Hello, Dear reader who is jumping into 2023 with both feet,
Above, you see the fullspread hardcover of Arcove's Bright Side. These books turned out very pretty. I've seen and approved a physical copy, and the stock order should reach me in about a week. It's still a "pre-order" in my store, because I don't have the books in hands yet, but I should have them quite soon. Apart from that, nearly everything is back in stock in my signed paper store, so if you were waiting, have at it.
Regarding paper books: just a reminder that they are all on the Zon, and that's the simplest way to get them. The ones that come from me are signed and necessarily involve double shipping (to me, then you).
What Have I Been Doing So Far in 2023?
I spent the first two weeks of the year doing anesthesia in rural Arizona, where I proceeded to get incredibly sick (I had RSV over the holidays, but thought I was well). There's nothing quite like needing a "translator" to pre-op a 95 year old patient who simply cannot hear your croaking whisper. Thank goodness for urgent care (turns out, I had no viral infection left, just pneumonia). I'm better now. If you want to listen to me natter on about such adventures, I post audio updates at the $3 level on my Patreon.
In spite of that little speedbump, I've been writing every day. I finished the Dazzle story (called The Truth). It's a 30,000 word novella, and it's currently at the $5 level of the Patreon, along with all the other pieces of what will be published as "Legacy" (Hunters Book 5). I've got one more piece to write - a short story about Storm and Teek post-Bright Side.
More good news for Abigail Hilton fans - We've begun work on Cormorant audio (Pirates of Wefrivain Book 5)! Sadly, Lauren is not going to be able to do this one. She has had a bunch of life events, and after some agonizing, she bowed out of the project. So Rish is going to record the whole book. Some of you will like that, and some of you won't, but it is what it is. Honestly, a single narrator is easier for me as producer. Coordinating two narrators, so that voices and accents are consistent, is more work than most people realize. I probably will not set myself up for the double narrator situation again.
However, if you love Lauren's narration, take heart. I expect to add a book or two to the Incubus series this year, and I've got a Christmas Werewolf story with female POV that she would be perfect for. She read the first few chapters and was excited, so you will hear from her again.
I've also been working hard to get my head around video socials, and it's starting to pay off. I had my first viral Tiktok vid (not hugely viral, but it met the criteria). As I type this, it's getting close to 10K views. Go here if you want to see it.
That video is actually for Hunters! This surprised me. No surprise that The Knight and the Necromancer is my second most popular video subject.
When I first got on that platform, I was experiencing some analysis paralysis. There were too many things I could do, and I also don't like talking into a camera. I finally settled on little 8-15 second videos of the books themselves with funny or catchy tag lines over top. This seems to work and doesn't eat up my whole day, so that's what I've been doing. I will sometimes reply to questions with face videos, so if you want me to talk directly to you, that might do it. I've also been considering fan art reaction videos, but haven't actually made any yet.
If you follow me on insta, you have probably noticed these little promo vids rolling across. That's because I use a service that automatically cross-posts them. They also auto-post to youtube, so if you prefer that platform, you can see what I'm doing over there.
I hope your year is off to a good start. If you missed my New Year's post, you can still view it here, along with Christmas pics of Taro and Mochi.
Yours, An Author who has already finished one novella in 2023,
Abbie