Hello, friends!
August! What a wonderful month!
I’m glad that it’s over.
That sounds like a terrible thing to say, but I try to be honest here in my own space. September has brought some miraculously cooler weather and the ability to layer in sexy shackets. It’s also brought me a small amount of easement as some major things on my plate resolve…
Fortune’s Wake Release!
In case you missed it, Fortune’s Wake is now out! You can get a copy at most bookstores (if you don’t see it, just ask! they can order it in). There will also be an audiobook version in the near future. I don’t know if there will be an ebook version outside of Amazon. Sorry about that, I can’t control it. Ping the publisher Grimdark Magazine, and maybe they’ll consider that in the future.
US: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes and Noble
UK: Forbidden Planet | Waterstones | Amazon UK
Because of that, August was full of promo! Lots of podcast and video recordings, which you can catch on the Events page (or linked down below).
If you read it and enjoy, a good review on places like Goodreads and Amazon help a lot. If you don’t enjoy, you can keep it to yourself. It’s okay. Thanks for reading anyway. 😉
A special thanks to everyone who came out to the Forbidden Planet event! It was always a bucket-list item and it was wonderful to meet you all (again, in some cases). Grateful to have your support, always.
Warmongers
Deadline also did not cease, despite my birthday or book release or my father coming into town to hang out for said birthday. As such, the numbers are a bit lower than I wanted, but not by that much. 23,700 instead of 30k.
Word count: 67,500/150,000. (not sure about that final number……….)
I did a surprising amount of handwriting in my notebook this month. Possibly because my head felt too stirred up by all the things going on, and all the extra screen time with recordings and stuff. I often go to notebooks to scrawl out a mini outline of a scene or chapter before I start it, just to make sure I know what characters are feeling going into it, what their goals are, fears, how they’re working with and against each other. These days, I just go straight from that outline into the scene. Then, when I get to type in the disparate pieces (the notebook might be messy, out of order, mixed up with notes for a later part of the scene as inspiration arises), it’s a chance to edit at the same time.
This book is turning into something I am so extraordinarily proud of.
Additionally, I hit a fun snag where my characters play an in-world card game. In a previous draft, I handwaved the rules so that I could keep moving. But now that the new scene would have so much more character weight, I wanted the game to really work. Cue, side quest where I designed the whole game. You can check out the working rule set, and join the small legion of playtesters. If you do give me some feedback, you’ll go in the acknowledgements with my deep thanks.
New Artist x Author Interviews!
I also started a new interview series that’ll pop up once a month with some of your (my) favorite visual artists, particularly those who do a lot of sapphic artwork. Did I need to start this in this busiest of months? No! But it’s an idea I’ve been sitting on for a year and sometimes there’s no right time; you just have to pull the trigger.
Though I didn’t know about them at the time, my original idea had a lot in common with Austin Kleon’s Typewriter Interviews, so I leaned into that, though each artist is putting their own touches into it.
The first artist up is Annalise Jensen, whose art you’ve definitely seen because she did an amazing set of my Fate’s Bane girls.
I’ve got a great line up that I’m looking forward to sharing with you, with the particular hope that you’ll enjoy them as much as I do and also check out their original projects. Many of them are open for commissions or have patreons, too, so don’t be shy about showing your support to them.
The next artist is amazing, and that interview will be out mid-September!
Something Personal…
S and I got hitched a few days ago!
And we saw this outside our house when we went out for our nuptial 5k before getting dressed for the ceremony. (The 5k that ended at a Currys because I needed a steamer because I was terrified to ruin my shirt with an iron.)
(Yes, we went on a run before the wedding. It was always going to happen. It’s been such an important part of our relationship from the very beginning.)
And it rained! And I sang Alanis Morissette all week and the day of! Because how ironic is it that the city is bone dry until the day—!!
But we had a great time with some of our dear compadres.
I also read one of my favorite poems:
POEM FOR MY FRIEND MATT WHO AT THIS MOMENT IS RUNNING 300 MILES ACROSS TENNESSEE by Devin Kelly
And now, I am well and truly exhausted but my heart is full in so many ways.
I fully intend to spend September buckled down and getting work done on Warmongers. Edits for Fell Runner have also come in, and the editor’s initial comments are encouraging. That plus a few other things on the burner…you know how I am by now. I like to keep myself busy. The buckling down will continue into the end of the year as consequence. But when it gets loud again, trust…it’s gonna be loud. 😈
Until next time. Remember, the only way we get as far as we want, as far as we can go, is by carrying each other.
Stay sharp,
C. L.
Virtual Event Links
- Aug 23 - Virtual Launch Party with Hannah Kaner and M. J. Kuhn
- Realm Runners - Rage—not just feminine!
- Noah Brisk - Drafts and Dragons
- Kenny Gould
- SFF Addicts
- Six Elementals with P. L. Stuart
- No Write Way with V. E. Schwab
- Dear Dr. Fantasy
- Aaron Hall - Aaron’s Book Nook
- Author Adjacent with Michael Vadney
- The Broken Binding with Stephen Aryan - Parenthood and Mentorhood, Growing Up and Growing Away
- Author Adjacent with Michael Vadney, pt. 2 - Using TTRPG Rules in Narrative Writing
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