The Tides and the Struggle

Well, my friends, I’m less than a week out from the local May Mayhem market at the Final Stitch Boutique in Merritt Island. I’m extremely excited to be vending at the market with nine other vendors, not including the Boutique itself. But damn has it felt like an uphill journey to get here.

I don’t know what gives but, honestly, this whole year has felt like that so far. I have this nagging notion in the back of my mind that I’m not even close to measuring up to my author journey last year. I know it can’t be exactly the same, and I know I’ve planted plenty of seeds that are still coming to fruition, but at the same time it feels like failure is sitting on my shoulder and breathing on my neck. I’m not failing. I’m not. But at times it’s hard to remind myself of that.

Something about these last several months has just felt like constant high tide with no reprieve. This month in particular has seemed like an online ghost town. I’ve had no sales, minimal traffic, and the social media grind has been exhausting. With no in-person events to speak of, the online absence has been glaring. When I look at the state of the outside world, the real world, it’s not hard to see why. It’s a shit show.

My creativity and drive have also taken a hit. Rather than feeling like I’m making progress, I feel like it’s everything I can do just to tread water and keep my head above it. I’ve barely written anything. I have three chapters left to revise in Sevina Gate #2 and I just don’t have it in me. I’m not sure if I burned myself out more than I realized when I pushed to publish two books so close together, or if it’s just life taking swings. I’m still proud of releasing A Place With No Dawn earlier this year but, man, I don’t think anyone has even read it. So, like, I guess I just did it for me. That should be enough reason, right? I don’t know.

This feeling can’t last forever. I’m not going to give up. I’ve come too far and I’m much too stubborn for that, but damn. It’s hard to constantly fend off my own doubt. What am I doing wrong? Am I not actually as good of a writer as I think I am? Was everyone who has ever told me I am good wrong? Is this self-pity party even warranted? It’s probably not, so does that make this worse?

This is the raw and honest side of being a creative. No one is on the ups all the time, and if they say they are, they’re lying to someone, even if it’s themselves. I’m ready for the upswing, though, instead of feeling like I’m trying to run in a dream and am going in slow motion.

Anyway. The Mayhem market is on Sunday, 11am-4pm. I’m more than ready. For author time, for the community of it, and so I can feel like I’m having some moderate success, whether I sell anything or not. Cheers!

Free for Kindle

What’s up, y’all? I’m posting on a Friday? Well, yeah. Why? Because I’ve made Sevina Gate #1, Dirty Synth free to download for the next few days.

May has been dismally slow as far as online activity. Sales, pages read, even my blog traffic have just tanked. I know they can’t all be bangers, but it’s still a bit disheartening to see in black-and-white numbers. And I get it. May has been kicking my ass, too.

So rather than mope about it, I’m giving away a novella. Why not? Maybe I can bring someone some spicy joy on their Kindle. And it has some really awesome illustrations done by my partner-in-literary-crime.

If you’re not familiar with the Sevina Gate series, here’s a quick overview. Dirty Synth is the first installment in this dystopian setting. Roughly a century after what people refer to as “the fall,” what’s left of society is just trying to survive. Not much is known about what caused the fall, but what is well known is that whatever happened caused a violent alien race to pour into the world and wreak havoc. Elves and humans who were previously at war with each other were forced to turn their attention to fighting demons. The cataclysm caused the world’s technology to tank, animals mutated or were wiped out, and many of all races died. Now, the elves stay mostly to themselves behind their borders, and humans have formed new nations, often living alongside the demons, with little choice.

Dirty Synth follows Wen, a young human woman who grew up on the hard streets of Srong Sevina, but who eventually found herself under the blanket of the Namen nation’s political seat. When faced with a problem that won’t be solved using proper channels, a whole new world opens up to her in the form of a top-secret network. Then she meets someone who changes everything.

Interested? Check it out.

Prolific

Prolific is a strong word. It’s also one that used to make me squirm a bit when used to describe me as a writer. It always felt so … above me. But I’ve been thinking about it lately, and I guess I should own it.

For me, prolific is kind of interchangeable with obsessive. I didn’t mean to have so much to show, I literally can’t help it. I have to write. And when one set of characters stop talking, I move on to a different universe, or even a different story in the same universe, as is the case with the Sevina Gate novella series. I didn’t consciously decide that was my process. It just became my process over the years. I always have multiple projects in varying states of progress. It’s hard for me to understand how some writers only have one.

Now, I’m not knocking anyone if he or she only has one writing project. Please don’t think I’m talking badly about those people, especially young and new writers. I’m not. I have much respect for anyone who’s making a go of writing. It’s not an easy venture, and it’s often a lonely road–although the internet is making that last part less true for many.

I have twenty-plus years of writing behind me, and though I’ve only been seriously publishing and promoting for about six of them, the key here is that I never stopped writing. Not after my very first publishing experience fell through. Not when I thought I’d never be published again and that I was simply doing it for the passion. Not when I finally finished Cadillac Payback (my second-ever finished novel) and thought the story was done. I just didn’t always “sit still” within one project until it was finished. The result was several stories coming full circle in a convenient timeline.

So when I say I’ve published seven novels in like six years, I didn’t write all those books in those same six years. Some of them have taken more than a decade to finish. That’s why prolific doesn’t always feel quite right. Then again, I look at those seven titles on my shelf, the seven unpublished novellas waiting in line, and sequel WIPs in both the Crows and Fae-Cursed series, and it’s hard to argue with prolific.

This post isn’t really for the sake of writing advice. I’m aware this is just my process. Everyone’s is different. I thought it might be an interesting bit to share. Maybe it will give someone hope, because there were a lot of years in the past when I never thought or believed I’d make it as a writer. I may not be super famous or an A-list best seller, but I do think I’ve “made it.” And I’m going to keep making it. So if you’re doubting yourself, stay the course. Some day, you’ll look behind you and see how far you’ve come. I did.

New Event Just Dropped

Happy Monday, my friends! I have exciting news! I have managed to snag a spot at a local artisan market organized by the Final Stitch Boutique in Merritt Island on May 31st, 11am – 4pm. I just nailed down the details and received confirmation on my spot. And I’m excited.

Last year, my first for events, the Black Feather Press crew did several larger events that required travel. While those events were great and were excellent experiences, I’m actually really stoked to be diving into something local. What a fantastic opportunity to build and be a part of a community. Not that big book events don’t have a sense of community to them, but finding a tribe who is close to me … nothing beats it. Word is, there will also be another author at this market, although I don’t know who, I’m hopeful about making a new friend.

I’ve also already mentioned that I will be at Skull and Books VR in Cocoa Beach in July. That will be another multi-author event. So, super cool.

I have to be honest, I’ve been low-key stressing about not having events confirmed for this year. Last year was a big start and I had hoped to bring that momentum into this year. I don’t have any big, travel-to events on the books, however, the two local dates have lined up damn near perfectly. And there’s still time to fill in some spots after July. Hopefully, anyway.

That’s all my news for now. Do a happy dance with me and send all the good juju for the market!

Trusting the Process

Happy Tuesday, my friends. It’s our last one in April. Somehow. Life continues at break-neck speed and May is looking like it will be another busy month. That being said, I’m stopping in today, not with news as I don’t have any I haven’t already shared. Nah, today I’m going to talk a little about my writing process.

Why this topic in particular? Well, I recently had a non-writer friend make a comment to me that made me really think about how writers/authors are viewed from the outside. It wasn’t a bad comment, just a removed sort of perspective that made me pause.

I have mentioned somewhere in my recent posts that I’ve been working on revisions for Sevina Gate #2. The comment in question was in regards to that specific novella, but it really applies to any revisions. For Sevina Gate #2, the first draft is now a few years old, so the second draft has pretty much been completely rewritten up until the point where it stalled on me. I’m not changing the main plot points, but I am working to bring out the character’s voice and tighten the tension in the right places. My friend’s comment regarding this was basically, “But you wrote it how you wanted it the first time.”

It caught me off guard, although it probably shouldn’t have. I can relate, after all. A much younger me would have absolutely agreed with that sentiment. Why rewrite it when I meant what I wrote the first time? Are my words not good enough?

Well. Yes and no. I think every writer realizes at some point along their journey that the first draft should suck. It should. We hear it all the time, but that doesn’t mean we really internalize that truth. I think it’s one of the major milestones of the development of our craft. Sure, you might nail some really good lines in said first draft but, overall, the point of the first draft is not to be the final draft. First drafts are for plot points to present themselves, for characters to start feeling themselves and testing out their own styles, and for basic timeline. It’s the framework.

Eventually, we as writers accept that we learn to get the words out in the first draft, and then we learn to let them go. I have “let go” of some of my absolute favorite lines from drafts even when it silently killed me inside to do so. It’s not that the lines suddenly became worse, but no matter how awesome they are, sometimes they no longer work with second draft revisions. It stings, but it also makes the overall piece better. It’s worth it.

There’s always another side of the coin, too. Not every second draft has to be completely rewritten. There are times when you do get to keep the old words, and all they need is a little shine job. Something written more recently, for example, that is more in line with all the mistakes you’ve learned not to make the first time, will need less work than than the draft from three years ago. That’s not to say to get complacent with a piece of work just because it’s recent. Even if the words are good the first time, that doesn’t mean they can’t be better.

I will say here that it is my utmost opinion that you should always let the words sit for two weeks (or more) before jumping into edits and/or starting on a second draft. Trust me, here. Your brain needs the down time and your eyes will be fresh and sharper to catch what need to be fixed. It’s hard to do. I won’t lie. But it’s necessary.

I can’t speak for all writers. Everyone’s process is different. I’m just speaking from my own experience. I have been writing for a long time. I have learned a lot of my lessons the long and hard way. Even now, I’m not perfect. I still have to rewrite those first drafts. I just wanted to shed a little light for the folks who stop and say, “But you wrote it how you wanted it the first time.”

So, here’s to a positive and productive beginning of May. Hopefully, the universe will grant a bit of a reprieve and those revisions I mentioned will unstick themselves. In the meantime, I’ll be proofing one of the books I edited last year, which is a whole new and awesome venture in my editing world. Cheers!

What’s Next?

Well, my first event of the year has come and gone. I can’t lie and say the sales and the crowd were as good this year as they were last year, but with the economy in the shape it is, and the country in the shape it is … well, it is what it is. The event was still a success and some really cool connections were made. I actually had one person who remembered The Nameless from my table last year. That in itself made the effort worth it. Sometimes results seem like a slow trickle, and it’s a nice reminder that even when I think I’m not making progress, I usually am. It’s little things like that that make it worth carrying on. So what now?

As far as events go, I still only have one on the books. That’s not until July. Ideally, I’d like to get another one between now and then, but so far the stars have not aligned for it. Rather than trying to force my hand, I’m going to ride the current. I have mentioned that schedules and norms in the household have been changing (nothing bad), so I’ll be letting things play out as they will. Because of said changes, I don’t have the same amount of time to devote to Black Feather Press as I did at the same time last year. Again, this is nothing bad. It’s simply different.

As for non-event news, my revisions on Sevina Gate #2 have stalled out for now, so I’m giving Niko a break for a little while. That’s fine. There’s no set publication schedule for the novellas, and the art side has also stalled. Rather than push, I’m letting it all rest for a bit. That being said, I’ve 99% convinced myself to release a short history piece I wrote quite a while back for the Cadillac Payback duology. It will be ebook format only. The writing needs cleaned up a bit, since I wrote it with no intention of ever doing anything with it. But I figure why not? I don’t really have anything to lose by making it available. So once I get it in shape, I’ll share more news about it.

Other than that, it’s just the usual online grind of trying to maintain some visibility, the every day non-author life things, and the constant adjustments and adaptation to new horizons. Hopefully, I’ll have some good news to share some time soon. Until then, stay upright, my friends!

First Event of 2026

Y’all, it feels like it had been ages since my last book event. It has been about five months. Some of that was partially by my own design, as I chose to take November and December of last year off. Then the break just sort of extended through the beginning of this year as the Black Feather Press household went through a period of changes and adjustments. I’m definitely not complaining. Life has its way in the end. But I am excited to get back into live events.

This coming Saturday I will be here:

Last year’s Cocoa Village Book Fest was my first-ever event, so returning this year is pretty special to me. As the kids say, the vibes were immaculate. It was really incredible to see so many people turn out for the event, and I’m sure this year will be just as good, if not better.

Just this morning, I nailed down a spot at a local author night in July at Skull and Books VR over in Cocoa Beach. That will be a brand new experience and location for me. I’m excited to be included and I will share more details as that one gets closer.

I’m also proud to say my event table will be a little more crowded this year with three more titles that I’ve released since last August. Okay, maybe not literally crowded because that seems bad for business, but certainly more populated. Two of those titles are sequels, which are understandably harder to sell at events, but I’m quite interested to see how the Dirty Synth novella does in front of readers. One of my big hopes for the physical copies of the novella is to offer something at a lower price point than the novels, and hopefully give readers a little taste of my writing. Not to mention, it has awesome illustrations and I have like six more novellas already written (first drafts).

Anyway, that’s the word for now. If you’re local to me, tell your friends. If you’re not, send all the good vibes!

Oops, It’s April

Have I really not posted anything since March 20th? Geez, guys, it looks like what I said in that last post turned out to be all too true. Life has been in super life mode. Like on steroids mode. I’m not going to go into all those details, but damn, y’all.

Suffice it to say that my energy for socials and promotion has been low. I’ve been limping along with the bare minimum, which is probably not ideal when I just released the third Order of Crows book and, before that, the second Fae-Cursed book. The fun (?) thing about being indie and having published books is that they’ll still be there when I can fully come back around to my online presence. They may not be selling, but they’ll be there.

Speaking of selling, we have a little more than two weeks before the Cocoa Village Book Fest. It will be my first event of the year and is so far the only one I have scheduled. I feel like I should at least have another event lined up but, as mentioned above, the time and energy to devote to such events has changed this year compared to last year. The household as also been adjusting to a schedule change that has rearranged our day-to-day. So I also have to be more choosey about what events I can consider. Luckily, for the upcoming book fest, I have everything I need already, so it will just be a matter of packing it all up and getting it to the location. I’m pretty excited to be back at this event for a second year.

What else? I’ve been slowly working on Sevina Gate #2 rewrites/revisions. It has taken me like two weeks to rewrite four chapters. That’s 7,960 words. I’ve been getting in half-hour and hour long sessions when I could. It feels like it’s taking forever. The rewrites are good, though, so it’s worth the drawn out process of it. I also think that there are parts of the words that I won’t have to completely rewrite. Of course, I think I always say that and usually end up rewriting them anyway. But I mean it this time.

I’m going to shamelessly plug the first novella because I’ve done little to promote it since we released it back in December.

There we go. If you’re into fantasy races in unusual places, scrap punk vibes, dystopian vibes, moderate spice, illustrations, and character-driven narratives that all intertwine … this story might be for you. The project is completely homegrown, the printing and ebook distribution aside. The ebook is only a few dollars. It’s on KindleUnlimited, too. And we will have physical copies for sale at our table on April 18th in Cocoa Village. I would love for this little novella to gain some traction. Tell your friends.

Well, I think that’s all for now. Hopefully I can manage another post before the event. Hopefully I can register for another event. Who knows? Stay tuned to find out.

A Blessed Equinox

This is going to be a quick post, but I felt it was a worthy endeavor to wish you all blessings in the astrological new year. Today is the Spring Equinox, a day of balance between the dark and the light. And guess what else happens today? Mercury goes direct.

My friends, we have made it through the down time and rest period, the introspection, and the uphill trudge that is Retrograde. Now it’s time to buckle up because we crest the hill today, and the downward grade may be steep. Keep your hands inside the ride and tighten up your helmet. Momentum will be swift and if you catch the wave at the right time, it will also be beneficial.

For me, it has manifested in Sevina Gate #2 revisions, preparing for my first book event of the year, and a general lightening of the atmospheric crush that has been the winter. It might be hard to feel hope when we look around right now. Our country is a Dumpster fire. But there’s always a light, always a reason to create. The world needs that, so go forth and create. Something. Anything. Someone will hear the echoes.

Blessed be!

One Week Later

Well, my friends, it has been a week since A Place With No Dawn (Order of Crows book 3) released. You know, back when I made the decision to try to publish it so quickly on the heels of releasing The Stolen (Fae-Cursed book 2), I said it would be crazy. I was right. It was crazy. So when I say this past week has been spent on the verge of burnout, I guess it comes as no surprise. But that’s where I’ve been. Damn near burnt out, feeling the crush of Mercury Retrograde, and more or less taking it easy.

Huge thanks to everyone who has been there with the support, the shares and likes, the book purchases, and all the love! As always, I’d be nowhere without my support network. A book release looks a little different when it’s a sequel in a series. It narrows down readers who might catch the excitement, but it’s also a good reason to promote the first books in said series. With No Dawn, the sense of self-satisfaction means as much to me as selling a bunch of books on launch. I already went into why this release means to much to me, so I won’t go into it again, but I’m definitely feeling accomplished.

What now? Well, no more releases for a while, that’s for sure. Nope, now I’m turning my eyes to the Cocoa Village Book Fest on April 18th. I have author copies of A Place With No Dawn en route to me as I type this, along with a few restock copies of Cadillac Payback, and I’ll be event ready! The cool part about doing events last year is that I’m practically ready to show up already this year.

I haven’t managed to nail down a second event just yet. I don’t love that, but considering some schedule changes here for the Black Feather Press crew, it’s unavoidable at this point. I’ve already identified two events I won’t be repeating this year, so I’m hoping to add a few more book-centric dates. I will, of course, relay that information if and when it happens. Regardless of what the rest of the year looks like in that regard, I refuse to call it a loss. It will simply be different. As we see what the personal changes for us look like, we’ll adjust business stuff as we can.

In the meantime, it’s online promotion and me. That is, by far, the hardest part of this indie gig. Getting noticed in a whole sea of indie authors on various platforms is kind of like screaming in an excited crowd, but I’m still trying. Still grinding. I do have to say I’ve found a really awesome circle on TikTok and I appreciate them a lot. Funny, huh? When I dragged my feet for literal years on joining that platform. That’s not to underplay my awesome friends on the other socials. I really do love all of y’all.

I think that’s all for now. I just thought I’d drop in to say thanks and give a little update. I’ll be back soon, my friends.