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As I write this, I am in the final stretch of the summer holidays. Turns out entertaining a five-year-old is an all-encompassing endeavour—one that’s pretty tiring when required to do it pretty much consistently over a six-week period. Who knew?
What I do know is that I’m pretty sure I’ve aged at least a year over the summer break, making me a medical marvel.
But just because my attention has been focused on the whims, entertainment, and education of my son doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any thought or progression on the writing front. Between re-addressing plot points, enjoying some (minor) organic growth and discovery, and receiving updates about other projects I’m involved with slowly moving forward, there are still a few awesome things to share in this issue of The Recap!
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Use Your (Key)Words
Being time poor this month meant I had to be mercurial with what got my attention when it came to writing, with one of the more manageable writer-admin tasks I wanted to tackle and amend being the keywords utilised for each of my stories.
In case you didn’t know, you can use keywords that get associated with your novel when uploaded to Amazon. These keywords and phrases, when used by a potential reader, should, in theory, help them to discover the associated book. So, for example, searching for something like “novels like The Last of Us” or “stories like Supernatural” could bring up results for Burden and Steen.
To be honest, I thought I’d already done a keyword refresh a while ago, but, upon inspection, I discovered that I had…not…and simply convinced myself I had, I guess?
So, upon realising the older keywords were still in place, I did some research and freshened up the current ones for all of my work in the hope that it would help people discover my stories.
Now, July was a pretty quiet month in terms of sales and Kindle Unlimited reads. Disappointingly so following the relative success of May, where Steen climbed to #1 in some of its genres, so I had hopes that new keywords would be the shake-up needed to connect my books with organic readers, given they’re already searching for novels/stories with similar themes, characters, or ideas in them.
Thankfully, this strategy has already paid some dividends as my KU reads have seen some traction, especially for Steen. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’ll be able to retire anytime soon because of this, but in terms of bolstering confidence in the novels and the sometimes ephemeral idea that readers are in fact out there…it’s helped me mentally in a major way. It’s shown me that, given the opportunity, the blurb, cover, and concept work. It’s just about bridging that gap of discoverability and helping people know the work exists.
Marketing, right? It always comes back around to marketing. But that, in turn, always comes back to the more tangible reality of affordability, especially in a cost-of-living crisis United Kingdom.
Regardless, I’m stoked people are finding my work and that the keynote refresh has done its job!
Thought Projection
The Steen short story has been on my mind. Percolating. I’ve not been able to start writing the way I wanted this month because, well, all of the above in the Intro and what I cover in The Save Point below, but I have spent a lot of time thinking on the plot and its pacing.
I tend to do this with new story ideas before sitting in the chair and writing anyway. Assessing, ripping apart, and stitching together the initial plot points and plans are an integral part of my early process, as it allows me to wallow in the story a bit, confronting elements that work or jar and need addressing. I find this to be a really helpful step as, once I get in the chair, all of that groundwork and laid track allows me to tap into the story easier, providing a relatively smooth experience in getting that zero draft done.
So, although nothing has been written as of yet, your favourite Canadian demon hunter (and mine) has been at the forefront of my mind, and, following a short post-summer decompression period, I’m super excited to sit down once school is back in session so I can begin. Even if it does mean playing Christmas songs during late summer/early autumn.
Anthology
Another quick scattershot update revolves around the anthology short story I wrote for Your Paper Quest, Opening Night, which I’ve previously written about here.
I’ve been told that things are moving forward with the anthology and that they are currently in the cover art phase of the project. It sounds like everything is on track, and I’m excited to see how the project grows and look forward to its eventual release.
I’ll be sure to share details about it in a future issue of The Recap when it does, but it’s good to know things are progressing.
Make a Scene
The last update for this month’s Write Steve Write is one that has to remain a little vague, I’m afraid. You see, I teased something that could be happening for your plucky writer friend a few months ago and…well…it looks like it may finally be happening.
Things are clicking into place, and it feels as though there is now some positive momentum. I remain realistic about the process and don’t want to get my hopes too high only to be dashed, but, yeah…I’m pretty excited as things inch forward from a wish, to a conversation, to a potential manifested reality.
Sorry for the teasing nature of this update, but, believe me, it’s pretty freakin’ cool and a personal author highlight for me. I can’t wait to share the details when it’s time, so be sure to keep checking out The Recap every time it lands in your inbox! |
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Summer Survival
I’m not going to spend the entirety of The Save Point detailing every moment of the past six weeks, as fun and challenging as it’s been.
Some highlights include going to the beach, enjoying the circus, travelling to Canterbury and enjoying Dinosaur World Live on stage, hanging out at castles with my family, visiting London and eating Chinatown buns in Trafalgar Square, experiencing Dreamland for the first time, teaching my son how to ride his first-ever two-wheeled bike (which he nailed!), and, sadly, having someone crash into the side of my parked car!
There have been way too many personal and individual memories to capture here, but given my trepidation over the holidays and how vast six weeks’ worth of time actually is when it comes to entertaining a five-year-old…I gotta say it wasn’t too bad at all. By the time you receive this at the end of August, there are only a few days left before my son returns to school!
To quote Rocky Balboa…
It wasn’t smooth sailing throughout, of course. Tensions were high at times, but with some contemplation and reflection, more than anything I’m left with a sense of gratitude that I’m able to spend so much time with my family and be so present as Austin grows, learns, and discovers.
Over the holidays, he’s lost two teeth, learned how to ride a bike (unrelated to the lost teeth, incidentally), grown like a weed, earned two more stripes on his BJJ white belt, and improved his reading by leaps and bounds.
All within six weeks.
Honestly, I am so aware of how blessed I am to be by his side as a part of that process. It’s been one that has also seen me grow as a parent and person over the past month and change, and has seen me choose to be more open to things I would normally eschew. In doing so, I’ve been meeting some new people, exposing myself to new experiences, and stepping out of my comfort zone—a place I don’t normally leave too much given my ‘indoor cat’ nature.
But as much as I’ve enjoyed spending time with my son over the summer, I am also exhausted, now boast a few more wrinkles and grey hairs, and so, so ready to return to a sense of normality—especially as it means a return to writing as the weather turns and we slip into one of my favourite seasons, one that includes crewneck sweaters, long shorts, baseball caps, midwest emo, and pumpkin spice lattes.
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Exterminate/Regenerate: The Story of Doctor Who
With all the summer fun, it’s been difficult to carve out much time for writing, let alone reading, but I did manage to finish this book about the creation and evolution of Doctor Who from its inception in 1963.
Unsurprisingly, I am a huge Doctor Who fan (kind of a prerequisite for this kind of novel, eh?) and wholeheartedly recommend you check out this book if you consider yourself a fan of the show.
The hardback clocks in at around 400 pages and is full of detailed stories and insightful information about the formation and growth of one of the most successful and perseverant sci-fi shows of all time. There’s a clear through line to explore, and the author, John Higgs, does a fantastic job controlling the overall pacing of what could have been an unwieldy book as we travel through time from the ‘60s through to modern-day Who, ending with the ending of Season 1 of Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor.
The hardback unfortunately doesn’t detail the end of Season 2, the shock return of Billie Piper as Gatwa’s regenerated Doctor, and the messiness of the BBC/Disney+ deal. I’m sure there’ll be an extra chapter chronicling these things and the uncertainty of Doctor Who’s future in a paperback printing.
I’ve always loved the Doctor’s emotional intelligence and their firm belief in kindness and empathy. In a world so fractured, abrasive, and dangerous, their commitment to these qualities has always resonated deeply with me, and this book does a fantastic job of capturing and expressing just what makes Doctor Who so fascinating, endearing, and ever popular across multiple generations.
I would absolutely love the opportunity to write a Doctor Who story one day. I don’t know if that will ever happen or if it’s written in the stars, but, hey, universe…it would be pretty rad.
Just saying.
Until then, I’ll continue enjoying the Doctor’s travels as they explore the lengths and depths of time and space.
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In case you haven't picked up your copy of Burden, you can do so right now as an eBook or paperback! Or, if you're a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you can check it out via KU!
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UNTIL NEXT TIME
Be sure to recommend my books and The Recap, follow me on the socials, and remember you can also support me with a cup of coffee on Ko-Fi!
Take care and all the best. |
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