My turning points usually hit randomly, but today I feel really good. Maybe it’s because I know good things are on the horizon, maybe I’m just tired of being frustrated, but I’m feeling pretty skippy about life at the moment. So yeah, after all the frustration of NBP closing, Fandom Fest’s issues, and other stuff going on, it didn’t bring me to my knees, per say, but it made me sit down and gasp and sulk a bit.
I don’t know if it was my music choice today (This is Gonna Hurt, by Sixx: AM, how appropriate, I know) or if I’ve just reached the point where I plain refuse to be run over, but I’m back up, baby, and ready to get back to it. When I talk to people about my creative life and urge to move forward, it’s usually brought up that I’m like a pit bull. This is probably the least flattering thing you can ever say to a woman, but I get that people mean I’m tenacious and it’s really hard to derail me at times. In truth, I’m probably more like a hungry wolverine targeting a kill, but pit bull works, too. I may have had a text conversation a few weeks ago where I busted out with this little gem:
Look, I know what I want and I’m going to get there. I don’t care if I have to make a broadsword from words and will and rip it right through darkness, itself. We’re getting this done.
This might be what happens when I’m tired and feeling really poetic, but the fact is that I always mean it. I don’t give up easily and I don’t back down unless I absolutely have to or find a better way.
No, seriously. There should probably be support groups about people who have had to deal with that part of me.
At any rate, I’ve heard Sweet Child of Mine fifty thousand times on the radio lately, and am always attracted to that last bit: Where do we go now?
So okay, where do we go now?
First up, Lost in the Shadows will see print next week. I’m really excited about this, and I’ve got to talk to some faces to make sure the whole world knows about what a great conglomeration of short fiction this is.
Mooner will be reprinted by Mocha Memoirs Press and will hopefully be out very soon. Still waiting on edits for this, and I can tell you that there’s going to be at least one addition that I’ve wanted since the beginning, so I’m very excited for this one, too.
Coming soon is Thunder on the Battlefield, which has a story of mine in vol. 2. I’ve seen the cover art for this, and while I can’t share it yet, I can assure you that it will blow your ever-lovin’ mind. It’s all kinds of amazing and the stories promise to be just as incredible.
I’m working on some shorts and also working on another edit of In the Red, which will go visit some people who are interested in a possible reprint. More when I can talk about that.
Also working on polishing a horror novel that smashes up a few genres together and gives a different spin on romance. Hoping to have some people look at that soon and help me figure out where to shop it.
In my daily life, I’ve got some big sewing work looming on the horizon, a couple of commissions to knock out before a mob comes after me, and figure out what I’m doing with my winter schedule. That’s the thing with being in the arts – you don’t just act all creative, you also have to promote yourself and handle your booking, too.
Already looking at cons and literary events for next year and talking some things over, which is nerve-wracking and fun at the same time.
Aaaaaand…
I totally finished Olde School. It’s much, much longer than originally intended (and much weirder, but that just means it’s going to be worth it), but I’m so proud of this one. I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere after grinding my wheels for so long. It’s being sent to an editor now, so the cage-fighting will begin presently <g>. I still have to make some decisions on other aspects of the book, but after talking to Stephen Zimmer about it all on Sunday evening, I’m really, REALLY starting to get excited for this. This is going to be an awesome book with a lot of amazing possibilities for the series. Not only is this going to combine a ton of genres into one glorious stew, but it gives me the chance to play with and break genre stereotypes and change things up a bit. I’m really, really intrigued by the possibilities. I’ll be talking about this one more as things play out. Believe me, this is a book you won’t want to miss. It’s not only a labor of love, but it really encompasses what I love about writing as a whole.
And, of course, I have a million other ideas that are being worked out and appeased so they don’t gnaw my face off while I sleep or something…but they’re still very much in stasis and can’t come out to play yet.
So that’s me! It’s good to have something of a direction, but it’s also good to remind myself that I always have the choice to give myself a direction. I’m not a static kind of person, but sometimes (like lately), I have to remind myself that I can walk toward my goal any time I want.
So yeah…c’mon feet, and let’s get this done!
Come Selahway With Me... 