June came and went.

July started and where I am is currently in lockdown due to the rise of the Delta Variant of COVID. It sucks being in lockdown but as the vaccination program here has been slow to roll out, the best way to curb a high death toll and herd mentality is to lock us all down. Granted, we’ve had a semi normal life since June last year and this 2nd lockdown is nothing compared to fellow sister state Victoria. I won’t complain. I won’t bitch. I’ll stay at home, leave only for essentials and exercise, mask up, and do my part.

I didn’t do a Songs of My Life for June. For now, after 11 years, Songs of My Life has ended. Not that I stopped listening to music or anything, at the current point in my life, I’m only listening to a handful of artists or the Metal Playlist on Spotify and to be honest, sitting down at the end of the month to delve back and reflect on the month has stopped sparking joy. I noticed my lack of enthusiasm on writing SOML for a few months and how it became a chore and not something I looked forward to writing or sharing. Maybe I’ll dive back into one day but for now, this chapter has closed.

What currently is sparking joy is my writing.

I finished my decades long WIP back in April. It took me 2 months to edit it and now, I’m just sitting on it. Waiting. For what? I don’t know but then, I dove back into my older and completed novels and I’m so glad I did. The characters and the stories made me happy. I could see my progression as a writer and I could see my characters, while different, all progress from novel to novel.

For the first time, I have self-published THE DUMBING DOWN OF LOVE. I competed this gem in 2009 and kept it to myself until I shared it here on my website in it’s full and ugly rough draft glory in 2011.

Looking at it 12 years later, I laughed and I cried over it. It had become so outdated and “old school”. Remember instant messenger and ringback tones? This novel had both!

But I wanted to share this story, so I gave it a 2021 facelift. It may not resonate with those who swipe left and right to find a quick booty call, but for those who don’t mind a little slow and old fashion romance might it get a kick out it.

It’s available on Amazon for Paperback & Kindle and as a PDF on my digital store if you prefer not to support Amazon.

After giving it 2021 facelift, I went back through my other self-published novels and did the same and like I said, it was a great exercise for me to see where I’ve come from to where I am now.

You can find the 2021 updates for BARFLY, THE SOUND OF MADNESS, and COFFEE AND CONVERSATIONS on Amazon or My Digital Store.

Rereading them, I realized that while far from perfect or perfectly written, that I can craft a good story. Going back and seeing my own talent through older and possibly wiser eyes sparked a fire within me to continue to write. Whether or not I get traditionally published or continue to self-publish, I’ll write and share. If one person or millions read it, I’m happy either way.

And as for the WIP:
THE ANGER OF ANGELS (The Night of the Hunter Book 1) will released by me on 8-August. Meet Maia below.
Maybe I’m lucky.
Maybe I’m cursed. 
Within 72 wretched hours, I’ll discover that I am an Elysian. 
Crazy isn’t it? 
I, Maia Edwards, a forensic scientist, am a goddamn Elysian.
I know it’s a myth and goes against every belief I have in science, but when a series of murders suggest that there is something more to them besides science, I must turn to the one man who seems to believe in the myths, Corvis Gregory, an artist who’s built a career in myths. He’s the only one that seems to understand what’s happening. I’ll listen with a forensic scientist mind so I can capture a murderer and solve the mystery of what’s happening to me.