This month’s progress report deals with a lot of change – which will affect my abilities as an indie author to a degree. Hopefully, the good will outweigh the bad.
Writing Progress Report
I did finish writing the little West and Jeko story, clocking in 200 words below the word limit. It still needs to be edited and proofread before I can send it off to the anthology. Wish me luck!
I’m also writing Moon – very slowly – and started writing a little more for Wolves 10. Right now, I just have to put both main characters into the same town, which is fun because both are not there when the story starts.
Having said that, writing is still difficult for me, mostly because too many people in power in this world insist on being assholes. I can’t turn a blind eye to what is happening to my friends in other countries. This is one world – and the only one we have.
Thing is, I need to feel safe, in order to be able to lose myself in writing a tale, and I am feeling steadily less safe right now. It’s more anxiety than fear – objectively, I’m not in any direct danger right now – but that jittery anticipation of a future crash is getting stronger.
I’m doing my best to write anyway, but it is slow going.
Winds and Pillars Progress Report
Yes, I am writing Moon Rises. I just added a scene with quite a bit of historical background. Eventually, I do want to write a prequel that shows how precisely the Veil came into existence. It’s not a happy tale, to be honest, but I think I can spin it. When the time is right.
Right now, Moon is on her way again, heading into a little adventure that will be great fun to write. And once I get her to West Harbor, things will really move into fun territory.
Yes, I’m also setting up points for the final book, Spirit Sings. That’ll be different because all former main characters will get chapters in it. It will be a bit of a challenge telling a story from eight sets of eyes, but hey… we grow through challenge, right?
Wolves Progress Report
The other day, I just couldn’t resist and wrote a few hundred words introducing Ellie, the second main character of Wolves 10 (really, seriously cannot believe I’m writing book 10 in this series!). You already know Timothy from Book 9, so he’s somewhat established.
Ellie appeared first in Book 9, as well, she is one of the three young wolves being trained by Connor, but she didn’t get much screentime. In book 10 she’ll come into her own, and I am very much looking forward to that.
However, Moon of the Winds & Pillars takes precedence, so I cannot say how soon I’ll be writing Wolves 10 with full speed. Even worse, the tale still has no title. (Feel free to suggest something in a comment.)
Goblins Progress Report
I went and created a cover for the second book in the series, A Druid’s Choice. That has actually spurred me to start editing the tale (by letting LibreOffice read the text to me). It’ll take a while, it’s more work because I dropped a few plot lines along the way – which I’ll need to fix.
The tale includes all the heroes from book 1, and their adversary, the Druid Lynnis. Something is wrong in Oxbridge, and only by working together, our heroes can fight the evil trying to find a roost in town.
Still, I can show you the cover. And I really hope I can find the energy to get it all done for a February release. March, at the worst. Once again, wish me luck!
And hey, why not read book 1 while I work on book 2? Grab A Goblin’s Plight HERE.
Twin Worlds Progress Report
Not much to say, to be honest. Sales have been incredibly disappointing.
I need to sit down and finish Book 2, but I’m struggling with motivation. Truth be told, both the Winds & Pillars and the Wolves take precedence, since those series generate money I need for marketing and covers.
I love the Twin Worlds. I love the world, I love my characters, sweet Sara, earnest Crash, capricious Judy and difficult Krighen. They are all struggling to do their best and save their worlds, and yes, they are having more adventures. But I also need to keep an eye on the market, and the market says, this is a hobby series for now.
Even so, if you want to learn more about the Twin Worlds, try out Steps of Courage. It does wind up most plot lines at the end, rather than having a cliffhanger – in other words, it’s safe to read, even if the sequel is not available yet. And it’s quite a chonker of a book, double than what I usually write, so it has plenty of entertainment.
Life Progress Report
As I mentioned last month, I shut down my publishing business and will continue on as a freelance author. This is a big distinction tax-wise – and it mostly removes the anxiety I had about not ending up with a profit at the end of the year.
That’s also still up in the air for 2025, which had a very weak fourth quarter, with sales just fading away. I actually made less in 2025 than I did in 2024, despite having published six new books.
In contrast, January 2026 has started fairly strong, and I hope it continues that way. I don’t expect it to, I stopped using Amazon Ads this month and I know that’ll have a huge (negative) influence on my sales. But I’m no longer willing to throw money at a corporation that actively harms indie authors (Melinda’s tale and Lilith’s story) and supports fascism.
So yeah, if you want to support indies and buy directly from us, check out my brand new (and very incomplete) listing of indie author stores: The Buy Direct Directory.
Alternatively, head to the PayHip Marketplace for books and see if your favorite authors sell through there. However, this is just one option for direct sales, and many indies use other store software. Please, look around, search the web and be a little proactive for your authors. These days, this amounts to rebellion. Thank you. (Btw, you can read books on your Kindle that you have bought elsewhere. Here’s a How-To.)
Ember Progress Report
Ember is such a dear – but I will say it’s harder and harder to write these tiny, light-hearted stories. The gloom affecting me is also having an impact on my creativity.
Even so, I’ll come up with something new, I always do. However, you’ll only ever read the Ember Tales in my newsletter, they won’t appear anywhere else.
Along with that, you’ll get writing news, a sale for my store, as well as more opportunities to snag books on sales.
Deal? Sign up below!
