Stuck, and a Revelation

Posted on June 15, 2025 by A. Elizabeth West

I’m still alive!

New Job is going okay. It’s basically the same thing I was doing at Exjob, just a little less organized (ugh!) but a little better paid. My business unit is not in the same city, and I don’t work on local projects the way I did there, which leaves me feeling a little bit disconnected from the people in my physical office. But everyone seems nice.

My other knee has decided it wasn’t getting attention and has rebelled in an unidentified (as of this post) and painful way. I didn’t fall on it as with my right knee (well I did, but that was more than ten years ago, so I don’t think that’s the reason). Physical therapy did not help. I had an MRI yesterday – hopefully, that will shed some light on the situation. I’m guessing I’ll probably need another surgery. It’s a good thing I saved my mobility aid from last time.

A tripod cane stands alone on a wood floor, its strap dangling from the handle. — Bought a cane; blinged it up. As one does.

Photo: Elizabeth West

No, I haven’t finished Book 3 yet. *sigh* Truth be told – I’ve been stuck.

I know how the story will end. The path to that end is meandering through metaphorical forest but not completely lost. I know Ilarrya well enough to take the Martinsburg pahss (if you read Confluence, you know) through it in search of the MacGuffin (Chris).

There is some research I need to do that requires me to walk around outside, and that’s part of the issue. My knee is not in good enough shape to do that right now, especially since it will not! stop! raining! every damn weekend. I think that’s part of what’s holding things up, but not all of it.

Another surprise – not a total one, but quite unexpected. I’ve always been a little weird, and I’ve always struggled with things that seemed to come easily to other people. Well, there’s a reason for that.

I was apparently diagnosed with what was formerly known as Asperger syndrome as a kid, but we have no record of it, and no one ever said anything (in the ’70s, nobody knew what that meant anyway). The new job, being less organized than the old one and the source of some difficult adjustment, prompted some inquiries. When I was finally told, it made SO MUCH SENSE.

So, I got retested. The doctor explained what my results meant and officially confirmed the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) Level 1 (plus social anxiety for more funsies — whee!). It’s actually quite cool. I have words now to describe my experiences and can figure out what support and accommodations I need. This is even better than when I found out I had dyscalculia. Yay, diagnosis!

Brunette woman in a black shirt gives a happy thumbs up. A caption below her says "Welcome to me"

My work is very supportive of neurodivergent employees. We have a disability/ND employee network, and I already have a temporary accommodation for my own desk because hotdesking freaks me the fuck out. Now it can be permanent. Which is cool, because I already put granola bars and a sweater and stuff in the desk, ha ha.

Before you ask, I’m not the least bit afraid of the current regime. RFK Jr. swims in raw sewage; what does he know, and Dump Truck is proving to be even more of an incompetent boob than last time. I’ve survived worse than them and will again. The focus now is on people who are more vulnerable than I am, as yours should be.

Side-by-side pictures of a blonde woman, staring fiercely into the camera and in a red coat looking off into the distance. — Be like June Osborne. Well, except maybe for the murder-y part.

Image: Hulu/Express

None of this is an excuse for why my writing is going so slowly, mind you. It’s better described as a distraction. I spent my half hour in the open MRI machine thinking about the story and how to move my characters further along toward their goal, and I’ve just spent a couple of hours today working. The stuck parts are starting to feel a little less gummy. My current goal is simply to finish.

One step (lol) at a time.

Updates: Why I’m Not Doing NaNoWriMo This Year

Posted on November 9, 2023 by A. Elizabeth West

I wanted to! I really did.

If you’ve been here through my other NaNos, you know I use it to finish things. I was hoping to do this with Book 3. It’s going very slowly thanks to my knee injury, which has impacted my ability to sleep peacefully through a whole night without waking up going “Ow ow ow” as my leg ended up in awkward and painful positions.

A man dressed in a red soccer uniform writhes in pain while clutching his leg on a green athletic field. — Like this, only the other leg and in my bed.

Image by shauking from Pixabay

In fact, I’m posting now from my sofa, where I’m on PTO after having an arthroscopic meniscectomy (knee cartilage repair surgery) this very morning. According to my orthopedist, the tear was bad enough that PT or cortisone was not going to cut it. I’ve been using a cane blinged up with little rhinestones (heh heh) for a few months now. As I did not wish for continued pain and the potential of a locked knee while I’m trying to, ya know, walk, I opted to just get it over with.

The pain block is working (so far), and I have a prescription for later when it wears off. I might not even need it — we’ll see.

I bought this SpongeBob shirt and completely forgot to wear it to the surgery.

A blue t-shirt depicting a running gag from the SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon, where a fish grabs his knee and screams "My leg!"

Image: Mademark via Amazon

It’s perfect for my first physical therapy appointment — if they ask me if I’m in pain, I can just point to Fred the Fish yelling “MY LEG!” and let him do the talking for me!

I’m hoping to get some work done during this interval, and the four-day Thanksgiving weekend is peeking around the corner. More writing time without the stress of unemployment is always a good thing. If you read Confluence, you know about Ilarrya — you’ll get to know Brinn’s world better in Book 3.

My goal is to have the book come out by next summer. When that happens, I plan to explore those other distribution options, especially if they let me offer the trilogy as a set with a little discount.

In the meantime, my books took a little trip to the central library in Copley Square for the Boston Book Festival a few weeks ago, where I took the marketing photo below. This building is well worth a peek if you’re ever in the city; the artwork and architecture are both spectacular. It’s not super far from Boston Common — downtown is very walkable.

They may not be in it (yet!), but at least they’re on it!

I traded Tunerville for Aoibh Wood’s Blood Rituals, the first in her series of paranormal romance novels set here in Boston. Her book looks great, and it’s next on the TBR pile. I’d also hoped to see Max Miller of YouTube’s Tasting History at the festival but the line was insanely long and the room in the Old South Church had unfortunately reached capacity by the time I arrived. If you haven’t seen that channel, go check it out right now. It’s wonderful!

I’ll leave you with that since I may need a nap soon. Life just loves to throw curve balls at you — let’s hope this is the last one for a while. Thanks for being patient with me, y’all.

In Which the Universe Finally Listens to Me, and Book Updates

Posted on March 3, 2023 by A. Elizabeth West

From the comment section of my last post:

Comment from Amity - Sounds cool! I hope your next post is about an awesome new job. No shade/sarcasm, I really mean that!
Reply from Elizabeth - Oh gawd me too. And thank you, keep your fingers crossed!

Guess what?

I GOT A JOB!

It’s an entry-level coordinator role in a field new to me, heavy on documentation. The job is a stretch but in a good way, and I can get a certification that will ensure it’s easier to get jobs in the future.

Best part: it was originally located here, but during the second interview with the hiring managers, they said everyone is mostly remote. I told my anxiety to shut the F up and asked if it were possible to do the job out of the Boston office. They said yes!

Honestly, I never thought this would end. I’ve applied to every job I could reasonably do. I tried the hospitals, the colleges, remote work, etc. to no avail. The pandemic, my mom’s health emergency, and losing my dad on top of all the constant rejection and interview ghosting was just…ugh.

The pay is based on location. Even for here it’s better than I expected. As for the higher-COL area, it will be tight, but I lived on $5.15 an hour in California, and I’m used to being dirt poor. So I think I can manage. The hard part will be figuring out how to move. This long slog and the pandemic ate up ALL my savings. At least I’ll have money coming in.

In publishing news, I got a code for two free uploads at IngramSpark in anticipation of expanding distribution of Tunerville and Confluence paperbacks and made an account. I thought I would finally be able to broaden my distribution, but then I found out that a title transfer can take up to 30 days! So, not until I have the money to pay for the uploads. At some point, this will happen. I’ll put you on blast when you can ask your indie bookstores to order print copies.

I did tweak the covers a tad in anticipation of future shelving. Book 1:

Tunerville paperback book cover shows a shadowy figure on a blue field of hexagonal lights and a title in orange font. Author name below title in white font. At left is the back text and and an author photo at the bottom.

Larger title, same font as title for the author name, and a slightly larger size on the spine.

Confluence paperback book cover, background in green and blue with a large black hole in the center, bisected by a glowing line. Title in large white font above the hole and author name below in light yellow font. At left is the back text with an author photo below.

The only change here was a drop shadow on the cover and spine text to make it stand out a little better. I’m still super happy with this particular cover.

Book 3 is proceeding slowly, but since I’ll be working again, the brain-crushing stress of unemployment is off. Once I get my work schedule sorted, I can bang out the first draft at nights and weekends a lot faster.

All I have to worry about now is how to pay for a 1200-mile move with no money. Whee! Here’s hoping it goes smoothly and within a few months, I’ll have a shiny new place of my own, with all my stuff, which I haven’t seen in more than three years. Unpacking is going to be like Christmas. I’ll probably have to live further away from work than I want to.

But y’all….

Lobster chunks in dressing on a scalloped roll, with a pickle behind it. This lobster roll sandwich looks amazing.

Lobster roll served at Steamers Seafood Market in Newton, Massachusetts.

Image by Maguy23.

I want that. I want it BAD.

Why Tho: RIP My Old Laptop

Posted on November 28, 2022 by A. Elizabeth West

As is typical in the life of a writer, my heavily used laptop, a nearly seven-year-old Office Depot HP something-or-other, has decided it’s pretty much done running my writing program. Or anything else, really. [ETA: I forgot to mention the constant crashes. Bleah.]

It wouldn’t run SmartEdit Writer and Word together. It wouldn’t run either while playing music. It would barely Zoom, and thanks to an unfortunate fall off the stand, the camera was broken (I did have a USB-powered backup). When you’re interviewing for out-of-state jobs, the latter two especially are less than ideal.

Image by andreas160578 from Pixabay

I truly miss Toshiba’s legacy Satellite laptops. They went from long-lived workhorses to not really existing much anymore. They would have had a customer for life if they hadn’t abandoned them.

So yesterday, after trying and failing to work on a Book 3 chapter in Word and waiting for it to keep unfreezing, I’d had enough. As much as I hated to do it, I had to dip into the little savings I have left and replace the damn thing. I spoke to a neighbor on my way out to Best Buy, and he sent me to a place called Micro Center instead.

YOU GUYS.

This is not a sponsored post. But based on my short-lived experience, hoooowwwww did I not know this place existed?! (Easy; my previous city didn’t have one.) I felt like I’d driven the TARDIS back in time to Circuit City, that bastion of electronic retailers that so sadly went bust after turning itself into the gadget equivalent of Walmart. Circuit City, along with Toshiba, had me for the long haul until they made really stupid business decisions.

Dear CEOs, the old-school knowledgeable salesperson approach works. Being on a mission, I didn’t get to explore the entire sales floor. I did see a whole rack of backpacks, roller bags, etc. and my little luggage-loving heart leaped for joy. I can’t wait until I have money to go back. The chain does have a store in my target location, so if (when!) I move away, I’ll be able to explore. I hope this place NEVER goes out of business.

Anyway, thanks to a helpful sales geek, I ended up with an HP Victus, an entry-level gaming laptop that so far seems to be more than capable of handling my multitasking and content creation. Currently, I’m going through the tedious file transfer process.

This is just my Amazon downloads folder. I have a LOT of music. And, I’m clearly a nerd.

Best part? A heavy markdown. Second best part? Because I prefer to do computer work in low lighting, something I’ve always wanted but never thought I’d have: a backlit keyboard!

Compare that to the (sadly non-glow-y) sticker alternative:

To be fair, this *did* look nice when I first put them on.

It’s such a small thing, but it really does make the experience better. You’ll be proud of me, too — despite being afflicted with very bad travel anxiety, I managed to find the store in an unfamiliar area and come back without getting lost or having a panic attack. The only drawback is a reduction in USB ports from three to two, but I’ve got a hub, so I’ll be fine. The old model, seeing its replacement, decided it wants to behave (for now). It has been relegated to emergency-only backup.

I’m happy to have a machine that works properly again. The performance lag made writing very unpleasant. I’m three chapters in on Book 3, and every time I opened the project file, I felt like crying. Doing the cover and book trailer when the time comes and writing cover letters, working remotely if the opportunity arises, etc. will all be much, much easier.

After installing my old Office programs again, I tested Word and SmartEdit; they’re good to go. Now to get through this tedious file transfer, copy over my playlists, and we’re back in business!

In Which I Go to a Con and Learn Stuff and Amazon Discounts Tunerville

Posted on August 11, 2022 by A. Elizabeth West

Gah, it’s August already and I’m still stuck here! Just kill me.

A balding man in a jacket and tie looks disgusted. Text below reads "If I was a bird, I'd fly into a ceiling fan."

In late May, a recruiter from a staffing company I’d applied to ages ago emailed me about a temp job in the city subbing for someone who was going on vacation. The pay was decent, so I took it. For two glorious weeks, I got to pretend I had a job.

It was just basic front office work, but the people were extremely nice. They included me in their weekly breakfasts and other food orders (the company paid). Usually, the temp doesn’t get anything, but they treated me like one of their own. They didn’t have a lot of work for me to do so when I caught up, I just read a new Chuck Wendig book on my phone.

The pay from this small venture allowed me to do something I haven’t done since before I lost my stupid job: go to a fantasy creators convention in mid-June, a new one in my old city called Tremendicon. It was held at a super nice venue I’d never been to when I actually lived there.

Sweet, yeah? Well, I didn’t get to stay here. I had to make do with the crappy
Holiday Inn up the road. Maybe next time.

Image: Oasis Hotel & Convention Center. Please don’t DCMA me; I want people to visit you.

I didn’t take any pictures while I was there, sorry. I was too busy. This convention offered a very strong writer’s track with panels all the way through. I only missed a couple on the first day because I had to check into my hotel and eat after a late start and a very long drive.

I saw some old friends, made some new ones, and learned a LOT. Topics included:

Revenue streams
Marketing
Creativity
Worldbuilding (I really wanted this one for Book 3)
Adaptation

A note from Day 2:

Hey, I forgot my jacket. I can’t be expected to remember everything.

Saturday night, we were treated to the world premiere of the short horror film Swumpwater, written by new friend Heath Amodio and old friend Cullen Bunn. You can watch it here!

It IS a horror movie, so sorry if it grossed you out. Heh heh.

It was bittersweet to be there again. Some things have changed and others stayed the same. Over nearly twenty years, I made the drive from Springfield to St. Louis for holidays many times, but since I’m trying very hard to get out of Missouri altogether, it felt like the last one ever. If I achieve that goal, I’ll just fly in for Tremendicon or any other visits. I admit, I cried a little on the way out of town. It’s tough to say goodbye to such a significant chunk of your life. However, I’m ready for a big change. SO READY.

Besides having a butt-ton of fun, I came away with twenty-five pages of notes and enough information that I almost feel ready to secure a table at the next Tremendicon, or whatever con is closest to where I find a job, when I have a bit more product. Writer and illustrator Jennifer Stolzer told us she only had a couple of items on her first table—her present setup contained multiple books, merch, and even a display doll she hacked to look like her book character.

And of course, my haul, because you CANNOT attend a con without coming home with a haul!

The Eren Yeager Titan picture is a drawing—I always buy art. The cup, t-shirt, swag bag and dragon book all are from Glenn Parris, an absolutely lovely writer. He waved a merch bag at me and said, “I only have two of these left!” Sucked me right in (that’s marketing, folks!) The other book is by Jennifer Stolzer; I won that one in a drawing.

At the top is a huge bag of pan dulce from a local Mexican supermarket I dearly miss, because HOW COULD I NOT. It was just as delicious as I remember.

Although the trip took nearly all the money I made from temping, it was well worth it. Professional development is an important part of career progression. With writing, the best way to learn is to write and consume content in whatever form works best for you—there’s a lot to learn from movies, TV shows, and comics that applies to books. If you’re considering adaptation or screenwriting, you need to read screenplays and watch lots of movies.

However, some things you can only learn from other creators. I was gratified to see that I knew a lot more than I thought and that I’m basically on the right track. I’ll have to wait until I’m employed again to think about hand sellling at a con or even attending, but I have work I can do right now. (I know, like finishing my trilogy. I know!)

Speaking of which, Amazon has heavily discounted the paperback version of Tunerville. I had no say in this whatsoever. They CLAIM I will still get the same royalty, but I have my doubts. I would like to move my work to a different distributor that will widen its reach, but that will take money I don’t have currently.

Either way, you can get it for less now, so have at it!

Book 2 is with Beta Readers and I’m Anxious

Posted on June 27, 2021 by A. Elizabeth West

It is almost July! Still no job! Fuck everyone and everything! Burn it all!

Now that’s out of my system, it’s not all bad. I’ve had a couple of interviews, including a second one (although that company hasn’t contacted me yet; I plan to follow up on Monday but I suspect they went with someone else). I also actually DID get hired for a contract job in March, helping Alison Green of Ask A Manager get her pages and pages of December updates sorted.

And…

I took the CompTIA test—AND PASSED IT! I’m Project+ certified! I don’t ever have to take that test again!

Burying the lede; Confluence has been sent to my two beta readers. I still have to do a hard copy edit, but I didn’t want to do that until I received some feedback, in case I have to move or delete anything. I haven’t even looked at it since I sent it. Instead, I had to study for the test.

Since I passed the test and don’t have to study for it anymore, the project activity list in my WBS (jargon, heh) looks like this:

– Conlang (depending on how extra I decide to be and how far I decide to take it, it could be just an artlang or a whole-ass separate thing).
– Beta edits.
– Hard copy edit.
– Trailer:
– Video edits.
– Audio edits.
– Assembly.

A note here: I know the first trailer was laughably amateurish, and the second wasn’t much better except for the fabulous voiceover. I’ve been watching a lot of professionally produced videos on Twitter and elsewhere and I noticed I’m seeing shots now instead of just content. Seriously, there’s nowhere to go from here but up!

– Back cover layout (I’ve got the front cover the way I want it). I can’t do this until I know for sure how many pages the paperback will have, because Amazon templates depend on page count.
– Inside layout (easy; I already did it with Tunerville and all three books will be the same).
– Set up pre-orders (if I can figure it out) and submit to KDP.
– Paperback proofread.
– Get a damn job so I can find another distributor because Amazon

I have a world compendium too, but I haven’t decided yet if that’s just for me or if it will be for you too.

Assuming I did a halfway decent job and anyone will care.

Image by Hassan Nawaz from Pixabay

I am so, so tired of job hunting, y’all. Even though working again will mean less hours in the day to write/produce, I think having my own space again will help a lot. The current situation is not good for my mental health, and that does affect my creativity. I’m hoping for a change of scenery far away from here, but we’ll have to see what we get.

I’m very anxious about what my betas will say. The extra outside edit with Tunerville has not happened this time. I just want to finish the story, but I want to give you the best version of it. I was hoping to have Confluence out and Book 3 started by now—between the CompTIA class and the Momergency, it’s just been crazy. (Once again, know the signs of a stroke; when in doubt, call 911 immediately.)

But I’ve begun to move into Book 3 headspace. So the machinery is ramping up again.

Although I’ve tried to make Confluence a self-contained story as much as I can, in the vein of The Empire Strikes Back, it’s still a middle bit. Obligatory plug: If you haven’t read Tunerville yet, get it here.

I’m excited about Book 3. I really am. It’s gonna be FUN.

HEY YOU GUYYYYYS!

Posted on April 11, 2021 by A. Elizabeth West

Sorry it’s been a while since I posted. Still no job, still no new place.

This week, I finished a rough cut of the trailer for Confluence and the IRS dropped the $600 stimmy into my account (finally), so I sent off the contract to my voice-over actor. The trailer is much smoother than the first one because I used Movie Maker instead of PowerPoint this time. Making these is kinda fun, I must admit.

I can’t wait to show off my cover! Seriously, I’m really happy with it. Now I’m combing through the manuscript again before I send it to beta readers.

In other news, Mom got Moderna COVID vaccine number one a week or two ago through the county health department. She’s set to get her second shot at the end of this month. She had NO side effects whatsoever, not even a sore arm. I signed up through the health department and a different healthcare system. The latter contacted me first for an appointment.

So, as of yesterday:

You get whatever flavor they have—in my case, it was Pfizer. Side effects so far have included sleepiness (I went to bed at 10:00 pm last night, unheard of for me), a sore arm this morning, and a little dizziness and fatigue, nothing serious. I do have a bit of a headache. But it’s difficult to tell if that’s vaccine-related or because it was very windy yesterday and we’re into allergy season.

My microchip doesn’t seem to be working. I look nothing like the Winter Soldier.

Keep wearing your masks and get your vaccine as soon as possible, folks. I recommend signing up via various platforms and also using a vaccine spotter like this one to snag an appointment when your state opens eligibility. Outside the US, check with your local health authorities. If you’re in Brazil (I have at least one reader who is), please, do your best to stay safe!

Confluence will probably go on pre-order, something I didn’t do last time. I will definitely let you know when that will happen. Meanwhile, if you haven’t yet read Tunerville, grab a copy now—you’ll have a much better reading experience with Book 2 if you read it first.

The Shiny Folk and other stories has come off expanded distribution, as it’s not selling, the royalty is much lower, and I need every penny I can get. So for now, you can only get the story collection in the U.S. I’m exploring options other than Amazon’s platform but that will have to wait until I find work.

The dream of traditional publishing has not died. As writers continue to practice their craft, they get better. Once I finish Book 3 of the Tuner Trilogy, I have another fantasy waiting in the wings. It’s all outlined and ready for me to start work. I’d hoped Tunerville would be the one, especially since I got so close. Maybe The Catalyst will. Who knows? If not, you’ll get it the indie way, unless I massively f*ck it up.

Short post is short since I’m feeling vax-tired. Till next time, keep reading. It’s not like there’s anything else to do in the (hopefully waning) days of a global pandemic.

IGNORE MY JANOWRIMO POST COMPLETELY – I HAD A GREAT IDEA

Posted on January 7, 2021 by A. Elizabeth West

So you might know that in addition to working on Confluence and planning Book 3, I’m also trying to study for the CompTIA Project+ exam.

The study guide and course do NOT have practical exercises; I guess they don’t think this not-quite-IT certification warrants those. But without hands-on practice (not just quizzes), I’m worried that I won’t retain some of the practical concepts. This really should have been a full-on course, with homework.

Done from the comfort of a fluffy bed in lockdown, of course.

Photo by Madelynn woods on Unsplash

I’ve been trying to apply them to the only work I’m actually doing right now, but since I’m well along in the process for Confluence, trying to break it down into work packages retroactively has proved difficult. SOOOOOOOO…

I’m gonna start over, with Book 3 as the project, and plan it using these concepts all the way through.

This means ditching JaNoWriMo but not the writing I’ve already done. It’s okay; I didn’t get very far anyway, and we’ve been pretty busy dealing with a major threat to our democracy, a deadly pandemic, and drastically altered holidays. Starting over on a project just means it gets the attention it deserves.

If you’re tempted to @ me for the about-face, remember, I’m doing all this by myself while also job hunting and looking after my mom. (Although she’s frustrated with how long it’s taking—as anyone would be—she’s actually doing really well.) The stress of being unemployed really does not lend itself to higher thinking.

Froggy has the right idea; all I need is a moment of time when someone isn’t texting me, Mom isn’t calling me, and idiots aren’t trying to overthrow the government.

Image by silviarita from Pixabay

The word count meter will remain on the sidebar of my Home page. I will keep you up to date on my progress, as always, both with Confluence and Book 3, and post media/announcements as I go.

I also want to thank my readers for sticking with me. These last few years have been a long slog. But we’ll get through all this, and things will get better for everyone. All we have to do is

No NaNoWriMo for Me: Instead, It’s JaNoWriMo 2021

Posted on October 29, 2020 by A. Elizabeth West

November looms yet again, when writers everywhere try to cram 50,000 words into one month!

I am not participating in NaNoWriMo this year. I have a project (Book 3 of the Tunerville trilogy), I’m outlining it, and I even started a rough storyboard for the book trailer. What I don’t have is time.

As you know, I’ve been job hunting for an excruciatingly long period. I still haven’t been hired anywhere, but the state of Missouri did recently offer free CompTIA IT training to workers displaced by COVID-19. I qualified for this due to being a long-term unemployed person whose job hunt was completely derailed by the pandemic.

Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay / captions Elizabeth West

So now I’m preparing for the Project+ certification exam. I can’t write a book and do that simultaneously. However, this should bode well for the future. Not only will I have a certification to add to job applications, but I’m boosting the rudimentary project management experience I obtained at my last job.

Confluence is with my editor. Deadline: Thanksgiving. Although I doubt we’ll have any guests this year, I need to be ready to hit those revisions in December. I hope to have most of this study and maybe even the exam knocked down by then.

I promised you I would finish the trilogy, and I will. With that in mind, I’m launching my own personal, month-long writing challenge in January, which I will call JaNoWriMo!

Note: this is not an official thing, so don’t go looking for it online (edit: whoops, somebody did it!). It’s just me adapting to a crazy situation and the tendency for the Universe to make me sit here for months and then pile it all on at once.

“I only f*ck with you because I love you.” – Universe, probably

Image by Fine Mayer from Pixabay

I doubt I’ll finish in one month, especially if I find employment by then (sooner, please, so I don’t have to move during the coldest, wettest time of the year). Someone could even offer me a job out of state, since remote work is now a legitimate way to start. If so, cross your fingers that this hypothetical company happens to be in the increasingly narrow list of areas where I’d actually want to live.

Weekly updates for JaNoWriMo might work better. I’ll also pop a word count meter up on the blog so you can see how it’s going.

As of this writing, we have no clue who will win the 2020 U.S. election, what will happen in the aftermath, or whether we’ll even have democracy by January. All we know is that it will probably be very unsettled and chaotic for a while. I feel for anyone doing NaNoWriMo this year; the added stress is sure to derail you, but don’t give up. The whole point is to get you working.

Artists and writers are scribes of history, whether or not they include actual events in their work. So keep creating. Keep doing the thing you love. It will get you through these dark times. It will help others who need a breather, or an escape. Your voice is important.

See you soon!

Pandemic Brain and Last Day for a Free Book

Posted on September 7, 2020 by A. Elizabeth West

If you are reading this on Labor Day, you can get the Kindle edition of The Shiny Folk and other stories for free, through midnight 9/7/2020.

Y’all, I have seriously neglected you, and I’m sorry.

I have pandemic brain. Yes, you understand it. We’re all suffering from it. Time has no meaning. Days blend into one another. If you’re working, you’re either stressed from worrying about contagion or stressed from navigating your job at home, maybe around family members also working from home, kids, pets, etc.

If you’re not working, as I Still! Am! Not!, you’re stressed from that.

FOR THE LAST TIME, DEXTER, MY COMPUTER MOUSE IS NOT A CAT TOY!

Image by Robin Higgins from Pixabay

Last post, I mentioned I was going to republish a third and final edition of The Shiny Folk and other stories at Amazon. You can read my explanation for that move at Boomkaart Books’ Media page. Honestly, I wish I didn’t have to distribute there, but IngramSpark is too expensive. It costs me nothing to publish with KDP, even for print-on-demand. Of course, that’s by design; Jeff “Greed Dragon” Bezos makes money off me, though God knows I’m not making very much. If it’s free for you, then you’re the product.

Again, sorry my pandemic brain forgot to come over here and tell you I’d launched it, and about the free book promotion.

I’m extremely happy with the new book cover, however. I think it turned out great. It’s miles better than the last one.

This is the paperback cover. I just now noticed it’s basically the same layout as the *Tunerville* cover. Apparently, I can only learn one thing at a time.

I added a couple of stories—one from this blog, one I published previously in a now-defunct literary journal (that I’d put on the blog), and one brand new story, “MathLex.” If you’ve been following me for a while, you know how difficult math is for me, so guess where that one came from? The cover is black because a couple of the stories fall into the horror genre, particularly “Jack and the Bean Sprout,” which I’ve never been able to sell since it’s straight-up disturbing.

Have I been writing more stories? Well, yes and no. Short fiction isn’t my favorite medium; although I like reading it, I’m not so fond of writing it. “MathLex” is new. I started a promising work about werewolves, but honestly, I don’t have the bandwidth for it right now, between revising Confluence and job hunting.

I said January 2021 for the release of Confluence; I may have to push it out a little depending on the timing of editorial feedback. Once it’s out, I can write the final book in the trilogy—it’s all laid out in my head, and I’m toying with the idea of writing it during this year’s NaNoWriMo.

The Catalyst is on hold for now, although it’s completely outlined. I’m not worried about that one. I just don’t want to pull a George R. R. Martin or Patrick Rothfuss on y’all, or leave you with an unfinished trilogy if I should get the ‘Rona or my head explodes from all the stress.

He only teases you because he loves you.

By Henry Söderlund – Pre-Hugo Portraiture is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

I tend to work better if I have something to work around. Like a job.

And may I just say that if a person goes to all the trouble to prepare for an interview, i.e. looking up the company website and info, setting up a nice space, dressing up, logging into Zoom, etc. etc., they at least deserve a rejection email. If you ghost me, you go on my shit list. FOREVER. And no, an email a month after the date you told me you wanted someone to start doesn’t count.

In the meantime, I’d better get back to it. There is no rest for the self-employed, and that includes writers, who don’t get paid until we actually finish the work. In between bouts of app-centered self care, that is.