The Writing Peasant

I guess I could just pretend that six months haven’t passed and I totally haven’t forgotten about this in its entirety…. but it’s actually that I’ve been fighting off depression with enough books to appease a librarian and chocolate, so there’s that. So yes, I forgot, but with a modicum of validity.

So what’s been going on? Lots! First and…well, not foremost (it just came to mind first) I had to start over on my Cinderella retelling. I got to about 200K words (probably about… 600 pages?) and then I realized that this story would go a lot better with a heroine that actually, y’know, DID something. Conflict = interest. Word.

I also went to Storymakers earlier this month (May 2023) and had a most excellent book signing while I was there. I feel like I know the best of humanity, and the whole experience gave me a lot of confidence that I just wasn’t feeling earlier in the year. It was awesome. If you write, go to Storymakers!

I also had another work published in an anthology. This is a Mermaid Anthology called Tide and Scale, edited by Beka Gremikova and Hannah Carter. My piece is called Things of Midnight, and it is based in the world of Wednesday’s Book. This introduces ideas that will tie in to other companion books in this universe, and is a must-read for lovers of that universe. You can buy it here. (Kaylyn has also contributed a truly lovely piece of artwork for this anthology as well. Well worth the money.)

So, after starting over on one story, and planning another out (because I just needed to work on Something Else) I also have set a release date for my Sci-Fi series! But I’m not sharing the date yet, haha, other than saying it will officially be Summer of 2024! I will be officially announcing the release date January 1, 2024. You miiiiiiiight notice a brand new page under “Books” on the main page of the website. The countdown is to THAT announcement. I’m super excited!

Speaking of the sci-fi series, I am into edits on that. I’ve got a bit of work to do because the first draft came together in a slightly wacky way, but I’m super excited to share it with you. This series was really fun for me to write, I hope it’s equally as fun to read.

I would also encourage you to take a look around the website as well. I’ve updated a couple of pages, and added a few new ones. You’re undoubtedly going to be able to tell what pages I formatted and which ones Kaylyn did (helloooooo learning curve!), but hopefully it’ll be an enjoyable experience regardless.

As far as drafting goes, obviously I’m working on editing the sci-fi series as my priority, but I am still banging away at Silver Shoes. I keeping on reminding myself that especially on my Epic Fantasies, I tend to go through 3-4 drafts before I find the voice of the characters (I have a story about this for a future publication, but I’ll share it when that one is actually out. TL;DR: I’ve been working on it since 2009). Silver Shoes going better this time, but it’s okay that I’m going slow. I’m also working on a contemporary murder mystery that I’m hoping to get traditionally published. If that doesn’t happen (trad-publishing) then I’ll just publish it myself. But that’s a long ways off either way, haha.

I think last but not least, I should probably mention I’m doing a lot better, mental health wise. My takeaway from all of this is to remember that you have value as YOU are. I had a minute where I had to remember that I didn’t have to write a Brandon Sanderson book, or an Agatha Christie book, or a Kate Stradling book. All I have to do is write a Bekah Isert book that I’m proud of. I can’t remember who said it (and I’ve been searching all afternoon to find out where it’s from) but someone super awesome said something along the lines of, “In the game of comparison you can never win.” When I focus on my own work, I’m definitely happier, and I actually complete things, which is a key part of publishing books! 😀

I hope you’re all doing well! We’ve got this!

Onward and upward!