New Links and Other Fun Stuff

Okay, so Bookshop.org finally has my e-books listed in one handy page: over yonder, please, for the main page. Use the filter to get to the format of your choice. 

Again, these pages will take you to the online store fronts of small, indie bookstores, which I hope more and more people will support. 

I've hit my stride with The Shadow Groom and am back to the same mental place where I lost myself when I was working on The Twilight Lover, but rather than turn to Blackadder for my inspiration this time around, we're looking at -- of all things -- KPop Demon Hunters (a Netflix film). At its core, it has a real bonkers premise that's also bolstered by a crap ton of ridiculous moments, and I'm here for it. But it also does a terrific job exploring issues of shame and self-loathing without (from what I can see from scattered clips online, that is) undermining those issues with all the color and frenetic movement of a lot of scenes.

And the songs don't help (I mean that in a good way, of course). 

Ironically, I no longer have a Netflix subscription, but I might just re-up for a month if only to watch this movie as well as a couple more that's in their catalogue. I only know about this film through Youtube's algorithms because I've been watching reaction videos to Oscar nominated films, and YT decided to dump a bunch of reaction videos to different clips and songs from KPDH. 

I clicked on one. Then another. Then another. 

Now I can safely say I will be referencing this movie a lot in the future gallery page for The Shadow Groom. Why? Because I'm eating up all the absurdity and the color and the fun vibes of KPDH and using them for inspiration to keep my energy levels up as I power through the chapters. I'm currently hitting the 10K-word mark, and it's been such a fun ride so far. 

And if fans of the film and its soundtrack were to ask, I'm putting the two most subversive songs performed by the the antagonists at the top of my favorites. I mean, come on -- these are great villain songs, one couched in pure bubblegum pop packed with double entendres, the other pretty much being all out on sucking up people's souls. 

I mean...

Damn, "Soda Pop" is so catchy though "Your Idol" is No. 1 with its creepy visuals and its haunting melody (or haunting EVERYTHING about it -- just *chef's kiss*). At any rate, I'm posting these two here so I can go back to them down the line when the time comes.

As an addendum, I'm going to be offering a sale in March, and by that I mean it's in tandem with the release of Doppelgänger, so do watch this space. 

D2D and Bookshop.Org (Yay, Expansion!) -- Also a Writing Update

The most recent news in indie publishing involves Draft2Digital partnering with Bookshop.org for distribution of indie e-books via independent bookstores. 

😄

That means readers can now buy books by self-published writers (who use Draft2Digital) from small, independent bookstores -- not only in print formats, but in digital as well. My print books, for instance, are already listed on Bookshop.org, and I made sure to use that link for my main print store on my navigation menu here and at my Payhip store. 

And now I happily submitted all 49 books on my backlist to Bookshop .org for their digital storefront. And this means readers don't have to go to the bigger and more corporate stores like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Walmart, etc., for their books in either format.

If I were to limit my reach, I'd delist my books from the big stores and stick to this one, Smashwords, and my Payhip store. Libraries are also a no-brainer. This is something to think about down the line if I want to do some major spring cleaning, especially if my sales channels tend to number less than five despite the ever-widening distribution Draft2Digital is determined to go for (and kudos to them for being aggressive about it).

In writing news, I've already detached myself from Doppelgänger and have begun putting together the character and place list for The Shadow Groom. I already have the first chapter mapped out in my head (and my notebook), and I'll be diving into that tomorrow. Normally I'd be worried about pacing myself, but with my new work schedule, I can breathe more easily, and it'll be no problem catching up on the brief lag with my occasional extra days off. 

The book will be like The Twilight Lover in tone and setting in that it'll be a romantic comedy set in a fairy tale-ish place. I'm also leaning pretty heavily on trope reversals so that the more traditional family unit is bizarre and wild while the more eclectic family unit is more prim and conservative. So we're going to be back to having fun with family dynamics and how they influence our lovebirds. 

So yeah -- first step done, tomorrow will be devoted to the first chapter and Errol's family.  

 

'Doppelgänger' Gallery Page Now Up

Just a quick post here, ladies and gents -- the gallery page for Doppelgänger is now live. However, there are no links to the bookstores yet because the book might be uploaded for preview and pre-order purposes, but the final version is still being worked on. 

So head on down to this page for some tidbits on the book.  

'Doppelgänger' Blurb

Oooh, man, I'm so excited about this book. Now granted it started out completely different, but that version of the book hit a brick wall, and I just had to set it aside and start from square one. And let me tell you all, it was the right decision to make.

And as I continue to work on edits now (revisions are done), I guess it's time to share the book blurb:

An impoverished young teacher loses his job when the informal ragged school where he works shuts down. A much-needed stroke of luck, however, brightens Alec Herridge’s prospects when he stumbles across a frame-maker’s shop and is offered a job. This puts him squarely in the path of an enigmatic and wealthy family from France—expatriates whom gossips whisper about. Something, they say, has followed mother and son to England, and day servants complain about a heaviness in the air whenever the family is at home. 

It’s a dark energy that turns its attention to Alec now that his new job requires him to work closely with Marguerite and Théo LaSalle. It also appears to him as a silent lookalike of Théo, its presence marked by whispers in a child’s voice. Urging, pleading, desperately reaching out to Alec for help.

Folklore defines doppelgängers as heralds of ill fortune, but Alec soon discovers there’s much more to Théo’s double than a warning. That whatever horrible secrets the LaSalle family believes were left behind in France aren’t the kind so easily explained away. That something has, indeed, followed them in exile and now refuses to be ignored or forgotten.

I was originally planning to have it out in April or May when I still had the six-month calendar to work with. But with my day job schedule changing (and it starts this week), I find I'll have just the perfect amount of wiggle room to continue with the more challenging 4-month release dates.

This book's release will now be on March 1 -- not a lot of time left, but that's because of the problems I had that required me to start over. Plus I did take nearly a full month's break as well during the holidays to rest the brain cells. So it's going to be a tight final stretch, but I can do it. My energy levels and motivation are very high this month, and it's going to work out. 

And, you know, this turned out to be a book that ended up being very close to my heart. I've also said this about some of the books on my backlist before, but while I'm proud of everything I've written and published, this is one of the select few that really, truly felt good working on because everything in it means something to me.

Anyway, there's the blurb, and I'll be posting more updates on the book as we get closer to the release date.  

Grabbing the Bull by the Horns

Idioms aside, that's just me making a liar out of myself. I spent the past couple of weeks thinking -- and overthinking -- my future releases given changes taking place at the day job and other situations in the real world. And you know what? Fuck the noise. I'm doing this. Now that it's possible, yeah -- I'm doing this.

But firstly, I made a formal commitment (to myself, anyway) to move forward with the overhaul to Eidolon, which is now called Liminal Child. I'll be tackling that last, but it's officially part of my queue now. 

And I have a cover (why, yes, my name partly disappears again, but I love the image, and I'm keeping it), in which I recycle the hand print that was on the alternate cover for Valérian:

I'm going to hold on to the first five or six chapters with a lot of tweaks worked in. The PoV will shift from Emerick to his two fathers, and the setting will be some amorphous place that's similar to what I originally used in the Curiosities series. I'm going to try to keep things fairly close to the first incarnation of the book with more of a dark fairy tale aesthetic -- which was, to be fair, what the entire Curiosities series was all about. 

I'll figure out the details when I get there, but I do know how to approach the changes overall.

And secondly, bringing us back to the post title, let me repeat myself: fuck the noise. I'm doing it. And that's in reference to the calendar again now that I'm going to be getting some extra time for writing (official confirmation's been done). In brief, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to go back to the old 4-month calendar. I managed to do that for a few years with a heavy load at the day job, even shifting releases earlier here and there because things went either smoothly or badly enough for me to finish earlier or later than planned. But things are going to change starting February, and I refuse to be at loose ends on the writing front as it's one sure-fire way of driving me crazy.

So this is for 2026 (click the image for a closer look):

And this is for 2027 (ditto):

I do like to keep mentally busy on my extra days off, and that's not counting just kicking back and reading whatever book I've checked out from the library. I want to write, and I love every minute of it despite the excruciating nature of creation. I also work best with a set schedule to guide my pace, and the coming year or two will see an easing of the pressure as well in spite of the reversal to the 4-month plan.

Over the years, I was more like a steady workhorse with my writing. This year feels a little different even though we barely started the second half of the first month of 2026. I feel oddly lighter despite what I'm seeing around me (real world-wise, that is), and I want to take that energy and motivation and run with them. 

I'd like to be not so much a steady workhorse this time around, but an aggressive and steady workhorse. An odd combo, but there it is. That's my aim. I want it, and I'm going for it. Part of it has to do with my Payhip store and my second attempt at selling direct to readers. I wasn't too sure in my first attempt and was easily discouraged by it (plus I was on social media, too, which didn't help my efforts), but with all the changes I've discussed pertaining to Draft2Digital's policies, I don't want to be passive about stuff. It was good while it lasted, but if things change, I have to pivot accordingly if I want to keep doing what I'm doing and benefit from it, no matter how little.

So, yeah -- I'm going for it. God help me, I am. 😈

P.S. I'll updating my Book News page later this week to reflect this change.