Book sale at Smashwords!

All Queen of Swords Press titles, including my books, Silver Moon and Out of This World, are on sale at Smashwords this week! 

2017 Year in Review Post

To which my first thought is, "No, no, no. Let's not relive it." But there were high points and good things and I always do a year in review post, so here we are.

Let's start with the good stuff, shall we?

• So I decided it was now or never and I started my own small publishing company, a dream I've been noodling on for a couple of years now. Queen of Swords Press has a monthly newsletter (sign up at the website), a functioning website and four titles available on all major ebook platforms and in print. The new edition of my novel  Silver Moon did well at the Rainbow Awards, Out of This World is up for a Lambda Award and both Knife's Edge and Desire are up for Goldie Awards. There have been some nice reviews too! Plans for 2018 books are somewhat in flux right now, but definitely include Murder on the Titania and Other Steam-Powered Tales by Alex Acks.
• I went to my second international con and got to visit Reykjavik, Helsinki and Stockholm, do fun panels at Worldcon 75, meet lovely people and have a generally interesting time. I also went to WisCon, Sirens and Diversicon, to round out my conventions for the year.
• Other events that I participated in included: an episode of the Skiffy and Fanty Podcast; two readings at the Quatrefoil Library; a ghost stories reading at Bingley's Teas;  a Books and Beer Popup Store at a local brewery; possibly the last Queer Voices Reading at the Central Library?; two episodes of the Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast; a reading with Rachel Gold at Boneshaker Books; WomenVenture's Women Mean Business Fair and Luncheon; the Twin Cities Book Festival; Lounge Books Virtual Horror Festival; and a talk at DreamHaven Books about starting a small press.
• I helped raise $1100 in donations for Rainbow Railroad through a StoryBundle I participated in, as well as raising nearly $300 through my Patreon for groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center, the NAACP and Ultraviolet.
• I wrote a second gaming tie-in story for a World of Darkness game (release date is TBD) and had a travel essay accepted for a women and travel anthology (2018 release). Emily L. Byrne had a good year too, with stories appearing in Witches, Princesses and Women at Arms and Best Lesbian Erotica of the Year Vol. 2. I got "unstuck" on Blood Moon, the sequel to Silver Moon and wrote several new stories or fragments of stories that I hope to get polished up and out soon.
• I went to a lot of good theater, a couple of good benefits and a lot of interesting events. I also met a bunch of cool people.

And then the nonpolitical portions of the shitshow year:

• Had several friends and acquaintances die on me. I miss them and my pseudo aunt, who died at the end of last year, an enormous amount.
• Financial problems of the irritating, but not dire, variety.
• I had annoying health problems, culminating with a painful torn shoulder tendon followed by contracting norovirus. 2017 has been all about the pain, on multiple levels. Sleeping, also not so great.
• My mother went into memory care on Friday of Christmas weekend because, hey, why not? 2017 must suck as much as possible. It's a rule. :-(
• Day job slowly collapsing in stressful ways.

So yeah, definitely a mixed bag. But here's hoping for better things in 2018, especially for those who have been hit hardest under the current regime. Make good art when you can and keep resisting!