For such a short month, I sure packed a lot of things into February this year! Between work, writing, and tabletop RPG sessions with my friends, I also attended a Galentine’s Day book fair and brunch hosted by my local indie bookstore, starred as a guest in a podcast episode (it comes out in March!), and joined in some virtual write-ins. The weather has been abysmal—lots of cold and rain—which means many cozy days indoors, drinking hot chocolate, reading, and working on my next book. Fortunately, spring is just around the corner!
Writing update
Earlier this month, I shared on Bluesky that I was starting to feel a low-grade panic that I was writing too slowly and taking too long to finish the first draft of Crucible of the Broken Moon. Many people chimed in to commiserate and reassure me, for which I’m grateful. Afterward, I was counting calendar days to figure out how many per month I generally allot to writing, only to discover that the total number is only half, or a little more than that. I deeply disliked this revelation. At the start of the year, I had vowed to take my time and aim for 500 words every day while taking breaks on Fridays and weekends, but I hadn’t realized how few writing days that actually left me.
I came up with a plan to wake up early on either Saturdays or Sundays (or both, if I’m feeling up for it) and write for a couple of hours. I’m already an early riser, so it isn’t any trouble at all. Last weekend, I wrote a total of 2,419 words while following this plan, all while completing all my errands and doing other hobbies! I’m quite proud of myself and confident this will help ease the panic and stress I’d been feeling all month.
At this time, I have completed 14 of 37 chapters (38%) of Crucible‘s first draft, with 51,000 words out of an estimated 130,000 total.
I’ve also been preparing to release the ARC files for The Devouring by making social media graphics and rereading the book to catch any final, stray typos. (Unfortunately, I already ordered 15 author copies, so those typos will be memorialized for a few people.) I’ll be opening ARC sign-ups on Monday, and chosen recipients will get the files delivered to their inboxes on March 9. I’ve decided to use BookFunnel for this service since it seemed the most straightforward at the lowest cost.
Speaking of March, I’m going to take a break from Crucible and work on a novella as a mental vacation/refresh. Instead of writing it with the intent to publish, I’m going to write it as fun, self-indulgent practice just for me. It’s called The Heart Is a Weapon and will be about a young vampire who becomes the target of vampire hunters and must eradicate them before they destroy her. My goal is to complete it at 10,000 words, but we’ll see what ends up happening. The idea for the plot struck me while I was washing dishes one day, and I thought, why not? The characters will be based off my Vampire: the Masquerade PC and her supporting NPCs, but their lore and backstories will be different.
Recent delights
- I’ve been enjoying Bridgerton season 4 with my friends! We’ve been watching the series together ever since the first season, so it’s been a blast to continue the tradition. I like this season much better than the third in all respects: characters, writing, pacing, acting. I’m so eager to see how the romance between Sophie and Benedict concludes!
- My new habit of reading a page every day continued in February, leading me to finish five new books. Among them, Lights Out by Navessa Allen and My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite were my favorites, though I have to acknowledge the power behind the prose of I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. They’re all great books; I highly recommend them.
A. M. Shilling 
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