can find their measure of peace in the upcomimg holiday season!
The month of October offers you a double-feature from me (and in one case, a few other writers)!
WMG Publishing, Inc., has been doing an advent-type calendar of short stories for the Winter Holidays for the last three years. This year, they've added Valentine and Halloween short stories in addition to the Winter Holidays.
Given the books I write, it isn't too hard to figure out I have a story in the Halloween collection.
For $15, here's what you'll get:
1) Starting October 25th and ending November 2nd, you will receive one story per day. An email will be sent to you with a link to download the short story in the e-book reading form you prefer.
2) "Wait a minute, Suzan," you say. "$15 for only nine stories?" Nope, you will also get the e-book anthology including the nine original stories plus two additional short stories on November 4th!
3) Not into Halloween, but you know someone who would love this collection as a gift? Just give WMG the e-mail address of the gift recipient. Easy-peasy!
4) What about a paperback version of Halloween Harvest? Yes, there will be, but I don't have a date yet. The cost for a paperback will be separate from the cost for the newsletters and e-book.
To order Halloween Harvest, go to the Halloween Spectacular Calendar 2021.
My story is "A Place at the Table," a sci-fi tale where the exoplanet Onizuka's axial tilt is so sharp that the night lasts for three months. And when Dark falls, creatures come out of hibernation. Creatures that modern weapons cannot kill.
All the stories in the collection are marvelous. I hope you'll check it out!
The New York Times ran a story in Saturday's edition concerning the recent Blushing Books scandal.
Like the Ellora's Cave saga six years ago, Blushing Books ran into fiscal problems with the rapid turn of writers to indie publishing. There's also questions of altered and unfair contracts.
Folks, no matter how charming someone is, check their background before you do business with them. I see too many writers getting themselves into bed with unscrupulous people just to get the feeling of being validated, the feeling of being "the chosen one".
As a result, writers lose money and worse, the rights to their intellectual property.
Look, I know it's scary to do your own publishing. However, no one can tell you you're good enough, EXCEPT YOU.
Trust in yourself. Trust your talent. Trust your stories. There's an audience out there for your books.
