Not gonna lie, all the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales are stressful because I’m outta cash–I’ve got gifts on my credit card I need to pay off (along with groceries; one store is late paying this month)–though I was very, very tempted a few times. “Look, this thing I use regularly is on sale! I’m going to need it in a few months anyway!” Okay yes, Skyla, but you’ll just have to wait. At the moment it’s still a want, not a need.
My natural inclination is to stock up. On everything. And keep backups. Because I’ve trudged through the snow for an hour every day to work in running shoes with holes in them and unable to afford new ones, so I keep backup running shoes. I loathe ramen because it reminds me of being poor, but I still stock up on packages and fill the pantry when I see them at 50% off, because I’ve been to bed hungry too many times. I download free Kindle books in genres I never read just in case I miraculously have time to get through the hundreds on my TBR and can’t afford something new to read.
I can’t explain why I stock up on first aid supplies, though, other than general zombie preparedness. Plus I live in Ontario, I’m better off treating wounds and factures at home.
Experiences leave long-lasting affects on the brain, and while I’ve read enough to know you can make new neuropathways, I don’t know how effective that would be for me given the overall instability of my life. I am, admittedly, in a slightly better position than I have been previously, but it is not security and I still worry monthly about making rent.
Anyway. Sales!
Solomon’s Seal is 99c at Kobo this weekend. It’s been six years and I assume anyone reading this already has it, but maybe you know someone who might want to check it out.
The Twitter implosion concerns me as that’s where 95% of my premade cover sales have come from. Even regular clients who’ve picked them up remember to check the selection when I post them on Twitter. I may try to add one or two more on Monday, if I’ve got a few minutes. Already I notice views ticking down from where they used to be as a lot of people who used to share the sales have left the bird app, so when it’s gone completely, that’ll probably no longer be an income stream for me (which makes me nervous but, well, here we are).
The MYHEARTWILLGOON coupon code also works at Payhip, should anyone need to flesh out their collection.
Watcher of the Woods is almost ready to go, I’ve got it formatted for print and to go to the proofer shortly. Then I’ve got a few minutes of breathing room to write some new things before doing some more passes on next year’s three releases (final version of Soul Spell, then the first two Waverly books). While I feel like I’m accomplishing next to nothing right now, I keep reminding myself that Hell Fire is the only thing I really have to finish writing in the next six months; worst-case scenario, I can slot the third Waverly book into spring 2024.
But much like hoarding old pairs of running shoes in case I run out, I’m doing the same with manuscripts; last year after Yampellec’s Idol was out and I had nothing else scheduled, I got my-career-is-over level terrified (this is why nagging me is not helpful; I am already in a panic all the fucking time).
So anyway, Watcher. In it, the heroine is reading a book by Norah from Dweller on the Threshold, and in the paperback version there’s the actual pages. Because I’m a nerd and those things make me happy.
Dweller in paperback and hardcover had all kinds of little details, like the notes and scribbles Norah finds are right in the book, and I wanted to do something similar here. I don’t really sell a lot in print, but it’s a nice detail for those into that. I think I’ll be able to put together some cool Etsy packages when it’s out in February.
I’ve got a couple of books to read for work so I’m not reading anything for pleasure right now, but I did watch Wednesday on Netflix. While it’s a fairly standard teen-magic-school-predictable-mystery fare, it’s done well, with great performances across the board, and if you’ve ever wondered what a conversation with my friend Dina James is like, look no further than the titular character.
I also finished A Plague Tale: Requiem, and I both hope there’s a third and also hope that Amicia retires.
I like seeing story-based video games tackle the consequences of all the long-term murder these characters do, but it does mean I reach a point where I’m like “Please leave these poor girls alone and give them some therapy.” (While I don’t play exclusively female-led games, it’s what I veer toward, so I can’t say if there’s the same pattern in male-led games. But Ellie, Lara, and Amicia all need some group therapy together.)
(I should probably take my own advice there and get poor Livi some therapy. She is climbing her way back up again, though, I promise.)
I was going to talk about my Xmas gift to myself, my little countertop expresso bar, but this is long and I’m tired and I have to work. Today I’m subsisting almost entirely on a Bailey’s latte, and I do prefer my mocha frapp to the store-bought one because it’s a little less sweet.
But Shawn likes it very much, despite all the noises it makes.
Final reminder, in case I don’t blog until late next week: this month is the last chance to get Witch Hunt in ebook for all patrons. December it bumps up to $5+ patrons going forward. Print is at Amazon for everyone, at least.
ETA: The Painscreek Killings is like $5 on Steam right now for the weekend sale–this is well worth grabbing, as it’s a good little mystery walking simulator.
The Oblivion bundle will be on Kindle Unlimited for three months before distribution is expanded elsewhere. Here’s the table of contents:
Writer of urban fantasy, thrillers/mysteries, and horror.