In the bad news department, I’ve sold one book in the last month and a half. But also, since I haven’t done much to promote them, what should I expect? Gotta find ways to get them out there, which leads to …

I’ve applied to be in a book festival hosted by a local independent book store. I’m not optimistic I’ll get into it because they want to know about how I address social justice in my fiction and in my life, and that’s just not something I consciously do in my fiction. but we’ll see.

I managed to finish a writing project that has lingered for around ten years. The working title was K Street Stories, but the final title will be Hard Ground. This is a series of five short stories based on people I came across while working in Downtown Sacramento. There are connections between the stories and they all end with the same event. Hard Ground is only 17,000 words, a length that I refer to as a long short story.

I’m thinking that I’m going to combine it with a couple of other similar length stories and publish those three stories together in a paperback and and ebook, but also release each separately as an ebook. It’s also possible that one or both of the other stories I’m going to include in this collection might eventually reach novel-length at a later date.

The next story that will begin this collection is titled Carlota. It’s what I’ve described as a sexy space romp that involves the end of life on Earth and a space ship that takes some survivors to establish a new human existence on a planet far, far away. This story has also lingered for around ten years and I’m eager to see if I can finish it. I’m not sure how long it will be, but I’m thinking 15,000 – 20,000 words may be just right. All depends on what I want to do after they arrive on that new planet.

The third story is up in the air. I recently came up with an idea to write a story that takes place in a lighthouse in the 1800s. I have a general idea about this. It’s likely going to be a ghost story and a survival story combined into one piece. I know what actual lighthouse I’m going to base my story on and recently learned that the keeper’s log from that lighthouse is kept at a museum that I’ll be driving past in September. I’ve reached out to the museum to see if there is any way for me to get access to that log. If I can, I’ll likely wait until then to start writing this story.

Beyond that option, there are plenty of others floating in my head and in half-completed projects. What I’m doing right now is riding the high of having finished something.

In other news, as I shared in a post over at KingMidget’s Ramblings earlier today, I have four photographs accepted for exhibition at the California State Fair next month. Giddy is the word I’m using to describe how I feel about this. My imposter syndrome suggests this is the type of thing that never happens to me, so it feels good.

Finally, I am continuing to take baby steps towards building a website where I can sell things. I’m going to start by focusing on my photography. I just need to sit down and get it figured out and get it started.

That’s it for now.

Hope you all are creating and following your dreams.