July Writing Updates

It is now mid-July so I thought it was a good time to give you some updates. I have some exciting writing news as well as some good books to share with you. Depending on where you are in the world, I know the times are challenging, especially for people in the LGBTQIA+ community, so as always, I want to tell you that you matter and ask that you stay safe. Now, without further ado, the updates!

WRITING UPDATES

Review Copy Giveaways

It has almost been a year since I started my publishing journey—actually, it has been a year, because Relapse was pitched to and accepted by my publisher last July (2024). In the past year, I have been trying new things, like starting an Instagram account (@bmvaldez.author), in an attempt to reach a wider audience with my books. Writing can so often feel like it is being done in a vacuum when the whole purpose of writing is to share stories with the world.

So, in that spirit, I am trying something new yet again. Because I am using a hybrid publisher, I haven’t had the opportunity to send out advanced reader copies (commonly referred to as ARCs). I have been told about an interesting website called Bookfunnel that can allow me to manage the distribution of such a thing. Since my books are already out, I am sending out these ARCs post-publication. I am starting with Relapse, the first book of mine to hit the shelves, and will be doing a ten copy test to see how it goes. The purpose is to find people who want to read my book and are willing to leave an honest review in exchange for a free ebook copy of the book.

If you are interested in participating, you can sign up using this link here. Right now, I am planning on closing the signup link on July 21. Feel free to share this link with friends, family, or anyone who you think might be interested!

Paperbacks, Ebooks, and Audiobooks

I wanted to include here a note about my four books that have been released and are available now! Relapse came out last year as a paperback and an ebook, but is now also available as an audiobook through Amazon. As much as I want my books to be diverse, particularly with the LGBTQIA+ community in mind, I want them to be accessible to many different types of readers as well, including those who prefer audiobooks.

Faceless is also out as a paperback and an ebook. The audiobook for this one is still in production with the narrator, but it should be available later this year. Additionally. Daisukidayo, Honey-Senpai! and Green (The Pitstop Articles book one) are available as a paperback and an ebook with audiobooks coming out in the future.

All four of these books are available at all major retailers and many independent bookstores can order them as well. You can shop wherever you prefer, especially if Amazon is not a place you like to go.

The Pitstop Articles

Speaking of The Pitstop Articles, it has recently come to my attention that an old version of this story (actually, it’s a side story in chapbook format) is still listed on Goodreads. I wanted to point that out here because the series is really old. I first came up with the characters and most of the plot when I was in middle school and high school. And, back then, print on demand publishing was just becoming a sensation along with self-publishing. I was the cool high schooler who made their books available through a website called Lulu, which I found due to a 50k words in a month website whose name we won’t mention. That said, The Pitstop Articles was one of those projects I was passionate about and, though I had only completed one chapbook which was number 5 in the series as it was then, I self-published it for my own satisfaction.

This involved having an author account on Goodreads and for the book to be listed on Goodreads too. It was shortly after I graduated high school that I realized nothing I had self-published had actually been ready to be sent into the world and so I discontinued my books. All of this to say that you can still find the original The Pitstop Articles chapbook number 5 (called The Masochist) on Goodreads, listed as by an author called Holly Wolfe (Holly was the name of my childhood dog and so “wolf” paired well with that). Due to the website’s policies, they are unable to remove the book’s listing. Someday, I may spruce this story up a bit and re-release it, likely to my Vocal account as bonus reading to anyone who is interested. But, in the meantime, I wanted to put this into the universe to hopefully answer someone’s confusion on this issue.

Countenance of a Hero

You may recognize this title from a post I made months ago (almost a year ago now, actually). This was supposed to be my second book to be releasing. I’ve kept it in that order, on my website or the graphic you saw above as well. I wanted to include this here just to give you a small update that this book is still forthcoming. My cover artist has needed to put the project on hold due to other circumstances. I am hoping to discuss this with them soon and to see what we can do to get this book out sooner rather than later.

Next Book?

The other large update here is on my next book. I have a few completed manuscripts waiting in my backlog. While I had been hoping to get another one out before my table in August (at Blue Hen Comic Con in Delaware if you’re in the area), I’ve had a number of other things preoccupying my time as of late and so I haven’t been able to take the necessary steps to polish up these manuscripts. I will be working toward that for release this year and will keep you updated on that as well.

New Writing?

Last month, I was on a work trip on the other side of the country, which meant I had an almost six hour flight each way. This gave me a lot of time to be writing. (Fun fact: Relapse was originally drafted on a work trip…almost ten years ago at this point.) While I was able to get a significant amount written (23,000 words) on a new project, it is nowhere near done. This project is one that I will be continuing to work on as well as a few others that I have outstanding.

Additionally, I recently finished reading a series of books (see Hope Ever After in the reading update) that gave me an idea to write a series of my own books. Okay, that’s vague so let me explain. This series had covers that made up a rainbow. They weren’t an actual chronological series, more just a collection of books based on a similar loose theme (fairy tale retellings with the theme of hope). I am envisioning making a rainbow set of my own of short novellas (probably about 20k-40k words each) with a theme (I’m thinking luck). The idea will be that this rainbow set of books highlights and celebrates different queer identities in a unique way (I’m thinking of trans main characters, lesbian and gay main characters, and polyamorous relationships—which is something I don’t see enough of). I am thinking that these books will be a fun write and not as rigorous as a full length novel. Therefore, I would be planning on making them available by self-publishing, probably directly through Amazon. This idea is still percolating so be sure to come back for updates as it develops.

Wrap Up

I hope you’ve enjoyed this look into what I have been writing. It was long overdue for an update, and I had intended on posting the writing and reading updates as one entry! However, due to the length, I did decide to make the reading entry a separate blog post, so stayed tuned for that. Again, stay safe and take care of yourself.