The BIG NEWS this week is that I am gainfully employed!!!!!
I have been struggling financially since my savings ran out—I managed to stretch it out for a few years but things were not coming together for me the way they are now. Still, the ramp up to earning a living from my writing is taking a while (unsurprisingly! That’s just how it goes), and 2023 was a rough year in the industry for all of us anyway. Whew.
I am now working part-time as the administrative coordinator for the Novo Collegian Alliance, the unofficial alumni association for New College of Florida. As an alumna myself (class of ‘88), this is a perfect match!
It is dedicated to advocating for NCF and was born out of the far-rightwing conservative fascist takeover of the school by DeSantis and Corcoran. The mission of the organization, if you’re curious:
The Novo Collegian Alliance was established as an organization with three primary goals: With the founding principles, original ideals, and rigorous academic program of New College as our guiding light, we intend to provide for support of the alumni, students, staff, faculty, and allies working to maintain the essence of New College of Florida, to provide a platform for alumni and other stakeholders to communicate their thoughts and concerns to the College and to policymakers, and to support the College’s original educational mission through fundraising, networking, and communications.
This job is part-time, yes, but it pays me enough to cover my bills (I live pretty cheap, on the whole) and also allows me to keep working on my own author business. Best of all worlds!
Okay, onto the regular stuff:
Weekly Roundup
“The Secret Sauce for Writers: Intuition” guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog is live! Jane and I have talked before (about the topic of serialized ficfion and the subscription model for authors) so when I saw her put out a call for guest blogs I jumped on it! It’s a topic that came up on a recent episode of Around the Writer’s Table podcase, so it was great to drill down on it a bit.
Escape from Ice Mountain (Dragon’s Grail arc 1) has LAUNCHED on The Bibliotheca! This story is one I’ve worked on for years, and was published in full for my paying patrons over on Ream, but I’m now putting up for everyone to read!
My next non-fic book is going to be WIP-posted on the Scriptorium! I am working on a new book about writing called Out from Fanfic: A Transformation of Creative Freedom! It’s geared toward fanfiction writers who are looking to either start or improve their attempts at original fiction. Read the announcement post for more!
The Bastards of Yumeng continues with Chapter 16! This fanfiction is a WIP and is in the 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) / 魔道祖师-墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù fandom. The Bastards of Yunmeng is all about the three kids of the Yunmeng Jiang martial arts sect after they get thrown out into the streets as children. Its tropes include: found family, friends-to-lovers, canon-divergence, and sentient Burial Mounds!
THROWBACK: “The C Word” is not as nasty as you might think! This post is about why commitment is greater than consistency if you want to meet your writing goals, and what that looks like in practice!
Support KimBoo & Keely!
I GOT A JOB! …but the first paycheck isn’t hitting until October. Please continue to help us out for a little while longer. I appreciate it so much!
My ‘zon wishlist for dry-goods and household stuff! (This would be SUPER HELPFUL!)
Direct financial support can be given via my My GoFundMe campaign, my ko-fi page, or even paypal.
Thank you so much for the support so many of you have already given me!
Writing
The Bibliotheca has launched! This past week, my new job has taken up some time as I get onboarded along with figuring out exactly how I’m going to juggled everything with this new commitment. I’m hoping this week I’ll find the groove and get back to the thing I love best: writing fiction!
It’s a Keely-Boo World
Keely is doing well. Thank you everyone who keeps asking after her!
We had a minor run with diaper rash, which was 100% my fault, but I caught it quickly and we’ve gotten into a routine that Keely truly abhors of brushing, wiping, disinfecting, and oiling up her sensitive areas.
It’s her own fault for getting old, though. If she had just remained a young dog we would not have to deal with this!!! 😭
This is how she wakes up every morning on my bed, wallowing on her back with belly scritches being demanded:
Thanks for reading Keely’s Way!
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