2024 plans

23
Sep
2024
Ready…Set…Wait….

Ready…Set…Wait….

That’s the current mood on our house. Ready…set…wait…wait…wait… We’re almost entirely ready for Necronomicon. We just need to pack. But there’s a blob that’s soon to be named Helene in the Caribbean right now. She’s heading for the Gulf of Mexico at the moment, and she may ALSO be heading for Tampa this week.

Driving into what projections say might be a Category 2 hurricane doesn’t seem like my idea of a good time. Hence, the “wait” part of the program. Right now, IF she comes to Tampa or the area just north, it looks like it will be Thursday. But we will see, and then we will decide.

Welcome to Florida in the Fall.

If there is a convention and we attend, then we’ll have a great time. I have five panels — two on Friday night and three on Saturday.

  • Friday, 9PM — Guess the Spec Fic Author By Their Sex Scene (Mystery Science Sex Scene 3K)
  • Friday, 10PM — I Want to Verb Your Noun (the annual Writing Sex panel returns!)
  • Saturday, 10AM — Author Quarters 2 (Reading from something non-spicy)
  • Saturday, 5PM — Gardening vs. Building (Pantsing and Plotting)
  • Saturday, 8PM — Cosmic Construction (Worldbuilding)

In addition, I have a table in Author Alley. Remember that if you tell me you’re a newsletter subscriber or follow me on social media, you get discounts! In addition, I’ll be running a Necro sale — 25% off everything except digital items and book bundles.

If things end up being wet and squally and we stay home, then I’ll run a Necro sale on signed books through my website, and I’ll put things up on sale on Smashwords (easiest place to put up a coupon.)

So… ready…set…wait…wait…wait….

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

68776 / 120000 (57.31%)

Promotions

This may very well be the last week where Counsel of the Wicked is on sale. There are only three books left in my SPFBO cohort, and mine is one of them. I’ve seen the other semi-finalists, and I’m really not sure I’ll be joining them, so I think I’ll be out shortly. If you want to grab it while it is still on sale, now is the time!

Coming up on October 11th, I have Chains of Light available for free in So Queer To My Heart, a spicy queer romance event. Link to the event page will be coming soon.

I’ll be participating in a Stuff Your Kindle event from October 18-20th. There are over 400 books that will be free or discounted for that weekend, and I’ll have Written in Water up for free!

I’m also going to be a part of Enchanted Realms, and this promotion runs for the entire month of October — sign up for newsletters, get free books and enter to win a $30 gift card!

Appearances

Necronomicon
September 27-29th, 2024
Tampa, Florida

***

Not So Spooky Hallowfest
October 6th, 2024
Deltona, Florida

***

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, Florida

***

Maker Faire Orlando
November 9-10th
Orlando, Florida

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, Best laid plans, Best planned lays, conventions, Hurricane, I really want some dull, Necronomicon, promotions, public displays of geekery, WIP, wordcount, Writer on the Go!, 0 comments
16
Sep
2024
Prep All the Things!

Prep All the Things!

Today is September 16th, and I have the first of five shows in a little under two weeks. It’s time to PREP ALL THE THINGS!

Books have been ordered (and in the cases of three titles, more books have been delivered than I ordered, because mistakes were made.) Stock boxes are packed. Prices lists have been printed. Hotel reservations have been made (actually, they were made a while ago.) Vaccines have been onboarded (yesterday.)

Still to do? Haul the boxes off show stuff from my office down to the living room. Print off packing lists. Prep for my panels (and possibly bug the person in charge of scheduling to let me know when those panels are going to be happening because it’s getting late…) And I have to do the things that have to be done before the end of the month, because I’ll be busy from the end of the month until the beginning of November, and a couple of these things are time sensitive.

And, of course, in the middle of all of this, there must be writing done. I’m just over the halfway number on King of Swords, and wondering if I need to increase my wordcount again. Honestly, at this point? I think I’m just going to put words on the page, and if it ends up being two books? It ends up being two books. I can’t imagine my publisher being annoyed at that.

I finished my editing pass on The Sea Prince the other night, and sent it over to my editor to take another look. There are still a couple of questions that need to be answered, but if things fall the way I think they will, then The Sea Prince will launch on Kindle Vella late this year or early next. That’s written in very warm Jello at the moment, though.

While I wait for edits and answers, I’m working on the outlines/synopsis/what my characters are going to laugh at this time for The Covert Saloon series. I sort of pushed that to the side to finish up The Sea Prince, and now I’m almost done with book one. I have a vague idea (nope, not gonna say it…) as to what book 2 will be like, and I know how book 3 is going to end, but not how it’s going to start. Not yet. This series may end up being more discovery writing than I usually do, but we’ll see when we get to that point.

I’m also not sure if it’ll be the next thing I work on, or if I’ll be starting The Coral Throne (the sequel to The Sea Prince.) Or maybe I’ll dive into the Iron and Silk series — that’s all plotted and ready to go, except for some of the research. Or lightning could strike and I could sell Blood Bound tomorrow, which would mean going back into the Flesh and Blood universe and my kinky vampires.

So many choices!!!!

Finish King of Swords first, Liz. Then decide.

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

63263 / 120000 (52.72%)

Promotions

Shockingly, Counsel of the Wicked is still a contender for SPFBOX, which means that it is still on sale wherever ebooks are sold.

I’ll be participating in a Stuff Your Kindle event from October 18-20th. There are over 400 books that will be free or discounted for that weekend, and I’ll have Written in Water up for free!

I’m also going to be a part of Enchanted Realms, and this promotion runs for the entire month of October — sign up for newsletters, get free books and enter to win a $30 gift card!

Appearances

Necronomicon
September 27-29th, 2024
Tampa, Florida

***

Not So Spooky Hallowfest
October 6th, 2024
Deltona, Florida

***

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, Florida

***

Maker Faire Orlando
November 9-10th
Orlando, Florida

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, accountability, appearances, Blood Bound, Counsel of the Wicked, Covert Saloon, Iron and Silk, Necronomicon, Planning, progress, promotions, publishing, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, upcoming books, upcoming work, Updatey things, WIP, wordcount, Worldbuilding, Writer on the Go!, Written in Water, 0 comments
02
Sep
2024
Falling into Fall

Falling into Fall

September 2nd means that Summer is on it’s way out, and we’re falling into fall. Officially, it won’t be Fall until the 22nd, but there’s Pumpkin Spice and Halloween everywhere, so… yeah. It’s Fall.

I’m also falling into what’s going to be a very busy seven weeks, starting with Necronomicon Tampa on September 27th, and running until Maker Faire in November. The full list of events is below, so if you’re in the area, come see me!

We’ll see how the writing goes during that period, but I’m very pleased with how King of Swords is going, and I am hoping to have a complete manuscript by the end of the year. I’ve got a playlist growing for this project — my main criteria for adding a song is that it needs to sound like it would work in a fight sequence soundtrack or a training montage. The link to the final playlist will be listed in the back matter of the book once it’s done. There’s almost always a playlist for various books — this is the one for The Sea Prince, which is almost done with first round edits. (Yes, this will also be in the back matter for that book.)

So I’ll be spending the next couple of weeks writing like mad, fueled by copious amounts of coffee and music, and trying to wrangle my book suppliers into fixing their mistakes because when I ordered copies of books to sell, I want MY books, not someone else’s! (Instead of the 28 books I ordered, I received 8 copies of mine, and 10 copies of a book by some author I have never heard of. Whee!) And once it all starts, I’ll be doing my best not to get sick at ANY of these events. I’ve somehow never had COVID and I don’t intend to start now! Nasal spray, masks and air purifiers at the ready!

Listening to:

Fight, Little Wolf. Epic: The Wisdom Saga.

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

55058 / 120000 (45.88%)

Promotions

Counsel of the Wicked is still a contender for SPFBOX, which means that it is still on sale wherever ebooks are sold.

Appearances

Necronomicon
September 27-29th, 2024
Tampa, Florida

***

Not So Spooky Hallowfest
October 6th, 2024
Deltona, Florida

***

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, Florida

***

Maker Faire Orlando
November 9-10th
Orlando, Florida

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, appearances, conventions, Counsel of the Wicked, Necronomicon, Playlist, progress, promotions, SPFBO, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, upcoming books, upcoming work, WIP, wordcount, Writer on the Go!, 0 comments
26
Aug
2024
Raise the Wordcount!

Raise the Wordcount!

It’s time! I have reached that point in the manuscript where the numbers don’t add up! It’s past the midpoint in the projected wordcount, but I haven’t yet hit the hinge — the midpoint in the book where we start moving toward resolution and the end. What does that mean? It’s time to raise the wordcount!

It’s not the first time I’ve done this — in truth, I think I do it at least once in every manuscript. I start out with a target of 90,000 words. That’s, on average, a good goal for fantasy romance, and makes for a decent sized novel. As I write, I reevaluate that goal. Is this book coming in short? How short? Is it a novella and not a novel? Or am I running long, and need to bump my numbers up? For me, this is more likely. I tend to be wordy in the first draft, but the story get refined and pared down in edits. And sometimes, the wordcount gets even higher in edits, because I missed things! (I think it was Haven’s Fall that had six entire chapters added in edits. That’s about 18,000 more words.)

Right now, I’m working on the edits for The Sea Prince, and I don’t think the wordcount will change too drastically, but I do have to rewrite one particular part that might have been less objectionable when I started this book, but these days? A 34 year old man marrying a girl he thinks is a few weeks short of 18 is… hinky, even if it is a marriage for alliance and to stop a war. (She is older. I need to move that confession earlier in the book, and still make it make sense.)

Once the edits are complete, I need to find a sensitivity editor who can check me on disability representation — The Sea Prince features a character who is a double amputee, and I need to be certain I’m writing him properly. (If anyone has a recommendation on a sensitivity reader, hit me up!)

I need to get these edits done as soon as I can, and get them off to a sensitivity reader before the end of September. Starting the last week of September, I’m going into six weeks of non-stop conventions/shows. Necronomicon is the last week of September, followed the next week by the Not So Spooky Hallowfest. Then I have a couple of week to restock and recover before Wizards, Witches and the Weird in Daytona Beach. My year wraps up with Maker Faire in Orlando, and I can take a deep breath before Thanksgiving and Cookiepocalypse 2024.

Just a few irons in the fire, no?

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

50061 / 120000 (41.72%)

Promotions

The Narratess Indie Book Sale is winding down, but you can still grab a copy of The Chronicles of John Zebedee for $1.99 (down from $8.99) There are over 300 books in this sale, so make sure you check them out!

Counsel of the Wicked is still a contender for SPFBOX, which means that it is still on sale wherever ebooks are sold.

You still have a few days left to get Written in Water on sale via Kobo! For all of August, start the series for only $1.99. (And because I’m fond of you guys, the sale will be wherever ebooks are sold, not just Kobo.)

Appearances

Necronomicon
September 27-29th, 2024
Tampa, Florida

***

Not So Spooky Hallowfest
October 6th, 2024
Deltona, Florida

***

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, Florida

***

Maker Faire Orlando
November 9-10th
Orlando, Florida

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, appearances, Counsel of the Wicked, Necronomicon, promotions, public displays of geekery, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, WIP, wordcount, Writer on the Go!, 0 comments
19
Aug
2024
A Long Day

A Long Day

Any Monday that starts with a visit to the dentist is by definition a LONG DAY. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Thankfully, it was a routine visit, but still. Long day is LOOOOONG.

It’s currently 7:22 PM on the East Coast, and I’m just now sitting down to write this. I have written perhaps a grand total of 50 words in King of Swords, and if I make it to 500, it’ll be amazing. I’m not sure I will, though. The next part of this involves a ritual, and I need to write it.

Maybe I’ll write another scene, just to get words on the page. Maybe. Or maybe I won’t push myself too hard on what’s already been a long day, and stop wherever I stop. That’s more likely, to be honest.

I have the DNC on in the background — I thought it started at 8PM, but it actually stared at 6:30 PM, so I missed a bit. (And you thought I wasn’t going to talk about politics!). Remember to check your voter status. And if you’re not registered, remember to do that. Do you have a primary tomorrow (or soon?) Remember that the down ticket elections are equally as important!

All right. Time to get some words on the page.

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

45654 / 90000 (50.73%)

Promotions

The Narratess Indie Book Sale is this weekend, and you’ll be able to grab a copy of The Chronicles of John Zebedee for $1.99 (down from $8.99) There are over 300 books in this sale, so make sure you check them out!

Counsel of the Wicked is still a contender for SPFBOX (I’m at the point of holding my breath and looking very much like the Kermit the Frog meme where he’s chewing his fingernails). Counsel is still on sale wherever ebooks are sold.

Starting on August 1st and running through the entire month of August, Written in Water will be on sale via Kobo! For all of August, start the series for only $1.99. (And because I’m fond of you guys, the sale will be wherever ebooks are sold, not just Kobo.)

Appearances

Necronomicon
September 27-29th, 2024
Tampa, Florida

***

Not So Spooky Hallowfest
October 6th, 2024
Deltona, Florida

***

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, Florida

***

Maker Faire Orlando
November 9-10th
Orlando, Florida

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, Counsel of the Wicked, John Zebedee, politics, progress, promotions, Tales from the Arena, why-the-writing-is-slow, WIP, wordcount, Written in Water, 0 comments
12
Aug
2024

Joy

This past week, I’ve been watching all the writers I know come together to celebrate and support Harris/Walz. And I think I figured out why this particular ticket is so attractive to writers, and especially to romance writers, even without knowing the platform or where things are going to go. Most of us were already going to support the Democratic ticket because Never Orange Never Again. But this feels more than that. This is electric.

Part of it is the whole Project 2025 “porn will be illegal and we get to say what porn is and we’ve been calling romance porn for years so there you go…” But there’s more.

Have you noticed how happy Kamala and Tim are? How much they laugh? How much they enjoy living and being and being out there with the people? How they celebrate the differences? People are noticing. There’s hope for a lot of people for the first time in a long time. And that’s it. That, in my opinion, is the reason that so many of the romance writers are throwing their support behind Harris/Walz.

There’s joy in the world again. There’s hope. There’s kindness. And we are drawn to joy. We have to, or we wouldn’t be writing romances. Happily ever after, right?

Now, we still have a way to go before our happily ever after, and we can’t be complacent — that way lies both defeat and despair. But I honestly think we’re going to get there now, and the weight is starting to lift.

Remember to check your voter status. And if you’re not registered, remember to do that.

Support joy.

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

40887 / 90000 (45.43%)

Promotions

Counsel of the Wicked is still a contender for SPFBOX (I’m kind of shocked — Written in Water was out by this point). So it’s still on sale wherever ebooks are sold.

Starting on August 1st and running through the entire month of August, Written in Water will be on sale via Kobo! For all of August, start the series for only $1.99. (And because I’m fond of you guys, the sale will be wherever ebooks are sold, not just Kobo.)

Appearances

Necronomicon
September 27-29th, 2024
Tampa, Florida

***

Not So Spooky Hallowfest
October 6th, 2024
Deltona, Florida

***

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, Florida

***

Maker Faire Orlando
November 9-10th
Orlando, Florida

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, accountability, Counsel of the Wicked, happy-happy- joy- joy, politics, Tales from the Arena, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
05
Aug
2024
Time to Boost the Signal

Time to Boost the Signal

I’m doing something I rarely, if ever, do. I’m copying something into my blog from my newsletter. But I think the message is important enough to boost the signal. Last week, my August newsletter went out, and instead of a newsy update about writing, I talked about politics. And I’m going to repost what I wrote in that newsletter, in case you haven’t seen it.

***

I’m going to do something I don’t often do in this newsletter.

Talk about politics.

If you’re not US-based, and don’t care about US politics, you don’t have to read this. Honestly, you don’t have to read it at all. There’s a good recipe down near the end.

I’m with HER.

I’m with the candidate who supports the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people. I’m with the candidate who doesn’t belittle or demean people. I’m with the candidate who wants what’s best for the people, not what’s best for his wallet.

I’m with the candidate who is fighting for democracy. Who isn’t trying to turn this country into a theocracy that looks a lot like The Handmaid’s Tale. Who didn’t just this past week tell people that if they vote for him in this election, that they’ll never have to vote again.

I’m with the candidate who doesn’t make me think we’re seeing reruns of the events of Germany in 1933.

I’m with the candidate who doesn’t plan to make me have to leave the country because I write the books that I love (and that you love, or you wouldn’t be here) because if I stay, I’ll be facing jail time as a pornographer.

I’m with HER

Is she perfect? No, of course not.

However, she is the one chance that we have to make it through November with the soul of this nation battered, but still intact. And before anyone suggests a third party candidate? There is no statistical way a third party candidate can win at the presidential level, and to promote that in THIS race is asking for disaster.

If you’re not registered to vote yet? Do so.

If you are registered? Make sure that your registration is up to date and hasn’t been purged.

If you need a mail-in ballot? Request one now. (That’s going to be state specific.)

Don’t think that your vote doesn’t matter. In truth, it has never mattered more. 

And if I’ve annoyed you to the point that you’re looking for the unsubscribe button? You should still get out and vote.

It’s important.

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

35100 / 90000 (39.00%)

Promotions

Counsel of the Wicked is still a contender for SPFBOX (I’m kind of shocked — Written in Water was out by this point, so it is STILL on sale, but because of the Smashwords sale, it’s even BETTER — it’s FREE (only on Smashwords)!!! But only for another two days!

Starting on August 1st and running through the entire month of August, Written in Water will be on sale via Kobo! For all of August, start the series for only $1.99. (And because I’m fond of you guys, the sale will be wherever ebooks are sold, not just Kobo.)

Appearances

Necronomicon
September 27-29th, 2024
Tampa, Florida

***

Not So Spooky Hallowfest
October 6th, 2024
Deltona, Florida

***

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, FL

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, Boosting the signal, censorship, politics, 0 comments
29
Jul
2024
The Wild Ride is Just Beginning.

The Wild Ride is Just Beginning.

Last week was something else, wasn’t it? And the wild ride is just beginning.

I’m feeling a little more hopeful about… well, everything. The political news has evened out and looks very promising, and I’ve managed to get all those vendors to admit they’ve screwed up and get the supplies I need out in the mail (in theory. They’re not here yet. But they were supposedly mailed last Thursday.)

So things are looking up. Which isn’t to say that they’re not also promising to be exciting, but they’re exciting in a positive way, which is good.

I’m a third of the way into King of Swords, and enjoying myself enough that everything else has sort of fallen to the wayside. I do need to get back into working on plotting out The Covert Saloon series and revising The Sea Prince, but King of Swords is just so shiny and fun!

I haven’t had any updates on The White Raven books yet, but I’m hoping for something in the next month or so. Morrigan’s Heir is supposed to be out this year, but I don’t know what the turnaround is with my new editor, so I don’t know if I should be looking at edits coming in sometime next month or sometime in October. I’ll check in with him if I don’t hear by mid-August, and see where we are. I’m really looking forward to seeing these two in print and having you all meet Lorcan properly.

I need to make up my mind on what I’m doing with The Sea Prince when it’s all revised and ready. Do I want to run it through Kindle Vella? Or should I shop it around? Maybe I just want to just go ahead and self-publish? Decisions, decisions. If you have opinions, let me know? Where would you want to read a sort of steampunky Master and Commander-ish novel?

Next week, there may be no blog post — we have the double whammy of a young man getting three wisdom teeth pulled AND a 50/50 shot at the first hurricane of this season to make the right turn in the Caribbean and head for Florida. If I can post, I will, but I might be busy.

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

29959 / 90000 (33.29%)

Promotions

Only two days left of the Smashwords Summer Sale. You can pick up my entire catalog 25% off here and here.

Counsel of the Wicked is still a contender for SPFBOX, so it is STILL on sale, but because of the Smashwords sale, it’s even BETTER — it’s FREE (only on Smashwords)!!! But only for another two days!

Starting on August 1st and running through the entire month of August, Written in Water will be on sale via Kobo! For all of August, start the series for only $1.99. (And because I’m fond of you guys, the sale will be wherever ebooks are sold, not just Kobo.)

The Cavalcade is having a Free Book Promo for this weekend only! August 2-4 you’ll can browse and download books of all genres. The link will be coming in my socials and my newsletter on FRIDAY. If you don’t get my newsletter, you can sign up here.

Appearances

Necronomicon
September 27-29th, 2024
Tampa, Florida

***

Not So Spooky Hallowfest
October 6th, 2024
Deltona, Florida

***

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, Cavalcade of Authors, Counsel of the Wicked, Covert Saloon, forthcoming works, promotions, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, The White Raven, upcoming books, upcoming work, Updatey things, WIP, wordcount, writing-mom, 0 comments
15
Jul
2024
Flowers Outside My Window

Flowers Outside My Window

There are flowers outside my window. Purple ones. They’re on the crepe myrtle tree we got from the city for Arbor Day a couple of years back. I can just see them from where I’m sitting, because the tree is just finally tall enough to be seen from my desk on the second floor. It’s nice — a pop of color among the green that is my yard. I can see iris buds, too, so I’ll have some white and purple irises sometime in the next few days. Sadly, something ate the deep pink cranberry hibiscus that I could see from where I’m sitting, so I have to move if I want to see the sole survivor of the wall-o-hibiscus that was the back of that bed. (Said sole survivor is attempting to be a wall all by itself. I have a hibiscus with ambitions.)

If you think I’m trying to focus on the pretty and innocuous, you have much to go on.

Things are scary out there. And turning to writing stories helps, but at the same point, I write steamy, sexy books… and there are threats to my livelihood on the horizon. Now, I’m not changing what I’m doing. I’m still going to write my stories, and they’re still going to be about people falling in love, and about the many ways love can be found. But it’s still scary out there.

Flowers help. Games help. I haven’t finished Tavern Talk yet. It’s GOOD. It’s really good. Although the cozy isn’t as cozy, and the what just happened here? moments are getting more frequent. I’m about halfway through Act 3, and there are only 4 acts in the game, and I’m starting to worry for some of these characters. (Honestly? I thought that cozy meant… well… COZY. But I’m invested and I need to know how the story ends.) I think my next game will be something lower stakes, like Vampire Therapist or Capybarista. The art in Vampire Therapist is very nice. And honestly, using cognitive behavior therapy on vampires amuses me. as for Capybarista? It’s about capybaras who own a coffee shop. What’s not to like?

It’s thundering outside my window now — late afternoon Florida storms are rolling in. Time to get back to making words so I can wrap my writing day before dinner. I have a game to finish.

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

18649 / 90000 (20.72%)

Promotions

The Smashwords Summer Sale is live! And, because of reasons too silly to go into here, I have two author pages. You can pick up my entire catalog on sale here and here.

Counsel of the Wicked is still a contender for SPFBOX, so it is STILL on sale, but because of the Smashwords sale, it’s even BETTER — it’s FREE (only on Smashwords)!!!

Appearances

Necronomicon
September 27-29th, 2024
Tampa, Florida

***

Not So Spooky Hallowfest
October 6th, 2024
Deltona, Florida

***

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, Florida

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, Counsel of the Wicked, politics, product endorsement, promotions, Tales from the Arena, upcoming work, Updatey things, Waiting-for-the-other-shoe, WIP, wordcount, Worldbuilding, 0 comments
08
Jul
2024
Outside Hates Me

Outside Hates Me

Seriously. Outside and I are not friends. Usually, the outside tolerates me, but sometimes… well, the results can be explosive.

(AHHH-CHOO!)

Yes, I have allergies. Lots of them. When I was allergy tested prior to being treated, they gave me the list of allergens. Usually, they take a highlighter and mark the things you’re allergic to. On mine, they marked the things I was NOT allergic to because it used less ink.

Technically? I’m allergic to outside. I’ve been doing allergy therapy for years, and I’m getting to the point where I don’t react anymore, but there is something new outside that wants me to know that it hates me especially. Which means I’m in an antihistamine fog, and I’ve been staring at the screen for thirty minutes trying to think of what to write.

This does not bode well for my daily wordcount.

I’m enjoying the new WIP, and who Teren, the main character, is at the start of the work, as opposed to who he needs to become by the end of it. The growth cycle is going to be fun.

I did some other, non-writing writing work, and now have a press kit. This is one of those things that no one tells you that you should be doing when you start writing, so you have to put in major effort to put one together later. Now that it’s done, I’ll be turning my non-writing writer brain to revisions of The Sea Prince. Darling Editor pointed out one MAJOR plot point that I might have gotten away with when I first started this book some fifteen years ago, but that I absolutely cannot go forward with now, so there’s going to be a big rewrite early into the book. If I do it right, you’ll never know. But that means actually doing it. The plan is revisions, then another editing pass before I turn my thoughts to how this is going out into the world.

As part of my “I’m taking care of myself” plan, I’m trying to take time away from the keyboard, and part of that time has been spent playing Tavern Talk. It’s a visual novel video game where you are an Innkeeper in a fantasy realm, with a revolving cast of colorful characters who are incredibly fleshed out and beautifully rendered. If you want a hack and slash first person shooter, this is not your game. If you want something involving stories and puzzles and multiple different possible paths and endings, grab this game! (It’s on Steam, and it’s available for the Switch.) I’m enjoying it because writer brain has NOT been able to figure out where it’s going, so everything has been a surprise!

Time to go make words so I can play later.

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

13327 / 90000 (14.81%)

Promotions

The Smashwords Summer Sale is live! And, because of reasons too silly to go into here, I have two author pages. You can pick up my entire catalog on sale here and here.

Counsel of the Wicked is still a contender for SPFBOX, so it is STILL on sale, but because of the Smashwords sale, it’s even BETTER — it’s FREE!!!

Appearances

Necronomicon
September 27-29th, 2024
Tampa, Florida

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Not So Spooky Hallowfest
October 6th, 2024
Deltona, Florida

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Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, Florda

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, product endorsement, publishing, Tales from the Arena, The Sea Prince, upcoming books, upcoming work, Updatey things, WIP, wordcount, Worldbuilding, 0 comments