One Week to Go: E-book Covers and Trepidation

In which I talk a bit more about existential panic, my first year on Substack, and why I'm publishing new e-books of stories you're already familiar with.

I first discovered Substack because of

3 Worlds / 3 Moons

. I’d already been writing for a few years at that point, and I’d always wanted to try my hand at serialized fiction, but this was the first time I had encountered a viable platform for this idea. Over the next couple of months, I wrote Masquerade: A Nevers and Moon Mystery, then spent a few more months editing it into a shape fit for human consumption. A little over a year ago, I created this newsletter and published that story here.

Shortly after that, I had the first of many periods of prolonged anxiety over the future of my writing. I’d done what I’d originally planned to, and now I had no idea what was next. Many ideas were considered and discarded, or attempted and fell apart. Luckily, Thorfinn Grimm happened, almost entirely by accident.

I’ve written here before about how chaotic the first year of Thorfinn Grimm stories was, with me more or less “pantsing” my way through the whole thing. That culminated in Thorfinn Grimm: Year One, a collection of all the Thorfinn Grimm stories I’d written at that point. It was a really fun experience, one that kept my spirits up for months. You know where this is going, don’t you?

Yes, the panic returned, just as I was forced to deal with a load of life stuff and career stuff and stuff stuff. I also turned 27 during that time, which has not helped. For the last few months, I’ve been trying my hardest to find a way through this twisted labyrinth. I think I’ve found the answer now, and I have a plan.

The answer is that creativity (at least for me) is chaos. But it requires a framework of order within which to properly express itself. So far, I’ve dealt with creative blocks and the existential agony of asking myself “am I a real writer?” has been to wallow in misery for a while, then push forward in a desperate attempt at self-preservation. “You can always edit it later”.

It’s how I made it this far, but to be honest, I am so tired of the cycle. And so, the plan: an ordered system for chaotic expression.

In the second year of this newsletter, I’m planning ahead and creating a more stable schedule for the stories I’ll be publishing here. In 2025, I’ll be writing three new Thorfinn Grimm novellettes, a winter/holiday special, and an annual collection. I’m still working out the specifics, but that’s what the new e-books are for, and that’s where I could really use your help.

As I mentioned last week, I’ll be publishing new e-books of A Game of Corpse and Robbers and The Curious Case of June Watson. Both of those stories were first written and published here on this newsletter and included in Thorfinn Grimm: Year One. The reason I’m publishing them separately is basically to see if it’s actually worthwhile to release separate novellettes of the stories serialized here. I’m also hoping that they might help bring in some new readers as well.

Now, many of you have already read these stories and/or bought the book. I don’t expect you to buy these new versions of them all over again, but it would mean the world to me if you could review the books when they come out and share them with friends who might enjoy them. It’s not quite an ARC request, but what do you think?

That reminds me! I did a poll last week to decide whether these books should be UK-exclusive or widely released. The results and responses have been very clear: I’m keeping them open to all territories. I also promised to share the covers of the new books, and here they are:

I kinda love them, don’t you? Both A Game of Corpse and Robbers and The Curious Case of June Watson are set to come out next week, on May 17, 2025, on Amazon. See you then!