This is the voice I hear in my head each time I think about updating this blog, the sweet, angry, concerned, demanding voice of Miss Molly Weasley. And really, that would be fair of all of you to scream at me. I kind of disappeared for a good few months and for that, I apologize. Much has happened since my last update, some of it good, a lot of it not, and it’s kept me silent for quite some time. This is my attempt at a brief explanation and getting back into the swing of things.
Personal Crap
I say crap but not all of it has been crap. We’ll start with that anyway because it’s good to end on something that is better than crap. Near the beginning of the year, we found out my mother has Adenocarcinoma, which is stage 3 lung cancer. What seemed like pneumonia over Christmas was actually something much worse. She’s getting nontraditional treatments that seem to be working for her and will soon be tested to see where things are at. Just a week ago, my dad had a severe stroke. He’s having trouble speaking and has issues with his right side, but he’s committed to working hard in rehab and make the lifestyle changes he needs to in order to live a healthier life when he gets home. There have been other personal issues going on that have been consuming as well, but I’m not going to go into them. I’ve been struggling a lot with depression and anxiety and have often isolated myself. It’s just not been a great year so far.
One of the bright spots in my life has been a new relationship. But it’s also been time consuming (though in the best possible way). I’m also working on a project for AoV that takes up a lot of my time and brain power, and I cannot wait to share it with you. Which is a perfect lead-in to…
Writing Crap
I know a lot of you are still anxiously awaiting the release of book four. I’m itching to get it to you! Unfortunately I lost my editor over the fall which has been a major setback. Though I’ve been looking for someone new, my funds are rather limited and not everyone wants to work for free - nor should they. So I’m doing my best to self-edit and am currently on draft one-hundred-billion-point-2, trying to make it as close to perfect as possible. Thankfully my editor taught me a lot in the way she went through my previous books, showing me things to watch out for and helping me pick up on things that need to be considered. Once I’m done with this draft I will be sending it out to two or three beta readers, likely do yet another draft or two, maybe do another beta read and one more draft, and then I intend to publish it myself.
But Diana, you said you weren’t self-publishing anymore!!!!!!
I did say that, yes. My plan was to pursue traditional publishing, thus the reason for taking my books offline. My thoughts on that have changed over the course of my two weekends at the New Hampshire Renaissance Faire. I spoke to quite a few fellow authors and aspiring authors who shared their journeys of publishing with me. Two of them worked at bigger publishing houses before branching off to start their own. At their advisement (and that of my unfairly smart boyfriend), I’m going to keep on this road with AoV. Anything else I write that is outside of this series, that is what I need to seek traditional publishing for. No one will look at my books because they’ve been self published, and I understand why. But if I can make a name for myself with something else, attention will then fall to my series and a publishing deal is more likely to happen. So the books are back on Amazon for purchase, and this time next year, this is my promise, I will have Age of Valor: Blood Purge ready for all of you to get your hands on.
At this time I would like to point your attention to my Patreon! It’s a bit outdated as far as goals and subscription tiers go, but that will be fixed this week. Subscribers will be able to see cover art sketches and the actual covers before they are released to the public. You’ll get news about the super secret project. You’ll get to vote in polls that could have an impact on plot lines and possibly even help me shape a character or two. You’ll even get snippets of works in progress, and much more.
So, with all of that having been said, thank you for your continued support. I’m going to make a real effort to keep up with all of you a lot more from now on.