And so do I

August was the summer’s finale. Not a big finale with a spectacular slam-bang finish and show-stopping fireworks, but a quiet fade to black with a peaceful bow. 

I started the month returning to the worst show I had last year, with a new and improved plan, and it was better, but overall, not the right people for my books, I think. Writing YA can be hard. My target readers do not have disposable income, so one has to market to both kids and their adults simultaneously. Some of my people were definitely there, and I enjoyed my time with them as much as I always do, but I do not feel like we were the majority. I kind of wonder if the celebrity line-up drove that or if attendance overall was down? I’m not sure. I know other vendors (artists, not authors though) were displeased with their sales, and a few attendees I know felt uncomfortable with the ghost town the con was after 3 pm on Saturday. Either way, I was there, and it was an experience, and now I have gained the appropriate xp from said event.

Milwaukee flooded that Sunday, making space for a lot of weather concerns all around. I am once again thankful that my family and our home are safe. Others we know were not as lucky. Emotions have been running high here, and not having physical safety concerns on top of that is a blessing. Transitions can be quite the challenge in a neurodiverse family, and we are no exception. Giving up the freedom of summer for a newer (and inherently upscaled) educational year brings out big feelings. 

Our end of summer bash is typically our city’s Pride festival. We enjoyed that this year, and it was our favorite year yet! The kiddo actually stepped out of their shell a bit and talked to people. It gave us a new lens to see things through and things for us to consider as a family. 

Onwards and upwards, always.

My WIP is also going to go through some changes. This month’s goal was to hit 100k words. While I hit my mark, something deeper also came to the surface: this is not meant to be a single story. It is meant to be a duology, a compare and contrast, a before and after. 

I spent a week away from writing. I was unkind to myself internally and called myself unfair words, but it turned out my mind was mulling over things I wasn’t ready to consider front of mind. 

This WIP changes my characters. Who they start as vs who they finish as, are not the same, and my format needs to display that as much as the plot does. 

So! What does that mean? It means a whole boatload of work, honestly. I will write a closing chapter. (It’s the appropriate place for it. There was always a time jump, and it’s upon us now.) And then I will go back to the beginning and reformat everything I have as it’s my complete own storyline. Now, will it be a part I and part II in the same book? I don’t know. Will it be two separate books? Who knows? Not me. But, I am confident of this decision, and I will proceed as such. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

That wraps it up for August. September has some cool new things coming our way!! Stay tuned for some seriously adorable character art launching around my birthday!