Friday was my last working day. I was able to schedule a therapy session for this afternoon (because no work!) and I feel good after it. I usually want to snack on something after therapy because being vulnerable expends energy or something, idk. I had cinnamon biscuits on hand, they were nice. I talked about how I'd felt shitty after finishing Project Fang, and I've slowly come to realise why. It's because my writing is not how it used to be. The quality of prose in my debut novel is not the quality of prose I can achieve now, because the debut novel was written before the bookstore debacle and subsequent cognitive changes in myself. But as I talked to my therapist I also slowly realised that I want to write self-indulgently and prioritise pleasure, rather than artistic achievement. It helps that the readership I'm writing for has mostly similar priorities. So it's okay that I'm not the writer I used to be. I'm still improving and will get back up there eventually.

My workplace added my replacement to the work WhatsApp group and welcomed her. They'd forgotten to remove me from the group. So they removed me after adding her instead of before, lol. They also deleted my work email over the weekend. Both these things felt sudden to me. I emailed them from my regular email asking them if I could have access to my work email to save some things I'd worked on to my portfolio. If they say no, then perhaps that's a sign I'm not meant to return to this line of work lol. They've been nice to me though. They might say yes.

In writing news, I've opened ARC signups for Bloodhunt Academy. Its working title was Project Fang, so that's how I've been referring to it, but now it's got its final title. It's all feeling so real! Especially as I have the final cover. I'll do a cover reveal on Instagram soon but I'm revealing it here first because I love it here. Look! SO pretty isn't it!
( Cover reveal! )

Every time our vampire heroine menstruates, she has to drink the blood of men to replenish herself. Things are complicated by Society Frowning Upon This. Things are further complicated when she falls in love with a human girl who rebels against their dystopian regime. Things are even further complicated when she falls in love with a boy who has been trained all his life to become a vampire hunter.

If this sounds like something you or someone you know would enjoy, but don't want to support Amazon (the book will be KU-exclusive after release because this is apparently my livelihood now), you can bypass Amazon by getting an advance reader copy before its release. Here's the ARC signup form: Link! No worries if this is not your thing! I would be delighted if it's someone else's thing and you point them to it.

Here's the complete blurb, for the curious:
( Read more... )

I'm so nervous about doing the steps in the process of launching this book. I have to start recruiting ARC readers from Instagram and Threads and goddess knows where else. I have a simple website in the works and I need to figure out my author newsletter and... AAAAAH I'm doing just the basics for my pen name launch but it feels like a LOT. I'm glad I'm posting the cover reveal and ARC signup form and everything here first because everything just feels less scary on Dreamwidth, lol.