2023 Writing + Publishing Plans

 

Happy Yule, Happy Holidays, and a very Happy New Year to all!

As we round out 2022, I just want to say again how grateful I am to each and every one of you who read my stories. I've always said that I mostly write them for myself and if anyone else happens to enjoy them then that's a wonderful bonus. And it does mean so very much to me any time someone leaves a nice review or comment about my books. So THANK YOU! And I hope you continue to stick around for more stories to come. 💜

Speaking of, I'm here to share my writing and publishing plans for 2023! I'm going to spend the last week of December mainly relaxing before I dive back into working on any projects, but for the most part, I already know what I plan to work on in the year ahead.

First, sometime in 2023, I'll have a new short story, 'Looped', published in SOMNISCOPE: A Dreampunk Anthology which is the follow-up to MIRRORMAZE (both published by Fractured Mirror Publishing and edited by Dreampunk visionary, Cliff Jones Jr.). There isn't a set release date yet, but it is in the editing process.

I'll also be simultaneously working on THE DAPPER DETECTIVE (the sequel to THE DANDY MEDIUM) and THE DEAD OAKS: OMNIBUS. I'm not sure which will release first, but I'm hoping to have one release in the Spring and the other by Autumn. I can't force the muse, so I've decided to let it guide me on which project it would prefer to work on each day.

THE DAPPER DETECTIVE will bring back Alfie and Sebastian on a new mysterious case of murder and deception. But this time, they'll have the leader of the Crimson Bat Society, Francis the vampire, helping (or hindering, as Alfie sees it) their investigation. This story will delve deeper into the history of Nótt Haven and perhaps open up some possible storylines for spin-offs. THE DANDY MEDIUM and THE DAPPER DETECTIVE are meant to be a duology, but I've very quickly come to realize that so many more stories can be told within this world so there's a possibility of more Nótt Haven books featuring other characters in the future.

THE DEAD OAKS: OMNIBUS will be a rerelease of all of the previous DEAD OAKS stories combined into one giant volume and will include a new short story and new cover art. I've always wanted these stories to exist in physical form, not just ebooks, so this will be a great way to offer print editions of the series. I'll most likely host a lot of D.O.P.S.-themed giveaways around the time of this release, so keep your eye out if you need some Jasper & Wes merch in your life! 😉

And if I have any time left at the end of the year, I have some new ideas that I'm hoping to begin work on. Currently, I'm leaning into a new Dreampunk series, but I also have other stories brewing that I might delve into depending on how I feel when the time comes. I'm also toying around with creating a second pen name for a new genre, but more on that another time.

I hope your holiday season is bright and the new year is fruitful!

Happy Holidays & Happy Reading!

Dez 💜

Author Life FAQs

If you follow me on social media then you may have seen me ask for questions to be sent in for an FAQ. Thank you to everyone who submitted one! It's been a while since I've done one of these, so here we go!

How do you actually finish a book? I keep getting stuck on revising the same chapters over and over and never seem to move forward.

I've given myself a rule that I'm not allowed to revise ANYTHING until I've completed the entire first draft of a book. If something is really gnawing at me, I do keep a notebook by my laptop to jot down big changes that I want to make later. My advice is to not get hung up on grammar or revisions and just plow through the story. You can fix it all once it's been written.

Did you always want to be a writer?

I've always loved writing but I had no idea I would be a writer. Initially, I wanted to work in paranormal research. Then, I wanted to be an actress and participated in every high school theater production. I had planned to get a Drama degree, but when that didn't pan out due to life events at the time, I ended up getting a BFA in Studio Art with a specialization in Graphic Design instead. I worked as a graphic designer for ten years, then as the Executive Assistant at a Contemporary Fine Arts museum before finally staying home to write full-time. During all of that, though, I was constantly writing because that's my true passion. I just ended up being lucky enough to have a spouse who has volunteered to support me (both emotionally and financially) while pursuing my dreams.

Is there a genre you haven't written yet but want to?

I would say I've dabbled in most fiction genres and found ways to incorporate elements of them all into my stories. I haven't written a non-fiction book yet and I do have a potential idea for one but I don't know if/when I'll write it.

Will there be more ROAM books?

This isn't going to be the answer you want (or maybe it will be?) because I can't give you a hard yes or no. For now, the ROAM series is complete. However, I do have ideas for a new series down the road that would essentially be a continuation. But there are no solid plans for anything yet.

That being said, I do have a standalone short story titled Thatcher Maugden and the Dream Witch which will be published in Mirrormaze, a first-ever Dreampunk Anthology, later this year! It's technically a prequel to the ROAM series and the main characters are relatives of Ethan Roam.


How long does it take you to write a book?

This varies, but anywhere between 3-6 months has been my standard timeframe. I'm working on trying to speed up my process. I would love to be able to publish a new book every quarter of the year but I haven't gotten quite that fast yet.

If you could turn any of your books into a movie, which would it be and who would you cast?

Oh, definitely ROAM. In fact, I've done a blog post on this in the past with some potential casting choices.

Have you had any paranormal experiences in your own life?

So many! This is why I initially was interested in a career in the paranormal. Now I just use my passion and experiences to write about it. So, in a way, I suppose I ended up with a Paranormal career after all. *wink*

I hope you enjoyed this short FAQ session! Feel free to submit questions to me anytime and I'll compile them for the next one.

🖤Dez

Author Life: Morning Writing Routine

Confession: I did not start out as a Morning Writer by any means.  When I first began my writing journey, I was a Midnight-3AM Writer.  I would say this was because I was trying to live that Gothic-Dreampunk-By-Moonlight-Creative-By-Candlelight lifestyle but the truth is that it was the only way, at the time, to fit a solid chunk of uninterrupted writing time into my day.  I'm a wife, mom, and had a full-time job (I was a graphic designer for a decade and then did a brief stint as an Executive Assistant at a Fine Arts museum).  Now that I have the opportunity to stay home (which I am extremely grateful to my husband for being so incredibly supportive), I've been able to figure out what time of day I'm actually the most creative when it comes to writing.  You guessed it--mornings!

I like being able to start the day with a fresh mind so I can truly focus on whatever story I'm working on.  Also, knocking out a writing session first thing in the morning makes the rest of the day feel like a breeze no matter what I have going on because I'm already starting out feeling as though I've accomplished something.

Here's what my typical Morning Writing Routine looks like these days:

7:00 A.M.

Wake up.  Get morning chores out of the way.  Check emails.

8:00 A.M.

Make coffee. Review where I'm at in the story and then begin the morning's writing session.  I know a lot of author's like to take breaks every half hour or so but I'm more of the type to set a parameter for a session and then solidly work through it.  I'll either give myself a world count goal to meet or just a time frame (usually an hour and a half to two hours) depending on my progress versus whatever deadline I've given myself to complete the draft.

10:00 A.M.

Get dressed for the day and review my planner and To-Do lists.  I usually get some laundry going around this time and return any calls/messages/etc.

11:00 A.M.

My husband and I meet up for lunch every day which is nice and I'm incredibly happy that we're able to do that.

11:30 A.M.

MORE COFFEE!  And back to writing.  I'll finish up whatever scene or chapter that I was working on that day or use this time to do any needed research.  If I've already met my writing goal for the day and I don't have the energy to jump into a new scene then I'll use this as Administrative time to work on the more "business" side of things like marketing, promotion, and brainstorming content ideas.  This session usually lasts until about 1:00 P.M.

That's my Morning Writing Routine!  I have no clue how interesting/dull you all might find it. haha  But if you enjoy these sorts of posts then be sure to let me know in the comments or on social media.  I love to hear from you guys and if there are any topics you'd like to see me cover in terms of writing or publishing then please feel free to ask!

Thanks for reading!

- Dez -

HUNTER is now available at:

AMAZON | B&N | NSP

Author Life: My Publishing Story

I get asked about my journey into publishing fairly often so I thought I would go ahead and share my story here.

There are various points at which I could begin but for the purpose of answering the main question that I get: "How did you get a publishing contract?", I'll start at the point after which I had already self-published ROAM.

In fact, by the time I received my first publishing offer, I had already self-published four books.  I knew that I wanted to seek out a traditional publisher as well and had sent out a couple of query letters which were rejected.  One to a publishing company that responded that my book wasn't "what we're looking for right now" and one to an agent that auto-replied that they didn't have time to review new queries.  A lot of authors get a ton of rejections so I wasn't too upset but their responses made me decide to take some time to research querying a little more and just focus on self-publishing for a while.

In 2017, a year after I had stopped querying (it was perpetually on my "I'll get to it eventually" list), I ended up having a very unfortunate summer in which I broke my foot and was laid off from my job as a graphic designer where I had worked for nearly ten years.  The boredom of the recovery process and my overall "What have I got to lose?" mentality spurred me into action.  I spent time researching publishing companies that I thought would be a good fit for my M/M Paranormal novel, ROAM, and also freshened up my query letter.

I decided that NineStar Press would be the best place to start and I sent in my submission.  Three weeks later, I received an offer and the next day I was signing my first publishing contract!  

I recognize that not every author gets an offer so easily.  I do feel that perhaps the stars aligned in my favor at that time because if I hadn't been injured and entering unemployment then I probably wouldn't have felt the drive to go outside of my comfort zone and take that next step.  I also feel that I had more success the second time around because I did do my research on finding an appropriate publisher for my story and updating my query letter.  If you'd like for me to go more in depth about writing query letters then please let me know in the comments and I'll work it into a post!

I sent in my submission to NSP for HUNTER shortly before ROAM released and it was accepted as well.  I definitely plan to submit my manuscript to them for the third book and anything else I write that I feel would be in alignment with their company as they have been a pleasure to work with.

I also plan to continue self-publishing certain titles.  If you'd like to learn more about my self-publishing process, let me know that in the comments as well!

Thanks for reading and I wish you all the best of luck with your own creative journeys!

- Dez

- Be sure to stay updated with special announcements and new releases through my newsletter!  You can sign up on the main page of my website.
- If you're interested in my daily life, what I'm reading, and writerly musings, you can also follow me on Instagram and Twitter.

COMING SOON - April 8th 2019

ADD ON GOODREADS

OUT NOW

Amazon | B&N | NSP

It's time to face your nightmares.

NaNoWriMo 2018

(Equipped and ready!)

I participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time in 2016 when I wrote the first draft of HUNTER (scheduled for release April 2019 through NineStar Press) but missed out on joining in last year.  I've yet to determine if NaNoWriMo is really for me so I wanted to give it another try and it just so happened to be coming around right as I'm delving into writing the final book in the ROAM trilogy.  The timing is convenient and I'm hoping all of the fuss surrounding NaNoWriMo will help keep me on track.  My goal for November is to see how much writing I can actually accomplish during certain time frames of a day so that moving forward I will better know how to schedule my time and set personal deadlines for myself that I can realistically adhere to.

What Book Will I Be Writing?

As mentioned, I'll be working on the third ROAM book, DREAM WEAVER.  

What Prep Work Have I Done?

I have a general outline of the story and I've already written the first 1,500 words because laying down those intial lines is always the hardest part for me.  Like an artist with a fresh canvas; but thankfully writers have delete buttons if we don't like our first strokes.  I wanted to have this part down before November that way I would know exactly where I was jumping in at and I wouldn't waste time mulling over it.

I've also brushed up on my two previous stories and made a list of loose ends that I want to tie up.  With this being the final book in the main series, I need to try and give it as much closure as possible.

I'm looking forward to participating with the writing community surrounding NaNoWriMo and seeing how much I can accomplish.  If you're also planning to join in, let me know!

~ Dez ~


- Be sure to stay updated with special announcements and new releases through my newsletter!  You can sign up on the main page of my website.
- If you're interested in my daily life and writerly musings, you can also follow me Instagram and Twitter.

OUT NOW

Amazon | B&N | NSP

It's time to face your nightmares.

Soon To Be Released

- HUNTER (ROAM, Book Two), coming April 2019 through NineStar Press.

Midnight Monsters & ROAM Meets Dreampunk

As you already know if you subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on social media, The Dead Oaks: Midnight Monsters is now available on both Amazon & Wattpad.  Huge thanks, love, and appreciation to everyone that has gotten a copy!  If you have a chance, please consider leaving a review either on Amazon or Goodreads.  Reviews help authors more than you know!  They increase our chances of reaching new readers and if you enjoy my stories then I hope you'll want to share them with others who might also like them.  :)

The first two chapters are currently available on Wattpad and a new chapter will be uploaded every Friday.  Or you can read the entire thing at once by purchasing on Amazon.  I won't do this with all of my books but it works best for YA titles such as this since some YA readers don't have the ability to purchase books on Amazon.

I hope you all have been doing well!  I've been posting all of my updates through my newsletter which has left this space a little barren.  So, my question is, what sort of content would you like to see here?  Would you like more behind the scenes and extras on my books and characters?  Would you prefer writing tips?  Would you like for me to obsess and rant about the paranormal in general?  All valid options.  Let me know if you have any preferences.

In other news, with the re-release of ROAM coming toward the end of this year, I've begun the process of delving back into the series and refreshing myself on my own dogma and taking many MANY notes.  I'm working on outlining the final book in the trilogy (Don't worry.  I still believe in prequels and spin-offs.) and I hope to begin writing it within the next month.  It's been a lot of fun to revisit these characters and to really sharpen my focus on how I approach the Dreampunk genre.  If you get a chance, I suggest reading this Dreampunk article by Cliff Jones Jr.  He's done an excellent job of documenting this ever-evolving genre; and if you scroll to the bottom, you can find me there with an interview!

Do you have any favorite Dreampunk stories?  

Have a great weekend & Happy Reading!

-Dez-