Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Word Witch Wednesday - catching up on things


Coming back from vacation, it's a scary thing to turn on the computer and see how much you have to catch up on. I've gotten to a point where I just make a new to-do list rather than let the previous one smother me. At least my July list is very small.

My family vacation was wonderful. I highly recommend to families to try a family camp at least once. This year, there were a ton of kids, and never did I see one not having fun. I got a lot of reading done and took a few naps. Lovely.

With how busy I've been this year, it was nice to sit back and relax. It gave me time to reflect on what I've been up to lately.

1) I haven't written anymore on Of Death and Sorrow (the third book in the Of Blood and Sorrow series). I have 25k words down, but I paused it at the end of the school year. The story has become very large in my head, and I don't think it will be done this year. I'm still trying to be okay with that.

2) Once school starts up, I'll revise, edit, and publish Of Gods and Sorrow (book #2). It's been sitting long enough for me to come to it with a clear mind. Plus, getting that novel out this year will help ease my stress about not having the final one done.

3) I've worked with editors on two short stories for a collection called Futuristic Canada. I'm excited because these stories are unlike anything else I've written. The anthology will be out very soon!

4) I've experimented with a pen name. I wrote a novel and published it. I've marketed it to a very specific audience and done very little promo. It's already done so much better than anything I've ever published. Later this year, after I release the second book for the pen name, I'll be sharing my experience with you. Apparently I have learned something about marketing. Except it works for my pen name and not for me, which is at once exciting and frustrating.

5) I'm building a new story in my head for a big project the authors of Untethered Realms are creating together. I've done a lot of fun research into mythologies I've never read about before. It's so much fun.

6) As many of you know, I'm a geek and I love to play Dungeons & Dragons. I play weekly with a great group of guys. We are in the middle of a long campaign; the first one of this length that I've played in. So, of course, my character is demanding I write a book about her. I can't help it! I'm a writer. These things happen. I may end up writing a series of short stories for her and putting together a collection or sending them out to fantasy venues.

What have you been up to lately? I want to know!

28 comments:

  1. You are doing a great job. We always go for 3 times in a year for vacation and enjoy the moments:)

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    1. Thank you! How lovely! Our other time we could use for vacation is spent visiting family. The visits are nice, but I wouldn't call them a vacation. :)

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  2. Doesn't that just figure that your pen name does better?

    We had friends we used to play D&D with when we lived in ABQ. We even played it via speakerphone when we moved to NC. We managed until they had their 3rd kid, then there were just too many distractions.

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    1. Kids are a distraction, but if we play with kids around, we make sure they have a movie to watch or activities to do. :) It does figure with the pen name, but she was so much easier to market than me. *LOL*

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  3. I have heard good things about writing to market. It's nice that it does work.

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    1. I need to get back into the groove and get a few more promos for the pen name going. I'm still in vacation mode, though! =P

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  4. I haven't been up to much. But I do love camping with the family. It keeps us close. :-)

    Anna from elements of emaginette

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  5. I'm glad you had a good time. I love camping! I can't wait to hear about your pen name experience. And kudos on writing something different for Futuristic Canada. Whew, you do have a lot going on!

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    1. Thanks, Holly! I try to keep myself on my toes. I'm not the best boss, either. =P

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  6. Glad you had such a great vacation! Sounds like it was just the thing you needed to recharge. ^_^

    And wow, you have so many exciting writerly things going on! Congrats on that Futuristic Canada anthology, and best of luck with publishing Of Gods and Sorrow--especially cannot wait to read that one!

    And that's fascinating about your pen name experiment. Interesting how it ended up being more marketable. Looking forward to learning more about this!

    As for me, I made some big changes to my Patreon page after having a career setback, and also started illustrating a new story, but that's basically it. You've got me beat when it comes to productivity!

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    1. Thanks, Heather. Ooooh, a new story! I want more! :D

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  7. Glad you had a great vacation:) I also live by my To Do lists, just no other way to deal with things.

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  8. Is your pen name aimed at a niche? It seems like if you can find a specific, narrow audience, things do better because you don't get lost in the masses.

    Looking forward to what you have to say about your experience!

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    1. Oh yes, my pen name is aimed at a very specific romance niche.

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  9. Glad you had a great vacation!

    Interesting about your pen name. I wonder why you've had more sales and better luck using one. Looking forward to learning more about your experiences.

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    1. Thank you, Sherry! Everything was made to market with the pen name.

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  10. You've been really busy. I can't wait to hear the pen name experience. Congrats on it doing well.

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    1. Thanks, Susan! Hope you're having a lovely week. :)

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  11. Looking forward to hearing about your pen name and writing to market. It would be interesting too to learn why you think it works for the pen but not for you, what is different?

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    1. Thanks, Juneta! I think I know exactly why. Have a good weekend. :)

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  12. I'm curious to hear how your pen name marketing went. Maybe we can figure out how to make it work for your other books, too.

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    1. As frustrating as it is, it wouldn't work for my other books. Oh marketing, why do you have to be so fickle?!

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  13. Yeh for a fun vacation!

    Looking forward to hearing about your pen name experiment. Sounds intriguing. :)

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  14. Hi Christine - you always look like you're having loads of fun at the camp. However all your writing, editing and learning skills are great to read about - and yes looking forward to seeing how your pen name experiment goes ... take care - cheers Hilary

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  15. I can imagine D&D inspiring many stories. There are a lot more games out there now all about making up stories. Looking forward to hearing about the pen name experiment. I was just talking to someone about pen names today.

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