Le sigh. I can’t believe it’s been since January since I’ve written anything.
I mean, I’ve written a ton, just not here.
I have finished the first two books of my four-part sci-fi series. The second will still have minor edits here and there, but I just recently ordered physical copies. I also ordered physical copies in both paperback and hardback of the first one after making what I truly, madly, deeply hope are the final edits.
I’ve also started work on a new action-adventure series. I don’t know where or when I’ll be publishing it, but I have about, oh, 20 or so books planned.
So, you know, I’m keeping everything super realistic and feasible for me. Not setting lofty goals at all.
As for school, I’m still in it - in two senses. I am taking sixteen credits in my university master’s program, and I’m also working in a school as a school counselor. I’ll also be interning other places to make sure I get the full scope of my 900 hours completed.
A few weeks before I started my job, we had some issues come up in our living situation that resulted in us deciding we needed to move. It was fairly sudden, but we found an amazing opportunity to rent a house. There’s a yard for our dog, we’re creating a writing nook for me, and we’ll have an amazing study/den. We’re thrilled for sure, it’s just a lot of hard work.
In March of this year, I helped for a nonprofit organization - a local Pride Foundation. The goal is to create something long-term that will serve the community by not just hosting pride events but other events throughout the year, as well as providing educational opportunities and resources to the community as needed. I’m very excited to be a part of it, and grateful for the community’s outpouring of love and support.
We held an amazing event in August, and I got to not only perform at it, but help run things during the day. It was a big success and learning experience for us. We’re planning on going even bigger next year, and have our event location already locked down.
Along this journey of authorship, I’ve discovered something interesting: audiobooks are nice, AND there are other options. So, I started a podcast in which I discuss books, answer writing questions, and read a chapter from my book each week. And since there are 30 chapters… it’s going to be probably a 32-episode podcast, as I have two guests I’m going to bring on to discuss my first romance, Porch Light.
My podcast airs every Saturday starting at midnight Mountain Standard Time, and the first episode is already up on Spotify! I worked hard on it this summer and would love to learn about what people like and don’t like about the podcast, so I can do better next seasons! That’s right - I’m going to keep doing airing episodes as long as I’m writing, and I have three romances out already, as well as four science fiction novels ready to publish starting August 2023. So, I’ll be set for a while.
And that’s about it. I’ve just been plugging along. I’ve been continuing my work of growing and learning as a person so I can be the most helpful counselor I can be, and that’s still been difficult but worth it. Defining boundaries has also been very helpful lately, as I’ve said no to two very appealing opportunities.
Oh, I’m also active on TikTok now. Come find me! I’m waaaaaaay more active there than on Twitter. Also, listen to my podcast, please. They’re very short episodes compared to hour-long podcasts.
Thank you to everyone who has come with me thus far. Once I graduate and am ONLY working full time, who knows what’s going to happen?