My August wrap-up post, including writing updates, a new serial launch, and some real life bits.
Hey Besties,
It’s nearing the end of August, and as I sit here writing this, I’m grateful that the temperature in the UK no longer rivals “Full Concentrated Power Of The Sun!”
It actually rained today, and this evening was cosy enough that I wanted hot tea. I decided to mix one hibiscus bag with one apple bag -- it was delicious!
Writing Update
August started slow, writing-wise, due to some health blips (more on that later), but I feel like I am in a good rhythm and that I have accomplished the things I wanted to.
I had a call with my editor about Kiss Me After The Kill, and after talking the main issues through with her (i.e., in a modern setting, how is Lucia trapped marrying Vaughn?), I decided to not only change the time period to a pseudo-Regency era, but also set it in its own fantasy world.
When I started KMATK last year, it was straight after I had been working on Divine Unmaking and felt bogged down by lore and world-building. I wanted to keep things simple, so I set it in modern England and didn’t do much in terms of introducing my own mythos surrounding vampires.
But now that the story is “complete” and I know the emotional beats and the hearts of the characters, I feel comfortable rewriting aspects of the story and focusing a little more on world-building. It helps that I can frame all decisions around the question, “How does this pertain to Lucia’s story?” Does the reader need to know the exact lineage of the royal family of my fictional country, Gilland? No. But it does help explain her family’s actions to know the Delacroix family were on the wrong side of a social war about ~25 years before the start of the story, and their social status in the present day has a huge impact on the decisions made.
The other exciting thing about rewriting aspects of the story so it’s set in a pseudo-Regency-era fantasy world is that it’s completely changed how I feel about revisions. They’re no longer a chore, but an exciting rediscovery of the story!
Since last month, I have also added 12k words to Arcanium book one, which is now titled Magic, Dreams and A Place to Belong.
I’m taking a pause to focus on KMATK revisions and rewrites, but then I will be diving straight back in.
But, in the meantime, Hubby and I have proofread eight chapters, and I have scheduled them on Inkitt, Ream and Royal Road to start serializing August 31.
For the full information/blurb, you can view the Magic, Dreams and A Place to Belong page on my website. And there’s a deeper look, including an excerpt, coming in my newsletter nearer the end of the month.
And because I’m me, I cannot help having a THIRD WIP on the go! ROTFL
I spoke previously about an idea involving a dragon prince and a powerful woman who has been lied to about her place in the world. A lot of the ideas I wanted to cover in that story are themes that have come to me repeatedly and manifested in stories like Divine Unmaking. But each time I tried to focus on it, something didn’t click quite the way I wanted.
Then I started reading reports of Jean Grey’s appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Skip this part if you don’t want BND spoilers:
This version of Jean is slightly different from the one we know from the comics and previous X-Men adaptations. Without Charles Xavier’s guidance, and following the murder of her sister, she’s positioned as an antagonist in Brand New Day.
Shortly after reading about this interpretation, I watched the beginning of In the Lost Lands (based on a short story by George R.R. Martin), which features a witch facing execution by a religious order before using her powers to escape.
Suddenly, I started asking myself: what if the woman in the dragon prince story isn’t a vessel manipulated by the Church and sent to “seduce and control” him? What if she’s a witch on the run who flees to the dragon prince’s kingdom for refuge?
And what if, instead of trying to control her, the dragon prince gives her somewhere safe enough to discover and accept her true power and nature for herself?
And there she was. Estelle.
I actually have a longer story about how characters like Jean Grey, Madelyne Pryor, Sansa Stark, the Mayfair Witches and Persephone have been circling my creative DNA for 10+ years, but I decided to turn that into a long-form essay.
For now, it’s enough to know that the story, now titled To Burn Beside You, is going in a direction that makes me very excited, and I am slowly working on it between KMATK rewrites and proofing chapters of Magic, Dreams and A Place to Belong ready for serialization.
Speaking of essays, I wrote another one recently, this one detailing my experience as a survivor and closing the door on that chapter of my life after twenty-seven years.
Here it is if you want to read it: Closing A Chapter of My Life After 27 Years
Though don’t feel as though you have to. The essay contains some triggering details, so if you need to skip it for your mental health, I understand. <3
Life Update
As I mentioned earlier in the post, August started out a little shakily. I finally decided to stop pursuing the coil as a form of PMDD management and contraception, and instead try the contraceptive injection.
The injection itself was painless and over in less than five minutes, but the side effects of having increased progesterone in my system gave me PMDD-like symptoms for about two weeks, plus other nastiness like headaches. I don’t think the heatwave helped, either.
Thankfully, all those symptoms have since subsided. And even though my period should be due any day now, I actually feel better than ever.
If this continues for September and October, then I will have a new injection at the end of October (as the hormones only last 13 weeks), though it is not a solution I want to use long-term, as there’s an increased risk of rare, non-cancerous brain or spinal tumours.
Honestly, given I am 43, and people with ADHD sometimes go into menopause sooner than those without ADHD, I am hoping I will be in perimenopause soon and will eventually have less to consider in terms of contraception. But who knows… we’ll see what’s what when the time comes. Right now, my mood is stable, and I don’t feel bogged down with medical appointments.
In fact, the extra mental bandwidth gained from not having to think (too much) about PMDD treatment has gotten me thinking about other aspects of my health.
Back in February, I decided to stop pursuing ADHD medication for the time being because I had high blood pressure, and between that and getting treatment for PMDD, I felt overwhelmed with medical admin.
When I had the contraceptive injection, my blood pressure was actually fine, and with fewer appointments to attend, etc., I am wondering if I should give ADHD meds another chance.
One of my motivations behind wanting to try ADHD meds again (aside from the possibility that they might help me focus more with writing and other tasks, like household chores, etc.) is that I’ve read that some people with ADHD can struggle with weight loss and exercise.
Recently, I have been wondering if my weight is causing me health issues. For, I don’t know… like 5–10 years, I have noticed a repeated pattern of fatigue crashes after moderate to strenuous activity outside the house. For example, this week, we visited my mom. We were only there for about two hours, and the most taxing things I did were set up my dad’s new tablet and fight off The Monster ™, and afterwards I found myself needing not only an evening nap, but an early night AND an afternoon nap the following day.
That’s not normal.
And this happens almost every time I go out and do something. Whether it’s visiting Mom, a trip to the shopping centre with Hubby and the kids, or a week-long holiday to the seaside.
I’ve done a little bit of research on post-exertional malaise and conditions such as ME/CFS, but I don’t want to jump to any conclusions without medical advice. So, once things have settled from Youngest starting college (just ten days to go!) and I’ve given myself adequate time to note symptoms and see how the contraceptive injection is working for me, I am going to make a GP appointment to discuss this and also ask for blood tests so I can rule out other issues.
And of course, being overweight might be a contributing factor. As could my diet. So in the next few weeks, I am going to look at adding a bit more fruit, vegetables, protein and iron to my diet.
I know from personal experience I don’t like exercise, so that’s something I will tackle at another date. But getting on ADHD medication may make exercise easier for me.
Again, we’ll see what’s what…
As I mentioned, I visited my mom recently. She’s mostly doing okay. She’s just finished her first course of chemo. She said it didn’t affect her as badly as she expected it would, so that’s good. She’s still in the midst of having the living room renovated so that she can have French doors leading onto the patio, and also booking a holiday away later in the year — I think for her birthday in October.
My stepdad is doing well, too. He’s finally wearing his hearing aid, and he had an assessment for dementia that showed that while he does have some mild cognitive impairment, he isn’t showing any signs of dementia, which is really reassuring. He is, however, having tests for some other issues, so hopefully he will hear back with answers soon. He seemed good too, though. More like his usual self.
Another thing I mentioned above: Youngest starts college in 10 days! This is a huge step for him, as he was homeschooled for the last five years. But the college knows about his circumstances and suspected autism, and are already being very accommodating and supportive, so that makes Hubby and me feel much better. Plus, the college is literally a ten-minute walk from where we live, so that helps immensely.
We’ve got most of the stuff he needs now, maybe just a few more T-shirts. And we’re debating whether to get him a new coat now, in case it rains like it has been recently, or hold off until it’s cooler, like we originally planned.
Recently, Oldest’s partner went to a family wedding in Poland, and when she came back, she brought me loose-leaf green tea with blackberries and jasmine as a gift. And it’s all stored in this cute metal tin with Polish folk art on it. I feel so seen and loved. Like, this is not just a “you’re my partner’s mom” type gift; this feels like she “gets” me. I’m so lucky to have her in my life, and to have such a good relationship with my Oldest’s partner!
As we come to the end of August, I can feel Halloween in the air! Lol. The Halloween shop opened on like August 9th. I went in last weekend and took a look around. Honestly, I have mixed feelings. The animatronics are undoubtedly cool. But the shop is a sensory nightmare because of the overhead music, people screaming and laughing, and 10 different animatronics going off.
Plus, the stock is the same thing every year, and after like ~5 years of it existing, it kind of feels like I’ve seen it all before. This year, I actually found more exciting Halloween products in Hobbycraft and Primark. I’ve got myself some crafts, including a papier-mâché haunted house to decorate, and some adorable Halloween-themed hair clips.
Speaking of Halloween-themed hair clips, I could not resist buying some hair bows that are styled to look like bat wings! Lol. I am gonna wear them this weekend when Hubby and I attend a birthday party for one of my writing friends. A few other friends from our writing group are going, so it’s bound to be a good night. I am determined to become known as the Goth woman who danced to the Macarena!
I’ll probably share some photos from the party in my newsletter (which is due to go out next week), so if you want to see those, be sure to subscribe! 😀
Okay, this entry is now over 2000 words long! Lol, so I am going to leave it here and go work on my newsletter.
Thank you for reading, and for continuing to support me and my writing.
Until next time, take care & stay creative.
T.T.F.N.