Good morning, friends and fans!
Welcome to a “Peek Into My Week”! Here’s a look at some of my latest news: January 23, 2023!
Here are some things that happened this past week.
News About Writing & Publishing: This Is The Current State Of Things
Let’s take a look at the current status quo on various ongoing issues affecting my writing or publishing:
- Audiobooks on ACX: I’m still waiting for news that the audiobook for “High Steaks” has been transferred to Peever Publishing, then that process is all done!
- Royalties: Unfortunately, the payment of royalties still outstanding from the late Moon Books has also stopped after just one payment in November 2022, and I’m uncertain as to what the future holds in that regard. You wouldn’t think that such a paltry sum – some $48 – would be an issue for someone living and earning in the US, but there it is. There’s still no sign of when or if the next payment will ever materialize. I hate to say it, but it looks like I’m not going to get paid.
- Recording & New Audiobooks: On Tuesday last week, the audiobook for “Life Signs” appeared on Audible. The week before that, you may recall, it was book 1 (“Static“). Darla Middlebrook, the narrator, is currently recording “We All Fall Down“, the third book in the Panic! series, prior to uploading them to ACX. These three titles represent my 17th, 18th and 19th audiobooks!
- Recent Articles: On the tenth I posted “New Release: Life Signs Audiobook!“.
- Writing: For the past three weeks I worked on a story called “Harm’s Way“, a novel I discussed with you previously. By working in daily sessions where I set my goal at 2000 words per session, I took the word-count upwards of 28,000 words so far! Currently I’m pausing at a good place to tinker with the storyline and to plan it out in further detail before continuing, since I’ve deviated somewhat significantly from the original 1992-3 draft! I’m also on holiday still, and well, there is more to life than just writing wall-to-wall! I’ll get back to it when I do, and when I do, I’ll be sure to update you!
- Projects: Over the past two months or thereabouts, I’ve been working on the ‘Pirates’ anthology, which if I must be honest, is not panning out the way I’d hoped. Neither is the quarterly webzine I hoped to launch at the end of January. The cause at the root of both conundrums is a lack of submissions, which has persisted despite numerous public calls for submissions. Word-count as you may gather, is the basis for length. Although I’ve had a few submissions sent in good faith for both projects by a number of enthusiastic and supportive fellow authors – to whom I’m very grateful, these projects still haven’t reached what I regard as a minimum threshold word-count to launch either of them. I still need more.
The ‘Pirates’ anthology has enough sea pirate public domain stories already, but as for the ‘pirates of the sky’ section for which I requested submissions, the word-count is a bit on the low side. It needs to hit close to 100,000 words, but presently it’s still sitting at just over 48,000 – which is apparently too short to be ‘interesting’ as an audiobook, which was the ultimate goal for that project.
The webzine doesn’t have to be that long, but it needs a bit more content and variety before I feel comfortable putting it out as well! I really can’t justify putting out a webzine containing just five short stories (including one of my own), can I?
At this stage it doesn’t look like either of these items will materialize soon, if at all. I will give it a little more time before calling it either way – for both projects, and let you know. Oh well, as an indie you tend to work things out as you go along, finding out just what works… and what doesn’t. That’s how it goes.
- What The Readers Say: The following review was left on Audible for “When Darkness Calls“…
When Darkness Calls
“I enjoyed this one. In an old haunted mansion called ‘the White House’, things go bump in the night. Things also make you think a friend is calling your name. You are in danger before you go inside. Miciah Dodge was a fine narrator.” – Deedra, January 17, 2023, review of ‘When Darkness Calls’ on Audible.
That’s all for this week!
As always, I’ll keep you posted about any further developments. And remember:
In spite of some of my books having been on Amazon since 2005, not one of them has yet reached 10 reviews on any platform, let alone 50! I would really appreciate your help on this! Come on, leave a review – it’s free!
I wish you all a pleasant week until next time!