If you read fantasy for the magic, the world-building, and the occasional moment of dark humor—I write that. One urban fantasy series, one epic fantasy series, both set in the Fractured Arcana universe, with more coming. My newsletter takes you deeper into the worlds, the characters, and what's next.
Thanks have been given
With our extended family, we cooked food and created memories over Thanksgiving break. We've got the child-labor going strong. My oldest somehow managed to escape all pictures (that I am aware of... I think my wife secreted one that I haven't seen). All the food came out great (though we forgot to take the brussels out of the instapot until after we ate... oops).
Despite all the work that goes into that special turkey, I still think the ham is the best part. Turkey is meant for Renaissance Festivals, in leg form. Right? Regardless, I feel five pounds heavier... perfect layering for winter. How'd you fare?
Writing Updates
Starting Thanksgiving day, I had a burst of advertising, to get people looking at Book 1 and signing up for the Goodreads giveaway of Book 3. I'd done a good bit of pre-work, but I found I was chasing details around more than expected. I'll admit I panicked a bit on the last day, and probably did a very good thing - I reached out to folks that "liked" my Ad, and I sent a direct message to let them know about the giveaways. Looking at the stats, that helped a lot for the Book 1 giveaway, doubling the amount of clicks of the other days. Live and learn. But the Goodreads giveaway still petered off -- I'm not reaching new folks in a meaningful way. Regardless, thanks to any folks that helped me broaden my reach. I truly appreciate it.
Couple of other bright spots. One, I received an email from ACX -- Jillian is done with the audiobook and waiting for any corrections. The ball is in my court... but apparently I'm playing without my glasses, because I keep swinging and missing. I was even thinking today, "Can I ask @forteza_twins to listen for me and write down corrections?" After all, she only has five kids, two of them twins in their terrible twos, and she does a mix of homeschooling... so she has time, right? But she managed to find a couple of mistakes in Book 2 post-editing (which I have since corrected through the magic of the interweb... even for the already-delivered printed copies... 😉), and she did contracts in her former life (like law contracts, not contract-killer), so she's got to have a good eye and ear, riiiiiight?
The second piece of good news is that I received the final pics for Book 4. I'll throw one in here, but maybe save one for the book? Meet Elliahsaire, AKA Elliah, an elf none of our character knew to be living on Earth. She's a little older when we meet her in Books 1, 2, & 3, but if you read the short story, "Age Before Duty", you'll learn a little about what she went through while our main characters were fumbling around in Manhattan, and this pic rings true.
o To-Do list for writing last week:
Email updates- Struggling with the audiobook - namely finding time that I can both listen AND jot down notes. I’ve listened to about 25 chapters, but will have to do it all over again at a time I can capture my thoughts. Or just punt and Believe. Still struggling... I started over and have done about two chapters. Help me, @forteza_twins!
I think I’ll spend most of this week just fretting about the upcoming Goodreads Giveaway for Book 3 and Black Friday deal on Book 1… worrying about all of it amounting to nothing.Continue aforementioned frettingMix some worry in with the fretting for good measure.- Create logo and business cards. Started the ball rolling, but haven't completed placing the order yet - there's some details in the questions I have to sort out.
o To-Do list for writing this week:
- Email updates
- Work the audiobook! C'mon @forteza_twins!
- Complete logo order.
- Work the final pics into Book 3 and start the final formatting (probably won't finish in a week).
Previous Newsletters
- Reviews, but not bookish reviews... - 11/23/2021
- Lights, digital recording device, action… - 11/16/2021
- Losing Faith, a Calyx Twins Story - 10/26/2021 📜 Losing Faith, a Calyx Twins Story.pdf
- New pics for Book 1 - 10/19/2021
- Happy Birthday, Middle Egg - 10/12/2021
- Age Before Duty -10/05/2021 📜 Age-Before-Duty.pdf
- Grundle's Hope - 9/28/2021 📜 Grundle's-Hope.pdf
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Steven J Morris
If you read fantasy for the magic, the world-building, and the occasional moment of dark humor—I write that. One urban fantasy series, one epic fantasy series, both set in the Fractured Arcana universe, with more coming. My newsletter takes you deeper into the worlds, the characters, and what's next.
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