wittering noun
wit·ter·ing ˈwitərə̇n, -riŋ
plural-s
chiefly Scottish
: a piece of information (as a sign, token, or hint)
Etymology
Middle English (Scots) wittering, witering, from the gerund of witteren, witeren to clarify, inform, teach, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse vitra to manifest, reveal, vitr wise, vita to know “Wittering.”
— “Wittering.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wittering.
in real life
Midway through the summer and we’re already buying school supplies for the kiddos (for once ahead of the game!), prepping to celebrate the Fourth of July, and in my case: publishing another book.
I don’t know about you, but I’m often so busy with the day-to-day things. If I’m not working my day job, I’m supervising my littles, or cleaning, or cooking, or a dozen little “must do right now” things. But then time slows to a crawl, or even a halt, and I find my heart feeling so full because of something like the dimples in my daughter’s hands, and the sweet songs she makes up every day. Or the enthusiasm my son starts describing his latest world he built in Minecraft, or before bed when he just needs to tell me about the book he’s reading, or the superpower he’s been wishing he had.
I wish I could tell you this is part of me growing older, but I’ve always been like this (and have the journals to prove it). All my life, I was the old artistic soul, who would be awestruck by a sunset, or a song, or a moment with one of my nieces and nephews I knew would never come again. Have you ever been in a moment and already missing it? I think that’s the biggest reason I’ve kept a journal since I was six years old. Since I was very small, the people and world around me kept changing so quickly. I didn’t want anything to end. I wanted to extend those little moments, or relive them again and again. I think that’s why I keep short micro journal entries these days, mostly about my kids.
But I found myself living one of these moments today. In the middle of the usual chaos, chasing down the next “thing that needs doing” and suddenly grabbing both my kids in big bear hugs and telling them how much I love them. Depending on what you believe, we only get this one precious life. Wherever you’re at today, I hope you make the most of your moment. 💜
bookish updates
This past week I’ve been reviewing Bound Beauty with my interior formatting team, as well as combing through for any last-minute needful edits. I’ve been using ProWriting Aid for years now, and while it’s not always 100% accurate (always double check the literal grammar rules if you’re not sure), I thought I’d try out their new analysis program. This is very obviously analized and reported by whatever AI they use. Most of you who know me already know I feel very strongly about AI. It’s a mixed bag and a loaded gun in my opinion, and I get all kinds of bent out of shape because one of my books was used to feed Anthropic’s AI without my permission. But that’s a whole other can of worms (and blog post).
Suffice to say, I have opinions and feelings about AI taking over actual art and artists work. I also believe there’s no stopping it because too many companies are too greedy, and the majority of people not affected by it just enjoy generating images on their phones. But before I go off on a tangent about data centers taking advantage of rural communities… Where was I? Oh yeah! So I thought I’d give ProWriting Aid’s manuscript analysis a try and was shockingly surprised. In about five minutes, the program outlined the structure of my novel and identified the “story beats.” Check this out:
I keep an extensive outline of all my books, chapter by chapter, alongside countless pages of notes on character arcs, etc. Still, it was really interesting to see it all mapped out for me like this. The analysis included a lot of helpful notes, and posed questions almost like a bookclub questionaire. All in all a useful tool, which is where I fall on the AI debate at the end of the day. So long as it’s used as a tool and not a crutch, and not in place of creatives (especially without permission), then I have no beef with Skynet… yet.
In other news, I’ve been running a few AMS ads for the Wylder Tales series, including one for all three books so far. I’m going to keep watching them and then most likely raise my daily spend during the release week for an extra boost. Wish me luck! I’ve also prepped my social media graphics I’ll be using, so expect to see more of me than usual 😉 Who knows? Maybe I’ll be inspired to keep posting and sharing again the way I did in the early years of my career. (a.k.a. before kids lol)
Every book I write is a labor of love. The hardest part for me has always been marketing. I have taken countless courses and workshops, read so many books, and listened to hours of podcasts. The pervading truth I’ve come to believe is success is different for everyone. Even #1 NYT Bestsellers can’t always explain the alchemy that led to their success. I believe it’s part luck, part insanely hard work and commitment, with a sprinkling of talent. Ironically enough, talent isn’t always the deciding factor, but that’s another story. As my friend Mel and I always say before a release: “Here we go again. Let’s see if this one sticks!”
So here’s looking ahead to another book release, another labor of love brought to life. Wish me luck, and who knows? Maybe one day I’ll finally catch lightning in a bottle, too.
This one is for the superheroes among you 🦸 But if you’re able to and willing, it would be such an amazing help if you could preorder your copy of Bound Beauty. Why are preorders important? They help Amazon decide who to promote during and post book release. My hope and goal is to push this series as far as it can go, and I would love to find new readers for the series! For anyone who hasn’t read the first two books, you can catch up today in KU for free.
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