Oh, Shoot, I Missed July. (Quarterly Goals)

I'll pretend I wrote this on Friday. You do so, too.

The year is already halfway over. They say it's because as you age, there are more days behind you, so it feels like time is moving faster, but what if we're speeding up secretly? Conspiracy theory activated! But for real, let's look at my goals for the quarter haha.

I'm just waiting on one more beta reader to finish up Broken Princess. Aside from some great feedback so far, I also received a "what the hell!?" and a side-eye (not in a bad way, I promise), so I think I'm on the right track haha. If you've been with me for the past decade, you'll know I never intended on making a series. Fractured Princess was supposed to be a standalone fantasy, and once more "what if" ideas for a sequel kept popping into my head, I had to figure out what else could possibly happen, how, and why, so I'm glad it came together. I can't wait to get it all finished. Should I put a counter on the side of my blog that says, "Beat George R.R. Martin to the Finish Line?" I think I should.

Anyways, I have decided to illustrate the cover myself. I bought a digital art pad last year, and once I have a program I really like, I can do it. That means brushing up on my very rusty illustration skills, but if you follow me on Tiktok, you've seen me sketch some BTS members, so there is hope for me yet.

The audiobook review did not happen. I'll just have to table it for now until I really have time. Perhaps if I can squeeze in a vacation week, I'll take a couple of those days to do it. I haven't taken a week's vacation since Juneteenth last year, and I won't again until December as of today. So, we'll see.

On the video game front, I am officially the Lead Writer for Prism! I'm very excited about the project, and I love seeing the excitement of our director seeing everything come together! We're starting to get content up on social media, so you can follow us on any and all of the following:

LinkedIn

Instagram

Bluesky

So, what are my actual goals for this quarter (and of course the next 5th Friday is in Quarter 4)?

• Complete final edits for Broken Princess after I get my last Beta Reader's comments.
• Practice illustrating and work on the cover.
• Reach out to my cartographer with map updates.

Sounds good and doable. So, I will see you at the end of August for a monthly post! Thanks for sticking around! <3

Birthday Shenanigans and Writing Update

 

Happy Friday!

It's the last week of Cancer Season, and I don't know where the time went, but I had a great birthday week! Last Saturday, I went to Salted Vines Winery down in Frankford, met an amazing singer who I plan to see again when she's there, and had some great food and wine with my family. Monday, I went to my favorite restaurant, Greene Turtle, with my friends. Wednesday was my birthday, so after I went to Starbucks for my free drink, haha, I went to the mall and ran up my credit card for the new FFVII remake, Funko Pops, some shirts, and shoes. Then, I came home and fiddled with my OBS to practice a stream (this sentence is hilarious) on Twitch. I made a couple mistakes that I can easily fix. The price is doing things myself. 

Did I write, though?? I did, but???

So, I updated some mid-series backstory and conversation that actually makes it on the story about sed backstory. I reread what I've written so far, and I do feel like something is missing between my first two chapters. I'm not wholly sure why, save a feeling like I'm escalating things too quickly. Then again, it's nowhere near as escalated as Contagion destroying Aterholt Manor, so I don't know what my problem is. This is the problem with being a pantser, though. I know how the story ends. It's just a matter of getting there.

Can I get book 2 written by the end of the year?? If I set my mind to it! I already have chapters and/or scenes from the first take that I'm going to incorporate into this take. I had literally finished the first two of three parts before I decided to start over, so the material is there. And as I said before this book is going to be longer than FP by a few chapters. I was going to say hundred pages, but no, I think just a few chapters. 

It can be done, as Grampa Joe sang.

Next week, I will be in Belize, so I will see y'all in August!

Weekly Words: Am Reading Sher Lee's Fake Dates and Mooncakes

 

Happy July!

It's my birthday month! As I venture into my last 30-oughth, I'm excited for the things I have planned the rest of this year. FP Take 3 has been an adventure, and I plan to ride it into the next book. But first, some easy reading!

This year, I'm trying to immerse myself in some more diverse reading and support my fellow authors of color. I'm starting with Sher Lee's Fake Dates and Mooncakes, a YA romance whose cover I absolutely love (CORGI!). The colors are vibrant and reminiscent of mooncakes, I believe. I can't wait to try some one day. Here is the blurb:

Dylan Tang wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition for teen chefs—in memory of his mom, and to bring much-needed publicity to his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn.

Enter Theo Somers: charming, wealthy, with a smile that makes Dylan’s stomach do backflips. AKA a distraction. Their worlds are sun-and-moon apart, but Theo keeps showing up. He even convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons.

In Theo’s glittering world of pomp, privilege, and crazy rich drama, their romance is supposed to be just pretend . . . but Dylan finds himself falling for Theo. For real. Then Theo’s relatives reveal their true colors—but with the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being sidetracked by rich-people problems.

Can Dylan save his family’s business and follow his heart—or will he fail to do both?

There are some high stakes right out the gate, and I feel for Dylan. I also love his family so far. Also, Theo is pretty adorable. I don't read contemporary romance that often, but I'm almost never disappointed. I can't wait to see how Dylan and Theo's story plays out.

What are you reading this month?

Black Author Spotlight: S.D. Johnson

 

Happy July! It is the first day and the first Friday of the month, so it is time for another Black Author Spotlight! The goal of this segment is to highlight black authors who are often marginalized and ignored in the publishing industry. Black writers usually turn to self-publishing--an already densely populated industry--to have their stories seen, and it is said that we have to work twice as hard to get half of what our white counterparts have. Hopefully, shining a little light on these authors will help to signal boost the work they are putting out there.

Today, I am highlighting Samone "S.D." Johnson.

Samone is a self-published speculative fiction author, wife, and mother of three. She is also a mentor, beta reader, proofreader/editor, copywriter, and ghost writer, and she also helps promote other books! She actually has her own author spotlight as well! Samone's website is equally as active as she is. You can view her current read as well as books she's read previously, and watch her booktuber videos!

Her first series, The Fallen Scion Series, is currently available on Amazon, and if you visit her website, you might actually find a free sneak peek of Book 1: The Scion's Descent *wink*. Here are the awesome covers of all three books (peep the backgrounds!):

And here is the synopsis:

The Falling Scion Series is a coming-of-age story dropped at the crossroads of Mad Max and family deception. The year is 2305 in a post-apocalyptic dystopian United States. Our fragmented Scion Yoli has grown up regal and privileged in the Shore Delegation but is seemingly transformed overnight when she is kidnapped by a sister that she never knew existed and told the truth about her bloodline and pedigree. She can’t trust anyone and she’s full of resentment, and all she wants to do is run from all of it. She doesn’t have time to be smitten with Solomon the Post Trader or lose her best friend and Daily, Selah. Yet, with learning the truth, she’s forced to deal with it head-on or be consumed by the deceit.

Everything changed for Yoli, the day the men of the Pit and their heinous leader Santana got their hands on her. Santana tortures Yoli, in hopes to get information from her that could change the course of their history. Not to mention this evil man is revealed to be Yoli’s uncle and mortal enemy. After an all-hands-on-deck heist to get her back from the Pit. Yoli goes through a tragic drug-induced detox only to be forever changed from the sheltered heir of the Shore Delegation to a wild child still grappling with life after the enemy has sieged and destroyed her home. The once life-loving young lady has become a dark, brooding, life-hating, hedonist drowning her broken pieces in debauchery. Along with Solomon the Post Trader (the man she has come to swoon after), her new sister Stacia (the one she once admired and now loathes), the people of the Bottoms, and the bounty hunters, the group finds themselves at the Barnes Military Base with the Pit looming close behind them. This is where Yoli learns two of the most crucial parts of her existence and she realizes that she has to get her act together and her life in order if she is going to live to see another day. It’s this bit of information that her sister was hiding that took from a young adolescent girl to a woman that must make adult decisions. One of those things is that her traditional tattoo Scion markings that she received at the age of thirteen during her coming-of-age ceremony, hold the key to a “promised land” beyond the desert wasteland that they all know. It’s that map in her Scion markings that her greedy uncle Santana will stop at nothing to get his hands on.

It’s at this moment that Yoli rises up and uses the information that Santana was after to keep her loved ones safe. She decides that it's her time to lead and stop crying about a past that she cannot change. Yet even that causes a whole new set of problems. The Pit is hot on her trail and she still can’t shake the burden of lies that she has to carry every time she looks at her sister, but she perseveres with the little hope that she has left. It’s lead her people or die trying time.

Faced with the tragic loss of one of Yoli’s loved ones, she decides that enough is enough and heads out after the enemy on her own to put an end to the torment that her family has suffered. She wanted to look death in the face and conquer it once and for all. Will she succeed?

Sounds intriguing! I love a good complicated family narrative.


Once again, you can visit Samone's website at http://www.authorsdjohnson.com/.

Follow Samone on Twitter and Facebook at authorsdjohnson.

Follow her on Instagram.

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If you are a Black author who would like to be in the spotlight, email me the following information at debreneebyrd@gmail.com

Name or Pen Name

Genre

Website/Blog

Social Media handles

Book (if any) and where to buy

Permission to use photos

July Review - Road to Release

 

© Creative Commons Zero (CC0)

Whoo, things are moving so fast!

First off, I had the best vacation with my friends. I'm the only Summer birthday between the local ones, so sometimes that means I automatically get a beach vacation for it. We went to Ocean City, Maryland, and went to the beach on our three full days, partied, went to Jolly Roger. Word of advice: don't eat heavy BBQ and then get on a roller coaster, then get on a whirly ride. I don't know what I was thinking, but I was nauseated. Still had a blast. My girl friends also threw me a surprise Beychella-style photoshoot, and there's nothing funnier than hearing your friends whispering outside of your hotel room trying to be quiet just so they can burst into the room. But I love my Queen Bee hoodie.

Secondly, the book release is three weeks away! I have a couple of interviews in preparation for scheduling, and I may be doing a Twitch stream the day before the convention. I met my publicist yesterday. I have a PUBLICIST. Oh, my God. When I say everything happening right now is a dream come true, it's a total dream come true. I'm excited, nervous, super anxious, feeling fight-or-flighty, but I'm here. Dover Comic-Con is two-and-a-half weeks away now. It will be my first convention as an author, and I'm ready. I need to get a table, hopefully from my church, but I'm ready. I hope to reveal the new cover for my normal Wednesday Words post; I just need all the titles on put in place. It's so pretty. I can't wait for everyone to see it. Of course, that means I'll have to change the layout of the blog, which I'll probably do this weekend. One thing I didn't realize until my director asked yesterday was I don't have ARCs yet. There's still time, but here's to fast readers! I also hope to make more bookmarks for Comic-Con like I did for the self-published release party. I need to get that done this weekend.

I'm increasing activity on my Instagram as I get closer to August 18th. Speaking of, I will also be more active on my Twitter account. I had a personal account, so I was splitting my time between the two. On Twitter, it's time consuming and unnecessary, so I deleted my personal account in order to build up the presence for my author account. May my personal account rest in peace. I had so many random celebrities like my tweets; I will miss that for sure.

Anyway, I have so much to do! *screaming* Wish me luck!

Monthly Review

© Creative Commons Zero (CC0)

I came into July expecting to be posting. I got my IWSG post up on the 1st. On the 3rd, my mom told the family she was stopping her chemo treatments while we were all together at my older sister's where she was taking care of her. On the 7th, my older sister called my younger sister frantic because some of the things mom was saying was scaring her, so we went back up to her house. On the 10th, we watched our mom die.

Fortunately, we were "prepared" generally, if not emotionally. She had been battling Stage 4 lung cancer for 18 months, which is more than what our local doctors predicted, and thankfully my older sister set her up with Fox Chase, who took great care of her. She had a tumor wrapped around her bronchus. After her first 6 months of chemo, it was gone, but the metastases weren't changing, and her body was starting to shut down on the new chemo. She did not want to be incapacitated. She used to tell us that even when she was healthy. Emotionally, we're pretty wrecked. The deterioration happened so fast. At the end of June, she was walking around. Two weeks later, she was gone.

My younger sister and I stayed at our older sister's from the 7th through my birthday on the 19th. We mostly sat in mom's in-law suite and every now and then looked over at her recliner where she sat and slept the last few days before my sister ordered her a hospice bed. My older sister, brother-in-law, and niece had been living with mom for about a year. They bought their home specifically so she could move in with them. We had all hoped for more time for her, especially for her to do more than just be sick and get treatment.

I haven't recovered from that night. Thursday morning to Friday evening, aside from maybe 2 hours of sleep, was one long day. My younger sister and I don't really leave our rooms except to work. If I could've, I would have taken the whole month off. I went back to work last Wednesday, and I plan to return to my part time this week. I had just started reading a new book, but I haven't really touched it since the beginning of July. I had also just started writing again, so I'm trying to pick it back up. Trying to "get back to normal" isn't really something I want to do without it involving calling or seeing my mom. But this is where I am.

I wish I had a more positive update, but unfortunately, I don't.

Insecure Writer's Support Group: Industry Changes

It is the 1st of July and the first Wednesday of the month, so that means it is time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post. Thank you to Alex J. Cavanaugh and the co-hosts this month for keeping this program alive for writers to share their insecurities and successes. If you are a writer, please join us by visiting the IWSG website and signing up!

I'm in a better head space to blog this month. I took an inadvertent month off, which was much needed. But do remember as your timelines and media return to "normal," the systems of this country still need to be rebuilt to work for all of its citizens, and arrests still have not been made for Breonna Taylor's killers.

This month's IWSG question is: There have been many industry changes in the last decade, so what are some changes you would like to see happen in the next decade?

Well, in the wake of the spike in tragedies that occurred in May, many publishing companies decided to open their submissions to black writers. This is interesting because there has been a huge lack of diversity in traditional publishing, from the agency to the writers, for as long as publishing companies have been prominent. Many who received this news rightfully thought, "Now, you want to look at our work?" Most black writers, including myself, have turned to self-publishing because publishers have only been interested in black voices if they provide a look into black pain. Otherwise, agents "loved but didn't connect with" our work (and often, they've already filled their quota on black authors or books about black characters, sometimes not even written by black writers).

So in the next decade, if these publishing companies truly care to represent more diverse authors and aren't just opening their gates for optics right now, I hope this sudden interest in black writers does not die down and that more of our stories--and not just the ones that center our suffering--can be accepted by the industry.

July Writing Update

First of all, I need this year to slow down. Second, this is going to be short.

Since going full steam on preparing Fractured Princess for publication, I haven't done any writing. It's starting to bother me now. After Saturday, I should be able to focus on my other projects again. Hopefully. I did look over old short stories I wrote in my teens last night, and one from that series I started a little later but never finished. I still don't think those stories will see the light of day. They were my first attempt at teen romance, and they were a little messy, so, I might just leave them on my computer and reminisce when I can. We'll see.

And as you can see, I did update my blog design.This is the first time I haven't had a pink blogger, and it's hard. haha But this looks so much more professional and definitely gets my book out there when people look at it. Pre-orders are coming in for the Kindle edition, and that's exciting! I can't wait to release my baby to the world! She's ready. I hope I am.

Wednesday Words: Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

I just remembered it's Wednesday, the 2nd Wednesday, to be exact! That means I'm supposed to be sharing what I'm reading with you all. You know I almost never get these posted when I mean to.

Anyway, I am in the middle of Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh (not to be confused with Sarah J. Maas, sheesh).

Here is the book blurb:

Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised--the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.

A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?

Using Random.org, here is a good emotional line from page 120:

This isn't love. This is just two people, shaking and sobbing together in the semidark, breathing hard in each other's ears as we try to forget our worst nightmares.

This is survival.

What are you reading this week?

IWSG: Fractured Princess Cover Reveal!

Happy July! It's my birthday month, and I have a lot to be excited for!

But first, please visit Alex J. Cavanaugh and the Insecure Writers Support Group website to join us and/or visit the co-hosts and other participants. It's a great space to share our insecurities as writers, as well as our successes!

Late Update: I forgot the question of the month! What personal traits have you written into your character(s)?

Some of my characters are a little emotional, indecisive, or say what's on their mind without filtering it. I try to break those traits up so you don't have one big mess of a character, but you can definitely find those traits of mine in my stories. And any time I get to mention my character is left-handed, I do! South Paws unite!

All right, and now, I have a cover reveal to share with you all! Since I started the journey to self-publish my YA fantasy, things have fallen into place at a great pace. I was only a little delayed with the cover, as you may remember (my cover artist went into labor!), and after not even waiting that long after that, I was able to share the cover with my backers yesterday.

So now, I want to share it with you guys! Fractured Princess will be available through Amazon on July 20th. Here is the blurb:

Jonnie is the last princess of the Crystal Bearers, once a powerful people. When she was a baby, the metal army destroyed what was left of them, and now it is hunting her. Her watchmen keep her just out of the metal army’s reach, but she has spent her seventeen years running and hiding. Instead of standing by while her watchmen keep risking their lives for her, she decides to learn how to fight alongside them.

On the journey to hone her skills, long hidden secrets about her people reveal a connection between the Crystal Bearers and the metal army that only fuels Jonnie's will to defeat it. But the more she learns about her own powers, the more she realizes she may be responsible for the metal army – and the destruction of her people.

And now, here we go! . . . 

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Also, enjoy your 4th of July!

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It's so pretty! I keep looking at it. If you've followed my character Q&A's and remember my sketch of Jonnie, that's her face. Racheal is a master. I love it. Please follow her on Instagram at rsarts if you love her work and ever want to commission her.

All righty, I will be going around to visit other blogs, so I hope to see you soon!