June 16, 2025
Want a book that’s packed? The Complete Demo Tapes is packed with stories–over 100! It’s as long as a novel but the entire contents are flash and short stories. At only $1.99, it’s a bargain. Available only at my online shop.
The weekend wasn’t nearly as packed as I’d expected it to be, but I also didn’t get enough writing done. And yep, I made it to a protest, although I wound up being a drive-by honk-and-waver. Turns out I should have stopped and joined the ranks… I knew a lot of people who were at my local protest, and if I’d known THAT, I’d have been okay. Life with a damaged eye means I have to take special care to make sure someone has my back — not just in case things go sideways, but because of general safety issues that crop up whenever I’m around a lot of people. It’s complicated to explain and yes, I can still spot a comma at ten feet, so don’t ask me how it works. I can’t explain.
I’m working on one and had a surprise hit me on Saturday — a good surprise, a new series from a prolific and established author — and got word late last week of more coming my way too. The summer’s going to be packed, so I expect that every weekend when I am not out selling, I’ll be at my desk, if only for a few hours, so I can keep everything moving along. I hate making my authors wait for me!
The edit I’m working on is a contemporary, the second in a series, and if you’re a horse lover, this one’s for you!
Well, I haven’t caught up from my trip yet, and I need to cut a slew of words, but I’m also incorporating them into the new stuff, so… At this point, I want to get the draft done. I’ve been struggling with it for so long that at times, I want to give up and work on something else entirely — like more standalones and/or entries to the series. But nope. I’m not a quitter. Not yet, anyway.
I’ll get this story told properly. I will.
If you’re a Hoopla reader, the Trevolution is slowly being added! Right now, Demo Tapes 1 and 3, Trevor’s Song, and King Trevor are all available. Hopefully DT2 and 4 will be added soon.
Remember to request the rest of the Sheep Farm series while you’re reading.
The Dragon and the Pearl, by Jeannie Lin
Like always, it’s an affiliate link.
And like always, since I’m not paywalling these posts at all, I’d love it if you’d pack my Ko-fi, buy my books, or book my editing services. All the money I make from my Ko-fi and from book sales, including the affiliate link above, goes to operational costs here at West of Mars.
That’s it! I’m getting back to work… my queue is packed right now and this is how I love it, believe it or not.
May 28, 2025
ShapeShifter: The Demo Tapes (Year 1)” width=”270″ height=”400″ class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-113″ />There’s a flash piece in here that’s all about a rainy night.
Of course, if you’d prefer the Complete Demo Tapes so you have all the flash and short pieces I refer to, have at it!
We’ve gone from having a real winter to a super rainy spring, and today’s looking to be gray and wet again. It actually started while the kid and I were out doing some shopping before the big move.
At any rate, I think all the dust and hay are finally off the kid’s car.
I finished the first readthrough of my edit yesterday and was able to say to the author that their greatest fears — that it is a dumpster fire, of course — weren’t realized.
In fact, I haven’t stopped thinking about this ending. It’s not a twist so much as it’s an escalation of what we know is coming, and it’s so deep and multi-layered and really complex. It goes well beyond the usual, even as the story hits all the right beats (and yet it never feels like formula when reading, only when you look back and think about it).
This is some masterful stuff, friends. I can’t wait for you to read it.
There’s actually a lot to say today! I didn’t get a lot of writing done, between shopping and my monthly group who meets in the evening, which is prime writing time.
BUT after looking at what will be my 2026 newsletter freebie (also called a magnet), I’ve decided that yes, I need a sensitivity reader, as the main character is a young Black woman. So I started asking around for recs. If you know someone, drop their name! And once that’s done, I’ll probably send it out to my betas and see what input they have.
This is going to be a very expensive freebie! But I think you’ll really like it, so be sure you’re on my newsletter now, in order to catch the story’s debut in January. Don’t wait, so you don’t forget.
And, of course, catch me and Mary Walsh and Maryann Parfitt and Doug Solter under the West of Mars tent at the Greensburg (PA) Night Market tomorrow night! Hopefully the rainy skies will have passed us by.
Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho
(affiliate link; as always, funds raised via affiliate links will go to operational costs here at West of Mars. Business insurance, professional subscriptions; that sort of thing… if you ever wondered what an editor’s overhead is like.)
And now for your daily reminder that I chose not to paywall this content via Patreon or a paid Substack, but that doesn’t mean your support isn’t appreciated and needed! We totally live in a world of mutual aid these days, don’t we?
Best of all, there are lots of ways to support me instead of a subscription. Buy my books! That’s a great way! If you have, and you’ve read them, feel free to leave an online review wherever you’re so moved to do so. There are so many places; wouldn’t it be great if readers had one central hub for reviews, that were then picked up by all the different review places?
If you’re a writer, booking my editorial services is another awesome means of supporting the cause — and getting an experienced eye on your books. This is my 14th year of professional freelance editing for authors of fiction (before, I didn’t do it for money), and I have a nice client list of writers who’ve quit their day jobs and are making six figures a year… and more. My authors do the hard work, sure, but I give ’em an extra push. It pays off.
And, of course, there’s my ko-fi. Feel free to stuff that one with whatever spare change you’ve got, and of course, help yourself to the goodies in the shop for it, too. The Beta Reader’s Guide and/or the Writer’s Guide to Library Events.
That’s it from over here… hope your skies aren’t rainy, but if they are, I hope you can curl up with a good book — feel free to let me know what you’re reading. Maybe it’ll be a former Book of the Day? A future one?
April 15, 2025
Who expected to wake up to a stealth book publication? Not me!
But things came together yesterday — at last! — and I couldn’t see a reason to not put the Complete Demo Tapes out into the world, making it my 14th book publication. This completes the Trevolution series, although plenty of you actually have asked me what happens next in Trevor’s world. Sorry, gang. Time to close that chapter and move ahead. I will always love the covers Lakota Phillips made me for the Demo Tapes books, and watching her soar in her own painting career has been amazing, so I turned to the wonderful Rachel Bowdler for her help.
As a result, The Complete Demo Tapes will only be available at my online store. If I sell out the rest of the Trevolution print copies (right now, there’s one six-book set, one four-book set, and random numbers of Demo Tapes 1, Demo Tapes 2, and Trevor’s Song left) and y’all ask, I’ll put it into print and sell it in person.
Wasn’t a stealth book publication enough?
Populated is still on sale at Kobo! Tomorrow’s the last day, so get on that, if you haven’t already.
Safe House is also still on sale. All month long, as part of this promotion. (That’s two individual links, so click ’em both!)
Nothing new here. Waiting on seven different manuscripts. I take first in, first served but always save space if a client has a hard deadline.
The Scarlet Alchemist, by Kylie Lee Baker
(This is an affiliate link, so if you use it, I’ll get a few pennies.)
Reminder that if you’re having fun here, fill my ko-fi, hire me as your editor, buy and read (and, if you like, review) my books. I even gave you a stealth book publication to entice you! (No, that’s not why I did it; I did it to close out the project.)
