What's in a Week - Vol. 24

Hello there! I’m sharing my past week and what I’m looking forward to this coming week!

Exploring

I’ve been out and about on the weekends. Honestly, after a period of intense novel writing, it was time. Last Sunday, I headed out to Malibu, and was rewarded with just glorious views from Point Dume.

This Saturday, as you can see from the first pic in this post, I hung out in Eagle Rock and enjoyed coffee while perusing some shops.

My goal is to explore much more when my kids are on winter break. I tend to share my explorations on my Instagram, if you want to follow along.

Art vs. Artist - Some of My Art from 2023

These are some, but not nearly all, of the things I drew, painted, and illustrated this year. I kept it down to 8 images for the handy tile. I’m eager to start more artwork soon!

Art Commissions Open!

My art commissions are open. I recently finished two watercolor pieces, and can do watercolor, pencil, pen and ink, and acrylic art in any subject. Inquire for more details on getting your own bespoke piece of art!

Awards Nomination Season!

I have a dedicated post for all the words of mine published in 2023 (under both names) that are eligible for awards in fantasy, horror, science fiction, indie/small press awards, children’s fiction, Southern fiction, women’s fiction, poetry, etc. It is now on my new blog!

On the Screen

I finished season one and then immediately started season two of Slow Horses, and I’m glad I did! I love this spy thriller show, with its team of misfits finding themselves in even greater danger this time around. Highly recommended.

On the Page

Right now I’m reading holiday magazines and cookbooks, leading up to Christmas! I’ve also been reading Ryka Aoki’s Light from Uncommon Stars. My TBR stack is enormous, meanwhile, and I plan to do quite a bit of reading over winter.

Creative Rituals Series

I’ve got weekly posts scheduled through the rest of this year, so on Saturdays, you’ll see posts featuring authors and artists sharing their creative rituals. My latest one features author Wendy Parris! Read how Wendy goes about her creative day:

My Books

If you’re new to my work, I have several options for you. Order them from your favorite booksellers!

THE QUESTRISON SAGA - Epic, science fiction & fantasy saga (Heliopause, Ephemeris, Accretion, and Luminiferous). The Questrison Saga is an epic four-book saga, spanning time and space, love and war, with aliens, robots, telepaths, immortals, monsters, and many worlds. It begins with the intimate and sometimes unsettling HELIOPAUSE, continues in the space fairytale EPHEMERIS, fractures into war in ACCRETION, and charges to an incredible and heart-wrenching showdown in LUMINIFEROUS! If you love Star Wars, Star Trek, The Fifth Element, Doctor Who, and Farscape, this is the saga for you!

THE SHADOW GALAXY: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry (published by Trepidatio) - fantasy, science fiction, horror, and Appalachia tales

THE INN AT THE AMETHYST LANTERN - Young adult science fiction and fantasy adventure; Lunarpunk themes. Published by Android Press.

Geeky Gift Guide

If you missed it, I have a geeky gift guide for you to peruse and shop from!

Personalized Books for U.S. Purchase

I have 8 copies remaining of my personal, available stock for The Shadow Galaxy: A Collection of Short Stories and Poetry, which I can personalize, sign, and ship to you. Shipping is included in the cost. For that reason, I can only ship within the U.S.

Writing Update

I’ve not invested much time in writing since I finished my most recent novel. I’ve puttered around with a couple of projects, including one quite divergent from my usual. That will be worked on in the margins over time.

However, my beta reader DID finish reading the campy horror novel! Her praise of it kind of blew me away, and I realized then how nervous I’d been about this book. The feedback tells me that I threaded the needle and accomplished exactly what I wanted to do. My agent has it now, and after Christmas I’ll have a better sense for what we need to do to ready it for submission to publishing editors in a few weeks.

As for my 2024 writing goals? Here’s a short video with the perfect Liz Phair accompaniment.

The Week Ahead

Quite suddenly, it’s the last hurrah before Christmas, and Thursday kickstarts winter in the northern hemisphere. I’ve got a work deadline to get in, and then it’s all going to shift fully into holiday mode. If time permits, I’ll send a post out on Christmas Eve.

Wishing you all a lovely, light-filled week ahead. Thanks so much for following along.

Write on!
Jendia