For a Better Future

So I’m sure some of you noticed that there was no update for Eikasia again this past Sunday. That makes two weeks in a row. I remember when I posted on January 11th how excited I was. I thought, Finally! After a year of waiting, I can get back to it! But life! Ah, life. How it loves to crush my delusions.

Now before you all start getting alarmed (and you really shouldn’t be) this isn’t some dreary announcement that Eikasia is “ending” or something. Of course not! I’m not even shutting the site down. But I can’t lie that some of you will be disappointed. Thankfully, that’s not too many of you, but still.

Eikasia’s going back to irregular updates again so that I can focus on publishing the books. And this time, I just want to warn everybody that this doesn’t mean updates every other week, or even once a month. I mean there really could be long stretches between one update to the next–months we’re talking here.

Why? Why did this happen again? She had the baby didn’t she? She graduated from college, didn’t she!? Well yes, imaginary reader. Yes, I did all of those things.

But little did I know, that just because school is done and the baby is born, that doesn’t mean things get “easier.” Oh no! Far from that. The family problems still persist, and there’s still that nagging little problem of trying to get enough work experience to really start my career going that’s keeping me from smooth sailing. I’ve started a paid internship that pays little, but is much needed for my resume. It takes a lot of work, though. Almost like a part time job. So apart from playing housewife and taking care of my baby son 24/7, a lot of my energy goes towards that.

So there’s the time aspect. Now about the money: I don’t get many donations at all from the site. I’m lucky if I get five bucks from someone in a year. The ads? Because I’m having trouble keeping a steady schedule up, I can’t improve my SEO to get more visitors to the site, so ad sales aren’t much. The addition of a child in my life, plus a dramatic cut back in income in the last year, plus the new cost of student loan bills, makes money more imperative for me. To be honest, Eikasia’s web site is a money drain. So how do I justify keeping it still active? (And I swear I will!) It got to a point where I thought, Why am I killing myself, trying to write new material for Eikasia, when I already have at least 3-4 finished manuscripts that I just need to edit and publish? My original plan had been to have Book 2 of Eikasia out by the end of the year, but this feels unlikely. The first book was supposed to release a lot sooner than it did, but there were set backs that resulted in that not happening. What could happen this time around with Book 2? And the cost for editing will be much more, but my family has promised to help, and I’m trying to save what I can from sales for Book 1 (but hey I have to deal with my family’s needs right now sometimes.)

So I hope you guys understand. Just because updates aren’t going to be steady anymore doesn’t mean Eikasia is dead. If anything, I’m trying to insure its future! If you want to know when the site actually updates, just join the new mailing list by clicking here.

Eikasia: A Day in the Life – That Time of the Month

So to celebrate Spirit Day 2014, I wanted to share this short Eikasia piece with you all. It’s just an amusing bit that I may or may not use in the upcoming e-book, In Sight, In Mind. If you aren’t familiar with my lesbian fantasy romance series, you can purchase the first book, Tributaries, on Smashwords at a discounted price, along with its prequels: a low-cost novella and two free short stories here: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/cajeck

I want to do more shorts like these in the future for Eikasia. A sort of “A Day in the Life” series featuring some of the unique challenges Nyx and Elmiryn have to face day-to-day. It’s inspired by the Xena Warrior Princess episode of the same name.

Anyway, without further ado…

---

 

There were a number of challenges to traveling with Elmiryn, many of which I came to expect the longer I stayed with her, and yet somehow there was one unique issue that I had managed to forget about. That special burden suffered only by the fairer sex.

Yes…that.

It might sound odd that I would forget such a defining trait among women of any species, but you must understand, Ailuran women have long cycles in comparison to humans. Like many shapeshifter races, my feline folk are fertile but once a year. Twice if we are lucky. It’s part of the reason our population is so few in the world. All that said, I never had to suffer the moodiness brought on by such a condition all that much. I myself have only bled maybe nine times in my life. I even skipped a year, after the death of my family, due to severe stress and malnutrition.

So when my sensitive therian nose detected that subtle but telling scent from Elmiryn, I braced myself. Was she especially moody during these periods? I’d seen the redhead irritable before, and I wasn’t eager to see it again. Who would be? It was doubly awkward as she was my only company out on the trail.

But in typical fashion, Elmiryn surprised me. She wasn’t grumpy. She wasn’t depressed. She wasn’t even tired.

No. She was just more…Elmiryn.

“Elmiryn give it back!” I protested as my companion snatched Tobias’s book from near my bedroll.

She flipped through the pages, holding the book aloft as I tried, ineffectively, to snatch it back. “How can you read this?” She giggled. “This Tobias has the shittiest writing I’ve ever seen! My instructors would have been appalled!”

“Not all of us has had the benefit of being noble-born, Elmiryn! Now please, return my book!”

She glanced at me, unconcerned as she held it over my head. “Nyx, this will rot your brain. If you’re not careful, you’ll be speaking in the old tongue!”

I stomped my foot. “Elle, enough! I don’t find this funny! You promised you wouldn’t touch my things!”

“Faireth Nyx! Thou art turningeth the fairest shadeth of pinketh!”

“That isn’t even how they talked! You’re behaving like an asshat.”

Elmiryn pouted and finally tossed me my book. “Me thinketh Nyx doth not knoweth how to taketh a joketh,” she mumbled.

I glowered at her as I returned the book to my other belongings. “It isn’t my fault you humans bleed once a month! Must I suffer alongside you?”

The redhead quirked an eyebrow at me. “Well now! I don’t remember mentioning my personal business to you!”

I flushed and busied myself with gathering my things. “I can’t help it. My nose is sensitive. It is by no means a reflection on you.”

“Oh I suppose that’s good. For a moment I thought I was attracting the wildlife.”

I frowned at her. “Why do you sound disappointed?”

“Well you see, I had this dream wherein a squirrel went down my pants and–”

“Stop. I changed my mind, I don’t want to know!”

 

Tributaries Available for Pre-Orders!

It’s here! Well…almost. After 6 YEARS of writing, editing, and even monetary investment, Eikasia’s first installment, Tributaries, is available for pre-order at its special limited time price of 2.99!

Want to pre-order? Click here!

This has been one long, crazy road. Since starting Eikasia, I have gotten married, gone through three different jobs, moved across the country and back, graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, and had a baby. In that time I learned so much in terms of different writing techniques, publishing tactics, about author rights, and the power of art for art’s sake. The self-publishing experience has been no less educational for me. For instance, I re-discovered the importance of meta-data, realized how weird ISBNs are, and learned how surprisingly straightforward the copyright process can be. I also had a hiccup with the cover art, of all things. A simple misunderstanding, but one of unfortunate timing. Still, I rolled with it thanks to the help and support of my editor/consultant/ebook designer Vicky, and the suffering patience of my husband.

All of that is behind me now. Tributaries is scheduled for release November 1st. My work is not done, however. Because of the exceptionally close release date, I have to get on top of trying to generate buzz for the story. That essentially means sending out copies to bloggers and review sites. The unfortunate bit is that these people tend to be inundated with these sorts of requests, so while my plan had been to release Tributaries well before Thanksgiving, I can only hope that some kind soul reads my work and drops a review on Goodreads or LibraryThing in time before the frenzy of holiday shopping.

I don’t think that I’m rushing my work out, however. You see, the thing is about being an underground author is that I don’t have the sort of clout or fame as say, Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. There is no frenzy for my books. So why would I delay a chance for people to purchase the work? The coming weeks will be me enacting my simple one-man ad campaign for my story, all the while experimenting with whatever techniques I can employ until then. That is the only reason for the pre-order. So that I can get my bearings, hype the book, and start with my best foot forward. This isn’t something I can afford to drag out or wait on. My reason for waiting is more precaution than necessity.

In truth, I seriously doubt I’ll ever make back even a fraction of what I’ve invested in Eikasia. I have spent so much money in artwork, site hosting, advertising, and editing. If I got a bit of that money back, that’d be great, but that wasn’t the point of this whole thing. I was doing this for reputation economy. (which I talked about last year on this blog)

…Honestly, it’s hard gathering my thoughts together. I’m so excited and my book isn’t even out yet. I’m aware of how silly that sounds, but I can’t stress enough how much I’ve put into writing Eikasia. It means everything to me. If I were to die tomorrow, it would be my second greatest achievement after the birth of my son.

And I’m not done with it! I know some of you reading this are still waiting for me to continue the free serial. You might even wonder if the release of this ebook means the death of the free site. No. That isn’t what it means at all. Don’t you see? You guys are the ones who made this happen! I wouldn’t even be doing this if it weren’t for you all! THANK YOU. Give yourselves a hug on me. If I could meet you in person, I’d hug you and squeeze.

Since I became a mother late February of this year, then graduated a short week later from university, I have found myself unable to continue my serials as I once did. If we’re all honest, the preceding three years had definitely seen a hit in terms of frequency. What I hope the release of this ebook shows is that you guys can have faith in me to keep bringing you great story content to enjoy. Seriously, this ebook is NEW. If you read Tributaries on the website, you owe it to yourself to read the new version. It really is different in many important and noticeable ways.

And I intend to do the same with In Sight, In Mind. With any luck, by the end of 2015! But I can’t do it unless you guys support THIS ebook! All proceeds will go towards editing and design costs for book two. Like the first book, it will feature new scenes, new dialogue, and a much smoother reading experience. I was even considering a more dramatic overhaul to its overall plot (because, let’s face it, book two ain’t perfect.) If you’re still wishing I could continue my serials like before, don’t worry. Soon my life as a full-time mother will be more accommodating to more involved writing projects. For now, editing is about all that I can handle. It’s easy to pick up, easy to put down, and much easier for me to wrap my sleep-deprived-mommy-mind around.

For a limited time until the end of October, Tributaries will be on sale at a special discounted price of $2.99. After that, it goes up to $3.99. If you’re a frugal person, now is the time to purchase the new ebook!

I still can’t believe I made it this far. Thanks again to all you readers, and let’s keep the adventure going!

The Beautiful Perseverance

(My 200th post!)

Today I posted the latest update for Eikasia (Chapter 41.3) and it made me think of something.

The beauty of perseverance.

I was down almost a thousand words until meeting my word count goal and I was in a funky mood this morning. I considered saying, “No, I won’t write today. I’ll do it some other day.” The lethargy pressed down on me hard, to the point that even sitting up and looking at my computer screen seemed to take great effort. Negative thoughts ran rampant through my head. “You can’t do this. Your story’s quality is declining–not that it was that high to begin with. This update is boring.” What loomed over me was a big thick wall, and spray painted across it was the phrase: YOU CAN’T DO IT.

Then I just started typing. I ignored it all as best I could and just started typing. Did the feelings go away? No, actually. I felt like crap the entire time I typed. Almost unto the point of tears, even. But the point is, I got it done. After I read it to my husband and heard his input, I realized afterwards that this really WAS all just in my head, and there was nothing wrong with my update as a whole.

I’ve been very open on this blog about my struggles with depression-anxiety, and I’m proud to say that I’ve handled my pregnancy just fine, and haven’t had the need to resort to medications again since I kicked them to the curb October 2012. The thing is, while perhaps the degree of my sudden funk is not what most experience, to have a funk AT ALL is something I think everyone can relate to, especially with writing. I guess the point of this little post was to just say…if I can do it, so can you. Sometimes you just have to chew through it. Yes, even when it is really bad. What perpetuates depression is not depression, it’s our willingness to allow for it.

My husband’s been watching The Ultimate Fighter on DVD, and while I recognize that many of you aren’t into MMA fighting (or even despise it) I wanted to share this insightful bit of advice from fighter, Chael Sonnen. I think it can be applied in any person’s career, hobby, or lifestyle, including writing.

State of the Author – July 2nd 2013

Late in going up here, but an update on what’s new with me and the Eikasia project!

Google Drive Experiment

Hey guys.

So I’ve been hankering to write lately, but alas, I have another 40 hour work week looming over me along with school. So! I started exploring options for live writing. If you’ve never heard of live writing, it’s basically just as it sounds. Someone sits at a keyboard and types something live online, and someone somewhere else reads as they do it! Now I doubt you all will be hurrying for a chance to watch my 60 words per minute crawl across the screen, but in case you’d like to see the NEWEST OF THE NEW appear online before it’s “done”…well now you can. I just opened up two folders for both Akumu Love Panic! and Eikasia on Google Drive. There, you should be able to read the latest material, even as I’m writing it!

Currently, I have some of the newest Eikasia material up for Chapter 35.1, and I’m also working my way through Akumu Love Panic’s first drafts before I write some new material. With luck, the latter should be a much better story, which I feel is necessary before I proceed with it.

For the links to the Google Drive folders, just click below:

Akumu Love Panic! Folder

Eikasia Folder

Comments are encouraged during the writing process, even if all you have to say is, “This is great!” I mean, you know, because…is it!? XD

Eikasia Chapter Preview…What number was it again? Do you care?

So here is the chapter preview for…the next…Eikasia update….

…It’s bad when I can’t remember what number I’m at, right? OH MY GOD. WTH. SOMEONE SLAP ME. RIGHT NAO.

(shut up and take this preview before I change my mind!)

—–

When the dark came over them, whole and impenetrable, Hakeem ceased moving. When he looked back behind him, he saw no light. In their home world, this would be impossible—they hadn’t traveled far from the edge of the forest. But this was the Other Place, and it was a half-world, fraught with magic. This was a supernatural darkness.

 

He opened his mouth to mention this when—

 

“I can’t see!” That was Nyx. Her voice was tight with sudden panic. She sounded far away.

 

“Nyx?” Elmiryn. She was behind him.

 

“Get off my foot, idiot!” Quincy. She was to his right. Perhaps a few steps.

 

“Stay calm,” he said, reaching toward his wife. His hand swiped through air.

 

“Elle!?” Nyx again. Her voice traveled and he heard brush being disturbed. “Elle, where’d you—ah!” There was a thud.

 

“Cajeck!” Kali, now. “Stop stumbling around like that!”

 

“Nyx, you’re going the wrong way!” Elmiryn called. Now she was on Hakeem’s immediate left.

 

“In case you haven’t noticed, Kali, we can’t see anything. Historically this has never been a good thing!” Nyx snapped.

 

“Elmiryn, gods damn it, get off my foot!” Quincy snarled.

 

The warrior’s response was tight with laughter. “Wizard, I’m not even touching you!”

 

“Then…Then what–?”

 

“ELMIRYN!!” It was Nyx again. Hakeem heard sharp snapping sounds, like threads breaking.

 

“Nyx!? Nyx!” Hakeem felt Elmiryn shove past him.

 

The Fanaean covered his face with both his hands, a groan coming up his throat. “Everyone just calm down…”

 

A scuffle. It sounded like snapping wood. Hakeem couldn’t pin point the source.

 

“Nyx? Where the hell—?”

 

“R-Right here, Elle.” Nyx’s voice was small. “I just…it was moss. Just…uh…moss.”

 

Kali’s voice was a disgruntled grind. “A Champion of Survival, and she still can’t stand the feel of hanging vegetation.”

 

“It was scary vegetation! Okay!?”

 

“Kitten…” Elmiryn’s relief was apparent even amidst layers of exasperation.

 

Hakeem spoke loudly. “If all you women are finished being silly—”

 

“Hey, midget.” The gentle tone vanished as the warrior’s voice steeled. “I don’t care how little you are, I will kick you in the cod piece.”

 

He cleared his throat, clasping his hands in front of him. “Noted. I just wanted to let you all know that I recognize what’s happening.”

 

“And what is happening exactly?” Kali asked.

 

“We’re deep inside a magical edge effect.”

 

“A…what?”

 

“Are you familiar with the legend of the blackwood?”

 

“I am.” That was Elmiryn. Her voice had turned somber. “It was the forest of devils.”

 

Hakeem smiled in the dark. “Yes. The forest was famous for its ability to separate the color spectrum.”

 

“Aesutan used it to clothe himself in the ways of the universe.” Elmiryn’s voice was virtually a whisper now.

 

Hakeem frowned at this as he resumed. Was that a note of realization in her voice? “Yes…Meaning color can be manually manipulated.”

 

“Someone made a barrier of the color black!” Nyx exclaimed.

 

“Actually, black is the absence of color, and as color simply makes up the spectrum of light then it’s absence means—”

 

“We can’t see,” the Ailuran finished. “Fascinating! And…troublesome.”

 

“Very good, ikati. You’re correct. We should–” Hakeem broke off as his body tensed. Something just occurred to him.

 

“Hakeem? Is something the matter?”

 

The Fanaean waved his hands through the dark, trying to feel his way. “Mweze? Are you there? Mweze?”

 

“Oh. Oh no! That’s right, Quincy hasn’t said anything for nearly a minute,” Nyx murmured.

 

“What’s the problem?” Elmiryn asked. “She does that all the time!”

 

“Yes, but she does that with a level of menace that tells of a desire to hit you. That feeling’s noticeably absent.”

 

“When you say ‘you’—”

 

“I’m referring to you, Elmiryn.”

 

“I…you know, for once I have nothing to say to that.”

I got some ‘splainin to do…

Video is wonky for some damn reason. First few seconds glitch, then starts up. Youtube chewed it up. I’ll do a new one and post it, but for the most part I hope you guys get the gist of what I’m trying to say:

It’s going to be late…

…But the Eikasia and Akumu Love Panic! updates WILL come, okay guys? Just a bit late. I had work all day today, then tomorrow I fly to California to be with family after a year and a half away from home.
Just wanted to give a heads up!

Updates Updates Updates!

It’s up and ready, though a bit short, for reasons stated in my recent post. Next week I fly to California, but I’ll still be updating (as well as doing school). With work out of the picture and just fun times with the fam and friends, I’m hoping my creative muse and the powers that be will be more generous with me. >_>
As it stands, I’ve decided to update ALP! with what I’ve got as well. It’s about the same length of my Eikasia update, and has a bit of a cliffhanger, but I hope to end it within the week. I can’t come up with enough excuses. All I can say is that I finally made a small step forward!