New Beginnings, and a New Horizon: January Update

Hello folks!

It is that time once more for an update!

And boy do I have a few things to talk about.

First, I want to say I am hard at work on Ocean’s Heart‘s sequel, and I have written about 20 pages! Not the most productive month I have ever had, but right now I am focusing on momentum and consistency. Writing a little every day, no matter how small to work the creative juices whenever I can.

For February, I’m hoping to finish the Prologue and make significant headway on the starting chapters. That said, I am also planning out When Flames Fade, and so depending on how the month goes, I may shift priorities over there if I feel inspired. Regardless, I am hoping to have good news by the end of the month!

Additionally, I am currently working on an audio book for Ocean’s Heart. While my funds are primarily focused on publishing, I do want to provide a good experience for those who would prefer to listen rather than read.

That said, I will be the one producing it and recording my own voice. I cannot say when releases will be, as it is an ancillary priority, but I can say I plan to make headway on it at least once a week! When it’s done, I will be providing the full audiobook on here for free due to the amateur nature of my setup, but I am also hoping to publish the audiobook on youtube and spotify for easier listening experience!

Sadly, due to the restrictive policies of Amazon, I will not be publishing it on Audible. I will let you know if that changes.

Regardless, if you know any other services I can publish my audiobook on for easier access, please let me know! My primary goal is to ensure that all my books, in any version, can be purchased here. Physical copies, will require going through alternate sources, but I am currently planning to use a print on demand resource, so I believe that means physical copies will be sold in various large booksellers worldwide.

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves a bit. I am still wrestling with my artist to get the cover of Ocean’s Heart done. Until that’s finished, everything else is kind of on hold, publishing wise.

Hopefully, more will be done on that front in February.

Until then, I believe that is all I have for now.

The big takeaway and the reason I titled this update New Beginnings and New Horizons, is I’ve taken from this month is the importance of continual labor. I so often find myself falling into the bad habit of Herculean efforts. I’ll slam my face into a wall for hours until I make a breakthrough. This can lead to a lot of productivity, but you burn out fast, and it can be some time before I recover. This can be exacerbated by life, where I end up so drained I just fail to do anything.

That is obviously a horrible way of going about things, but it has been my modus operandi most of my life. Then I saw a silly little bit of advice online. It’s silly how sometimes it takes something so little to make big changes, isn’t it? Anyway, the advice was simply pointing out that the only way to truly be consistent is to accept not every day will be productive.

Basically, your body only has so much it can give, and that goes for the mind as well. So, on those days, you just do something. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but a little can go a long way when you do it every day. That’s how I’ve managed to make progress. Fighting through fatigue has a cost, and that cost accumulates until you pay it, with interest.

So, with the new year, I decided to take that little, random internet advice to heart. And I pray it will pay dividends in both my writing and my life.

Only God knows, however, and we will see with time.

But for now, I hope you all have a great evening, and I’ll see you in March!