Untethered Realms' Book Sale October 23-31

October 23-31, Untethered Realms is hosting a book sale. Many of our books are 99c. Some are free, and we have an awesome giveaway, which includes a $50 Amazon giftcard!

Visit Untethered Realms to enter!

My books in the 99c sale are Once upon a Nightmare: A Collection, which is available at

Amazon

Google Play

iTunes

Kobo

Nook

Smashwords

and People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors, which is available at

Amazon

Google Play

iTunes

Kobo

Nook

Smashwords.

A More Lengthy Hiatus

I had to look back on the last post to see where I'm at.

I'm fairly caught up with work-related work beyond a few things that involve me learning Adobe Photoshop and InDesign. Starting next week, I will be taking a six-week class on Photoshop. I'm nervous to be taking a class, in general, but excited to learn more about Photoshop.

As for writing, I haven't done a thing with Folds in Life and Death. I still want to finish that last story and publish the collection, but I'm thinking 2020 instead of 2019. 2020 will fit better because the Curse of Tippecanoe takes affect again in 2020 and is a part of the first story in particular.

As for life, it's been rather up and down. I did receive an official autism diagnosis. I've also been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. My medications have changed, which has given me a bit more energy than I had before. I'm also in a new relationship after not being in one since 2007-2008, and I'm excited to see where it takes us.

Now for the blog title, I really want to take some time to figure out what I want to do with this blog as well as my publishing life. I still want to write. I just need to figure out what I want to publish. A whole soul-searching thing. So I've decided to put the blog on pause until January 2020. I may have the occasional promo post and I hope to visit blogs from time to time, but other than that, I won't be blogging until January. In fact, I've turned off comments to this post so they won't overwhelm me (I still love the comments, but I just need some time.)

I wish you all the best and look forward to seeing you again in January.

Same Thing Equals Same Outcome and a Hiatus

These past few months I've had the same goal: Get Folds in Life and Death ready for publication. And each month, I have not completed that one goal.

Well, it's a bigger goal with lots of smaller parts. I see the list of these smaller parts, and I get overwhelmed. An overwhelmed Cherie is an avoidant Cherie. I've been avoiding social media, emails, visiting blogs, and, of course, working on Folds in Life and Death. Then, I feel guilty about avoiding things I need to do, which just furthers my desire to complete them. And then I realize how far behind I am, so I get into my head that I must do all the things, but it makes me even more overwhelmed. It's a vicious cycle hampered by my overall lack of energy.

But I do need to change all that. So I'm going to try to narrow my approach to my to-do list. One item at a time. Put the blinders on and try to forget the other 99 things on the list. We'll see how it goes.

So I'll have a chance to catch up, I'm taking July and August off from blogging. I'll be back on September 9.

What are your goals? Or are you avoiding them like I am?

And I'll leave you with some good news. My sister finished writing her first novel in May! She sent it to a contest, so keep your fingers crossed for her.

So Can You Give Me an F?

Another month yet nothing has really changed. I still haven't gotten anything accomplished as it pertains to Folds in Life and Death. *sighs* I'm behind in emailing people as well as visiting blogs. Again. What energy I have mainly goes toward the day job. I have a project I've been working on, and I can't do much else until I finish it. Plus, I'm having to help more in our testing center as our full-time person went down to part-time as needed and another part-time staff member is going on vacation this week.

But once again, I hope to make some progress on Folds in Life and Death. We'll see. So what are your goals?

For some good news, I do have a new author picture! The one I've been using is around six years old, so it's been time to update to a new one.

Photo taken on May 11, 2019 by my sister Kara. Makeup and hair credits go to Kara too.

Just Keep Swimming, Um, I Mean Writing

So, yeah, here we are at a new month. I do feel the tide turning a bit as it comes to my exhaustion and executive functioning. Maybe the arrival of Spring will help me finish up Folds in Life and Death. *crosses fingers*

I still have the same goals as last month. Finish writing "Paper Faces" and then editing it after my critique partner reads it. Proofread the collection. I'm going to hold off on the paperback book a bit, though. My day job is letting me learn Photoshop, so I want to use it to create the paperback cover, which I will do after I take a six-week introductory class in Photoshop.

So I might be able to get Folds in Life and Death out in the next few weeks. Maybe. We'll see.

What are your April goals?

Oh, I do want to share something with you. The class I'm taking is from a site called www.ed2go.com. They have so many different colleges and classes to choose from. The prices are reasonable too. I'm doing mine through Virginia Western Community College, which I attended just after high school. The classes don't count as credits, but they will appear on transcripts. I'm hoping work will pay for the two Photoshop ones, but I also want to do the American Sign Language class, one on introductory drawing, and one on doing research as a writer.

Have you tried any classes on ed2go before or something like that?

First Quarter Stats

~ January - March ~

0 words written

24,090 words edited

14,957 friends' words edited

One Step at a Time

As you can probably guess, I'm not getting anywhere fast. I'm still struggling with fatigue and executive function failure, but I am making slow progress on Folds in Life and Death. What I've written so far has been edited. I still have several things to accomplish before publishing the collection. These things included:

1. Finish writing "Paper Faces." I have probably another 2,000 words to go in that story. I also need to write the book's description and an acknowledgements' page.
2. Self-edit "Paper Faces" and send the collection to my critique partner.
3. Implement my CP's suggestions and do a Kindle proofread.
4. Format for print and do a print proofread.
5. Make necessary changes in the print/election formats and publish.

As you can see, I have decided to make a print book of the collection. For one, I want to see how publishing in print is through KDP instead of Createspace. For two, I like having a print copy for myself, and I think this collection will just be long enough for a small book (100-150 pages).

So I'm shooting for a spring launch (hopefully by April). *crosses fingers*

I've turned off comments on this post as I still have many blogs to catch up on. Plus, I would like to point you to my post on Untethered Realms. I talked about the inspiration behind the stories in Folds in Life and Death.

Mode: Executive Function Fail

This blog post almost didn't happen. You see, I prefer to schedule my posts in advance. I usually have an idea what to say several weeks ahead of time, but this time, I didn't realize it was time to post again until Friday and am writing the post on Saturday. *sighs*

My brain has been stuck in executive function fail mode for weeks. I am keeping up with the day job, but everything else has taken a backseat. Well, a backseat might be a bit too kind. It's more like they're three Everests behind me. I want to do things, like complete and publish Folds in Life and Death as well as visit and comment on blogs, read books, and answer emails, but I just can't seem to start the tasks.

So it means Folds in Life and Death will take a little more time before I publish it. I'm now shooting for early March. *crosses fingers* I need to do a read-through edit of "Paper Lanterns," do a read-through edit and change "The Folding Point" from third to first person, and finish writing and editing "Paper Faces." After that, I need to do one more proofread (on my Kindle) of all four stories, and it'll be ready to go.

I know I can do this, but I just need to find the energy to do so. Wish me luck!

What are your goals this month?

2019 Key Phrase: Be Active

Happy New Year! Usually this time of the year, I post about my goals for the entire year, which I typically fail at accomplishing by the end of the year. So this time, I am going with a key phrase: Be active.

For writing, "be active" means I need to get back to writing. Last year, I wrote only 25,019 words, which was my worst word count since I started writing with publication in mind on January 15, 2009 (yes, ten years tomorrow!!). I plan to focus on one main project at a time, which will also include research, plotting, and edits. If I have extra time, I might add another, such as re-editing The Fate Challenges, but we'll see.

My first focus is the short story collection Folds in Life and Death. Two stories need just another read-through. One story I plan to change from third to first person, and I need to finish writing the fourth story (this week's goal). My tentative release date is mid-February early March. The collection's genres are fantasy and alternate history.

"Be active" also relates to my goal to improve my health. For Christmas, I received a Fitbit Versa. The plus side is it's keeping me active. It is also helping me track what I eat. I'm trying to take in fewer calories than I burn a day. So far, so good. The down side is I've found out how little REM and deep sleep I get. It's no wonder I'm so tired! I also tried the relaxation breathing app, and I found out relaxation breathing, or deep breathing, gives me a panic attack. Yeah, I'm weird like that.

I'd also love to meet my reading goal of 24 books this year. The last couple years I've fallen short.

What are your goals for January or this year? Do you have a key word or phrase?

I mentioned in my last post that I have been learning languages through Duolingo. There is something thrilling about learning another language. Language reflects the people who speak it, and you can learn a lot about someone's culture through their language. If you haven't studied a language beyond your first one, I highly recommend it. Especially for writers as it'll help you understand your characters more through how they speak.

Some fun facts I've learned through studying twelve languages on Duolingo:

• Klingon is a harsh language, much like the fictional people who speak it. Their sentences are backwards to how we speak English as they focus on what they're doing to someone or themselves more on the subject of the sentence. They also combine words a lot. My favorite phrase is jI'IHbe' 'ach jIval, which means "I'm not beautiful, but I am intelligent."
• In Danish, they don't seem to be keen on conjugating their verbs. Also, they tack on their indefinite articles (en/et--our "a/an") to the end of their nouns to make them definite (the).
• Dutch has a mix of German and English, so I find myself picking it up rather quickly.
• Portuguese uses um/uma for their indefinite articles and o/a for definite articles. It always confuses me the first couple times I see "a" pop up as I want to write "a/an" instead of "the."
• The language that surprised me as one of my favorites is Chinese. Now, I can't write down the symbols very well, but I am recognizing them more in TV shows and the like.
• Before I started Duolingo, I would say the secondary language I remembered the most from school was French, but I am finding I retained way more Spanish than I first thought.

Do you know more than one language?

Now, I'm going to leave you with a brief unedited excerpt from "Paper Faces" in Folds in Life and Death. Willow, the main character, and her BFF Letitia are hanging up theater lights and talking about the upcoming Homecoming dance. In the tech booth is Braden, the guy Willow is in love with.

“Have you and Antwan decided on what you’re going to wear to the dance?” I leaned over and shifted the barrel a tiny bit. Since Homecoming was on Halloween this year, the school decided on a costume-themed party. The committee had virtual posters up about the event. I muttered the slogan that was on a few of the posters and enjoyed the feel of the words in my mouth, “From boobs to butts, you must cover up.”

“I’d suggested Cookie and Lucious Lyon from Empire.” She tightened the bolts with her wrench. “But he talked me into going as Klingons from Star Wars.”

“That’s Star Trek.” My eyebrow lifted.

“Trek, Wars, they’re all the same.” She slipped out from under the light and checked her cell phone. “It’s almost time for the bell to ring.”

“And you’re sure you’d rather go with Antwan?” Though I wasn’t into science fiction, I knew Star Trek from Star Wars. If these things were important to Antwan, then Letitia should, at the very least, know the difference too.

“I’m positive.” Smiling, she pocketed her phone and rose to her feet. “Okay, we don’t have a lot in common, but I like him. He treats me like a person. You should understand how rare that can be.”

I knew all too well. My gaze drifted toward Braden. He never once looked down on me for who I was.

All Good Things #IWSG

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh. December's co-hosts are J.H. Moncrieff, Tonja Drecker, Patsy Collins, and Chrys Fey. Please visit the other blogs.

IWSG Day Question: What are five objects we'd find in your writing space?

You know what they say about pictures being worth more than words. Above is an image of my new desk at the day job where I do some of my writing. And, yes, I do like to pretend I work for Stargate Command.

This month's insecurity is two-fold. For one, it's been my lowest word count year since I started writing with publication in mind (since 2009!). The worlds and words are there, but the energy to transfer them from my mind to the screen has been lacking.

With that finite energy, I've had to make some difficult decisions. I want to keep writing and publishing my work, so I'm finding ways for life to be a little less stressful. Starting in 2019, I will no longer participate in IWSG. I've struggled to keep up with visiting blogs on IWSG days for a while now. It's not fair to participate in writing a post for IWSG, if I can't put in the time to comment. So this post is my last one for IWSG and the last one for this year.

I will still be blogging. I plan to post on the second Mondays every month, and I will be visiting, but at a much slower rate. I do hope you'll drop by every so often.

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My goals for November started off well, but the fifteen minutes of writing a day very quickly fizzled. *sighs* It seemed like all I did accomplish in November was playing with my new phone (Samsung Note 9) and continue learning languages (German, Spanish, French, Klingon, Chinese, Greek, Dutch, Italian, Danish, Hawaiian, Portuguese, and Russian) through Duolingo (127 straight days as of December 4--and, no, I didn't start all those languages at the same time).

My December goals are to relax, read, and try to finish the first draft of "Paper Faces." I'd love to publish Folds in Life and Death sometime in January/February, so "Paper Faces" needs to be written and edited ASAP.

2018 Stats

25,019 words written

48,178 words edited

381,387 friends' words edited

I hope everyone has a fantastic holidays.
Untethered Realms is having a great giveaway.

My next blog post will be on January 14.

Bookworm News: November 2018 #specfic

BOOKS READ

Meg by Steve Alten

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

BOOKS RELEASED IN NOVEMBER

Toxic by Lydia Kang

Keeper of the Lost Cities: Flashback by Shannon Messenger

Elemental Power by Rachel Morgan

Crystal Casters: Mirror Realm by Jenn Nixon

Of Gods and Sorrow by Christine Rains

Illusions by Madeline J. Reynolds

Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

This bookworm news feature will be the last one for the foreseeable future. The views this year were lower than I'd like, so I'm going to try to find a different way to shout out the books I've read and those coming out. I'll most likely do this on Twitter and/or Facebook. I will also continue to add my star rating on Goodreads for books I've read. So please follow me those places for more bookish news.

Sharpening the Creative Mind #IWSG

The IWSG was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh. November's co-hosts are Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Ann V. Friend, JQ Rose, and Elizabeth Seckman. Please follow the other participants.

November's IWSG optional question: How has your creativity in life evolved since you began writing?

A person prone to daydreaming and even more vivid dreams, I've always felt creative. Writing, however, was not something I was interested in doing for a very long time. Yet the characters were there, and after ten years of online roleplaying games, I delved into writing my own works.

There were starts and stumbles. I had, and still have, so much to learn, but each day I feel like I grow more creative. I delve with more purpose into the characters I create and their complex lives. I can't imagine not spending time with them. They help me piece together our world.

As for insecurities, I am slowly making more progress after months of working on Elements of Untethered Realms as well as going through an autistic burnout. I still am exhausted most weekends, but I'm working toward writing more regularly.

What are your insecurities this month?

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So last month, I was working on a short story as well as planning to set my sights on the next Untethered Realms' anthology. I didn't touch my plans for UR Worlds, but I did complete one scene out of three in my short story. Unfortunately, I still have not completed said story in time to submit to a certain anthology.

The good news is I am making progress in the story, which was named "Fade In... Fade Out" but is now called "Paper Faces." The story leans toward YA contemporary romance and was loosely connected to the town from my Once upon a Nightmare collection. Now I'm going back through and adding some Paperist touches because I've decided early next year to release "Paper Faces" as part of a short story collection titled Folds in Life and Death. The collection will also include the stories from my paper magics' world that are previously published: "Folds in Life and Death" from Parallels: Felix Was Here, "Paper Lanterns" from Mayhem in the Air, and "The Folding Point" from Spirits in the Water.

I am also trying to keep up with writing a bit a day, so I've set a 15 minute writing goal every day for the month of November. So far, so good. With any luck, I'll finish the first draft of "Paper Faces" and will be able to start outlining Entangled for UR Worlds.

What are your goals for November? Good luck to those participating in NaNoWriMo!

2018 Stats

23,144 words written

46,303 words edited

381,387 friends' words edited

Bookworm News: October Edition #specfic

BOOKS READ

Of Gods and Sorrow by Christine Rains

Sphere by Michael Crichton

The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli

BOOKS RELEASED IN OCTOBER

Festival Stories Through the Year by Rachna Chhabria

Star-Crossed by Pintip Dunn

After Always by Barbara J. Hancock

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

War of the Wilted by Amber Mitchell

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

Elements of Untethered Realms by Various Authors (myself included!)

Legend by Nicole Zoltack

Life Finds a Way #IWSG | Elements of Untethered Realms #newrelease

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. October's co-hosts are Dolorah @ Book Lover, Christopher D. Votey, Tanya Miranda, and Chemist Ken. Please visit the other participating blogs.

October's Question: How do major life events affect your writing? Has writing ever helped you through something? For those of you who have been following my blog, you can probably make an educated guess on how I handle writing during major life events. Frankly, I am not as capable of writing when life drains my energy. The good news, though, is writing is something I come back to as soon as I'm able.

Writing also helps me understand the world. I wouldn't be the person I am today without it.

What are your insecurities this month?

By the way, I made an appearance on the new IWSG Anthologies' blog last month. Visit my post about reading short stories.

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Though I still am finding myself lacking energy towards the end of the week, I did complete everything I needed to do for Untethered Realms. The ebooks of Twisted Earths, Mayhem in the Air, Ghosts of Fire, and Spirits in the Water have been updated. Elements of Untethered Realms is published in print and ebook formats, and I even updated Fantasy Uprising, which no longer includes Reborn but five short stories from my People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors. I've also been working on my short story for a certain anthology too.

In October, I plan to finalize my submission for that anthology as well as turn my sights to writing Entangled, a UR Worlds novella.

What are your goals for October?

2018 Stats

21,215 words written

43,416 words edited

306,748 friends' words edited

From USA Today bestselling and popular science fiction and fantasy authors comes Elements of Untethered Realms, a supernatural compilation of the anthologies Twisted Earths, Mayhem in the Air, Ghosts of Fire, and Spirits in the Water. These forty thrilling tales feature authors Angela Brown, Jeff Chapman, Cathrina Constantine, Julie Flanders, River Fairchild, Gwen Gardner, Misha/M. Gerrick, Meradeth Houston, Graeme Ing, Simon Kewin, M. Pax, Christine Rains, Cherie Reich, and Catherine Stine.

Available at Amazon, Kindle, Google Play, iTunes, Kobo, and Nook.

Bookworm News: September Edition #SpecFic

BOOKS READ

Harnessing the Winds by Morena Silver

The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston

BOOKS RELEASED IN SEPTEMBER

The Legacy of Earth by Daniel Arenson

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake

Southern Karma by Amy Boyles

A Deadly Brew by Lynn Cahoon

First Kisses Suck by Ali Cross

Dark Sentinel by Christine Feehan

Pecan Pies and Dead Guys by Angie Fox

Putting the Fun in Funeral by Diana Pharaoh Francis

Red Harvest by Patrick C. Greene

Afterimage by Naomi Hughes

Waking the Dark by K.N. Lee

The Golden City by Liz Long

Stalk the Moon by Jessica Lynch

Empress Unveiled by Jenna Morland

Give the Dark My Love by Beth Revis

Wake Me After the Apocalypse by Jordan Rivet

Timeless by R.A. Salvatore

Vampires Like It Hot by Lynsay Sands

Happy Doomsday by David Sosnowski

Lemuria by John Triptych

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

I Want to Believe But Trust No One #IWSG | Bookworm News #SpecFic

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. September's co-hosts are Toi Thomas, T. Powell Coltrin, M.J. Fifield, and Tara Tyler. Please visit the other participating blogs.

I apologize for skipping IWSG last month. I was deep in an autistic burnout that left me physically ill (sore throat, headache, no energy, and eventually swollen lymph nodes and laryngitis). The mystery illness lasted over two months and took two rounds of antibiotics, some corticosteriods, and several sporadic days off work where I would sleep 12+ hours at a time to start to feel better. I'm still not at 100%, but I am finally getting more energy to do things.

Optional IWSG Day Question: What publishing path are you considering/did you take and why?

My path to publication may have started with small publishers, but I prefer self-publishing and plan to continue publishing my own work for the foreseeable future.

Why you might ask? In my school days, I was never much of a group project girl. I just didn't trust anyone with my grade, and I'd been burned by such groups in the past. I have similar feelings toward publishers. I do believe most are honest, knowledgeable, and do their best for their authors, but I prefer to keep the control and do things myself. That way I know the work will live up to my rather high standards.

What are you insecure about today?

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Because of the burnout, I was slow in proofreading Elements of Untethered Realms, which I finished on August 30. We're still on schedule to publish the anthology collection in early October. I'm waiting on any proofreading changes the authors want to make on their stories. Then I'll make changes to the print document and create the ebook versions as well as update the single anthology titles too. Then it'll be publishing time!

This month, I'm taking down Reborn, Determined, and Marked from retailers and Reborn from Wattpad. The reasons why are here. This change also affects Untethered Realms' box set Fantasy Uprising. We'll be putting up a second edition which will include several short stories from my People of Foxwick and Their Neighbors instead of Reborn. I'm hoping to make the changes to the box set and have it reloaded to sites soon.

I also have a short story idea for a certain anthology--you can probably guess which one--so I'm hoping to write the story and have it edited before the deadline.

I also want to start seriously planning to write Entangled, a UR Worlds' story.

We'll see how things go.

What are your goals this month?

2018 Stats

20,257 words written

43,416 words edited

303,449 friends' words edited

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Since I missed August's bookworm news, I've decided to add it here.

BOOK READ

Elements of Untethered Realms by Various Authors (myself included)

BOOKS RELEASED IN AUGUST

Nightblood by Elly Blake

Queen of Thieves by Katherine Bogle

Eye of Truth by Lindsay Buroker

Bloodlust by Midnight by Deanna Chase

Hunted by Darcy Coates

What Gods Incite by Clara Coulson

Shadow on the Stairs by Blair Daniels

Blackout by Dannika Dark

Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven by Bella Forrest

Relic by Alan Dean Foster

Iron Bones by Yasmine Galenorn

Quintus by Kym Grosso

Serpentine by Laurell K. Hamilton

The Immortal Queen by Jennifer L. Hart

A Girl of White Winter by Barb Hendee

The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal

Do Not Go Alone: A Posthumous Mystery by C.A. Larmer

Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas

Elemental Thief by Rachel Morgan

Seafire by Natalie C. Parker

Echoes to Ashes by Ainsley Shay

Queen of Iron and Blood by Melissa Wright

The Girl Who Sees by Dima Zales

A Short Blogging Hiatus

Thank you for stopping by, but I've decided to take this IWSG off as well as the rest of August from blogging. Comments are turned off for this post. I hope to be back in September.

July's Bookworm News #specfic

BOOKS RELEASED

What Man Defies by Clara Coulson

When Fire Rains Down by Cecelia Earl

Veins of Gold by Charlie N. Holmberg

Tempting Friendship by Patricia Josephine

The Onyx Ring by Tanya Miranda

Shades of Fae by Various Authors

Bright We Burn by Kiersten White

Ever Evolving Goals #IWSG

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh. July's co-hosts are Nicki Elson, Juneta Key, Tamara Narayan, and Patricia Lynne. Please visit the other participating blogs.

Optional IWSG Day Question: What are your ultimate writing goals, and how have they changed over time (if at all)?

Ultimate Goal #1: Take over the world, Pinky.

Oh, whoops, wrong list. Writing goals, writing goals, where are you? Ah, here is the list.

My current ultimate writing goal is to produce enough work that sells to supplement my retirement in 24+ years. When I first started writing with publication and profit in mind, I had hoped to eventually make enough money to write full-time, but I've decided I'd rather not have my main income tied to the whims and fancies of readers and retailers. The market is too unreliable for my anxieties to put all my faith in my books selling. But it would be nice to make enough where I could retire early.

Of course, most days I'd settle for breaking even. Heh.

What are your insecurities this month?

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First off, thank you so much for your comments on my post about The Fate Challenges! For some reason, Blogger wasn't sending comments to my email, but I tried to visit everyone who commented.

So my proofreading goal didn't quite work out as planned. I was placed on a new medication that drained me of all my energy. I struggled to just stay awake at work and get the day job work done. *sighs* My energy levels are a bit iffy still, but I think I'm doing a little bit better. *crosses fingers* This month's goal is to finish proofreading all 571 pages of Elements of Untethered Realms.

What are your goals this month?

2018 Stats

20,257 words written

17,708 words edited

106,163 friends' words edited

June's Bookworm News #SpecFic

BOOKS RELEASED

Brief Cases by Jim Butcher

Eden Conquered by Joelle Charbonneau

What Fate Portends by Clara Coulson

Mask of the Dragon King by J. Keller Ford

Touched by Magic by K.N. Lee and Nicole Zoltack

Born in a Treacherous Time by Jacqui Murray

Crystal Casters: Awakening by Jenn Nixon

Harnessing the Winds by Morena Silver

Star Trek: Discovery: Fear Itself by James Swallow

Empires of Shadow and Ash by Various Authors

The Hand of Alarm by Nicole Zoltack

AND FOR WRITERS

Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You From Idea to Publication by Chrys Fey

What Is in a Name #IWSG | Fate of The Fate Challenges

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh. June's co-hosts are Beverly Stowe McClure, Tyrean Martinson, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor. For a list of the other IWSG posters, click here.

OPTIONAL IWSG Day Question: What's harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names? For me, character names. I tend to land on a book title much easier than come up with however many character names I need, especially characters' last names. I'm terrible figuring out last names and that's the reason why no one in The Fate Challenges has them. LOL!

What are your insecurities this month?

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Last month went fairly well, despite beating my head against the wall trying to create the perfect file and cover for the print version of Elements of Untethered Realms. I spent way too many hours on it, but I'm so pleased with how it turned out. It's one beautiful book. This month's goal is to proofread at least half, if not all, of the 570 pages (242,000+ words) in Elements of Untethered Realms.

What are your goals for June?

2018 Stats

20,257 words written

17,708 words edited

81,684 friends' words edited

If you read my newsletter, you've already read this part...

This year, especially in May, I've been thinking about where I want to take my writing, particularly concerning The Fate Challenges and my current passion leaning toward science fiction rather than fantasy. The thinking involved math too.

If I can rewrite/edit an average of 1,000 words per hour and proofread 2,000 words per hour, it'll take me around 260 hours to finish Forged and 360 hours to finish Destined. 620 hours, not including the time it takes for my critique partners to edit Destined, wouldn't be too bad if I could work 20-40 hours a week on it. With a full-time job and health problems, which cause low energy levels, 20-40 hours a week won't be happening anytime soon. Plus, there is the passion part too. I stand by my plans for The Fate Challenges, but I want to start writing science fiction sooner rather than later. The more time I spend with The Fate Challenges, the less I'll have for what I really want to write.

So how much time do I think I can give to The Fate Challenges a week? I've settled on 2-3 hours, which I could either do in thirty-minute intervals throughout the work week or all in one day, depending on my energy levels. In theory, I should have time to work on science fiction too, if I limit how long I work on The Fate Challenges.

At 2.5 hours a week, it'll take me nearly five years to complete Forged and Destined. I don't want future readers to continue to wait that long as some readers have already waited over four years for Forged. With that in mind, I've made the decision to unpublish Reborn on retailers/Wattpad, Determined from my website, and Marked from retailers. I will do so after Labor Day (US) as I will need time to update websites and such.

After Untethered Realms publishes Elements of Untethered Realms and I'm finished writing my story for Untethered Worlds Anthology #1, I plan to start working on The Fate Challenges again (near the end of this year, early next year). I'll likely start at the beginning with a light edit on Reborn, Determined, and Marked before continuing on with Forged and Destined. When I'm at the proofreading stages for Destined, I plan to start publishing the series again. Perhaps the stories will be re-titled too. I'll keep you all updated as who knows what the publishing world, or the world in general, will look like in the next 5-6 years.

Though I am sorry it'll take much, much longer to complete The Fate Challenges, I must admit I feel good about this decision, especially since it means I'll be able to start working on science fiction later this year. Right now I plan to start on a duology set around a 1,000 years in the future on Mars and Earth. The idea came to me while reading an article on SpaceX. You can use your imagination to fill in the details as I won't say much more. Yet.