March-April 2022 Writing Update

So, Dry Ice: A Short Story Collection is out in the universe. It’s available as an ebook from all good retailers, and also in paperback and hardback via Amazon (I may release hardcopies elsewhere later but still haven’t decided).

Aside from doing all the publishing stuff for Dry Ice, what have I been up to? Let’s consult my tracking spreadsheet of wonder…

Hmm, my last writing update was in the middle of Feb, so let’s include February’s writing numbers here as well. February was a month for editing, as I primarily worked on the initial edits of Spider’s Hub. During the month I cut 9.5K from the novel. Overall, I trimmed the draft by nearly 16K, to bring it down to a fighting weight of 80.2K. Which feels on the short side for me, but I’m liking how it’s turned out. So much so that I’m considering bringing the release date for it forward from August, as I don’t think the next round of edits will need to be overly extensive. That will depend, however, on how I progress with the current novel draft.

I finished this editing round for Spider’s Hub on the 26th of Feb. Along with other editing done during the month I trimmed a total of 10.7K from novels and shorts. One of the shorts edited during the month was ‘The Coffee Moon Bounty,’ which is included in the collection. I also started edits on ‘Aftershocks,’ which is now up on my simily page. That story started at over 5.1K and was whittled down to a lean, mean 3.7K by mid-March, for a total cut of 1.4K. Numbers, amirite? 😅 Taking the stats out of the equation, I’m so much happier with the story now. Why not go read it if you haven’t already?

As far as new words during Feb (not including blog posts, etc), my spreadsheet tells me I wrote 4.3K. Those were written across ‘The Coffee Moon Bounty’ and on the outlines for the novel I’m currently working on (as yet very poorly titled so I’ll leave it nameless here). I didn’t properly start on the outlines until March, however. And yes, I do mean ‘outlines’ in the plural rather than singular. This novel is multi-POV, so I decided to write an outline for each POV character. It worked out okay. So far, at least.

Moving onto March, then. I completed the outlines plus other worldbuilding by mid-March, and started on the novel itself on the 23rd. Seeing as I’ve outlined the POV characters separately, I’m also drafting their stories separately, and will then meld them together once finished. An interesting idea in theory but let’s see how it works in practice! 😁

I also started a new short story in March, tentatively titled, ‘The Ides of Loneliness.’ So far I’ve only spent one day on it, for a scene and a bit, totaling around 500 words. Editing-wise, I’ve been plugging away at ‘Entangled,’ a short story I drafted across 3 writing sessions over a 5-day period in January. I’m getting close to completing the initial edits on it. So far I’ve only cut around 500 words, which actually brings it down to around the work count I envisaged it would be.

March’s overall stats? 30K written, 700 words cut.

April’s gotten off to a slow start for various reasons. 2.5K written on the novel and 162 words edited, all from ‘Entangled.’

This month’s goals? Get a decent chunk of the novel drafted. Complete ‘The Ides of Loneliness’ draft. Finish edits on ‘Entangled,’ and properly begin edits on ‘The Sentigo River Expedition,’ the other Jazz story I wrote for the collection but which would’ve in no way been ready to go by publishing time. And maybe jot some notes for yet another novel idea that’s bouncing around the ole noggin.

Thanks for stopping by and see you all again soon!
S.C. Mae

Aftershocks, a new short story!

Aftershocks, a new short story, is up and available to read for free on my simily page.

In this tale, a girl struggling with grief after losing her mother in an earthquake must make a decision about her future while getting caught up with looters who used to be neighbors.

If you like this story, you should consider getting your hands on Dry Ice: A Short Story Collection, which contains 18 of my other short stories, including 2 featuring Jazz Healy!

Dry Ice: Cover Art + ARC Team & Preorder Details

Let’s begin with the cover art for Dry Ice: A Short Story Collection. It’s awesome.

Big shoutout to germancreative over on Fiverr who does really amazing work. It’s no wonder they have over 43,000 reviews at an average of 4.9 out of 5.

The cover art isn’t all I’ve got to share about Dry Ice. It’s now available for preorder. As of this post, it’s up on Amazon and Google (both available from the link in the last sentence), and will be available on other stores over the coming days. Release date is April 5th, 2022.

But that’s not all! Would you like to be on my ARC team, for this release and potentially for future releases? You would? Great!

Oh, you want me to explain what an ARC team is? Fair enough. In the book world, ARC stands for ‘Advance Reader Copies.’ Basically, a free book ahead of the official release, given for the purposes of review. And you have the chance to be on my advance reading team!

All that is required is that you leave an honest review of the book on Amazon and Goodreads before the release date (and you can leave reviews on other platforms, too, if you want but the above two are the only mandatory ones). Does that sound like a bit of you? Then head on over to this link to get on the team: https://booksprout.co/arc/87928/dry-ice-a-short-story-collection.

Here’s the Amazon blurb:

  • On an inhospitable planet, a cargo hauler comes across something walking the road when it’s eighty below outside.
  • A time-traveler turned celebrity thinks he’s gotten away with murder.
  • Lamenting the fact that pickings are far slimmer than when he was younger, an aging adventurer considers retiring to sunny Clawrida.
  • Born in the ocean but unable to survive there, a genetically-altered teenager struggles with life on land amidst a prejudiced, fearful community.
  • In search of a legendary recluse who has found meaning in existence, a young man arrives at a planet on the edge of the universe.
  • A book-loving heretic’s paranoia threatens to get the best of him.
  • After their excitement at discovering an ancient alien space station, a pair of treasure hunters quickly realize the place is not as dead as it first appears.
  • Meet the above individuals and more in this eighteen-story science-fiction bonanza!

    And if you’re a Jazz Healy fan, she’s the star of two tales in Dry Ice: A Short Story Collection! So what are you waiting for? It’s time to get your read on!

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    All up, it’s 230-odd pages of awesomeness. So, yes, get your read on!

    Chat again soon 🙂
    S.C. Mae