catherineldf | Entries tagged with writing update

I have a huge number of updates and end of year things to post, but I'm scrambling to get things done and wrap up some deadlines. Here's a brief recap:

Queen of Swords Press has released the new Astreiant omnibus! The Complete Astreiant by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett includes all 6 novels and is available in the various ebook platforms. However. Amazon is absolutely fleecing us on this, taking 65% of cover, so please, please, buy it direct from us or Smashwords/D2D or Kobo or even B&N or GooglePlay instead. I need to see if Weightless is interested too. At any rate, the Astreiant Series is eligible for the Best Series Hugo this year! Please keep it in mind.
I'm trying to wrap up the first third of my Data Analytics certification, with a final this week.
I'm doing Queen of Swords Press's 34th event for 2025 this Saturday - stop by AudreyRose Vintage in Minneapolis on 12/20 12-4PM for fun shopping with multiple vendors of various things!
I'm working on edits for Joyce Chng's fab collection, Sailing the Golden Chersonese, which we're releasing early next year.
I need to complete a new grant proposal in the next two weeks.
I have written several thousand works of new fiction, including working on the next werewolf novel in the last few week, thanks to writing sprints.
I have come to recognize that I will not be landing in an IT gig any time soon, if ever, due to needing remote work, my age and the state of the job market, so I'm enrolling in the State of MN CLIMB Program and have gotten myself a small biz mentor through Hennepin County Elevate and I'm doubling down on publishing.
New editing biz is open! Got a manuscript that wants some love or need some publishing coaching or know someone who does? Send them my way!

Okay, stopping there for the moment. End of year wrap up posts coming soon!

An endlessly valid question these days. I am not wearing a striped shirt (one has to have standards), but I have been a. Wrestling with Hell Cold for weeks now and b. Piling on all the events I can get into because no day job and c. Wrangling my data analytics class, Queen of Swords Press stuff, writing, job hunting and sundries.

Some things have begun to dawn on me, albeit quite slowly. I'm unbelievably burnt out. Objectively, I knew this, but I'm starting to reckon with the fact that 5 years of nonstop stress and 60-70 hours week have...dented me pretty badly. The last year of deranged boss and constant threat of being fired did not help either. Add to that my age, my cat who needs medical attention and feedings which require me to be at home (even if I wanted to go back to the cube farms) and the IT job market tanking and I'm starting to let go of it. I'm going to focus on ramping up the press, reviving my dormant editing business and seeing what kind of other WFH I can scare up here and there. Eventually, Social Security will have to be a thing, but even with Jana's added in, it won't be enough to live on and I'll have to work anyway.

On the jollier side, I'm writing again! I cranked out 1000 words of novel draft last night, the most I've written at one time in a while. I have 2 other projects in progress and am gradually getting some ideas for other things. I'm going to be pitching some talks and classes and articles as well and working on new story collections as well. I just reactivated my Professional Editors Network membership and will be rebuilding my profile in the next few days. I have a new small business mentor with the county and am meeting with her next week. I found a support group for unemployed older women and will meet with them next week.

And Queen of Swords Press has a terrific new gay vampire novel by M.Christian out and we'll be releasing an omnibus edition of the Astreiant Series by next month on 12/15! The Complete Astreiant by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett is up for preorder now (please buy direct from us if you can; Amazon is going to crush us on their percentage for this book). The Astreiant Series is also eligible for the Best Series Hugo this year, so please keep it in mind when you are nominating. Melissa Scott has never won a Hugo and I'd love to change that.

Queen of Swords Press is also WisCon's Vendor of the Month for November so if you buy a backlist title (not the preorder) from us using coupon code WisCon26 at checkout, you get a sale price and we'll donate $ to the con. The proverbial win/win!

I'm adding Jana's boxes and journals to the shop on Ko-fi, along with some of my own projects and offerings. Please feel free to boost if the shopping aspects won't work for you.

More bulletins soon! Have a great holiday if you're celebrating! I'm going to veg out with my kitties and do some writing and editing, before enjoying a good takeout meal from the co-op. I'm booked every waking moment Friday, Saturday and part of Sunday so please don't worry that I'm being left to weep alone into my cranberries. I'm deliberately choosing to have a day off. :-)

I didn't realize it had been that long. So what have I been doing? Always a fair question.

Being unemployed. With no interviews. And a sick cat who hanging on enough that I have to work remotely since hiring my catsitter multiple times a week plus commuting costs so I can hang out and experience a germ-laden cube farm has lost any appeal it ever had for me. Alternatively, I'm not killing my cat so some dweeb can watch me in person instead of online. Plus, I am still absolutely crispy.
What am I doing instead? I have registered for an online Data Analytics Certification program at the University of Minnesota. It starts next month and doesn't look too painful. It's also not industry-specific in case I want to get out of healthcare. I am also dutifully signing up with contracting companies, lining up references, checking in with colleagues and all that.
I'll be vetting grants again in November for a small stipend.
I need to get a list of Jana's remaining fine bindings to show to her former boss. He's looking into getting some institutional support for a couple of artists and wants to include her work. On the one hand, not much budget out there. On the other, the man is a Macarthur Genius Award winner so that my well help.
I'm starting up a Ko-fi store for things you can purchase off me, like hour long consultations on things I know a lot about, some of my classes, Jana's handmade boxes (there are a lot) and fiction and nonfiction that isn't readily available elsewhere or under contract. At the moment, I'm trying to get a buffer by raising funds to pay down some not huge debts while I try to spin up some editing and writing gigs. Please consider bookmarking it, hiring me, throw a coin to your Witcher and all that. I'm managing, but if things go sideways, it will be unpleasant.
I have spun up a couple of writing gigs in progress.
Queen of Swords Press news! We just signed a reprint (gay vampires!) by author M.Christian (due out end of October) and a new collection of sapphic fantasy tales set in Southeast Asia by Joyce Chng (due out in February, if all goes well). Hoping to pull off an ebook box set of the Astreiant Series around Christmas.
Adding lots of events because for the first time in almost 9 years, Queen of Swords Press is actually covering my royalties! I'm parsing out old royalties by quarter so we don't run into cash shortages, but it is pretty fun to be collecting my dues on my books once again.
I have been to the State Fair, a couple of movies, tea in Anoka, MN, to see sundry museum exhibits, been out with friends, had friends over, started patching concrete around the house, begun fixing small things I can figure out by watching YouTube (I managed to trip the safety on the furnace on one such endeavor, which necessitated a tech visit today, but other things have gone a bit better).
I have signed up for lots of free trainings and entrepreneur stuff that the city and county offer.
I am writing again. Fiction and nonfiction. Slow and disorganized, but there's stuff on the page once more.

So lots of activity, none of which pays a living wage or close to it. If I can patch enough stuff together, to hang on until the end of March, I can apply for Social Security, if it still exists, and go from there.

Two very cool things happened this week!

First: I’m being given an award that combines writing (body of work) and service to my lit community. I’m very excited about this! It’s an award that is juried primarily by a jury of readers and writers. They have to select you, you can’t apply for it. So I’m very honored too! I can’t announce officially yet because they’re contacting one of the other winners, but soon. :-D
Second: I’ve been working with the University of Minnesota Libraries Upper Midwest Archives for the last year and a half to set up a Queen of Swords Press archive and the finding guide has just gone live!
And a third, just for funsies: the Backerkit for a new year of New Edge Swords & Sorcery Magazine has funded! You can still pledge to get the authors, like me, and artists get a pay raise for a few more days!

Hope to see some of you at MarsCon Minneapolis this weekend!

So far this month, I have bought a recliner (due to be delivered real soon), found that the hip shot didn't work this time so I'm still in lots of pain and need to explore other options and I finally scattered Mom's ashes at Prairie Oaks (local green burial site and only legal place in the state to scatter human remains). I put her urn in storage in the basement for future use and after 3 years of looking at it and thinking, "I should take care of that," it was both a bit sad and very freeing.

Speaking of freeing, I finally got around to reading The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson and really liked it. I have also read Marie Kondo and I think that while Kondo's book can be great for figuring our why you hang on to what you hang on to and what you can do about changing that if you want to, Magnusson's is about letting go of the unneeded and unnecessary. For the last couple of years of job instability and Jana's deteriorating health, I've been in a constant state of lowkey panic about cleaning out the house and our stuff in case I had to sell it in a hurry to pay for bills. That's still there, but what I took from Magnusson's book was that I could also view it as a life transition; I will not, after all, want to live alone in a mostly inaccessible house as I age (based on the supposition that I will either outlive Jana or she will be in some form of memory care in the not too distant future) so I can think about it as not "how will I handle the next disaster?" but as "if I am living in a different, more manageable space for Older Me, what do I want to have around me?" With that in mind, I'm continuing to work on shedding things that we're no longer using, selling what I can, giving things away on the Buy Nothing club and so forth, but also making small changes and purchases to make our daily lives more accessible for Older Us.

With that in mind, I replaced the old multi-component stereo with something that works better for me (a refurbished Bose Wave that takes up less space) and means I am actually listening to CDs regularly again which in turn means that I'm doing more writing and editing in my evenings after Jana goes to bed. I had trained my brain to write to certain pieces of music, but had let that slip over the last few years. So far, Blue Moon is growing a few hundred words a week, which is an improvement, if not quite the thousands I dreamed of. I'm also working on overhauling the Patreon novel. And working on edits for A Death at the Dionysus Club, the second Lynes and Mathey book by Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold, which will be coming out in December. More creativity, more productivity, so far.

On a more somber note, people need to stop dying for a bit. So far this month, a comparatively young writer who I had hoped to work with, a friend's coworker, a friend's bestie, another friend's husband and countless relatives of friends. And that's not including two of Jana's friends and her dad, who are all in poor health and the poor local queer punk kids whose house concert venue got shot up by some homophobic assholes a few weeks ago (1 dead, multiple hospitalizations, lots of trauma). And that's just the local level. At any rate, it's a lot and next month could be a much easier one for all of us.

I'm kicking mine off with the State Fair...then getting Jana evaluated for disability (all future funding for her care depends on this). Hugs all around. i think we can use them.

Rocky week and change. Jana's had some big ups and big downs and it's become apparent that I need to clear out enough space in the downstairs office to start sleeping in there on the air mattress on a more regular basis, as it will be more comfortable than the couch once I get used to it. Which means getting rid of stuff. I'm also getting her name off sundry assets so I can apply for aid for her; right now the money for the PCAs as well as everything else is getting paid for out of pocket, mostly my pocket. And memory care/assisted living is both looming and very spendy.

I'm starting to do some cancellations - I won't be tabling at Dancing Bear Chocolate this Sunday because I can't trust her not to get lost and there's no one to check on her because it's Mother's Day. This one is just as well, since I am moderating a panel at the Nebulas on Sunday afternoon and it would have been very challenging to wrangle all of that. I just cancelled on my Monday morning WisCon panel because I don't have anyone to sit with her long enough for me to do a panel AND deal with check out AND the Dealer's Room table. So it wasn't very practical anyway. Mostly just common sense things that would have left me feeling drained and overloaded if I tried them, but it does remind me that I miss having a lot of energy.

Otherwise, my class weekend didn't carry, so I opted to run a zillions errands instead. I did get to do a delightful podcast interview on So I'm Writing a Novel. Got the Nebula Weekend this weekend, Rochester Pride next weekend and WisCon the weekend after that. I'm making a lot of progress on edits for Dee Holloway's novella and a bit of progress on Blue Moon. And there are little bit of fun here and there so it's not so bad.

This month has been a LOT. Here's some of the good stuff:

My latest sapphic pirate/spy story, "The Pirate in the Mirror," is up at Heather Rose Jone's awesome Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast! And here's a link to the full list of stories, including the first one, which is only available on my Patreon. Heather does an amazing job with her podcast and her blog and if you're interested in queer history, it's a great place to delve into depictions of queer women, as well as interviews and fiction. I learn a ton from it every time she posts!
The video for WritingOut, the queer publishing and writing panel that I did with Charles Payseur, J.M. Lee and Kat Weaver at the Eau Claire Library last month is up at the Chippewa Valley LGBTQ+ Center's YouTube. It was a great panel, so please check it out.
I taught at the Loft Literary Center with Jennie Goloboy yesterday and it went really well. I had a table at the FemFair at Hamline on Thursday and I had a good time at Flights of Foundry.
I got to see "Chevalier" with friends (decent movie, doesn't do the man's actual life and accomplishments much justice though), caught MORLS at BLB (excellent as always), went to Dine Out for Life (Aliveness Project benefit) and the return of the Women's Prison Book Project Breakfast. Did a hell of a lot of work on upcoming projects.
Acquired some lovely things, like a nice sweater from Myssy and earrings from Elise Matthesen and useful things, like an entire new setup for our rainbarrel to replace the bits we've been taping up for way too long.

The less great parts:

Last week, Jana got lost walking home on a route she knows well.
Three days ago, she broke into a neighbor's house (they were home and left the door unlocked, but not open) to give them a journal. She doesn't know this neighbor well and has never been to their house. They were, fortunately, amused, but...
So I get to start exploring longterm placements and adult daycare stuff now, rather than a month or two down the road. Apparently twice a week PCA visits won't be enough for much longer.
Our roof has not been deemed worthy of insurance-funded replacement so it's one more thing to wrangle.

I'm more or less managing, but help would be nice. Also a lottery win, while we're at it. Sigh.

Well, this month is proving to be the proverbial mixed bag. So far:

I fell in the basement last weekend (tripped over the steps into the crawlspace) and got very banged up. Nothing broken, but lots of big, swollen bruises that really slowed me down for a few days.
J had a mysterious bout of projectile vomiting and I discovered a. the closest urgent care clinic to us had closed and b. If you put a quilt and multiple pairs of jeans in our washing machine, it creates much unpleasantness. Short version: by the time I got everything cleaned up and the washing machine bailed out, she decided she felt better, so I got to work late to make up time.
My car's tire pressure light went on, which shouldn't be that big of a deal, but it is a. difficult to find functioning air pumps around here (I will be buying one soon) and b. for whatever reason, I am startlingly inept with them, which is why filling the tires was something Jana used to do. Big shoutout to the nice young man with the neck and knuckle tattoos at the local garage, now under new ownership, who dealt with the problem before I could make it worse. I tipped him well for his help and everyone ended the day on a much happier note.
Other stuff happened, including my good glasses breaking in my hand when I put them, and it was a long, grueling week.

On the jollier side:

My essay, "Gothic Queer, Edward Gorey and Me" is out in Divergent Terror: At the Crossroads of Queerness and Horror edited by W. Dale Jordan (Off Limits Press) is out! This is my Edward Gorey made me a queer Goth biographical essay, for those wondering. :-)
I got a bunch of the release work for Wolfpack by Rem Wigmore (Queen of Swords Press's January title) underway and preorders up on the website.
I'm working on a new f/f pirate/spy story set in the seventeenth century Caribbean.
I submitted a proposal for an academic article on early queer speculative fiction writers.
Jennie Goloboy and I have been invited back to team teach another class at the Loft Literary Center in the spring.
I've been invited to give a talk at the library in Eau Clare, WI, in January, about which more coming soon.
The Sherlock Holmes exhibit at the MN History Center is pretty fun and I heartily recommend Slash/Back (group of 14 year old Inuit girls stop alien invasion, movie on Shudder and elsewhere).
And, on the bright side, despite a very grueling day, I managed to set up our table for the MN Women's Art Festival for tomorrow without injuring myself and had a decent dinner.

Now to rest up for what will hopefully be a good sales day tomorrow.

It has been another full week, though less productive than I would have liked. But such is always the way. Last weekend had some fun times and this week has definitely had its moments and so it goes, onward. Yes, I am still unemployed, and it is becoming stressful. But then so is the apocalyptic fire sky, the smell of burnt toast and burning trees overlaying the city and the alternating epic storm/ghastly heat that we're experiencing.

Here is what else is going on at the micro level:

Interview #3 has been scheduled! And I put in for 2 other jobs elsewhere earlier this week so fingers crossed that I get some call backs before I head out to go teach at the Novel in Progress Book Camp next week.
Had a fun time reading at Perfectly Queer, the queer author reading series currently running remote from Dog-Eared Books Castro in San Francisco, hosted by Richard May and Wayne Goodman.
Then followed that up with a good panel discussion at Golden Crown Literary Society talking about queer women in historical fiction last Sunday.
Queen of Swords Press has 2 sales going on, both ending on Saturday. Check out deals on our books at Smashwords and DriveThruFiction.
I have worked on an article that I'm hoping to submit in the next day or two here, written a new chapter of my novel in progress for our Patreon, worked on a new short story, worked on the Teachable class, started working on a resume for editing and publishing jobs, read submissions and met with my intern and assistant. Also, a ton of marketing and promo-related things. It's like being a writer and publisher is a full time job by itself.
I got to go to the Keg and Case Market in St. Paul on Sunday with friends (it's pretty cool!) and from there on to watch the latest enthralling Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society production at the North Garden Theater.
I toasted my arms and had a grumpifying event when trying to help a friend with yardwork. Arms are mostly recovered, but between that and the weather, it has been a week of Ouch.
Did revisions on a manuscript and finished the query coaching project I was working on last week (the client said it was useful feedback! Huzzah!).
Got to hang out with several delightful friends at brief intervals, am going to hear Michael Merriam and Abra Staffin-Wiebe read tonight at DreamHaven, will go to the Banfill-Locke Art Center for the first time tomorrow for a paper marbling show and to "Jungle Cruise" tomorrow night. Then off to the Walker Sculpture Garden for a walk on Saturday morning, then hopefully doing some book trade-ins after that, to be followed by an evening of Lupin.
Prep for workshop and finish things! Also, pack, a thing I haven't done in a very long time.

Onward!

Another full week, this one with lingering migraines, which I could definitely do without. But lots of stuff going on, some of it pretty cool.

Job interview #3 got pushed to next week, job interview 2 for job I was interested in isn't happening, job interview for iffy funding job still on hold. Put in another couple of resumes for referrals from friends did a bunch of work on my editing/publishing resume so I can put that out there too.
Picked up a quick freelance gig coaching an author on query writing.
Rehomed some things as part of the Great House Cleanout, including the bag of book donations for Quatrefoil Library that's been in the living room for a year and a half.
Went to Twin Cities Pride, which was reasonably fun, if hot and a bit crowded. Also, my feet hurt from not being used to slogging around quite so much in the hot.
Had a delightful time at Madame Askew's Virtual Steampunk Book Club on Sunday talking about Alex Acks's work and Wireless and More Steam-Powered Adventures in particular.
Did a ton of miscellaneous marketing things for Queen of Swords Press.
Did a reading at the Perfectly Queer Reading Series last night and had a fine time.
Submitted two reprints to a market that indicated they'd like to see some.
Did some writing and read a bunch of submissions and sent quite a few rejections, alas, many of them the result of people not checking the guidelines.
Did a bit of writing on some projects and work on my Teachable class. Next up, actually finishing some things and getting some more stuff submitted.

Stay tuned for the next gripping installment!

it got away from me.
What's been going on? Where to begin?
Okay, so my day job lasted a week longer than originally projected, but has now ended. I'm taking a bit of time off before I embark on job hunting to a. rest, b. get caught up and c. give my current contracting company time to find me a new gig if I can. I just wrapped up creating a promo plan for an author who writes for another publisher (paid gig) and am starting work on an article for trade journal (paid - freelance). I've got a couple more pitches to send out and I'm working on a new class on book publishing for Cat Rambo, which will debut next month. I wrote a new short story in a genre new to me and had it rejected within hours, but then sent something else out. I'm working on new Patreon posts and related fun things (novel in progress has cleared 30k words).

Other than that, added a bunch of events, met with Queen of Swords Press's new intern, met with my assistant, worked on planning for the Pride StoryBundle (launching 6/3), recorded my panel and reading for StokerCon (starts tomorrow) and kicked off a discussion about doing an online vendor and artist thing during WisCon weekend. There is no official WisCon and the only things I've seen revolve around online bar con and chats, so do please let me know if there's something I haven't seen yet. Otherwise, losing WisCon income is a big hit to a number of folks so if you want to participate, please let me know. I'm picturing some short profiles on the Queen of Swords Press Discord channel, since it's available, and a lot of mutual plugging with linked hashtags. Please support the artists and vendors if you can.

I also watched somethings, took a weekend off social media, went to Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, hung out with friends, read a lot, watched things, worked on the yard, began getting rid of usable things we don't want or need and worked on other stuff. And began to deal with news of a family-related health issue that I knew was coming and has almost landed. But not quite. I will try and be better about posting regularly going forward.

Had some small bits of good this week, could still be sleeping better and stress levels are still quite high (and likely to get higher for a bit). So the fun bits first:

A financial problem that was going to be expensive to fix got taken off my plate. It was something I had tried very hard to correct for, but was foiled in the attempt, and had resigned myself to pay for it. But now I don't have to, for reasons I'm sort of unclear on, but the outcome is a good one.
A good writing-related thing is going to happen on 5/1, but it's not public yet, so waiting until then.
It is Dine Out for Life today, the big Minnesota benefit for the Aliveness Project, and we have had tasty lunch and dinner from local restaurants.
Had my first physical in nearly two years and am doing pretty well, all things considered. My liver is not the bouncy internal organ my G.P. likes to see, however, so I likely have to do an ultrasound for it. I suspect the problem is that between the winter, the not getting out that much and the plantar's that took months to clear up, I'm simply not getting as much exercise as either my liver or the rest of me would like. But other wise, blood sugar, cholesterol, heart, et al, good. Heart and reflexes quite good given that the fire alarm went off mid-exam.
Still no word on job prospects after 5/13; am both weirdly calm and not in gear for looking so I'm either kidding myself or am convinced that this company will pull something out of thin air. Or perhaps, just tired.
A family medical thing is still a thing, though some support has come in from an unexpected quarter. We'll see how it goes.
Am back to working on my novel in progress and a new short story that I'm playing with.
The cover for the next Queen of Swords Press title is quite lovely and edits are in progress.
It has dawned on me that I am on an upcoming panel on a topic I don't understand as well as I would like and I should probably do something about that.

And now back to work.

First the good stuff, because there needs to be good stuff.

My novel, Silver Moon, is going to be translated and released in a new German language edition by Ylva Publishing in 2022! Very excited about this since it's out first foreign rights sale.
Blood Moon got a lovely review on Hannah's Bookshelf, a great book-oriented radio show on North Manchester FM.
Queen of Swords Press has been invited to do a Small Press AMA (Ask Me Anything) at r/Fantasy on 6/4. Alex Acks, A.J. Fitzwater, Rem Wigmore, Jennie Goloboy and I will all be there, with some special guests, if we're lucky. Please join us!
The Tucson Steampunk Society's CommuniTea was delightful and my anthology class went well last weekend.
I have a new "6 Books with Catherine Lundoff" at Nerds of a Feather (big congrats to them for their Hugo Finalist nod!)
I got sick and migrainey a lot, a state that lasted until yesterday.
I'm teaching for Springboard for the Arts tomorrow night! Publishing Basics for Genre Writers – April 14th, 6:00-8:00 PM CST. Zoom, Springboard for the Arts.
I'm doing a couple of panels and a Dealer's Room table at Flights of Foundry next week. I'm also getting my second shot on Saturday afternoon (Jana is too), so we'll see how that goes. Flights looks like a great con again this year so you should definitely check it out.

The other things going on:
On Sunday afternoon, police in Brooklyn Center (a bedroom community about 10 miles away) shot and killed a young Black man named Duante Wright. For context, we are in Week 3 of Derek Chauvin's trial for the murder of George Floyd. Brooklyn Center is very diverse, majority POC city with a big immigrant population. The National Guard is out, the police presence and militarization is completely insane and the protests are substantial. The entire metro area is under curfew at present, which is every bit as useful as it was last time. It's enraging and horrible and frustrating and painful we need some big changes to do this better; if you live in Minneapolis and haven't signed the Yes 4 Minneapolis petition, please do it. This will enable us to vote to replace the current police department with a Department of Public Safety if it passes and let us vote for what we want to see (the Charter Commission crushed this last year and is putting forth another ballot to give the Mayor more control over the MPD, conveniently ignoring that he had full control last year and that didn't go so well). And here's a list of ways to help Brooklyn Center, which was already hurting quite a bit from last year. And please consider voting for Kate Knuth for Mayor.

Always an exciting question. The main thing since finishing up my CPPM Certification has been getting Blood Moon ready. I sent it off for edits, it came back right before Christmas, I sat down and began cranking through edits, then on Christmas Eve, ran across a continuity problem that I had missed twice and my editor has missed once. Frantic scrambling ensured, but I got it fixed, finished and loaded up. The official cover reveal and preorder (ebook) links will be coming on 1/1/21. Print preorder will be shortly thereafter. ARCs will be available and the beast launches upon the world on 3/15/21. At which point, I will have 1,200,000 words in print, which is pretty cool. I do like this book and I really hope that the people who've been patiently asking about it for years feel the same way.

Other Me (Emily L. Byrne) sold two reprints to an excellent podcast, which was lovely. And Queen of Swords Press title The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper by A.J. Fitzwater is on three reviewer's Best of 2020 lists (Maria Haskins of Strange Horizons, Paul Weimer of Tor.com and the Skiffy and Fanty Show and author Nathan Burgoine who reviews short queer fiction on his blog) and is on the recommended reading list for the Ursa Major Awards (major award for anthropomorphic fiction). I have an extension on my new story to February, programming invites from Arisia and Capricon, classes lined up and all sorts of other things going on.

The holidays were reasonably pleasant. After more day job shenanigans, I was down for two days with a migraine, but better on Christmas, which I spent doing edits and cooking and watching Bridgerton with Jana. We went for the 8 hour blitz and I enjoyed some of it quite a bit, some of in smaller doses than I got and some of it not at all. Saturday, I got takeout from the Midtown Global Market and then we headed out to Hopkins to enjoy a firepit night with friends and eat pie, which was delightful. Apart from that, it's been all work, with a break to watch Wonder Woman 1984, about which I had much the same reactions that I had to Bridgerton. I'm hoping to clear the decks to get started on a grant proposal and some SEO certification stuff next week. I still have a day job at the moment, but am getting prepped to jump either to something else or off into thin air and hope that I can string together enough to keep us solvent. More bulletins as events warrant. Year in review post coming soon!

Looking for a book sale? You've got until EOD tomorrow to get Queen of Swords Press titles, ebook and print, from our website. Since it's Duluth Superior Pride weekend, we're having a sale! Enter code DSPRIDE20 at checkout from the Queen of Swords website to get 15% off all orders over $3. You can also bid on a signed package of my books in the charity auction to support next year's Pride celebration as well as their year-round programming.

I've been enjoying a lowkey weekend. We had a friend over for dinner on Friday night and started watching "The Frankenstein Chronicles." This features Sean Bean as a syphlitic Victorian detective trying to solve a series of gruesome child murders with the assistance of Joseph Nightingale, who is is portrayed here as one of the first Black Bobbies. Mary Shelley is a character, as are several other historical figures. The supernatural elements may be real, may be science, may be the result of syphilis. Interesting stuff, so far!

Yesterday, my friend Sheila and I went to Big Stone Mini Golf and Sculpture Garden in Minnetrista (about 40 or so from Minneapolis) and had a blast. Each of the obstacles are also sculptures and are surround by art and the occasional chicken or horse. There is also a walking tour to be had around the sculptures in the surrounding fields. It is quite lovely and a lot of fun! We also managed a stop off at the Minnesota Arboretum Apple House, which is a farm store for apples and other produce grown at the Arb as well as some local and not so local products. I'll be canning apple sauce tomorrow!

Today has included lots of cooking and meal prep since it looks like the day job is fixing to be a trial next week. But there will be leftover jambalaya and cornbread and homemade pizza crusts and such to eat, which will help. I'm also getting in a decent amount of writing, which always helps. Progress is being made on Blood Moon, I'm working on a new short story, I just turned in an article and I'm working on the next two chapters of my novel in progress for my Patreon. And I recorded two short videos, one for MultiverseCon next month and the other for St. Cloud Virtual Pride in 2 weeks. Next weekend, I'll be recording a new episode of the Glitchy Pancakes Podcast, in which I'll be talking about the history LGBTQ speculative fiction with the awesome hosts, Jesse and Rob. Links as soon as I have them.

Tomorrow, we get a morning trip to the sold out Not the Fine Arts Exhibit at Not the Minnesota State Fair, which should be fun. Since the Fair was cancelled, we have all kinds of pop-up events around town and online so that people can get their fix (the Fair is a HUGE deal here and a big driver of the local economy so cancelling it is really rough on multiple levels - which is not a commentary on whether or not cancelling it was necessary. I think South Dakota is making yet another insanely bad call by not cancelling theirs). In the meantime, here's this crop art.

I am pretty damned excited about this convention and thrilled to be part of the line-up! C'monfluence will be happening in October and you should join us. It is free but they are asking for a $25 donation if you can swing it so they can keep making the con happen.

What else is going on? We went to a most excellent drag show on the sidewalk outside Sisters' Sludge Coffee Cafe and Wine Bar last Saturday. The dancing, the outfits, the cheering, the people on the roof across the street raining cash down for the queens - an excellent time for one and all. Plus, it was great to be out and about and enjoying our poor battered city once again. And the very next night, we went to visit friends we haven't seen in ages for outdoor barbecue.

Otherwise, I'm working on Blood Moon and my serialized novel for my Patreon. I cranked out a brand new story last week got it submitted just under the deadline. I'm working on a new class for Cat Rambo which will debut next month ("No More Lone Wolves: Writiing Characters in Community." I'm working on a new article for the SFWA Blog and I'm reading submissions for Queen of Swords. I'm also not sleeping worth a damn, surprise, surprise. That aside, we're having some financial stress right now and I'm worried about my people in California, Iowa and the Gulf Coast. Please stay as safe as you can. Now to go finish a few more things...

Compared to a lot of people, I am having a picnic. That said, my mother (in a nursing home), now has the flu (regular kind) and we have squirrels nesting in our porch ceiling, which I am not happy about. The nursing home staff is doing the best they can, all honor to them, and I promised not to visit just in case I am germ-laden. I'm still working from home and the guy who cleans our gutters is coming by to squirrel wrangle, for which I am deeply grateful. And stressed.

Apart from that, we've been supporting as many arts organizations and small businesses as we can, which feels like nowhere near enough. But we've been mail ordering and taking advantage of curbside pickup (even at our local farmer's market) and getting takeout and contributing as much as we can. I want something to be left after this, dammit. I want my bookstores and museums and arts organizations and restaurants and coffeeshops and farmer's markets and all of that stuff back. And I want the people who are sick to get well and for there to be a good cure and free testing. I want all that to happen before a bunch more bad things come down the pike.

That said, Queen of Swords Press is participating in the Smashwords Authors Give Back. I picked our 4 jolliest titles and marked them down 60% off for the next two weeks. Pick up a couple of books by Alex Acks and a couple of books by/edited by me and veg out for a bit, if you can. I'll also be teaching a bunch of online classes at Cat Rambo's Academy for Wayward Writers (see my pinned appearances post for more details or check here for updates).

Other that this, I'm working and writing (progress is being made on Blood Moon) and planning for the release of The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper by A.J. Fitzwater, which is up for preorder now and will be coming from Queen of Swords Press on 4/6. Sign up for our newsletter by 4/4/ to be entered to win a copy or pledge our Patreon before 4/1 (all patrons will be getting a copy in April).

It's my birthday next Monday so all attempts at doing good things in the world and telling me about them are much appreciated. Support artists and art and beauty to whatever extent you can.

Which makes a nice change from last week, when my beloved candidate pulled out of the race AND I had to stay home for a few days due to a possible COVID-19 exposure (which turned out to be the flu/cold bug we’ve passing around at work). The high points of the weekend were a. recovering and b. getting an early copy of Caroline Stevermer’s upcoming novel, The Glass Magician (coming out from Tor Books in April! I’m in the acknowledgements! :-D). Other than that, symptom-free and coworker has passed medical checks, so am going to see “Woman on Fire” tonight and have tix to see “Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears” this weekend!

I have a new article up at the SFWA Blog on “Book Releases on a Budget”
Tomorrow, my new story, “Inheritance,” will be out in Haunting Shadows, the new Wraith the Oblivion 20th Anniversary Anthology from Onyx Path Publishing. If you’ve read my story in The Cainite Conspiracies, several of the same characters are back for an encore! And let me tell you, working a medieval Jewish magic-user/vampire into the world of Wraith was not easy! Hopefully, readers enjoy it. It will be available on Amazon and at DriveThruFiction.

The year has begun with its usual rush of excitement. The big news is that I do have a new job and I start it next week. The timing is good in that we are now mostly coasting on savings (buy a book! Or a fancy box!) until money starts coming in again next month. But we can actually do that, so still not dire, though support is much appreciated and helpful.

This week I went to:

A Midwest Independent Publishers Association meeting for a presentation on video marketing.
A talk on green burials in Minnesota at the Seward Co-op.
Third Thursday at the MIA (local art museum invites in a bunch of musicians and artists and other creative folks)
Burned the midnight oil (literally) to get a story completed and turned in during a short extension period. Fingers crossed! It's another Sherlock Holmes story so if gets accepted, it will be my second one for this year. It's a Holmes and Mrs/ Hudson story so we'll see how it flies.
Finished another story which I'll be doing a final pass on before submitting tomorrow.
Saw the cover and the TOC for the forthcoming Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives edited by John Linwood Grant (Belanger Books), which will include my story "The Rani's Dream."
Did a bunch of Queen of Swords Press 3rd Birthday Party planning for next Saturday (1/25), including dropping books off at The Irreverent Bookworm in Minneapolis. The big news is that Elise Matthesen will making a glorious thing for the prize drawing - it is sure to be amazing! But you do need to show up to enter, so see you there if you can make it.
We now own a handtruck that converts being a cart.
By some miracle, even though we are mid-blizzard and I waited until this afternoon to ask, the guy we call when snow gets really bad said he could fit us in tomorrow.

Now to watch Antonia's Line, which I haven't seen in forever and rest my elbows so they stop screaming from some of my recent more strenuous activities.

Since it's almost over, I'll go out on a limb and do my year end post. The decade one will be turning up in a day or two.
So the writing part first.

Catherine Lundoff - books and stories either published this year or accepted for next year:

Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic (Queen of Swords Press). Single author collection of my horror, dark fantasy and weird fiction.
“By Her Pen, She Conquers” - LHMP Podcast, Heather Rose Jones, editor/host. Historical setting - young female playwright in Regency England finds new opportunity and a love interest at Drury Lane Theater.
“Good for Your Career? Evaluating Events for Writers” - SFWA Blog
“Inheritance” - forthcoming, media tie-in story for Wraith: The Oblivion edited by Matt McElroy (Onyx Path Publishing). If you read my story "Incarnadine Seas" in The Cainite Conspiracies for Vampire the Masquerade, this is a sequel.
“Lost Girl” - Fireside Magazine October, 2019, edited by Julia Rios (Fireside Fiction). Lesbian ghost story.
“Hunger” - American Monsters Part Two edited by Margrét Helgadóttir (Fox Spirit Books). A story about Minnesota nice, Minnesota monsters, Minnesota winter and toxic masculinity.
“The Rani’s Dream” - forthcoming, Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives edited by John Linwood Grant (Belanger Books). Mystery short story in which the acclaimed detective has to work with an Anglo-Indian agent who specializes in the occult to solve a jewel theft.

As Emily L. Byrne:

“Nights in Red Satin” - The Sexy Librarian's Dirty 30 Vol. 3 edited by Rose Caraway (Stupid Fish Productions). A middle-aged Latina tries to find her spark again.
“Arachne” - forthcoming, Nobilis Erotica Podcast, Nobilis Reed, editor/host. Reading of my Arachne and Athena story from Knife's Edge.

As publisher at Queen of Swords Press:

Wireless and More Steam-Powered Adventures by Alex Acks. More Ramos, Simms and Deliah! If you liked Murder on the Titania and Other Steam-Powered Adventures, this is the sequel (and if you haven't read either of them yet, you should check them out).

Selected events - MultiverseCon, Twin Cities Book Festival, Untitled Town Book and Author Festival, The Loft’s Wordplay, WisCon, St. Cloud Pride, 13 Gears, MCBA’s FallCon, the Minnesota Ampersand Club. Plus 3 classes taught at Cat Rambo's Rambo Academy and a whole bunch of readings, presentations, talks, book tables, etc.

Other things that happened this year:

I worked 60-70 hours a week all year, between my day job, writing and publishing-related stuff. This was on top of doing the same thing last year and the year before.
It was, in short, unsustainable madness. I got laid off at the end of October and have spent the last 2 months recovering.
I lost my dear friend Beth to ALS earlier this year and several other friends to other unpleasant things. I miss them all.
There are ongoing family health issues that I won't go into.
I am actually reasonably healthy at the moment, knock wood.
Reconnected with some friends I haven't seen for a while.
Finally got the furnace replaced and put in central air.
I've done a whole bunch of writing on a couple of novels in progress, revived my Patreon and did a bunch of things to get Queen of Swords Press to the point where it is mostly paying for itself. The next steps are covering all its costs and paying me.
Travel this year has been mostly regional, with the exception of a trip to D.C. for Outwrite. Other places visited for events: Madison, Green Bay, St. Cloud.
The endless political and environmental trashfire has definitely taken a toll on me and everyone I know.

So there it is, my 2019. Better than a lot of people's, worse than a few. Here's hoping 2020 is a better year all around for all the best reasons. Let's make things better, people!

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Dwelling in Probabilities

Catherine Lundoff's blog

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2019 - The Year That Was