Big news!
Welcome back, friends and readers. I’m co-hosting a panel tomorrow! I’ll be sharing the table with incredible director and storyboard artist Megan Lloyd, and brilliant historical fiction author Ren Brooke.
Our topic is an important one: how to finish your project. We’ll be coming at it from three very different angles, and there will be time for Q&A.
It streams live on YouTube at 11amEST as part of the super-fun online convention Invictuscon. Check it out!
Other News
“Floriography,” the next short story on the docket, is up to 11,000 words, so… I think this one might end up a novella. 🙂 Taking place after the worldwide reveal of magic in Half-Shell Prophecies, it explores questions of personhood, bias and violence, and the power of love.
It’s actually been challenging to write, as it represents a version of my country that I genuinely believe no longer exists. There’s a lot of emotion going into this one, lovely readers.
Not long after magic is revealed to the human world, a small midwestern town is shocked when an actual dragon moves in.
Sarah is determined to win the dragon’s friendship. Sarah is also determined to avoid anything more complicated, having learned in her teens how dangerous different can be.
There is always a cost to courage. The only question is whether love can outweigh it.
Queer romance? Cross-creature relations? Social commentary? This one has it all, folks.
Stay tuned for more! (FYI, if you join the Patreon, I’m going to be sharing it there one chapter at a time, earlier than anywhere else.)
Personal News
I’m moving again! We’ll be leaving Texas in late April, and heading to Colorado. I have a lot of family there, and I’m really looking forward to this change.
Of course, that means going through all our stuff… including possessions from my parents, who are gone, and my aunt, who is also gone, and my grandmother, who… yeah.
You know, I think this next month is going to be highly emotional for a lot of reasons.
But sometimes, that’s just how it is. Sometimes, the rain doesn’t stop, and we have to figure out life while trying not to drown.
I believe this is part of what makes us human: no matter how heavy the rain gets, we create, love, give, and share, and somehow, together, we keep moving forward.
Keep moving forward, friends. You are not alone.
About Me
My name is Ruthanne, and I do two things: I write weird stuff to entertain you, and I help other creatives make weird stuff, too. I’ve published six books and a lot of short stories. I’ve led a convention panel on world-building, and taught courses on plot and character development. I’ve been the keynote speaker for a writing retreat.
I’ve also been dealing with severe chronic illness that left me hospitalized, and that pretty much slowed everything down.
But we all have a whole host of problems these days, don’t we?
I believe creating is deeply important, one of the most human things we can do, and communicates truths we may not even consciously know we believe. That’s why I keep writing, no matter how challenging life becomes; and it’s why I make daily videos to help other creatives, too.
We may be in an apocalypse of A.I. theft and unscrupulous corporations, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still be human. We create for one another, and even the tiniest, silliest creation matters.
If you’re curious, my website has tons of free short stories, as well as three novellas and two novels, with more on the way. I also do daily pep-talks for creatives with a focus on those who struggle with creative block.
I also do regular updates through Patreon, with a lot of free stuff, and membership levels starting at $1 a month. Thanks to that chronic illness, I can’t always guarantee a regular posting schedule, but when I do send something out, it will have actual content, so that’s definitely a silver lining.
Questions? Comments?
Hit reply and ask me anything! Subscribe if you haven’t already, and you’ll get For Daws to Peck At free. I look forward to getting to know you.
See you on the written page!
-Ruthanne Reid