Welcome to 2021!

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

Thankfully the dumpster fire that was 2020 has burned to a close. Let's hope this next year is a whole lot better. Just in case, I'm sharpening my machete and stocking up on canned foods, getting ready for the zombies. 

Normally, I'm announcing my one word for the new year in this post, but I don't have one this time around. If I were being optimistic, I would say: Better. But jeez, why tempt fate at this point in the crappy game we're stuck playing? Instead, I'm going to sit quietly over here and use this downtime productively so that when we can get back to being in person again, I have even more to offer.

Bound in Blue is formatted and waiting on a print proof and release date.

Spindelkin is ready for second edits. 

The Minor Years is out with a beta reader

Seeker is ready for round three of edits.

Not Another Bard's Tale is going through yet another round of edits in slow motion, but progress is being made. 

And there are several other projects in the wings.

I've also been busy sewing multi-pocket dice bags - because I found a pattern I liked and I have so much fabric sitting here from my days when I worked at a craft store. I look forward to seeing all the gaming folks at comic cons and renaissance faires soon.

After being off Netflix for two months of high productivity, we've taken a short dip into Hulu. I'm working my way through a few shows there while sewing. I must multitask! 

And, as this is my monthly blog post, it's time for an Insecure Writer's Support Group question: Being a writer, when you're reading someone else's work, what stops you from finishing a book/throws you out of the story/frustrates you the most about other people's books?

Since I'm not limited to one, here's my top two:

1. Head-hopping without a clear pov change marked with a scene or chapter break.

2. A cliff hanger ending. Dangling a few unresolved subplots is fine if it's a series, but end your damn book!

December wrap up & IWSG

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

How are we in December already? On one hand, it feels like the year has flown by, and on the other, it seems like a whole lot of nothing happened. Probably because it was all canceled.

2020 the year of CANCELED

Let's hope 2021 is more eventful. In good ways.

So let's see, wrapping up 2020:

I'm mostly booked for events all through 2021 so hey, other than obsessively checking my calendar to make sure I'm not missing anything, I'm all set there.

Bound in Blue: Book 3 of the Narvan is being held over to 2021 for publishing since I was not able to get out and promote Book 2. Book 4 is still slated for Fall of 2021.

Everyone in my house has remained generally healthy.

Cover art for Spindelkin is 3/4 done.

I miss talking to readers but the majority of the few shows I was able to do went really well. So overall, I'm going to call sales successful on that front.

I co-wrote a book, which was an interesting and new experience. That should be out in 2021 as well. 

Which also brings us to this month's IWSG question: Are there months or times of the year that you are more productive with your writing than other months, and why? 

Definitely! I write all year, but November is my dedicated pound out a lot of words month, thanks to NaNoWriMo.

This year I participated in my 15th year of National Novel Writing Month and had my earliest win ever on day 17.  Why? Because I retired as ML last year so I could just sit back and write instead of wrangling writers and hosting events all month. I also didn't have any book-selling events all month. = lots more time to write.

This November, I wrapped up the first draft of The Minor Years: A Narvan novel and the first draft of Spindelkin, a YA fairy tale. Both books were about halfway done at the beginning of the month, so it feels good to have fully finished drafts to dive into editing in the new year.

I also broke my 60K in a month word record with 75K.

How was your 2020?

  

November is for NaNo and IWSG

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

I used to be so good about doing blog posts, now it seems I'm down to a monthly update. If you want more frequent information, please follow me on Facebook or Instagram @jeandavisauthor. I'm on those much more often. 

Let's see, since the last post:

I was able to get into a good craft show in Kalamazoo and met a bunch of readers there. If you're one of them, it was nice meeting you even though we were at a distance!

Due to all these canceled events, I've added a tab at the top of this page where you can buy signed copies directly from me. This is an ideal option for those of you avoiding Amazon. Please keep in mind that I only ship within the USA. Sorry, international readers. 

NaNoWriMo preparations were in full swing all month. Heading into year fifteen for me and with all my events canceled, I decided to go all in. My baseline goal is to add 50K of new words across four projects. In truth, I'm hoping to add a lot more than that, but we'll start with the traditional goal of 50K. This year's project line up includes:

    The Minor Years: A Narvan novel - this is currently at 70K

    Spindelkin: YA Fantasy - currently at 27K

    An Urban Fantasy standalone novel - 0K

    A Paranormal Romance standalone novel - 0K

I do have one last book-signing this year on November 28 at The Bluestocking Bookshop. Beyond that, nothing is on the calendar until April 2020. Here's hoping we're back on semi-normal terms with the world by then.

And this month's IWSG question is: Why do you write what you write?

Because the voices tell me to? Ok, not really. I write the books I like to read.

As a teen, I read a lot of mystery, horror, fantasy, science-fiction (both hard and soft). It was normal for me to buy several books every week. For some reason, my mother, also an avid reader, was not a fan of using the public library. However, we did make weekly trips to the small local bookstore. I supplemented my purchased books with library books from school. For the most part, it's safe to say I spent a good deal of my teen years between the pages of a book. 

So when I started writing seriously, with the intent to go for publication, I stuck with what I knew and enjoyed. 

IWSG: Whew! That Was A Productive Month

 Last month flew by while I was wrapped up in so many things. Getting back out to meet readers in person felt really good. As did just being out among people again. 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

The first day of the Newaygo Logging Festival was a tough one. The crowd was fairly steady for a scaled-back event and our booths were all quite spaced out, but it had been nearly seven months since I'd spent a full day being social. I spent the hour ride home in much-needed silence. By the second day, I was feeling more in the spirit of things. By the next weekend at the event in Charlotte I'd found my stride again and everything went smoothly. I've done two more events since. If we connected at one of those shows and you're reading this, it was nice to meet you! 

Thanks to relaxing guidelines, I do have one more show in November in Kalamazoo. I'm still waiting to hear on Grand Rapids Comic Con. With both of those being indoors, things are up in the air with restrictions that seem to change every single day.

In addition to finally getting out to talk to readers again, I've been hard at work on Bound in Blue: Book 3 of The Narvan. The last round of edits is wrapping up and then it will head off the to the proofreader and then it's onward to formatting. Without further ado, here's the cover:

                                        

I've also been busy writing the blurb for the back cover, critiquing chapters for other authors, reading a couple books for fun, and doing a proofread of a book for a local author friend. I'm also plotting my upcoming NaNoWriMo projects and toying with cover art for Seeker: Book 4 of The Narvan and Spindelkin. I've been on kind of an artwork kick lately. On the plus side, I started drawing again. I haven't done much of that in a very long time, like probably around twenty-some years.

How was the end of summer for you?

 

IWSG: September Happenings

 

I'm excited and also nervous about finally getting to do a couple book signings this month. Not that I'm 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

necessarily living in fear of catching Covid, but more so because it's been seven months since I've been selling books in public. Will my pitches roll off my tongue like they did when I was chatting it up in public nearly every other weekend pre-plague or will I trip over every word?  Tune in this weekend to find out. 

Then I also have the hurdle of having two new books to sell that I haven't had any public practice with yet since they were both released during the plague season. Advance apologies to everyone I encounter this weekend that has to sit through me stumbling over words. 

Not to mention figuring out an optimal table display with seven books instead of five. I have a plan, but we'll see how it works in real life. I'm sure I'll point to and pick up the wrong books several times before it all clicks into place. 

If all goes well, I have three weekends of in-person events and one online. I'm really hoping all goes well. Crossing fingers and all that. 

So what have I been working on since last month? Updated print and ebook editions of Destiny Pills & Space Wizards, Sahmara, and The Last God are live. I'm working on A Broken Race right now and then I'll be back to edits on Book 3 of the Narvan.

Stay safe and healthy!

IWSG: August and Project Updates

And so we come to another first Wednesday. Normally I'd be dragging my feet after a busy June and 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 

and find links to all the other 

participating writers.

July event schedule, facing another five weekends of  August signing events, but alas, tis not the case this ill-fated year. Instead, I've been busy working around the yard, building a new shed to house my chickens and ducks, building a run for them, and putting in a new block firepit area. My yard is getting a lot of attention. 

I've also been writing and doing a bit of editing for friends. Now that Dreams of Star and Lies is out, I'm back at work on my next project. An author I've done many events with invited me to co-write a book with him. I've never co-written anything before so this has been an interesting endeavor, and I would guess not the exact norm on how this is done, but it's working for us. It's also a YA fantasy novel on a G-rated level, which if you've read anything I've written, you'll understand this is not my usual realm, but it's been a good warm-up for getting back into my own YA fantasy, Spindelkin, which is on the older end of YA, whereas this current project is on the younger.

Recently, I reformated his first book and edited the second so I was familiar with the story and characters. This, being book three in the series, has been moving along fairly quickly. He's been writing the bare bones of the plot and I'm fleshing it out. Only two chapters to go and then that is heading off to beta readers. 

Once Book three of Traveling Circus is wrapped up, I'll be diving back into my reissuing of Destiny Pills and Space Wizards. No new content, but updating the front and back matter, new artwork, and formatting to match my more recent books. Next up is a final edit of Book Three of The Narvan, Bound in Blue, once I go over the last round of edit suggestions. When I send that off to my proofreader, I'll be diving into the reformatting of Sahmara and The Last God. Now that I can do reflowable ebooks, I'm looking forward to getting all my books updated. 

I'm hoping to have Bound in Blue mostly wrapped up before November, when NaNoWirMo begins. I'm already toying with what to work on for that. I have a vampire story I'd like to try, and if that falls through, I have a book set in the Navan universe half started and Spindelkin to finish. There's never a lack for things to work on, just the energy to do so. 

And speaking of planning.. This month's IWSG question is: "Although I have written a short story collection, the form found me and not the other way around. Don't write short stories, novels or poems. Just write your truth and your stories will mold into the shapes they need to be."

Have you ever written a piece that became a form, or even a genre, you hadn't planned on writing in? Or do you choose a form/genre in advance?

Oh heavens, yes. Often when I start a story, when I'm truly pantsing it, I may have an inkling what genre it might be or what length I'm aiming for, but once the words start flowing... Well, the story becomes what it needs to be.  

The only time I know for sure if I'm going to make the story stick to a novel or a short story, is during NaNo because I need to have at least a very loose plan to make it to 50k in 30 days. That loose plan might only be genre, a character name and an inkling of the beginning scene or end, but it's a plan nevertheless. 

Most of the short stories I've written started without any particular genre in mind. Those usually launch with a concept or 'what if' question and wander into whatever genre fits as I go.

How about you?

Release Day: Dreams of Stars and Lies

Today is the release of Dreams and Stars and Lies. This collection features five short science fiction stories. They are all unrelated but two take place in far flung corners of the greater Narvan universe, though also not directly related to the series. 

Last year, when I received the news that Caffeinated Press was closing and the first rights for Sipper would be returned to me, I decided to pull this book together. Sipper had been contracted for an anthology so this seemed an appropriate new home. 

Destiny Pills and Space Wizards, my first short story collection, features more lighthearted YA-friendly stories. With Dreams of Stars and Lies, I focus on deeper plots and longer stories more intended for an adult audience. 

The cover features Sipper, one of the two anchor stories of the collection.

Poverty has shaped Tia’s life since childhood, labeling her a roach. A day without hunger pains or despising looks is pure fantasy until she accepts a job offer to explore a wondrous deserted city on a distant world. All she can think about is the life-altering payout she’ll receive in six months. 

A hundred roaches are set free in the city of crystal spires. Their mission: To learn what they can about the previous occupants and to verify that the place is habitable for the host of wealthy future occupants waiting in orbit. 

Well-provisioned, Tia and her fellow roaches scatter to explore the dunes and spires. Then people start to disappear. Are they being picked off to lessen the payout or is there a killer among them?  All the credits in the world won’t matter if she’s dead.

What are readers saying? 

“Davis shows us a new frontier of space discovery, but there is no rover facing the space dust. We are the guinea pigs, and that adventure is not for the meek."  

- Stella Telleria author of Across The Wire

”Jean Davis speculates on a future that seems all too believable. Her stories will entertain, and they will make you think. Don't look in Dreams of Stars and Lies for easy solutions.”

- Joan H. Young author of Accidentally Yours

$9.99 print / $1.99 ebook. Want it free? Review any of my other books on Amazon, let me know when your review has posted, and I'll send you a free ebook of Dreams of Stars and Lies.

Dreams of Stars and Lies can be found in both print and ebook on Amazon and in ebook through Smashwords / Barnes & Noble / Kobo and more.

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 
and find links to all the other 
participating writers.

This month's ISWG question: 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?

I would love to see either Amazon playing nice with other online book sales outlets or the other way around. Mostly, if they could all just get along, that would be super helpful and make things easier for authors when publishing their books. I get that many readers don't want to feed the Amazon beast, but Amazon does make it very simple for authors to publish through them. Other places are getting better, but they don't like Amazon, which means if we want to sell elsewhere, we have to publish in multiple places and that often means setting up separate files (because the publishing specifications are different), tracking sales in multiple places, and can cause problems if you want to run a sale. 

On a related note, I wish IngramSpark would reduce or do away with their charge per publishing platform because at least they are a one-stop place to publish. If you don't mind paying for it or if you're lucky and happen to have a promo code to bypass the charge. 

Dreams of Stars and Lies Preorder

A collection of five short stories, including Sipper:    

Poverty has shaped Tia’s life since childhood, labeling her a roach. A day without hunger pains or despising looks is pure fantasy until she accepts a job offer to explore a wondrous deserted city on a distant world. All she can think about is the life-altering payout she’ll receive in six months. 

   

A hundred roaches are set free in the city of crystal spires. Their mission: To learn what they can about the previous occupants and to verify that the place is habitable for the host of wealthy future occupants waiting in orbit. 

   

Well-provisioned, Tia and her fellow roaches scatter to explore the dunes and spires. Then people start to disappear. Are they being picked off to lessen the payout or is there a killer among them?  

All the credits in the world won’t change anything if she’s dead.

Dreams of Stars and Lies is now available for preorder in ebook format for $1.99. Print books are coming soon for $9.99 via Amazon

Release date is June 30.

Pre-orders are currently available on Amazon and Smashwords

Free ebook offer: From 6/1 - 12/31 of 2020, post a review of any of my other books on Amazon. Email me or message me on Facebook with your desired ebook format and email address and you'll receive a free ebook copy of Dreams of Stars and Lies.

ISWG: June and Cover Reveal for Dreams of Stars and Lies

How is it June already? Even with most everything closed for a couple of months, you'd think things 

If you're not familiar with 

the Insecure Writers Support 

Group, check it out here 
and find links to all the other 
participating writers.

would be more relaxed, but it sure doesn't feel that way. I've been finding plenty to do and because my day job is half e-commerce, I've still been working too. 

Since it's time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group post, I'll start with writing-related happenings. The question this month is: Writers have secrets! What are one or two of yours, something readers would never know from your work?

Well, it's not a big secret that I have a new book coming out soon. Dreams of Stars and Lies will release late June or early July. With all my usual signing venues shut down right now, I'm feeling a little more relaxed with the publishing schedule I'd originally set up for the year.

Dreams of Stars and Lies is a collection of five short science fiction stories. The front cover features a scene from the story, Sipper.

Poverty has shaped Tia’s life since childhood, labeling her a roach. A day without hunger pains or despising looks is pure fantasy until she accepts a job offer to explore a wondrous deserted city on a distant world. All she can think about is the life-altering payout she’ll receive in six months. 

A hundred roaches are set free in the city of crystal spires. Their mission: To learn what they can about the previous occupants and to verify that the place is habitable for the host of wealthy future occupants waiting in orbit. 

Well-provisioned, Tia and her fellow roaches scatter to explore the dunes and spires. Then people start to disappear. Are they being picked off to lessen the payout or is there a killer among them? 

All the credits in the world won’t change anything if she’s dead.

In other news, I'm trying my hand a co-authoring a book. An early YA book. Secret? I've never managed to write a story for that age group, though I've tried. We'll see if I can keep my dark and twisted plot brain harnessed.

And an actual secret? Long ago, the genre I first wrote in? Mystery. I was surrounded by mystery books as a kid. My mother was addicted to them and so when I started reading chapter books, guess what area of the bookstore I was introduced to? Yep. Mystery. While I do enjoy working that angle into my stories now, it's not something that ever quite clicked for me as far as writing. I still enjoy reading it though.