Writing Update - June 2026

Well, here I am. Almost half of 2026 has passed, so it's time to assess my writing progress for the year.

Unfortunately, the last couple of months have been fraught with surprises from a publishing platform and a newsletter service, which means I've wasted more time than I care to think about on those issues.

I did a complete redesign of my website so I could have nice landing pages and stop using Books2Read (and to make the site more flexible with many browser sizes). A hefty time sink... And I now no longer have my titles available at any of the small retailers because I pulled them from Draft2Digital.

The newsletter problem isn't too bad (yet), but I had to deal with streamlining forms and welcome automations. It completely disrupted my flow last week.

Oh, and trying to focus on writing with kids home for the summer is always a trial. Especially when I'm attempting to prepare one of those kids for college in fall. I spent all day yesterday making a list of dorm items and shopping Amazon Prime Day for many of them. Writing time? Hahahahaha.

Anyway, I've complained enough. Before the tribulations above, I actually had a greatly productive year. So let's see where I'm at, shall we? And if you want to revisit my goals, you can check them out at 2026 - A Novel In A Year!

2026 Publications

❦ Hell Of An Unlife (Devil Made Me, 4) - Published on May 27, 2026

Yay! Moira's story arc is finally complete. Now go look at the Hell Of An Unlife landing page on my shiny redesigned website. While you're there, maybe buy a copy?

❦ Once Gorgon Bitten, Twice Shy (Magic Morsel, 2) - Late Fall/Early Winter 2026

I'm still on track to complete and publish the novel in a year. Kind of. The first draft is DONE! Quite an accomplishment writing that in five months. Though my revision notes exploded on me, unfortunately. I've started the revision, but I'm currently about two weeks behind schedule. And I now have an unexpected vacation planned in October, so we'll see if I can get everything in order before then (eek!).

2026 Writing Progress

❦ Drafted 78,145 words of Once Gorgon Bitten, Twice Shy (and revised 3,225 words so far).

❦ Edited & Published 17,095 words of Hell Of An Unlife.

❦ Dead As Dreams (Saga of Souls & Dreams) audiobook. Didn't expect this one, did you? Well, it's super early stages. I'm taking narrator auditions on ACX for it right now. Aiming for royalty share because I don't currently have a lot of startup cash. I figured it was time to dip my toes in the audiobook waters.

❦ Okay, I missed March for blog posts, and I'm skipping June for my newsletter. Life happens.

❦ Capricon was awesome this year! Hey, I sold books (actually sold out of Fairies - Fractured and Uncut). And I'm going to register for next year this week! ;)

❦ Social Media - I was posting more often... But my patience and exhaustion level for dealing with social media has dwindled. It's taking a backseat due to all the other stuff that's more important.

❦ Marketing - I've actually been experimenting with Bookbub ads for the Devil Made Me series. Planning a Facebook ad soon.

❦ SPFBO XI - Sadly, Leave No Dragon Stone Unturned didn't squeak into the semi-finals. Alas, I write on! And all 10 finalists will be announced by the end of this month - I plan to highlight them in my next newsletter.

❦

See, it's not all doom and gloom. Just recent doom and gloom. Hopefully the Universe is done throwing speed bumps in my path and I can get back on track with the revisions of Gorgon Bitten. If not, then I'll push the publication to 2027 if need be. Must be flexible. Let's see how the second half of 2026 actually treats me...

2026 - A Novel In A Year!

So... Let's see if I can write a novel from start to publication in one year! XD I really hope I'm not setting myself up to fall flat on my face, but seven days into 2026, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I've already written 3k words of Once Gorgon Bitten, Twice Shy (Magic Morsel, 2), so I'll ride the wave of optimism for now.

Last year was great for writing, and I intend to keep up the momentum. Plenty to do to get a novel drafted, revised, edited, and prepped for publication. But I also have a few other goals for 2026. Time to get into the nitty-gritty.

2026 Mantras

❦ Just Write.

❦ Trust My Instincts.

❦ Focus.

Same as the last couple of years. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. =P

2026 Publications

❦ Hell Of An Unlife (Devil Made Me, 4) - Spring 2026

❦ Once Gorgon Bitten, Twice Shy (Magic Morsel, 2) - Fall 2026

Hey, at least Hell Of An Unlife is already revised. And it's the last title in the series! Consider grabbing the first three if you haven't already, starting with Hell Hath No Fury.

2026 Writing Goals

❦ One novel in a year!

❦ Edit & Publish Hell Of An Unlife.

❦ Draft, Revise, Edit, & Publish Once Gorgon Bitten, Twice Shy - It was really easy slipping back into the world of Morthmagica, and here's hoping it stays that way!

❦ Plan the third Magic Morsel novel (currently untitled) and/or plan Blood Stains the Soul (Trinity Torn, 3)

❦ Newsletters - 9 scheduled again.

❦ Born to Write - One post a month, with a break in August.

❦ Networking - Capricon again in February, but no readings or panels. I'll still have paperback copies of my books available, if you'd like to buy a signed copy!

❦ Social Media - More Instagram and Tiktok posts! Last year I kind of forgot about all that. Oops. Reminders set in Todoist now - lol.

❦ Marketing & Promo - Likely more Facebook and Amazon Ads, depending on how much I feel like gambling (because that's totally what it feels like to me when I run ads).

❦ SPFBO XI - Yes, back to Self-Publishing Blog-Off, and the eleventh year of the contest! Leave No Dragon Stone Unturned (Magic Morsel, 1) got through the lottery (I like to say it won the 50/50 because there were around 600 submissions this year), and has been assigned to Fantasy-Faction. Fingers crossed that the novel makes it to the semi-finals at least!

That's what I got for the year. The caffeine flowing through my system from my Chai is bolstering my optimism at the moment, but we'll see how I feel once my youngest, who has an upset stomach, gets home shortly. Heh.

If you have any writing goals for the year, please join us in the Writing Quest group, where we support each other in our progress (or commiserate when walls prevent that progress).

Happy 2026, all! And here's the obligatory bullet journal pic.

SPFBOX

SPFBOX? Am I speaking in gibberish? Nope! It stands for Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off 10.

It's been 7 years since I last entered the competition (I submitted Mind Behind the Mind the third year, in 2017). This year, I've offered up Dead As Dreams to be judged by the bloggers/vloggers!

So 300 enter, and only 1 survives. If you want to see the list of 300 entries and the current status of them all (links to reviews, which titles are cut, which titles are semi-finalists, etc), head on over to the official SPFBOX Phase 1 page. I can't thank Mark Lawrence (and all the bloggers who volunteer to read and review) enough for running this contest for so many years. It's a great way for people to see what's out there in indie fantasy book world!

If you're looking for a new fantasy to read, go through the list and take a look at the reviews. I've already added 12 books to my wish list!

This year, I've been assigned to Queen's Book Asylum. I'm pretty happy with where Dead As Dreams landed. The Queen (Timy) is highly organized, so I know exactly when to expect the possibility of my doom. XD There's also a resident demon, of course. My kind of place.

On Queen's Book Asylum, the 30 books they were assigned were divided between 6 reviewers. Dead As Dreams' initial fate is in the hands of Arina. She just cut 2 of her titles yesterday. Thankfully I was spared this time! Each reviewer typically picks one semi-finalist from their batch, and then all 6 try to read all the semi-finalists to pick a finalist.

Fingers crossed that Dead As Dreams makes it far! At the very least, the book will have a new review. =D

And good luck to my fellow competitors! I've been enjoying participating in the Facebook group with everyone this year.

Writing Update - June 2024

Why yes, it's that time of year again where I talk about how nothing has gone to plan, everything has blown up in my face, and my goals have been scrambled beyond recognition. XD

OK, OK... I'm being a tad dramatic. Honestly, while my plans have been lightly beaten, they're not as over whipped as they could be at this point. If you don't remember what my hopes for the year were back in January, go visit the post 2024 - Just Chill.

Without further ado, onto the updates.

2024 Publications

❦ Magic Morsel - Kindle Vella Episodes - I've finished writing and scheduling all the episodes for the first serial! A new episode goes live every Friday, with the last two episodes scheduled to be posted on Friday, August 16. So, if you've been intending to read it, pop on over to Kindle Vella and give it a go.

❦ Intricate Agony (Fortunes of Fate, 8) - No longer planned for 2024 (see details below).

❦ Leave No Dragon Stone Unturned (Magic Morsel, 1) - Working title for the revised first serial of Magic Morsel into a novel. Possible publication this year still to be determined.

2024 Writing Progress

❦ I added about 38,000 words to Magic Morsel to reach the end of the first serial, which clocks in at 73,967 words. Yay, words!

❦ Intricate Agony... I actually started drafting this in April and got 4,850 words written. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling the story. I have ideas aplenty, and I know how it will unfold, but I'm having issues with my main character. He's feeling like too much of a wet noodle. Plus the initial draft is insanely heavy on description, which is a departure from my usual style. I needed a break to let things settle and think things through, and I'll get back to it at a later date. This means there's no chance of publication this year, though. Sorry if you've been eagerly awaiting the next Fortunes of Fate story!

❦ What do you all think of Leave No Dragon Stone Unturned for the first Magic Morsel title? I like it, but I'm definitely biased. ;) I've started in on a read through of the scenes, making notes for my world bible and revision plans along the way. This is taking longer than expected. And as I note down some questions I need to answer about this world (at least to myself, even if it doesn't show up in this novel), I realize the fleshing out of details and answering questions before I dig into revisions might take a while, too. So, right now I'm not sure if it'll be published this year or next. I may also be taking August off to tend to kids and house, which will disrupt my plans as always.

❦ I've sent out 4 of my 8 planned newsletters, 3 of which had SHU-WPF Spotlights.

❦ Capricon in February was fun! Met up with a couple writer friends, relaxed, bought yet more dice... I'm hoping we can go again next year.

❦ Facebook Ads were pissing me off, so I'm taking a break from them. I'm planning to run one in July, though, as Dead As Dreams will be discounted. Actually, several of my titles will be discounted on Smashwords for the whole month of July. Check out the Summer/Winter Sale starting on July 1!

❦ Finally, I entered Dead As Dreams into the SPFBOX contest (Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off 10)! I'll have a more detailed update about that in my next blog post.

And that's my writing year so far! Trundling along, moving forward, making progress. All good things. I still wish I'd move faster, due to all the stories I want to write and release into the world, but I'm trying to remind myself not to be too hard on myself. Just chill, right?

Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off $0.99 Sale

So, Mind Behind the Mind (Trinity Torn, 1) didn't arise victorious in the the 2017 Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO), but it led me to a great community of fantasy authors. SPFBO 2018 has just kicked off, and one of this year's entrants has organized a great promotion. Past and present SPFBO entrants were welcomed to participate. And I figured it would be an excellent opportunity to join in with Mind Behind the Mind.

The SBFBO Fantasy Book Sale is from August 1 through August 5, 2018, and there are over 120 books priced at $0.99!

This is the first time ever I've dropped Mind Behind the Mind down to $0.99. If you've been thinking of grabbing a copy, now is the time! You can find it at various retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, and Google Play. Just hop on over to the Books2Read page for Mind Behind the Mind and you can purchase via your preferred retailer from the list provided after clicking Buy Now.

Of course, if you want to take full advantage of this promo, you'll have to wander over to the SPFBO Fantasy Book Sale page, where you'll find over 120 books discounted to $0.99. Lots of different sub-genres as well. Perhaps you'll find something being offered that you've been hoping to give a whirl.

What are you waiting for? Go buy some awesome fantasy books!

Finalists of SPFBO 2017

So, Mind Behind the Mind may not have made it to the finals for the 2017 Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO), but I figured I'd whip up a quick post to list the 10 finalists!

Now, I haven't read any of the titles yet myself, though I have my eye on a few (and already have at least one waiting on my Kindle -- those darn kids of mine are making it hard to find time to read). But the reviewers who have given these a thumbs up know their stuff, so you may want to consider giving some of these titles a try.

You can find links to all of the reviews of the finalists so far on Mark Lawrence's Blog Post. Also, if you've read any of these titles, please let me know what you thought about them!

Chaos Trims My Beard by Brett Herman

The Crimson Queen by Alec Hutson

Devil's Night Dawning by Damien Black

Jack Bloodfist by James Jakins

Pilgrimage To Skara by Jonathan S. Pembroke

Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe

Tiger Lily by K. Bird Lincoln

The War Of Undoing by Alex Perry

The Way Into Chaos by Harry Connolly

Where Loyalties Lie by Rob J. Hayes

Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off 2017

So, author Mark Lawrence does this awesome thing. An awesome thing that benefits indie fantasy writers.

What is this awesome thing? He organizes the Self-Publishing Fantasy Blog-Off! (Also called SPFBO.)

This is the third year he's running it. Back in May, he posted a call to authors. He took 300 submissions of fantasy novels (first in series or stand alone). And the contest was filled in less than a week (which goes to show just how well the first two years went).

Luckily, I managed to submit Mind Behind the Mind (Trinity Torn, 1) to the contest. Now, there are a lot of great contenders out there, and the chances of Mind winning are beyond slim, but I figured I'd take a chance and at the very least come out the other end with a review. I considered posting about this sooner, but the official start date was July 1.

What's the contest all about? Well, 10 bloggers have graciously volunteered their time to judge the entries. Each blogger receives 30 titles. Out of those 30 titles, they narrow it down to their single, top title. And then all 10 bloggers read the top 10 books chosen to pick the winner!

Take a look at the Phase 1 post on Mark Lawrence's blog to see all of the titles and which blogs they were assigned to. You'll find Mind under the Fantasy Book Review list.

You can also find a compiled list of all of this year's entries on Goodreads! I've already added several titles to my To Be Read pile (I seriously need more time in a day).

And if you'd like to keep track of the reviews all in one handy place, you can do so HERE.

I wish all of the entrants good luck, and I also send out a great big thank you to Mark Lawrence and all of the bloggers who take the time to make the SPFBO as awesome as it is!