August Got Away From Me

No blog post or newsletter in August. Or maybe there was a newsletter. Hang tight. There was one! So I'm not doing tremendously horrible. There won't be one in September. I'm actually contemplating on shutting down my newsletter, and starting a Discord server to distribute news, new releases, and the like. It's much easier for me to maintain that, and I don't have to come up with content. I'm shit at coming up with content. I'll probably make a final decision on that at the end of the year.

Still chugging away at re-writes for Outside The Game. I lost all motivation to work on it or anything for that matter, but I'm going to get back into it this weekend, and try to get out of this fifth chapter and get into the sixth. A part of the lack of motivation is due to work. Going into the office 3 days a week and then staying until 5 or 6P and dealing with traffic is just exhausting. Miss the work from home days. With all this being said, will this book come out in 2024? Probably not. I want to have my editor go through it one more time. If anything, it will be a Q1 2025 release, which I am okay with. I've always given myself grace in that regard, but I also get mildly annoyed.

I started outlining a new story, but I'm not going to talk about it. I'm determined to put out a standalone novel after I publish Outside The Game and Grisly Politics. I've got all these series and my standalone offerings are pretty slim, so I'm going to try and beef them up. Actually, now that I'm thinking about, I should probably start writing my Scandal-esque story. It's in its "outlining" phase, but that's all right, I know where it's headed and where I need it to go.

Let me talk book distribution for hot second because it has gotten fcking wonky because of Smashwords being brought into the Draft2Digital fold. I'm not seeing a difference on which stores my books are available, but the thing that is rough is keeping track of reviews. Now, I do my best not to read them. They're not for me, however, I use to them go gauge how a book is performing, especially on sites outside of Amazon because I'm stepping away from them as a distributor. So, figuring out how to consolidate reviews across various platforms is a conundrum I need to brainstorm on. Other than that, if you find yourself at a lost on where to purchase my books, you can always head to my Ko-Fi shop and buy them directly from me, including signed autograph copies.

I don't think I have much else for this month. Everyone is gearing up for Spooky season to kick off the holiday season, so I hope you all enjoy it, and I will be back in October with a new blog post. Hopefully. Remember to rate and review the books you read, especially those by indie authors.

Until next time...

-DJ Small

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

That title is as far as I got in my Spanish Duolingo education, who I learned just laid off contractors to implement AI technology to do the work they were doing. While it's supposedly being framed as "no big deal" in this article, it's still something that goes against my morals. If the layoffs and AI integration meant an increase in wages for full-time and part-time employees without lowering the quality of the their software then I'd approve, but if neither of those are the case (which I'm certain it is), then I'll shame. Either way, I've cut ties with Duolingo because I don't like the taste this leaves in my mouth.

That was not how I was supposed to open this post, but clearly I'm in my no-filter year--I did have a birthday in December--so I'm gonna go for it. On to business!

Welp, I've just completed the final read through for my first newsletter of the year, which is also a dive back into sending it out. This January newsletter will be a re-introduction of myself, my work, and expanding on some things I've been kicking around the last few months. I'm already coming up with ideas for February's newsletter. I've come to realize that there is no reason why I can't make it a truly engaging newsletter, so I'm going to present a new idea in February and hopefully people will respond to it. I've got some other ideas bouncing around in the wide empty space known as my brain, but I need to really dwell on them before deciding.

Anywho, January's newsletter will hit inboxes on 01/15, and will be active on the archive on 01/24. If you haven't signed up for my newsletter yet, you can sign up here.

As to what I've been working on, I started plotting another story. I had an idea, it dug it's talons deep into my brain, and now I have like a 6-page, single spaced outline in OneNote that's getting longer. It's a vampire story, and I'm hoping it won't span more than two books because I don't have the bandwidth for another series. I seriously need to learn how to write standalone books or something because jeepers.

I've also started the outline for the third book in the IFL series, which is weird because the second one hasn't even gotten off the ground quite yet. I mean, yeah, I've written six chapters of it, but I just got to the first major turning point in the story and there are like 6-7 more chapters to go before I can think about calling it done. Maybe there might be a few more chapters. We'll see what happens.

This brings me to the first IFL book, which hasn't even been released yet lol! With the long weekend, either ahead or behind me depending on when you're reading this, I'm dedicating all my time to it. I'll be committing the edits I made during my first pass through on top of adding some things to put it in alignment with the second IFL book. Once those are done, I'm off to find an editor. While I love my usual editor, I'm looking for someone who is well-versed in North American football stuff to catch things that might not be believable. A lot of web searching and liberties were taken with the football aspects of this book. A...lot! 

Oh! Before I forget, if you want to know more about the first book in the IFL series, I give a full synopsis and cover reveal in my January newsletter, so you should sign up for it.

All right, I think that is going to be it for this post. Remember newsletter is out on the 15th, or is already out depending on when you're reading this. Sign-up here to get it directly in your inbox, and if this you're reading this post after the 15th, the January newsletter will be live in the archive on January 24th. Full disclosure, any coupon codes or freebies mentioned in the newsletter will not be vaild if you're accessing them through the archive. So, I'd sign up if you want to get those goodies.

As always, do review and rate the books you read, especially those put out by independent authors and self-published ones.

Until next time....

-DJ Small

Hibernation Season Is Upon Us

Hope we're all fattening up and getting ready for a long winter's nap. Ha! Wouldn't that be fantastic? Just be like a bear or a chipmunk and get fat over the course of fall then sleep my way through winter. Ugh. Such a good life. The closest thing humans get to hibernation is the food coma we fall into after a big meal. Speaking of big meals, Turkey Day is coming up for USians, so I'm excited to stuff my face and the 2 weeks I will be off during November. It's much needed.

A couple of weeks ago, instead of editing the first book of my novella series, I read the second book in the Detective Miller series, which is titled Grisly Politics. I hadn't meant to do that, but I completely forgot how the story ended since it has been a year since I finished writing it. I opened it up, and I was cool with reading just the ending, but when I did that, I was like what happened here? So, I ended up reading the whole thing. I am really happy with how that story turned out. Like Eliza and Dax's relationship gains so much depth, and we get more of Eliza dealing with her shit, and of course let's not forget the murder! The murder is an intriguing plot point, and definitely one that challenges Eliza. I have a feeling people are going to get frustrated with Eliza in this next book because I certainly did, but considering her history it sort of turns that frustration into a simmer instead of a full on boil.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading it, and as apparent from my weekend, I wasn't able to put it down. Hopefully I can get to editing it Summer of next year, but I've got to see what hell that albatross Fate Unseen is going to put me through. After reading it, I don't think it will be that much of a challenge editing wise, but there is a couple of things I do need to fix. Like me providing a more coherent path when Eliza is trying to solve the case, and some other things, but it's all pretty minor.

Okay, while I'm super excited about Grisly Politics, let's talk about Outside The Game the first book in my novella series centered around a fictional football league. This is US/Canada football for my global folks. First, I had to change the title because there are way to many books titled Beyond The Game. I think one of them was a Charles Barkley book. Second, I'm almost done with editing round one. I've got three chapters left then I've got to review my changes then I'll be done. You all can thank my therapist for this. She challenged me to have either my embroidery project done or my book edited. Clearly we see which one I have put my focus on.

During editing, the word count went up 7k words, and I can no longer call it a novella. This is why I struck through the word novella in my prior mentions of the series because I can't call it a novella series when the first book out the gate is probably going to end at 45k words. While it is no longer a novella series, I still plan to keep the word count for each book in the series under 50k words, so a novella will get tossed in the series at some point.

The increased word count is due to some added scenes and I'm going to rewrite the ending. I think. It's fine in its current iteration, but I feel like it falls flat. We'll see how I feel when I get to it.

In other news, during the week that I'm off in November and not around my family, I'll be running a sale on Ko-Fi and Smashwords. So, if you've been looking to get my books for free or at a cheaper price, that will be the time to do it. I'll announce when the sale is on my socials and website.

Speaking of my website, a couple of week's back, I changed who was hosting my site because I've been trying to get away from Wix forever. I just don't like the way they do things. They're more focused on e-commerce, and I'd just like my website to be more than that. It's my spokesperson for when I'm not available and gives people into a peek of who I am as a writer. I'm sure you're all thinking, but that's what social media is for, but 9 times out of 10, I can't be bothered with social media author wise because I feel like I need to be saying something exciting, and my life is pretty boring. So, that's why leaving Wix was important to me.

I eventually found Webwave, and while there is a bit of learning curve, I do like how everything is laid out and you can do absolutely everything you need to do with it. Not an ad, but I'm definitely glad that I found them. If you do go to my site and find something off, shoot me a message. I haven't looked at it in a while after I launched it, so I'm sure something is wrong with it.

Goodness, look at this post doing the most, but it's also been a while. Oh, newsletter will be launching 2024. Not sure what is going to be in it, but it's launching lol. Key takeaways from this post: there's a sale in November, I'm still editing, and the newsletter is launching. Sign up here to make sure you get the 1st edition.

Other than that, remember to rate and review the books you read, especially those written by self-published and indie authors because boy you're missing some gems there.

Until next time...

-DJ Small

Short September Update

Welp folx we are in that time of year where the next few months either blow by really fast or they go really slow, and you end up spiraling. No? Not you? Hmm. Maybe just me then. At least we're easing into my favorite season of the year. Anyway, on to why I'm here.

Edits for the first book of my novella series are going fantastically. Fingers crossed that I will have them completed by the end of next month. After that, they'll be heading to my editor. Hopefully it will be a quick turnaround time frame from them. Doesn't look like it'll be ready in time for publishing this year, but I feel as long as I'm on the right path to publishing at the beginning of next year then I'm not going to sweat it.

I've been enjoying editing this story and writing the next book for it, so I can't wait until I'm in a good place to finally talk about it.

September is when people start looking to the dreaded holiday season, and I think this year, I will be doing sales on my Ko-Fi page and Smashwords. Depending on where I am, I might even set up pre-orders for my novella. Mostly doing the sales to really get back into being in author mode when I'm not having an off day and not working my day job.

Other than that, I do have any further updates for the month. Just been editing and writing, which is all I can do. Once I'm done with my novella, I'll be hopping back into Fate Unseen, so expect me to start whining about it in a month or so.

Until next time...

-DJ Small

I Live!

It's been 9 months since I've posted anything, and my goodness am I sorry. I've been in such a hole and have been trying so hard to dig myself out of it that I've completely let everything slip away from me. Which, in all honesty is a disservice to the people who are out there waiting for me to come out with something new or pick up on one of my series. While I know I have no obligation to put out stories and what not, it does make me feel shitty. At least from a reader's standpoint. As a writer, I know I can keep writing for myself because I've been doing that for decades now, but as a reader to get invested in an author and have them just vanish is a little upsetting. So, I want to apologize for the vanishing act and I will try to get better at it.

Let's talk about a huge thing though. I didn't realize how many people followed my author pages on Goodreads, Amazon, and Smashwords. It's not a big number or anything, but there are a number of people following me, which is good to know because I am no longer on Twitter. I can't condone whatever the hell is going on over there, so I left. I did join Mastodon, but not everyone is on there, so if you're looking for me, your best bet is on Facebook. Another tech cesspool, but everyone is there. Just click the link and you'll be taken to my page so like it! I also recommend that you sign up for my newsletter. Yes, it's still around. I'll probably send out a e-mail to current mailing list suscribers go check and see if people still want to receive it. If not, they can unsubscribe from it. I'm going to bring the newsletter back from the dead, and hopefully I'll have some friends with me to keep it going. Possibly. We'll see.

Work wise the world is imploding. Nothing has been edited. Nothing has been sent to my editor or any editor. I mean, I'm writing all the time, but editing is where everything comes to a grinding halt. I'm trying to overcome this mental block with it, but it's hard. I guess the big question is will there be anything coming out in 2023? What do Magic 8 Balls say? Unclear? Or unable to determine or something like that lol. I'm going to try, but we'll see what the fates have in hand for me.

In other news, I went to this year's GCLS conference in Denver, and had an amazing time. Like seeing the multitude of people who write Sapphic fiction sort of alleviated some of my apprehensions about being more involved in the community. It was such a fun and friendly environment to be in, and talking with other authors or hearing them talk about their journeys and experiences on panels was just insightful. I would go back and possibly do a panel or two, especially if it's a fun one like a fanficion one or something. One of the things that crossed my mind while I was there, was that as nice and welcoming the GCLS conference was, there needs to be space for trans and gender non-conforming individuals. Because Sapphic and Achillean fiction isn't strictly for those with binary gender identities, and sometimes those of us who write within those spaces in fiction don't have binary identities. Like the conference did well with giving trans and GNC authors aforum to speak about their works and process, but I think having a panel on what's like to be trans and writing such fiction would be an interesting subject, but that's me.

Either way, if you ever get the chance to head to the GCLS conference, I say go for it no matter if you're a writer, reader, or just a fan of Sapphic fiction.

I want to say that is all I have, and next time I will have some more exciting for you all.

Until next time...

DJ Small

P.S. - Don't forget to rate and review the books you read, especially the ones written by indie and self-published authors.

Oh, October Is On Her Way Out The Door

And here I am late with posting, but vibing out to Beyonce's "RENISSANCE" This is a no-skips album for me, but her last couple albums have also been that for me. I love me some Bey. I know you all didn't wander over to hear me talk about Beyonce. Anyways, this might be the last blog post of the year. Between real life obligation, holiday ruckus, and me plain old forgetting I might not update the blog. I'll try to, but just know it is a possibility.

Have you been to my site? Well, if you haven't, there isn't much happening there. In fact, it has been brought offline. I had originally taken it down to do some changes, but then I was like, "Y'know what? I'm just going to take it down for the rest of the year." It's one less thing I have to think about and I can do the updates and changes at my own pace without having an imaginary clock ticking in the back of my mind. I've provided a link on the landing page to buy books and to contact me, but there isn't much else there.

Why did I do such a thing? Firstly, I've changed how I'm going to do my serials and novellas. They're still exclusives, but they'll be exclusive to my Ko-Fi account. The change is for simplicity. There were too many moving parts for doing it through my site and I needed to cut back on some things. I'm also going to use their store feature to buying experience cleaner. So when the site comes live again, and you all go to purchase a book through it, you'll have Ko-Fi, Smashwords, and Amazon as buying options. Readers going through Ko-Fi will be directed to BookFunnel to download their book to their preferred device. It's pretty easy, but support is available through BookFunnel and me as well. Another change is samples through my site. First chapter for all my books will be available as samples on my site, another feature recently rolled out by BookFunnel, which had me going back to them.

Onto serials and novellas. Goodness figuring out how to distribute exclusive content has been the bane of my author-y existence, but I think I'm content with how I want everything to go for Ko-Fi. Firstly, you all will be able to be one-time supporters or monthly subscribers, and those who choose to subscribe monthly will have different tier levels. Level 1s will get access to all episodes of serials and full novellas along with some other perks. Level 2s will get everything on level 1 along with download capabilities. There are some other things too, but I can't recall them. Level 3s, everything in levels 1 and 2, and some other things. Oh! A free copy of either the novella or serial once they're released wide. If they get released wide. I'll let my level 3s know. I just had an idea.

Now, I know my one-time donators are like what about us? Listen, I love all who support me, so I'm going to give everyone who donates something. One-time supporters will have access to level 1 posts for 30 days from the day of their donation. I don't make the rules Ko-Fi did. Another perk is if you buy something from my Ko-Fi store, you'll get access to exclusive content. So there are multiple ways people can enjoy the exclusive stuff.

All right, since it has taken me forever to get this blog post written, the world of social media has changed--officially. Popular micro-blogging site, Twitter, was bought by a person I don't share the same view points with, and I know some people are leaving, some are staying to see what happens, and others don't care and it's business as usual with them. I am part of the leaving camp, but it's not that easy since the Twitter is so ingrained in advertising and exposure, especially for indie and self-published authors. I'm currently testing out Mastadon as a new home with the idea of cross-posting to Twitter for a little while before letting the account become dormant. I'm also thinking about setting up a Discord server. Once I've gotten everything figured out, I'll let everyone know.

Okay onto WIP updates. Nothing new to report. I started editing The Adventures of Swift, but I've been going into the office recently thanks to my new position (luckily it's only temporary), so mentally I am not ready to edit it, but I'm hoping to hop into it this week. I'm also writing fanfic at the same time, and one of my fics has gotten pretty fun so I've been focusing on it too. I know bad me, but I love writing fanfic. It's just fun playing with these characters I've got attachments to lol.

I think that is all for me. It has been a weird weekend for me, so my thoughts are all over the place. Anyway, I wish everyone a safe and fun Halloween, and for those who are like me, I'll see y'all at Target the day after Halloween buying the discounted candy.

Until next time...

-DJ Small

Welcome To The 'Bers

We've hit the 'ber months (September, October, November, and December), which means there will be a crap ton of holidays coming our way annnnd my birth month! Even though the days are getting shorter and the weather will be colder it's still a great time of the year.

Anywho, it has been a minute! I honestly have no excuse or explanation for it. My mind was elsewhere and I didn't post anything in July or August. I was about to skip September, but then I saw how long it had been and decided against it. I'm certain some of you (maybe 5 people in total. I think mostly bots come to my blog wanting to spread their spam) are wondering what I've been up to. Well, I am proud to announce I've finished writing the second book in the Detective Miller series, Grisly Politics. The fact that it only took me nine months to write is actually a little surprising because, 1) it felt like it was taking forever to write, and 2) my drive has been complete shit the last few months, so I'm shooketh by this turn of events.

Since it's done, it will be going right to the bottom of my editing pile. A pile I'm going to start working on this weekend, beginning with The Adventures of Swift. Hypothetically, editing that story shouldn't take me long, but depending on mental health, work, and life, it could be a while. I'm actually excited to revisit this one since I need to start working on volume 2. Well, outlining it. I think I started outlining the second volume, but I need to find the notebook I started it in. 

I'm reviewing how I'll be distributing Adventures of Swift and my novella series since they're both going to be exclusive to my website. Currently, I'm set on paid posts through my site where people sign-up for a subscription and you'll get access to each episode of Adventures of Swift, my novella series, and any other bonus content I'm fiddling around with. However, on the flip side I'm also considering the option of a paid newsletter. BookFunnel has rolled out some solid features here recently, and I'm tempted to go back to them. This would also give me a reason to get back into my newsletter. Let me know how you feel. I've put a poll at the bottom of this post to capture all 5 of my readers thoughts on the matter. I know no one wants to sign up for another subscription service, but I'll try to make it worth your while.

So, do you all want me to talk about the elephant in the room or should we just ignore it and I'll go off on a tangent about what I'm cooking up? Ugh. At this point I feel like I'm contractually obligated to myself to mention the second book in the Avery Lawson series, Fate Unseen. As I once said, it's an albatross around my neck lol. Depending on how my edits for Adventure of Swift and my novella go, I'm looking at diving into it at the beginning of next year. I know I had started my edits for it, but considering how long it has been since I've last looked at it, I'll be starting at square one. The thing with this one, is momentum. I need not to lose momentum, so I'll have to create a schedule for it. Yeah, nothing new or different, but I wanted to make you all aware that the second book is coming and I haven't forgotten about it.

I think that is all I have for updates. For the one off updates and announcements, be sure to follow my Twitter because that's my go to for announcing things. Don't forget to rate and review the books you read especially the ones from indie and self-published authors.

 Until next time....

 -- DJ Small

P.S. - Don't forget to take the poll below. It'll stay open until 10/4. Thanks!

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The Last Week of Pride!

Goodness it feels like June flew by, but not really. I think I owe it to those two weeks I had off from work. During one of those weeks, I went to Mass to visit some friends, and it was a bit of a culture shock. Back in 2016, Mass legalized marijuana and this is also the same year I happened to move out of the state. When my friend and I got into the Springfield area, there were cannabis dispensary billboards everywhere. It was SO wild, but like I loved it because I'm pro-marijuana.

Then on top of that Springfield got a casino, which I knew about, and when they announced it, I thought they were going to build some gigantic skyscraper thing and mess up all of Downtown Springfield, but nope. They actually didn't do a bad job. The building blends in with the other ones, which have been there since forever, and it's pretty nice. Honestly, if it weren't for the signage, you wouldn't know there was a casino there. I did do a bit of gambling. I had managed to break even, plus twenty, but then I got greedy and everything went down hill. Thankfully I'm not much of a gambler, so I was able to walk away with my tail between my legs.

I'll address the state of the U.S. before diving into WIPs and rambles. Uhhh...so the U.S. has turned into the land of the dumpster fire, and no one is safe from its disastrous flames. I could say vote and donate to candidates and politicians who can prevent us from going back to the days of McCarthyism, but let's face it, it'd be like putting lipstick on a pig at this point. Do what you need to to make your voice heard and get your point across because in the words of Twisted Sister, "We're not gonna take it!" One thing I do want to urge everyone to do is donate to abortion funds. That way those who are in states where they have outlawed such access can get the help and resources they need for a safe abortion. I recommend starting with https://abortionfunds.org/funds/ and finding a local fund to support.

Moving on before I get ragey, let's jump into my WIPs. I'm hoping to finish Grisly Politics, the second book in the The Detective Miller series finished by the end of summer. I was able to write out a good chunk of it during the last week of my vacation, but it's still not finished. Thanks to my poor plotting, I'm only getting into a groove where I've setup my murder-mystery elements. "Editing this story is going to be so much fun," he said with obvious sarcasm. I'm going to have re-write it, take out chunks, and add some things for it to make sense. Good thing that low on the editing docket. I'm still outlining my Scandal-esque story. I've got my cast of characters planned, both the main plot and sub-plot seem captivating enough, and the angst seems to be at the right level. I feel like this one will more than likely be a quick read, but that could definitely change once I start writing it.

The other day, I had a crazy thought, which was I miss writing smut. Before I continue, I would like to add that I think it is a pain in the ass to write a good, sensual, and erotic piece, but I also have fun writing it. Call me a masochist. Anyway, I've started writing a couple of smutty stories, and none of them have gone any further, but I've got a few ideas floating around that I want to flesh out. Once I've got a decent piece written out, I'll post it on my website as a subscriber only post. This is just me spitballing some things, but yeah, I'm going to bring the smut back at some point.

Smashwords's Summer/Winter sale will start on July 1st, and this year I'm going to do flash sales. Each week, one of my books will go on sale for 48 hours then go back to it's regular price. Just a little experiment I want to try out. This bookselling game is nothing but trial and error, even more so when you're doing all the things. 

Other than that, I hope everyone was able to enjoy Pride in their own way. Whether you went to a parade or event or not, just know Pride is what you make of it. I like to indulge on the history of our queer-cestors and just let the gratefulness wash over me. Like I know there are things that still need to be done, and with the recent Supreme Court ruling, we know they're coming after the LGBTQ+ community next; but that doesn't mean you can't pause and appreciate where we are now. Just take a moment, thank those who came before, then pick up the torch and continue on the fight. It's not over until everyone can live their truth without having some sort of ax hovering over their head.

All right, I'm done with my ramblings and my soapboxes. As always, make sure you rate and review the books you read, especially those from indie and self-pubbed authors. 

-DJ Small

*Hacks Through The Door With An Axe* HERE'S JOHNNY!

It has been three months since my last blog post, which is fine by me, but I'm sure you all are patiently waiting for something from me. Possibly an update to one of my unfinished fanfics or maybe even a book. Luckily, I have been doing things, but y'all won't be seeing any of these things until 2022. However, with me doing things it means I'll have a backlog of already written things. They just need to be edited, which is a whole different animal on its own.

The Struggle Bus

 I know we've all heard about pandemic "burnout" and all that jazz, but is pandemic inadequacy a thing? When it comes to my writing, I have felt so inadequate about it since the start of the pandemic. Like I've been trying to edit the second Avery Lawson book for the last year and some change, and I've barely made a dent in it. I've been working on it in starts and fits, and when I am able to get into it, I get maybe three or four pages done. This is why I'm getting bummed out because I know I'm able to write, edit, and publish a book in a decent amount of time. I mean in 2018, I put out two books, one of which was outlined, written, edited, and published with quick turnaround. So quick, I fcking impressed myself, but I'm seriously having a hard time putting the pedal to the metal on this second Avery Lawson book.

This feeling of inadequacy is wreaking havoc on my confidence as a writer, and I've been questioning if I even want to continue with being a writer. Most of the time, I come to the conclusion that I'm going to write regardless if I "quit" or not. It's just in my nature to always be writing something. It's an ingrained habit I can't seem to just let go of. So, since I've decided I'm not going to quit, I've been trying to work on some other projects like outlining the next Detective Miller book or even some of my unfinished fanfiction, but even working on any of those seems like a chore than an exciting escape I can get lost in. So I'm sort of floating in this mindless abyss where I'm highly aware of what I should be doing writing wise, but unable to focus or do anything with it.

At this point, I'm just trying to find something that will not only enthrall me but also excite me enough to where I want to share it with the masses. The Adventures of Swift actually gives me that feeling, but I also need to edit it. Perhaps I'll work on that, see if it gets my writing engines going again, then I'll jump back into Avery Lawson. Who knows lol. I'm just hoping for a miracle or something. 

Anyway just wanted to type out a quick blog post to let everyone know I am alive and kicking, but on this struggle bus. We'll see what the rest of the year brings since I'll be heading back to the office at some point between September and December. 

Everyone stay safe, and remember to rate and/or review the books you read/listen to. Especially those by indie and self-pubbed authors.

Until next time....

-DJ Small

Things Are....Going. Yep. They're going.

I started typing this up while I was logged into work since I was left to my own devices, and thought it was a good time to blog. Priorities am I right? I know it has been awhile, but with Spring being sprung, I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things. I fcked up the blog. Fricking blogger changed their customizing page and everything looks horrible, especially with all that Arial font. Psh. Moving on....

Other than that, I would like to say in my absence I have actually been productive. I slowly getting a hang of my chord changes (anchor fingers are key), but more importantly, I have been chipping away at Fate Unseen bit by bit, and I've been outlining the second--and angsty as all get out--Detective Miller book. Can I pause for a moment to talk about this second Detective Miller book for a second? Of course I can. It's my blog. All right, so when I first started this series, I planned for it to be a rom-com that was sort of inspired by JD Robb's (Nora Roberts) In Death series. Something I could work on that would give me a break from the Last Pureblood series, but effin' A y'all. Because I am me, this second book has taken a nose dive right into angst town and it's unintentional but at the same time intentional.

I had to give Eliza and Dax some drama, and man did I bring it. I'm hoping by the time I get to actually writing this part of the story, I'll have figured out a way to make it a little more lighthearted, but it doesn't look like it. Eliza's past isn't the stuff rom-coms are made of, and neither is Dax's, so the best I can do is make sure it doesn't drag on too long. But goodness gracious. Sometimes, when I get an idea in my head, how I execute is so far on the other end of what I was going for that it aggravates me.

Anyways, back to where I was going. I've been putting in some work even though I've been radio silent. I try to post often on Twitter, but I know some of y'all are wondering where I'm at with projects and what my plans are for 2021 since they're always in a state of flux. Fate Unseen, like I said, I'm slowly chipping away at it and I've gotten past a pivotal conversation that happens in chapter 3. Can't say much about the length of it. It's still going to be a long book. I also could be wrong, but we're going to have to wait and see.

I've also been creating PDF, Mobi, and ePub files for the books I don't have these files for. This is part of my effort to use Smashwords and Gumroad as my primary distribution sites. Everything is still going to be on Amazon, but I think I'm going to have delayed releases for my future relases. I'm still trying to figure out how that's all going to flow.

While I've been creating these files, some minor updates happen because if I see something that irks me, I'm going to correct it. Once all those files are created, I'll update them across all platforms, so you might have an update coming to your current copy.

As soon as everything is said and done, the website will be back in action then I can restart my giveaways. For those who have participated in my prior giveaways, they were done through BookFunnel, which I might still use, but I'm thinking about stepping away from them and doing giveaways strictly through my Gumroad page. With BookFunnel it gives me a wider audience to draw in, but I feel some way about it. I'm still ruminating on it, so nothing is set in stone, but I do have to consider my newsletter, which we all know I struggle to put out. If I do come to the decision to end my newsletter, I'll make the strong suggestion for those who do receive it to sign up for updates through my Gumroad page. There's definitely a lot of thinking going on the author-y side of things, but it's nothing I can't handle.

Other than that, I'm just going to continue to eat away at Fate Unseen and we'll see what I can pull off.

In my opinion, I think this was a solid update. If you want to get a jump on everything, hop on over to my Gumroad page and sign up so you can receive updates. You don't have to buy anything to follow me. Now I just need to remember to make posts over there, but that for another day.

As always support your indie and self-pubbed authors by leaving a review, and everyone have a good.

- DJ Small

Change Of Course

It has been a full month since I've posted a blog post. There also hasn’t been a newsletter in a hot minute, but despite my absence, I am alive and well. I hope everyone reading this can say the same, if not, I'm sending some positive vibes your way.

It has been a long weekend, but I saw some family I haven’t seen in eons which is a wonderful thing despite the reason why my family got together this weekend. We were missing a few members of the family, but all 10 of my grandpa's kids were there to give him a proper send off. I'm sure my grandma has some words for him since he had 2 girlfriends after her, but I'm sure he'll get back into her good graces.

I’ll get to the point of this post here in a minute, but being around my family, immediate and extended, is wild. A lot of my family hasn’t seen me since I transitioned so there is a lot of “who are you?” and “who do you belong to?" and you know, I’ve got to give props to my mom for how she handles it. She tells them I’m her oldest son and leaves it for the person to figure out. The woman runs hot and cold with the trans thing so it’s hard to see how it goes, but this weekend she was alright. She still sucks at the pronoun thing though.

All right, time for the reason that I’m here. 

For my Last Pureblood readers and those waiting for book two, I have nothing but tremendous love for you all, so this announcement is rather disheartening to make, but it's necessary. As we all know, I’ve spent the last year and some change, maybe longer, working on Fate Unseen. I approached it like I did all my usual writing projects, but for some reason getting through this editing process has been a challenge for me. Typically writing a book is like dominoes for me, and it's one process after another until the book is out,but this one it’s not happening. I refuse to blame 2020 for this because that would be giving this year too much power when it already has enough to light up a metropolitan city.

I think because I've been so focused on it, I've burned myself out with the story, which seems to jibe. I’ve been able to work on Adventures of Swift with no issue. With all that being said, I will be stepping back from Fate Unseen and it’s not going to be released this year. Trust me, I spent a lot of time thinking about this, and I even talked to my therapist about it. She told me to step away from it before making any big decisions like re-writing it.

I’ll probably return to it at the end of the year, or the beginning of next year. The reason for the long break is because I'm going to be involved with a project at work and it’s going to require more time from me, then once I’m finished with that, I’ll be training for a new position. So for the next five or six months all of my concentration is going to be centered on life things. I’m hoping once I return to it, I can bang out this round of editing and get it to my editor for a second review. Another thing I’m looking at is length. The word count for Fate Unseen is getting up there. To alleviate fears I’m not going to do another sudden cliffhanger or split the book up, but it’s something I’m going to be thinking about it when I get back into it.

I would like to stress that I am not abandoning the series or anything like that. I just need a breather. 

Even though I am taking a break from Fate Unseen it doesn’t mean I’m not going to be writing. In fact I’ve gotten through several episodes of my serial of Adventures of Swift, and I’m hoping to have episodes two and three up in October. I’m also going to finish outlining my next book and throw some ideas on the wall for book two of the Detective Miller series. I have two Murderous Interludes ready to be typed up so I might post those on my patreon as well.

An FYI, Adventures of Swift is a patreon and gumroad exclusive, and Murderous Interludes will only   be available on patreon. Since I know some people are going to ask, I’ll answer this question now. Murderous Interludes will not contain major plot points. They’re just slice of life short stories that add more depth to Eliza and Dax’s budding relationship, so you can skip them. Will they be mentioned in the other books? Yeah, but just in passing.

Adventures of Swift episodes will be available be on gumroad in a trailing fashion after they've been released on patreon. Probably a month after.

Though it'll be nice to focus on something new, Fate Unseen won’t be far from my mind. It's like an annoying gnat flying around my head until I get it released.

Anyways, that's all I have for the moment. Outside of that, remember to review the books you read and register to vote. Like for serious on that one. I cannot deal with four more years of the Orange Stain™. 

Until next time...

-DJ Small

3rd Time Is A Charm

Oh, man, trying to write a blog post has been a challenging thing for me this month. Hopefully this round will stick. I hope we're all doing okay and keeping safe out there. I know some states are opening up, and I hope those of you that are affected by that are doing the best you can to keep yourselves and your inner circle healthy and minimize your exposure. I'm not going to say anything further because if I do, it's not going to be nice and next thing I know the NSA is coming to me saying, "We just wanna talk to you."

In the last iteration of this post, I had no updates. That all changed on Monday. Fate Unseen was returned to me after being in my editor's very capable hands. Let's give a shout out to my editor who has worked tirelessly to get this back to me in a timely fashion despite everything going on personally and pandemically. She is a wonderful lady.

Now the ball is back in my court. Normally when my editor sends a manuscript back to me, I'm anxious to read her notes and comments, but lately I have been dreading getting Fate Unseen back, so when I got the email that she was done with it, I groaned a little. I still need to go through the doc and read her comments and notes. With that being said, May 4th begins the marathon sessions of me trying to get this thing knocked out. I've got my notes from my beta readers and editor, and I'm ready to clean this story up a bit more.

Fate Unseen will be hitting your eReaders/Kindles/tablets/phones this year, but when that will be exactly is up in the air. In fact, it's so up in the air that it's in the stratosphere. I honestly thought about shelving this project because of my feelings towards it, but I'm going to push through because it's not like I'm writing a whole new story. It's just editing, and I'm always whining about editing. So look forward to that.

I also have another piece of news. I've edited the first episode of Adventures of Swift, and by the time this posts, it'll probably be up. I'm taking a fanfic approach with this, which is edit it and post. The edits are a one time, maybe twice, edit by me. Depending on how the first episode is received, I'll see how I feel about posting the second episode. This is going to be posted on my Patreon, so the first episode will be free, but the ones after that, you'll have to subscribe to access. $1 gets you access to everything because I'm still working on things for the Patreon.

I had a Smashwords sale in April, and I thought all my books were on sale for 99¢, but that wasn't the case. Murderous Profession wasn't on sale, so during the month of May I'll be giving it way via BookFunnel promo. I'm trying to engage my readers more and I figured a giveaway would be the best way to do that. I'm also working on getting a paperback version of this book up. Should have happened a while ago, but man was motivation shit.

All right, I think that's all I have for an update. Thank you to everyone that has supported indie and self-published authors as well as independent bookstores during these "uncertain times" (I put that in quotes because it has become nothing but a marketing ploy). You're supporting a lot of people who are struggling right now and it means a lot. Even more so when you review books because it gets me and others authors exposed to other readers. Especially us queer writers who don't have a big readership. So thank you for that.

All right, I'm going to go open this Fate Unseen doc and see what mysteries await me. Stay safe, be vigilant, and I'm sending nothing but positive vibes to each and every one of you.

Until next time....

-DJ Small

*leans against wall, huffing and puffing* Goodness....January Is Almost Over

I would say happy New Year, but at this point, it would be supremely awkward.

I honestly have no idea where this month has gone, but here we are. Just a quick blog post to let everyone know I'm alive.

Fate Unseen is getting put out of its misery this weekend, if not the beginning of next week. I have taken some time off from work to dedicate my life to it, so that is exciting. Once I get it to my editor, I'll be doing a cover reveal. Newsletter subscribers will see it first, and a few days later, I'll make a blog post about it. I hope I don't forget to do that, but I'm sure someone will keep me on track. Teaser chapters will be posted on my Patreon once I review my editor's edits. If I'm happy with the chapter, it'll go up as soon as I'm done with my review. Remember, I only put out 3 teaser chapters.

For book release time frame, I am looking at April or May. Way later than I wanted it to be, but that's fine considering how much I was struggling to ge Fate Unseen edited. I'm surprised I'll get out in the first half of the year.

Once these edits are done, this thing is going to get going like a steam roller, which means I'm going to be gassing up the heavy machinery. I'm plotting a story currently, and I'm going to get the first five episodes of Adventure of Swift written and edited. That will probably be making an appearance around late summer. Since I don't have any big trips planned, I should be able to stick to that. This is a year of frugal living for me since I splurged all last year. Oooh chile!

In exciting news, I'll be doing my first "event." I won't be doing a panel or anything, but I will be at QFX East in May, peddling my hard written books. As we get closer, I'll be able to let everyone know what the exclusives will be and how you can get them. I'm excited and nervous about this, but I think it will be a good time, and I'm excited to meet everyone.

Oh, price drop announcement! All my books are available for $2.99 at all eBook retailers, or it should be. If there are any issues let me know. I'm working on getting Murderous Profession in paperback format. It'll probably come out the same time as Fate Unseen.

Going completely off-topic, I'm sure everyone as heard about a major writers' organization taking a hard nose dive and imploding on itself, and while absorbing the facts and tea spilling of this clusterfuck, it made me wonder why there isn't a dedicated queer writers organization. I know these things take time to get off the ground, but like queer writers have to exist as a subset of  these bigger organizations and fight twice as hard to get some kind of recognition. I know this is the same story with other marginalized groups, and that these bigger organizations have resources and whatnot, but at the same time, why the hell don't we give it the old college try?

I'm sure someone out there is grinding the gears for that, or I at least hope they are. I think my only criteria would be that the organization not be restricted to one genre, because I'm not exclusive to one genre, and secondly that it broadly covers the entire queer spectrum.

I have a lot of thoughts on that, and I'm not sure if I'm going to bite the bullet on that one. I would need a helping hand or two because I want to write, and y'know, do hood rat things with my friends.

This post has gotten away from me, but I actually had thoughts and news this time! Seriously though let's all get excited that Fate Unseen is getting closer to being out in the world, and I'm anxious to know how everyone feels about it. Things get a bit more supernaturally, and Avery faces a whole slew of obstacles.

Also get pumped for Adventures of Swift. This was almost a Swan Queen fanfic instead of being an original story, so there is a bit of a zeal in it because Swan Queen is one of my 5ever ships.

All right, I'm off to edit. Remember to review your books, especially for those written by indie authors like myself. Oh, and enjoy the rest of your January 😊

December, what the fu...?

I know. December is almost over, and I have been incognitus. For you Last Pureblood fans, you can blame your second book. That's right, it's your second book because I am completely through with it. Through.

No major updates today, just thought I'd make a blog post for the month. I'm still elbow deep in typing up my edits for Fate Unseen. Next week will be beyond wonderful because I will have so much time to finish doing that. I might even make some hot cocoa to celebrate. As soon as the edits are typed up, it'll go to my editor. Also at that same time, I'll be doing a cover reveal, and I might have a ball park time frame for a release date. Keyword there is ball park. I know I said by the end of first quarter it would be out, but I'm sort of leaning for an April release just because that's when the first Avery Lawson book came out. So, it would be like, "Oh, here's the second book. Two. Years. Later." Y'know?

I've been going back and forth on my 2020 plans. I want to do book fairs or conventions or whatever, but I haven't found any that I can vibe with, so I think it's going to be a low key year for me. Something that resembles the year after Pool of Lies came out because I had nothing lined up after it. Though to give myself some credit, I think I was working on Avery Lawson: The Last Pureblood at the time.
 
I think that'll be my 2020. I won't be working on anything major, but I'll still be doing things. Like Adventures of Swift needs to be posted on my Patreon. Gotta flesh out some story ideas and turn them into viable stories, so I'll be pretty busy, I don't have any book releases lined up for 2020. If I put anything out, I'll be shocked and amazed.

Also want to get on top of my reading. I've been listening to books at work. Sidenote: Just finished reading Tegan and Sara's memoir, High School, and I highly recommend it especially as an auidobook because the two of them interview each other at the end and it's pretty funny. The book itself is pretty relatable in regards to everything people go through in high school, but having it come from queer perspective makes it even more relatable.

End sidenote. Like I said I've been listening to audiobooks. I started book 1 of Ali Vali's Cain Casey series. I read book 1-4 a long time ago, and I have 5 and 6, but I've never read them. So it'll be nice to get into that, and some new stuff. Try and tackle some classics while I'm doing that.

All right, so this post got away from me. Hopefully you were able to cash in on free book giveaway I did for my newsletter subscribers and on Twitter. Yes, I know I'm going to beat everyone over the head about Murderous Profession, but that book deserves some recognition. I really enjoy it.

Oh, and I do remember someone asking me about a re-visiting Reappearance of Summer in prequel form. I'm not against the idea, in fact, I am all for it because I would like to know who Summer was before she became who she is in ROS, but I'm having a hard time coming up with something. Maybe something will come of it someday, but as of right now, looks like it is just a standalone.

All right, I've rambled enough. Don't forget all my book prices have been lowered for the month of December on Smashwords and Amzon, so be sure to stock up before they go back to their normal prices in January.

And this holiday season give and indie or self-pubbed author the gift of a review 😊

Whew! It has been a minute...

I live! I live! I know it has been a long time since I put up a blog post. I'm so delayed with this that I'm only doing one post this month. I know I put out the newsletter, but I feel like blogging is more intimate. I can ramble a bit, and don't feel like I'm being annoying. With the newsletter I feel like I am even though it comes out once a month.

But enough about me and my thoughts. I have the greatest news ever! I finished the first round of edits for Fate Unseen, which is book 2 of the Last Pureblood series. Next up for me is....more editing! Which is actually me typing up the edits from the first round since I do those by hand, but I also keep looking for ways to tweak the story, and make sure it's consistent and makes sense. But this second round of edits shouldn't be as strenuous as the first ones since I'm not taking a blob of story and turning it into something that you all would want to read.

Because I feel confident that the second round of edits should be quick, I'm hoping it won't take all of December to get through them. I've cleaned my desk off and everything, so I am ready to tackle this thing after turkey day. Once I'm through with the second round, I'll send it off to my editor so she can do her magic.

I'm going to be real with everyone, this second book kicked my ass. I've written series of stories before in fanfic world, but this one was messy, and you know what. It wasn't even regular messy. It was capital M.E.S.S.Y. There were details I had to cover, and when I missed something I had to go back and put it in. Seriously this book had me questioning my abilities as writer. I'm sure some of you know this if you follow me on Twitter.

Long story short, I have learned a valuable lesson with this second book, and I'm going to make sure I remember it for book three. Book three is going to be a late 2021 release. Avery and I need a break from each other before we can continue our journey.

With that said, book two will be done as soon as it is ready. I'm still banking on a release by the end of 2020's first quarter, but we shall see. In the mean time, I'm going to gear up my serials for 2020, and possibly a book release. I haven't decided yet. I was thinking about keeping it pretty low key for 2020, but I am coming up with this story and it has kept my attention, so it there is a chance it might find its way out in the world next year. It's not a story that is for the faint of heart, and it's not even romance. I'll toss it under thriller if I bump up the suspense and intrigue. A few months back I said that I wanted to write another dark and twisted story on Twitter, and guess what, here we are.

In other news, Reappearance of Summer is still on sale at Smashwords and Amazon. It will also be on sale during December along with Avery Lawson: The Last Pureblood, and Pool of Lies. Murderous Profession will see a price drop, so next month you'll be able to get all my books at ridiculously cheap prices.

That's all I have for this post, next month's newsletter will be out on 8th, and I'm kicking around an idea for newsletter subscribers, but I think I'm going to hold off on it. I'll see how I feel after turkey day. Speaking of my subscribers, did anyone check out the the teaser I put up for Fate Unseen a week or two ago? What did we think of it?

I've rambled long enough. Don't forget to review your books. Give an author the gift of reviewing their book this season.

Enjoy the rest of November!

-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

March Is Halfway Over

I blinked, and next thing I knew it was March 16th. Decided it would be a great time to do an update. I think the main reason why March flew by is because I was busy trying to obliterate the first draft of my next book, which as of 10:15pm of March 12th, is finished.

I'm intrigued to see how this book will be received because this will be my first book where my main characters won't be two women who love women. This time I've got a cis, female, bisexual main character, and a trans, sexually fluid, main character who is a person of color. It'll be different, but I hope people will have an open mind about it. I mean you really need to because it's set in a world where sex work is legal, and Dax is a sex worker who loves his job. But all seriousness aside it's a fun book, and there are some serious moments, but overall it is a light read. My goal for it is to be a quick, fun read that also gives you some feels. I'll have more information about the release of Detective Miller after the editing process. Hoping for July, but things happen. The book was originally titled, Detective Miller Meet The Callboy, but I didn't like the feel of it, so it's just Detective Miller at the moment.

During this breather between finishing the first draft and editing, I'm reading what I have thus far for the second Last Pureblood book, and as soon as I finish that I'm going to actually outline that damn story. I thought I could dive into it and get it done, but there are too many moving parts, and I want to make sure I cover all the loose ends from the first book while also closing out this part of the story. Then there is introducing the next arc of the series, and my goodness! There are a lot of parts. I can handle it.

In other news, I'm trying to get my serial out this year. Where it will be posted is still TBD. I want to do it through my site, but at the same time I can't seem to figure out how to do the delivery, so I may just post it through my Ko-Fi. Make the first chapter free, and if you donate you get subsequent chapters. It's a thought. I'm still trying to figure it all out. The serials will be setup where each season will be 10 episodes, and each episode is 10k words, give or take a few hundred. I have the first one written, but I am Sir Does Too Much, and haven't gotten around to getting it edited. So if I have some time near the end of the year I'm going to jump on that.

Before I end things, if you're interested in beta reading Detective Miller after I edit it, please let me know. I only need 2 people, maybe 3, but the more the merrier. I'm thinking of compensation, probably in the form of a signed copy of the book, but it will be greatly appreciated. Just a content warning here, but Detective Miller does have adult content and mentions the deaths of sex workers.

Okay, that was a March update, and I probably won't have another one until April. Until then enjoy whatever books you're reading and make sure you review them. It's not about money, but visibility.

-DJ Small

A Little More About My Upcoming Book

Last week, or the week before last, I posted an update saying I would be publishing my standalone book before the second Last Pureblood book. The story isn't one I have talked about with really anyone. I think I've spoken with one person about it, and that is about it.

Then I posted an excerpt of it on Twitter to give my followers a taste of it. In the excerpt one of my main characters is talking about my other one, and though it wasn't the best sample of the story, I'm sure it piqued everyone's curiosity. Especially since one of my main characters is a sex worker, so I'm going to go into it a little bit more here.

The story is set in present day New York City, but in a universe where sex work has been legal for the last two years. Readers are first introduced to Detective Eliza Miller and her partner Billy Chilowski, and we dive head first into the murder of a sex worker. As Eliza and Billy work the case they discover a link between the victim and an individual by the name of Dax Collins, who is my second main character.

As the case progresses, Eliza and Dax cross paths more than she would like because she finds him irritating. Dax is a well-dressed, overconfident, flirtatious pretty boy, and he hits on Eliza whenever they are in each others presence. Over the course of the story things happen, and you know because I'm making this a rom-com crime book, there will be--what I hope--hilarity, and a happy for now ending.

This is a big story for me, for several reasons. As I posted a few weeks ago this will be my first published book where one of my main characters is a transgender individual. I'll break with my usual tight-lipped stance and let you know who it is. Dax is a black transman, and I'm super excited about him because he is such an amazing character no matter how much of a little shit he can be.

In my writing "career" I have written one other story where one of my main characters was trans and that was a piece of fanfiction I wrote in 2017. Writing that story was an incredible experience for me because when it was finished, it turned out to be something I needed do. Despite it being a piece of fiction set in a land with magic and sword fighting, being able to write about my character's experiences as they faced numerous challenges, dangers, and hardships due to them being trans turned out to be a cathartic experience for me. Now, I'm hoping for more humor with Dax, but I do address his trans background and his history surrounding it.

The inspiration for this story actually hit me while I was listening to JD Robb's Naked In Death while I was at work. It's book series my sister introduced me to when we were younger. There is a character in it by the name of Charles who is a sex worker, and he flirts with Eve, the main character , who just ignores him and ends up falling for the tall, dark, and handsome gazillionaire. But I've flipped the script and made Dax the Roarke in my story as well as making him a sex worker. There is a lot to tackle, but I'm up for the challenge. The story so far has been fun to write, and I'm sure I'll be super geeked about it by the time I finish it.

A little mention before I go, and I'll bring it up again once I have the logistics in place, but you will be able to buy digital copies of my books off my website soon. I'll also sell signed copies through it as well. I'm trying to get everything in one spot (outside of Amazon), and slowly but surely I'm getting there.

All right until next time....

-DJ Small