Hey there, I still exist, and I’m still writing! This blog has been inactive due to other life priorities, and I have no publication-related news for similar reasons. However, I’ve continued to work on my fantasy novel projects when I can, and I will have more free time in the near future to refocus on both crafting and sharing my creative work.

Behind the Curtain: My Writing

Overview

For the past few years, I’ve focused on novel-length projects. I researched traditional publishing and tried querying agents for one of my manuscripts, but so far, that hasn’t yielded results. I also started researching self-publishing, but I’ve since put all publishing-related activities on pause due to time constraints and to solicit more beta reader feedback.

I still want to publish my novels. I’m not concerned about massive sales or literary awards, nor do I want to make writing my primary source of income (which would be, frankly, extremely difficult and stressful). That’s what my day job is for. But I do want to share more of my work so people can find and enjoy it if they want, even if it reaches only a handful of readers. I also want to have a public, if not well known, authorial identity that is wholly my own.

I’m still determining how to publish my novels. Traditional publishing offers more support. Self publishing offers more control, including control over whether my work is published to begin with. Both require significant time and effort, either through submissions to agents or logistics of distribution.

I’d like to get back to writing and submitting short stories too, at some point. They’re nice bite-sized projects that add variety in the midst of larger projects. But that’s not where my focus is at the moment.

I have been writing fanfiction one-shots here and there, which is satisfying in its own right and helps scratch that itch to share and participate in community. But fanfic is a different beast, and this site is meant to focus on my non-fanfic writing, so I’ll leave it at that. =)

Novel Progress

Here’s some information and statistics on my novel projects–mostly to give you a vague idea of what I have been working on.

We shall not speak of Novels 0,-1,-2, etc., which were written before Novel #1 and either aborted or relegated to my scrapyard folder. They are forever hidden in the depths of my hard drive, swaddled in forbidden bytes and kept far from prying eyes.

Novel #1

Fantasy adventure featuring a healer’s apprentice, friends, and ruthless bandits who are decidedly not friends. Also has fuzzy and not-fuzzy creatures of scary and not-scary varieties. Fuzziness not correlated with scariness.

• About 113,000 words
• First draft written in 2019
• Beta read and revised in 2020-2021
  • lots of positive feedback
  • plenty of helpful detail catches for revision, too!
• Queried agents 2021-2023 intermittently, in small batches 
• 50 queries total
• 1 full manuscript request
• 50 rejections or cricket chirps
• In 2022/2023, made query material revisions based on feedback
  • Updated letter, synopsis, which sample pages to include
  • Feedback came from industry professionals: one a friend in the literary conference sphere, one a literary agent at a conference
  • Agent’s feedback was overall positive re: my synopsis and writing quality, but the only sample pages they saw were from the prologue
  • Handful of queries were submitted after incorporating the agent’s feedback, but the rest of the queries were earlier
• Paused querying after September 2023
• Currently acquiring more beta reader feedback (still positive so far)

I’m trying to determine if there are fundamental issues with my draft that escaped both my attention and my first beta readers or if it’s a solid, fun story but a hard sell for the traditional market. If the former, I will revisit the manuscript and revise. If the latter, I’ll revisit avenues for publishing.

Novel #2

Urban fantasy featuring a young sorcerer, a talking crow, a missing grandma, and a tiny, kind of broken but still good family. This is the third incarnation of an idea that I attempted twice before Novel #1, but I just hadn’t found the heart of the story I wanted to tell until this draft.

• First draft (of third incarnation) written in 2020
• Beta read by two trusted readers in 2021
• Feedback generally positive but prompted a thorough rewrite of one of the chapters and plot threads in the story
• Over 120,000 words (hard sell)
• Haven’t tried querying it anywhere

Honestly, I haven’t decided what to do next with this one. Perhaps another reading pass to determine if the draft can be tightened? But I am fond of it.

Novel #3

Very long high fantasy. Wrote in 2021-2022. Relegated to the hidden bin. Perhaps I’ll reincarnate it someday, since it has some world-building and character ideas that I liked, but I’d rework massive swaths of the core.

Novel #4

High fantasy. Features one protagonist with self-esteem issues and a reclusive inventor dragon who drives a mech.

• First draft written in 2022-2023
• Beta read in 2024: one beta reader complete, pending second beta reader feedback
• Also pending revision. It’s still in its first-draft state.

Novel #5

Martial arts fantasy novel (series?), started late 2023. The first draft is a work in progress. Who knows how it’ll end up!

Novel #Alpha-Beta-Gamma

This doesn’t get a regular number because it is not purely mine. This is something I co-wrote with a friend. He has been unendingly patient and understanding of my schedule. Together, we created something wholly different from what either one of us would have created alone. It’s a snappy, fun superhero story.

• Written, beta read, and edited over the course of the past… 7?… years
• Sent out a handful of queries directly to small publishing houses this year (2024)
• Cricket chirps so far

Behind the Curtains: Personal Life

Alright. We have established that I’m still writing and have tried, intermittently, to pursue publication, but that I’ve had limited time due to other life priorities. This raises a question: what the heck have I been doing when I’m not making up stories about dragon mechs?

I just graduated from a part-time master’s program in software engineering, actually! This spring! It was through Harvard Extension, and I took one class at a time while working full-time as a software engineer. I did this to build a stronger foundation for my current career path and fill in knowledge gaps. This process took six years. It was exhausting. I am so relieved to be done.

Immediately after graduating, I started apartment hunting. My current residence is too noisy and has some other issues, and I had made a resolution to get out and live somewhere I actually like. I’ve found a place and signed a lease, and I will move at the end of August. The past several weeks have been consumed by preparations–once again, in addition to working full-time.

Oh yeah, and I’m still practicing aikido and throwing my friends (respectfully). I took my 2nd kyu test this summer. Yay!

I will finally, hopefully, have room to breathe come September and a quieter, better home environment for relaxation and focus. Fortunately, my day job is calm and stable with reasonable hours, which is why I was able to juggle these other time-consuming endeavors to begin with.

Closing Words

That’s all for my status update. It turned into quite the essay, so if you actually read all this, kudos and gratitude. Take care.