I don’t do Monthly Wrap-Ups but considering I haven’t done the typical WWW in over a month I figured this would be a good time to get a few things done.
1. Site Stuff
2. End Of Oct/November Wrap-Up
3. Kinda-Up Look Ahead At Some Stuff
Specifics? Fine. Let’s start with (besides what is known- the move, the part-time bookselling gig- YAY, Pavel’s permanent floppy ear- officially a riot now that he’s out of dangerous health issues)-
During the almost two years I was fighting for SSDI I promised myself there were three things I wanted to do:
Please! When you have a minute- take a moment and peruse around- this has been such a long time in the making. And I don’t even mean from when it actually started back in September. When I was fighting for SSDI and to keep a roof over my head for the 18 months up till September? I had three goals if I made it:
1) Assuming my heart wasn’t shattered (it was and so my black soul is well, black) I was going to move to Colorado. So I did and Colorado Springs is brilliant!
2) BOOKS- Buying Books- Not all at once- but it has started and will continue- Brick by Brick, as Kaz might say…
3) Put a whole lot of aesthetic and backend work into the content I had poured my heart and soul into during that time- this part of the world you are reading (or I hope you are reading)- and that brings us to…
NOVEL LIVES
The initial launch that happened on Saturday/Sunday and there is still much evolving to happen. The categories just began taking shape today- but will continue to evolve! There is a wordpress follow button coming but please follow by email in the meantime. The New to and about me needs to be updated and so forth… but I also want to get my regular schedule of posting and reading back in the groove plus responding to everyone’s comments here (BUT I HAVE BEEN READING EVEN IF I HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO RESPOND) because I miss the community so much! So I’m trying to make a schedule and balance the evolving with the actual day-to-day with blogging and it will all come in time.
And then there is expansion and the world IS NOT PREPARED! LOL But if you are brave I hope you will join me in the journey because I am SO excited! And Scared! But excited!
If you are brave! There is a newsletter I am launching (and boy will that be a learning journey and evolution but I would LOVE for anyone and everyone to sign-up for feedback for the journey and to see where it goes. It will <fingers crossed> start in January with the new decade! It may just start with – HEY here I am- what would you like from this?! I’m not sure- but it will grow the best it can be with the more feedback I can get because it is the most fun when I can interact with those reading it! Maybe they’ll be giveaways, even!
Speaking of expansion- apparently I’m going bigtime– Instagram, Pinterest- <sheepishly> this has been an epic failure in the past we will see how it goes this time around. However, that leads me to a big thank you. See this is all being guided by a very amazing, capable and brilliant lady who saved me from a shady person who completely ripped me off. Had he not, this would all have been up and running at the end of September. But things happen for a reason and Ms. Deanna and I would not have found each other. She not only took my vision (one way different than she has ever worked with in the past) and brought it to life here. And as I pushed her in that regard, she is determined to push me out into the world so that my passion can find its way out into the larger world. So look for that, as well.
If you are looking for someone to work with? I can’t recommend her enough! You can find find Deanna on her website Design Chicky. All her contact information, including social media accounts are there. She is AMAZING. Seriously, if she can put up with my neurosis and developing this in the middle of my move from hell? I’m not sure what she can’t do. And we aren’t even done yet.
PHEW! Ok- so that is that. Continued filling out/updates of all the information on the site (some graphics are not formatted right or have gone missing- but like I said earlier- that is going to take time to go back and fix, as I want to get back to my actual schedule of blogging and the community, so it will be a balance).
BUT PLEASE- We value your feedback! I have already received amazing feedback that has helped tremendously! I can’t implement it all for different reasons but some has already made a tremendous difference and some has given serious insight/ideas for upcoming changes!!!
A Wrap-Up Of Sorts
So what did I get done in the past monthish since my last WWW. It has been intermittent but I have managed to not completely disappear. So here is what did happen during the move, the upgrade, Pavel and the last 35ish days or so… (photos should be hyperlinked- fingers crossed).
For some reason I have no explanation for other than it was a site migration thing or I liked this book just that much that it doubled the review with two different links without telling me… either way the picture is linked to one and here is the other… just because.
Lookish Ahead
This is by no means all knowing and comprehensive but some things to come that are exciting!
- Exclusive cover reveal of the third installment in the Venators Series: Legends Rise
- Write Reads Blog Tour for The Devils Apprentice by Kenneth Anderson
- Reviews of Reverie by Ryan La Sala and Shatter the Night by Emily Littlejohn
- December- ALL THE REVIEWS– January is bringing all the releases and so January will bring ALL the reviews. I can honestly say that looking in the long term that January is the last month that I jam packed myself with ARCs.
I made sincere effort to cut back because there are so many backlist books I want to get to! That doesn’t mean there are many ARCs I’m drooling over! There always will be and I love having them be a major part of Novel Lives.
I just don’t want to have months like October and January where it gets so out of hand that I can’t get to back list books that I’ve been dying to get to for-ev-er. FOMO!! Plus I like doing the tags and memes!! So they aren’t disappearing by a LONG shot. I’m just don’t want to have 8-12 in a month. Too much. So expect to start seeing some backlist books creeping in here and there!!
Ok! That’s it from me! Hope everyone is having a fantastic week! Next week I will get back to the normal WWW (I HOPE)!
The site is looking good Susan! Really fresh. Goodluck with the last things ????
Thank you!!!
Ok so sign me up to your newsletter ASAP! And I love the new blog look ????
Thank you so kuch!!!! And I’m working on it. Pinterest… IG… newsletter (lord help the world).