Let’s Talk Books
Alright folks, I know it's been a while since I wrote a blog, but I have some things to talk about today. Why don't we start with the one that everyone probably comes to my blogs for; writing stuff! What have I been working on? Krampus! (Yup, still!)
Now, I'm usually a fast writer, and I've written longer things in less time before, but this one I'm taking my time with. I am on the last 7 chapters (19/25+EP), and they're going really well. I've been able to consistently write around 2k several days in a row before taking a day or two off and refilling my well, which has been difficult for me in the past. I used to feel like if I wasn't writing, I would lose the story, but that's not the case with this one. It's there, it's been there, and it clearly refuses to leave until I've gotten it all out. It's currently sitting at 88k (including scenes prewritten or removed), so it's definitely gonna be a lot longer than the first story in it's world "The Lonely Santa Claus".
Again, I'm taking my time with this story, so I'm going to be coming back to it later this year (after it's finished, and I get it back from beta readers). However, I have some plans for the mean time and they're gonna be fun. This June, I'm going to be participating in the Hot Wet Queer Summer Jam hosted by H.S. Wolfe, Mars Adler, Jun T.N., and Olive J. Kelley over on Itch.io.
https://itch.io/jam/hot-wet-queer-summer-jam
This won't be an incredibly long story, but I fully intend to try my hand at getting this story written, edited, and put up on Itch.io by the end of the Jam. It'll be my first Itch story, but hopefully not my last. I want to eventually put up The Lonely Santa Claus up on Itch as well, to make sure that it's available in more places than just Amazon. Of course, this also means that I hope to put Krampus up there as well.
Now, we've talked about my goals, but let's talk about something that's kind of been weighing on me and ensuring that I'm gonna be going slow for a hot minute. My shoulder. I think I mentioned it before, but I have a bum shoulder, and it's really been a pain point for me all my life. Well, I recently went to a doctor that actually listened (I know, shocker) and found out that I have what's called Calcified Tendonitis. Basically… my body makes stupid little calcium pebbles in my joints, which definitely explains the pain and occasional loss of motion. (Stupid fucking body.) So, I've been going to get it treated, going to physical therapy, and taking time to better myself. As you might be able to guess, this has been a hit financially while also being time consuming. I do feel like it's worth it to be able to use my arm, but it's hard.
For my shoulder, I've been taking some medication for pain and muscle tension, which we've found has been a huge help for a lot more things than just the shoulder. One of the meds (the muscle relaxer I think) is a low level stimulant. This has been effecting my ADHD in a good way. I haven't been medicated for my ADHD since I was about 11 years old, and I've just been out here raw dogging my scattered brain. Yup, you read that right, everything I've written in the past has been done unmedicated. (Even I can admit that's a scary thought.)
Well, I'm basically medicated for it right now, and that means I can sit down and get 2k in an hour. It's like a heavy handed reminder that I can, in fact, type up to 100 words per minute when I'm focused and don't have to spend all day struggling to get the word counts that I desire. It means that, I can spend my day doing other things, like playing games, crocheting, doing art, things I can't do when glued to my chair all day struggling to reach a word count goal that I gave myself. It's been fantastic, and I have a note to myself to actually go through the process of trying to get actually medicated for my ADHD specifically. When I can afford it.
Okay, with all of that stuff out of the way, let's talk about books! I've actually been struggling to read, recently, because I'm in that state of having a bunch of books, while only REALLY wanting to read books that aren't even out yet! Books that are sequels to books I've already read and whose world I'm so fucking hyped to get back to. Books like "Running with the Alpha's Son" by Penny Jessup, or "Backhanded Compliments" by Katie Chandler.
Another book I'm looking forward to, is "The Shadow Rises" by Maelan Holladay. This is the sequel to "The Storm Gathers", and book 2 in the Stormfall series. With another absolutely stunning cover by Keylin Rivers, this epic fantasy is sure to be another addiction. (The cover real is today, so look below to see it!)
For more information about the book, to order the first in the Stormfall series "The Storm Gathers", or to check out all of the other amazing titles by the publisher Inimitable Books, click here! (add link for Inimitable's website to 'here') Also, go follow Maelan Holladay and Inimitable Books on Instagram and show them all the love and support they deserve!
Whelp, that's all for me folks. Thanks for reading, and I hope you come back the next time I ramble about my life!
