June Got Away From Me

I was supposed to put up a true update on what I'm doing at the end of June, but then I quit being a human. Shout out to my depression and feeling 100% like crap for that one. I'm trying to work through it with my therapist so I can get back to something that look like a functional person, but it currently remains to be elusive.

Onto what you actually came here for....author ramblings!

Fate Unseen....Fate Unseesn...FATE UNSEEN! It's like Bloody Mary. Say it three times and it'll pop out of nowhere, or so I wished. Still editing it. My editing has been reduced to fits of trying to get it done because I have lost all motivation for it, so I'm doing what I can. What does that mean for the book coming out this year? A miracle. That's it. If I manage to publish it before the end of this year it will definitely be a miracle and I'm gonna have me some peach Jim Beam and tea to celebrate.

My struggle with editing has nothing to do with the story itself because once I'm in it, I'm in it and I'm engaged. The story is still wonderful, but with me being off kilter mentally, it really messes with my ability to focus. So again, the story is not shit. Or I don't think it's shit.

I've been outlining my next book and working on Adventures of Swift when I haven't been editing. Both of these projects are fun and light so they're a form of escapism for me on top of the fanfiction that I've read a million times...anyways...

The new book's working title is called "The Plumber's Daughter." A cute small-town romance about a former investigative journalist by the name of Carolyn Knox who buys a house in a small country town in Virginia as an attempt to escape the evil clutches of Washington D.C. The house of course needs a little love, and when her side lawn gets a sudden toxic pond thanks to her septic tank; she calls the local plumber, Tyler Meade. However, the person who ends up knocking on Carolyn's door is his daughter, Tyshell a.ka. Ty.

This story is going to be nothing but cuteness with a low level of tension. I'm refuse to even call it angst because I'm trying to minimize the angst. If you want angst go read Pool of Lies or Reappearance of Summer.

As for Adventures of Swift, I finished episode five and I'm writing episode 6. I may do a surprise drop on Patreon and post episode 2 since I can't work on what I need to. I fleshed out episode five wonderfully though last week, and I'm in love with the lore I've created for it. This means I'm anxious to share it with the world Squee. I'm also enjoying the fact that I'm keeping to my 10k words or less for each episode.

Oh, I completely forgot! There is a sale happening on Smashwords, and all my books are 50% off until the end of the month, and each week one of them is going to be free. This week it is Avery Lawson: The Last Pureblood. You call can acquire that one while I beat myself over the head and try to finish editing Fate Unseen.

Last thing I have is, put a poll in my July newsletter asking my readers which of my books they would like to see on Kindle Unlimited beginning August. I really don't like the Kindle Unlimited program because it means Amazon gets exclusivity for 3 months, but I'm willing to compromise by enrolling one book at a time in the progam. If you've been anxious to read one of my books and are a part of the KU program, click here to vote. A new window will open, taking you to the July newsletter where you can cast your vote.

I'll count up all the votes on July 31st, so anything that comes in after 12:00AM (EST) on July 30th, will not be counted for. And the book that gets the most votes will be announced on 8/1.

Heyyy, I think this was a decent sized post. I'm going to wrestle my brain and get something done, don't know what, but something. Remember to review the books you've read especially those written by indie and self-published authors. Side note: If you're reviewing my books, please leave a review on Smashwords. No one reviews there, and yeah, sure, Amazon is king, but I prefer Smashwords over them.

Until next time....

-DJ Small

The Plight of The Last Four Months of The Year

Is it just me, or does the last four months of the year seem to fly by? We are halfway through September, and this is my first blog post for the month. August ended so fast, I didn't get to post a second one, but I am on it this month. Maybe. I think.

Anyways, despite my inability to grasp the concept of time, I have been busy editing Fate Unseen, the second book in the Last Pureblood series. I want to lock myself in a room until I have it done, but life and work have other plans for me. However, I'm going to focus a lot of my time on getting it done. It is shaping up to be an interesting read.

When the second book starts, there really is no breather from the last one, so if you don't remember what happened in the last one then you'll need to re-read it because I don't do any recapping in the second book. I'm too busy trying to move the story forward lol.

Expect teaser chapters for Fate Unseen in November, and hopefully by the time I start posting those, I will have a release date. Just a friendly reminder, December is no longer the targeted release month. I'm aiming for January, maybe February depending on my edits.

I've officially dubbed 2020 the year of the serials, and all of mine will be available on my Patreon. Doing these will give me a breather from writing novels, and I can put a most of my focus into writing book 3 of the Lost Pureblood series. Also, the serials are supposed to be fun little escapes for me and my readers. They don't require too much thought and energy, and it's just an easy way for me to dabble in something different.

While I'm here, if you haven't seen my Twitter feed yet, there is a LGBT+ Romance Book giveaway going on. I looked through the ones that caught my fancy, and I've claimed them. Yes, Pool of Lies is a part of this book giveaway, but this is also about indie writer camaraderie and I want to support my fellow writers. So go take a look. All you have to do is sign-up for the writer's newsletter and you got yourself a new book. Painless.

Another fun fact, if you sign up for my newsletter through my website or through a random link like this one, you get a free book. However, if you sign up for my newsletter through the above mentioned giveaway, not only do you get Pool of Lies, but I'll also send you another free book of your choosing. I highly recommend signing up that way. Quick disclaimer, Murderous Profession isn't available as a free book, but I've got some plans for it during the Winter months.

Wow, for a blog post that I honestly didn't expect to go anywhere, this definitely got a little long. I guess I will go back to my editing. Before I skedaddle, a shout out to those who have read Murderous Profession, don't forget to review it when you have a chance. Also please review the other books that you have read in support of your favorite indie or mainstream author.

I'm off my soapbox now.

Until next time....


-DJ Small

August is almost over...whoops.

The month has completely passed me by and I feel like September will do the same. Oh, boy. Thought I'd make a quick blog post before the month finishes out.

Tomorrow, August 26th, Murderous Profession will be out on Kindle and Smashwords! I'm still working on the paperback formatting, but that should be out in a week or two. Between life and work, time just got away from me. Lame excuse, but it's surprising how busy I was in August. But anywhoo, grab yourself a copy of the book and tell me what you think about it. I found it to be a quick read and entertaining, as did my editor. Of all the characters, I have a fondness for Dax and Billy. I had a fun time writing them.

I know some of you are waiting with bated breath for the next Avery Lawson book, and I am actively editing it as we speak, however, I'm taking the tortoise route with it--slowly but surely. I don't want to miss something that should have been mentioned in this one, or I mention something that shouldn't be in this book and is actually meant for the next one. Writing this story is funny because I'm working off of the original manuscript I had finished in 2015, but I'm basically re-writing the story and making it more involved as well as making sure it makes some kind of sense. I know we're working with supernatural creatures and magic and all, but I feel like there needs to be some logic to it.

With all this being said, I don't think I'm going to make the December deadline, but I'm confident in believing that the story should be set for a January release. Everything else has been taken care of. I made the cover a couple of months ago, finally figured out a title, and wrote up a blurb. All that's missing is the inside stuff.

As I'm editing the second book, I will be making my outline for the next book in the series with the hope that it will result in the third book coming out in the fall or winter of 2020. We shall see. I'm sort of getting to a place where I can balance multiple projects and put out two books a year. I failed this year because Murderous Profession was an unplanned project that came to me suddenly and took root, and I couldn't let it go.

I'm sure you all have this question floating around in your heads, which is: How long is the Pureblood series? Six or seven books, depending on where the story takes me. Material from the original manuscript is the blueprint for these first three books. After that, I have to look at my notes, but I can come up with fresh material for the series since I won't be working off of that source material anymore. The rest of the series will probably go pretty quick because this isn't supposed to be long and drawn out story. When I was young and foolish, and by young I mean like four or five years ago, I thought I could have the story told in three books, but the world of publishing works differently than the world of fanfiction.

This is where my head is at on the Last Pureblood series. I hope to have to some teaser chapters up on my Patreon in October.

Speaking of my Patreon, Fate Unseen, also known as the 3rd Avery Lawson book, will be the first book where I will start releasing four teaser chapters, but that 4th teaser will only be accessible by subscribers. Non-subscribers will have unlimited access to the first three like always. You can subscribe as much as a dollar on my Patreon.

This brings me to my next point, granted I'm busy with Fate Unseen, but I will be rolling out my first serial The Adventures of Swift in January on my Patreon. The first episode will be accessible by non-subscribers, and the ones after that will be accessible by subscribers. I'm counting this as my second project for 2020 since I plan to focus on book 3 of the Pureblood series.

The Adventures of Swift is a superhero serial with some fantasy elements. It follows Isabella Delgado, who is the vigilante known as Swift who protects the city of Whitevale from crime. When a jewel thief comes to the city, with some high-powered gadgets, Swift's life gets more interesting, and so does Isabella's, but her interesting comes in the form of the stunningly attractive Ainsley Breckenridge. How Isabella will balance Whitevale's newest villain and a new love interest who happens to be her boss's boss's ex-wife will be something you will have to find out in January. I highly recommend subscribing.

This blog post actually got away from me, and I'm glad it did. I hope we're all stoked for everything I have planned because I know I am. Either way I hope everyone enjoys getting back into the swing of things, may it be going back to school or getting the kids ready to go back. Don't forget to take some time out for a good book, and don't forget to leave a review for it.

Until next time....

-DJ Small

End of July Post

August is, literally, days away. Isn't that crazy? Hopefully everyone had a good July—ate some good food, went on vacation, and enjoyed the AC.

With July ending it means the official countdown for the release of Murderous Profession begins. Pre-orders went on sale on the 7/24 at Amazon. The book is set to be released on the 8/26, so go pre-order your copy and you can have the book delivered to your device at the stroke of midnight. I'm going to redo my pinned tweet because I think it fell a little short. It's a learning process this self-promotion thing. Barring any major complications, like network failure and my computer shitting the bed, the book is set to be released on time. Which is a major thing for me since I have an issue with keeping realistic deadlines.

Paperback copies of the book will probably come a week or two later. It depends on some formatting and printing issues. I always strive to get the best version of the book out to everyone, so I'm not going to put out something I wouldn't buy myself.

I have started working on the first "Muderous Interlude." I think the interludes are going to consist of five little stories between each book, and as of right now, I have five books planned. The interludes are going to run the same as my serials. They won't be longer than 10k, but they'll connect with the books and other episodes. These aren't going to be big plot driven stories. They're just meant to delve further into the characters and learn more about them. If any real drama happens it's only to progress things with them. I'm excited for this because I have a few ideas that I'm really anxious to write because they're different.

Speaking of my serials, that will be a 2020 project. and I'm hoping to have the first two episodes up on my Patreon in January. New episodes will be released every two weeks. Each season will have about 10 or 11 episodes. The Adventures of Swift will be the first series I'll be putting up, but I will have another serial up by the end of the year. I'm toying around with a serialized prequel for Reappearance of Summer, but we'll see.

This now brings me to my next point. I have a deviated from what I was originally going to do. The "Murderous Interludes" and my serials were supposed to be posted on my Ko-Fi, but I didn't like the way their text editor worked, so I have re-signed up for Patreon and everything will be on there. Currently there are no tiers, but I'm thinking about creating two of them. I'm also going to start posting my teaser chapters there to get some traffic and I'm going to drop Wattpad so everything is one convenient location. All teaser chapters will be free on my Patreon, so there are no worries there.

Yes, there are a lot of changes afoot, but honestly it's just me minimizing the number of things I have to think about.

I have some good news, and it's for all you Avery Lawson fans.

A few days ago, I finished draft one of the second book. Whoop-whoop!! I'm currently taking a break from it, so when I start editing it, it will basically be new to me. I'm not sure how long the editing process will be. I want to make sure everything from the 1st book carries over gets resolved while also making sure the story is consistent. I'm certain I screwed up on a few things while writing it, but such is life. I'll get it all ironed out before it comes out. My fingers are still crossed for the December release.


 Okay, so check out my Patreon, pre-order Murderous Profession, and sign up for the newsletter. The first one came out in July and though brief I think we're off to a good start. August's edition will be a crapshoot. I haven't compiled my thoughts on it yet, but I've got some time. I think.

I am done here, and please be a dear and review those books you read from indie and self-pubbed authors like myself. May seem like it does nothing, but it actually does a lot. All right get out of here you wacky kids, and enjoy the rest of your summer.


-DJ Small

9/10/2018 Is The Day!

Good day one and all! I'm still recovering from Dragon Con and the rest of the work week, so bear with me. This was supposed to be a vlog, but then I realized I talk too damn much and have zero video editing skills. Also my face is ugly, but this is neither here nor there. Onto the purpose of this post.

Reappearance of Summer

I am aiming for October 29th for a release date, but it is a tentative one. Depends on what the editing process has for me. Pre-sales will start September 10th and end on October 15th. This will only be on Smashwords and Gumroad. I feel like a month and some change gives me enough time to order books, sign them, and ship them out to their new homes. If it looks like an October 29th release date isn't possible, I'll let everyone know, but fingers crossed for the 29th of October.

Amazon faithful, I mentioned in my last post why I wouldn't be doing pre-sales on there. You all will have to wait for the book to be released. Trust me, the pre-sale crowd isn't getting anything you aren't.

Patreon News

I talked about this in my last blog post and it will also go live on September 10th. This is where I'm going to post my short stories, commissioned artwork, and other stuff. I give stuff away also, but on a quarterly basis. So check it out and let me know what you think. The first few posts will be the intro post then I'm going to dive right in to my first short story series entitled The Trials of Swift and The Dark Queen. It's a superhero story. Excited for this one to get out.

Okay, those are the important points. I'm working on book 2 of the Pureblood Series and it is going swimmingly. If I don't run into any snags I should be on track to have it out in the first quarter of 2019. Anyways this was a quick update to let everyone know September 10th is a busy day for me, but you know what? I said eff it all and pulled the trigger on everything, so you all benefit.

Hope everyone is enjoying what's left of summer and can manage to enjoy a good book while doing so.

Until next time...

-DJ Small

Book Cover Reveal, Patreon, and Pre-Sales...Oh My!

Before I lock myself in my cave, to finish updating the digital copy of Reappearance of Summer, I've got a few thing to get out there.

To everyone who has read the teaser chapter of RoS, thank you so much! I'm just excited as you are to get to have you read the rest of the story. It is an intense one and you only got a taste of it. If you haven't read the teaser chapters got to my Wattpad and check them out.

Since I am on the subject of RoS, I also want to thank those who saw the many renditions of the cover and my newsletter subscribers for giving me input on it. I'm sorry you had to go through that, but it helped. Went back to the drawing board, stopped being a lazy git, and came back with a cover that does capture what I feel is the essence of the story. It's up on the Wattpad and on my Twitter header, but here it for you to see up close and personal. I feel like the font has a Law & Order feel, but I've come to appreciate it.

Next up, is pre-sales. Let me start by saying I honestly don't know when this book will be out. I'm aiming for late October, but being a realist mid-November will also be likely. There are too many variables involved, but it is what it is. Do know it will be out before December though. Okay, with that disclaimer out of the way pre-sales will go live September 15th. Pre-sales are going to be through my Gumroad store for EPUB, PDF, and physical copies. Pre-sales will also be taking place on Smashwords. Kindle pre-sales WILL NOT be happening. I only capitalized it to make sure it stood out. I've talked about my distaste for how Amazon does pre-sales, and I'm not going to get into it again. Pre-sales will go for probably a month, maybe later if it looks like the book is going to have a November release.

And lastly, and probably something that may intrigue you all, is my Patreon. I plan to launch it on September 1st. You're probably wondering what the hell is going to be on it and what I plan to give people. How about this, go to the preview site and check out the tiers. Some things may change prior to launch, but go look and get a feel of where I'm at. But this is where I'm going to be put my short stories and some of my other smaller projects. I can let you know the first thing I'm posting is episode one of my episodic story entitled The Trials of Swift and the Dark Queen. It's a superhero story. Anyway, I plan to link up with some great artists to get artwork done of my book characters so I can make posters part of the exclusive content. I've already got art of Avery from Avery Lawson: The Last Pureblood and I'm super stoked about it.


Okay, so I'm going to go lock myself in my cave to work on those edits and you all go click the links and have some fun. And before I go, here's the Avery Lawson artwork I was talking about. Done by the talented Nicole and you can find her on Twitter @tealideal. I am super geeked about it, and I do have a poster so I could see how it would look and it is frickin fantastic. I may give it away. Anyway here's the art and until next time....

-DJ Small