Tris Talks... Farewell to March
I’m not even sure where to begin.
I feel like this is a theme, as if my newsletters (and check-ins, and blog posts) are a steady stream of excuses lately, rather than joyous discussions of life and writing.
This may be true.
I feel like this is very ADHD of me, to say that time got away from me. That I’m not exactly sure how we’re here, at the end of March, and I’m wondering where the days went.
This is also probably true.
I did have a lot of life things going on, some bad, some good. On the good side, my daughter and attacked the cleaning of the basement side of my basement (as opposed to the finished side) which used to be a combination tool area for my husband, and a craft area for my kids. We went through a LOT of stuff, until we ran out of room in the trash bin outside. We were pleasantly surprised by not finding rodents and how clean things were, albeit very dusty. She was pleased with me for sorting things properly and tossing things that needed to be tossed.
I still have quite a bit of laundry to do for things that weren’t packed properly. I also have to order some new shelving, tear out a “closet” that is useless in that space, and then reorganize things. But it feels much more doable now. I might yet get a space where I can store craft supplies and cut and sew things. Which would make life a lot easier.
Also, sidepoint: I am trying to type this while my cat who hates everything is kneading me and shoving her face in my face. No one believes me when I try to explain how affectionate this cat actually is. The trick is not trying to hold her. Let her do her thing without restraining her and she’s fine. Of course, my keyboard is now covered in white fur, too.
Along with doing a lot of things around the house, we’ve also been preparing for summer, and getting out to our campground. Which is a lot of extra work this year as we are moving to a much more private site (an excellent thing before I lose my temper yet again over horrible loud music after quiet time at the central location we were in for ten years). But there’s the usual spring “yard” work to do there, plus moving. Ugh. So much busy! I’m exhausted thinking about it, but also excited. I sat by the river on Sunday for a short break, and closed my eyes to listen to the water run.
Expect a lot of posts about the peacefulness of sitting at camp this summer.
See? Isn’t that so nice? Just… river… well, small river. It’ll be lower by the time we get there—the snowmelt has it rushing pretty strongly right now. I want to sit on that deck and write.
Things published in March…
The pre-order for Missed Fortunes wrapped up at the end of February, but the book isn’t quite out yet. Almost! Everything was completed, and we are waiting for the books to arrive. For anyone who ordered a copy, you should be getting that relatively soon. I can’t wait to have my own copy on my shelf next to Commit to the Kick!
I didn’t write any blog posts in March. I tried, but every time I sat down, I only had a few minutes—not enough to clear my head and get something posted. I didn’t even do the friends-only check-ins I’ve been doing on Pillowfort and Dreamwidth. It was definitely a chaotic month.
Fingers crossed for April to be more productive!
Progress made…
I did make some progress!
We’ve decided on some pieces of the upcoming Kickstarter (for Into the Split, or for the whole trilogy for those who haven’t bought any books yet). I’ve been hard at work editing those pieces, and making plans to draft some brand new things to go with the Kickstarter as stretch goals. Keep an eye out for that late summer!
Where I’m going and what I’m doing…
The first quarter finishes up today, so I spent some time laying out my goals for the second quarter of the year. Many of them are the first quarter goals I didn’t complete, like oh, drafting the next PHU and 7Lakes books.
I’ll do a proper post (maybe tomorrow?) about my first quarter goals in review, but the high level overview is that house things were accomplished, ITS editing for what I had was accomplished, blogging for the first two months was completed, and a few very specific publishing goals were accomplished. So all the drafting goals rolled over, plus I added new editing goals for the Kickstarter, and some new blogging and house/camp goals.
I really REALLY want to write this quarter. I keep saying that, don’t I? I want to rediscover the joy of writing, and the method of doing so while working full time.
Fingers crossed that this time I can accomplish it. I hope to share good news next month!
Where I’ll be…
My next convention is Balticon over Memorial Day weekend down in Baltimore, MD. I’ll be on programming; that schedule is still in flux so I can’t tell you which panels I’ll be on quite yet.
I will be at Readercon in July, but only attending and working in the dealer space with Duck Prints Press, not on programming. I’m very much looking forward to being able to attend panels at this one! And trying not to entirely blow my budget on books.
(I am so very going to blow my budget on books…)
Ending with a shout-out to someone else’s project!
Before I go, I want to give a quick shout-out to Cecilia Tan’s Kickstarter for a Magic University collector’s edition hardcover omnibus. Some of you may know that I was utterly obsessed by MU when I found it. I started reading it with the first book and feel deeply in love with the world and the characters. I picked my ship of choice immediately. I wrote fic after book 2 way back in 2010 because I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
The Magic University series was four books that centered around Kyle, a new student at a semi-secret magic university within a standard university. The books are definitely rated 18+—there’s sex magic. And while the books start out seeming very het, they are very definitely queer overall.
The four books are being produced as an omnibus, but for folks who’d rather have the separate paperbacks, that’s an option too. It’s already funded, so it’s a guarantee to get the book(s). Check it out if you get the chance: Magic University Collectors Edition Omnibus
In closing…
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!
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