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I actually have quite a few nice things to tell you in this Progress Report. I’m feeling better, I’m writing more – and I actually published another book! Yes, I finally got Earth Splits out, more about that in the Winds and Pillars report section. And there is more news about the Wolves.
In addition, I’m letting you in on some deeper thoughts I’m having that are not necessarily writing related. But I’m a human being living in this world, and I do have thoughts and ideas about that. Humor me, and if you have similar thoughts, feel free to share them with me.
Oh, and in even funnier news, it seems that what I write (hopeful stuff, repressed people rising up, the good guys winning, happy or at least good endings) actually has an overarching genre name: Noblebright.
To be honest, I’m not sure it’s really a good fit. That name makes me think of a Prince on a white horse, and well… Zell is not a prince, although West could be. Right? And Dorelle rides a dragon, so she’s close.
Mindset Progress Report
I’m seriously better. I feel excited about writing again, I’m very happy with the new release and I have finally found a way to deal with my exhaustion. It’s so simple that… it feels silly.
You see, I’m just making sure I sleep more.
It’s not really that easy, though. It does mean I need to consciously do my evening posts in social media earlier. It means no last minute writing, and that in turn means planning writing times earlier in the day. I’m not really good with that yet, but I am doing more morning sprints. Which gets me word count, which in turn makes me feel better.
Yes, I’m trying to turn this into an upward spiral. Here’s hoping.
Winds and Pillars Progress Report
It finally happened! I finally published Earth Splits! It went live on October 8th.
I’m still working on the print edition (it’s coming, very soon), but the ebook is out and available in all stores. I even fixed a very stupid mistake today (thanks to a friend pointing it out to me over on Mastodon), and the new version is live practically everywhere already.
So go and grab it: Earth Splits (pick your favorite store)
There’s even a first review up already for Earth, and it’s a lovely 5-star one. (On Amazon COM, if you want to check it out.)
There is more news. Sky Falls is about 90% done, and I really hope I can get it to you in January. I’m also already writing Sun Burns (50% done), and I know who Moon is, who stars in Moon Rises, obviously.
I even got a really sweet idea for the end of Spirit Sings (Book 9) through a post in my reader group on FB (Hannah’s Dragonriders). There might be a dragon in that universe after all. (*smug grin*)
Wolves Progress Report
Yes, I am having fun writing A Wolf’s Christmas, although I really need to push a little and write faster. At least I do have a nice little plot for Mark and Fred to survive. (Mwuahahahah.)
I’m also basing them in a little town I actually know (and which is close to the location of one plot point I definitely have to hit): Duderstadt.
Yes, yes, I know, who cares? But it really tickles my funny bone to use a location that’s close to my childhood home and that I have visited more than a few times. It’ll take a few rounds with Google Maps to pick a home for them. It’s also a beautiful town with a nice town wall and several really old buildings. The old town hall even has a dungeon.
Even so, it’s quite a switch from the Pillars – most of all because the Wolves are written in first person POV, while the Pillars use third person. I really messed that up in the first chapter and had to rewrite it. And then I threw out the second chapter and wrote something else instead… it’s going well, as you can see.
Life Progress Report
Well, life. The world isn’t getting any better these days, and I am thinking a lot about what needs to be done and what I can contribute.
Simply said, a LOT needs to be done, and I cannot contribute much, to be honest. Not a good feeling.
But – just let me throw this out here, I need to put it somewhere – we really need to find a better way to handle things than blatant capitalism. We need to stop using money as the yardstick for success in everything.
Because… we’re human beings living on a planet filled with many other living beings. We need to put the well-being of ourselves and our environment (including all creatures and plants) first. Our very survival depends on it. This is becoming more and more obvious. And more money in fewer hands definitely is NOT the solution.
But I don’t even have a name for that new paradigm, so how can I talk about it?
The name needs to include that care for all living things, a holistic, all-encompassing need for the well-being of everything and everyone around us. Feel free to comment if you have any idea. (Any comment bashing this idea will be deleted, don’t bother.)
The Ember Not-Popup (not a Progress Report, obviously)
Here we are, at the end of the post, where I encourage you to sign up to my newsletter. Once a month – on the 13th – you get news from me (duh, newsletter), but also awesome opportunities to score more books and the Ember Tale (I should trademark that, right?).
Oh, Ember is my little red dragon plushie. She’s quite spunky and has funny or cute little adventures every month. Ember Tales are exclusive to my newsletter, you cannot get them anywhere else.
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