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.

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!

Confluence is Here!

Posted on September 13, 2021 by A. Elizabeth West

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!

Posted on September 11, 2021 by A. Elizabeth West

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.

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

Posted on August 28, 2021 by A. Elizabeth West

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

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?

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.

JanNoWriMo 2021 – Day 1

Posted on January 1, 2021 by A. Elizabeth West

I just realized I forgot ALL ABOUT THIS (see previous post, the Bad section).

My progress will be slow due to the need to study for that exam. But I just opened a new project in my SmartEdit Writer program, and I have 1,961 words already, mostly from jotting down bits of scenes and dialogue here and there.

Plus, I also wrote some that I thought about putting in Confluence but realized they’d fit better in a third book, and I saved them. I wasn’t going to give myself a word count target; however, the program has set it up at 20,000.

Hey wait a minute, I have 1,961 words already, I SWEAR.

That gives me a 645-word target per day. I can probably manage that. Even if I get behind, I should be able to catch up. A good writing session for me can hit 2,000-plus words easily.

This one’s going to take a while, folks. I don’t have a title for Book 3 yet, but we’re off and running! I’ve dropped a small meter in the sidebar at the right of the home page. I’ll post weekly updates (not daily) because I’m busy.

The Difficult Middle Bit

Posted on October 3, 2020 by A. Elizabeth West

Confluence is off to my editor! It toddled out of my computer on September 26, as a very rough second draft.

Image by Comfreak from Pixabay

This book series completely ignores what is going on in the world today, because it has to. I wrote Tunerville before tRumpledneckskin and COVID, and it would wreck everything if I tried to shoehorn in either of them. So I made an executive decision to leave it out. Plus, you don’t have to think about either of those things while reading it.

I sent it off early because I wanted to avoid the issue I had with the last book. By the time I found someone to do a really thorough edit, I’d done so much polishing I almost had to tear it down and rebuild it. This time, it’s rather loose, so I can shuffle things around more easily.

Writing a book is tough. Writing the second book in a trilogy is even tougher. I didn’t start out intending for Tunerville to have a sequel, but here we are. A middle book has to bridge the gap between the first book and the last and still hold up on its own.

I got some great advice from the writers on the podcast WRITERS/BLOCKBUSTERS. Although it’s a screenwriting podcast, I learn something about storytelling every time I listen. They talked at length about this in their Infinity War episode. Both this film and The Empire Strikes Back were complete stories in themselves. That is, characters had definite arcs and those arcs had resolutions, even as they led into their respective sequels.

Infinity War pulled all the threads of the MCU together and propelled us to the majestic ending in Endgame. Nobody here is getting snapped, but I drew something out of Tunerville and some shit is going down.

The ghost tuner opened up a can of worms for the characters. They’re suffering through it, and it isn’t their fault. They’re facing some strange and terrible things. But I hope they’ll find the strength they never knew they had.

Stay tuned for updates; you can follow me and my press, Boomkaart Books, on social media. I’m on Instagram but as it’s primarily a platform for pics and video, I don’t have much to post there. Nobody wants to see the four walls I stare at every day.

Once I’m out of this dungeon, that will likely change; I want to produce some video and audio content, but I can’t alter this space and my family member seems to be on a remodeling kick (yes, in the middle of a damn pandemic!). The noise level and inability to set up recording space have curtailed that for now.

Back to worldbuilding; have a good weekend and be safe. Wear the damn mask!