Hey babes,
It’s done! Fuck yeah, the first episode of The Paranormal Academy For Troubled Boys Serial is finally done! Check it!
Okay it’s mostly Wylie back atm—the first episode focuses on him and Theodore—but Dorian is front and center in the second book. I’m doing a preorder this time around, but it’s super short, just for the week. It’ll be live on Saturday, the 11th. I wanted to see how it worked, what it did, that way I’d be prepared for when I put episode 2 on preorder.
Oh, if anyone wants to do an ARC for this book, hit me up by responding to this newsletter (and mention you want to do an ARC.) The more, the merrier!
PATB Serial?
For those wondering what the hell the PATB Serial is, it’s a reimagining of The Paranormal Academy For Troubled Boys into a serial format instead of a novel. The world is fleshed out, there’s more going on, more characterization—the inner beasts now have a voice and mind that, depending on the shifter’s control, will be helpful or at odds. It’s also more adult. I didn’t want anyone stumbling into this series and thinking it was YA, so I pushed a more sexy narrative.
When I started writing the sequel to Demon Arms, I already saw that the romance novel format of a love story a book was absolutely going to stunt this series. It just wouldn’t work; there was too much going on. But I wrote Demon Arms in that format, setting a standard that might be expected from the sequels. So I went back and updated Demon Arms to suit the sequels to come, and put it all under the PATB Serial series title.
Episode #1 is 80,500 words and spans up to right before Wylie gets to the Academy. In some ways, it’s very similar to Demon Arms, yet in so many other ways it’s a completely different story. There’s so much more to see and experience. Theodore and Michael get prominent roles this time around—I wanted to have an older voice in here, not just the inexperienced patients. I wanted magic to actually be an element in the world instead of just talked about in passing. And stakes—I wanted people to really see how shifters and sorcerers were treated completely differently and the problems each group faces.
I’m really excited about it all. XD I never thought I’d write a dystopian type story, but PATB Serial definitely walks that line.
So, a little catching up
I’m better. Beyond better. I figured out the last piece of the puzzle, which it turns out I have a genetic mutation where my body creates too little progesterone. Low levels impairs memory (which was why I was struggling to get my brain to write the last year—I couldn’t hold any of it in my head,) as well as it inhibits energy levels. So this feels like it’s it. I think this is about the best I’m getting—although I still have 9 back teeth I gotta get pulled. I got in with a really good dentist and it was worth the wait. I’m going to do it all at once, get it all over with, and ideally that will stop all these damn tooth infections (literally got one last Sunday) and I can start focusing on enjoying life and writing.
I’ll be real, I’m not pushing sales, not marketing, not anything right now for the PATB Serial. I want to get my momentum back and get back into the flow of writing, editing, and publishing. Once I feel like I’m back in a good rhythm, I’ll take a look at how the market has changed and screw around with that side of things. (Facebook author groups are HUGE, now. @[email protected]) I’m just happy to have my mind back enough to finish a book. I feel great, I feel like a writer again, and that my creativity is flowing. I feel like myself after so long of being robotic and held back. I am ready to fly. Like, I’m looking at a crazy writing challenge—a book a month—and thinking yeah, that might be a way to kick my ass into gear after being stuck in this limbo for so long.
It might seem ambitious, but before I figured things out, I made that calendar, and having that set deadline, a goal that seemed so big that I needed to show up 100% every day, really helped me perform and push my limits in ways I didn’t know possible. There’s something damaging about believing you’re sick all the time. It sneaks up on you, sinks in, and before you know it, you start setting your limits to less than, to ‘safe,’ to you better not even try. I need to get out of that messed up mindset, and I think challenging myself like this is the answer.
I finally got the software for dictation, which is pretty much the standard for anyone who is looking to write a lot of content daily. Like, yeah, I just committed to this crazy idea when I threw down big money. I’m also planning which projects I want to focus on. PATB Serial, obviously. But also Hellcat, Demon Bonded and… I’m not sure. I want to get back into the kinky stuff, the taboo stuff too. It might be nice to get some short stories done while writing novels. Not outlined, not sketched or rough drafted; I want to get these stories DONE.
Speaking of which, if anyone has any suggestions about what they want to see written this year, speak up. I want to hear. There is this frustrating issue with writing to market where as a writer, I find myself focused on what sells more than what fans love. (You would assume it’s the same, but not when censorship is involved.) Blinders start showing up without me even realizing it. So if you’ve got a fav kink you want represented, or fav story/series that needs more love, let me know and I’ll put it on the list.
Leaving this semi short and sweet. Hope you’re all having a great new decade so far. I know the world isn’t perfect, but I’m putting on my optimism filter anyways. We can’t control much of anything, but we can enjoy the ride. ♥
UPDATES AT A GLANCE
I’m me again!♥
