August 8, 2025
Cover for Populated, written by Susan Helene Gottfried
That wasn’t supposed to happen. But I guess that even when you don’t fly too close to the sun, you’re bound to come back to earth.
It was our third time at the Block Northway farmer’s market and while my friend Doris Dumrauf sold an incredible amount of books, I sold… none. First time since last October that’s happened! And while I’m still ahead financially, this is also the first location where I haven’t earned back my table fees.
It was hard to be frustrated or sad, though, because Doris had such a great night and it was so much fun chatting with the people who stopped by. I love it when people stop and chat, and that doesn’t always happen.
Sometimes, I ask myself if I’m really doing this to have these random human encounters, or if I’m truly trying to find new fans this way. I did meet someone who bought Maybe the Bird Will Rise and passed it to a friend, though. I love those stories, too.
I’ll be back at the Block Northway Farmer’s Market on September 11, and my partner will be Lainey Davis.
In other news that wasn’t supposed to happen…
I came EIGHT pages short of finishing this first read-through of my latest edit! Eight! Aargh!
So I’ll finish today, and then probably immediately start the second read-through. Not only is this client waiting for their manuscript back, but I’ve got two in the queue. Whee! I love having a couple manuscripts waiting even as I hate making authors wait for me. Double-edged sword, no?
Need more “that wasn’t supposed to happen” news? I swear, that was yesterday’s theme.
But I got home around seven-thirty and… well, tallying up the day’s accounting was pretty easy, so it was time to find some food and sit and write for a bit. But I was distracted and even though I had plenty of time to get my thousand words in, I only got a couple hundred.
Yesterday was NOT my day.
Today, though, is a new day, so let’s have a Book of the Day and move along, and just keep focusing on yesterday’s positives.
Usually, I have a bunch of tabs open with interesting books, and I just use the next in line. But yesterday, well, it sucked for sixteen members of my community (That definitely wasn’t supposed to happen!), so I wanted to pick someone with Latin roots.
The Bewitching, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
As always, that’s an affiliate link, and the couple of pennies I earn from your use of my affiliate links adds up, so have at it!
And, of course, other ways to support me include booking my editing services — soon, as the queue is starting to fill up — or buying my books. (Reminder that I’m donating $1 from every sale at Blythe Books this month, so go buy ’em there if you’re not going to buy ’em from me directly) But even more than buying them, or maybe along with buying them, is TALKING about them. An online review. A social media post. A mention to a friend. Just like the pennies I get when you use my commission links, it all adds up and then I have fans and life is happy.
Have a great weekend, friends, and may it not be full of, “Well, that wasn’t supposed to happen!”
July 18, 2025
I’m told my books are great escapism, and that’s helpful when you want to be resting, right?
Yeah, I’m flipping into resting mode for a bit over here. This will be good because I’m running a bit ragged and I need to get this draft of Absolutely Alyssa in gear. But I’m also not good at staying home — it’s one of my favorite parts about in-person selling — because I think I stay at home a bit too much.
Balance. It ain’t for the faint of heart.
But for now, I am resting. When I get restless, I’ll go explore my city a bit more. I’m overdue.
I had a short day yesterday, between the Block Northway Farmers Market and the cat’s adventure at the vet, but still got a stupid amount edited. This client makes it easy, and the fact that this is the eighth book in the series helps, too. I have to spend less time making notes. They’re there. They’re established.
And yes, my notes are 26 typed pages long for this series!
The nice thing about being experienced at vending is that setting up and taking down goes quickly. Good thing because I was barely set up (but still waiting on Lydia and Cristina to arrive) when someone walked up, wanting a copy of Maybe the Bird Will Rise. It was like she had scouted me out and wanted that book. It was super flattering, and set a tone for the evening, which I’m always grateful for.
And since tearing down goes smoothly, I was home just after seven thirty, had the day’s dishes washed and the car unloaded and the event’s accounting handled just after eight, and had a little less than an hour to settle in and write. Now, settling in isn’t just a nice way of saying… anything. It’s true. I have to recapture the mindset (I read somewhere a number of years ago that creatives need about 20 minutes to settle into their work… after every interruption! … and I believe that.)
So I got about 500 words down, but it was 500 more than I’d been expecting to do. I’ll take it as a win!
Maybe the Bird Will Rise is, in fact, still for sale at Kobo! It’s 99c, or if you have Plus, it’s free.
Want more of the Sheep Farm books? They are on sale this month at Smashwords. So are the short story twins!
And of course, since it’s a Smashwords sale, the Trevolution books are FREE.
Hey, want more free reads? Here are two…
Here’s a collection of women’s fiction
And here’s a collection of Sand, Sun, and Free Summer Reads.
Both of these feature my free newsletter story, Origins: Delia and Meter.
And looking to add to your bookshelves? Try this one! Poolside Picks and Hot Deals
If you’re asking why I need to be resting, maybe this is some enlightenment. It’s been a BUSY month!
Your Body is War, by Mahtem Shiferraw
Yes, this is an affiliate link to this book of poetry, and I appreciate every click and every penny these affiliate links earn me. A website design, moving the books into audio… These are all my plans for the future, and your help’s appreciated. Be it help via booking my editorial skills, buying my books (leaving reviews, or talking them up to friends counts too!), or just stuffing my ko-fi, I appreciate it ALL.
Talk to you Monday, and may it be restful for us both.
July 17, 2025
The only writing of mine that I can think of with significant water is the short story, “The Taste of Pink Snow.” It’s now available in the Broken but Undaunted collection, so if you’ve never read this bit of literary mayhem and fun, what’s stopping you?
Storms rolled through yet again yesterday afternoon and evening, but the one that came through after 8 was a DOOZY. So much water. SO. MUCH.
And… problems with my electric as a result, including a light fixture that stopped working.
I have word in to my contractor, since it’s one of the lights that was affected by my recent renovation.
One of the manuscripts I’ve been waiting for showed up yesterday! Last night, actually.
I can put aside the project I’ve been working on for a few days and start this… but tomorrow. I’m having an “away from my desk” day, and I hope it doesn’t involve more storms, let alone storms with so much water to drop on my house. Or my head.
I didn’t make a huge dent in my word count deficit, but I didn’t fall behind, either. Slow and steady, drips and drabs… it’s how I’ve built my newsletter, how I make sales at all the shows and farmers markets. Little pieces add up.
Today’s the farmers market at the Block Northway, so if you’re in Pittsburgh, come out and say hi.
Kobo’s still got Maybe the Bird Will Rise on sale for 99c. And of course it’s free with Plus (ebook only).
And then there’s the Smashwords summer/winter July sale! All month!
Click here for the Trevolution, which is FREE this month.
Click here for the short story twins and the Tales from the Sheep Farm.
Shadows of Your Black Memory, by Donato Ndongo and Michael Ugarte (translator)
This is an affiliate link, and any purchase you make with an affiliate link will go to operational costs here at West of Mars. I’ve got my business insurance covered now (whew) so we’re working on saving up for a website overhaul and the day-to-day costs of West of Mars. Which… yay! It’s nice to be getting even a tiny bit ahead again.
Other ways to support me include booking my editorial services, buying my books, leaving an online review or just telling my books about a friend of yours, and of course stuffing my ko-fi, whether or not you pick up The Beta Reader’s Guide and/or An Author’s Guide to Library Events.
That’s it. Remember if you’re out and encounter so much water, turn around; don’t drown!
July 16, 2025
The weather can be gross during Safe House. Grab your copy — did you know the main character is nonbinary? If you’ve read either Maybe the Bird Will Rise or Populated, you’ve met them already!
I went outside last night after dinner. It was still in the mid-80s, but the shade made it bearable. And I opened the louvers, to shake loose more dried leaves — and got quite the shower; I need to remember to do that before I go out — and had some extra light. Funny how now that we’re past the solstice, I’m wanting the natural light and not the pergola’s LEDs.
One thing I’ve noticed, over and over again, in my life is that when I say something that includes the word “never,” it comes to be. In this case, it was “I hope I never have to give up editing.”
Sigh.
I’m still waiting on those four manuscripts to arrive. Two are overdue. One was here and withdrawn. One’s not due until next week.
I’m editing my own book as I wait. May as well, right? Y’all are waiting for it…
And yes, I’m doing it inside, not in the gross outside. That’s for the actual writing part!
Which brings me to my writing. Not much to say. Slowly catching up on the word deficit around here… and I’ll be adding to it again tomorrow night, since we’ll be at The Block Northway’s Farmer’s Market. I’ll be with Cristina Rouvalis and Lydia Wayman, who have written a wonderful middle grade book about a young woman with autism. And cats! Stop in if you’re in Pittsburgh and say hi.
Maybe the Bird Will Rise is still on sale at Kobo (US and Canada only) until the end of July. It’s of course free with Plus (ebook only!), but if you aren’t a Plus person, 99c is a great price to start the series.
Or you can pay $1.99 and get it at the Smashwords Summer/Winter July sale. The rest of the Sheep Farm books are the price, so for just under ten bucks, you can have all five. Add in another $2.48 and you can have ALL my recent releases!
Want more books for that under ten-dollar price? The Trevolution is ALWAYS free during the Smashwords sales. That’s six more books!
Thirteen books. Twelve-plus bucks. C’mon. THAT is a deal.
The Gurugu Pledge, by Juan Tomas Avila Laurel and Jethro Soutar (Translator)
Like usual, this is an affiliate link.
Reminder! The best ways to support me and keep the Book of the Day coming to you (and for free) is to support me in other ways. Book my editing services. Buy my books. Leave a review online, talk about my books to your friends, read via Hoopla or Libby and your library. And, of course, stuff my Ko-fi, either with cash or grab a copy of the Beta Reader’s Guide and/or the Writer’s Guide to Library Events.
Keep it cool, friends, and avoid the gross outside if you can. Or… wait for the shade to take over the spot you want to occupy. That’s what I’ve been doing.
June 10, 2025
There’s a lot of settling in that needs to happen in Saving Sima. Not sure what that means? Pick up a copy! It’s best read after Populated, just so you know people and their histories, but if you’re willing to go with it until it all becomes clear, then… read it first! It’s one of my favorites in the series, but I’m biased and will say that about all of them.
It’s weird. Tomorrow will mark a week since I got home from the big trip, and I still haven’t regained all my rhythms. Partly that’s because I’ve had a million interruptions and things to get done, and today’s no exception (it’s monthly massage day).
I kind of miss my quiet. And at the same time, it’s time to set a new normal, one with a few more disruptions. Just not this many!
Wow, did I exceed expectations yesterday! The second read-through always goes faster than the first, but this was beyond. This book is going to light so many of you up. It’s so damn good.
This means I’ll be able to start the next one this week. The question is which day. I’m betting on Friday, because Thursday is full of interruptions. What was that about settling in? Never gonna happen.
Another spot I’m struggling with settling in. I only wrote 900 words last night of Authentically Alyssa, and they’re kind of deranged words but sometimes, you gotta puke on the page — and the first draft is the place for that. This book has been so damn hard already that yeah, I’m going with it, so long as I end up where I want to go. This is why writing’s a craft, after all. Get the basic story down. Craft it, sculpt it into the proper shape once you have something concrete to work with.
Things are quiet on the bookselling front, but I’ll be with my buddy Doug Solter this Thursday at the Block Northway Farmer’s Market. If you’re local, come out and at least shoot the breeze with us. The market runs from 3-7, so we hope to see you there!
Love in Focus, by Lyla Lee
As always, this is an affiliate link! Your purchase via this link, along with the royalties from any books you buy and a chunk of my editing fees all go to operational expenses around here at West of Mars. That’s three easy ways to support the cause over here, or, if you’re so inclined, my Ko-fi is always open and glad to be there for your support-showing needs.
That’s all I’ve got. Got a Book of the Day suggestion? Just want to say hi? Need a review copy of any of my 14 books? Reach out. I’m still settling in, but I’m here.
