Gain, Loss, and Change

I didn't realize how much both DH and I needed a break from all the stress in our lives, not to mention the everyday routine. He was practically giddy the morning we left for our trip.

What I didn't expect that day was Kristine Kathryn Rusch to announce she would no longer be posting her business thoughts on her blog. Her business blog had been a staple for me over Thursday morning breakfast for the last thirteen years.

However, I understood her reasoning. It was costing her time that she'd rather put towards her fiction. Not to mention, the people who really needed to hear her message ignore her.

Yep, things have changed in publishing over the last thirteen years. A lot.

I no longer get the sniff of disgust for publishing my own works. Even today at my dentist appointment, my hygienist asked about my job. When I needed to separate business and home purchases, the clerk at Meijer asked what I did and if I had my own store. (The online store will be the big project for 2024.)

Even Texas is no longer avoiding renewable energy sources. We passed a number of windmill and solar farms as the terrain changed from the Hill Country to the West Texas Desert. I tried to grab a picture of one such windmill farm as we drove by it.

DH asked why I was taking pictures of windmills. It wasn't like we didn't have plenty around our home town. I said I was marking the change in Texans behavior. The gas and oil companies can hang on with teeth and nails, but when Texas is embracing alternate energy sources at a time when California is trying to put the kebosh on solar energy, we're definitely in the middle of a major change in behaviors.

Just like we were after the Kindle was introduced.

A Kickstarter on the Edge

Not my Kickstarter.

No, this one is for Hugo-winning, best-selling writer Kristine Kathryn Rusch. She's back in the world of the Fey after a long drought, and this Kickstarter is to launch the first new novel in the series.

The pluses to this Kickstarter are reissues of the previous seven novels in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. They received glorious new covers, and the text has been restored to the author-approved versions.

Also, if you're interested writing fantasy, the rewards contain two new writing workshops about magic systems and steampunk at discounted prices.

As of this posting, you have 24-hours to pick up this gem of a series, a new novel, and new classes, plus some really cool stretch goals! Check it out before it's too late!

Studying Kickstarters

After years of funding other people's projects, I've been studying fiction Kickstarters for a while now as a new way to introduce my books into the world. Here's a couple I'm studying:

A friend of mine Matt Herron, aka MG Herron, has taken the plunge before me. His Kickstarter for his space opera trilogy, Relics of the Ancients has been been going like gangbusters. He's got some awesome things as rewards. Things I've considered like stickers, bookmarks, and t-shirts. And some things I haven't like little models of his series' starfighters. It's a super-awesome campaign, and you should check it out!

And once again, WMG Publishing is running a Kickstarter for a new Kris Rusch book. It's the first novel involving her Spade and Paladin characters. *SQUEE*

However, the better part are the classes WMG offers for writers as part of their rewards. The awesome part is a lot of these classes are aimed at mid-level writers, i.e. those of who have a novel or 60 out in the world and are trying to fine-tune their work. It doesn't mean newbies won't get anything out of these classes.

Anyway, both of them give me ideas on how to handle my own Kickstarter when I'm ready to dive in.

A New Kickstarter: The Chase

 WMG Publishing is running another kickstarter for a new book in Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Diving Universe.

The nice thing is there are some cool sci-fi writing classes included in the pledges. So if you're looking to expand you're genre repertoire, you might want to check out this kickstarter.

Take Advantage of Learning Opportunities

With everyone's restricted movement during the lock-downs, now's the time to pick up some learning tools.

Currently, WMG Publishing (i.e. Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch) are running a half-price sale for all their courses, including the big lifetime courses!

Just a little tip, their website doesn't have a shopping cart so you need to buy the courses one at a time if you want all of them.

When you hit purchase, make sure you enter the code, SummerLearning2020, at the top of the page in order to get the discount!

This sale expires on Friday, May 8th.  The sale has been extended until Sunday, May 10th!