Okay, so here’s the thing: not a ton of exciting news this week, unless you count me staring at my screen and muttering things like “No, Lucien wouldn’t say that, you dolt” as exciting. (Which, honestly, maybe you do? I won’t judge.)
I’ve been plugging away at the Detective Noir series — the plan is still to release all three books back-to-back like a crime-fueled Netflix binge. No cliffhanger torment, no “see you in 9 months” nonsense. Just bang-bang-bang. A noir trilogy buffet (though I hope to end up with much more than three books). So yes, progress is happening, but it’s that quiet, slow-burn progress that doesn’t really look like much on the outside. Like bread rising. Or a cat plotting your demise.
That said, I’ve been doing a little behind-the-scenes reevaluating. Specifically, I took a good, honest look at my time and realized that writing and editing the weekly short stories for the newsletter? That’s eating a pretty sizable chunk of my schedule. And while I genuinely love crafting those bite-sized tales — seriously, they’re weirdly therapeutic — they’re also pulling me away from my novel writing. And here’s the kicker: I haven’t gotten any feedback on the stories. Zero comments. Nada. Not even a “meh” or a “hey, that one with the haunted jukebox was weird, man.” So now I’m wondering…are folks even reading them? Are they being enjoyed in secret? Or are they quietly ignored, like a salad at a pizza party?
So here’s what I’ve decided: the weekly short stories are going on hiatus. Not forever. I’m not throwing them into a volcano or anything. But for now, I am stepping back from doing them every single week. I might still toss a story up on the blog now and then when inspiration smacks me upside the head. But they’re not going to be a regular thing for a while.
And while I’m at it, I’m tweaking the newsletter schedule too. Instead of showing up in your inbox every single week, I’ll send it out every 2–3 weeks or whenever something exciting happens — like a cover reveal, a book release, or if I just saw a movie that I need to yell about. (Looking at you, overly serious supernatural thrillers with zero payoff.)
Now — and this part’s important — if you are someone who does look forward to the weekly stories and you’d be sad to see them go, let me know. Seriously. I’m not one of those “I don’t read the comments” people. I totally read the comments. And the emails. And smoke signals, if that’s your thing. If enough people miss the stories, I’ll reconsider. I mean it.
The newsletter will still be worth opening, I promise. There’ll still be updates, bookish stuff, and the occasional weird musing. Just fewer stories, and more focus on getting Lucien, Gabriel, and the rest of my noir misfits out into the world.
Anyway, that’s the update from the writing cave. It smells faintly of coffee and frustration, but there’s good stuff brewing, I swear.
Oh, and while I have your attention – have you checked out “The Golem’s Guardian” yet? If you haven’t gotten your hands on a copy, you can snag one HERE. I’m still pretty excited about how that one turned out.
Now, let’s get on to the roundup…
Some Things I Thought Were Worth Sharing
My author friends may find this article about Beta readers helpful: How to find beta readers for final draft feedback https://nownovel.com/how-to-find-beta-readers/
Just for fun: Meet the gay Latin nurse & model vying to become Mister USA 2025 https://www.queerty.com/meet-the-gay-latin-nurse-model-vying-to-become-mister-usa-2025-20250711/
The ‘bizarre buildings’ photographs are fun: The Strangest And Most Unique Buildings From All Over The World https://www.boredpanda.com/bizarre-crazy-buildings-msn/
Short Video in which David Archuleta shares his journey to understanding and accepting his queer identity https://greginhollywood.com/david-archuleta-shares-his-journey-to-understanding-and-accepting-his-queer-identity-246861
My writer friends may find this article about developing your literary voice of interest: https://nownovel.com/what-is-literary-fiction/
An article for my author friends: Why “The Worst That Can Happen” Is Terrible Writing Advice http://blog.janicehardy.com/2022/10/why-worst-that-can-happen-is-terrible.html
If you’re a writer, you may be interested in this Creative Writer’s Toolkit: 7 Tools You Can’t Write Without https://thewritepractice.com/creative-writing-tools/
Looking forward to seeing the new Superman movie. In the meantime: Superman’s David Corenswet’s in sweats for GQ Hype shoot https://omg.blog/omg-supermans-david-corenswets-in-sweats-for-gq-hype-shoot/
Book lovers may find this of interest: Before Amazon, We Had Bookmobiles: Rare Photos Of Libraries-On-Wheels https://www.boredpanda.com/bookmobile-library-on-wheels-msn/
Photography eye-candy: Photographs of abandoned places at night https://www.boredpanda.com/forgotten-places-unique-lightning-photography-guillaume-prugniel-j-part-4-msn/
The ‘bizarre buildings’ photographs are fun: The Strangest And Most Unique Buildings From All Over The World https://www.boredpanda.com/bizarre-crazy-buildings-msn/
My author friends may find this of value: Book title ideas — How to come up with the best https://nownovel.com/how-to-write-a-book-title/