2023 - Frazzled But Fortunate

This was a rough year. I felt like I was rushing and pushing to get tasks done, which sucked. However, it was still a successful year.

This blog post is my last official writing task for 2023, and then I'm taking a two-week break (aside from working on my Bullet Journal, but that's more meditative than work-related). I need it. I'm exhausted. =P

Let's see how I fared with my goals overall...

2023 Publications

❦ Fairies - Fractured & Uncut (Fractured Fairies Collection)

❦ Dead As Dreams (Saga of Souls & Dreams)

Yes, I published both titles I'd intended to this year! Dead As Dreams being complete is the accomplishment I'm most proud of, though.

2023 Progress

Go ahead and pop over to 2023 - Year of Death and Dreams, if you'd like to compare this year's goals to what I actually completed.

❦ Revised, Edited, and Formatted Dead As Dreams (squee!).

❦ Revised/Expanded Immortal Woes.

❦ Edited and Formatted Fairies - Fractured & Uncut.

❦ Yet again, no words added to Gemini's Echo - this novel is going to turn into the new Dead As Dreams isn't it? You know, where I keep intending to work on it, but it keeps getting put off while I focus on other writing projects.

❦ Newsletters - sent out 6, but not all when I'd scheduled... Had to do some rearranging - heh.

❦ Born to Write - I kind of dropped the ball on blogging once per month. Other tasks and situations took precedence, though.

❦ Social Media - I've pretty much completely cut Twitter (sorry, not calling it the stupid new name) from my time and attention. Good riddance. But I've started posting videos to TikTok - this is way more satisfying, as I love the creativity that goes into making videos.

❦ Marketing - Yes, I got through more Ads for Authors courses! That was earlier this month. I did the Facebook Ads courses, and then I was ready to start some good, targeted ads, when Meta decided it would add a new "feature" that was preventing me from choosing an option on how to run my ads. I'm still waiting for them to fix this "feature" (they said by the end of this month - I'm not holding my breath), and then I'll be running a couple ads, including one to build my newsletter subscribers.

Guess what time it is? Number crunching time! Some hate it, I love it, so I'm throwing the numbers at you no matter what.

❦ No drafting done, since I spent my time revising and editing (though at the end of Dead As Dreams the amount I had to rewrite made it feel like I was drafting!).

❦ I revised a total of 73,687 words.

❦ I edited a total of 255,415 words (yikes!).

❦ 245 hours spent writing, revising, and editing (yes, I did double that number from last year).

❦ 53.75 hours creating cover art, formatting, and publishing.

❦ And the final total is (excluding reading and Haunted Unicorn jobs)... 424 hours spent on writing and writing related tasks! Last year I almost hit 190, so I more than doubled my time. No wonder why I feel frazzled. Also too many writing tasks that weren't actual writing, revising, or editing.

I honestly didn't realize how much time I put into writing this year until I typed up the numbers for the post (I hadn't even glanced at the totals on my handy spreadsheet before starting this post). I mean, I know it's not full-time hours, but I'm pretty amazed at all that I accomplished. Now to find a better balance, so I don't feel like I'm running as fast as The Flash to complete some of the tasks - lol.

How'd everyone else do in 2023? Writing or other goals?

Fairies - Fractured and Uncut - Excerpt

Not only is it a release day - it's a double release day!

In preparation for the Fractured Fairies collection, I revised and expanded Immortal Woes. And it's now available as a single ebook for FREE! You can snag your free copy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play, and Smashwords. Or for a full retailer list, take a look at Books2Read.

And then of course, I have the collection of all my current Fractured Fairies stories in Fairies - Fractured and Uncut: 7 Humorous Fantasy Tales. All of the stories have been tweaked a bit since they were originally released. The collection includes: Immortal Woes, Ode to Buses and Libraries, S.O.L. Air, Monster in the Room, A Very Grinka Christmas, Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies, and Nymphs Need Love Too.

You can buy the ebook for Fairies - Fractured and Uncut from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play, and Smashwords. And the full retailer list is at Books2Read. Current price is $3.99 USD.

A paperback version will be available next week from Amazon for $10.95 USD. I had a lot of fun splattering the cover art for the print version! ;)

If you read either title, please leave an honest review on your retailer of choice or at Goodreads (links: Immortal Woes and Fairies - Fractured and Uncut). Reviews help more than you can imagine!

I do have an excerpt for you, as always. This is from that new expanded version of Immortal Woes. Happy reading!

❦

Syndago staggers around the living room, a huge hole where his face used to be. It’s not supposed to do so much damage, at least not according to all the crime shows I’ve watched. But that whole not human thing tends to come into play. Weapons wreak more havoc on immortals.

The shiny, silver handgun lies discarded on the floor. I’m not sure where he got it, and I wonder how hard it’ll be to get rid of. Maybe I’ll toss it into the Immortal World. Let the dwarves, elves, and goblins play with it.

He stumbles into an end table, and the lamp teeters. It succumbs to gravity and shatters on the ground – the true victim of this incident.

I sigh. Typically I only need to replace broken furniture after the fairies visit.

Syndago’s knees buckle, and he thuds onto his ass. His burly, thundering form shakes the entire apartment, and the windows rattle. If he still had a mouth, he’d surely be blubbering.

Poor, big lug. I miss his face, even if it has a frown affixed to it most of the time.

The crater shrinks slightly, flesh and bone regenerating. Who knows how immortals survive fatal injuries. At least half his brain is gone, if he had a whole one to begin with. Humans would kill for our secret, and Syndago would happily give himself over for experimentation if it meant finding him a cure.

Not that I’m about to give him that idea. The last thing I want is for him to succeed at his suicide attempts. And it’s best humans remain oblivious of our existence.

Maybe the wound will cause him memory loss, and he’ll forget he wants to kill himself.

Wait, no. He tried a guillotine once – it sheared his head right off. It thumped into the basket whole, thankfully no longer animated. A human-sized giant with one mouth is enough to deal with. Can you imagine a second tucked under his arm bemoaning life? I shudder at the thought.

Well, when he chopped his head off, I actually dreaded that he’d succeeded for a moment. Then the regeneration kicked in, and he grew a new head, spiky black hair and all. He remembered everything then, so he will now.

The bullet worms its way out of Syndago’s flesh and tings on the hardwood, then his face completes knitting itself back together. He struggles to his feet and slumps onto the couch, tears dripping from his reconstructed brown eyes. "Nothing works, Grinka. What am I going to do?"

❦

Take one grouchy sea nymph, add a woeful human-sized giant, and mix in two lewd, drunken fairies.

What do you get?

An unsavory blend of immortals attempting to live together in the real world.

7 Humorous Fantasy Tales in the Fractured Fairies series, including:

Immortal Woes

Nothing like having a suicidal not-so-giant giant as a best friend. Unless you also have a couple of drunken fairy pests tormenting him about his small stature.

Grinka's the lucky sea nymph who has both. Between comforting her friend and stopping the lewd fairies from taunting him with a death powder, her temper gets the best of her.

And when it does, things explode.

Ode To Buses And Libraries

A maddening itch on the back of Grinka’s neck drives her to seek answers. Unfortunately, the information about her skin condition can only be found at the Immortal Library.

Getting to the library proves difficult, especially when riding the Immortal Express bus line. Between a lackadaisical centaur and the drunken fairy siblings, it's a wonder Grinka hasn't exploded them all.

Oh wait, she has.

S.O.L. Air

That whole “life’s a journey, not a destination” nonsense doesn’t hold water with Grinka. Especially when she books a flight to Vegas to get away from the two fairy nitwits.

She fails to consider the aquatic ramifications of a sea nymph in the air. And a chance encounter with her goblin ex-boyfriend, Hrelm, threatens to delay her even further.

Seriously, what’s it going to take for Grinka to get to Vegas and gamble away her meager savings?

Monster In The Room

What does a sea nymph do when she comes home to find a monster filling her entire living room? Find out in this bite-sized gulp of Grinka.

A Very Grinka Christmas

Grinka's main goal for Christmas: survive without celebrating a damned thing. Between playing an elf to her mopey human-sized giant friend’s Santa and contending with the fairy siblings’ holiday revelries, she’s got her work cut out for her.

When uninvited guests appear on her doorstep, she’s forced to face a party of all the people she ran from when she left the Immortal World. No thanks to that torture!

Grinka plots to avoid the party, until she meets a handsome tree nymph who agrees to attend. Maybe, just maybe, this year Grinka will have a Merry Christmas.

Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies

As usual, Grinka the sea nymph can’t catch a break. She simply wants to publish her novel. Unfortunately, the two fairy thorns in her side mess with her computer. Too bad they’re immortal and can’t meet the same demise as the innumerable fairies in her book.

If that isn’t enough of a plague, Grinka’s sister Raina pops in from the Immortal World, bringing the first immortal virus with her. And now, Grinka is quarantined in her room with the two fairy nitwits.

Will she survive to hit publish, or will the rainbows and fairies win?

Nymphs Need Love Too

What do you prescribe a depressed sea nymph? A handsome tree nymph, of course.

Grinka can’t stop dreaming of Bello, the hunky tree nymph she met a couple years ago. Unfortunately, sharing her bed with her drama llama teen nymph sister has put a damper on her love life.

Who’s she kidding? Her love life was nonexistent even before she took in her runaway sister. Well, aside from the incident with her goblin ex-boyfriend and his dwarven girlfriend – an event that continues to haunt her in the form of the stalker dwarf.

But Grinka’s not-so-giant giant best friend brings her the gift of Bello’s phone number. Can she summon the courage to call him for a date? And if so, what will her sister and the fairy brats do to ruin it for her this time?

Writing Update - June 2023

Yup, it's June. And every June, I wonder how the year is zooming by so fast. I'm also amazed at how quickly plans can change from one week to the next.

I'm of course talking about the publication of Dead As Dreams. May was a horrendous, anxiety-ridden month. And I'm glad it's in the rear view, but it forced me to change my plans. Again. That plan I had posted back in April? Boom.

I'll survive, though, and so will my writing. I just ended up juggling this year's plans a bit. Seems like this always happens. Maybe I should stick to making a 3-Month Plan instead of a 1-Year Plan. It might save my sanity slightly if I do - lol.

Anyway, if you'd like to see what the original plan for the year was, take a look at 2023 - Year of Death and Dreams. Otherwise, updates below!

2023 Publications

❦ Immortal Woes (Fractured Fairies, 1) - Revised and Expanded - July 12 - This ebook will be FREE at all online retailers!

❦ Fairies - Fractured and Uncut (Fractured Fairies, 1-7) - July 12

❦ Dead As Dreams (Saga of Souls & Dreams) - Fall 2023 - So this pretty much swapped places with the Fractured Fairies Collection.

2023 Writing Progress

❦ Revise Dead As Dreams - I've revised 45,256 words so far, and I'm estimating about 14,000 left to go. See, I just need a little extra time, so unless my world completely implodes on itself, fall of this year is a totally doable publication window.

❦ Revise/Expand Immortal Woes (Fractured Fairies, 1) - As of today, I've revised 3,071 words of this. My hope is to finish tomorrow, adding at least another 500 words. The original word count for this story was 2,500, so it'll be about 1,000 words longer!

❦ I've sent out 3 of the 6 Author Newsletters as well. But I haven't kept up with one blog post per month, sadly.

So I'm chugging along, even though not everything has gone as planned. After I finish the Fractured Fairies Collection and the revisions of Dead As Dreams, I'm likely going to shake my drafting plans up a bit as well.

We'll see what I tackle once I'm done with the revising and editing! Heck, maybe I'll even post about it once I decide. That 3-Month Plan idea is looking more and more tempting...

Fractured Fairies Collection - Vote For A Title!

So, I had planned to chat about The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Aside from it being a tad late after the holidays, I decided I really needed more votes on a poll I included in my newsletter last month. Hey, I've at least included a pic of my Guardians LEGO Advent Calendar (why, yes, I do like the Guardians, thanks for asking).

This poll has nothing to do with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though. It's regarding my Fractured Fairies Universe (should I start calling it the FFU? - lol).

Immortal Woes will be getting an update, and I'll be combining all my Fractured Fairies titles into a single collection this coming fall. But I need a title! I'd love opinions, as I have several ideas. So please take a look at the poll below and vote for your favorite title(s)!

2023 - Year of Death and Dreams

Ominous post title this time, yes? Mwuahahahaha!

Enough of that. Nose to grindstone, focus on goals, make progress, etc. I have a lot to get done in 2023, and I'll be pushing myself to my writing limits, especially the first half of the year.

Here's the rundown!

2023 Mantras

❦ Just Write.

❦ Trust My Instincts.

❦ Focus.

Do these seem familiar? They should. I've cut the mantras to three this year, but they're ones that have stuck with me for a couple years. And they might just hang around for many years ahead.

2023 Upcoming Publications

❦ Dead As Dreams (Saga of Souls & Dreams) - Spring/Summer 2023

❦ Fractured Fairies Collection (Untitled Thus Far, 7 stories) - Fall 2023

2023 Writing Goals

❦ Revise, Edit, and Format Dead As Dreams - And here's where the post title comes in. I'm determined to release this novel into the world this year, over 15 years after first starting it. Yikes. I ended 2022 46k into revisions, so I have a lot to go to reach the end (though I've already revised over 6k already this month!). I'll update my tracker to the left every time I have a new blog post.

❦ Revise/Expand Immortal Woes (Fractured Fairies, 1) - This first story with Grinka, Syndago, and the fairy brats feels off compared to the subsequent stories, so it's getting an update! In preparation for that story collection, of course.

❦ Edit and Format Fractured Fairies Collection - Simple enough, right?

❦ Draft Gemini's Echo (Zodiac Aegis, 1) - This will fill my second half of the year. It'll be nice to get some fresh words down, taking a break from revisions. I just need to convince myself not to fiddle with the next Fortunes of Fate story that's been brewing in my head.

❦ Newsletters - 6 scheduled for the year. And in the first one, I'll have a poll to vote on the Fractured Fairies Collection title. So if you want a chance to offer your input, make sure you Subscribe to My Author Newsletter!

❦ Born to Write - 1 blog post per month scheduled. Too much writing and revising to get done to plan more!

❦ Social Media & Networking - I'll be attending In Your Write Mind virtually again this year. I know they're planning to set up something for alums to promote, and I'll post about it once I know more. As for the rest of social media, yeah... Too much writing to do to deal with all that - lol.

❦ Marketing & Promo - I purchased Ads for Authors last year, and I'm hoping to squeeze in the chance to watch more of the videos for that. Then tackle Amazon and Facebook ads. Scary!

I'd love to get so much more done, but when planning my weeks, the time disappears so fast. Completing my list above will be quite the feat already! Of course I have a list of extra goals, just in case I smash the main ones out of the park.

What does your 2023 look like? Aiming to accomplish a lot, or hoping for a calm, low key year?

Quick pic of a bullet journal page below. Nice to have so many squares filled in already for days I've revised!

2022 - Broke The Cycle!

Did I accomplish everything I set out to do in 2022? No. But that's OK. I didn't have a crappy year, like so many other even numbered years. Hell, I actually wrote more days and wrote/revised more words than 2021. Woo hoo!

Of course, 2022 wasn't without struggles, including many other tasks devouring my attention (stupid, messy, house... which is messier than at the end of 2021, if that's at all possible - heh). Some months didn't include much writing progress. One of these days, I'll get the hang of writing more when the kids are home. Probably when they're ready to leave the house - lol.

But this post isn't about what I didn't get done. Nope. It's all about what I accomplished in 2022. So here's the rundown!

2022 Publications

❦ Nymphs Need Love Too (Fractured Fairies, 5)

❦ Do Not Go Gentle (Prequel to Dead As Dreams)

Only one of the two I planned on publishing, but at least I published two, even if one was originally unplanned.

2022 Progress

If you'd like to compare what I accomplished to what I had planned, take a peek at 2022 - Keep The Momentum Going. But if you're just curious about my final numbers, read on!

❦ Revised Nymphs Need Love Too.

❦ Revised 46,190 words of Dead As Dreams (not finished like I wanted, but a lot of progress).

❦ Drafted and revised Do Not Go Gentle.

❦ Added 8,979 words to Magic Morsel - 9 new episodes.

❦ Unfortunately, no words added to Gemini's Echo.

❦ Newsletters - all 5 sent out, as planned. Chains of Nect: Obsidian's Obsession is complete!

❦ Born to Write - Hey, look at that, I blogged once a month. Twice this month, even.

❦ Marketing - I purchased the Ads for Authors course. However, I've only had a chance to watch a sliver of the videos, so I haven't experimented with more ads yet, aside from trying my hand at a couple Facebook ones before I bought the course.

Now for my favorite thing. It's number crunching time! Let's see all my totals.

❦ I drafted a total of 15,225 words.

❦ I revised a total of 63,055 words.

❦ I edited a total of 49,422 words.

❦ 123.47 hours spent writing, revising, and editing.

❦ 17.83 hours creating cover art, formatting, and publishing.

❦ And finally, 189.83 total hours on writing and writing related tasks (up to the time of this post, excluding reading and Haunted Unicorn Publishing work). I actually find this number quite interesting. It's lower than 2021, even though I wrote more days and produced more words in 2022. It either means I'm producing faster, or I spent less time with other writing tasks outside of drafting, revising, and editing. I'm guessing it's a mix of both.

I'm damned proud of all I accomplished, even if I shifted focus (for good reason) with some projects. Here's hoping that I'll be able to tackle all of my goals in 2023. Of course, that's for my January post. I hope you all had a great 2022!

Writing Update - June 2022

Is it writing update time already? How are we almost halfway through the year? Wow, time certainly does fly. Especially as an adult. How I miss those long summers as a kid...

OK, I'm getting off track. Seems like the theme of the year for me. Lots of distractions abound. Mostly life-related ones. Still trying to even out things with my health (physical and mental) and Youngest's mental health. Plus my dad passed earlier this year.

Now summer is throwing me for a loop with the million kid-related events scheduled (I try to not over-schedule stuff - I've never been a do everything parent, but Eldest seems to think she should do everything - she needs better time management skills, but I'm so not the one who's capable of teaching them to her - sigh). Plus the house is in a state of disarray due to an attempt at organization (decreasing the DOOM boxes) and projects (that need the organization done before they can be completed).

Through all the life distractions, though, I've been able to at least get some writing done! I'm not exactly where I wanted to be for progress at this point in the year, but I'm not at a standstill. So, let's take a look at what I've accomplished so far, and what I plan to juggle and change for this year's goals. If you'd like to see the original 2022 writing goals, visit 2022 - Keep the Momentum Going.

2022 Publications

❦ Nymphs Need Love Too (Fractured Fairies, 5) - It lives! I published this back in April, so go snag a copy if you haven't yet.

❦ Dead As Dreams (novel) - Unfortunately, I have to delay the release of this until 2023. More details about it under 2022 Progress.

❦ Do Not Go Gentle (prequel short story to Dead As Dreams) - Yes, I've added this. Since I'm pushing off the novel, and I've had the idea for this short story for some time that's related to said novel, I'm hoping to publish this in Fall 2022.

2022 Writing Progress

❦ Revise, Edit, and Format Nymphs Need Love Too - DONE!

❦ Revise Dead As Dreams - Though I'm no longer publishing this in 2022, I'm still working on it. The revisions are just going slower than expected. I've clearly changed as a writer since I last touched this, and it needs more work than I thought! I've revised 32,406 words so far. About a third of the way through, and the back half needs a lot more work than the front half. This is still my main project. I will not put this novel off again!

❦ Draft, Revise, Edit, Format Do Not Go Gentle - This is the new story. And since it's related to Dead As Dreams, weaving this into my schedule at least keeps me anchored in the same world as the novel. I'm aiming for a minimum word count of 5,000, but not sure where it will land once done. I've drafted 520 words on it so far.

❦ Draft at least 8 Magic Morsel episodes - I actually drafted 10 episodes (8,979 words)! I'm up to 39 episodes of Magic Morsel published. I'd love to get back to this at some point this year, but it all depends on revision progress with Dead As Dreams.

❦ I've sent out 2 Newsletters already, and I'll be sending out 1 more this week (maybe even today). And I've stuck to 1 blog post per month here on Born to Write - maybe I'll increase these again one day, but right now... life.

Yes, progress. Some shifting around of goals, though. It's OK. As long as I'm still moving forward instead of treading water. We'll see where I'm at again come the end of 2022. Until then, happy reading, all!

Nymphs Need Love Too (Fractured Fairies, 5) - Excerpt

My first new release of 2022 - yay! And it happens to be the fifth installment in my Fractured Fairies series.

Nymphs Need Love Too incorporates Grinka's love life woes, her drama llama teen nymph sister, and a smart speaker that might be too smart for its own good. As always, the fairy brats are mixed up in all of it!

After you enjoy the excerpt below, please consider purchasing yourself an ebook copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, Apple Books, Google Play, or Smashwords. Or if you want to look at all the retailer options with one easy click, please go to Books2Read!

And please remember, reviews are much appreciated at any of the retailers and on Goodreads.

Happy reading!

❦

I stomp out of the bedroom to find the fairy siblings flitting over a pyramid-shaped speaker, which is sitting on one of the living room end tables. "What is that?"

Tamor turns around and rolls his eyes. "Hey, Boo. Why is Grinka such a bitch?"

A red light flashes at the top of the pyramid. Then a female voice with sultry tones emanates from the speaker. "I’m sorry, I don’t understand."

"Yeah, me neither." The fairy smirks and scratches his balls.

"Seriously?" I plant my hands on my hips. "You know I hate it when you call me that, and all I did was ask a simple question, so it’s completely unwarranted." Yes, I can always count on these two to piss me off enough to encourage the fireworks.

"Why don’t you ask Boo what she is?" Tamara gestures at the speaker.

Her suggestion puts the breaks on my desire to splatter Tamor into tiny fairy bits... For the moment. Talk to an electronic pyramid? Okay, why not. "Um, hey, Boo. What are you?"

This time the light flashes green. "I am Yam-Boom’s newest, top-of-the-line smart speaker. Over time, I adapt to the household’s specific needs, even adjusting my personality to those I speak with. Please, ask me anything. Just don’t expect me to know everything."

Man, Boo has attitude. Kind of creepy, though.

Tamara claps her tiny hands together. "Isn’t she cool?"

I’m not a huge fan of Yam-Boom. They employ fairies, who prevented me from publishing my novel. Speaking of fairies... "How exactly did you two buy something like this?" Neither have a job, and I no longer keep any spare cash lying around. Last time I did, the fairies stole my hidden stash and bought a tablet, which is now mine. My money, my tablet.

"Uh..." Tamor is never at a loss for words. What gives, now?

Tamara titters and flits up to me. "Remember, Herby? Our cousin who loves wine porn and works for Yam-Boom. Well, he hooked us up. Right, Tamor?"

Her brother’s head bobs, almost as rapidly as his wings.

Eh, I’m not so sure about that explanation. They’re acting shifty. Maybe I can explode the truth out of them.

Before I gear myself up to do just that, Syndago bursts through the front door. "Grinka! I got a job!"

❦

What do you prescribe a depressed sea nymph? A handsome tree nymph, of course.

Grinka can’t stop dreaming of Bello, the hunky tree nymph she met a couple years ago. Unfortunately, sharing her bed with her drama llama teen nymph sister has put a damper on her love life.

Who’s she kidding? Her love life was nonexistent even before she took in her runaway sister. Well, aside from the incident with her goblin ex-boyfriend and his dwarven girlfriend – an event that continues to haunt her in the form of the stalker dwarf.

But Grinka’s not-so-giant giant best friend brings her the gift of Bello’s phone number. Can she summon the courage to call him for a date? And if so, what will her sister and the fairy brats do to ruin it for her this time?

2022 - Keep The Momentum Going

OK, I can break that nasty streak of even years going to hell, right? Right. *cracks knuckles* Let's do this!

I am going to up my goals compared to 2021, and I'm hoping I'm not sabotaging myself by doing so. Must stay positive. I'm going to rock 2022!

All that optimism is rather saccharin for me - lol. Time to bring things back down to reality. If I get my two planned publications out this year, I'm going to call 2022 a win. Especially since one has been waiting its turn forever - time for it to claw itself out into the world.

Onward with the 2022 writing goals!

2022 Mantras

❦ Just Write.

❦ Trust My Instincts.

❦ Focus.

❦ Sit And Get To It.

The first three are holdovers from the last couple of years, but the last one is new. Most times getting started is the hardest part, so no matter how I feel, if I have writing scheduled for the day, I'm going to sit down and attempt to get words out. If I sit there with nothing for a half hour, then I'll throw in the towel for the day - heh.

2022 Upcoming Publications

❦ Nymphs Need Love Too (Fractured Fairies, 5) - Spring 2022

❦ Dead As Dreams (stand alone novel) - Fall 2022

2022 Writing Goals

❦ Revise, Edit, and Format Nymphs Need Love Too - this should be pretty easy. Not tons to tweak, and I always have fun with Grinka, Syndago, and the fairy brats.

❦ Revise, Edit, and Format Dead As Dreams - and here we come to the novel that has waited too long. This poor story has been fiddled with off and on since 2005! And I love it, so I just need to finish revisions already. Right now it's a stand alone, but I can't say I haven't had ideas for a sequel...

❦ Draft at least 8 Magic Morsel episodes - I'd love to add episodes to this on Kindle Vella each week for the rest of the year, but since I need to get other things done, it's just not feasible. This is my focus, though, the first couple weeks of January, so hopefully I'll have another two months of episodes before I take a break from it.

❦ Draft 20k words of Gemini's Echo (Zodiac Aegis, 1) - Or I'll just add more episodes to Magic Morsel, depending on how I feel once Dead As Dreams is complete.

❦ Newsletter - I have scheduled 5 of these for the year; 2 for my releases, and the other 3 will each include two chapters of Chains of Nect: Obsidian's Obsession. Yes, this means I'll be sending out the final chapter of that this year!

❦ Born to Write - At least 1 blog post per month (I know, I'm slacking on Marvel/MCU commentary, but writing comes before blogging, always).

❦ Social Media - Yeah, I'm not even sure what I want to do with this right now. I've had some ideas to fiddle with TikTok, but I so don't have the time to jump on that bandwagon at the moment. What do you think? What social media platforms would you prefer to see me interact more on?

❦ Marketing and Promo - I need to delve deeper into this when I get the chance to this year. Got to get my books in front of more eyeballs!

There you have it. Too ambitious? Just right? I mean, I also have a list of extra goals because I want to do all-the-things now. Damn it, time, why must you be finite?

What are your goals for 2022, writing or otherwise? Feel free to share. Either way, good luck, and may this year be less rocky than the last two!

P.S. Some Writing Bullet Journal pics below. At least the first full week of the year has started out well so far!

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Header Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

2021, Way Better Than Last Year

Can we say yay that 2021 was superior to 2020? Yay!

I mean, there were still plenty of bumps, but I actually made progress with my writing, including three publications. That's a big win for me.

This post is a bit earlier than usual, but unless I get the motivation to add more words to Magic Morsel before the end of the year, I'm calling myself done. Decompression break to prepare for a productive 2022. Yes? Yes.

Here we go with the data for 2021!

2021 Publications

❦ Well of Solitude (Fortunes of Fate, 7)

❦ Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies (Fractured Fairies, 4)

❦ Dawn of Fate (Fortunes of Fate 1-6 - Collection)

After nothing released in 2020, these three publications feel amazing. If you haven't grabbed a copy of one yet that you've had your eye on, treat yourself for the holidays!

2021 Progress

So, how exactly did I fare with the goals I set out for myself at the beginning of the year? If you'd like a reminder of what I had planned, wander on over to 2021 - This Year Has To Be Better.

❦ Completed revisions and edits of Well of Solitude.

❦ Completed revisions and edits of Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies.

❦ Completed drafting Nymphs Need Love Too (Fractured Fairies, 5).

❦ I only added 1,884 words to Gemini's Echo (Zodiac Aegis, 1)... BUT...

❦ Due to the announcement of Kindle Vella, I started drafting Magic Morsel. I've currently written 27,037 words on that project!

❦ No blog posts in August, but at least one all other months. And the newsletters went out as needed (I've decided December isn't the best newsletter time unless I have a holiday related title releasing).

❦ The Year of Cats kind of evaporated on Instagram. I'm still posting pictures there occasionally, though. Social media can be such a time sink!

Now for the nitty gritty. The big, overarching numbers for the year. You know, what I love. XD

❦ I drafted a total of 39,232 words.

❦ I revised a total of 17,934 words.

❦ I edited a total of 71,033 words.

❦ 104.75 hours spent writing, revising, and editing.

❦ 42.08 hours creating cover art and dealing with other publication tasks.

❦ And finally, 222.08 total hours on writing and writing related tasks (per usual, up to the time of this post, and this excludes reading as well as any Haunted Unicorn Publishing work).

Wow, I hit most of my goals. How'd that happen? I mean, Magic Morsel ousted Gemini's Echo, but I wrote almost 29k words between the two projects. That puts me at 13k short of my word count goal for Echo. With some ups and downs throughout the year, that's damned good for me. And a million leagues better than 2020.

I've already planned 2022, so watch for that post in the first week of January. Even years seem to be a thorn in my paw, but I'm determined to break that cycle. But more about that in the next post.

Happy holidays, all, and try to enjoy the rest of your 2021 before it disappears!

Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies (Fractured Fairies, 4) - Excerpt

Yes, another release! I've been looking forward to this one. It's almost too fun sometimes to play around with Grinka's life.

Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies is the fourth published title in my Fractured Fairies series, though you can of course jump in with any story.

Please enjoy the excerpt below. And if you'd like to grab a copy, Bytes Bite is only $0.99 at all major online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play, Smashwords, and Books2Read (the last will give you retailer options to choose from).

And if you read the entire story, please consider leaving a review at one of the retailers or on Goodreads. Reviews are awesome and helpful and it's one of the best ways to support an author you like. OK, I'll shut up now. Promise.

Happy reading!

❦

Now, I know how hard it is to succeed as a writer. Most indie authors need to crank out titles on a regular basis to earn any kind of money. So I tucked away a good portion of my tips for advertising over the last few months. I want this to work – no, I need this to work.

The thing is, when I started writing this first novel, it also turned into an outlet for some of my anger. And oh man, do I have a lot of anger. Just ask Syndago. My not-so-giant giant friend is rather sick of replacing light bulbs. Hey, I can’t control my destructive powers well, and the fairies piss me off at least every other second.

Speaking of the fairies... it’s far too quiet in the apartment.

And no, they don’t know what I’ve been up to on the computer. At least I hope not.

Unfortunately, they’ve gotten rather tech savvy lately, somehow getting their grubby hands on a tablet. I’m amazed they haven’t broken it yet. Perpetually drunk, naked fairies are rather clumsy.

I check under my desk, then under my bed, and look out the window for good measure again. Nothing. Maybe Syndago took them to the park. They love to harass the real birds in their pigeon illusions.

The circle continues to spin and spin. What’s a sea nymph got to do to get her noir urban fantasy published? I smash the Enter button a few times, to no avail. Actually, the circle appears to spin slower.

Damned computer. It’s been so twitchy lately. I even checked it several times to make sure the fairies hadn’t poured wine in the vents, though they’d be reluctant to waste their precious booze for such a prank.

Maybe I didn’t kill enough fairies in my novel. Yes, I killed a lot of fairies. So cathartic, especially since I can’t kill them in real life. Trust me, I’ve tried a million times by exploding them into honey-colored bits. They’re as immortal as Syndago and me, sadly.

In my novel, though... burn fairies, burn.

I snicker, and the circle freezes. Then the screen turns black for a second, followed by flashing rainbow colors. “What the–?”

Fairy giggles flitter from my closet.

❦

I wonder if this is what a gnome tripping on unicorn hairs feels like.

As usual, Grinka the sea nymph can’t catch a break. She simply wants to publish her novel. Unfortunately, Tamor and Tamara, the two fairy thorns in her side, mess with her computer. Too bad they’re immortal and can’t meet the same demise as the innumerable fairies in her book.

If that isn’t enough of a plague, Grinka’s sister Raina pops in from the Immortal World, bringing the first immortal virus with her. And now, Grinka is quarantined in her room with the two fairy nitwits.

Will she survive to hit publish, or will the rainbows and fairies win?

Writing Update - May 2021

I felt it was time for a writing update. Though as I started writing this post, I realized I'm behind on posting Chapter 27 of Chains of Nect! Oops. It'll have to wait until next week or June (I'd say the first week of June, but since I'm due for my second vaccine, I may be out for the count that week). May has been a bit of a crazy month. =P

Anyway, I can at least say I'm happy with my progress for the year so far. I feel much better than I did at this time in 2020 as far as my writing goes, though May has been a bit of a bumpy month for motivation.

The best thing for 2021 at this time - I'm ahead of schedule! I know, kind of crazy, isn't it? I always feel perpetually behind most years. I guess I aimed my goals in the sweet spot this time. If you want to peek at my original 2021 plan, here's the link: 2021 - This Year Has To Be Better.

2021 Publications

❦ Well of Solitude (Fortunes of Fate, 7) is out in the world. It felt amazing to finally publish something again.

❦ Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies (Fractured Fairies, 4) is on track to be published in July. Hopefully I'll have a cover reveal next month!

2021 Project Progress

❦ Obviously I finished the revisions and edits for Well of Solitude. Yay!

❦ Revisions on Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies are complete, and edits are scheduled for next month.

❦ The first draft of Nymphs Need Love Too (Fractured Fairies, 5) is complete! It came in around 10k words.

❦ I've already added 1.8k to the first draft of Gemini's Echo (Zodiac Aegis, 1). Here's hoping I exceed the 42k goal on that this year (knock on wood).

❦ I've been blogging at least once per month (sometimes twice), and I'm mostly on top of the newsletters. I've lapsed on posting my Year of Cats pictures on Instagram... I might have to blame video games for forgetting about that one so often - lol.

As you can see, I've had a pretty productive writing year already!

If I happen to finish the first draft of Gemini's Echo early, I'll dive into another one of my projects waiting in the wings. Should it be the Dead As Dreams revision, the Downward Spiral draft, the next Fortunes of Fate draft, or continue Zodiac Aegis with Taurus's Aura? What do you think?

Happy reading and writing, all!

2021 - This Year Has To Be Better

I won't do it. I won't talk about The-Year-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named. That was the last post. This post is looking toward the future, and I'm mustering as much optimism as I can (this can be a difficult task at the best of times, for me at least) for 2021.

To go with that optimism, I've turned down my usual goals to about half. This is mainly because I have kids in and out of face-to-face, blended, and virtual learning, and I have to be adaptable. I will be adaptable if I want to keep going with writing instead of coming to a screaching halt again. And I've already proven to myself I can be adaptable this past Monday and Tuesday while Eldest was in Zoom classes. Headphones are a wonderful thing...

Anyway, Happy 2021! On with the goals!

2021 Mantras

❦ Just Write.

❦ Trust My Instincts.

❦ Focus.

❦ Embrace My Process.

Not much different from last year, aside from that second one. I think these are all great mantras to have that may persist for many years.

2021 Upcoming Publications

❦ Well of Solitude (Fortunes of Fate, 7) - Spring 2021

❦ Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies (Fractured Fairies, 4) - Summer 2021

❦ Fortunes of Fate Collection #1 (Fate 1-6) - Fall 2021

2021 Writing Goals

❦ Revise and Edit Well of Solitude (Fortunes of Fate, 7) - I'm feeling more confident with what I need to do in the re-write of this story now, which is good. I've already gotten through another 501 words, and my brain is itching to continue it tomorrow. Slow but steady on this one, though.

❦ Revise and Edit Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies (Fractured Fairies, 4) - This likely won't need too much work, but it will sure be fun to poke at Grinka and the fairies.

❦ Draft Nymphs Need Love Too (Fractured Fairies, 5) - Now, my brain has been going a million miles an hour on ideas for this since drafting Bytes Bite in June. The only foreseeable problem is that due to all of the elements I want to weave in, it's going to turn out rather long. Novella?

❦ Draft at least 42k of Gemini's Echo (Zodiac Aegis, 1) - Yes, I know this looks like I'm abandoning Dead As Dreams and Downward Spiral, but when your brain loosely maps out an entire arc for a 13-book series... Not looking a gift horse in the mouth. We'll see how it goes, though. I could always abandon ship and go back to the others. You can always realign my focus - just post a comment or send an email. What novel series do you want me to work on?

❦ Author Newsletter - 1 every other month, plus extras for releases. Trying to keep it simple for now. Chains of Nect: Obsidian's Obsession chapters for the most part.

❦ Born To Write - At least 1 blog post per month.

❦ Social Media - Have fun trying to post a cat picture every day on Instagram (which will also be posted to Twitter/Facebook). Year of Cats!

I'm feeling a little bit of deja vu with this post, but we won't talk about why... because I promised.

That's what it all boils down to for me this year, though. Not as much as I'd like to get done, but hey, it's better than nothing. Progress counts.

What are your goals or resolutions for 2021? Are you happy to have a fresh start in the new year? Feel free to share with me! Happy writing and reading. =)

---

2021 Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

It's Been A While - June 2020 (Writing Update)

The Staind song aside (yes, it's stuck in my head now), it has been a while since I posted. Actually, I was supposed to post last week. And I had the post all written up. Then the new Blogger interface ate it. Yes, gobbled it up.

I was having issues with the new interface to begin with (30 minutes to add tags to my post, no thank you), and I'm decidedly not thrilled with it. Heck, I was furious with it last Thursday. So, I'm now writing up my posts in Scrivener, and I managed to revert back to the legacy interface on Blogger (and I'll keep it like that until they pry it from my cold, dead hands).

I'm a little less cranky about it. OK, not really, but I'm currently channeling Grinka.

Yes, I'm back to writing! And though it wasn't on my schedule, I'm drafting the next Fractured Fairies story, currently titled Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies. And I already have the urge to write the next story, too.

Thankfully the anxiety has lessened a bit, and I'm done homeschooling my kids for the school year. The world is still in a bit of a tumult, obviously, but I won't get into my feelings over all of it because then the anxiety starts to rear its ugly head, and I can't have my mental health completely deteriorating on me.

For now, I'm writing again, and that feels great. Who knows what will happen come Fall, though - more homeschooling? Until then, I'm going to keep plowing ahead.

The yearly plan has been completely uprooted, of course. I never seem to learn with this whole planning thing. It never works out. My best laid plans don't just go astray, but blow up in my face in spectacular fashion. I kind of do feel like Grinka sometimes. Let me tell you, her current plans aren't unfolding as she wished either. Per usual, it's all the fairy siblings' fault.

Anyway, here's how the year currently stands. If you'd like to compare it to my original plan, you can find it on the 2020 - Keep On Rollin' post.

2020 Upcoming Publications

❦ Well of Solitude (Fortunes of Fate, 7) - Fall 2020 - Yes, I've now pushed this out 6 months later than originally planned. It's also the only publication that I now have planned for 2020.

2020 Project Progress

❦ Chains of Nect: Obsidian's Obsession - Rough draft complete - yay! And I've already sent out one of the brand new chapters in my Author Newsletter, which means I'll be posting it here in July, as well as on Wattpad.

❦ Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies (Fractured Fairies, 4) - Again, this wasn't on the original plan for the year. I'm almost 7k into the rough draft, though, and I might have 2-3k left. I really needed to let loose with Grinka, Syndago, and the fairies before getting back to more serious stories.

❦ Well of Solitude - I'm about 4k into the revisions of this. I'd just started working on it when the pandemic hit the fan, so to speak. Once I finish the rough draft of Bytes Bite, I'll be returning to this. However, I was wrong, it likely won't turn into a novella. My brain finally resolved some issues I had with the story, but it means more of a re-write for half of it, instead of just a revision. I'm hoping it will still come in around 16k when all is said and done.

❦ Dead As Dreams, Fortunes of Fate 8, and Downward Spiral are now all on pause. I'm not sure when I'll reschedule them. It completely depends on what school looks like for the kids in Fall. Drafting is much easier than revising with the kids around, and humorous fantasy flows a lot better while all the serious stuff swirls around in reality. I think planning only one project at a time is the best bet right now.

❦ My main goal for the rest of the year is to keep on plugging away and pushing forward. The good thing is, even with all the anxiety, the ideas never stopped coming, and some are bugging the hell out of me. I want to write all the things NOW. So, once I'm done with the Bytes Bite draft and the Well of Solitude revision, I'm going to let my brain pounce on whatever project asserts itself the most next (at the moment, that's another Fractured Fairies story, but that could always change).

❦ Nope, not discussing blog posts or newsletters. No way.

That's what things look like for me, though. I hope among the tumult, you've all been able to find at least a sliver of focus on something (anything, maybe even reading). Now let's hope I don't have to type this post up a third time.

Writing vs. Quarantine

Wow, what a curve ball Mother Nature has sent our way recently!

When this current situation started in the U.S. - Hubbie now working from home every day of the week, kids with pretty much two weeks of spring break instead of just one before diving into virtual learning (um, homeschooling), and me without a moment to myself any longer - I'd thought it would be a grand idea to do a funny diary-like post about the whole situation. As I've learned so often in life, things never turn out how I planned.

As each day passed, my notes quickly turned into not funny at all. And then I had to start homeschooling. Let me tell you, for a person that completely sucks at multi-tasking, my anxiety is beyond high simply from trying to teach Youngest (who doesn't want to listen to me) and field questions from Eldest (while Youngest yatters in my ear to go on with her school work so she can continue to not pay attention or believe a word I say).

This has seriously been rough on me the last nearly four weeks. So rough that I can't get any writing done due to a combination of time, energy, and anxiety.

And yes, I understand and sympathize with others out there who also have it rough (or rougher). I'm not pulling out a measuring stick, trying to compare who has it worse. It's bad for everyone, even if it's a different kind of bad for everyone (even for those people who are simply bored - I mean, I can't grasp the concept of ever being bored with my endless list of interests, but I do understand they are suffering in their own way as well).

So please let's not come into the comments with anything like, "You have it easy - it's so much worse for me!" I've quite had enough of people belittling other people's feelings and reactions to this whole situation.

For me, it simply boils down to, my anxiety is high, so high that I've been on the verge of an anxiety attack several times. And while many of the things causing me anxiety may not affect others the same, that's how those things affect me. Everyone is different, everyone reacts differently, each person has different levels of what they can take, so let's just all get along and sympathize with everyone else - this whole thing sucks all around. Period.

OK, off my soapbox. I guess mindlessly scrolling through my Facebook feed has been getting to me. Too much jabbing on all topics.

Which is why, pretty much after this post, I'm taking a big social media break. This will include blog posts. Hell, it was hard enough convincing myself I needed to write this one. I'm hoping to be back at it all come June.

And yes, as I mentioned already, I've been unable to write. Revisions of Well of Solitude (Fortunes of Fate, 7) are on hold, likely until June as well. I'm hoping in summer, even though the kids will still be home, there will be a lot less pressure due to no longer having to homeschool, and then I can banish them outside for a couple hours (or be nice and let them play video games every afternoon).

Until then, I'm not putting any pressure on myself to write a single word... well, aside from this post. I may start a new Fractured Fairies story just to blow off some steam if my anxiety levels decrease and allow me to have a bit more energy. I've been intending to have Grinka deal with a computer virus - maybe she'll be confronted with a real virus as well, who knows. Those stories have always been my way to vent about annoying situations or just plain have fun. Can you imagine Grinka quarantined with the fairies? Oh, boy.

I'm at least happy to declare my drive to write and conjure up new ideas hasn't been dampened. Stuff is just getting in the way of my ability to execute. =P And I have to accept that once in a while, it's time to put the original plan on pause and go back to it later.

None of us should be too hard on ourselves right now!

I've babbled enough. And since I did spend the time writing down some of the events once we started pretty much quarantining ourselves, aside from grabbing food and taking occasional walks, I'll leave you with a few here. Not the depressing ones. The ones that still give me a bit of a chuckle. I hope they give you a chuckle, too.

Diary of a Quarantined Writer Mom

Day 1 – Bickering broke out at breakfast. Kids had exhausted me by lunch. And then I gave up and played video games until dinner.

Day 2 – Drama over organizing a drawer – Eldest claimed it would take hours to straighten. It took 10 minutes. Pre-order for the Deluxe Edition of Final Fantasy VII Remake delayed – the horror!

Day 4 – Ostara (Spring Equinox)! Woke up with a headache and a beyond hyper Youngest. Where does she get all this energy? Amazon messed up categories for Mind Behind the Mind big time. Medical Romance? Um, no. Planted sunflower seeds, but too tired to dye eggs.

Day 5 – Anxiety climbing. Really need a schedule... if the kids would let me make one between all the other stuff I need to get done. Finally dyed some eggs – glad the kids had fun.

Day 6 – Played a hell of a lot of FFX and let the kids play video games, too.

Day 8 – Schedule for today – let’s see how it goes. It seems Minecraft pacifies the young rabble-rousers. For the most part. Still some drama while I was trying to revise.

Day 9 – Went for our usual walk, and clearly people aren’t taking this social distancing seriously. Another kid tried to give Youngest a shell, and after we backed away and said no thank you, the kid’s caregiver tried to insist it was "just a shell". No, means no. Move along. Do I need to carry a sign that says, "Observing Social Distancing"?

Day 10 – Woke up in an "I don’t care" mood. What do you think that means? More video games!

Day 11 – Eldest’s birthday. Unfortunately, our local baker couldn’t make the cake we ordered. So... Funfetti cupcakes instead! With blue frosting, of course.

Day 12-13 – Lots of video games!

Day 14 – How long does it take to plan three daily schedules and a single day’s lesson plan? All damned day.

Day 15 - First day of homeschooling. How long does it take for the schedules and lesson plan to unravel? Minutes. Oh, and drama over art/drawing? The one task I thought would be easy!

Day 16 – I can’t do this for five plus weeks. Argh! My brain is constantly being interrupted by the kids, notifications from teachers, and the million things I need to do speeding through my mind. My lack of multi-tasking skills are showing through. Writing time? What writing time?

Day 17 and Beyond – Gave up tracking the days. Everything’s blending into one big blob, a blob that I turn into every afternoon as I scroll through Facebook on the couch in utter exhaustion.

Halloween 2017

Happy Halloween! OK, I know it's tomorrow, but our annual party and Trick or Treating with the kids has already come and gone (and I get a day off tomorrow -- 16th wedding anniversary). So, I shall regale you all with pictures. You like pictures, don't you?

This year, I cosplayed another one of my own creations! The idea grabbed hold of me when I was writing Hell On Wheels. Yup, I decided to dress up as Moira, stuck unhappily in her Welcomer garb. Well, my costume wasn't quite as skimpy as what she has to put up with (I couldn't bring myself to squeeze into a sequined bikini). What do you think? Did I do her justice? Maybe next year I should play Grinka from the Fractured Fairies series. Aqua hair? I'd have to pass on playing Tamara the fairy -- I'd be too cold, and I don't think my guests would appreciate me flitting around naked.

Per usual, I was rushing to get the house ready for the party, so I didn't get to spend a lot of time on my pumpkin (I always wish I had more time to do something fancy). This year, I decided to do a monster face, mainly because of my youngest's little googly-eyed monster headband we got her to play with (she was not a monster for Halloween, though, but Rainbow Dash). My eldest did the flying kitty (since that's what she also dressed up as), and I carved the ghost into my youngest's white pumpkin. Per usual, my husband did a simple face -- he's not much for pumpkin carving, but he still does it with us!

The kids also painted some of those pumpkin gourds and the teeny tiny pumpkin my youngest picked out at the pumpkin farm when she went with her preschool.

One picture of the decorations from the party! I didn't take many because of the major rushing this time. Once everyone started arriving, I pretty much collapsed into a chair, chattered, and ate.

And I thought this was a cute picture, so I'm going to post it, even though I am careful not to post many pictures of my kids publicly. Trick or Treating! I love it that the last couple of years we've all went together. (Don't worry, we still put a bowl of candy out for the other Trick or Treaters.)

Finally, look at all this candy that my kids got this year. Notice the pitchfork resting on top of it all? Yeah, Mama Tax. >:)

I hope everyone had a great Halloween this year!

Oh, and as a reminder, you can still get the Monster Maelstrom anthology with my Fractured Fairies flash story, "Monster in the Room", in it for FREE! Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Smashwords, iBooks, and GooglePlay!

Science Fiction & Fantasy Giveaway - Nov 14-20, 2016

Who wants to grab some awesome fantasy and science fiction ebooks while they're available FREE for a limited time?

Better yet, if you've been interested in seeing what my Fractured Fairies series is like, you can get the first title, Fractured Fairies: Immortal Woes & Ode to Buses and Libraries, as well!

All you need to do is pop on over to the Science Fiction & Fantasy FREE BOOKS Promotion page, then you'll see covers for all the books available. Click on any titles that interest you and the links will take you to Instafreebie, where you can download each title for free! Keep in mind, some authors may require you to sign up for their newsletters. But if you like their work, that's a great way of finding out more about what they've written!

And if you're having trouble finding the Fractured Fairies title, here's a direct link to the Instafreebie Giveaway for it.

Grab these book while you can!

A Very Grinka Christmas Excerpt

"Ho, ho, ho!"

Nope, not Santa, but Syndago (very dedicated at playing Santa, though).

Yup, it's time for another Fractured Fairies tale! A Very Grinka Christmas is a new novelette that brings together several of the characters we've already seen in past Fractured Fairies stories and brings in a few new ones as well! But even if you haven't read any of the previous stories, you should easily slip into the humor in this holiday tale.

If you want a humorous Christmasy romp to read this holiday season (the fairies trying to burn the apartment down, Grinka forced to use a Christmas elf illusion, and more), then consider picking up a copy of A Very Grinka Christmas. You can find it at all major online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, and iBooks.

And of course there's an excerpt below, along with the blurb.

Have a happy, fractured holiday everyone!

❦

A boy of at least eight runs up to Syndago and jumps in his lap.

"Oof!" Syndago may be big, but he's sensitive. "Be nice to Santa, little man."

Little Man proceeds to yank on Syndago's beard. "You're not the real Santa, and I'll prove it!"

Surprise, surprise, kid. Syndago glued the beard on. Superglue, even. He's one committed Santa.

The boy tugs harder.

"Ow!"

"Carter, cut that out and tell Santa what you want for Christmas." The boy's stalky father sidles up to me, offering a nicotine-stained smile. "Sorry about that. He gets a little overzealous sometimes. Takes after his mom." One corner of his mouth twitches. "There's a reason I divorced her." He winks.

Oh, for the love of immortals. Sadly, he isn't the first one who's hit on me. I mean, I may be in an elf outfit illusion, but it's still my usual hot looking body -- a necessity for my profession. Stripper.

A psychiatrist might say I'm overcompensating with my illusion due to insecurities. I hate psychiatrists more than I hate elves.

But if this obnoxious man knew the truth of what my illusion truly hid, he'd bolt. I'm tempted to let him cop a feel and find out what seashell-covered breasts feel like. The shock on his face would be priceless.

He shoves a business card into my palm. "Call me." His hand lingers on mine far too long.

One of the bulbs in the string of lights above me bursts.

Syndago levels a stern gaze at me as Carter bounces off his lap and pulls his father away. "Grinka, be good."

"Hey, it's only one bulb." I could have blown out the whole set. Or worse.

"They add up. That's nine already today."

"Cheap lights."

"I'm trying. Give me a break -- you know I don't have perfect control." Far from it. "Can we go home yet?"

"Almost. Two or three more kids and our shift is over."

Then I can see what the fairy twits destroyed today. They've been on a revelry bender since the beginning of the month, and it hasn't been pretty.

The holidays will be over soon. Yes, yes. And then they'll go back to their normal level of destructiveness.

I just hope I survive.

❦

A grouchy sea nymph who fancies herself a modern-day Scrooge. Bah humbug.

Grinka's main goal for Christmas: survive without having to celebrate a damned thing. Between playing an elf to her mopey human-sized giant friend's Santa and contending with the fairy siblings' holiday revelries, she's got her work cut out for her. And when some uninvited guests appear on her doorstep, she's forced to face a party of all the people she ran from when she left the Immortal World.

No thanks to that torture! Grinka plots to avoid the party, until she meets a handsome tree nymph who agrees to attend. Maybe, just maybe, this year Grinka will have a Merry Christmas.

Halloween 2016 & Monster Maelstrom

It's that time of year! Yes, the time of year where I get way too into Halloween. It's my favorite holiday, after all.

Before I get into some pics of this year's costume and decorations, though, I'd also like to announce the release of a Fractured Fairies story. Last week, "Monster in the Room" released in the anthology Monster Maelstrom. It's a Halloween themed flash fiction anthology, of course! This Grinka-centric story can be found among a lot of other great stories. If you're in the mood for some Halloween reading, please pick up a copy. Oh, did I forget to mention the anthology is FREE?

You can snag a free copy of Monster Maelstrom from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, iBooks, Google Play, and Smashwords. Please visit the Monster Maelstrom page if you'd like further information before you grab it.

Now, onto more good stuff! My yearly Halloween party was this past Saturday. No posts on the blog last week meant I was intensely cleaning the house that never gets cleaned except once a year for the party - lol. (I already have #11 for 1001 Reasons Not to Clean.)

This year I had a hard time getting excited about a costume. I just couldn't think of anything I wanted to be. Thankfully, the brainstorm finally unleashed itself when I was browsing Hot Topic online one day. I saw a unicorn horn and tail set. I figured I could always be simple. I mean, I love unicorns - that's no secret. Then I saw it... A blood splattered dress! Why be a plain old unicorn when you can be a Rabid Unicorn?

If any of you have visited my blog throughout the years, you know that I started a rabid unicorn story a couple years ago. It was a fun, humorous romp that I had to put on the back burner (like so many other shinies because there's only so much time in the day to write when you have an infant/toddler demanding your undivided attention). Of course, now I really want to continue it, but I have Thorns Entwine the Blade to focus on right now. If you want to read an excerpt of the rough draft I was working on, you can visit this old post from May 2014.

What? You want to see the costume? I rarely post pictures of myself, as you know. So, please be kind. Here it is! Note: I wear the heads of my fallen foes on my feet.

And I'll also leave you with a some pictures of the decorations from this year. Happy Halloween, everyone!

S.O.L. Air Excerpt

Why yes, it is another release day! It's hard to believe this is the 9th story I've released for my Baker's Dozen Experiment. What a ride.

Well, I started out the experiment with releasing Fractured Fairies, and today we get to read more about Grinka, Syndago, and the fairy brats! The humorous antics continue in S.O.L. Air, which you can now nab from Amazon. As always, this was fun to write. I hope you enjoy it as well! You can find an excerpt below.

And the next Fractured Fairies tale will be coming at the end of November - A Very Grinka Christmas! It'll be longer than the previous stories, but there's plenty of humor to keep things lively. What, you thought I'd stop publishing after the experiment was over? Never! I'll be writing until my body no longer allows it. You're stuck with my stories and characters for a good long time.

Anyway, onto the good stuff!

❦

I take a deep breath as the plane engines rev louder and the flight attendant buckles herself in. Maybe I can jump out of a window. Nope, no way to open this sucker, and someone was smart enough to not seat me in the emergency row. I peer out the window and gulp. Maybe I should have given Syndago the window seat.

I see a flicker of movement to the right, outside the plane, and crane my neck to look closer. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

There on the wing sit the two fairy twits. They wave when they realize I notice them. Guess they’re willing to risk being ground into a sticky pulp so they can make my life more miserable.

“There are pigeons on the wing.” At least my voice is now dry instead of panicky.

“I told you you couldn’t leave them behind.” Syndago frowns. “They deserve a vacation, too.”

“Every day of their lives is a vacation! They drink and drink and drink, and play pranks, and make rude comments, and drive me up a wall, and--” If it weren’t for Syndago insisting we can’t abandon them, the little snots would be living on the street, like proper pigeons, and not with us. The bulb above my head bursts. “And I need a vacation from them.”

“Calm down, Grinka.”

I open my mouth, ready to tick off several reasons why I don’t need to calm down, but the plane lurches forward and fear shoves the anger down my throat.

We’re taking off. No, we can’t. Stop the plane. I need to get off.

“Your mouth is hanging open.” Syndago’s brow wrinkles with worry.

I squeak.

❦

What’s a sea nymph got to do to get a vacation around here?

That whole “life is a journey, not a destination” nonsense doesn’t hold water with Grinka. Especially when she books a flight to Vegas to get away from those two fairy nitwits. She doesn’t quite consider the aquatic ramifications of a sea nymph in the air. Nor does she plan on a chance encounter with her goblin ex-boyfriend, Hrelm. Seriously, what’s it going to take for Grinka to get to Vegas and gamble away her meager savings?