Hello Everyone,
I hope you all had a happy thanksgiving. I had an obscene amount of turkey, cookies, and mashed potatoes and was stuffed!
Anyhow, it’s that time of the month again where I give a brief update on the report on what is happening in my neck of the woods. So, without further ado, let’s dive into this November 2022 Author Update.
How’s my writing going? 👋
Writing is going well, all things considered. Mostly because I’m writing—not solely editing for once, (interesting concept.)
Jokes aside, I’ve been learning to take a step back and enjoy the process a bit more here recently. A few friends of mine formed a small writing group on Discord known as the Kreative Fighting Club, (KFC for short, 😊) and it’s been nice to write odds and ends for the fun of it rather than imposing deadlines on myself and worrying about marketing, audiences, and etcetera.
I have to admit; I wasn’t one for Discord, but I’ve kind of came around after running my own server. We hold challenges for ourselves every other Monday night in “Generator Draft” Sessions, where we must write a story using a randomly generated name, place, title, then prompt in that order. (The prompt makes or breaks it.) The twist is that we pick these in a draft like football. So, I think it’s neat and lots of fun!
Other nights we hold workshops where we share our stories and I post daily writing prompts or my thoughts about craft on occasion. We’ve been having a good time.
What’s next? ⏭
I took a chance and sent The Hollow Death of Belladonna Bates off to an editor. I hadn’t planned to until the new year, but researching the blurb got me genuinely excited for the story, more so than I have been for a while. Tweaking, writing, and rewriting, over and over again, grows tiresome after almost two years of the same story as you can imagine.
Luckily, working on the blurb reignited that spark, and researching cost turned into biting the bullet to get it done.
I hope to receive a marked-up manuscript by mid to late January. I haven’t set a publishing date yet as my personal life hasn’t fully settled. My concerns turn towards the cover and editing before setting a date, unfortunately.
But if you’re interested, here’s a rough blurb for the story!
Kill me once, shame on me. Kill me twice… good luck.
“One last job” proved too much for this lady assassin, leaving her corpse to paint the concrete.
Luckily for her, death wasn’t the end.
Undead and outmatched, Psyche “Belladonna” Bates must risk it all in a fight for her life, as her own guild wants her dead.
Sadly, after she perished, her trade and her memories are a blur, and if Psyche wants any hope of escaping this city’s threats, she will need help.
Not to mention her own body ticking like a time bomb. Cheating death comes at a cost, and phoenixes don’t come cheap… if she can find one.
Caught in a treacherous web, escape is anything but simple. But if she can remaster her trade, and assemble the supernatural forces of this city, she just might free herself from the pursuers’ clutches… Maybe.
Can she spare herself and friends from the forces around her? Or will her undeath spell her undoing?
In a thrilling high stakes battle, one thing is certain. Death won’t stop revenge.
Dive into this epic, urban fantasy full of gripping action and adventure, scandalous romance, and thrilling suspense for adults and new adults. Reader Discretion is Advised.
Again, the blurb is still a work in progress, but I feel it’s not too shabby.
What am I writing? 📝
I’m currently rewriting an ending for a story about a secretary who must break a woman out of prison for a crime Don to save her sister held by the mob. A small group of writers have helped immensely with their feedback, and I am still going over it. My original ending doesn’t work as intended and may need some tweaks before I share it with them.
Circling back to Discord, I started a new story for some friends in the community and it currently stands at ~17k words. The premise is the daughter of supervillains, and the son of their nemeses falls in love, and their parents grow furious at their dating.
So, it’s up to the kids to get their parents to bury the hatchet enough for them to stay together, on top of managing their daily life, keeping their powers a secret, and finding out there may be greater villains at play. Whether they can make their relationship work, we’ll find out. 🙂
Other News 📰
Judges announced the winners of the fall short story contest.
Here’s a link to the full list of entries and results for those wondering. I’m currently still anxiously awaiting the judges’ feedback on my own story. Congratulations to the winners.
Special Shoutouts 🎉
Three indie authors have published recently, and I wanted to congratulate them for their hard work and wish them well.
Special shoutouts go out to Evelyn Puerto, John King, and Deirdre Stokes.
I’ve linked their books below if you’d like to give them a read.
- The Curse of Wayward Forest by Deirdre Stokes
- Flood of the Fire by Evelyn Puerto
- Of Scales and Fur: Book Two – Rocket by John King
In Conclusion(☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ ☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜)
In conclusion, that wraps up this November 2022 Author Update
I hope you have a great month until next we speak.
Until next time,
Keep Writing!
-Antonio
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