We're Baaaaack!

Has anyone seen that absolutely unhinged dinosaur movie "We're Back"? Should we be concerned I enjoyed it as a kid? (the answer to that is probably yes)

HI SO I DROPPED OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH THERE FOR A HOT MINUTE.

I know I keep using the "life got nuts” excuse but this time… life actually calmed down since I last newsletter-ed (that’s a word, right?).

There were things surrounding marketing and being an author I wanted to reassess, and my newsletter was one of them. I still want to write these, but I’m only send them out every two months now. If there’s any Big News, I’ll send out an extra, but from here on, it’ll be bimonthly. That way, I hope, I’ll have more exciting news to pack into a newsletter rather than a monthly “yep the words are still happening.” That’s not super exciting mail to get every month.

I’ve begun the second draft of my next WIP, Project Gauntlet. It’s been a JOURNEY just getting to the second draft. I restarted the first draft over and over, nothing feeling quite right. I think I’ve finally got it where I want it, and I’m excited for the rest!

I’ve created a deadline, and, God willing, Project Gauntlet will release late summer 2025. I’m planning to do a Kickstarter too, so keep an eye out for that!

I have one other Secret Project I’m going to be working on, but that’s under wraps for a while yet. I’m excited for it though!

I started a blog! Instagram captions weren’t quite cutting it anymore for all the storytelling thoughts I have, and I wanted something a bit bigger where I could freely discuss the thing I love: stories. Right now the plan is to post every Monday, and discuss stories/storytelling, and maybe some writing or publishing tips here and there. My first post is already live, and it’s about Rings of Power (anybody else enjoying RoP?).

Life has been WILD. The holidays were a little chaotic, but fun and cozy. <3 Though I’m glad my schedule is resuming the usual routine… My sleep schedule has been all sorts of messed up.

But earlier this year, near the end of summer, I changed jobs. My summer job was becoming too much. There was unnecessary stress (things out of my control), and I wasn’t enjoying my summer. But God opened a door to a “new” job, one I had before, and it has given me more time to write, and going to work is no longer stressful or exhausting. <3

Shortly before the holiday chaos, my whole family plus my grandparents went on a 5-day cruise. We somehow got nine kids and an alarming amount of luggage through airports and onto the cruise (and back off it!) without losing anyone (at least, we didn’t lose them for very long).

But it was a BLAST. We escaped the cold, played in the ocean, explored the island of Nassau, and experienced lots of different foods. Also, there was a free soft-serve station on the ship.

I am not a hot weather girlie, but it was nice to get away from the cold that chills even your bones.

With a calmer job, I’ve been reading more. I didn’t reach my Goodreads goal, BUT I finally started Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson and it’s so fun! Thick with worldbuilding, but the magic system is delightfully complex, and Kelsier is a wonder menace to society.

For 2025, I want to tackle more indie books. I’m woefully behind, but it’s time to step up my game! Also, more Sanderson. I feel left out on the Stormlight excitement and I need to know!

I’m learning to trust God more. With life, with writing. Trusting that He has a plan for my WIP when it requires me to let go of a scene/character that I really love. So far, it’s opened the doors to making the story even better!

I’m also learning to be more present during events or social functions. Take just a few pictures, but then let myself enjoy it with my own eyeballs. To leave my phone in my pocket.

I’m also beginning a rather scary journey of changing my mindset on how I view my writing. To still have fun with it, but also see it from a business/“this is my job” perspective. That means setting deadlines for myself, it means fighting the urge to doom scroll and keep working like this project is my full time job.

I have plans for the future, but for right now, I’m changing my perspective. If I want stories and storytelling to be my job, I need to start acting like it already is.

My goal is to have the second draft of Project Gauntlet finished by the end of January, and then in February, I will Lord willing throw it at fellow writers who are willing to be brutally honest with their feedback. I used this approach for alpha readers with Siege of Gold, and I loved the feedback. It dug deep and made it the story so much better.

2025 is spread out before us. Here’s to being productive in it and achieving all the things!

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