For me, this pic from Valhem fits this month’s progress report perfectly. You see, my char is in the Plains (the last mid-level biome), and here, we have a special location, a real prize – the Sealed Tower. It’s a hard nut to crack, but you get nice rewards from it. And with patience and perseverance, I cracked it.
This month, I had a hard nut to crack in real life, and the reward is the new book that I officially release today. More in just a moment.
Writing Progress Report
Writing has been interrupted constantly this month, by family meetings, functions and travel. As I write this, my sister is visiting. Family is welcome – I do love them! – but my writing always suffers when my routines get interrupted.
Having said that, July has been the month with the most new words for the entire year, I cracked 20k and finished writing Wolf book #9. I even started diving into the Winds & Pillars book 8, so there’s that.
Currently, however, I’m stalled out again. I do hope I can reach 20k once more at the end of August. Wish me luck.
Wolves Progress Report
Lucky’s book is out! A Wolf’s Mate, Wolves of the South Book 9 is done and up in all stores!
Let me tell you how relieved I am. This story was a bit difficult to figure out, but my mastermind buddy handed me the key idea a few weeks ago, and then it got easy. Writing the final chapters with the fast and furious showdown was great fun.
Getting the cover was much more difficult, Fiverr is giving me problems ordering from my usual designer (this is the nut I mentioned above). I finally did get my order through – and then I had to ask them to replace the model for Lucky because the first version really didn’t fit. No hacker will wear a silly blue/white checkered lumberjack jacket. Ahem.
I can live with this one (not quite as cute as I imagine Lucky, but good enough). Heather was fine, I think her model is a good fit. She’s generally cheerful, even though she has quite a few problems herself.
If you want to take a look, check out the book in my store.
The best part of finally finishing this book? Timothy turning out very different from what Heather expected – so different that he is now the male MC for Wolves #10, which has the working title A Wolf’s Courage. Can’t wait to write it, but for now, the Winds & Pillars get their turn.
Winds & Pillars Progress Report
Yes, I’m finally writing Moon’s story. I got her out of the Sacred Square and into the city. She’s in a fairly safe place right now (no spoilers), but she can’t stay there. I want to send her to West Harbor (won’t be a simple journey), and from there, her new, big adventure will take off.
*rubs hands and cackles*
I am looking forward to writing her. However, I probably can’t publish the book before January 2026, because financing the cover is a problem. (More about that further down.)
Twin Worlds Progress Report
Still posting the story, but we’re getting closer to the end (and the part where I have to shift chapters and fix what remains). For now, it’ll stay on AO3. Their rules state I have to take it down before I can publish it as an ebook, but I’m pushing that into 2026, as well.
If you haven’t taken a look yet, here’s a link for you: Steps of Courage, Mages of the Twin Worlds’ Book 1
LitRPG Progress Report
Nothing new, really, except that I’m planning to publish Goblin Invasion in fall this year, probably in late November, to try to hit the Christmas sales.
This book is probably the one closest to “classic fantasy” that I have written, and I hope I might reach more readers with it.
In good news, there are two more novels practically done for the series, as well as a short story and a prequel. You’ll have to make do with home-made covers like this one, however.
If you like D&D, this book is probably for you.
Life Progress Report
I’m doing fairly well, although I am now definitely craving a few months of boring routine. My brain wants routine and structure, and I’m not getting that right now.
I also want more sleep, and since summer is nearing its end and the days are getting noticeably shorter, sleeping is getting easier. (I will say I do not want summer to end, those long evenings are wonderful.)
In other news, I turned 60 last month, and while I feel no different, that number seems both a little scary and utterly untrue. How in the world can I be this old? Time waits for no-one, though, and I guess it’s just been so long since I entered life on Earth.
The good thing is that I’m starting to care even less about appearances and expectations – it is so much more fun to just live my life the way I want it.
Publishing House Progress Report
I did a lot of thinking, a lot of math, and I will shut down my publishing house, as an official business, by the end of the year. I plan to keep the name, but will continue my indie author career as a hobby, at least officially.
It feels like failure, in a way. But:
I’m not selling a lot of books, and what I earn barely covers cost. I’m cutting back on marketing, on covers, on even publishing some books, under the pressure of coming out with earnings at the end of the year. It’s a lot of stress.
And honestly, I don’t think the situation will improve for indie authors, not short term. The US is my main market, and we all know that a lot of people there are living in uncertainty, are suffering, and are losing their jobs, their income, if not even their homes. I can already see my sales from there dwindling.
AI is messing up the book market, as well, both clogging it with stupid AI-“authored” books and pirated copies, as well as marketing algos ruined by the “wisdom” of AI.
It’s getting so that I’m slowly losing the joy of writing, of feeling my creativity suffering, from the constant financial pressure. It’s time to free myself from those constraints and stress.
I hope I can keep my publishing imprint, in name, at least, but I want to be able to write and create with more freedom and more joy. And that is good news, in my eyes.
Ember Progress Report Reminder
Ember wants you to know that she is young and having fun! So much fun, indeed, that I write a little Ember Tale every month for my newsletter subscribers.
(Ember is my small dragon familiar, and she is both cheeky and very cute. Don’t tell her I said that, though.)
My newsletter goes out every 13th of the month, with writing news, book sales and other fun things. I even give you a discount for my store every month!
Sounds good? Sign up below!
