Hello readers,
Happy New Year to everyone. I'm sure we're all tired of all the holidays crap, so let's get into it.
So the first new chapter in The Lifeguard came out earlier, and it's doing ok. Not great but also not horrible. It was never a massive success to begin with but has been fun returning to that world. My hope is the views improve but it isn't the end of the world if they don't. I recognize that this story deals with some more fringe or unpleasant activities (also Mark is an ass, as my editor likes to say). I do hope the review score improves over time but that might not happen either. Truthfully, I was just happy to get back to writing anything and this was the first thing that worked.
As I've stated previously, there will be 5 chapters in this batch for this story. What happens after that depends on how things go. I could continue with another 4 or 5 chapters if demand is there, if not, I have a backup plan to fully conclude this story. That's one of my main goals this year is scalable stories. Stories that could just stand alone in their main release batch, but could be expanded if it hits my weird little metrics of success. I also don't want to panic as much this year if a story flops, I think people got kind of sick of that last year.
Coming up on the next weekend, we have chapter 5 of The Lifeguard. In this chapter, Wendy decides she needs to get the truth from Mark about their relationship. She's not too happy about the new edition and needs to know where things stand. Will Mark tell the truth or will he weasel his way out of it.
One thing I'd like to go back to are niche stories. Stories that might not be popular with most people but challenge me a bit and mix things up. Winter's Bite was one such story and I still want to get to the sequel, which has been sitting half finished for months now. Stories like that are more for me than anyone else, to keep writing fresh and fun. I need to embrace that every so often. Something weird and quirky that makes me laugh or is just super outside of my usual material. Maybe I'll finish that WW2 military story or finally write that bizarre fantasy story that's in my head. WAIT! Don't run away yet. I'll still write my normal stuff too. Lots of fun stuff (and maybe a serious one too?) are on the horizon.
As always, thank you for reading and following along on my journey here. I'm trying to catch up after a Teacher's Pet induced break. With the holidays done and a return to my regular schedule, I'm hoping to get the ball rolling on more stuff. Comments and emails are always welcome.
Thanks,
-ghostwritten