Update Link: Masquerade – Part 4

Finally made it to the three-day weekend! We had a half-day with the kids and then a two hour in-service. I’d rather have had the full day considering our instructional supervisors decided that the best thing for teachers to do at the end of a Friday is a scavenger hunt, sending us all over the school with clues to determine the next location. So much for an easy day, ugh. I’m so tired, lol.

Anyway — the Phillies got eliminated so I, uh, have a lot more free time on my hands now. I’m taking it a lot better than the rest of Phillies Twitter, lol. They wanna DFA the whole team (release them for the non-baseball readers). I also made some adjustments to my workload and I’m in a much better place than I described during the last update. I can’t wait to sleep in and relax a little this weekend, and actually do something fun. 

I should be able to update on Monday in the evening since I’m off, but I’ll update the sidebar with planned updates (and try to keep them a little better this time!)

ETA: I really wanted to come back tonight, but it’s just not in the cards. I definitely won’t be able to do it Tues/Wed unless my school closes, lol, I’ll see you Thursday!

Update Link: Masquerade – Part 3

I feel like the last month has been super frustrating in so many ways, and I am so irritated because I spent the entire summer trying to prep myself to make life easier for me. Ugh. Anyway, I’m gonna go into more detail below, so if you care, click the Read More link, but if you don’t, that’s fine, lol.  There’s nothing story-related other than an explanation for why some deadlines might not be met even though Flash Fiction gets posted.

I’m working very hard to make those These Small Hours Book 2 & 3 deadlines, and I have no reason right now to expect they won’t happen. Except the universe and I aren’t friends right now. If this was the price I had to pay for the Liason hug the other day and Sam’s imminent death–

Anyway. Right now, the plan is to do flash on Monday and maybe Thursday.  But I wanted to make up for not coming back on Friday (me and the printer had a fight, and then the Roku declared war, but I think I won.) See you tomorrow!

Continue reading →

Updated: Masquerade – Part 2

Hey! I’m glad you guys are willing to go on this journey with me 😛 I never write fantasy or paranormal, but I read a lot of it (when I can find time to read). This idea has been in the back of my mind since I moved the site over to the new domain back in 202o and contemplated rewriting Aurora Dawning (my one another fantasy story).  It’s just really good to break out of rewriting the show, which is pretty much all I’ve been doing for the last year or so. It’ll let my brain relax, and I’m sure I’ll be back to work on Chain Reaction soon enough.

A couple of questions popped up in some recent replies, so I wanted to address them there:

• For the Broken Girl, Book 2 – It’s plotted and broken down, it just keeps getting skipped. Fool Me Twice got expanded, and Hours was broken into a series, but I’m hoping to get to it after FMT3.
• Collecting Regrets Flash Fiction Trilogy — This was the Elizabeth story rewrites I did in 2020-22 (Darkest Before Dawn, Shot in the Dark, and Scars). Was there ever any more stories in the series? I did a short story set after the epilogue of Scars, thinking maybe I’d do more of it, but never got around to it. I need to link it somewhere on the site, but if you missed it: Maybe This Time

Had a really productive day at work, and caught up on a lot of paperwork, so feeling a lot better about taking more of my evenings to write again 🙂

See you on Friday!

Update Link: Masquerade – Part 1

Okay, so I can explain.

I’ve been dealing with a bit of block with Chain Reaction which is another reason that updates have slowed down and even when I have posted, we’re not really going anywhere. The story was in my head but when I tried to sketch it out, I just couldn’t quite make it work the way I wanted. So I’ve pushed updates and focused on These Small Hours (Book 2 is officially underway!) hoping it would shake me loose. But that means just not posting until I can get Chain Reaction working again, and pressure never helps. I’m hoping that if I start the next series that I had planned anyway which is wildly different than everything I’ve written for the last few years, it’ll trick my brain into relaxing and I’ll be able to figure out how to get where I want to go. So just a temporary hiatus.

The good news is that the postseason has started. The Phillies don’t play again until Saturday, and then they’re off on Monday, so I can guarantee Monday updates. And if they get out of the NLDS, there are built in off days the rest of the month. So right now, I’m tentatively committing to Monday & Wednesday updates. If I can get Chain Reaction moving, I’ll put in M/W/F updates and do what I did when I was juggling in Warning Shots. One week on, one week off.

I won’t know anything for sure until Wednesday/Thursday when they set the times for the NLDS series (Wild Card comes first!)

October is going to be a little funky, but sadly, the baseball season will be over, and we’ll settle into some routines 🙂

I hope you like this one. It’s been percolating in the back of my head for a while. See you Wednesday!

Update Link: Chain Reaction – Part 37

Yay, finally updating this! It’s an off day for the Phillies — their last one of the regular season. I appreciate you guys working with me as Flash Fiction moves all over the place during the regular season. It’s been so fun getting back into baseball now that I’m in a place in my life to dedicate to it. Just zero time during grad school and student teaching.

Anyway! Let’s talk about October because lots of good news for you guys!

The Phillies clinched the Number 1/2 seed in the NL last night which means they don’t play after Saturday until Saturday, October 5.  I’ll have next week free in the evenings, and while I’m working on Hours Book 2, I also want to add some more Flash Fic updates to really start to wind Chain Reaction down. I’m juggling a few options for the next story, and I’ll let you know when I decide. We’re definitely in Act 3 of CR, but I’m working out the ending, so I don’t know how many parts are left.

I’m going to get through this weekend and see how much of Hours Book 2 I finish before deciding how many Flash updates I’ll make. I’ll update the widget by Sunday night, so check the sidebar!

Update Link: These Small Hours, Book 1: Undone

Hey! Sorry about not updating Flash Fiction basically since going back to work. September’s been pretty rough, and I really thought I’d be able to get to it on Friday, but I seriously overestimated my energy levels.

Anyway, I dropped a whole book this week so hopefully you guys were all busy reading that and didn’t even notice Flash being gone. I’ll be diving into Book 2 starting Monday and I’ll see you guys on Thursday, the next Phillies’ off day for a Flash Fic update.

Update Link: These Small Hours, Book 1

Chapters | Timeline & Setting

Chapter 4-32 are now live which means These Small Hours, Book 1: Undone is officially out in the world! Don’t forget to leave me a thumbs up as you read each chapter to let me know you were there. It’s an easy, no pressure way to leave quick feedback.

Book 2 will be out in December! Be sure to let me know what you think and what you hope happens next!

I’ll see you later this week for some Flash Fiction.

Update Link: Chain Reaction – Part 26
In Case You Missed It: These Small Hours, Chapters 1-3

Note: Most of this blog post is personal and may contain some trigger warnings for pet illness, but here’s some story news: These Small Hours is scheduled and ready for release on Tuesday morning. I anticipate at least one Flash Fiction update midweek while the Phillies play the Brewers — the start time is pushed back an hour when they go to Milwaukee. I’ll update the sidebar as soon as I know. We’re in the final weeks of the season, so Flash will get a stable off-season time slot soon. See you for the next flash update.

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Thanks for your patience these last few weeks as I got back to work and battled some real life issues. I picked up a really nasty cold that laid me absolutely flat last week — I used pretty much all my energy to finish the edit for These Small Hours. I started to feel a little better as the week got underway, but Wednesday morning, I woke up without a voice! I made it through Wednesday & Thursday without much of a voice, but teaching high school — it was really taking a toll on me. I was already planning to take Friday off to rest it, catch up on some sleep, and just generally kick the last of the cold.

But, well, it wasn’t to be. I did make it to the doctor on Thursday and I’m feeling better that way, though the voice isn’t entirely back, I’m good enough to get back to corralling students. When I got home on Thursday, I had to kind of face something I’ve been avoiding for pretty much the entire summer. I didn’t talk about it here, other than mentioning her vet visits. I think I just wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening. We got lucky — the tumor grew very slowly and literally, Sasha was her normal, cuddly, interrupting, keyboard stealing self on Wednesday night, just a little bit slower and eating less. But at some point over that next 24 hours, the tumor just — it took over. If you’ve ever had a cat with a nasal tumor, you might know what I mean, and I’ll leave it at that. And by Friday morning, it was clear I was down to days if that, before her condition deteriorated rapidly. I never wanted that for her, not for my sweet girl who deserved much better. So I made the choice to let her go. She passed, just before 5PM on Friday, in my arms, sleeping, after one last round of treats.

I appreciate all the warm thoughts and wishes sent my way. Sasha was a regular feature in my updates and tweets, and it’s already been unsettling these last few days not to be interrupted at my desk, or to protect my egg yolks from her begging eyes (would have bathed in yolk if I’d let her). Or leaving my laundry on my bed, folded, but without a sheet pulled over it because Sasha loved nothing more than laying across fresh laundry and leaving some cat hairs behind. I had fifteen amazing years with her, and I know she felt loved until the end. I just wish it had been longer. I wish I had hugged her one more time, but isn’t that always how it goes?

If you have any pets, give them hugs and kisses, and tell them I said hi. <3

Update Link: These Small Hours – Chapter 3
In Case You Missed It: Chapter 1 & Chapter 2
Early Access for Patreon: Full Book Available for $5, publicly available for free on Tues

I really do expect to have a flash fiction update out this weekend, but there are some circumstances that have come up that will prevent me from updating tonight as I’d hoped. I’m just not sure of the rest of my schedule for Saturday & Sunday, so I decided to throw up one last preview chapter for you guys. I was working on the sub-site this morning, and posting this helped me work out some of the design kinks.  I still have to finish the content, but I’m pretty happy with how the theme came out. Let me know if you have any thoughts on the colors.

I took a sick day today because I lost my voice this week due to my cold, and I had some extra time on my hands. It’s been an interesting experience trying to teach high school kids with zero voice, but I wasn’t in the mood for a third day.

I’ll see you when I see you this weekend. Thanks for understanding.

Continue reading →

Update: These Small Hours – Chapter 2   | Chapter 1

I really thought I’d have flash fiction this weekend, but you know the universe always has a curve ball, lol.

The first week went off really well — probably my best first week back since the pandemic. I was pretty tired the first two days, but by Thursday, I was up to cooking and working on things. I edited for a little while, and was looking forward to a great weekend. Then as I went to sleep on Thursday night, I started to feel less than great. I barely slept, and over the course of Friday, I developed my first cold of the week. My immune system didn’t even try this year to hold off, so I guess that’s good since it means my three day weekend in October might not suck after all, lol.

Anyway, I got cold medicine and slept better last night but I’m still feeling a little run down. My focus this weekend has to be prepping for next week and finishing up These Small Hours so I just refuse to commit to updating flash fiction. (I’m not ruling out tomorrow or even Monday, I just won’t promise it).

So I’m giving you the final preview chapter for These Small Hours. Book 1 will be up for early access on Patreon by Tuesday, and I’ll be releasing the whole thing next Tuesday, September 17 at 7 am.

I’ll see you as soon as possible for the next flash fiction!