Mid-March Upate

Whew, child! It is mid-March and I feel like I have nothing to show for it, which is so far from the truth, but I'm sure some of y'all know how it is. It looks like we might get a quote, un-quote, "normal" spring and summer this year, but we shall see. I'm headed to my first con since September 2019. It's just for a day. I want to see how everything is being handled by the coordinator of these events. If me and my apprehension feel okay with it, I might be headed to Tampa for QFX in May. I hate how everything is contingent on what this virus is going to do, but I'm going to do everything to protect myself, and try to enjoy life as best as I can.

Comments Disabled

Due to an increase of spam, I'm going to turn off comments for a week or two and see if that mitigates the issue or not. If you have a question about anything, you can hop over to my contact page to get in touch. 

FYI: This doesn't count as this month's blog post, just some housekeeping. This months blog post is still in the wings.

Site Has Been Launched!

 As of 9 something PM EST on 02/05/2022, my updated site has been live. I was hemming and hawing about it because I'm a nervous Ned, and I don't do well with these things. Anyway, the new site has a shop, great contact me page, a listing of books available and what's coming soon. Everything under coming soon is either being worked on or will be worked on. Seriously. I haven't started anything new, and I'm really trying to get at least a full length book out in 2022 along with either my serial or my new novella series.

First Post Of 2022

 I rang in the new year on my death bed. I contracted a sickness, maybe the flu, from my youngest nephew which had me incapacitated the first week of the month and at my sister's house a week longer than I wanted to be. He tested negative for Covid and my at home test came back negative, so I don't think it was Covid. Anyone else having a hell of time getting tested for the virus that's running amok in world? Seesh.

*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

Oh, dear. It's the end of May....YIKES!

Greetings from the depths of where ever the hell I've been residing. I thought I would fire off a quick May post since I am working on the blog anyway. As you all can tell, I've changed the background on it and fixed some minor cosmetic things that have bugged me since I did the clusterfck I caused in what I want to say February, so that's one less thing that annoys me. But there are more things I want to do with it, and I shall since I'm learning code to beef-up my resume and legitimize my coding knowledge.

All right, I am done talking nerdy to you. Website is still undergoing its transformation which is due to me loading everything to Gumroad and Smashwords. Once I have those books uploaded, the book page will go live and I will be ending my newsletter. Updates, news, and all that jazz will be distributed through my Gumroad page, blog, and website. You can sign up here to get updates from my Gumroad page. With Gumroad I have the option of making posts as well as sending out emails to followers when I do post, so it'll be like killing two birds with one stone. For those who are currently on the subscriber list for my newsletter, you will have to sign up for the Gumroad newsletter if you want to keep receiving updates. I'll send one final newsletter before shutting it down.

At some point, I will be starting a subscription service through Gumroad once all this is said and done. It's going to come in the form of a library, where those who sign up for it will have unlimited access to it. I'm still in the pre-planning phase of that, but that's where I'm headed next once the website is updated and everything is live on Gumroad.

I am editing the hell out of Fate Unseen. That's actually what I'm hopping back into once this post is finished. I'm getting closer to the first exciting incident, so I'm anxious to get there. Still a long book, but well worth it. I'm hoping once I get to the middle of it, I can start carving out some non-essential parts. As one of my beta readers pointed out, I'll cut out some of the banter, but none of the spiciness. Looking forward to getting down this first hill of the editing roller coaster because it has been a long time coming.

Still outlining the next Detective Miller book, but I think once I have finished editing Fate Unseen, I'm going to jump back into Adventures of Swift and get that edited. Looks like a year of editing for me. Fcking yikes! But I've been sitting on some of these project for quite some time as some of you know. My B.

I hope we're all enjoying the gradual descent into a post-covid life. While I am vaccinated, I'm still wearing my mask and staying as far as possible from people, but I'm going to make the most of this hot vaxxed summer. Isn't that what the kids are calling it?

Anyway, hope everyone enjoys the rest of May. Don't forget to sign up for the Gumroad newsletter and remember to review the indie and self-pubbed books you read. 

Until next time...

DJ Small