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Well, phew. I’m still excited about the election, and ready to do the work for 2028—and beyond. But you lot aren’t here to talk about politics, there are plenty of better places for that. Just take a moment for us to share relief and a renewed sense of hope for the future… ✨
I wish I could say I planned the new ‘do to coincide with the Blue 🌊, but I was not so prescient
Before we get into things, here’s a poll:
What would you like me to be doing the most right now?
I do not have a new cover artist yet, but I am compiling a list of resources and this situation is not going to make me give up—I mean, if I could push through my terrible first publisher and losing my covers the first time, having to rename two of the books in the series, and every other roadblock that has presented itself in the last six years, I can push through this one too 🪨🫷
This month is my birth month, and as per Celtic belief, Oct 31st was the death of the old year and Nov 1st is the birth of the new, so November is always a time of contemplation for me.
2026 was not the year I wanted it to be. The covers were supposed to be sorted out in the first third of the year, and all new marketing schemes were supposed to be making online sales actually bringing me a livable income by the end of the year.
We are nowhere near that—because in January I moved in with my mother and I expend most of my energy each day caring for her and getting her to PT and doctor’s appointments and other daily requirements.
The only way my author career has moved forward was the great successes that were Hellmouth Con, ReaderCon and DragonCon, where I reached a new audience, made new friends, and where Archie proved that he was a perfect service dog to accompany me through my life, even Big hard things like air travel and huge conventions. I did get the audiobooks for Blood Eternal and That Lesbian Vampire Pirate Story released, but again, because the “wrong” covers are on them, I can’t put the effort into marketing them properly until the “right” covers are on them.
It really does suck that I am back at square one, with the same goals in November that I had last January: finish Blood Depths, and get new covers on the books ASAP.
However…Blood Depths is the most complicated novel I’ve ever written, and the fact that I’m taking the time to write it right is something I’m really proud of. I don’t have the long stretches of uninterrupted writing time that I had when I cranked out Blood Demands and Blood Eternal, but I have still made significant progress on it and I am proud of the work done so far.
I would be proud of myself for not just quietly accepting the AI covers and pushing the fact that they are AI under the carpet and publishing them anyway…except for the fact that I didn’t consider it for a moment. It wasn’t a hard decision or even a decision at all. My Not Using AI For Art stance is a deep core part of my self as a person. I literally couldn’t have done it, so I don’t think I deserve credit for just being myself. But I don’t dislike who I am 😊
When the first shock of the AI Cover Crisis hit, a friend asked, “You one of the few who is still fighting the good fight. So many authors are just giving up. How can we support?”
If you want to help me out this month, here are things you can do:
🎁Buy copies of the existing books (paperback, ebook, or audiobook versions) for friends or family who need some good dark fantasy in their lives for this holiday season (this also gets some gift-giving checked off your list early, which is never a bad thing ☑️)
The series is available on: Amazon, Audible, Libro.FM, Bookshop.org, any of your other preferred online bookstores or audiobook platforms, or my website—which is where I make the most money from sales, and which includes the amazing bookmarks!
🎁Write reviews of your favorite books from the series on Amazon or Audible. This helps me more than you can imagine. (If you don’t fuck with Amazon, I get that, and reviews on other review sites are not unappreciated.)
🎁Suggest the series to any book reviewers you follow. I need more people talking about the series and taking it seriously. If you have anyone you follow whose opinion (on books or whatever) you value, if you can take a moment to put my name and the series name in their minds as something worth reading and talking about
🙏Thank you for continuing to stay subscribed to this newsletter and thank you for your support during a time when I’m not really getting new stuff out to you. It’s suboptimal as fuck, and trust that I would love nothing more than to be pouring out new stories for you. Let’s cross our fingers that for you and for me 2027 is a better year, with more goals being more easily accomplished. 🤞
Halloween 2026 Happy Memories 🎃✨
It was a good year for the pumpkin carving and Archie rocked his costume like few dogs can do. The full carousels of images are up on IG, linked below. I hope you had some good treats that night!
Here’s the link to my interview with Susan Zell Griffith, which truly was a Halloween treat for me (and hopefully for Susan, and the viewers!)
(Here is is on IG, in case you prefer watching it there.)
Yes, that Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He has a newsletter on beehiiv. So do Codie Sanchez, Jay Shetty, David Begnaud, Colin & Samir, and Joanna Stern.
They could publish just about anywhere. They chose beehiiv to build a direct connection with the people who want to hear from them most. And you can do the same, whether you’re world-famous or just at the start of your plan for world domination.
It’s crazy, but the next newsletter will have us talking about Xmas! Where did the year go??? Until two weeks from now, my friends, be good or be good at it! 😘
💭 I'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: drop me a note 📨
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