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(formerly) Occasional Thoughts of a Working Author Blog, the articles offered below are archived material from the Blog and newsletter.

The Ports of Surset Book 2, Port City is Now Available! In Today’s Post you will find the true story of how I almost lost an entire year of progress; WIP and posting plans; and what fans are asking about how I manage to write a whole book.

The Ports of Surset Book 2, Port City is Now Available! In Today’s Post you will find the Ports of Surset Wiki; progress and posting plans; and what fans are asking about how I manage to write a whole book.

Book 2 is in revisions! The Ports of Surset Book 2 is now in revisions for release in January; I no longer have those new roommates; new article series, Real World Tech in SciFi, begins soon; and Covid19 is never going away.

Book 2 is almost done! The Ports of Surset Book 2 is almost ready to go to Beta Readers, I have a couple of new roommates and we are all still locked in our homes, being held hostage to a microscopic terrorist!

Announcing a New Article Series! The Ports of Surset Book 1 is coming back from Beta readers this week; the Ports of Surset Prequel is finished and ready to be sent out to everyone on my mailing list on Release Day for Book 1; & I am going to be starting a new article series on how real life tech advances impact the world of Sci-Fi writing!

What is My System for Writing Reviews? Covid continues, Cancel Culture meets 4th of July, I signed a cover design artist, and the WIP is in Beta!

What the Heck is Happening in the World Covid continues, protests and writing groups!

Covid 19 A little about what I have been doing since March 13, 2020 when I went into lock-down for the Novel Corona Virus 2019/2020 Pandemic.

Writing Craft; Continuing Education I try to learn something new, or at least more in depth, about the craft of professional writing every week.

Someone Stole My Month I have been so super busy this month. I got started on my job assignment for February and all of a sudden February is basically over. What the heck? The good news is that I have made super great progress on the book!

In Person Event, Swag Store, and More! I was at The Bean Cafe this evening. I took samples of my WIP and the cover prototype. I gotta’ tell you, the coffee was incredible and the food is really tasty. If you ever get down to Bainbridge, GA, check out The Bean.

Hard Times Things have not been going well. There is a phrase, Death By One Thousand Cuts, that aptly describes how sometimes life can just beat you down with a series of small inconveniences and problems, until you have a very hard time fighting back.

Publishing Is Hard I have been listening to back-episodes from what is now called The 6-Figure Author’s podcast. It has inspired me to think about the pros and cons of indie- or self-publishing versus traditional publishing.

Back to the Fantasy The whole world is against the artist’s designated time to produce their art.

My 2020 Goals My career as an author has been sidetracked for about 30 years. I intend to make it the priority this year.

Happy New Year 2020! We are back! And by we, I mean I, of course. I have two new website designs that I want to try out. This two-tone brown one and one that is monochromatic grey and far less structured. I like the current design. It feels soft and comfy. If it starts to feel too rich, I will tone it down.

2019