Why I'm Writing a Standalone After Every Three Original Elementals Books

Hi all,

If you’re subscribed to my newsletter you might already know the answer to this. But to those who are not, I wanted to let you know what’s going on and why I’m not writing all ten books in the Original Elementals series at once.

First, I’m worried about burnout. Ten books is a lot and it takes a lot of planning just to make sure that all of the books gel together and that there are no inconsistencies between books. The biggest one I’m struggling with right now is what the dragons look like, I find that I keep changing it every few chapters!

I also don’t want to be stuck in the same universe for a long period of time. While I love the Elemental Dragons universe, I have so many other book ideas that I want to get done as well.

So, to try and combat all of the above, I will write three books in the Original Elementals series and then a standalone that I’ve had planned for a while. The only exception to this will be Celestial Plague #4: Hell. I had originally planned for this to be a trilogy, but a final book would tie up some loose ends with one of the characters and would also offer more insight into what happens after the events of Celestial Plague #3: Purgatory. I won’t go into too much detail due to spoilers but I think you’ll enjoy this book as it shows more abut how society rebuilds after the virus.

So, my plan is:

Write Frostbite, Maelstrom and Shadowhunter. Then Hell, from Celestial Plague.

Write Devouring, Tempest and Sunrise. Then The Core, which was the second highest voted from my poll in August about what standalone I should write.

Write Stormburst, Turf, Arcturus and ???. Then an unnamed YA Paranormal Horror.

This will enable to me to get all the books written with a break in between to work on something else. I won’t be writing all of these books in 2022, however, I’m hoping to get the first drafts done for all of the Original Elementals books in 2024.

That’s it for this week! I hope this clears up some confusion as to why I might be hopping from project to project. Next week I’m going to talk about the future of Street Rats, which has been on hiatus since October 2021. See you next week!

PS; looking for some new books to read? Check out the ones in these bundles:

The Fantastic Kindle Universe

Taking to the Sky This Easter

My Outlining Process

Hi all,

I posted a poll on Twitter to help me decide what I should blog about this week. Talking about my outlining process is the winner! Outlining a story means to take your ideas and organise them in some sort of order. For example; plot points, character profiles etc.

Premise.

I start by writing down the barebones of my story. What happens in the book? How will it end? This is usually no more than a few sentences as I go back in and fill in the rest of the details later. Here is very basic the premise of Elemental Dragons #1: Blood and Water:

Main character gets dragon egg at fifteen. Has water element. She gets water markings on her back that only dragons can get. Scientists bring extinct dragon back to life. Extinct dragon goes after the main character using the markings as a beacon.

It's only a few sentences long and let's me get down the basic details of the plot. Adding in other characters, side plots and more details comes later.

Main Character.

When I'm writing the premise I usually come up with a pretty good overview of my main character. I don't have the finer personality details decided yet, but the appearance and name are the first things I decide on. This is how I first described Hazel from Elemental Dragons in my notes:

Hazel Adams (15-18) - Dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes, pale skin, acne, scar from nose to right eyebrow, 5"5 - anxiety. Water. Light blue swirl markings up back and neck.

I have her name, age and appearance done. I've also linked her to the premise by giving her the water element and the markings that will attract the dragon to her. I usually give my characters heights as well just so I can get a general idea of how tall they are compared to other characters. It can be an insignificant detail at first but I find it helps with my writing later. I give all of my characters surnames, even if they aren't mentioned in the book itself.

Main Plot.

Now that I have my main character and the premise, I move onto filling in the main plot details. No matter how much I outline I always end up deviating from what I've planned! So, I try to keep my outlines short and sweet as I know I'll change details later. For Elemental Dragons, the main plot is:

Hazel gets her dragon egg when she moves to Aria, a camp for Elementals. Her egg hatches into a black common dragon, which has never been tamed before. Hazel is looked down upon by others for being a commoner and is often ostracised from certain activities. Hazel starts getting dragon markings on her back and she starts meeting others who also have markings. She joins up with them to find out what's going on. She also has to deal with the Cindaraans, who are recruiting students into their group. The leader wants to know more about the dragon markings and orders Hazel and her friends to report to him. An extinct dragon species is brought back to life by scientists and escapes.

Setting.

Most of my books are set in the UK, so my main location is already decided. Next I decide on where the story will be set and the areas around. For example:

Aria - Elementals camp. Contains cabins, school, shops and hotel.

Arimouth - City near Aria. Mostly an urban area filled with workplaces, shops, housing and government buildings.

Mountains - Area from Draca's memories.

Again, basic descriptions just in case I change my mind!

Other Characters.

Now that I've outlined everything else, I can move onto the other characters in the book! I found the most fun ones to do were the dragons. I had a lot more fun with their designs and their personalities started coming through as I wrote them. Here is the outline profile for Aqueous, Hazel's dragon:

Aqueous Adams - Common Western black, turquoise eyes, markings to face and front feet. Hazel = Water.

Again, short and sweet as I like to develop their personalities while writing.

Write!

Now that I have my outline done, the only thing left to do is start writing! I haven't outlined many of the side plots as I find I change this while writing. So I try to stick to the main plot, though this often goes off course as well.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week!

PS; looking for some new books to read? Check out the ones in this bundle:

The Fantastic Kindle Universe

Owning Pets When You Have a Dragon

Hi all,

It's been a while since I blogged about the Elemental Dragons universe so I'm doing it this week! This blog post will centre around people owning pets, and how they get along with their dragon companions. There have been some characters who have had pets alongside their dragons in the series; the most notable being Hazel and Wes taking care of Normie, a cat. The dragons all get along fine with him and there are no signs that they are territorial around him. However, most dragons aren't comfortable with all pets.

Cats and Dogs.

In nine out of ten cases it's fine for someone to own one, or several, cats and dogs with their dragon companions. Dragons share a language with both cats and dogs so they are able to communicate fine and play together quite happily. Some dragons prefer not to be around the furry animals but most are happy to live with them. In Elemental Dragons, Normie grows up alongside Aqueous and Asteroid. Even though the dragons outgrow him pretty quickly, he's still happy to be around them and helps them out in the second book when dragons start to go missing.

Rabbits and Guinea Pigs.

A lot of dragons are not suitable to live with a pet rabbit or guinea pig. This isn't because the species can't get along, but because most dragons view the fluffy pets as food. It's common in the Elemental Dragons universe for people to bring home cute bunnies to keep as pets, only for them to disappear a few days later. It's not recommended to keep rabbits and guinea pigs with dragons, unless they have been trained not to eat their furry friend.

Rodents.

As these animals are kept in cages in most cases, they are usually fine to keep around dragons. People do need to be careful when they take them out of their cages as dragons may accidentally crush them while playing. If tiny animals are to be kept with dragons, it's best to supervise them at all times.

Reptiles.

Dragons aren't a huge fan of other reptiles and will usually go out of their way to avoid them. They aren't afraid of them, they're just not that bothered about them. They can't communicate although they share a lot of characteristics, but they don't usually interact. The best people hope for is a mutual indifference to each other. Fire dragons typically get along better with them than other dragons.

Fish.

Dragons are more careful around fish as they realise how delicate the tanks are. They will spend hours watching them swim around in tanks or ponds. Water dragons have also been known to refresh the tanks or even create bubbles for the fish to play in.

Birds.

Again, dragons love birds. If the birds are allowed to fly around then the dragon will try to fly alongside them, which will often cause a lot of damage to property. It's best to let dragons fly around outside and then play on the ground with their feathered friends. Wind dragons typically get along best with flying pets.

Horses.

Dragons and horses love to race each other. They will often spend hours galloping around fields and playing in the grass. Horse riders often taken their dragons with them to blow off some steam and get some exercise. There are some dragons who don't get along with horses however and will steer clear of them. It depends on the temperaments of both the dragon and the horse.

Insects.

No matter how many times it is explained to them, a lot of dragons don't understand that insects have been kept as pets. They will often free the little critters inside their companion's homes or squash them. Earth dragons have been noted as the least likely to do this, however.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week!

PS; this bundle is about to end, if you want these books you need to hurry!

Young Adult Sci-Fi and Fantasy

Powers in Celestial Plague

Hi all,

Following on from last week's blog post I want to talk more about the powers the characters have in Celestial Plague. Everyone in the Celestial Plague universe has some sort of power; but they can only have one. Usually the powers are determined by what powers their parents have. Shannon's parents both have wings so she is born with wings. Raya's mother is a shapeshifter, though a wolf one, but she still passes this gene down to her daughter. Jenna's biological parents have fins, which explains their daughter having gills. Ashleigh is the only one who doesn't follow this pattern as both of her parents have offensive powers while she has a passive one. There are two types: passive and offensive.

Offensive.

These are powers that can be used to inflict damage or violence on other people. Take Raya, for example, she can shapeshift into a panther, which can be used to hurt others. Most shapeshifters are in this category as most animal forms can be used to hurt others. They are not discriminated against for this, in fact they are encouraged to join the police or military so their powers can be used freely. Other types of offensive powers include:

Telekinesis.

Claws.

Elemental control.

Passive.

These powers are considered to be harmless and are mostly for aesthetic purposes. More people tend to have passive powers than offensive powers. The other three main characters in Celestial Plague have passive powers - Jenna, Shannon and Ashleigh. They have a wider array of jobs that they can take which is different for each individual power. Shannon can become a pilot, for example. Other types of passive powers include:

Healing.

Telepathy.

Camouflage.

In the books themselves a wide array of different powers are shown with different characters. Due to the virus that the characters come up against a lot of these powers have been weakened or taken away altogether. The Sarj virus slowly drains the host of their power with the more people they infect, until they pass on to Nirvana or Heaven. The four girls use their powers a lot throughout the books and come across powers that used to make their lives more convenient. For example, Shannon used to hang out at a coffee shop where one of the baristas could mix coffee with an emotion that the buyer wants to feel for the day. So, when the virus starts draining people of their powers, a lot of people start to panic. But some don't mind that they'll lose their power. Not everyone likes the one they were born with.

That's it for this week! Keep an eye out next week as Years will be going up for pre-order. See you next week!

PS; looking for some new books to read this Spring? Check out the ones in this bundle:

Mid-Winter Urban Fantasy Magic Sales Spectacular

Young Adult Sci-Fi & Fantasy

The Panther Shapeshifter in Celestial Plague

Hi all!

I realised that I haven't told you much about the Celestial Plague trilogy. Book one is set to be released in October, so I thought that should change before the book comes out!

The books are in the point of view of four characters, this blog post will focus on Raya. She is a panther shapeshifter.

I chose the panther because I don't see them getting much love in books. I think they are beautiful animals and would love to read about them more in fiction. In the books she doesn't like shifting to start with, but warms up to it as time goes on. Her panther side is conscious as well, and comforts her when needed. She can still control her body and her emotions in her panther form, the consciousness is just there for support when needed. She names the consciousness Damisa, which makes it feel more connected to her.

Damisa can't speak, but it can make itself more known in Raya's mind, and the two develop a communication system through brain signals. They can feel each others emotions as well which aids communication. Raya's friends are aware of Damisa, but can't communicate with it directly. Damisa will however help Raya protect her friends when necessary and shows distress along with her when they are in trouble. The two of them have been together since birth and cannot be broken apart. Well, apart from a virus that the characters have to contend with in the books.

With Raya's shape-shifting power, I thought choosing a cat would be too easy. I've written about cats since I was young and I wasn't sure how useful a cat shapeshifter would be. A panther on the other hand is a much bigger cat with the ability to hunt bigger prey and terrify anyone who comes across it. I saw a panther as being more fun to write and it will create some unique situations that a cat shifter wouldn't be able to help in. It was also a lot of fun to write about a big cat. This is the first book I wrote that was in the point of view of a big cat and it was definitely a learning curve!

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading. See you next week!

PS; looking for some new fantasy books to read? Check out the ones in this bundle:

Mid-Winter Urban Fantasy Magic Sales Spectacular

Big Cat Species in my Writing

Hi all,

Last week I talked about cat breeds in my writing. This week I thought I'd talk about the big cats in my books, even in future ones!

Years.

Mother Earth takes the form of a lioness made of solar flares in this book. I went with a lion as they spend most of their time in the sun. As for why she's made of solar flares, you'll be able to find out in April when the book comes out!

Celestial Plague.

Raya, one of the main characters, is a panther shapeshifter. There will be a blog post on her at some point, so make sure you keep an eye out! I chose a panther over other big cats as I thought it was time that the species got some love.

Curse of Anubis.

The two main big cats in this book are Sekhmet and Mafdet. Sekhmet is a goddess that is commonly depicted with a lion head, so she appears in this book as a maned lioness. Mafdet is often described in mythology as wearing cheetah skin, so she appears in this book as a cheetah. This book was a lot of fun to write as I had two big cats to contend with. Trying to make them both stand out in their feline forms was tough! I also incorporated some mannerisms from real lions and cheetahs to make them more accurate to their big cat forms.

Street Rats.

A mechanical panther does appear in this book, but it's only a brief appearance to attack the main character and her group.

Now onto my future projects and what big cats will be in them!

Unnamed GameLit Fantasy.

The main character will be partnered with a snow leopard. This is my favourite animal and I always wanted to incorporate one into my books somehow. So, Bagira the snow leopard will be a part of the main character's team! There is also a mysterious tiger that patrols one of the jungles in the area, protecting the animals inside. I've never written about a tiger before, so this one should be really fun to write!

Unnamed Paranormal Fantasy.

There is a character in this book who can speak to animals. She befriends a lynx and it helps her aid her sister, the main character. I went with a lynx for this book as I thought they would be cool to write about and I've never given them much thought before.

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week!

PS; looking for some new books to read? Check out the ones in these bundles:

New Year, New Worlds SF/F Giveaway

Unlimited Reading

Cat Breeds in my Writing

Hi all!

I ran a poll on Twitter to see what you wanted me to blog about next. The winner of the poll was something cat related! So I thought I'd discuss the different breeds of cat I use in my writing.

Elemental Dragons.

Only one cat appears in this series, Normie. He is introduced as a siamese kitten. I went with Siamese as although the real Normie wasn't completely Siamese, he had the fur colour and everything. So I decided to make him pure Siamese for the books.

Mute.

Solaris and Lunaris are the two cats to appear in these books and they are both moggies. Neither of them are any particular breed. Solaris is a ginger tabby and Lunaris is a grey tabby. Neither have any specific breed in mind when I wrote them.

Street Rats.

A part-mechanical cat, Faraday, is the main cat that appears in this book. He has a little bit of Havana in him which shows thanks to his fur colour. But the rest of him is all moggie. He's not supposed to be a specific breed either, like Solaris and Lunaris.

Curse of Anubis.

Bastet, the cat goddess, is one of the main characters in this book. She is almost always in her cat forms, ranging from a silver to black Egyptian Mau. I went with an Egyptian cat breed that I thought looked cute and had a wide range of fur colours that I could use. She could theoretically change into any type of cat she wanted, but I thought I would stick to one breed for the books.

Original Elementals.

Aspen appears in this book and she is a white and grey fluff monster! Again, I didn't write her with a specific breed in mind so she is just a moggie as well. All of the cats that I've owned are moggies so that might be swaying my opinion a little bit!

Below are some of the cats that I plan on writing in future novels, though they aren't set in stone yet:

Unnamed game-lit fantasy.

Mishka is finally turned into a book character for this one! She will portray herself in her moggie glory! The only thing we know about her is that she is a quarter Bengal, but the rest of her is unknown.

Unnamed supernatural horror.

The cat in this story is unnamed, but belongs to the main character's sister and is able to communicate with her due to her power. This cat will be a Turkish Angora, though I haven't decided what the fur colour or gender will be.

Parasitic Aliens.

This will be a trilogy. I've only planned one cat so far although there will be one for each book. One will be a Devon Rex. Again, no fur colour or gender as of yet, nor which book it will appear in,

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading. Which cat is your favourite? Let me know in the comments. See you next week!

The Children of Purgatory

Hi all!

This week I have decided to talk about the Children of Purgatory, the mysterious group in Mute who have a vast knowledge of wendigos and are able to catch them and release them into the world. I did release a few facts in the Mute Advent Calendar, but I thought I would expand on them a bit more for those who are curious!

As stated in one of my daily facts, they were created in 1908. Several small towns across the United Kingdom were suffering from animal attacks. First it was livestock and general wildlife that would be found in forests torn to shreds. Then, people started going missing. Their bodies never showed up however, and although those still alive took more precautions the amount of people that disappeared without a trace increased each day. Hunters flocked to these areas in an attempt to hunt whatever beast was causing all the destruction, but they too would disappear after a few days.

One man, Hubert Ward, was a prolific hunter in his youth but had to lessen his hunting trips due to ill health. However, he had been reading about the incidents with great interest. Every disappearance made him more interested in the hunt, especially when townspeople started calling out for 'monster hunters' to help with their issue. He eventually persuaded his two sons, Jack and Robert, to go with him to the nearest town. He told them he only wanted to inspect the tracks and talk to the townspeople and not participate in the hunt itself.

So, they travelled and were met with solemn faces and distraught townspeople. That night three men and two women had gone missing, seemingly snatched right out of their beds. Each house was left a mess, with possessions being upturned and blood all over the floors and walls. Many had heard the screams during the night, but they were too afraid to offer any assistance. Hubert visited each house and made notes of what he found in each one. They all had the same pattern: claw marks all over the walls and floors, a blood trailing leading towards the door and to the trees not far off. But no bodies. He assumed that whatever was attacking the townspeople was dragging the bodies back to its lair, but the tracks didn't match this.

Both him and his sons decided to spend the night in the town, and set a trap outside the inn they were staying at. That night a couple went missing and their trap was untouched. Robert was starting to lose his nerve at this point and tried to convince his father and brother to return home, but they dismissed him. They were both fascinated by the mystery at this point and wanted to join the hunt.

Hubert noticed that the creature mostly attacked at night and decided to conduct his hunt then. Visibility would be poor, but he hoped that setting a trap might enable him to catch the beast once and for all. He and his sons dug out a pit in the forest and covered it with a net which was then hidden by leaves. Not wanting either of his sons to come to harm, he decided to use a dead cow as bait for the creature. All three of them crouched in the bushes and waited for hours. They shivered in the cold but didn't dare move too much just in case it alerted the creature.

Once the sun started to peak over the horizon, they gave up. Jack was the first to move to dismantle the trap, when the creature struck. Hubert described the creature in his notes as being: "a hideously disfigured man with unnaturally pale skin" with "sharp talons on each finger that could slice through bone with ease". Hubert doesn't elaborate on his son's attack, but they are able to get him back to the town with grave injuries. The townspeople had never seen a survivor of the beast before and crowded around all three of them as they tried to find help. Eventually they find a doctor who is willing to take a look at Jack.

As the day goes on his son's condition worsens and Robert again tries to convince his father to abandon the hunt. Hubert refuses, blinded by rage. Jack doesn't succumb to his injuries and instead starts to change, which Hubert notes as if: "a demon had entered him and changed him beyond recognition". What happens next is not documented well, as many of the pages are torn or damaged. From what the Children of Purgatory pieced together Jack transformed and attacked the townspeople. The missing townspeople, most of whom were transformed into wendigos, also descend on the town in a massacre. Hubert, Robert and the surviving townspeople, including the doctor who treated Jack, burned the town to the ground. This was successful, as he noted: "so many charred remains" of the wendigos.

He, Robert and the doctor, William, returned to Hubert's home and started writing up their findings. With the events in town and his poor health, Hubert's health declined quickly. However, his surviving son continued to read about the beast in other areas across the country. William suggested capturing the creatures and keeping them hidden somewhere so they could not terrorise people again. But Hubert argued: "these souls cannot pass on, if we stop them they will be suffering for all eternity" and "what happened to those we killed? Do they get to see the gates of Heaven or are they forever trapped in a grotesque form?". Instead, he elected to capture them and release them on those who "committed grave sins".

The three of them created the Children of Purgatory but Hubert unfortunately passed a few months later due to his ill health. Robert and William kept to their word and discovered ways of catching the wendigo. By this point however word had spread that the creatures could be killed with fire. So, they only managed to capture five from the remaining towns. As they travelled they recruited more members and studied the wendigos where they discovered their weakness to silver. So, each member always kept a piece of silver on them in case of an attack. Over the decades the Children of Purgatory kept to Hubert's word of only releasing wendigo on those who committed sin. But in Mute, that has all changed thanks to new leadership...

That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week!

PS; looking for some new books to read in 2022? Check out the ones in these bundles:

New Year, New Worlds SF/F Giveaway

New Year, New Monsters 2: From the Ashes

Unlimited Reading

My 2022 Writing Goals

Hi all,

As promised - here are my writing goals for 2022!

Write four books.

By the end of the year I want to have written the first drafts for the following books:

Original Elementals #2: Maelstrom

Original Elementals #3: Shadowhunter

One of the standalone books that I have planned

Original Elementals #4: Devouring

Publish two books.

I want to publish Years in April and Celestial Plague #1: Nirvana in October.

Get three covers designed.

Celestial Plague #1: Nirvana and Celestial Plague #2: Heaven will have covers by the end of the year. These have been booked through my usual cover designer, Deranged Doctor Design. I also want to get a cover done for the Years reader magnet to match the Elemental Dragons Short Story Collection and Famished.

Self-edit all of the Celestial Plague series.

I want all of the books in the trilogy to be self-edited by the end of the year. They will then go to my editor before coming back to me for the final edit. I'm planning on getting the first two edited by my editor this year and the third one in early 2023.

Write the Years reader magnet.

I've attempted to do this so many times before but found that none of my ideas were working well. I've scrapped this reader magnet so many times and I would like to get it done by about February.

Make two reader magnets available to my newsletter subscribers.

The Years reader magnet will be available first and then Celestial Plague: Seashine. Both of these will be free to download for my newsletter subscribers, as well as my other two reader magnets.

Submit more short stories.

Although I wrote a lot more short stories this year, I only submitted three of them. I would like to submit more to anthologies to expand my publishing portfolio.

The image that will be used for the Years book poster - illustration by chlmerrahh on Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/chimerahh?source=order_page_user_message_inner_link

Read 100 books.

I read 200 last year so I think 100 will be doable. I've got loads of books currently sitting around waiting to be read, so I don't think I'll struggle for reading material!

Grow my mailing list.

I would like to have at least 500 subscribers by the end of 2022. I'm already doing plenty of newsletter swaps and group promotions on StoryOrigin, and would like to grow this further.

Focus on Amazon ads more.

I've really struggled with this in the past as my automatic ads never seem to spit out many targets for me. I'd like to give this another try in 2022, especially since I have more books in my backlist now.

Get my books into more libraries.

My books are currently in a few libraries and I would like to get them into more. I would like to send out emails to libraries that are willing to stock indie books and see if they will take any copies of mine.

Make all of my books available in hardcover.

Now that Amazon are giving authors the choice to publish a hardcover book, I'm making sure that all of my future books will be in hardcover! It's my favourite kind of book, and they look gorgeous on my shelves.

Participate in Camp NaNoWriMo and NaNoWriMo.

I like participating in these events as I like seeing my word count go up each day. I'll be participating in all three of these events this year!

I think that's everything that I have planned for 2022! Mentally I'm doing much better than I was last year, so I hope some of these goals will be more achievable! What are your plans for 2022? Let me know in the comments. See you next week!

PS; looking for some new books to start off the New Year? Check out the ones in these bundles:

New Year, New Monsters 2: From the Ashes

New Year, New Worlds SF/F Giveaway

2021 Year in Review

Hi all,

As with last year, I’m going to give you the run down of 2021! Some goals I hit, while others I didn’t get anywhere near. My mental health has suffered a lot this past year and I’m hoping that 2022 will be better for me.

Write three books.

If I manage to finish Street Rats by the end of the year, I would have written five! The ones that I have written are:

Curse of Anubis #2: Limbo.

Curse of Anubis #3: Middle.

Curse of Anubis #4: Dual.

Street Rats.

Original Elementals #1: Frostbite.

Plan nine more Elemental Dragons books.

I’ve managed to plot out all of the books in the series, and I’ve written the first book! In a few weeks time I will start writing Elemental Dragons #2: Marine and I’m hoping to get it finished before April 2022 Camp NaNoWriMo.

Publish two books.

As promised, Elemental Dragons #4: Cinder and Fire was published in April and Mute was published in October.

Create and publish the Elemental Dragons boxset.

This was published in July, and I didn’t realise how tricky it was going to be! Combining four books into one took a lot of work and formatting to make sure everything was in the right place.

Get two covers designed.

Both Mute and Years got their covers designed. The cover for Years will be revealed in a few weeks. I also got a cover designed for Mute’s prequel, Famished.

Edit three books.

I only edited one book, Years. As I said before my mental health has been pretty low, especially towards the end of the year. And getting Years back from my editor took several blows out of my self-esteem, to the point where I still haven’t gone back through all of the edits now. It will be ready by April, but for a few weeks I wondered if continuing to publish books was the right thing.

Hire a sensitivity reader.

As I have only just started editing Celestial Plague #1: Nirvana myself, I haven’t had the chance to look through sensitivity readers. I’m hoping to get this done next year.

Write more short stories.

I have written a lot more short stories this year, one of which has been accepted into an anthology! This should be released next year, and I’ll keep you posted.

Write Curse of Anubis short story/novella.

I tried writing a few ideas I had but none of them seemed right so I’ve scrapped them. For now I’m focusing on the reader magnet for Years.

Read 30 books.

I’m not entirely sure how I did it, but I read 200 books! Due to the way I was feeling I dove into books to escape a lot more than I have in previous years. Hopefully I can continue to read more next year!

Participate in both Camp NaNoWriMo and NaNoWriMo.

I joined both the April and July Camp NaNoWriMos and NaNoWriMo. I managed to get the first drafts finished for:

Curse of Anubis #3: Middle.

Curse of Anubis #4: Dual.

Original Elementals #1: Frostbite.

That’s it for this week! Next week I’ll talk about my goals for 2022! See you then.

PS; looking for some new books to read in the new year? Check out the ones in these bundles:

New Year, New Monsters 2: From the Ashes

New Year, New Worlds SF/F Giveaway