A New Era Begins...

I'm beginning to feel like the titles my blog posts are Starwars episodes... Recently... In a country pretty close by... Somehow not as catchy.

So, it happened. There were a few moments when it seemed like it wouldn't. Like we owned too much crap and could never get it packed. Or like we would never get our paperwork together in time to get me over the border. Or just like there were too many miles between wherever we were and Canada and we would simply never make it. Those moments were fleeting of course, but they happened.

On the 21st I made it over the border with no hassle and drove myself and the dog into Winnipeg where the husband had been waiting for us for two days already. The 22nd was a lot of unpacking and other errands and yesterday, though also full of errands was also my first official day as a full time writer.

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Can I just type that again, because it was so much fun the first time. Yesterday (which was a monday I might add) was my first day as a full time writer!

It was pretty great, although it had to be cut into a half day (my boss was pissed, but the husband managed to talk her down) due to things like buying and setting up a new phone and other important things. Also we are still in the midst of unpacking and settling in. So, I only worked four hours. Today I have a full eight hour day slated. The good news is those eight hours can happen whenever. Take yesterday for example: I worked the first two hours from 10am to noon and the second from 10:30pm to 12:30am. (For those sticklers who would argue that then I worked only 3.5 hrs yesterday and already worked .5 today: hush. No one asked you.)

As our apartment is in total disarray, and as this is the internet and I don't need the entire world knowing exactly what the inside of my home looks like, here are a couple of visual snippets of the new place:

So there you go. The husband is rocking out, and Artemis is pretty ok with not being inside of a car anymore.

So, back to me being a writer full time. I have multiple projects on the go. I have mentioned this before, I think, but it's nice to have some variety in what I need to work on. I only have one project in the "new writing" stage at a time, but my other projects are at varying stages of revision. So here's a quick summary of what's on the table at this point.

• There will be a new Blade's Edge chapter up in the next seven days. Once that chapter goes up, I should be able to get back on the one to two chapters a week schedule.
• Gwendamned final revision starts this week and goes until it's finished! Then Gwendamned gets sent off into the world...
• Arcteryx a "new writing" project, gets its start this week. Prep for this series has been extensive and this will probably be the first project that I run a kickstarter campaign in order to fund.
• And finally, I'm announcing the upcoming release of my first kindle ebook: Rain on a Summer's Afternoon: Volume I. This is a compilation of short stories, some previously published by other presses, some published here on the blog, and some never before seen by people who aren't my beta readers. It's a small tome, to be used to test out KDP (Kindle direct publishing) and see how well it works as a platform for my work. Two weeks from now I will release the ebook and a few weeks from that date I will release a paper copy. (I know that may seem backwards, but the main purpose for this experiment is to see how well the ebook distribution works, the paper copy is just to get it in the hands of my readers who prefer paper books. Also, the formatting for paper takes longer.)

That about sums up what I have on my plate for the next few weeks. I will of course keep you posted as new things are released and as deadlines become more precise. 

Oh, and one last personal note. I went for my first run today since January (after getting plantar fasciitis). It was only three miles, but it felt good, and it was great to be moving that way again. In addition, Winnipeg greeted me with a blissfully cool, cloudy, and slightly drizzly day. Perfect for a first run in a new place after a long time of not running.

The End of an Era...

I have been behind in keeping Blade's Edge updated. Fear not, I haven't given up. I have simply been overwhelmed with everything else going on. The last two weeks of school left no time to do anything but work (grade finals, tally and input grades, run a project for project period, be on duty almost constantly) and pack. This week has been almost entirely devoted to packing alone. All of this is the run up to the end of an era. The longer era that has ended is the following:

 I have sold my Jeep.

Darwin, as she was called, has been sold to a loving family of two humans, two canines, and two cats.

It is the end of an era because Darwin and I had been together ever since I graduated college. Over the past ten years we have had many adventures together, and indeed I have a difficult time picturing my life without her. 

The husband and I have bought a Prius instead, which, as you might imagine, gets drastically better milage and consequently will help greatly in offsetting the cost of fuel in Canada. 

I will now observe a moment of silence to mark the end of Virginia's Jeep life.

***

The shorter era that is in the process of ending and will be all wrapped up by the 15th with a pretty little bow on it: teaching at Verde Valley School. It has been three amazing years and I'm not quite ready to write about how my time here has affected me, but when the time comes it will be a fairly lengthy blog post. 

In the meantime, I am in the process of packing up my life here and getting ready to move on. So, though graduation was technically the end of my duties here and I am at least in theory a full time writer, until I pack up and move away from this place that is not something I have time to be. I suppose until the 15th I am a full time mover. 

On the 16th I will become a driver who will hopefully have time to write. And then, when I finally settle in Winnipeg, I will become a full time writer. 

Transitions. I love them and yet they are always so tedious. I have to finish this post now because I can't delay packing any longer. 

To change, my friends! May it always move us to become a better version of ourselves. 

Dream Jobs and What They're Worth...

Recently a facebook friend posted a link to this article. For those who don't want to take the time to read it, here's a quick summary:

Random dude writes to famous dude and says "Hey, I am trying to figure out what my dream job is, here are all the things I want - list of contradictory needs and wants- got any idea how I can make that happen?" Famous dude writes back, "Nope. You need a job, not a dream job, so try actually working first. What you do for work doesn't matter; people create and destroy their own happiness."

I agree wholeheartedly with the idea that people create their own happiness, and that you are responsible for how you perceive your current condition. I also agree that this guy isn't really looking for his dream job, he's just making excuses for why he can't find it. But, having given a lot of thought to dream jobs in the past year, I think I would have provided him with a slightly different response.

I think what you do every day to make a living does matter. I think that it matters a lot when you have a passion.

That last part is really important. You have to have a passion for it to matter whether or not your pursue that passion. If you don't have a dream, how can you have a dream job?

Do you, as a person, have to have a passion? Do you have to have a dream? I'm not sure. I cannot speak for all of humanity. But if you DO have a dream, then I think it's incredibly important to follow it. It may not impact your career necessarily. Dreams can be very different. My dreams are not your dreams and your dreams are not anyone else's dreams. Some dreams overlap. Some dreams are neighbors. Some dreams exist in separate solar systems.

But in order to have a dream job, you have to have a dream, and that dream has to drive the way you intend to make money. Otherwise, you can just have a job, and you can make your dreams come true outside of your job and still be perfectly happy.

I believe somewhere out there, there is probably a 9-5 office worker who is truly happy, not necessarily because they love their office job, but because they have chosen to be positive about it and because it lets them pursue their other dreams: fly fishing on the weekends, breeding siamese cats, performing beat poetry in New York cafes on Friday nights, or what have you.

Not all dreams need to drive your source of income. Some of them do.

I want to spend the majority of my time writing stories and getting them into the hands of people who enjoy them. That is my dream. In order to make that dream come true, I really need to devote all of my working hours to writing. I have other smaller dreams and I would like to be able to pursue them in my free time. In order to do that I can't be writing in all of my free time. I need balance in my life between playing outside, playing music, creating things and writing. To have that I need to write full time. It is my dream job.

On the other hand, I have been quite happy as a teacher for the last 10 years. I've been writing in my free time and doing a job that I find fulfilling, working with great colleagues and great students, and enjoying all of the benefits that kind of life has to offer.

But now it is time for me to pursue writing with a more single minded focus. Come June I will make writing my first priority, and I will never again feel guilty for writing instead of ______ (fill in other work or housework related item here).

Dream jobs do matter, but only if your dreams matter to your job. People do create and destroy their own happiness, but we also create pathways to our dreams. You can be happy doing just about anything if you choose to be, but if the dream is important enough to you, you need to pursue it. If you have a passion you should feed it.

And if you don't... Well, that's fine too.

What's going on...

**And I said hey eyy eyy eyyyyyyy hey eyyy eyyy I said hey. What's going on?**

Anyone? I just had to look up which band that is. For those who were wondering it's 4 Non Blondes.

Anyway, this is just an update on my tiny little piece of the world. To start with, here's what's going on with Blade's Edge over on JukePop Serials:

Blade's Edge has been having an awesome month over on JukePop. In April it has earned 120 +votes which has more than doubled its total number of +votes since March. Considering that I only added five chapters in April (so up to 16 from 11 in March) that's a whole lot of increased support. In addition, it has gone from being 119th out of all the serials back in March to being 86th overall (the overall total number of novels on JukePop is estimated to be over 600). On top of all of that, it has also been chosen as an "Editor's Pick." I'm not sure what the duration for the editor's picks are, but I get the impression they change every 2-4 weeks. So, all in all a banner month. If it manages to stay in the top 30 for the month through midnight tonight (which seems likely, but is by no means assured) then it will officially become a JP30 novel which should be a huge help for gaining readership, and might even earn me a tiny bit of cash. Yay!

My sincerest thanks to everyone who has taken out of their lives to read and support Blade's Edge. Increasing my readership at this juncture will be huge for all of my subsequent novels, and on a website like JukePop more readership begets more readership so your support is hugely helpful towards me making this writing career a thing. Thank you!

A behind the scenes note for Blade's Edge fans: The next chapter you read will be the first Chapter of Part Three. This means that I need some time to make a lot of continuity edits across the whole third part to make sure that the story doesn't take any wonky turns. We also have guests visiting through the weekend so I predict that the next chapter will arrive between Wednesday and Friday of next week. Sorry for the delay, but it's important to me to provide quality writing and what stands for Part Three from the first draft needs a lot of work. Thanks for your patience and understanding!

In non-Blade's Edge but still writing related news: The project that I started for CampNaNoWriMo this month has sat sadly neglected due to a number of reasons (keeping on top of my Blade's Edge chapters, working on my final revision of Gwendamned, actually doing my full time job). However, fear not, for it has acquired a happy future: It is to become a series of novellas that will be my first foray into self publishing! I am taking a course on series writing that requires writing to a deadline (the way I work best) and does not require, but gives perks to, authors who choose to self publish that series during the course. I am very excited about this, and I look forward to telling everyone more about it as the project moves forward.

My final revision of Gwendamned needs to take top priority for a bit, so I think I'm going to make it top priority for the next few weeks. It's difficult balance between current projects, new projects and actually finalizing this older project. Which reminds me, I should really go work on Gwendamned instead of this blog post...

Well, I will leave you with a picture:

For anyone who has ever asked me where I get my ideas: Please note that I spend a lot of time in some of the worlds most beautiful places. :-)

I had a couple of completely non-writing related notes to add to this post, but I think it's long enough. More tomorrow!

A New Chapter and What I Hate About Borders...

Chapter 16 (Part Two: Chapter 9) of Blade's Edge is up and ready to read over at JukePop Serials. Still hanging in the top 30 for the month over there (sitting at number 30 right now) so it's an excellent time to read and +vote the newest chapter.

In other news: you will all be happy to hear that I have received a clean background check from Spain and am consequently one step closer to being able to submit my application to Canadian immigration. (I know you were all worried about that one.)

I'm still waiting on my background checks from Japan and the US. For those that were wondering, remember that impromptu trip to LA that I took back in March?

(The trip that led to this awesome picture...)

That was for the SOLE purpose of going to the Japanese consulate which insisted on seeing me IN PERSON in order to file the paperwork for my background check. Which, after driving eight hours in each direction just to get my butt to LA to hand over in person, takes TWO FREAKING MONTHS to process.

Sometimes I hate bureaucracy so much I want to scream.

Ahem.

At least we had wonderful friends who were willing to put us up (and kept putting us up/putting up with us after our car broke down and our departure was delayed by a number of days). So we made the most of it, drove up the coast a bit, and enjoyed the hell out of our involuntary visit. (We just felt really bad for abandoning Corey's parents who had come to visit us for a week and leaving them to their own devices for the majority of their stay.)

Spain was much simpler, but still gets bonus points for the following ridiculousness: They will allow you to apply for your background check entirely via mail (thank you reasonable human beings) with a notarized copy of your passport and the proper paperwork. No worries. Also, they have a very reasonable fee (thank you 3.64 euros). However, the only way you can pay the fee is to find a bank branch that processes Spanish tax forms (nonexistent in Sedona) or to do a wire transfer straight to their account. Ok, that's annoying but not too bad... Until you realize that your bank charges you $35 to wire funds internationally. So, you wind up paying $35 just to wire 3.64 euros to Spain. (For a tidy total of about $40 US.) 

Luckily, the US only requires a fingerprint card with my personal info and a $18 fee, so that's not too bad. Still waiting to get that back though.

I suppose it's my fault for living in so many countries as an adult.

So, once I get back all of three background checks I can then SUBMIT my paperwork to Canada (along with a giant hunk of money). Which then starts a months long waiting game while they first approve my husband as an eligible sponsor and then me as a reputable applicant for permanent residence. 

All of this so that I can continue living with my husband in his country of origin. Don't get me wrong, we had to do it for Corey to move to the US too, we just lucked out and had an expedited process because we applied through the US consulate in Tokyo. But I think it's equally lame that he had to go through all of that in order to move here. Why does it have to be such a pain in the ass for us to live and work in the same country even now that we're married?

Oh well. Many people have it much worse; Immigration from other countries can be even more of a trial. And when it comes down to it, we are so fortunate in so many ways that complaining is downright silly. 

So, big picture: my life is wonderful and I have absolutely nothing to complain about. Teeny tiny temporary picture: wah, wah, moving to another country can be a pain in the ass. 

Someone get me a violin.

Nostalgia, a New Chapter, and One or Two Stats...

Well, let's get the important part out of the way. I know you're anxious to read it, so here's Blade's Edge Chapter 15 (Part Two: Chapter 8) Enjoy!

For those who love stats: Blade's Edge is still holding at #24 for the month of April and #94 overall over on Jukepop. Woot! Thank you dear readers, for making that happen!

In other news, thinking about Japan (as I often do while revising/rewriting Blade's Edge as it is loosely inspired by feudal Japan) makes me think of the amazing adventures that Corey and I had there. Today that reminded me of this adventure:

Japan sure knows how to put on an historical reenactment! This picture is from spring of 2010 taken by Lily Lam (I think). Anyway, turns out the Kawanakajima Battle involved a small band of western mercenaries, so we got to participate in the battle reenactment. (We got to run with torches through a river and then die valiantly in a giant crowd of people.)

History can be so much fun!

Anyway, just thought I would throw that out there to brighten your Thursday a bit. Hope everyone is having a lovely day.

Another Chapter, and an Official Announcement!

First things first, dear readers, Blade's Edge Chapter 14 is up and ready for your enjoyment!

Please read and +vote the newest chapters if you haven't already. Your support on this project makes a huge difference to me in many ways. First of all, it motivates me to keep revising/rewriting this story and getting it out there for people to enjoy. Second of all the effect snowballs, the more support I get from my current readership, the more likely I am to pick up new readership and that is really my primary reason for trying out JukePop Serials to begin with.

Thank you so much, to everyone who has read and +voted the story so far. It really means a lot to me.

And now, the official announcement that I have hinted at periodically over the past couple of months:

Back in January corey and I decided that we were ready for something new in our lives. We love VVS (our current place of employment/home) and we love the Sedona area, but we have both gotten itchy feet and decided we need to move on. To where you ask?

Why to Winnipeg, Manitoba of course!

Yep. You read that right. We're moving from Arizona (land of sunshine, warmth and gorgeous rock formations that one can hike, climb or scramble to the top of) to Winnipeg. If you're not familiar with the area, check out a google map. It's a lovely place, but it's pretty cold in winter, and rather ummm... flat. So a lot of our friends (even the ones who already live in Winnipeg themselves) are looking at us like we're crazy. Which is a distinct possibility, but hey, that's never stopped us before.

Corey has insisted that we will take up the great art of curling. Here is a picture to let you know how I feel about that:

*Actually, I kind of like the idea, but don't tell anyone, it ruins the picture.*

"But Virginia," you say, "what will you do in Winnipeg? Do they need Spanish teachers there?"

The short answer is probably not, and I don't care if they do.

Why, you ask?

Because I'm going to start writing FULL TIME!

Let me type that again, because it was so much fun the first time: I GET TO WRITE FULL TIME!!!!!

Ahem. Sorry about that, I got a little excited.

Corey has a few things lined up that he predicts he can support us with, and in the meantime I get to write full time. Hopefully, it won't take too too long before I can bring in some income of my own that way. It's going to require a lot of hard work, but I've never been more excited about a job.

Probably because it's what I've wanted to do since I was thirteen.

In addition, I don't have much choice in the matter until my Canadian PR card goes through, because you know, before that it will be illegal to work in Canada.

So I will happily be writing away, getting paid in the US for my writing.

Woot!

We move this summer, after my contract here wraps up for the year. We are both extremely excited. Hoping that this post finds all of you well.

A Quick Stat Update, New Glasses, and Some Behind the Scenes Info...

Good morning dear readers! (At least it's morning here so roll with me.)

To start with, for those who enjoy numbers here is a quick stat update regarding Blade's Edge:

• Blade's Edge is up to 22 votes for the month so far, which is great, and has it holding steadily at #45 for monthly votes
• It's at a total of 141 votes overall which takes us up to #108 out of all the serials currently published (approximately 600).
• The elusive top 30 is currently at a threshold of 37 votes (ie the current number of votes for the #30 slot is 37 so to bump it out of place I would need 38)
• Getting a single new reader who decided to read all of my chapters would put me just shy of that number.
• If everyone who has ever plus voted at least one of my chapters came back and read (and plus voted) the rest of the book I would have 312 votes!

So those are some fun stats. Thanks to everyone for the support that has made those stats possible! It's really fulfilling to know that someone out there is being entertained by your work.

Recently one of my readers asked me where I was able to find this data and I realized that those of you who are readers only on Jukepop are not privy to the interesting author backend that we have. Jukepop compiles rankings of its authors, which only authors are allowed to see. In addition, it compiles reader statistics (or at least it has done so since February) and Authors have access to those statistics as well. The idea is to let authors know how well their serials are doing at keeping their readers engaged, chapter by chapter, as well as how close they are to hitting the elusive top 30 for the month (actually it only shows the top 50 for the month so this is the first time Blade's Edge has even made the rankings for me to know how it's doing).

Anyway, for those of us who like numbers, and occasionally get competitive about them, it's fun.

In other news, I ordered some new glasses. This is nothing particularly interesting, but I ordered them online from a store called Zenni Optical and for $28 got frames, prescription lenses, a UV protectant, anti-scratch coating, and shipping to my door. No, I did not forget a zero on that number. I was, as you might guess, somewhat skeptical as to the quality of these glasses prior to their arrival (but hey, I was only wasting $28 if they sucked). However, they arrived on Saturday and they are awesome. Clear, perfect lenses, frames that looked like I expected (they have a little app to show all of their frames on a picture of your face that you upload) and a free case and wipe cloth thrown in. So, for all of my friends, family and readership who wear glasses and are tired of spending hundreds of dollars every few years, I enthusiastically recommend Zenni Optical.

I for one, have decided that glasses this cheap mean that I can have multiple pairs that are fashionable (not something I usually bother with) because I can buy three pairs for under a hundred dollars!!!

For those who are curious here is a shot of me and my new frames:

Note that the second picture exists to show off the DRAGONS!!! Yes, that's right, I ordered glasses with dragons on them. Why you ask? Well, when I first decided I liked the frames I had only seen them from the front and I liked them but was debating whether they were better than this other pair when... I clicked on the bigger image of them and saw that they had dragons on the sides. Deal. Sealed.

DRAGONS

On my glasses.

Life is awesome!

Quick Update on Stats

Hey all, Blade's Edge is now ranked 109th out of all the novels (up from 111th yesterday) and is now up to 46th for +votes this month (from 50th yesterday). Thanks so much to those who have taken time to read and vote since yesterday!

If you haven't had a chance yet, but get a little bit of time today, here's the link again: Blade's Edge 

Thanks for your support!

Chapter 13, Some Cool Stats, and a Little Something Special...

Chapter 13 (aka Part Two: Chapter 6) is now live on Jukepop Serials! One of my readers has already informed me that it is the "best suspense writing I've ever 'read' you do."

In addition here are some cool stats from over at Jukepop:

• Blade's Edge is currently ranked 111th out of about 600 serials.
• The JP 30 (jukepops monthly top 30 serials) is now organized only with the votes from that month. Blade's Edge currently has 17 votes this month, which makes it #50. With your help it could push into the top 30 for the first time since it was published!
• To push into the top 50 overall serials Blade's Edge would need 504 votes (it currently has 136)
• To push into the top 30 for the month Blade's Edge would need 35 votes (it currently has 17)
• In the last week I have picked up at 4 new readers! Most of whom are people I don't even know. 

All of those things are exciting and motivating for me. In fact a large part of why I was able to get the enthusiasm to get Chapter 13 up (75% of which is brand new material written today) is because I got a big surge in +votes over the last 24 hours.

In case there was any doubt: yes, +votes are very encouraging and help keep your author going!

Still, I know there are some of you who are hesitant to head over to Jukepop because... well, I'm not sure why, but maybe just because it involves clicking a link to a site you don't know, or you're worried that they'll force you to create an account against your will, or steal your soul when you find a story you like...

Whatever the case is, I've decided to help you out by posting Chapter One here on its own page on my site. (Safe within the confines of this webpage.)

If you like it, the link at the end of the page will take you to Jukepop Serials where you can (after risking your soul to create a free account) read the subsequent chapters. :-) If you don't like it, no worries. Jukepop will never know.

Just click this link.

Or you can find it on the Completed Works page.

Or you can copy and paste this into your browser: http://virginiamcclain.blogspot.com/p/blades-edge-chapter-one.html

So there you go.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this blog and/or my stories. I hope that everyone is enjoying Spring. The cacti here are in full bloom.