Life
At last, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
For those of you who have been reading for the past few months, you know that I have been struggling through a professional program to help put me in a good position as far as my day job. The goal is and always has been to make sure that my family’s financial security does not depend on my writing. This isn’t because I don’t want to succeed as a writer—quite the opposite, in fact. I want to write what I want to write, not what’s popular or what the market demands. The best art comes as a result of true and proper passion like this, and my intention is to forever be propelled by mine.
Forgive the aside. The point is that the program is almost over. Less than two weeks remain, and I’ve held strong and maintained my grades such that I don’t have much to fear of this last slew of finals. Just one foot in front of the other, same as always.
Just in time for that, though, my entire family has gotten sick. It’s just a natural consequence of having one kid in kindergarten and another in preschool, but it’s no more enjoyable for its inevitability. Nothing bad, fortunately—just an everyday cold.
Writing
I’ve slowed a bit on the short stories due to a number of pressing finals that have been coming at me over the course of the last month, but I’ve maintained my momentum on writing as a whole. As of this week, I have scheduled out the outstanding tasks that separate me from releasing my next novel, The Damned Earth. This coming month, I will be working my way through what should be the final revision pass, and if the next steps follow as I’ve scheduled them, I should be ready to release it by mid-summer of next year (2024). I am incredibly excited to be working on it again and to have the gears turning as far as getting my work out there. It really helps me feel motivated to push through on any given day.
Only tangentially related to my own writing, my sister Grace E. Kelley has officially agreed this past week to publish her work under the Synthesis Press (my) imprint. Coming February 20th, her first book of poetry, as the Sparrow flies, will be available for purchase. Having read it myself, I can tell you that it is a brutal and uncompromising look into the value of love in spite of the pain that it can bring. If you need a good cry (or just want to read some amazing poetry), I highly recommend it! While you wait, she’s posting one poem a week, you can sign up to receive here.
A bit shorter than usual this month, but that’s all I have to say. Thank you all for reading, as always, and I wish you all a lovely December.
Cheers,
L.A. Morton-Yates