Writer's Funk

Feeling a little sad today. I was expecting some form of feedback on the TG Comics forum for my new story. I don't know if the readers there are just tired of self-promotion posts, or if no one cares about my story, but the lack of feedback - positive, negative or indifferent - is more than a little daunting.

I guess I had this idea in the back of my head that I could make some real money on a monthly basis, pay off some debts and within a few years (3 - 5) quit my day job to be a full time writer of TG fiction. After how eager the editors at Reluctant Press were about my writing, then how far out of his way Femur at TG Comics was willing to go to illustrate and post my stories ... well, I just expected my debut on Amazon to go a little better than it has. It's my own fault for letting my hopes get so high, but it still hurts.

For those who have bought my stories there, THANK YOU! Even if you went, looked, and decided not to buy, I thank you for taking the time to visit.

As for me, I'm going to follow-up on my plans to publish more things this summer. After that, I may sulk off for a while to write and consider my options. Quitting my day job to write full time clearly isn't going to happen in the near term like I thought it was going to. To wax melodramatic ...

My dreams have curdled
into stillborn lies
broken and malformed
while my rent heart cries.

So now what? I can't keep doing customer service. It's killing my soul by inches, a death of a thousand paper cuts. School again? Retraining of some sort? Another job with my limited job skills and experience? I just don't know what's going to happen next or why I would want to look forward to it.

New Story: "The High Price of Inflation"

I have a new story up at Amazon, "The High Price of Inflation." This story is considerably shorter than most of my published stories. At only twelve pages in my standard format, it gets right to the point ... which is all about the sex. I think it's far more explicit than anything I've put out before, with an ending that is dark. I wouldn't quite call it horror, but I found it unsettling to write. As the story description makes clear, this story is about a man transformed into a love doll. Speaking of which ...

Story Description:

A young man turns 25. For his birthday, his friends give him a blow up love doll as a gag gift. In the privacy of his apartment, the man finds out that it works really well … but not in the way he was expecting. It isn't long before he finds himself transformed from a "he" into a "she," trapped as a living sex toy, with an owner that's eager to teach her exactly what that means. 

(Transgender Erotic Fiction, Approximately 5,600 words)

Due to the shorter length, this story is very affordable. It is also the first in a four part series. There will be follow-up stories coming out once a month over the summer. (Or at least that's the planned schedule.) Check it out now! (Please.)

Neeeeeeeew STORY!

I have a new short story that should be going up on Amazon at some point today. I posted it last night with the expectation that it would be up this morning so I could announce it formally.

It's not up yet.

The issue now becomes that I have a social engagement that involves some travel time, a reception afterwards, some more travel time coming back to my home, followed by even more travel time to take someone home that's here for the weekend. All in all, I'm going to be doing a lot of "hurry up and wait" today with a lot of time behind the wheel of my car. It might not be until this evening that I can update you all with the formal launch announcement.

So, if you just can't wait, try searching on Amazon for "Sara James, Turned Into an Object, M2F, TG" and see what comes up. Or you can try going to my author page on Amazon. It might (might) update with the new offering when it's available.

"What Have You Done For Me Lately?"

... and by "You," I mean me. What have *I* as an author done for *You* the reader lately?

First, there's "Head Games." This is the first of many (I hope) titles that I will be making available through Amazon. For now, it's electronic only because it's easier to format and setup. My hope over time is to offer a mix of short stories, novelettes and novels in both print and electronic eBook formats.

As my second step towards that goal, I'm going to be putting out a short story. I have four done with a fifth very close to completion. Three of the four completed stories and the one that is close to being done are part of a four story series. They are about ten pages long in my preferred format for writing, so all of them would be available on Amazon for $2.99. For now, the tentative plan is to put one of these out a month over the summer. I'm looking for cover art with the hope of putting the story up the weekend of June 1st.

Third, I have one more novelette length story completed with a second a handful of pages from completion. Like the short stories, my hope is to put them out about once a month over the next couple of months. That means that for the next couple of months, there would be a short story and a longer story coming out from me every month, with more short stories through the end of summer.

I do have a third story that's longer completed, but this one is a Christmas story. I had hoped to get this one illustrated and put up for free at TG Comics for the holiday, but that fell through because of several issues that are going to be next to impossible for me to work around. Femur was very gracious and supportive - as always - but can't publish it there due to some of the content. (There's children in the story, and even though their role is non-sexual, there's a strict "no minors" rule for content on TG Comics. Why? The credit card providers require it.)

Last of all, my goal for the summer is to turn my outlines for the sequels to "Under Her Skin" into stories. That would put something like a two year gap between the original story and its sequels, with time to illustrate and format for publication. That seems like long enough. (I know, I know ... maybe a little too long.) After that, I have a script I'm aching to write. Along the way, I expect I'll keep writing stories to keep myself interested like I did with "Head Games," the Christmas story and the four short stories.

It's a labor of love, but I ache to share it with all of you! Now all I have to do is find a cover image from Shutterstock to use with those darn short stories and the longer one for next month ...

HEAD GAMES: My first eBook for sale at Amazon.

I have my first eBook up for sale at Amazon. The name of the book is "Head Games." I just put this up yesterday afternoon and it already has some sales before I've even had a chance to promote it at TG Comics, here or on my Twitter account, which really shocked me. I'm very excited to begin self-publishing and hope to have some more of my finished stories up for sale soon.

Story Description:

Five friends abducted by aliens try to escape captivity with the assistance of two less than helpful strangers. With their heads separated from their bodies and attached to strange machinery, an unexpected malfunction starts a chain of events that leads to their escape. But at what price? Not all of them will live, while some that do will find their lives transformed forever.

(Trangender Erotic Fiction, Approximately 42,300 words)

As is normal with Amazon, the first 10% of the book is up for preview so you can read some of the story for free. Go check it out!

New Book For Sale: Info Soon!

I'm out of time this morning to do a full post. This post is a placeholder for the formal announcement. In the meantime, if you're curious, please visit my post at TG Comics for more information.

Graphic Designs

In case you haven't figured this out yet, I'm an author. Words are my medium of choice. Which is what makes the fact that I have seven completed but unpublished works a little frustrating. I'm working towards publishing two of the longer works on Amazon. The problem of the moment is cover art.

I've been playing around on Shutterstock trying to find photos I can use for the story I want to publish, HG. At the same time, I finished up a Christmas story that I'd like to give away at TG Comics, but to do that, I have to find art. I also have another longer story, BaM, that's close to completion that will also need cover art. I was so desperate that I opened DAZ 3D for the first time in months to toy with the option of creating my own art work. Then I remembered: my content library is really, really shallow. Making my own images isn't really option without investing a lot of time and some money that I don't really have. Far easier if I could find photos I can use at Shutterstock.

Just ... really frustrated at the moment.