Updates: Why I’m Not Doing NaNoWriMo This Year

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.

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

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.

Confluence is Here!

As you can see from the bafflingly large (?! wtf WordPress) thumbnail in the sidebar on my homepage, Confluence is out!

Click on the picture to go straight to its Amazon page or visit boomkaartbooks.com/books. Tunerville is also on sale through Friday, September 17, just in case you haven’t read it yet (ebook only).

It’s just the ebook right now—a paperback is coming but not until I go through a proof copy. The preview looked okay, but you never know.

You can watch the trailer below. I have better software now and I think it turned out pretty good. I’m not happy with this being the thumbnail, but YouTube wouldn’t pull one from the first bit, so poo on them; it’s their fault. Neener neener!

I’m not sure what I’m going to do next. My conlang needs a LOT of work, and I want to write something else. I promised to finish this trilogy (and I will!). NaNoWriMo is coming up, but in my current situation, I don’t think I’m in the best place mentally to do it, unless I find a job and a place before then.

Y’all have no idea how bad this is. Really. The system is so broken. You can’t get a job unless you already have one, because if you don’t have one you’re not a desirable employee? I mean, what is that? Why would I need a job if I already have one?

I just need someone to give me a chance. :'( My creativity has taken a hit. All I can do is my best. I hope you enjoy the new book.

Confluence Cover Reveal!

Behold, the cover for Confluence, Book 2 of the Tuner Trilogy!

If you follow me on Twitter at @DameWritesalot or at @BoomkaartBooks, now you know why I kept tagging it with a hole, haha.

There will be a paperback, a bit later but the e-book is imminent. I need time to order a proof copy of the PB to make sure everything prints properly. I did not do that with The Shiny Folk and was disappointed, but oh well, no one is buying that anyway. Anyway, my beta and hard-copy edits are done. Layout is done. The paperback cover is done—I can’t usually do that until I know how many pages it will be, since I have to use a template.

I am nervous, y’all. Ner. Vous. Even though I’ve done this twice now, I’m always scared I messed something up. But I can fix it. I have that power.

No sword, though. Alas.

Also, I think WordPress has jacked up their editor again. I can’t see headings now. They’re trying to force me to pay to upgrade and that is NOT going to happen. It can’t; I still do not have a day job.

I will make another announcement when the e-book goes live on Amazon. See you then!

Confluence: We’re in the Home Stretch Now

Greetings, programs!

Image: Disney / twincitiesgeek.com

Betas are finished. Feedback is good. I have printed, hole-punched, and bindered my hard copy. The latter involved digging through my storage unit for the office box that contained my hole punch and manuscript binder. You see, I packed them, because I assumed I would be in my own apartment and UN-packed by the time I needed them again, but as we all know, the ‘rona is still borking everything up.

At least I think it’s the ‘rona. It could just be me. :P

LOOKY LOOKY, IT’S MY BOOKY

Photo: Elizabeth West

Don’t pay any attention to the word count; it’s not final.

At any rate, we’re rounding third base and headed toward home now. I recently finished the book trailer for Confluence and I cannot WAIT to show it to you. You’ll get it when the book goes on pre-order. I have better software. It’s so good I can’t stop watching it.

In fact, it’s so much better than the other one that I actually redid and replaced the second Tunerville book trailer. It’s exactly the same; it just plays and looks much smoother overall. Since that video is linked to my portfolio, I decided I’d rather have a better-quality version, instead of the one I made in PowerPoint. Embarrassing!

The next thing you’ll get from me is probably a cover reveal. I will do that before I drop the trailer. Now to make the inside as spiffy as the rest of my materials, haha.

If I can stay off Iceland’s Geldingadalir volcano feeds, that is. I may be slightly obsessed with this thing. But can you blame me?