Also posted on Patreon.

Hello! I hope everyone is having a great Monday. We’re off today for President’s Day in my district, the last one until April which is, uh, awful, lol. Usually I’d be planning a mental health day in there but I only have three sick days left for the whole year and last year, I got a wicked cold right at the end of the year so I want to save them.

Anyway 😛

The Problem

I feel like I struggled for all of 2025 to get into some sort of groove with writing. Now that we’re in February, it’s been a year since I released a novel. I haven’t gone a year between releases since 2019. For the first few years of Flash Fiction, I was able to maintain a pretty decent balance because, for the most part, I’d picked projects that were relatively focused and didn’t require a lot of thinking. I feel like the last two projects, Dear Reader and You’re Not Sorry, have suffered from being flash fiction because I approached them like Flash — and both of them needed more planning.

I decided that I would focus on novels more in 2026 and cut Flash back to weekends so I could spend more time working on These Small Hours, Book 3 during the week but both projects are suffering because the scope of both sort of requires most of my brain energy.

I also think that You’re Not Sorry is suffering from not being updated more often with the audience. It feels like the pacing is off because we stay in place for multiple updates. If I were updating more, you’d realize the pacing isn’t that bad (though it does need some picking up)

I’ve already promised myself to be more deliberate about what I write for Flash Fiction (or do a lot more advance planning). I have several story pieces lined up that I think would be better suited for Flash after this.

The Proposed Solution

I’m considering putting These Small Hours back on hiatus long enough to finish You’re Not Sorry. That means I’ll do more planning and update more frequently — including during the weekend.

But that idea has drawbacks.

Book 3 is horribly overdue — and so is the next book in the Fool Me Twice series — over a year AND putting a novel on hiatus means I don’t really have content or material for the Patreon tiers (though honestly, those tiers have been suffering for months and I love you all dearly for your patience).

One of the ideas I’d played around with is writing the flash fiction, posting it on Patreon as early access and then free updates on the website would be more scheduled and dependable. But I really don’t love that solution because I enjoy posting on social media when I’m writing and immediately linking to the story.

I have played around with the Flash First Draft stories as Patreon perks — which we tested in December — and I do actually think that might have worked if I hadn’t gotten sick. It was super beneficial for me to write Malice last year and get the first act out of my head so I could properly think about the universe. I have a lot of other stories where the beginning of the story is clear but that I’d need more work on the rest of the story.

Where You Come In

Here is my proposed schedule update for the website and for Patreon (along with Tier adjustments).

Website & Free Updates

You’re Not Sorry becomes my direct focus with 3-4 public updates a week, aiming to build towards daily updates within two weeks until the story is completed. I don’t know yet when that would be, but I would hope two months would do it — so sometime in April.

However, as soon as Not Sorry is finished, Flash Fiction will go on hiatus until the end of the school year while I throw myself completely into These Small Hours with the hope of getting a draft done by the end of June.

• The only way I could see bringing Flash back any sooner is if I get one story completely plotted out and it’s just a matter of opening the outline and writing.

Patreon Tiers

Stalker Tier: First Drafts returns and I’ll dig into any number of stories sitting on the drawing board where the beginning of the story is completely in my head but I can’t figure out or really visualize what’s next. We’d do 2-3 25-minute sprints on the weekends.

In addition, I’d add some livestreams working on Not Sorry or videos about it.

Obsessed Tier: I don’t want Hours or FMT to fall completely off the radar, so we’d do some 25 minute sprints sporadically through the weekend where I work on those projects. For Hours, I need to finish the plot sketch, break them down, and do soundtracks, so maybe some livestreams doing that? And if I finish that before Hours goes into production, we can do some livestreams working on FMT and getting Book 3 ready for writing.

This tier would also get monthly updates of First Draft projects.

Devoted Tier: This tier would get First Draft projects when I finish them — that means partially finished first drafts of stories, lol. Like I gave you seven chapters of Kismet, 11 of Malice, etc.

 

So — those are my ideas for getting things back on track in a way that makes sense. Thoughts? Feedback?

Update Link: You’re Not Sorry – Part 77 (how.)

Hope everyone is having a good weekend 🙂 I get to sleep until seven tomorrow so yay for me.

I’ve been having some trouble plotting out this story — I don’t know why because I have it visualized in my head, but it was just hard to get it on screen. But last night I switched to paper, and now I’ve broken through a huge pacing issue and we’re back on track 😛

I’d love to add more updates during the week, but it’s been a huge struggle to get going on Hours during the week with my brain fried by work lately. February is going better than January, but not as much as I’d hope. Still it’s another week, and hopefully I can get back to it later today and start picking up the pace! Maybe a switch to paper is what that one needs too 😛

I have a ton to do tomorrow, but I’m hoping to squeeze in an update when I get home from the dentist. If I don’t update by 4PM EST tomorrow, I’ll see you on Friday 🙂

Update Link: You’re Not Sorry – Part 76

It has been an extremely annoying week, my friends. It turns out my dishwasher isn’t a fan of freezing weather either — it started throwing errors last Saturday (when we had that awful windchill that put us in the negatives) but I didn’t know that until AFTER I made chili for the week which meant I had a shit ton of dishes — and I could only wash them in small doses because I don’t have the counter or sink space to soak and dry them (THAT IS WHY I HAVE THE DISHWASHER UNIVERSE).

Anyway, we’re in the forties again, so the dishwasher is back on and dishes are finally done and my kitchen is clean.

And then AND THEN the Phillies released my wholesome king, Nick Castellanos AKA MY FAVORITE PLAYER and the Philly media which sucks monkey balls and acts like a goddamn tabloid dropped a bullshit article about what a terrible team mate he was. DUDE. Literally invited to off-time team gatherings, everyone with huge smiles on their face, he let all the minor players who got called up stay with him AT HIS HOUSE, FIRST ONE TO COMFORT ORION KERKERING after the guy committed a season-ending error — YOU’RE GOING TO TELL ME THIS WAS A SELFISH MAN–

*deep breath* I am going to miss my king and the mayor of Philadelphia, his son Liam who was at all the games and who Nick ran to every time he crossed home on a homerun, and WHEN HE SIGNS WITH THE PADRES TODAY YOU FUCKERS I WILL LAUGH SO HARD and watch every single Padres game I can get my hands  on–

ANYWAY. It has been A WEEK.  And that’s before we get to the work week.

But it’s over, and we’re on our last three day weekend until Spring Break in April (SIX WEEKS WITHOUT A DAY OFF HELP), so let’s all take a deep breath (that’s mostly to me bc I get started on the INJUSTICE DONE TO MY BOY A PLAGUE ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES DAVE AND ROB–)

I’m going to try to update tomorrow and Monday, too, but I have a dentist appointment that morning, and my filling cracked (I TOLD YOU THE WEEK WAS ANNOYING) and my hygienist is going to get irritated with me because I still didn’t buy a damned waterpik (DOES SHE OWN STOCK) so we’ll see how Monday rolls out but definitely tomorrow!

Oh, and one last piece of irritation — I left my planner on my desk at work and I WON’T BE BACK UNTIL TUESDAY MORNING

the universe has declared war, obviously, and i will be suing

Update Link: You’re Not Sorry – Part 75

Thanks to the windchill, it feels like it’s -12  and I am so done with winter.  The only slightly good news is we have a few days above freezing (37 mind you) coming and maybe some of this snow will finally melt. This is like 2010 when it snowed and snowed and snowed and stayed cold and by March, you’re like, I forgot what grass looks like. HOW DOES WARMTH FEEL

Anyway. I’m freezing inside my own house, and I can’t wait for it to be over. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but my desk is by the window in the office and this part hangs over the porch which isn’t well insulated, so it’s colder than the rest of the house. It’s usually fine because I’ve had my trusty space heater since college — uh, but it’s 15 years old and it was NOT built for the negative -12 we were dealing with. Me and Lizzie curled up in a chair wrapped up like burritos until I got the feeling back in my fingertips (and watched Drag Race Season 4 reruns, justice for Dida).

I’ve switched to the other space heater from the living room (that I bought when the heater went out last fall), and I think it’s time to retire my old reliable office heater. And when the sun is up, it’s not too bad, so I’m getting it in early while I can still feel my external limbs.

 

Update Link: You’re Not Sorry – Part 74

Happy Friday 🙂 We’re still packed in ice and snow and freezing our asses off here in South Jersey with temps supposedly lingering around 0 all day tomorrow. I am so done with winter.

I mostly got everything on the list done this week, including the planned work on These Small Hours! I’m ready to get back into writing starting Monday so yay for everyone, but mostly me.

Had myself a little panic attack over the last week. Last Sunday, I was making meatloaf, so I took off my ring and put it on the counter. It’s a claddagh ring that I bought in Ireland when I turned 30. That was the year I was doing grad school in London, and trips to Dublin were affordable. Mike and Lauren, who were with me in London, and our friend Diana who planned her visit at that point, bought me a trip to Ireland, paying for my flight and hostel. They thought the ginger should return to the land of her people for the big 3-0. We did a day trip in Galloway, and Lauren and I went into a jewelry store where we bought both ring with our birthstones. I’ve worn mine every day since, and Lauren wore hers until she passed from cancer a few years ago. The ring got knocked off the counter (either by me or the chaos agent, Lizzie the Menace.) Devastation. I searched everywhere and nearly gave up until Wednesday after work — it was just chilling on the floor in a spot i damn well know I looked three thousand times. The universe man.

Anyway, other than, a half-decent week here for me. Except  for the cold. Boo to the cold. Bring on spring and baseball!

Update Link: You’re Not Sorry – Part 73

I can’t believe this stupid story is at more than seventy updates. Good grief.

Trying to get myself prepped for the earlier weekend updates with baseball season heading our way. I miss my dummies hitting balls with sticks.

Another update tomorrow might happen, but it depends on how much I get done the rest of the day — I have some content prep to do, some household tasks I finally have the energy for, and I’d like to organize some time to relax, too, lol, so we’ll see 😛

Update Link: You’re Not Sorry – Part 72

I’m not sure how you guys further north than me do it. We’ve barely broken 20 degrees all week, and my house is so cold — even with the heater running. The office has been especially cold because it has an extension that was built out over the porch decades ago — and neither the porch nor the extension was properly insulated. I wish I’d switched the office to the back room which gets all the afternoon sun and keeps it warmer, but whatever.

January didn’t really go the way I’d planned, story of my life, so let’s hope February gets better.

I am absolutely planning to be back here tomorrow to write at 11 or 12 and post at noon or 1, so stay tuned for that 🙂

Update Link: You’re Not Sorry – Part 71

Apologies for just disappearing again 😛 I attempted a 30 minute writing session and I honestly wasn’t happy with what I produced, so it just felt like a better idea to sit back and try to come back when I honestly felt better and like I was on the mend.  Like I said last week — it’s difficult to feel creative when I’ve been so sick, and so much of my energy has just been getting to the end of the marking period with everything done.

I am honestly feeling so much better now. Even when I thought I was doing better a month ago, I didn’t feel as good as I do now. I still have some congestion, but I’m managing it with some good over-the-counter meds and getting sleep which makes a huge difference. Even better — my energy levels are almost back to where they were before I got sick. I still have some real life things to get back under control (my house, guys, good lord) and I lost pretty much all the extra time I was going to use to get a head of the next marking period, but it is what it is. I already know that I won’t have school tomorrow (yay for snow days!) and that’s such a huge relief. I honestly needed a day to get back on track, so thanks from the universe.

I’m hopeful to get back on track with everything this week — starting with this update today. I was hoping to update yesterday, but it was hard to get into the right frame of mind given what’s been going on outside in the real world.

I hope everyone is staying safe and warm, and I’ll see you hopefully tomorrow for a snow day update.

 

Update Link: You’re Not Sorry – Part 70

TL;DR – I am sick again, but possibly recovering, who knows. Flash Fic today is not 60 minute timed, but 30 minutes because I don’t think I can handle 60 minutes right now. If this works, we’ll keep this up for tomorrow and hope to be back to normal sometime before the end of the decade.

You know, I read that pneumonia can “come back” and I was like, well, that’s not gonna happen to me because — well, I don’t know why I was that arrogant considering my immune system.

Anyway, it didn’t come back in full force, which is good. It was mostly just a resurgence of the congestion, both head and chest, but a bit more mild (I could take deep breaths and I didn’t want to die). But it happened at the same time we had some reallly dry days — like all them moisture got sucked out of my entire region or something. My humidifier couldn’t keep, especially at night — so I didn’t sleep for three straight days. I used one of my sick days on Monday hoping I’d be able to sleep and feel better, but it just got worse. I only have three days left, so I had to work the rest of the week. Basically a zombie.

I ended up stopping the meds I got at the doctor last week after Tuesday, because not only were they not working, but I actively felt worse. I switched to over the counter stuff, hoping some sort of combo would work. So some Alka-Seltzer Cold & Flu chewables, the CVS brand of chest congestion tablets, nasal spray, Nyquil, and saline mist (which I’ve been drowning myself in). I also bought a second humidifier and dug up my essential oils diffuser because I still had some eucalyptus, and with all of that — I slept finally.

Anyway. This has been the most annoying six weeks of my life. Ruined December, has tanked January, and I swear if I’m still sick in February —

I did zero creative writing this week. I don’t know what to tell you other than you need to be able to think to create and my only thought all week was I WANT TO SLEEP. 

It’s the end of the marking period on Friday, and I’m, once again, scrambling to get caught up and prepped for work. And it’s really hard to concentrate for long periods of time because I have to stop and irrigate my frickin nasal cavity so I can breathe.

Everything sucks.

Update Link: You’re Not Sorry – Part 69

• the recent updates page will be updated at some point this week, promise

Apologies for not updating on Friday! I can’t remember now if I mentioned it — but I woke up with a sore throat last weekend, and it just got worse all week. I was worried I’d caught strep (on top of everything else!) Rapid test was negative, but the full test isn’t back until tomorrow. Doctor said it was post-nasal drip, but a really bad case, and like, sure. Whatever. He gave me meds. We’ll see.

Got back to work okay. Was sort of able to get a decent handle on things — caught up with most of my grading, managed to get a little bit of long-term planning done, though I don’t think I’ll go into Marking Period 3 as organized as I came into MP2 which is fine since MP2 got blown up.

I worked on These Small Hours every day this week, but it was a lot of prep work — planning the book, thinking out the threads and subplots, etc. Looking forward to getting into the plot sketch this weekend and writing by next Monday.

While I miss writing every day and offering you guy something several times a week, it was so necessary for me to strip back and just relax my brain. It was better coming home and not trying to think about how to organize energy to write for an hour. I managed 10-20 minutes on writing and pretty much died around 5:30-6 every day.