Tris Talks... December newsletter!
Hello, and welcome not just to the last day of the month, but the last day of the year. Wow, where has 2024 gone?
It both seems as if this year has been too short, and too long, all at once. I was asked what I was proud of from this year, and I almost forgot to list publishing Finding Their Roots as an accomplishment, because it seems so long ago that it was released to the world.
I don’t yet have a great review of the year—I should be working on that. In terms of goals and objectives, I accomplished some things, and failed on others. Some of them were beyond my control, and some of them were purely psychological failures. I also learned quite a bit about how my brain functions, and I hope to push past some of the blockages, or at least, do an end-run around them.
I am sitting here in my sunroom, where it is toasty warm from both the fireplace and the January sun beating down on it while the weather nears 50F outside (so wrong for New York state this time of year), and I am reflecting on where I am—plus where I’ve been, and where I’m going. So this newsletter may be a bit different format this month.
I didn’t get a lot of new writing done in 2024, but I did a lot of editing. I’ve been through rounds on Missed Fortunes and Into the Split, and am back for a second round on ITS now. I also learned how to edit by a complete rewrite, and applied that to a short story—A Bright and Clouded Future—which I rewrote, submitted to an anthology, and sold.
I’ve thought a lot about how I track my progress. Everyone here knows about my word tracking spreadsheet—I used to live and die by that sheet. I’d open it, make my notes in it, watch my progress grow. Then… I started editing and promoting (er, sort of) more than writing, and the spreadsheet wasn’t fun anymore. Even tracking time didn’t give me that same sense of forward motion.
So this year I’m switching up how I track editing, and how I maintain my stats, and will probably be making some heavy changes to the spreadsheet along the way (look for those when I release a new one in December 2025).
I’ve toyed with the idea of producing a physical writing journal based on how I track things, for those who like to have a journal, but… there’s this time thing I do not have, and would require in order to do that!
I’ve worked hard to get back into the habit of regular crafting. Mostly my knitting, finishing up some projects which have lingered. I completed five projects this year, but two of them were ones I had started in November of 2022 (one finished in March, the other in November). I completed my first garment! It’s a tank top, and I love it. I still have several projects in motion at once, as is typical, but I’m doing better about keeping moving on them. Oh yes, if you’re on Ravelry and care to follow me, I am tryslora there (as always, I am consistent).
For my annual planning, I’ve made two changes. I still have goals & objectives for the year (I’ll get around to doing a blog post for those on January 1st, as usual), but I am breaking down more tangible, immediate quarterly goals to help me advance toward the larger goals. The other change is that today I did a Tarot reading for the year. It’s the first one I’ve done for myself (not for fiction or gaming) in… a long time. Thank you to Alec for the inspiration! It was one card per month (I used the Cosmic Tarot), and on the first of each month I’ll do an additional pull from a different deck (the Robin Wood Tarot) for clarification and/or changes that may have happened.
If you’re curious, the card for January was Death. Epic change is coming. This deck has always been a little too on-point, and that doesn’t seem to be any different now.
Oh, I almost forgot: I am also working on getting my photography up and out there for purchase online, or at markets, so I can start selling books and cards/etc. and be able to not have a nearly empty table. I want lots of things to draw people in!
Things available online now…
I don’t have anything new to tell you about, but there are existing things online, both books and short stories (singles, or anthologies), plus my existing shops for photos/etc. If you do happen to buy/read, please consider leaving a review and/or rating! Every little bit helps.
Some sidenotes: FTR will be available in wider distribution in paperback this quarter, and CttK will be available in print from DPP after February. There are POD versions of Y!AQ, but they are not on the books2read link.
Finding Their Roots released in May 2024 and is available from several locations in ebook and print.
Commit to the Kick is available as an ebook from Duck Prints Press.
Other short stories and anthologies I am in are available from Duck Prints Press.
My short story “A Bright and Clouded Future” appears in Yay! All Queer from Inkd Publishing which is available in ebook from various locations.
My short story “Wordplay” appears in Game On! from Zombies Need Brains, available from various locations.
If you are looking for art, I have shops on both RedBubble and Society6 (yep, again, I’m tryslora). Both of those shops will be changing this year as I work through my photos and work on additional word art.
Goals for the quarter and year…
After all that, you are probably wondering what I’m actually working on.
I’m deep in the edits for ITS right now. I did a major rewrite, so now we are in first-round edits for publication. Because the book is so long (they all are), it’s taking longer than expected, so we’ve revised the publication schedule.
Missed Fortunes will be up for pre-order on the Duck Prints Press site in February. You’ll be able to get Commit to the Kick then, too, if you don’t already have a copy. We will be doing a Kickstarter for the full trilogy (or just Into the Split, if that’s the only one you need by then) in late summer.
So right now, I’ll be getting that first round of edits done on ITS, then we’ll focus on getting MF finished and out the door. Then back to ITS and merch for the Kickstarter (we have some very cool merch planned, at least in my opinion!).
Writing-wise, I am moving forward on both the second 7Lakes book, and the new PHU book.
This is all A Lot. It takes time. Which I frankly need more of. I continue to daydream about retirement, and worry that in the world as it is changing, I won’t get to have that as planned in a few years.
ANYWAY…
takes a deep breath
So. Yeah. It’s been a lot, and that isn’t even getting into all the personal things. I traveled quite a bit in 2024, and I have a few trips planned in 2025 (including a vacation centered around my son’s graduation from college/grad school). My next convention will be Boskone in February, and I hope to have several conventions on the schedule in 2025.
I’m going to leave you with wishes for the best and brightest of new years. May we all weather the chaos, and may we band together against the rising tide of what is to come. I hate the darkness, but I am trying to keep my eyes on the light at the end of the tunnel.
If you’re curious to see snippets as I work, all levels of my Patreon are treated to early chapters of PHU when it is posting, as well as behind-the-scenes looks at works in progress.
And find me on social media if you want to chit-chat or just hear me natter on about life, writing, and fandom. I’m tryslora everywhere!
Thank you for reading Tris Talks...!
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