I think this has been a long time coming, as I have struggled to gain some traction on the platform. I was here since launch, though I did gradually stop posting that first year, when I failed to find any readers for my first series. This was before I got on Facebook to promote my work. After finding success with Fluid Bonding, I started Last Train Home and other series. Some performed better than others, but those wrapped up while only one continued receiving regular updates.

Part of my motivation to switch gears are my current work and school obligations, which cut down on my time to write (more so due to my limited social battery). The other part is burnout from all the Facebook promotions (commonly referred to as games by the Vella community). The rules and games are always changing, and I don't have enough content to keep up with the full-timers.

I also just...want actual readers.

Oh, and of course the diminishing Vella bonuses have kind of killed the groove for many people. I haven't been particularly hit hard or anything. I had some truly great bonuses last year, achieving my highest numbers ever, but that gradually decreased by the end of the year. That was around the time I started my current job, which eats up so much of my time. So I can't be disappointed by my bonuses, as I didn't put in the usual work to maintain or bolster those numbers.

Many of the full-timers, however, got hit really hard, despite giving it their all and having some of their greatest number ever. I saw several of those authors throw in the towel and have to pick up part-time jobs to keep food on the table. I think we're a lot closer to that Vella crash now than ever before.

This is why I always suggest having a contingency plan. For many people, that's Patreon, Royal Road, or Substack. For me, that's been Laterpress, Neovel, and most recently, Ream. I'm going to focus more on my Ream page than Vella, and have gradually stopped doing the games. The bonus money is nice, but the platform is so fickle that I wouldn't trust Amazon with my WIPs. I'm wary of editing anything from existing Vellas, for fear of being hit with the "duplicate content" claim.

I'll still post episodes of Last Train Home on Vella, but I no longer feel that pressure to write and schedule episodes within their limited schedule. I want to maintain quality, and thus will schedule on Ream first (where I maintain actual control), before posting directly on Vella.

Plus, while the bonuses and royalties may grow smaller and smaller, I'm still being paid for my work on Vella. It's not a big loss.

Also, Amazon has decided to give Prime Students free reads of Kindle Vella series for the next six or so months. Many authors are displeased with this because we won't be compensated, outside of the unknown metric of the bonuses. And we only get bonuses for stories that earned royalties, which free tokens do not grant. It's...not great, but Vella is still lesser known that I don't see it as a real problem.

For myself, anyway.

But again, this is why I'm gradually moving from the system. I may abandon Vella altogether by summer and lean fully into Ream and maybe return to Neovel. At that point, I expect to pull Last Train Home entirely and start posting longer chapters, switching from the episodic format to a more traditional novel format. This may or may not affect my current posting schedule, from once a week to biweekly.

More on that later.

This Box of Hearts has everything you could want for Valentine’s Day with sweet to spicy tales of LGBTQIA+ love.

The 20 authors are linked below, with a bit about each of the stories. Follow the authors on Ream before February 14 and you’ll be set to get all of these stories the day they publish.

Aria Grace – Sprinkles on Top: (MM) #daddykink Travis makes stuffies that bring people joy. On their first Valentine's together, Jared shows Travis just how much fun he can have with Sprinkles on top.

DD Kelly – I Only Have Eyes for Choux: (MM) A sweet story about a man, a man, and an eclair. A romantic comedy prequel set in the Les Billet-doux Bakery series.

E.J. Russell – Purgatory Postscript: (MM) The final curtain fell at Purgatory Playhouse, but the former Darned are still finding their way. (Wilson + Hermes)

Evelyn Jeannie Hall – Camp Counselors: (MM) friends to lovers

Gaius J Augustus – Lake of Promises: (Other) On a trip to a lake that grants promises, two people will find love they weren't looking for.

Giovanna Reaves – A Pryde Valentine: (MM) Duncan and Jordan celebrating Valentine their way.

Heather Hallow – An Old-Fashioned Valentines Day: (MM) Poet’s never had a Valentine’s Day before, and Campbell wants to show him an old-fashioned good time. PNR M/M (vampire and cat person), billionaire romance, BDSM

Inka York – Luke's Wolf: (MM) Brooding wolf shifter rescues straight guy without filter from stampeding alpacas. PNR M/M. Features storyworld side characters.

Jeff Adams – Lego and Chocolate: A Surprise Valentine's Date: (MM) Miles and Cole from Taking a Shot at Love spend their first Valentine's Day as a couple.

Katy Manz – Faking It (MM) Friends to lovers, fake dating

Lavender Quinn – Date Night on peek Street: (FF) A well-connected woman searching for love, the dedicated employee who will do anything to make her Valentine’s Day dreams a reality, and their forbidden night of passion that may change their futures forever.

Layla Dorine – Waltzing in Watermelon Slush: (MM) Established couple celebrating their first valentine's day in their new home.

Lorelei M Hart – Every Cupid Needs A Valentine: (MM) Cupid’s Valentine is a sweet mpreg shifter romance featuring an experienced cupid, an omega wolf, and a Hallmark holiday turned so much more.

Michelle Dare – Valentine's Day at Untouchable: (MMM) Dominic has all the right moves as he dances for the crowded club. When he exits the stage, his men are waiting to show just how hot they think he is.

Sienna Eggler – A Knight to Remember: (Other) Anniken is infatuated by the dashing knight, Laken, and seeks some one on one training. This is the origin story of an established couple in the Last Train Home series.

TJ Nichols – Hatchlings & Demigods: (MM) Established couple deciding what to do with the hatchlings.

TL Travis – A Little Valentine's Day: (MM) A sugar filled day and a room full of littles. What can go wrong?

Trisha Linde – Romancing the Alpha: (MM)  Omegaverse, two alphas.

Victoria Sue – Puppy Love: (MM) Drew gets way more that he bargains for on Valentine's day when he decided to adopt a dog from a local shelter.

Will Forrest – The Sweetest Prize: (MM) A sweet slice of MM Historical Romance inspired by the true story of the invention of the legendary Sacher torte.

It's my first time participating in this event, and I'm super stoked! There's a wide selection of queer fiction, from fantasy to romance. Many of these books are also available outside of Amazon, for those of you who prefer other stores!

The site is divided in categories like genre and pairings for the sake of ease.

If you're looking for sapphic books in particular, for example, you'll find them here: https://queeryourbookshelf.com/#ff

For everything else, you'll find them on the main site:

Hey y’all! Hard to believe the month is almost over already. The shortest month of the year (and my birthday) is just around the corner, and I have a lot planned!

I’m mostly excited for the updated release of my favorite Persona game, Persona 3 Reload. I’ve got that pre-ordered and everything, and will binge play it on release weekend. I was hoping to finish my first playthrough of another old favorite, Baten Kaitos, by then, but time got away from me.

Games aside, I fell short of my writing goal for my old WIP. I met the word count I set for myself, but I still need to write the last few chapters. The major conflict is settled, so all that’s left is the aftermath, which I’m stoked for! School, work, and a side project have gotten in the way, however. That side project is important, though!

I’m part of two groups aimed at spreading awareness of the Ream platform. The goal is to write and share short stories. One group is doing a sort of “hop” for Valentine’s Day, while the other group will have several writing prompts throughout the year, from March to August. The first group is submitting mostly MM stories, with a few FF. The other should be much more diverse, and will have a month to celebrate trans, nonbinary, ace, and more characters. So that’s something to look forward to!

I Heart SapphFic and Queer Your Bookshelf are also doing a big promotion next month, featuring 99 cent deals! So definitely keep an eye out for those.

The next two months are going to be especially busy for me, as that’s when I’ll be drafting the second book of my tech-noir series, Early Adopter. I’m hoping to make this one longer, by at least 45k. The sweet spot would be 50k for me, but I won’t force it. The first in the series was only 30k, which is fine because it sets the stage for the rest of the series, and I’ll be able to flesh out previously mentioned concepts. Once I’m done drafting that book, I’ll switch focus back to my other WIP or edit another book, we’ll see.

Oh, and my yearly writing goal is going strong! I haven’t missed a day yet (knock on wood), and have written an average of 700 words a day. I think I’ll hit 20k words by the end of the month, if not sooner. I’ll go into more detail on my last post for this month.

That’s it for now! Til next time~.

Over 450 participating authors with over 600 romance books that are waiting for you on Kobo Plus!!!

Search for your next Kobo Plus read broken down by category ➜ ➜ https://koboplusromancebinge.com/ 

All of them ➜ ➜ https://www.kobo.com/us/en/p/kobo-plus-romance-binge

Kobo Plus is a subscription program that offers you unlimited reading and/or listening for one low monthly price! Bonus: The first month is F-R-E-E

Sign up to Kobo Plus here ➜ ➜ https://geni.us/KoboPlusUS

What is Kobo Plus?

Ya know how we have Netflix, Prime, Hulu, and HBO Max? Each service has it’s own benefits, because it fulfills a need and want. Because YOLO (you only live once), and even on a budget we deserve to treat ourselves! What if I told you there is another subscription service similar to the ones featured on Amazon that has THOUSANDS of romance books in both ebook and audio format and is available to customers in the US, AU, CA, UK, IT, NZ, BE, and NL? 

That subscription service is through Kobo, and your first month is FREE! 

I know some people like setting resolutions for the new year, but I've grown to appreciate goals more. They're pretty obtainable, assuming you pick something within your grasp.

I listed some writing goals in my end of the year post, but it'll be easier to contain everything in a separate post for the year. If things go really well, I could have five books published by November (rough timing, I know). At the very least I'll have three out, two of which just need edits and covers.

So, without ado:

• Finish drafting my shifter thriller WIP (long overdue).
  • Ideally have it revised, edited, and published by the end of the year.
• Draft, edit, and publish the second book in the Early Adopter series.
  • I plan on tackling this next!
• Draft the second book in the St. Acton series.
  • Partly outlined!
• Edit and publish the second book in the Last Train Home series.
• Edit and publish The Threads That Weave in ebook and print.
• Upload a few other books to Ream.
• Write 400k words by the end of the year.
  • At 7,437/400,000 as of today.

2023 has been an interesting one for me. We moved from a mediocre "luxury apartment" to a larger apartment that's actually very well insulated, we adopted an adorable and affectionate black cat named Raynie, I went back to school for a certificate, wrote over 300k words, I published three books, wrapped up several Kindle Vellas, and read over 100 books!

I'm sure there's more I'm missing, but those are the highlights. Next year should look much better for me, both financially and in terms of my writing career. Next year is when I plan on releasing one of my oldest WIPs, an urban fantasy/thriller featuring feline shifters and some darker themes. It's also very sapphic, but there's not really a romance. A bit of hooking up, for sure. I plan on posting more about it later, once I start editing.

I wanted to publish it on Ream for now, but the first two chapters are a bit too rough for my liking. Some people don't mind reading rough drafts as an early access kinda thing, but I really need that polish to shine! I may do a pre-release for those subscribed to me on Ream, meaning you’d get the book 2 weeks or so before everyone else.

Other books I plan on publishing next year include a cleaned up and fleshed out version of my serial, The Threads That Weave. I’ve been letting it sit for now, while I work on other things. I plan on sending it out for extensive edits sometime next spring, and published around October, just in time for Halloween!

There's also Book 2 of Last Train Home to consider, which hinges on me completing the fourth season in a timely manner. At some point I may focus on making longer seasons and releasing them as their own books. That can be as early as the fifth season, when I really shift more into the budding romance between Meike and Moira.

I'll start drafting the second book of the Early Adopter series that year as well, along with the final book in my St. Acton series. So that's at least three books, with a max of five. I am a slow writer, however, and then there's covers to consider...the St. Acton book may not be published until 2025, but I'll at least get the pre-order setup once I have a cover.

Now, as for books I read...

I documented all my read books on Hardcover, and even made a list of my favorites! There are a few books that didn't make the list, as I wasn't able to add them, but it's no big deal. The important take away is that I revisited my childhood by reading the Animorphs series (mostly the plot relevant books). So my recommendations are now a mess, as I don't usually read YA or children's books.

However, I plan on reading the Redwall books next year. To my recollection, I only read five or so books of the series? I think I just got burned out, as I tried reading them back to back. I was careful to avoid that while rereading the Animorphs.

Some of my favorite books this year were Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder, Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff, and Qoheleth by Madison Scott-Clary. You'll find the full list here:

Hardcover

We’re a social network for book lovers to find life changing books, track what you read & want to read, and connect with passionate readers.

Hardcover

Hello, Readers!

I’m excited to announce that my books will be available as part of a promotion on Smashwords through January 1 as part of their 2023 End of Year Sale! This is a chance to get my books, along with books from many other great authors, at a discount so you can get right to reading.

You will find the promo here:

Smashwords – Sitewide Sale

Please share this promo with friends and family. You can even forward this email to the avid readers in your life!

Thank you for your help and support!

Happy reading!

I’ve been thinking a lot about starting a digital garden. Not in this blog space, but in its own site of sorts. I have something like that in my Obsidian vault. Something for my eyes only, where all my notes are allowed to grow and spread.

And that’s what a digital garden is—a space that exists in some form online, that one continually adds onto as they encounter new information or new ideas. Like a real garden, it needs to be maintained. Old, rotting bits need to be removed from budding or steady growth. It’s closer to a wiki, in a way, but not quite the same thing.

Wikis are generally meant to inform, whereas a garden can be a source of personal notes. It might not mean a lot to the casual observer, like many gardens. But it’s significant to the gardener.

I’m tempted to post my current garden online, so that readers and fans of my work can see how I form notes. These notes will relate to my writing as a whole, particularly world building. And for series like Last Train Home and Early Adopter, world building means everything. It lays stepping stones for the overall story, and brings light to any stones left unturned.

Obsidian Publish has been used to cultivate many digital gardens, which is what exposed me to the concept. And yet, I’m not quite ready to make the leap. Money is a constant issue, but I like to think I can achieve something similar at a lower rate and more flexible setup. My ideal site for this kind of thing would be a static one, with minimal imagery and coding. Bear is a good alternative, should I choose to go that route.

I’ll continue to play around with ideas, as it’s a lesser priority right now. But if I can’t find a suitable alternative by spring, I’ll seriously consider Obsidian Publish. I’m already a big fan of the services this company provides, so what harm is there? I even use Sync, just to keep some of my writing backed up and synced across multiple devices.

Normally I do a monthly newsletter, but life got pretty hectic last month. Mostly work, but add school into the mix, and it’s a neverending mix of obligations. I work in retail, and the amount of stock we’ve gotten has skyrocketed. Lucky me, I won’t be working the week of Black Friday. I did that once, for Walmart, and I never want to work another Black Friday again. I had a few customers threaten to fight my manager over...towels. And that was before the pandemic.

Despite my increased workload, I was actually very productive. Last month, I launched the first book in my Last Train Home series, which is available in ebook and print. Last Friday, the first book in my sci-fi series, Early Adopter, was released. Those are the last two releases I had planned for this year, with more to come around spring of next year.

Right now, I am working on an old WIP I started over a decade ago (in my teens). This story was originally inspired by Kill Bill, and has undergone many iterations over the years. From regular human assassins, to feline shifters. One of the few things that remained static were names and the sapphic cast of characters. I had roughly 32k from my previous draft, but added over 20k in the form of new early chapters. I’m sitting on 53k words at the moment, and no end in sight! My goal is 80k, but I’d be satisfied with 70k.

I wouldn’t categorize it as a romance, though there is romance involved. It’s more of a thriller, following a jaguar shifter as they protect an exotic dancer from a serial killer. That's essentially the core of the plot, but there's more going on, particularly the protag, Frankie's mental state (PTSD, among others), their partners (who care dearly for them), and a bit of body horror.

I considered publishing the story bit by bit on Kindle Vella, though there's been a lot of issues with Amazon lately. There's an increased chance of having episodes blocked, and customer support has been...quite lacking. If I do decide to publish the draft anywhere, it'll be Ream. But there are a few things I want to tidy up first.

There might not be a newsletter next month, for the record. I don't have anything major planned for December, and will be busy with finals and work.

I'm sure many of you know that November tends to be a big month for writers, and not because of certain holidays (Thanksgiving, for those in the US), but because of National Novel Writing Month, AKA NaNoWriMo.

I myself am not doing NaNo this year, though I have in previous years. The model just doesn't work for me; I can write at least 20k in one month, but 50k is really pushing it. I fare better with maintaining a yearly writing goal of 300k. As of today, I am 26k away from hitting my goal. Next year, I may bump that up to 350k.

My Excel sheet has been my primary tracker for the past three years, but before that I started using the writing game site, 4thewords. More recently, I picked up Pacemaker which may replace my Excel sheet next year, as I focus more on specific writing goals to map out my WIPs and serials. One thing that won't change is my use of 4thewords, which I have a 1299 day streak (roughly 3 years).

And that's because they constantly put out fresh content that keeps me engaged and focused on hitting my writing goals. This month, they have a big event with a magic school theme! You can recruit familiars that boost your stats, buy new clothes and housing items, unlock potions, and, the best part, fight a wide array of new monsters!

I'm tempted to buy the bundle that extends the event into next month, so I can try to max out a mastery or two with some of the new monsters. Either way, this event will keep me busy for quite a while, and just in time, too! I'm in the middle of rewriting an old WIP (mostly switching third person pronouns to first person), while drafting new episodes for my web serial, Last Train Home.

I'll go more in-depth about the WIP in this month's newsletter; it's one of my oldest and favorite stories. I just wasn't in the right space to write it until now.

Anyway, I'll try to report back about my progress with 4theword's event next month! I love this site, but don't mention it nearly enough. And if you're curious about the site and want to join, I have a referral code that'll help: DRQGX36837