Busy! Busy, Busy!

Busy! Busy, Busy!

Time is supposed to keep everything from happening at once, right? If that’s the case, it is HORRIBLE at its job! Today I am busy, busy, busy!!! And a lot of it is fiddly annoying bits that will only have to be done once, but until they’re done, it sucks.

For example? I’ve already finished the quick tasks — sent the taxes off to our accountant, backed up the laptop, and printed things off for the Lord Ruthven Assembly annual meeting on the 21st. I’ve updated the website to reflect the fact that I’ve set up an Itch.io store! Now you will be able to buy ebooks directly from ME!

The store is currently a work in progress — there’s one book available, and that’s because I wanted to have the shop online before I updated the website. I’ll be adding more for the rest of the day, which is the fiddly part — I have to upload each book individually. And I need to edit the covers to fit the size parameters allowed on Itch.io.

Now, there will only be ebooks of the books that I have full control over — the Heir to the Firstborn series, The Chronicles of John Zebedee, Chains of Light, and all of my short stories. Anything that comes through a publisher is something you’ll still have to purchase through one of the big retailers.

I don’t expect to get any words on the page today. But I’m okay with that!

Now Available!

Kidnapped from his home and sold as a slave in Rome, Raven-Prince Lorcan must survive in a world where entertainment is murder, diplomacy is betrayal, and love is a commodity. And where a raven who is only supposed to ever have one mate will somehow find two…

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 4)

18184 / 90000 (20.20%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

19467 / 90000 (21.63%)

Promotions

Smashwords Read an Ebook week started yesterday! My entire catalog is 25% off. And, because of reasons I don’t fully understand, I still have two links. Half the catalog is here, and the other half is here.

(And if you look at my traditionally published books? I have three more pages! Here, here and here. No, I do NOT know why!)

Appearances

This weekend, you can find me in my Morrigan-best attire at the Oviedo Mall Renaissance Festival! And there is a *chance* I will have copies of Raven’s Fall on the table! (It all depends on if the copies come in by Friday.)

Enchanted Knights: Myths and Legends
March 8th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Summer Solstice
June 21st, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

Necronomicon
September 26th – 28th, 2025
Tampa, FL

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, appearances, Boosting the signal, ebooks, promotions, publishing, Sales, Updatey things, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
Blursday

Blursday

Usually, when I say it’s blursday, I mean that the days are all running together and I don’t know what day it is. Today, though, I know exactly what day it is. It’s the day I get my eyes dilated enough that I see all timelines at once. It’s not a fun experience — my appointment was at 8:15 this morning, and here it is 3:20 in the afternoon and I still can’t see clearly. But things look fine — everything is status quo, so we’re good for another year.

(Why do I do this? Because I am so VERY nearsighted that it’s possible for my retinas to self-destruct with no warning.)

Thankfully, I don’t have much on my plate today. I finished my revision pass on The Sea Prince last night and sent it back to the sensitivity reader, which brings it one step closer to publication. Once I get the all clear from the sensitivity reader, I’ll get the layout done and the cover ordered. I’m looking at a summer release, so that I don’t dilute Raven’s Fall.

The first reviews are starting to come in for Raven’s Fall, and I’ll be honest — I am reading them. I know that it’s not recommended for writers to read their own reviews, but I want to see what people think! And I’m loving that every review so far has called out the accuracy of my research. That makes EVERY bit of web crawling and cross-referencing and finding obscure references worth it! And to my reviewers? You are going to LOVE Raven’s Flight for just that reason! There’s a reference list of healing herbs used in one scene, with the proper names in Latin and Gaelic, cross-referenced from Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica (c. 64CE) and John Cameron’s Gaelic Names of Plants (1883).

Do I overdo it on my research? Possibly. Do I need to go and spend three hours to find a reference on trains from Aachen to Salzburg in February of 1899. in order to find out of there was a direct train, or if they would need to change trains? Possibly not, especially when those three hours of research translated to three lines of text. But my readers are the ones who will know exactly what trains I’m talking about, and will know that I’ve gotten it right. So I owe it to them to get it right from the start. And yes, someone did know the train I was talking about, and did appreciate that the research was correct!

In the case of Raven’s Fall? The areas of research I spent the most time on were on types of gladiators, on Roman weddings, and on Roman baths. Now, no one has yet mentioned the baths in a review, but that was, I think, the largest research topic for me — in what order were the rooms experienced, how were things heated, and what rooms were included. Part of the research was a surprise — actually experiencing a caldarium! (Really, who expects to find a reasonably accurate Roman bath experience on a Disney cruise???) For the record, the baths Lorcan experiences are a combination of the Old Baths at Pompeii and the Baths of Caracalla (with a slight hint of flavor from the caldarium in the Rainforest Room on the Disney Fantasy.)

I am history geek, see me over-research!

Now Available!

Kidnapped from his home and sold as a slave in Rome, Raven-Prince Lorcan must survive in a world where entertainment is murder, diplomacy is betrayal, and love is a commodity. And where a raven who is only supposed to ever have one mate will somehow find two…

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 4)

15673 / 90000 (17.41%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

15354 / 90000 (17.06%)

Promotions

Stuff with Fantasy is coming February 28th! Over 300 authors, over 300 books, free for the taking! One day only!

Appearances

Enchanted Knights: Myths and Legends
March 8th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Summer Solstice
June 21st, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

Necronomicon
September 26th – 28th, 2025
Tampa, FL

Posted by EASchechter in a-writers-life-is-never-dull, Blood of the Raven, book reviews, promotions, public displays of geekery, publishing, Ravens Fall, research is fun, The Sea Prince, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
Updatey Things.

Updatey Things.

New book means new updatey things on websites and price lists and all sorts of places. And it means that I’m thinking of how to add in new options.

I already sell signed paperbacks on my website. If I started selling ebooks directly from my website as well, would that be of interest to people? You’d actually OWN your copy (instead of licensing it from some big retailer.) There’s the added bonus that if spicy romances are banned, you wouldn’t have to worry about books being taken off your reader without your consent, which is what would happen if you buy through Amazon (they’ve done it before, in 2009.) I’m interested in seeing what people think before I take the next step and spend money on upgrades and subscriptions.

I also need to make a request of everyone out there reading this. If you have a Netgalley account, you can apply for a review copy of Raven’s Fall. It’s been a week, and either Amazon’s ranking systems are broken (again) or no one is buying my new book. I really think it’s the former, but a review would go a long way to helping get this book in the public eye. (If you don’t have a Netgalley account and still want to review? Talk to me. I have review copies.)

I started my last pass on The Sea Prince today, while sitting at the dealership waiting for my car’s oil change. This is the pass where I go through and read the sensitivity reader’s comments and make those changes, and so far, it’s pretty minor. I hope to have this done this week so I can send it back to her for final thoughts. Which means… maybe May for a release? I still have to do the layout and commission a cover.

The other thing I need to work on this week is the panel I’m leading at ICFA, on the reimagining and reinvention of classic monsters in modern pop culture. It’s a panel discussion, so I really just have to put together questions and talking points, but I want to make sure they’re GOOD questions and talking points. This is going to be my first time on the academic side of presenting, and I’m really looking forward to the discussion.

My to-do list seems to be getting longer by the minute! Off to do all the things!

Now Available!

Kidnapped from his home and sold as a slave in Rome, Raven-Prince Lorcan must survive in a world where entertainment is murder, diplomacy is betrayal, and love is a commodity. And where a raven who is only supposed to ever have one mate will somehow find two…

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 4)

15673 / 90000 (17.41%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

11848 / 90000 (13.16%)

Promotions

5 authors, 8 minutes each – on February 20th, come find your next favorite speculative fiction read by women authors and non-binary authors with us! **FREE* tinyurl.com/m5n37k5n


Stuff with Fantasy is coming February 28th! Over 300 authors, over 300 books, free for the taking! One day only!

Appearances

Enchanted Knights: Myths and Legends
March 8th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Summer Solstice
June 21st, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, appearances, Blood of the Raven, book reviews, forthcoming works, ICFA, progress, promotions, Ravens Fall, Revisions, The Sea Prince, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
What Do You Mean, New Release?

What Do You Mean, New Release?

I have a FULL day today. Packed. This morning, as I was getting ready to leave the house, I opened Bluesky. And saw something I wasn’t expecting — a book had released. MY book had released. What do you mean, new release? I wasn’t expecting that until tomorrow!

It’s true! Raven’s Fall is now available wherever your ebooks are sold! Paperbacks are coming, as are HARDCOVERS!!! (I think my New York publisher heard me squeeing from Florida when they told me hardcovers!)

And… since Princes of Air is the prequel to this book and the one after it, it’s going to be getting a relaunch as well. (Yes, I know we just did that. We’re doing it again. It’s like the Time Warp.) This time, though? The relaunch will include a new title — Raven Princes, Prequel to The Blood of the Raven series.

I’m not sure when that’s going to happen, but it is happening.

The more I look at this cover, the more I like it. I just got the final artwork on Saturday while I was at a show, then I was working on a promo thing all day yesterday, so there wasn’t ANY time to show it off. I thought I’d have a day to start getting the word out and letting folks know that it’s out on Netgalley for reviews.

(By the way? It’s out on Netgalley for reviews….)

It is a very good thing that I didn’t schedule myself to write today, because I don’t think there will be a WORD written on either WIP. Between the release, and a class I had at two, and a Smut Lovers Conference Facebook takeover tonight, and then a writing meeting? My head is spinning. In a good way, but WHOOSH.

And now I need to go whooshing off to get something else done. But wow. The book is out!!!!

Now Available!

Kidnapped from his home and sold as a slave in Rome, Raven-Prince Lorcan must survive in a world where entertainment is murder, diplomacy is betrayal, and love is a commodity. And where a raven who is only supposed to ever have one mate will somehow find two…

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 4)

14393 / 90000 (15.99%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

10276 / 90000 (11.42%)

Promotions

6 authors, 8 minutes each – on February 20th, come find your next favorite speculative fiction read by women authors and non-binary authors with us! **FREE* tinyurl.com/m5n37k5n


Stuff with Fantasy is coming February 28th! Over 300 authors, over 300 books, free for the taking! One day only!

Appearances

Enchanted Knights: Myths and Legends
March 8th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Summer Solstice
June 21st, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, Blood of the Raven, Happy Book Day, KermitArms, Princes of Air, Ravens Fall, Release date, SQUEEE, yippee, 0 comments
Updates!

Updates!

So…updates.

8 days ago, I got the cover for Morrigan’s Heir and released it to the world.

7 days ago? My publisher decided on an entirely different marketing push. So this cover?

Won’t be on the final book. Which… I like my sad gladiator, but he’s not exactly on trend…

So… new cover coming as soon as I get the files from the cover artist (who’s been working overtime to get this turned around.)

There’s a new TITLE for the book as well. Book one of The White Raven is now Raven’s Fall. Book two will be Raven’s Flight.

Release is still slated for next week (ish?)

There are more exciting things coming for my Ravens (all of them!), but I haven’t been cleared to be specific. Once I can say something, I’ll let you all know!

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, publishing, Release date, The Willow Sword, 0 comments
FaRo-What?

FaRo-What?

Yesterday, my husband/Darling Editor looked at my calendar and asked “FaRo-What? What’s FaRoBub?

“It’s a book promo event. One day only, 200 free books. I’ve got Hidden Things in for free download. That reminds me. I need to get KDP to call me. It’s not free on Amazon yet.”

So that was part of my Sunday — making sure that Hidden Things was free for today. And it is, and people have noticed and WOW, that’s a lot of downloads! I hope everyone who grabs a copy enjoys it!

Tomorrow, the fun starts of getting the prices turned back on. That’s always an adventure.

I’m finding that writing has been… interesting over the past month. I may have to shelve one of these books I’m working on and focus completely on the other, because writing TWO books where the main theme is standing up against tyranny and injustice to protect a weakened nation is a bit much for my heart right now. I may focus on The Coral Throne, because the turnaround on getting that published will be faster than on King of Swords. I’m looking at publishing The Sea Prince in late spring or early summer, so focusing on book 2 of that series seems to make more sense. I haven’t even started my editing run on Dead Man’s Hand, which will be going in to my publisher because it’s part of a series.

If I sound like I’m trying to convince myself, you have much to go on.

I have a release date for Morrigan’s Heir — I’ve been told we go LIVE February 11th! There isn’t a preorder link yet, but that will come sometime this week and I’ll post it to all the socials once I have it. I also received permission to share the cover, which is below. This cover has been a long time coming — that stock image (and the stock image that will be on Morrigan’s Wrath) were purchased years ago, and I sat on them until it was time to put together the covers, when I sent them to the cover artist and said “What can we do with these?”

I can’t wait to see it in print! I’ll have copies by the Enchanted Knights event in March — they won’t get to me in time for Saturday.

Yes, this Saturday! I’m gearing up for our first in person event of the new year. Love is in the Air is this Saturday from 10AM to 3PM at the Lakeside Community Center in Port Orange, Florida. If you get there early, there will be swag bags for the first people through the door (18+ only), and in those bags, you’ll find a little something from me! You have to come early to find out what, but I assure you that it’s cute.

Time to get back to work!

Coming Soon!

Kidnapped from his home and sold as a slave in Rome, Raven-Prince Lorcan must survive in a world where entertainment is murder, diplomacy is betrayal, and love is a commodity. And where a raven who is only supposed to ever have one mate will somehow find two…

Coming February 11th!

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 4)

13876 / 90000 (15.42%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

7049 / 90000 (7.83%)

Promotions

Today is the day! FaRoBub– 200 free fantasy romance and paranormal romance books.

Appearances

6th Annual Love is in the Air
February 8th, 2025
Lakeside Community Center
Port Orange, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Myths and Legends
March 8th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, appearances, cover art, forthcoming works, Hidden Things, public displays of geekery, publishing, Release date, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, The White Raven, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
Show Season Starts in 3…2…1…

Show Season Starts in 3…2…1…

I didn’t realize that February starts this Saturday until I sat down to plan our Highland Games afterparty and went… wait, what do you mean February starts this week? Which means that show season starts in 3…2…1…

I have at least one in-person show planned a month from February until June, with a couple of others unconfirmed but in the works.

I’ve ordered copies of books I’m low or out of, and I have swag coming in for the first event on my list (below, and on my Appearances page.) I just have to bring everything down from my office to the first floor (or have Darling Editor do it for me.)

I’m seeing people online pointing out that owning your physical media is more important now than it ever has been before. You don’t actually own your electronic media. Did you know that? You license it from Amazon, or Apple, or Barnes and Noble. Which means that those licenses can be revoked and that media removed from your reader or your game or your streaming platform with no warning. Think about how movies have been removed from streaming services and all copies destroyed — (*cough*DISNEY*cough*). Electronic media is great for accessibility and portability, but possibly not so much for longevity.

This is very much at the forefront of the romance writer’s mind these days, especially if you write spicy. If you want to support your favorite spicy writer? Buy print books. And if you want to make sure that you get them? By them DIRECTLY from the author, if you can.

And remember that reading is a radical act, too. Especially when it’s a book they don’t want you to read. To quote LeVar Burton, “Read the books they don’t want you to. That’s where the good stuff is.”

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 4)

11676 / 90000 (12.97%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

5773 / 90000 (6.41%)

Promotions

The last days of Bookmas are here! Check out today’s offerings here! Did you miss a day? You can still get access to all the offerings by getting an Instant Access Pass.

And you might want to pay attention to TOMORROW’S book… (hint, hint…)


Coming next week! FaRoBub– 200 free fantasy romance and paranormal romance books. One day only, on February 3rd! The link will be LIVE in my blog next week, so keep an eye out for it!

Appearances

6th Annual Love is in the Air
February 8th, 2025
Lakeside Community Center
Port Orange, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Myths and Legends
March 8th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, appearances, Bookmas, can't stop the signal, censorship, deep thoughts, poking badgers with spoons, quotes, thinking thinky thoughts, Updatey things, WIP, wordcount, writer on writing, 0 comments
Phantom Bagpipes

Phantom Bagpipes

I’m currently listening to K-pop and electrosynth because I’m attempting to drown out the phantom bagpipes that I’ll be hearing for the rest of the week. Why?

I’m not sure which group this was, but I took this video yesterday at the Central Florida Highland Games. This was our… eleventh year, I think? When we started, College Boy was in kindergarten, and we missed two years — 2021 (if I remember correctly, there were no Games in 2021 due to Covid) and 2022. It’s the twelfth or thirteenth year for Bairn Care, the baby care facility that we run, and the Central Florida Highland Games are the only games that offer this kind of facility (thanks to a group of which I am a part.)

Brief interruption because one of the electrosynth songs in my playlist has BAGPIPES! Time to go listen to Epic.

I love the Games, even though I think I’ve gone to watch the actual Games part maybe twice in eleven years. It’s a chance to reconnect with friends who I don’t see nearly often enough. There’s excellent music and shopping, and if you don’t have a special diet, there is a food vendor that offers the best Fish and Chips — pieces of fish so large that our first year, we dubbed it Moby Dick and Chips (and that name has stuck!) If you’re in the Orlando area on Martin Luther King Jr weekend, it’s a great day out. Just get there early, because parking is… challenging. We had some weather move through on Sunday, which meant that it was less crowded, but it was still a good day.

Eight years ago, on a quiet Sunday morning at the Games, I wrote the synopsis for The White Raven books. The memory just came up in my Facebook, and I find it amusing that the first of those books will be out sometime in the next month or so. I’m just waiting on page proofs of Morrigan’s Heir, and a final cover to start promoting.

This year, there wasn’t any work done at the Games because there were no quiet parts to the morning. Saturday, families started coming to the tent almost as soon as the games started, and we had a steady flow all day. Sunday, we knew there was weather coming in, so we spent the quiet parts of the morning prepping the site and the tents for the storm. I think I maybe got a few small pages in a Field Notes notebook, but that’s maybe a hundred words written. Time to catch up on work.

Thankfully, this week is quiet, and once we get caught up on chores, I don’t have to leave the house until Friday. I can really focus on writing and getting the words on the page. I need to get my edits done from the sensitivity reading of The Sea Prince, but the read through of Dead Man’s Hand can wait until after ICFA. (Or I might take it to ICFA and work on it in my downtime.) And I need to start getting ready for my first event of the year (details listed below and on my Appearances page.)

Time to get back to work!

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 4)

9495 / 90000 (10.55%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

3280 / 90000 (3.64%)

Promotions

It’s Bookmas! Every day for the rest of the month, you can get free ebooks and free tools for writers, with a new book or tool every day! Check out today’s offerings here!

Appearances

6th Annual Love is in the Air
February 8th, 2025
Lakeside Community Center
Port Orange, FL

***

Enchanted Knights: Myths and Legends
March 8th, 2025
Oviedo Mall
Oviedo, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, appearances, ICFA, progress, Revisions, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, The White Raven, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
Tik… Tok…

Tik… Tok…

The clock is ticking down. Tik…tok…tik…tok.

Now, I’ll admit that I don’t post as much as I used to on Tiktok. Part of that is that when your thing is “Carline Talk,” you have a limited lifespan — once your kid no longer has carline? You’re kind of done. The other part is that the moderation team is… something. I’m not sure what, but they are something (I got a community strike for saying that Ursula was Disney’s contract lawyer — make it make sense!)

But Tiktok is where the book people are, so I stayed. I had some lovely interactions with other writers through Booktok, learned about new books and tools and indie bookstores. Promoted my books and helped promote others. And I learned things — about politics, about uprisings and unrest. I followed people who knew more than I did, and I watched people my son’s age grow and become active in their communities, and push back against the powers that be.

And that’s the problem, isn’t it? The powers that be could not control the narrative on Tiktok. So it had to go.

I’m still hoping for a last minute miracle. But I’m not holding my breath.

Where will I be? Here, of course. Always have a social media avenue you control. ALWAYS. So I have my blog, and I have my newsletter. I’m on Bluesky and Mastodon and Tumblr. I have the whole Meta suite — Facebook, Instagram, and Threads — but those are becoming increasingly more toxic, and I am probably going to focus my marketing efforts on Bluesky and Mastodon. Heck, I even fired up my Fetlife account! (That was mostly to find out what the heck was going on with some nasty local doings — I can’t say I’ve ever sold a book via Fetlife, but I have met a lot of wanna-be doms who lack reading comprehension.)

I’m keeping an eye on Neptune (and am on the beta testing team), so we’ll see where that goes, and I got an email this morning about a crowdsourcing campaign for a social media network aimed at adult content creators. And in the meantime, I’m working on not one, but TWO novels where our hero has to step up and fight back against a corrupt system oppressing his people. If I had a nickle, right?

The first week back was getting into the groove of writing after being off for a few weeks. I didn’t make the wordcount that I wanted on either manuscript, but I did get started on both. Baby steps. This week will be more. Maybe. It’s Highland Games week, so I won’t be writing at all this weekend unless it’s on paper (and they’re calling for rain, so I might not even be doing that. We will see.) If you head out to the games, I’ll be over in Bairn Care, near the clan tents. Come and say hi!

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 4)

7629 / 90000 (8.48%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

1401 / 90000 (1.56%)

Promotions

It’s Bookmas! Every day for the rest of the month, you can get free ebooks and free tools for writers, with a new book or tool every day! Check out today’s offerings here!

Appearances

6th Annual Love is in the Air
February 8th, 2025
Lakeside Community Center
Port Orange, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

Posted by EASchechter in poking badgers with spoons, politics, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, this-is-why-we-can't-have-nice-things, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
We’re All Gonna Be Safe…

We’re All Gonna Be Safe…

There’s a Youtube personality named Ranboo, who made up a little song while playing Five Nights at Freddy’s. It starts “we’re all gonna be safe…”

This, I think, is the most accurate reaction to 2025 so far. Don’t you think?

Today is technically my first day back at the keyboard, even though I was doing some business related things last week. Inventory of books on hand, repacking boxes, reconciling accounts, paying taxes and filing copyright. I’m waiting for page proofs on Morrigan’s Heir, which might make an appearance in late January (cross your crossables! As soon as I have a date, I’ll let you know!) The Sea Prince is back from the sensitivity editor, with surprisingly few suggestions! I’ll be getting those done and running them past the editor again, and then we’ll work on getting it out into the world. Looking at maybe April? It’ll depend on when Morrigan’s Heir drops.

I finally really looked at King of Swords and realized that yes, it was two books. So Tales from the Arena: Dead Man’s Hand is currently marinating and I’ll print it off for edits next week. Tales from the Arena: King of Swords already has a wordcount already because I moved two chapters out of Dead Man’s Hand. I also plan on starting The Coral Throne (The Sea Prince, book 2), but right now, I haven’t even set up the file in Scrivener. Maybe later tonight.

I’ve also set up a number of in-person events for this year — I’m trying to have at least one a month, because when I sat down to do my accounting for 2024, I found that most of my income came from in person sales. Which proves once again something I learned when I was still making jewelry — no one can sell your product better than you yourself. The list is below — I’ll be all around the Central Florida area, so if you’re in the area on one of those dates, come check out the show! (Note: I will not be selling at ICFA. I’ll be moderating a panel entitled Reimagining the Night: New Faces of Old Terrors.)

Right now, we’re bracing for winter weather here in Florida (I just saw they’re projecting the temperature to be in the high 20s for tomorrow morning) while friends and family are seeing snow into the double digits. So everyone be careful out there, and stay warm.

Catch you next week!

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 4)

5018 / 90000 (5.58%)

The Coral Throne
(The Sea Prince, book 2)

0 / 100000 (0.00%)

Promotions

It’s Bookmas! Well, okay, it’s ALMOST Bookmas. Starting January 10th, and running the rest of the month, you can get free ebooks and free tools for writers, with a new book or tool every day! Sign up for the daily emails here.

Appearances

6th Annual Love is in the Air
February 8th, 2025
Lakeside Community Center
Port Orange, FL

***

ICFA
March 19 – 22nd, 2025
Orlando, FL

***

3rd Annual Spring is in the Air
April 13th, 2025
Venetian Center,
Leesburg, FL

***

6th Annual Mother’s Day Bazaar
May 10th, 2025
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge
Ormond Beach, FL

***

3rd Annual Summer Artisan Market
June 29th, 2025
Brannon Center
New Smyrna Beach, FL

***

Smut Lovers: The Conference
September 17th – 21st, 2025
Orlando, FL

Posted by EASchechter in 2025 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, Bookmas, Happy New Year, ICFA, promotions, public displays of geekery, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, The White Raven, upcoming books, upcoming work, Updatey things, WIP, wordcount, Worldbuilding, writing, 0 comments