I’ve been busy the last couple months. Novel edits have been an ongoing process, but I’m making great progress, Also, be be attending MFF 2021 this weekend. I’ll be doing three writing panels at the con.

Friday, December 3, 2021

• 2:00 PM – Characters and Relationships

Saturday, December 4, 2021

• 10:00 AM — Science Fiction
• 3:00 PM — What It Takes to Write: Process, Discipline, and Lifestyle

Also, I had a story that appeared way back in March on the Voice of Dog. “Glory of the Gods” was originally in Heat #12, and was recorded in two parts on the podcast. It was a fun story to write, and if you want to check out a fun adult story with ancient mystery cults in it, I suggest giving it a listen. (Part 1, Part 2)

This past year has been the strangest year of my life to live through. Everything happened in 2020, and nothing happened in 2020, both at the same time. The release dates for many anthologies were pushed back, and fur cons after March were canceled for the safety of the attendees. It has also been stressful for all of us, and while we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel with the pandemic, vaccine distribution is going to take some time.

Because of that, there will not be an in person Fur the More in 2021. The con will be holding a virtual event, but the next in person even will be from March 4-6, 2022, and I will be the Guest of Honor at that event. I know the writing track is planning to do something for the virtual event, but the details of that are still in the works.

This also hasn’t been a great year for many people’s productivity, but I’ve somehow managed to get quite a lot of work done this year. My Patreon continues on, and I had three stories come out in 2020 in The Voice of Dog podcast. These stories are also eligible for the Cóyotl Awards, Ursa Major Awards, and Leo Literary Awards.  If you haven’t had a chance to, I highly suggest listening to these stories. Khaki’s readings of these are amazing.

• “Foxing for Pizza” [18+]“
• “Loving You is Wrong” [18+]
• “The Tomb Guardian”

Already, “Loving You is Wrong” has been nominated for a Leo Literary Award, and I’m honored to see my work considered like this. If you enjoyed any of my stories on the The Voice of Dog, I’d appreciate if you nominate them for the awards. I’ve got more projects in the works, and really looking forward to Fur the More in 2022. I’m also hoping that once the vaccine has been distributed there may be a chance to go to a con in the later part of the year.

I’ve excited to let you all know I’ve been asked to be the Guest of Honor at Fur the More 2021! This was announced last weekend at closing ceremonies and I got to go up on stage and introduce myself to the audience. This is a great honor and I plan to create some stories for the con tying into next year’s Roaring Twenties theme. As part of this, I’ve already snagged a magazine about the 1920s I’ll be using to kick-start my research on the subject.

On the flip side though, COVID-19 is currently causing havoc for many events this year. My next con appearance is supposed to be at FWA in early May, but it remains to be seen still if that will happen as scheduled or not. I’ll keep you all updated. I hope everyone remains safe and healthy, so please listen carefully to your local public officials about measures to contain the spread of the virus.

We’re all in this together, so don’t forget to wash your hands.

I’ll be attending Texas Furry Fiesta and Fur the More in the next two weeks. This is the first time I’ve done two cons so closely together, but things have worked out this way. I’m doing two panels a Furry Fiesta, but I won’t be doing any panels at Fur the More.

For Furry Fiesta, you’ll be able to see me Friday, February 28th, at 3:30 PM at the World Building panels and Sunday, March 1st, at 11 AM on the How to Write Fantasy panel. The rest of the con I’ll be floating around the dealer’s den near Rysingson Accessories helping out my boyfriend with his table at different parts of the day. For Fur the More, I’ll be at the table some and bouncing around the con taking it easy.

2020 is definitely shaping up to be a busy year.

It’s tough sometimes to keep the momentum going. I do tend to keep busy, but there are periods that I don’t have new stuff to talk about. The Patreon has been good for keeping me busy, and I’ve happy it’s pushed me to do me some shorter stories. Not everything I’m going to write for it is going to get released publicly, but two stories from my Patreon have made it to FA and SoFurry, “Loving You is Wrong” and “Loosening Up.” One good thing about Patreon is it has forced me to work more regularly.

Short story wise, I did write over 6,000 words last month split across three different projects. Since I started the Patreon, my stories have gotten a little shorter. Part of that is I’m putting out a piece of work each month now, and I can’t always do the level of detail I did in the past. That said, I’m proud of myself I’ve been able to keep it going. I’ve used some existing material like novel chapters, but I’m also proud tof myself hat last month’s story clocked in at over 2,500 words and included a research component. I had in my head the stories for Patreon would be a minimum of 1,000, but I’ve been able to exceed that. I didn’t know when I got started last May if this was something I could do and do regularly, but I knew if I didn’t challenge myself with a monthly goal, I wouldn’t be able to keep at it. Only once have I had to run a previously published story. I’ve also been able to keep a monthly blog post going also.

The novel also is currently in a holding pattern. The publisher I sent it to passed on the book, so I sent it so some beta readers. I’m waiting on them to get back to me so I can see what the next step for the book is. I’m optimistic I’ll have more to share about the novel in the next few months, but until then, there isn’t much more I can say. I do need to start planning for book two.

Writing is a process. Creating stories takes time. I don’t always have a lot to share, but I’m still at this. I’m still pushing ahead, even if there isn’t a lot that I can share.