Category: Updates & News

ZOMG! She lives!?

Published on by JayeLeave a comment

Yeah, that’s becoming a rather popular post topic for me lately.

Sorry about that.  This has just been a year of hell for me.  Some ups, certainly.  Moving to Massachusetts has been pretty cool if not without its sour notes.  I’ve become addicted to Doctor Who which is bloody fantastic, but Netflix (henceforth referred to as ‘the meanie bad people’ for short) haven’t got series 9 yet, so I don’t get to find out what’s been going on.

I’ve been managing to write.  Not as much or as often as I’d like.  Some of it has been a lack of time.  Since 12 November I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of days and hours dealing with my jobs, but that’s starting to mellow out.  The time I have had that could be spent writing has been spent in the sorts of things one must do in order that stress does not eat her brain … and sufficient stress of the wrong sort is bad for people with chronic depression (and I are one such person), and if you’ve ever tried to write when having attacks of depression you know it tends to make the stories go in dark and unhappy directions.  Dark and unhappy can be fine, here and there, but we’re talking the kind of dark and unhappy that gets you the “the dog dies” award (sorry, forgot its name, lots of kids books I never liked at all have it – to the point I treat it the same as a skull and crossbones on a bottle in the cupboard).

So far, as of the same sorts of dates that 2015 had started looking down (early December 2014, no lie), 2016 is starting to look really up.  So, that said, I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for a summer 2016 release of the, still, unnamed Book 3.  I’ve gotten more than a page into the first Færie Patrol which is turning out interesting and teaching me fun things about the world and characters.  Can’t recall if I ever got any further in the story about that transgender girl I started one day on a whim (no link because I’m buggered if I recall where I mentioned that).

I’m going to try to be a little more active here soon.  Some of it is going to bend my guidelines RE talking politics (read:  I’m going to bloody well talk about a few things, and I may as well warn I use words I learnt from my wife when Donald Trump and the GOP get brought up these days), primarily US politics. I might not, though.  I also may talk about some of the quirkier trans* issues.  I shan’t be discussing the new Star Wars film because I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to see it due to being, currently, unable to afford a ticket (while I’m not saying this in hopes people will donate a ticket, this is the internet and I’ve seen it happen too many times to not point to the contact link above for anyone who takes this notion into their head.  This said because I may as well – if I explicitly said “please do not …” people would anyway, so screw trying).

As per usual, Happy Holidays.  I’m in a sufficiently high Jewish populated area to know that Hanukkah is over or nearly so, so happy belated that.  Merry Christmas coming up for those folks.  Solstice/Jül/etc is coming up later this week for my Pagan loves, so enjoy – no over indulging in the holy water for you ADF folks.  Turns out there’re almost as many Muslim holidays in December as there are days in the year (just kidding, but there are a lot) and I can’t spell any but Ramadan, but as especially fond happy/merry/blessed series of celebrations for you folks; sorry for all the crap people are giving you, please know some of us do wish you well and would love to punch certain people in the mouth on your behalf.

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Moved! And staying bloody put.

Published on by JayeLeave a comment
The Berkshire Hills, part of the Appalachian M...
The Berkshire Hills, part of the Appalachian Mountains, in winter (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It was insanity, it was … moving sucks.  I am not doing it again.

I’m settling in here in the Berkshires, and loving it here.  Maybe if I ever hit the level of best seller wherein I have millions of dollars I’ll buy a quiet island somewhere in Nova Scotia or Norway or something, but that’s different. That’s me paying several very large and well built individuals with nothing better to do to come out and put all my stuff into boxes which they will then load onto a big damned truck and drive off into the sunset for me and will catch me up later as I pile into a car/plane and wave goodbye to Massachusetts.

Then again, I really do like it here rather a lot and my do nothing of the sort.

I’ve been spending the week running back and forth from the Berkshires to Springfield so I’ve been too tired to get to writing, but I’m really feeling better and better with each day.  Stress is melting away, and writing is waiting right there on the fringes.  I’m getting itchy for a pen and paper, but it’s not quite there.  For one thing I have groceries to go buy today.

Please hold the snow comments.  Believe me, I could have got snow moving all of 1hr north of Augusta.  It doesn’t take rocket science to realise that it snows in New England.  I’m looking forward to it, in fact.  The roads here generally stay well plowed, I’m told, but if they should get too slick for the driving I can walk to work from where I live if I just leave a bit earlier.

Curiously, the taxes (so far) have been quite a bit less than Georgia, and prices have been comparable; a few things are higher, some things the same or lower, all in all it’s as I expected rather than as people would say.  It’s amazing the “truths” people cling to.  It’s kind of like “Walmart has the lowest prices”, no it doesn’t.  “The south has such friendly and polite people”, are you kidding me?!  The people impressing me with their manners, friendliness, and generosity are the New Englanders hands down!

Suffice to say, I think I’m home.

An update!

Published on by JayeLeave a comment

Oh, look!  Alive I still am!

So, this summer has been Hell.  No … wait … Hell is cooler.  Seriously we’ve spent the past several months breaking records, the high ones.  I’ve also had a nightmare work schedule at a terrible job … and to top it off there’s the fun of job searching, then finding … and now trying to move from Georgia to Massachusetts.

This is not seeking sympathy (though it wouldn’t go amiss), but rather to illustrate that writing has happened little due to stress (there ought to be a word for worse-than-stress-no-not-quite-try-aiming-higher).  Even if Book 3 were finished it would be nigh impossible to type it due to the energy requirements’ likelihood of resulting in heat stroke to say nothing of the toll to the computer, and forget editing.

I’m looking forward to the move.  I miss my boys; they would’ve loved where we’re headed, but it’s a chance to move on.  At least it’s bloody gorgeous up there; very conducive to writing spells.

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Happy Mothers’ Day!!

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Česky: Matka a dítě. עברית: אם ובנה, 2007. Sve...

I know it’s not Mothers’ Day all over the world.  Sue me, I’m in the U.S. and I didn’t even realise it was this weekend here until Friday leaving work, okay?

Anyway, Love or Lust is 100% off anywhere I could set it.  Ready or Not is 50% off in all the same places.  Oh, did I mention this sale is going to run all week?

As usual I’ve too little practical control over Nook and Kindle pricing.  Amazon will probably eventually price match me, but I can’t say when.  Kindles and Nooks can read the files you’d get from All Romance eBooks, so I recommend users of those devices consider that source.

I know, a Lesbian Teen Romance, what kind of Mother’s Day gift is that?

I don’t know.  I suppose I was thinking about all of those lesbian mothers out there who in the past year have seen their lives validated and vindicated somewhat in … is it 38 states, plus DC and Puerto Rico now?  Some people prefer YA/Teen fiction; I mean some of the best new books I’ve read in the past decade was the Harry Potter series.  Maybe it could be a way for some of my lesbian/bi female readers to prime their mother(s) for letting her/them know about the new fiancée and future daughter-in-law they’ll be meeting today?  Give me a break, it makes more sense than some of the places out there having a sale this weekend.

And, whether you’re a mother of human kids or furry/feathered/scaly ones have a happy Mothers’ Day whether you grab a copy of my books or not.

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Another SALE!!!

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allromanceebooksI thought it was kind of fun putting up that little single source sale the other day, so I decided to do it again! This time it’s over at All Romance eBooks

81KX3TFsgwL._SL1500_Ready or Not (concept only)Once more Love or Lust is absolutely free.

And Ready or Not can be had for 75% off ($1 by the way ARe rounds the fraction, sorry; take it up with their coders)

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I can’t be the only one, right?

Published on by Jaye2 Comments

So I was reading this really cool article (with me it’d be #2 99.99999% of the time, the remaining fraction would be #7 in parallel universes where I’d go to things like that without having an anxiety attack).

It made me wonder:  how abnormal or normal am I for a writer?

I mean, am I the only one whose wife would have to drag her kicking and screaming to the RITAs or Hugos or Nebulas or whatevers if I were nominated (or gods forfend, actually win and then have to give a speech?!) to be fair I’d love the excuse to go shopping at Utsav and wear a super pretty dress, and would have to use an elephant tranquilliser to get my wife in something appropriate.

Not that I wouldn’t be honoured!  No no no no, not that.  I just don’t want all that personal attention.  I’d be happy, ecstatic, elated, and probably six other words starting with an E (happy should start with an E as well, damn it).  I mean, hello?  Authors, notoriously introverted, reclusive, anti-social, etc?  What sick mind came up with the idea of a big formal (authors, in formal dress?!) party and award ceremony?!  Seriously?

Proper award for writers: Announcement in paper that [Title] by [by-line] has won [Award] beating out [nominees with by-lines] in a few big papers, a lovely little mantle decoration of some kind arrives on the writer’s doorstep delivered by an anonymous UPS guy.  Yay!  Virtual hugs and silent clapping!  No where’d I put that damned teapot?

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Back on track soon

Published on by JayeLeave a comment

Now & Forever‘s third book should be back in front of me to get back to work on by the end of April.  I’m still wanting to try to write a Færie Patrol short story for Queers Destroy Fantasy otherwise it’d be by the end of this week.

Things are looking up.  Including the possibility of living in a less hellish state before the end of summer.  If that happens my writing may pick up since I won’t have to drive for 30-45min to get to somewhere conducive to thought.

In any case I’m going to rough guess Book 3 for a Christmas 2015 release at the earliest, with an Easter 2016 release more likely, and June 2016 as an outside figure.

We’ll see what happens.

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No horror

Published on by Jaye1 Comment

Well, I was, and in a manner of speaking still am, working on a vampire horror for Queers Destroy Horror but I ended up working on something else that’s proving far more fun and interesting, so I won’t have the horror finished before the submission deadline.

It’s not abandoned, I’ll finish it sooner or later and then I’ll decide what to do with it, but it won’t be going to QDH.

I still fully intend to get a Færie Patrol short worked out for Queers Destroy Fantasy, so there’s still that to look forward to.

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