Tris Talks... January Newsletter!
I did a tarot reading for the year—one card per month—with the intention of drawing a modifier card at the start of each month.
January was Death, with a modifier of the 9 of cups (reversed). The opportunity for epic change, but also the potential that getting what I want might not be the right dream.
It’s the end of the month and I’m still struggling to figure out exactly how it applies. Although I have a note to myself which says “That said, if things go wrong, think about how to turn it to your advantage. Do not wallow. Build on changes to get where you want (and need!) to go.”
I think I accomplished that part at the start of the month.
We rang in the new year with covid in our house—my husband fell ill on New Year’s Eve, and I turned up positive a few days later. That meant my holiday break turned into an extra week and a half of working from home. Which is… remarkably peaceful. I couldn’t go to taekwondo, which was very frustrating, but it also meant more time for relaxing (anime! knitting!) and for writing.
It also made it hard to get things done which required energy, but that’s a whole other problem.
It also meant that returning to campus afterwards was very chaotic and busy. It’s been a hell of a month, productive in some ways, and stalled in others.
Things published in January…
Nothing new for sale in January. I did, however, get two blog posts up!
First was my 2024 wrap-up and 2025 goals. I don’t do resolutions; I aim for quantifiable goals & objectives. This year I’m breaking down my annual goals into smaller quarterly goals as well, and trying to track progress throughout the year and adjust as I go. Quick sidenote: this attempt at streamlining my productivity is kind of working as of the end of January. The post is available on Pillowfort, Dreamwidth, Tumblr, or my website.
This past week I mused on the subject of being ADHD and under pressure, and the difference between good pressure and the sense of futility that comes with some events. The post is available on Pillowfort, Dreamwidth, Tumblr, or my website.
My goal is to put out at least two blog posts each month this year. I’d love prompts and need to put something up on each of my sites requesting prompts from readers. Please feel free to reply to this newsletter if you have anything in particular you’d like to hear me talk about!
Writing, editing, author stuff…
Finding Their Roots
You may remember that while the ebook of the first Seven Lakes book is easily available on multiple platforms, the print version is only on Amazon. The wide distribution version from Draft2Digital isn’t up yet, because when I received my proof months ago, the cover was completely messed up for alignment. And my brain broke (as it does sometimes) and I stalled out on fixing it. But I talked about it with someone one day who pointed out what the issue might be, and so I made it a 1Q goal to get it fixed. I’ve already received a second, better, proof, and am now waiting for what I hope will be the final proof copy. If the spine is right, I should be able to finally approve publication and push it out!
Twinned Trilogy - Editing
As you know, I’m working on editing the second and third books in the Twinned trilogy for Duck Prints Press. I set a goal to finish editing through ITS 7 (there are 10 segments total) by the end of first quarter—this depends on how much I receive back from my editor. At this point, I have through ITS 6.
I was able to finally buckle down and get to work on it properly, and I’ve edited sections 3, 4, and 5. I’m feeling pretty good about my progress. I hope to finish up ITS 6 before I have to switch gears and work on MF.
The change in publishing schedule means we’ll be going full time on finalizing MF in February, to be ready to fulfill after the pre-order. Speaking of! Keep an eye out for the email/announcements for the pre-order starting, hopefully relatively soon. I’m excited to be able to bring this book out. Caroline is the closest I have to an own voices character in the entire serial, which is a little hard to admit sometimes. It made it a very difficult book to write and to edit, because it was personal in many ways.
PHU ‘Verse - Writing
I’m slowly working my way through plotting and drafting the next book in the PHU ‘verse. Yes, really! I’ve set goals to go in small chunks—outlining 5 chapters at a time, drafting one at a time. I’ve managed to outline the first five chapters, and I’m mid-drafting the first chapter (which is already longer than it should be, because of course it is). I’m enjoying the awkward interactions of Nate and Cass. They continue to be one of my favorite unlikely friendships in the world of PHU.
My goal is to be able to start posting by end of summer. I know that sounds like it is very far away, but with editing, and wanting to ensure that the story is well-paced and makes sense as I go, it feels right. I’ll be able to get a large chunk of the book written before posting that way, I hope.
Seven Lakes - Writing
End of last year, the second 7Lakes book was all my brain wanted to do. This month my brain said “huh?” when I sat down to write, and I realized that I need to get my arms around the book more. So I’ll be spending a significant amount of time on planning—that requires me to have more brain than I’ve had after day job lately. Me, a notebook, and a lot of time… that’s what I need.
Goals for February…
February is such a short month. My focus is on routine—being in the office, clocking out when I should at end of day, getting my taekwondo workouts in and maybe going over to the Armory to walk around the track. If I can get my routine back, I can get my brain settled, and work on the editing and drafting that needs to be done.
By this time next month, I intend to have more news on progress with new words!
Where’s Tris…?
Boskone is coming up soon!
I will be at Boskone the weekend of February 14-16, in Boston, Massachusetts.
I have a varied panel schedule!
I am on two panels: “Fandom 2.0: Being a Good Fan” on Friday at 8:30pm, and “Representation in Speculative Fiction Matters” on Saturday at 5:30pm.
I am running two taekwondo clinics as part of the movement track, on Saturday at 11am and Sunday at 10am. Come kick the sleepiness away! We’re going to have fun learning blocks, kicks, and punches, and I’m bringing targets and have enlisted my husband to help out.
I have one event in Dragonslair, which I think is open to both kids and those who are children at heart? We’ll be playing the Picture Game (prompts for writing!) at 4pm on Saturday.
And I finish out my convention Sunday at 2pm with a reading, where I plan to read from Missed Fortunes, in honor of the pre-order for the book.
And of course, Duck Prints Press will be in the Dealers’ Room, and I will be there when I can. Copies of Commit to the Kick will be available, along with zines of my short stories.
Come find me and say hello!
Next convention after that will be Balticon, down in Baltimore over Memorial Day weekend.
And that’s a wrap for January…
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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