Today is the first day of the month (July 1, 2023). I love first days. I love Mondays. I love sunrises, and new beginnings. My husband loves to revisit the past through photographs, letters, and journals. He loves closure. He loves sunsets, and stable routines.
We get along so well.
Explaining myself has, in many ways, gotten easier over the years, especially as I’ve come to understand my ADHD and accept that it is continuously evolving. While my kids were growing, ADHD helped me to juggle their schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and illnesses while also running my various enterprises. Around the time kid #4 entered 9th grade, my *secret power* imploded. I felt… rudderless. Unneeded. Set adrift. Things inside my brain only started to improve once I was prescribed Ritalin.
Fast forward to 2023. I am once again in a major pivot point, and it is a BIG point. It’s no tiny dot on the map of my life; it is a big ass arc, and every few days or weeks, I find myself readjusting. Again.
I’m okay with this. In a way, I was born to be in flux. Which might be why I’m partnered with someone who is so rock steady (even within the confines of their chronic disease – ME/CFS).
This pivot concerns writing and self-publishing. I’ve had a thrilling, challenging, sobering ride through 7 years of learning how to write, and refining what it is I want to write; through 5 years of learning how to self-publish and self-promote.
I have come to understand that the generally accepted model of doing business in the indie pub world is not working for me. That model – write the book, edit the book, design the cover, format the book, get the files uploaded to retailers, etc. – has become this unwieldy hamster wheel. Not only have I been trying to ride a wheel designed, built, and maintained by others, I’ve let the sense of urgency that comes along with that ride create a second wheel inside my head powered by the mantra, “WRITE, WRITE, WRITE.”
Sometime this past spring, my internal wheel broke. The external wheel is still there, spinning, spinning – but I’ve chosen to step off and let it do its thing while I experiment with the shape of *my thing.*
Here’s a short list of my current writing- and publishing-related activities:
- Every book in my fantasy back list is receiving the “closed door” treatment. This is something I’ve wanted to do for my readers, yet I never felt I could take time off from producing new material. These revised editions will go up for sale, one per week, until this task is complete (sometime in Oct. 2023).
- Everything new that I write will first go up on the Ream subscription platform. Since I launched my tiers on May 1, I’ve posted chapters of The Goddess & the Woodsman as I revise the original edition, and create an additional “closed door” version. I’m also posting chapters of Magic Undermined, the next book featuring Calliope.
- I would love to be more connected to my readers, and I’m actively looking for ways, and places, to do so (and not just on social media). Having a subscription service is one place to do that, as it provides me with a space to post updates, new content, and commentary.
As for what’s in the story pipeline:
- Final edits on Persephone Lost & Found (book 2 in the Goddessverse Fantasy Series). I had hoped to have this book finished and ready to go out by June 30, but life is being very life-y. Now, I’m looking at a mid-August release. Kickstarter patrons will get the book first, then Ream subscribers. I’ll release the book wide later this year. Note: one of the backers of my first Kickstarter has a role in this book.
- Demon Healer (book 3 in the Goddessverse), will be published wide in October 2023. Right now, it’s part of the ‘Celestial Awakening‘ collection, and I’m unable to sell it individually. I think it’s very likely that I’ll add more to Arkė and Kai’s story.
- Short stories and snippets from Calliope and other characters introduced in the Magic series.
- Book 4 in the Magic series (see above). Note: 2 of the backers of the Goddessverse Fantasy Series Kickstarter appear as side characters in this book.
- Pandora. Yep, this dual POV story has its own Scrivener file, which means it’ll be a book. Note: one of the backers of my first Kickstarter appears as a major character.
That’s *writer* me’s update. The gooseberries are ripening – which means there will be jam! – and the farms on this island are beginning to harvest gorgeous produce. Later this month, I leave on a 4-week trip to immerse myself in friends and family in Massachusetts, Maine, and New York. I tell myself I won’t be doing anything writing- or publishing-related… but we shall see.
XO – Coralie
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