Hello, all! I usually do my monthly updates at the beginning of the month, but this time – June 2020 – I decided I needed to do this update a little early!
Why?
Well… you’ll see. 😉
Dark Divinations is out!
The first anthology I’ve participated in – Dark Divinations – is available on Amazon! People have asked if they’re doing anything other than Amazon, but I don’t think that’s available right now. Amazon’s the easiest and biggest market right now, but I know they own their own rights and ISBNs, so they could expand in the future if they wish. I’ll update if it changes.
But, in bigger news for the blogging folk, Dark Divinations gave me a great excuse to create new profiles you may not have seen.
My profile pic is now an actual picture instead of the ye olde Grandfather Mountain landscape you’re used to. Now it’s just sexy as hell.
Amazon Author Page and Facebook Page
The Dark Divinations team wanted a recording of us reading our story – and, if you go to my twoFacebook page (sorry, Chelsea, but I loved that term too much to not use), you can watch the video I made and hear a sample of “Miss Mae’s Prayers”.
But don’t expect much out of the Facebook page – I frikkin’ don’t like Facebook, and I feel like just having something on there makes me a hypocrite. Feel free to follow or share it around if you want (I don’t care), but I only plan on using it for truly official crap like when a publisher makes me or if it would really help the anthology out (like making the vid for their watch party).
And! AND! The same publication meant it was time for me to get an Amazon Author Page! It’s just got that anthology for now, but maybe – just maybe – that will grow one day! I’m pursuing the traditional publishing route, though, so I wouldn’t expect that to be soon.
Carrot Ranch Column
My new profile pic actually made a stealth debut in my latest Carrot Ranch column. Check it out down at the bottom!
In this column, I talk about a powerful and underappreciated influencer from American history: Sequoyah, the inventor of the Cherokee syllabary. Ride over to the ranch if you want to know more!
Wattpad Journey: OVER
I didn’t make the longlist with my weirdo Wattpad story Our Lady of Perdition, but honestly I didn’t expect it. It’s clearly an adult tale with a ton of symbolism and metaphor that in no way works with the target audience (and, thus, the judges) of the Open Novella contest. I’m actually honored to have made it as far as I did!
So, if you want to read an approx. 20k story about WWII pilots landing on a really terrible island, you can go here!
WORK
Ok, I’ll admit it – the big reason I’m not as available now is I got a job. A job making drugs.
I don’t think it will keep me away forever, but the initial push to get myself up to speed and doing well has taken quite a bit of effort. I can feel that stress of being new letting up, but it’s not quite done yet.
(Also, secret secret… I had a video game I wanted to play this month, so even my free time ended up going to complete waste, haha!)
What all sorts of things have you done this month? Anything you’d like me to check out? Leave them in the comments!
Let Me Tell You the Story of... 
Great to put a face to a name. Says hypocrite me (but I am there on my front page). I shall take a wee peek at Dark Divinations though I will say, it’s not my usual choice of reading.
Horror isn’t for everyone! I can confirm that the editors do prefer creepy horror to blood horror, though.
I won’t say I’ve never read horror, but I’ve done so accidently. Memories of reading Clive Barker, and he leading me slowly into the horror.
Okay, so I’ve now caught up on the US news. Ouch. I’m enough of an ostriche to wish that I hadn’t
Yeah, don’t look at it.
No, it’s horrid.
BTW: Excellent acting. You do voices real well!!!!
Haha – but which one was the voice?
(The redneck accent is the real me – the more standard American is one I’ve worked on for a decade now, so it’s easy at this point)
But I grew up with a Norfolk accent, and I can’t do it anymore.
Ah! So sad. I wonder if I’ll lose my accent when I have no one else to talk to back home. My brother is a man of very few words, but I talk to my mom in the accent a lot. Still, it’s not the kind of accent people want to hear when speaking of sciency things, which is why I’ve cultivated the more standard accent.
It was through work that I lost mine. And I’d hear my brother, and he’d sound so broad Norfolk. But then his job was taking his abroad and he lost it too. Even my father doesn’t sound broad anymore.
And you’re right, it doesn’t really go with sciency things.
Reminds me, there’s an English archaeologist with a really rough West country accent who’s sometimes on tv. He’s brilliant, that fact he’s retained it.
There’s so many British accents – and most Americans have no idea how to differentiate them!
Most noticable in movies and tv shows. We English are either Eaton-Harrow Received Queen’s English precise, else cockneys. And few English actors can get the Norfolk accent right; they confuse it with West Country and make us sound like pirates. Lack of exposure, I’d say.
I couldn’t tell you the difference! Perhaps I should YouTube a few. They talk about accents in several British works, and I think a better knowledge of British geography and local culture may help with understanding it.
There are one or rwo YouTube videos that you around the country with the different accents.
And we Brits have the same trouble with American accents.
I still have the thought that we’re more homogenous linguistically than y’all.
We are an older country, with divisions that date back 1500 years (at least), and for most of that time, we’ve developed in near isolation, especially at the workers’ level. And then factor in that there were two distinct language groups heree 1500 years ago. It’s bound to produce some differences.
The advent of television has made a difference, allowed one region to hear the languahe of another, has smoothed away the rougher edges, made us a little more homogenous. Time was, I couldn’t understand a Northener, never mind a Glaswegian, and I know a Londoner hadn’t a clue what a rural Norfolkian was saying.
I think TV has made the Southern accent change a lot. You hear less and less of that “Belle” sort of accent, and more and more of the “harsh redneck” one.
I’d say TV, both American and ours, has had a tremendous affect on our language. Accents, regions, become popular, the accent more acceptable etc. Unfortunately, Norfolk is very seldom featured. 🙂
BTW, yes to Mongolian Metal. Oh Yay!
Thought you might enjoy
Indeed. I downloaded The HU, 8 songs, and I’ve cut it into the playlist with such artists as Heilung, Omnia and Wardruna
Yay!
I’m about to download to my phone as well (it’s not terribly smart, but it does play music) for music-to-walk-to on the boring road-stretches 🙂
Liked your page. Sad to say I spend too much time on Facebook. I do ween myself off it occasionally… Gosh was I wrong….
I like your voice and the accent for different characters. Is your Bible a Study Bible? I took part in several anthologies posted on Whattpad. Yeah, traditional publishing will take a while! Let me think what kind of drugs we need… I’ll let you know!
The Bible I used is a Scofield printing of the King James. So you could call it a study Bible, but they have new printings that are more helpful than the Scofield. Thing is I’ve just had that copy for years and all my notes are written in it.
I’m not actually supposed to tell what drugs I’m working on, but I can say many of the molecules at my company target different cancers. It’s really cool!
Well, it is about time! Love it!
You know you do!
I followed your page and watched your video. It is so nice to see and hear you. I like your new profile picture too.
I took it out near the dogwoods in the cemetery – but you can’t tell that because my face!
“A job making drugs.” Interesting choice of words there… I’ll just assume it’s good drugs. hahaha…
Haha, we (mostly) make cancer therapeutics. There are drugs for other diseases, but that’s the big classification.
Wow. You’ve been busy! Congrats on a whole bunch of topics – publication, job, author’s page, new profile pic (which I noticed immediately). I hate Facebook too and am also a hypocrite. That said, I’ve already linked over to listen to you read a bit of your story. My month hasn’t been nearly so active. Take care and I hope the new job goes well. 🙂
Haha, it’s still just the one publication. I think it must be very hard to get a foothold in the publishing world, and doing it as a hobby (even pretty dedicatedly) makes it even harder because you can’t just pump it out. Also I’m bad at rejection, haha.
It’s almost impossible to get a foothold in the publishing world. It require hard work and a bunch of luck too. It’s also full of rejection so authors need rhino skins! But you get used to it and hopefully learn from it. 😀 An anthology is a great way to start! Happy Writing! 😀
I wasted some time playing a video card game called Free Cell – I didn’t sign up so my info isn’t in the ‘cloud’ – and I’m OK with that. But when they throw out double and triple points (that do absolutely nothing except boost your ego)… I’m now at Grandmaster Level 10. You really can’t lose… but that’s only because the game lets you go back (undo) and forth freely… with the cards.
Congratulations on your many successes. I’m up at the Carrot Ranch too – The Poet Lariat! I’ve been in a couple of anthologies… mostly for charity one was the first Carrot Ranch one. I think I’ll be sticking to my nom-de-plume for awhile. I can do without a face. But it is nice to see you. 🙂
At one of my other blogs I used to have an author page… I should put one up at my current place… eventually.
Poet Lariat! I didn’t realize that was your title!
Given to me by Pal and Kidd…(I think) a long time ago. 😉 Just cause I was one of the first ones at Carrot Ranch to offer up different 99 word poetic offerings… And I was a leader in the first CR Rodeo, where I had a poetry challenge/contest. 😀
First rodeo? That’s been a while now!
Yup… But the badge up at CR is new. 😀
I updated my Friends Launch Books Page…
Cheers.
Oh wow! Thank you! 🙂
I don’t know if anyone goes there… but there it is 😉