When you go to do your April update and realize you’ve technically already done it.

Apparently, I was trying to rush myself ahead a month. This is the ACTUAL April State-of-the-Thing, which, as you’ll see, is short & slightly sweet.

The first Big News is that my first monthly newsletter has just dropped! I really wanted to create a sign-up form right here on the website, but unfortunately, the tools required to do that are hidden behind a big ol’ $300 paywall. So are the tools I’d need to make use of the java script or html code provided by my email service provider. I could potentially still make it work if I used a different “theme” for my website’s build, but that would require to overhaul the whole website design, and I’m just not prepared to do that.

I’ve got a book to finish, after all.

Luckily, MailerLite does provide tools for building a landing page to collect subscriptions, so that’s what I’ve done.

Interested in getting monthly visits from the Perpetual BS machine that is my brain right in your inbox? Use this link to sign-up: https://subscribepage.io/sarahaselenenewsletter

The April edition has already gone out, but you’ll be able to get the May edition.

I’ve run newsletters before as part of my day job, so it’s not entirely new territory to me, but this is the first time I’ve ever had to create one based on myself and my work. It feels awkward, and it may take me a little time to find my footing. As always, I welcome any feedback anyone may have to give.

I expect it will evolve as I continue to work on it, and especially once Nightlands is finally ready to invade your bookshelves and I’ve got more time to direct toward marketing.

In other news, the signing event at the Bookish Boutique is just a few days away at this point!

Hoping for a good turn-out. I have stocked a decent number of books to bring with me. Any leftovers will come to InfinityCon Tallahassee with me in July.

Finally, it’s time for a book update! This time, I’ve made a handy graphic because I’ve learned that people like using their eyeballs for visuals and not just for reading:

We are two chapters away from finishing off this round of revision/rewrite. These last two chapters are doozies, of course, because it’s the climax of the book, but once that’s done, I’ll be ready to go back in and start more minor tweaks.

Not gonna lie, sometimes working through this book feels like an endless crawl through molasses. I’m sure to those of you who have been following me over the years, it probably feels that way waiting for the book to be finished too. I just want to take a moment to thank you all sincerely for sticking with me through it.

There’s obviously been a lot of hurdles along the way, both tangible and mental–hurricane, pandemic, work promotions, and personal tragedies–but sometimes, a book just isn’t ready until it’s ready. Sometimes, it just takes time ands patience to uncover the truth you’re trying to tell. Bloodlands felt like it was written and published in a comparatively short amount of time, but in truth, that’s because it was built from the bones of a dozen different drafts written over the course of a decade. It took that much time and experimentation for Bloodlands to find its final shape. In that sense, at least, Nightlands has had a faster and easier development cycle.

I have to remind myself sometimes that I’m not trying to be a fast writer, but a good writer. Thank you all for allowing me the time and space to work toward being my best.

Okay. Ick. That’s too mushy. Away with you all for now! Sign up for the email newsletter and tune in next month for more Sarah Monster Shenanigans.