There Is a Sliver of Light in the Future

Posted on June 9, 2018 by Charles Yallowitz

(Just introduced the kid to this song when it was on the radio. He doesn’t get it.)

There’s a term I want to us for how this week, but it could be seen as crude.  All I can say is that it involves a slang word for a body part and a direction.  I planned for two events that would limited my writing on Tuesday and Friday.  Unfortunately, Monday and Wednesday evenings went awry.  All I could do then was prep a few posts for September and my anxiety journal.

Speaking of anxiety, this week has been a rough one.  Sunday was fun with ‘Deadpool 2’ and Cheesecake Factory, but the weekdays were emotionally brutal.  Aside from some personal stuff, two reviews vanished on me.  One from Warlord of the Forgotten Age and another from War of Nytefall: Loyalty.  Those are two books that can’t afford to lose any reviews and I don’t have any explanation for it.  It’s frustrating when you’re trying to figure out how to fairly get reviews while the ones you do have are disappearing.  I don’t know if the person who wrote them had their account deleted, someone reported these strangers as friends/family, or some other explanation.  With everything else going on this week, this incident became a catalyst for me to have an almost constant anxiety attack.  I used what little energy I could muster for writing.  That created an odd ‘stockpile’ of anxiety that would hit me once I was done, but I got through it.

Last weekend, I revealed the Quest of the Brokenhearted cover art and got a good amount of volunteers for the simple blog tour.  It should be going live by July 2nd since I’m hitting publish on the 1st once I get home from a trip.  My plan is to do a low cost marketing here, which means depending a lot more on blogging and social media than paid promos.  It’s a big gamble for the summer, but it’s all I can do without making things more difficult for the next book.  I also have to figure out which of these options works:

  1. List the book as ’16’ of Legends of Windemere in the title even though it isn’t.  I feel weird doing this because I billed Warlord of the Forgotten Age as the finale.
  2. Start the blurb with ‘From the pages of ‘Legends of Windemere’.

The point here is to make sure it’s clear that this book stems from the main series.  I hope that will give it a little bit of a boost.

By the way, does it make sense for me to have a side character in the first volume of a book make a reappearance in one of the much later ones?  I’m not sure if I should have this character make at least one more appearance before they turn up as a bigger player.  It might boil down to simply how I do it.

Anyway, this is the make/break week for me.  Since January, I’ve written 3 books, edited 3 books, and published 1 book.  This isn’t counting the outlining and prep work I’ve done for other projects.  My goal of having all the 2018 releases in first drafts will hopefully be met by Friday.  It doesn’t look good though because I know I lose one morning and I can’t afford even one schedule curb stomp.  This also depends on me being able to write tonight and getting tomorrow free for at least 2 sections.  That plan is already looking fragile because of other changes to the schedule.  I was hoping to get the September posts and blurbs for War of Nytefall: Lost done before school ends too.  Glad I did a few editing runs on that book, which means it will be an easy set up coming September.

My hope for the summer is that I can focus more on my son and getting my anxiety issues handled.  I can work on Raven’s Wrath and some outlines when I have time, but it’s going to be strictly projects that I can easily walk away from.  This way, I can return to writing feeling refreshed in September.  I still have to decide if I’m going to write War of Nytefall: Eradication or The Longbow of Ichabod Brooks first.  There I go thinking too far ahead again.  I’m actually thinking of using nights and any days I get to myself to start working on that second project.  Short stories could be a little easier to handle.

Here’s another question: What do people think about switching off doing Ichabod Brooks and Bedlam for the foreseeable summers?  I can’t really think of a way to keep doing Bedlam in February since 4 books might be my limit.  Do people even remember Lloyd and Cassidy at this point?

That’s pretty much it for me.  I’ve been toiling away here and trying to remain somewhat conscious and positive.  That second one can be a real challenge at times.  On the plus side, I am getting some Kindle reading in.  Not sure what to say about that because I don’t recognize maybe 75% of the books I have on there.  It’s a lot of romance, which isn’t really my thing.  Anyway, what’s the plan for next week?

  1. Write and hopefully finish War of Nytefall: Rivalry.
  2. Choose a teaser for the following week.
  3. Necessary life functions.
  4. Buy more seltzer
  5. Complain that Netflix and Prime don’t have Yu Yu Hakusho.  Hulu does, but I don’t want to pay a subscription.
  6. Father/son Saturday, which is today.  It’s really just martial arts, errands, and haircuts because we’re both very shaggy.
  7. Think about the Super Earth to Windemere switch.  That might be the project I tackle during the last week of June.
  8. Not by choice: Have at least 3 anxiety attacks to make things that much harder.

Cover Art by Sean Harrington

About Charles Yallowitz

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. 'Legends of Windemere' is his first series, but it certainly won't be his last.
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24 Responses to There Is a Sliver of Light in the Future

  1. John W. Howell says:
    June 9, 2018 at 1:09 am

    I had to laugh over you planning on having three anxiety attacks. Let’s hope not.

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  2. Victoria Zigler (@VictoriaZigler) says:
    June 9, 2018 at 7:55 am

    You could do a “from the pages of” thing, or you could list it as “15.5” or something instead, to show it comes after the final book, but isn’t exactly a 16th book, if that makes sense. Just a thought. Either way, I have a spot reserved for you next month (exact date to be determined by whether things go to plan for you, and when I’m in hospital).

    That’s a good idea making the Summer about time with your son and attempts to get your anxiety issues under control. Worry about which project to focus on next when the kid goes back to school. At least wait until Summer’s almost over before you worry about it. Try to anyway.

    Good luck with this next week. Hope you and your son are enjoying your day together.

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    • Charles Yallowitz says:
      June 9, 2018 at 8:39 am

      A 15.5 still feels like it’s a continuation of the series when it doesn’t involve any of the champions. That’s really why I’m iffy on the numbering. Kira Grasdon is in it, but that’s the only real connection to ‘Legends of Windemere’. So, it doesn’t feel like it should be entirely under that umbrella.

      I’ll just be happy if I can get the October thing done by the end of the summer. I really do think I’ll go more for outlining other stories too. It’s easier to do when I’m tired or he’s playing nearby.

      Hope you have a good week too.

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  3. coldhandboyack says:
    June 9, 2018 at 7:38 pm

    I think you need to acknowledge Windemere, without making it look like a continuation of the main series. That’s my 2¢. I get the blues over success, and it seems like I may have a missing review myself. I’ve been strong on the productivity scale though. After this project I may take a month or two off and focus more on promo.

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  4. Colin Noel-Johnson says:
    June 9, 2018 at 9:01 pm

    Why not just say something like “in the world of Windmere”? It acknowledges your other series, yet doesn’t tied it too closely to it. Just my idea.
    Good luck with your busy week, I hope it goes smoothly for you and you manage to get everything finished.
    Cassidy and Lloyd? We’re they friends of Luke? Lol, just kidding.

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    • Charles Yallowitz says:
      June 9, 2018 at 9:11 pm

      I actually used the ‘world of Windemere’ line in the Ichabod Brooks collection. People still didn’t pick up on him being in the same world as ‘Legends of Windemere’. Honestly, that surprised me more than I expected it to. Stating the actual title might work out best. Unless Amazon says I can’t use my own series in a blurb.

      I’m going to be cutting it close this week, but toes will be crossed. At this point, it wouldn’t shock me to hear people ask if Cassidy and Lloyd were agents of the Baron.

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  6. robbiesinspiration says:
    June 13, 2018 at 1:28 pm

    Three anxiety attacks a week is a lot, Charles. I hope you can get this more under control as it must impact your life quite a lot. I think your week sounds quite productive and well planned.

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