Catching Up and Falling Behind Again

I was so busy last week that I utterly failed in delivering an exclusive blog post for my subscribers, and I only realised this now, as I sat down to write this early blog post for you. I'll try and make it up to them this week, with a blog post on Wednesday and Saturday. I'm sorry!

The need to defend myself is strong, but there really isn't an excuse. I have been very busy trying to get multiple projects off the ground, and have been working overtime for weeks on end. Essentially arriving home from work, cuddling the cat until dinner time, eating and then plunging to work again.

Don't get me wrong, I'm really proud of what I've done this past month and a half. And the little trick I had of pretending that I am not me when trying to create some publicity/marketing for The Dying God & Other Stories. I've created a few things and I feel less icky about it than I normally do. So, yay!

I have run into a snag, though. Instagram has decided that I have somehow failed to follow their community guidelines and the account is currently suspended. I'm trying to get it resolved, but they're not sending the SMS code so I can resolve it. I do have until next year, though, so I'll have to struggle through it. Hopefully it'll be resolved sooner rather than later.

Writing and publishing isn't the only thing that I've been working on, either. It's not the only thing I've dug my heels in about. I'm also trying to cobble together something resembling a martial arts school. Not that I have grand designs beyond a vague wish in that direction (yet), but it is something that I have bubbling away in the back of my brain. The first thing was to come up with a name.

I have my student to thank for one: Fierce Martial Arts. There we go. There isn't one in Ottawa, and not in Ontario as far as I can see. After that, it was to come up with a logo... which proved trickier. There were a few iterations I wanted approval for, but couldn't come to a middle, so I went in a completely different direction. I figured something out, though, and I quite like it.

I've ordered a shirt with the design to see how it'll work out. If I'm happy with it, I'll have school shirts. That's pretty cool. I also have a small website for the school. It's not much, but it's something for people to look up and sign up from. I'm going back and forth on developing a social media for it. It would absolutely help get the word out about it, but it's one more social media suite to manage and I have a number of Muslim students, many who train without their head coverings, and I absolutely refuse to put them on camera for any reason. That does make social media difficult. I'm going to leave it for now. I might just nab the socials in order to hold onto the handles, but I won't be really doing much with it until I can figure out some sort of strategy.

I did try to develop it for Wutan Women, but my YouTube channel was struck (someone reported the channel for the crime of... focussing on women in martial arts, I think?), and I kinda just let it drop. I didn't have the fight in me. Not sure I do currently. I'm so tired.

Writing-wise, I am still working on the final book in the Three Worlds War series. I was right on track until Friday, where I fell behind. My brain just wasn't up for creating Friday, and hasn't been all weekend (I literally slept all weekend... for the second weekend in a row). But I'm nearing the end of the main stories. I have a bunch of things to add and fix and mix around in the manuscript. But the main part is almost done, and I'll be so glad to have it completed. It should be done around the beginning of September. Well, the main part. The editing, adding, fixing and reworking will hopefully be done by the end of the year.

I am, however, dangerously close to burn out again. So I will need to take some time away from the constant work. Hopefully soon I'll be able to rejoin the world properly. I do feel like I've been kind of a hermit this past month; hiding from the world and only ever working. Apologies to everyone I've ghosted. I've simply not been able to keep up like I've wanted to. I should be getting back to real life soon.

Alright, I have to get back to work.

Slán go foill!