PJL's Write Life

So, I released a book at the end of July. I bet you didn't know that because I didn't do any hype. I didn't ask for help. I just decided to hit publish and took action. The only thing I did was send a newsletter out with the announcement and shared it over on Substack Notes the next day. It was probably my best release ever. I had KU reads. I got paperback sales (people got their copy before I got my box of copies.) I sold 11 copies. And the best thing? I didn't feel like I had to beg for any of it. Usually, I put the book up for pre-order and I send out a call for help. Then I spend the next month or so sharing the book and feeling like I'm having my teeth pulled. Pre-orders trickle in and when release day rolls around, I have friends sharing the news and celebrating with me, but not much happens sale-wise. The pre-orders show a nice little spike on my dashboard, but I can't say many new sales join them. It makes for a weird day as I try not to focus too much o...

Last month I purposefully missed IWSG. There were a couple things I could have written, some drafts I had saved, but instead I opted to skip out. I gotta be honest. It was refreshing. Don't get me wrong. I love this group. Your support is amazing and motivates me to keep going. I probably would have quit writing if not for my fellow writers. I may be an introvert, but it is human nature in all of us to need some form of comradery. When we find something we love, we want to share it with others who love it too. Then during the low parts, we have friends to turn to. But taking a break from posting here was still nice. I'm back to work at Salvation Army and I've been going at gardening full throttle. It's worn me out because I keep forgetting I'm not in my teens or twenties and acting like I am. Top it off with a family get together and a friend's dad's memorial, I had no spare gas in my tank for IWSG. There's been days I haven't bothered turning on the...

There was a time when I'd think about not being able to write because I got hit by a bus or was somehow incapacitated. Panic would grab me. I'd feel a burning fire to get writing because life is unpredictable and I may not be able to get all the stories I had inside me out. In a way, it was FOMO. Lately, that FOMO doesn't feel the same. There isn't a panic in me anymore that I won't have time to get all my stories out. Instead, the panic is about not being able to experience life. The stories will remain in my head. They aren't going anywhere. But my chance to take hubby to the Grand Canyon? I gotta get on that before it's too late. This shift is another thing my Endometriosis and surgery caused. Being free of that pain means I'm more able to, well, flat-out live. I don't have to schedule things around when the pain flares will hit. I'm not so exhausted that if I do go out and do something that I have to spend a few days recovering from it. If I...

I have a question for you. Well, a few, actually. Do you love aliens and outer space? Conspiracy theories? Science fiction stories? But are you also: short on time? Struggling to get some reading into your busy day? Do I sound like a cheesy sales pitch? You don’t have to answer that. I know I do, but that’s because I have exciting book news. I have a new book that contains all that! If you have been enjoying my 200-word stories , then A Quick Tale is the perfect book for you. 45 tales about aliens, outer space, science gone wrong, and conspiracy theories. (I’m not only about vampires.) Each story is told in 200 words. You can read them while standing in line at the grocery store. Or picking up your kid from school. If you’re waiting to see your doctor…well…you can probably finish it then. (Seriously, why are wait times so long for a 5 minute visit?) ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY FOR 99 CENTS! Did I make that big enough? I can go bigger. ORDER TODAY FOR 99 CENTS! I’m getting a little silly her...

I started writing on a whim back in 2010 or 2011. The exact date escapes me as I'm rubbish at making mental notes of things like that. I knew next to nothing about writing, but that is classic me. Dive in and learn as I go. But I'm also the type that will need things spelled out. I might take things too literally sometimes. I recall as a child being very confused by the do not pass signs on the road. We always passed them. But they say do not pass! Another confusing moments was in Return of the Jedi . I never understood why Palpatine was afraid of the Death Star being operational. That's what he wanted, wasn't it? So, as I learned to write, there were things I really struggled with. It took me longer than it should have to figure out keywords could mean more than one word for example. When I'd see people suggest squeezing in writing wherever you could manage, I had a hard time wrapping my head around the advice. I need time to sit down and get into the groove to wri...

I don't know if it's just my family, but big things always seem to happen right at the start of the year. My brother died in January. My dad had his heart attack in February during a snow storm. I had my surgery in February. My father-in-law died in March. And now... Hubby and I have bought a house! We closed February 28th and there was a winter storm that day with bad winds. Not quite sure if it was before or after close, but we discovered this happened. Luckily, it didn't hit the house and was close enough to the road to be the city's problem. We were also without a fridge up until yesterday thanks to the previous one dying about two weeks ago. I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off to get everything set up and get moved. We still have some furniture to get and a dining room table, but I want to say we are about 80% there. Despite this big upheaval in my life, I am happy to report I have still written something. Not a lot, but I've opened...

I've been hanging a lot on Substack's Notes. There's a vibrant fiction community there and people share writing prompts and micro fiction. A recent friend I made, Miguel , has been posting daily prompts with 50 word stories. Lots of people join in, myself included. The other week, Miguel posted a story. Something about the lines where the character lost just punched me in the feels. I couldn't stop thinking about it. A week later, it was still on my mind, and I restacked it and said the story was living rent-free in my head. I wanted this fictional character to have a happy ending. Miguel, after some prompting with an awkward stare gif, delivered a new ending for the character. I lost my shit. That new ended hit me in the feels harder. Don't get me wrong, I was happy for the ending, but I was also bawling like a baby at it. And I was asking, Why? Why did this story affect me so much? Lately, I've been grappling with the feel of being a failure. Made more poignan...