Imaginary Lit

Well, a lot of things have happened in the past month, lol. Still have my same job, but started a new client who I really like and they're really easy. Unfortunately, I've been off work for the past almost two weeks because I ended up having carpal tunnel release surgery on my left hand. I have my post-op follow-up tomorrow, and hopefully he'll give me a work release so I can go back. Because of this, I haven't been able to do much of anything, but my hand is feeling much better (as evidenced by me typing this blog post...), and I'm hoping to dive back into Becoming Family , make the changes that need to be made, and finally get that released. I did not think this would become a year-long odyssey, but such is 2020... Also hoping once I get that out, I can embrace the season and start working on Winter's Noelle . Obviously I didn't end up doing NaNo this year, but hopefully no matter. Fingers crossed it won't take long to write, but I can't make any p

When I first started self-publishing books, I made my own covers, because it was cheaper. Having spent several years making graphics for fun for the various fandoms I was in, I had a small amount of experience, and my covers were okay. I have my strengths (enhancing coloring, blending images together) and of course my weaknesses (I've never been particularly good at working with text, and I don't have much patience when it comes to cutting things out of images, or changing the color of things like hair or clothing). I redid the cover for The Only One myself a couple years ago, and I'm still pretty pleased with it; it better conveys the steamy nature of the book, and the warmer colors better express the overall tone of the story, plus I got to blend two images together, which has always been one of my favorite things to do. However, I was less enthused with my cover for No Safe Place . I searched endlessly for a picture that conveyed the tone I wanted, and finally had to se

One of the most enduring traits of authors is that, for the most part, they tend to stick to one genre. Stephen King, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, David Baldacci; these names evoke a sure idea of what any given book they write will be about. They branch out from time to time - I know Patterson has done some YA stuff, and King sometimes goes for walks along the horror spectrum - but for the most part, when you think of an author, you know what kind of book you're going to probably find. And then there's me. Growing up, I was a fan of books in general. I read Goosebumps, and Fear Street, and Babysitters Club, and Nancy Drew, and as I got older, I got into James Patterson and Stephen King, I read Harry Potter along with the entire world, I fell in love with the Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. If a plot sounded interesting, I would read it. There are some genres I just don't like (particularly spy stories... just not my thing), but I'm willing to t

Seasons are changing, and I also need a change. Been feeling very burnout with regards to my actual day job lately, so I've been job-hunting this week. I've submitted a few applications, including a couple for writer positions at Microsoft, which I am very excited about. I did finally finish Becoming Family earlier this month and got that sent off to my readers, so hopefully I'll have some feedback soon and can finally get that published. My anxiety has been off the charts this week, mostly with regard to job stuff, so I'm really glad I managed to get that done. Still undecided about doing Winter's Noelle for NaNo this year. I think I need to resolve day job issues before I can focus on starting anything new. In the meantime, if anybody would like to help me out financially, you can either become a Patron , or donate directly to my PayPal . And keep watching this space for a Becoming Family release date announcement hopefully soon.

It's Labor Day, and I've been laboring lately, or at least trying to. I am determined to finish Becoming Family this week and get it sent off to my readers. I'm aiming for a November release, though it could be sooner, depending on how quickly my readers can read, and what all may need to be fixed. I'm also hoping to start working on Winter's Noelle for NaNo this year, and I'm hoping that maybe won't take as long to write as it's a fairly standard romance without a lot of extra plot-type stuff. Except, you know, time travel. One of my regular clients is moving away next week, which is bumming me out and also stressing me out because my hours at work will plummet and I have to hope I can get another client, or another job, fairly quickly. This is partly why I want to get BF finished this week, because I don't write well when I'm stressed out, as the past several months have proven. If you'd like to help support me during this transition, you

Well, I don't think I need to comment on how weird this year has been so far, but I will. It's been weird. I hope everyone reading this is healthy, and that your loved ones are as well. I've been meaning to make a post here for a while, but every time I think about it, it's usually late at night and I know nobody will see it, so I keep putting it off. It's 7:00 EST time now, so it's still kind of late, but oh well. I'm still working on Becoming Family . Don't ask me why it's taking so long, because I don't know. I want to get it out, but I just keep getting hit with a lack of energy and motivation. I worked on it pretty solidly for about two weeks in June, and I'm really trying to psych myself up enough to get back into it, but it's difficult. I think it's mainly stress. Mostly money stress. I still have my job, but one of my regulars is moving away in the fall, and once he's gone, I'll just be down to one client. I don't

Well, things haven't changed much in a month. I'm still working, while trying to limit the amount of time I spend "out" going to the store and such. By and large my life isn't really much different than it was before, but I'm still feeling a lot of the same stress that I think people who are having to work from home, or just stay home, are feeling. There's always some new rule we have to follow, and with my clients limiting their time out of their home, it means I have to spend even more time out and about. Of course, my brain doesn't always react well to stress, and unfortunately I haven't worked on Becoming Family in two months. The urge to work on it is rising, though, and I'm hoping to maybe work on it a little bit tonight and try to get back into the swing of things. What's getting to me most, though, is that my birthday is this week (the 23rd) and while I don't usually do much for my birthday, we still go out for dinner and

So I'm pretty sure we're all aware that things are strange and difficult right now. COVID-19 is causing a lot of disruption and uncertainty. Unfortunately, as a caregiver, my job is considered "essential" so I don't have the option or the ability to stay home, but if you do, please stay home. It's not just for your protection, it's for the protection of everyone else. Staying home is how we flatten the curve and hopefully get this pandemic to end sooner rather than later. In the meantime, if you are at home and looking for something to read, I've got two of my books FREE on Amazon this weekend, The Only One and Finding Home Again . Unfortunately, since No Safe Place was free just last month, I couldn't make it free again, but it is, as always, available on Kindle Unlimited, as are my other books. If you've already read them, tell your friends, tell your family, spread the word. Even though my job is considered essential, there's no

It's March! This month will bring about the first day of spring, which always carries that sense of renewal and regrowth and whatnot. Of course, living in Florida, we've been alternating between all four seasons over the past several weeks, but the sentiment is still there. February was an amazing month for my books. It blew November out of the water, and I still can't quite believe how well the free promo for No Safe Place did. And this is the shortest month of the year! I'll have a nice little birthday present at the end of April, that's for sure. I'll be doing another free promo for No Safe Place in September (gotta have that Christmas money), so if you missed this one, stay tuned for that one. I'm still shooting for a summer release for Becoming Family , but it's much too soon to nail down a date just yet. Once I get the cover, though, I'll be posting that on Patreon, so head over there and become a Patron to see the cover before anyone

It's the last week of February, and this month feels like it's flown by. Why does January seem to take forever to end, and then February just zips by? We're already almost a quarter through the year. The No Safe Place free promo did amazing. It did even better than the one for The Only One , which surprised me, because romance always seems to be the number one big category. I think No Safe Place is helped by Finding Home Again , though; people are reading and buying it when they finish No Safe Place , which is wonderful, and what I hoped for. November was my best month ever since I started publishing, but this month is on track to beat it, I think. The cover for Becoming Family has been commissioned, which means that so far, I'm on track with the schedule I made for myself this year. However, it's looking like the Christmas novel I'd hoped to release may get pushed to next year. I think I can get it written this year, I just don't know if I can get it

Thursday. It's Thursday, and yet I keep thinking it's either Friday or Wednesday. This week has been weird for me, as I had jury selection Monday, got picked for the trial that was supposed to happen today and tomorrow, but then the trial was continued so I didn't actually have to go, but it's thrown my whole week off. No Safe Place is currently free on Amazon , across all markets, and it's done quite well this week, even better than The Only One did back in October, at least in terms of downloads. There's a little over a day left in the promo, so if you don't have it yet and want it, now's your chance! If you have read it, be sure to tell your friends! I've been struggling a little bit with Becoming Family the past few weeks, but I'm hoping to get that sorted out fairly soon, and I think I'm still on track to have it published this summer. Waiting on my tax refund to commission the cover, but hopefully I can do that soon, along with a

Well, we made it to a new year, and also a new decade. It's the 20's again, maybe we'll see a resurgence of flappers... I'm especially looking forward to this year, I have to say. I enjoy even numbers, and there's something very satisfying about the year 2020. It feels brand new, and I'm hoping to take full advantage of it. I have a lot on my plate this year. I've had three amazing months for my books, and I want to keep that going, so I'm looking to doing lots of promotion this year, including a free promo for No Safe Place in February. I'll also hopefully be publishing Becoming Family this summer, and maybe publishing a Christmas novel around the holidays. Keeping that one under wraps for a little bit until I see how things go. I feel good going into the new year, and I'm looking forward to seeing what 2020 brings. I hope everyone else has a wonderful year as well! Patreon | Ko-fi | PayPal