Dammit! It's fricking October!

This post has gone through multiple iterations since I've come back from the GCLS conference back in July, and it's only because I'll think of something while typing, and I either get distracted or hold off on posting because my idea is a good one, thinking I would use the post to announce it because I'm always working on something. Usually that's not the case, but this time, I have a couple of things to announce lol.

Uh...since this is going to be a recap of my summer pretty much I'll put this under a cut so it's not a freakishly long post. I hope you all had an enjoyable summer, and I hope the next few months are a complete nightmare. Onto the good stuff!

All right as mentioned, I went to GCLS in July, and the conference was held in Albany this year, which isn't a bad city. The hotel was located near a strip of the downtown area that had enough going on for it. Me and a few friends went to axe throwing, which would have been my second time going this year. First time was for a team event for work. I sucked both times, but I had fun. 

As for the con itself, it was a lot for me. Not in the sense that it was a lot of people or anything, but more so in regards to identity and being in spaces where I am the minority. If any of my blog readers have met me, they know I am an assuming, skinny black person with a goatee and balder than Mr. Clean. However, I rock a cap because I gotta protect the noggin from the sun and I get cold easily. Needless to say, nothing about me reads as trans or queer. Well, maybe queer because my therapist has commented that I have some mannerism of a queer cis guy, which that's fair. I do, but oddly enough, that's just my personality.

Anyway, the point to all that is that being at the con, I notice the 🤔faces coming my way, and none of it is malicious or anything, I just happen to be aware of it. Unfortunately, the only way to really combat any of this, and one of my author friends is the one to say this, is I need to put myself out there, which I really want to do. I think I have a great disposition when it comes to being out in the world as an author, but my anxiety is not a fan of any of it. So, I'm working with my therapist, and am going to talk to my doctor about prescribing me something to help with the situational anxiety.

So, once all that is square, it is over for you heauxs. I kid. But yes, another fantastic time at GCLS. Hung out with some of the most amazing people, and made a new bestie because I feel like we live in each other's heads a lot of the time lol. I went to a seminar about burnout, which has me contemplating getting a life coach. But isn't that what therapy is for? I have no idea. Anyway, next year's goal for the con is to be on a panel or two, and see what happens. If not, I'll just be there enjoying my time. The conference is in Orlando next year, which means I'll have suspend my boycott on the state of Florida twice next year since I'll also be going to Readout in Gulfport as well. Gulfport and GCLS are the events where everything happens apparently, so I need to go to them to keep my finger on the pulse of the sapphic writing community and networking.

In June I mentioned my test prints for Murderous Profession, and in July I managed to get everything perfected for it, and Murderous Profession is now in paperback! Now, heh heh, is the funny part. So, to get just a regular copy of Murderous Profession, you can hit up my store. It's brand new, and in my head, it's still in beta because how this process is completed is very new to me, but I want to try it out. Essentially, you place the order for the book, it's going to go right to the printer, who will print and ship the book out to you. There are some other back end things I'm testing out, like approving orders and being charged for the printing, but outside of that, I'm anticipating a smooth process. Murderous Profession is the only book up currently in the store, but I'll put the others up and just have them redirected to Kobo or Smashwords. I broke up with Amazon remember. Oh! Murderous Profession is available as an ebook through my store.

Now, if you would like a signed copy, you can fill out this form, and I'll get one out to you. Like on my Ko-Fi store, I will mail signed copies of my books on a quarterly basis, sending them out the first week of the next quarter. Currently accepting orders for the last quarter of 2025, and those orders will ship the 1st week of January 2026. Questions? Reach me here.

All righty, enough of the business talk and what not...here comes everyone's favorite part of the blog.....what am I working on?

Since coming back from GCLS in July I have been steadily editing the 2nd book in the Detective Miller series, Grisly Politics. If you happen to follow my Mastodon account, you'll see my ramblings about it. I had ambitious dreams of getting it out before the end of the year, but ha! It's been a slow but steady process. I've gotten into a routine of waking up early on the weekends, and getting as much edited in the morning, and I have stuck to it. I'm not sure when it will be out, but 2026 is the year. I hope to continue the momentum and dive into Fate Unseen edits. I know some of you are poking that bear and wondering if it's dead. It's still alive. Right now it currently stands with having gone through a round of my edits and my editor's edits, so I just need to go back through it. 

Mentally, I'm in a good place, and even though the world is a complete shitshow, I have a sliver of hope that I'll be able to stick to my self-imposed schedule. The true test is seeing if I can stick with it after having my schedule disrupted.

Anyway, before I say toodle-loo, wanted to let you all know that I'm back on Instagram and I'm also now on Threads. Reason for this is because I have to stay in the know regarding the writing community, so I'm on there. I chose Instagram because I don't take pictures or videos, and it's not my favorite form of social media lol. Threads just happened by accident. Add me if you want, but my blog and newsletter are still my suggested ways to keep up with me. The link takes you to sign up for my newsletter.

 All right, go find a new book by a new writer, and give them a stellar review. Or at least a nice one with some constructive feedback. The world is too bleak to be mean. Okay, dismissed.

 Until next time...

 - DJ Small

 P.S. - Sorry about all the links, but with me getting back in the swing of things want to let everyone know how to find me. Bye!