S.M. Butler's Blog

This was a post I should have had written weeks ago. But did I? No. LOL.

Anyway.

It’s release day for Emerald Fires, Bloodlines the Second. This marks my fifteenth book published. Now, a few of those books are under another name and/or no longer available for purchase, but they still count, in my book. Either way, that’s quite the milestone.

I looked up some old authors I used to love when I first started writing. Some of them aren’t publishing anymore. A few have passed on and a few just quit writing all together. I can’t begin to describe the heart break when I looked up some names. Some, honestly, I knew about, but others… I was shocked to see that one had quit writing because her contract for her most popular series was up and the publisher didn’t want more. Like she had a whole flounce tweet out there. It was…. a rabbit hole I went down. Because Suze is nosy.

Publishing isn’t easy. Writing a good book is hard. The creation of good art is hard. But writing is just the beginning. Publishing is a whole other thing that can be overwhelming with the amount of work that goes into the creation of a book as a sellable product.

I don’t say all this to make you think I’m sad or upset or melancholy today. I’m elated. Truly. I didn’t think I would get this book out there. At least, not this year. But I got it in my head that I needed to do this, and I put that plan in motion.

In my opinion, EMERALD FIRES is a damn good book. And as of today, anyone who wants to can read it. I hope you choose to, and I hope you enjoy it.

And now for the obligatory release day sales ask: Please to be buying my book.

Amazon | B&N | Apple Books | Kobo

Oh, hello.

Here’s a vlog. There was writing involved. And some other things.

Enjoy.

Day ONE of NaNoWriMo is complete. Current wordcount for Project ZiS: 8331 words. Bloodlines the Third: 57,487.

It’s strange, writing on two projects. I used to do it a lot back in the day, but I veered away from it a while back when it became clear that while I can edit and write, writing two projects at the same time didn’t work for me. I’m a binge writer, which means the book wholly consumes me for days on end. I write fast, nothing else matters, and I do it until the book is complete.

But these two books are very different in style and genre.

So I’m trying it again, because I really want to finish Bloodlines the Third, but I also want to keep writing new things. 2021 was supposed to be a writing year for me. I was going to hold back on trying to publish and focus on writing new stuff. It didn’t turn out quite like I’d wanted, but I’d like to finish the year strong.

Also, in preparation for the upcoming Emerald Fires release, I’ve created an ARC for it. You can check it out on Booksprout. Keep in mind that the review has to be completed by December 1, 2021. Your review can be two sentences or two paragraphs. I don’t care. As long as it’s honest and yours and it’s posted by December 1. Bonus points if you love it.

Okay, I have to get back to work, because this project isn’t going to record itself and the child upstairs is currently cooperating by not jumping from extremely high places to shake my entire room. You wouldn’t think a maybe thirty pound child could make that much noise…

I spent a few hours yesterday with my writing notebook and my Sharpie S-Gel…. and now I have a shiny new book to write. Of course, I’ll still be working on finishing the last parts of Bloodlines the Third, but it’ll be more of a side thing while I’m NaNoWriMoing.

So, I talked a little about what November will be entailing in this video. I do have a big deadline at the end of the month and I’m trying really hard to get it done before US Thanksgiving comes around, since you know, my family will expect me to come around and visit and stuff.

That’s right! There’s a new book coming! Book 2 in The Bloodlines Chronicles takes us back to adventures with the lovely Nicola Casimir. If you haven’t picked up Amethyst Dreams, these books are more interconnected than my usual romances, and it’s highly recommended to read the first book before this one.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo

While I’ve had Book Brain because of Bloodlines the Third, I’ve also been trying to work at getting this book out for you guys! The paperback version is still in progress, but there will be one.

November is a very busy month for little ol’ me. I’m finishing up an audiobook project, getting this book ready for release, and attempting NaNoWriMo.

That said, it helps me out a ton if you guys preorder the book and I’d appreciate it. And if you would be a wonderful human being and review it during the first week of release, that is even better. I will be distributing ARCs within the next week or two, so keep your eyes peeled for that request within the next couple of days.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo

(Apple link is forthcoming, once I can actually find it on the store)

I started writing a new book this week. For those of you wondering, it’s Bloodlines the Third, the conclusion to Nicola’s arc. BL2 is in final edits and proofreading and formatting stages and so I decided to let myself kind of play with plots and things for the third book.

It took me about a day to play with. Maybe two. Then I was like… hey, why don’t I write this scene to get the hang of this particular new character that I don’t know, because this character doesn’t have an arc yet. So I did. Then I wrote the next scene for fun. Then another happened and before I knew it, it’s been 5 days and I have 43k on it now….

This was supposed to be my NaNo project. I mean, I’m not complaining that I wrote all the words, but I kind of am because I’ve pretty much let everything else fall by the wayside.

I’m going to probably be done with the discovery draft by the end of the month. I should probably concentrate more on the second book, considering all the things I haven’t done on it…

But BL3 has been so much fun and I’m having such a fantastic time writing it.

My writing process changes with every book. I’m kind of hoping that next time I try this book’s process, it works like this again. It’s been a lot of fun.

Only bad thing is that it’s been inflaming my wrist, typing so much. I could learn how to dictate, but I need my voice for other things. So I’m going to go get an ice pack for it and chill. But really, who are we kidding here? I’ll be back on the computer in like an hour because I can’t help myself and my Book Brain is strong right now.

I’ve seen a lot of these videos lately, but that might be because I’ve been thinking about making this video for a while so they’re standing out to me right now. This is just me embracing that I am a multitude of things and I am lazy and I should accept both those things as truth. LOL. Thanks for watching!

I don’t feel like it should be October right now. I feel like it should still be the middle of summer, like early August. I don’t know where this entire quarter went for me. It feels like I wasted it. I don’t think that I did, but it sure feels like it.

I didn’t realize how much work went into creating a demo reel. I figured, I would record stuff in my range and then I’d do some light editing and call it good. But then I started researching, and listening to other demo reels. I’m currently watching a four part series where the content creator is simply editing and splicing together each segment of his demo reel. I’m amazed by the amount of work he put into it. For something that is a minute long, it really does take hours to do.

So now, I’m writing a script for my demo reel. It’s only a page, but it includes efforts, sound effects, directions, everything that a script would have. I even wrote out a short description of what was happening before the scene that I’m recording. I’m not even done. I’ve really only finished writing one segment. I still have 3-5 to go, depending on how long they’re going to be.

I see now why people get others to do their demo reels and why they cost so much. I’d thought to get two demo reels done within the next few weeks… I might lucky to get one done. I’m not willing to sacrifice quality. I’ll still be adding audiobook samples as I go. But the character and animation reels I wanted to do? Those are going to take longer. So much longer.

Patience is a good thing.

…I suck at patience.

I’m still trying to find that elusive balance between work, writing, and life itself. Surely, this gets easier, somewhat, right? This week’s vlog is a little short, but that’s okay. I’m trying to get to a point where the vlogs are more to the point and less of me rambling and going on tangents.

I’m feeling pretty good about myself lately. I’ve been auditioning regularly, and been having a lot of fun recording my current project. The author is super sweet, and honest with her feedback. It’s been such a good time.

I recently got another project offer, so I’ll be working on a second project simultaneously. Which is fine, because recording on the first project is going so well and really much faster than I thought it would. But, then, it’s the editing and production that takes me forever still.

I recorded for about three hours today and I’m feeling it. I’ve been chugging back so much water to keep recording that I’m having to stop to pee after every chapter I record. LOL. But I love it so much, and I wish I’d made this leap to work from home many, many months ago.

I think I was due for a good day or several, because I’ve been stressing myself out a lot lately. It’s nice to enjoy what I do for work now. It’s probably the first time I’ve not hated my job in my entire life. I like being a content creator, I like making people’s words come to life with my voice, and I like making my own stories live as well. I still haven’t had time to figure out how or when I’m going to do my own audiobooks, but I’m really liking doing other people’s.

I’ve also been writing out the script for my demo reels for stuff other than audiobooks, so that’ll be coming soon. It’ll be a while, since I haven’t recorded them or even finished figuring out how I want to script them out. I’ll probably get someone else to produce it, but I definitely want to get it done soonish.

Other than that, life is proceeding well. I did not get the part time job I’d hoped I would get, which is fine. I have other options, but if I were honest with myself, I don’t want one. I need one, but I don’t want one. I will keep pushing along and I will make this career work for me.