In Which I Make an Executive Decision...

Writing is a business.

And I am someone who was never meant to run a business. One of the best things about working with English people is being introduced to new expressions and ones that can be applied to me are “Can’t run a whelk stand,” and “Can’t run a piss up in a brewery.”

This is why, in recent months, I have been trying to learn marketing and too often ignoring the advice I get. But today, I am going to follow a suggestion.

Look out, everybody.

I have a Substack that I post to, every three days. I also have a mailing list that gets ignored. Today, I am going to combine the two.

“What does this mean for me?” you may ask.

Good things, I hope. For Substack people: I am opening the comments so you can talk back, if you feel so moved. For the few of you who want paid content, I will be doing occasional live events, videos or readings. But people who want free things are going to get more of them.

I will have a few rules, which will amount to, “Be nice to each other, or I will block you.” I don’t like name calling or bullies or punching down.

For newsletter subscribers: you don’t have to do anything at all. The transition is automatic. You will be getting regular emails from me that will sometimes include links to freebees and perks. You will be notified of new releases more often than I’ve managed on my rarely sent newsletter. You don’t have to pay to read or do anything at all, other than to put up with me. If you don’t like this, you will have the usual ability to unsubscribe.

To people who hate Substack: I get where you are coming from. In my defense, I don’t make much money from them and they don’t take much money from me. You can read without paying, so they do not gain anything from you. I also hate Nazis and live in the middle of a minefield of boycotts. But I am also broke and Substack is free, while maintaining the mailing list costs money. My list software is also not integrating well with the new website, and this is a quick fix for the problem.

To people who have only read my historicals and have never met me in person:

You are either in for a treat or about to be horrified. In trying to sell my Harlequins, I’ve always tried to be polite and well-mannered. You’ve been getting the store brand vanilla version of me.

If you are a fan of vanilla? You need to get a Costco membership and switch to their premium vanilla ice cream in the two-container pack. This is life-changing advice (and the sort of insight you will be finding in the Substack. See the benefits?).

The new format will be full of the real me. I have opinions, which is either an advantage or a problem, depending on whether you agree with them. I once worked for a minister and told him that while my books were rated R, I was rated PG. This was a lie.

I am rated R for language. By the current rating system and the amount of profanity used in the Substack, I am actually closer to PG 13. If anything bothers you, you can skim, skip a post, tell me in the comments or unsub.

But the upside is, you will definitely hear about any projects I’m working on. If I’m giving away ARCs or reader magnets, you’ll know. With the dying Harlequin Historical line, I am making some changes in direction. But I can also answer any questions you have about what is happening and where to look for other historical authors.

Aside from writing, I go to a lot of movies, watch too much television and read a bunch of books. Aside from Regencies, I love science fiction, and horror, and doing deep dives into the structure of stories. I will get on my high horse (so many hands above the other horses) when it comes to movies like Supergirl and The Odyssey not getting enough love.

And I am ecstatic that Masters of the Universe is now available on Amazon Prime.

The gist is, I am a big, old geek. As a romance novelist, I’ve done my best to be a white-gloved lady. But I am old and tired and the gloves are coming off. I still love romance and will still read and write it. And I am still trying to sell books.

But I spent a lot of time and money over the years on tooth whitening and manicures, I am weird and have always been weird. I cannot hide it and have given up on trying to sell myself as a homogenized part of the product.

But not on homogenization. Or pasteurization. I am from the Dairy State. Do not get me started on the raw milk trend. I have seen the cows that stuff comes from. They are big and dirty and dumb. They have no control of bladder or bowels. Really, you don’t want to go there and drink milk that has not been pasteurized. Heating it when you get home to make it safe is just doing what the farmers will do for you.

See, there? Another opinion. And that’s two dairy products in the same post. I started the day planning to post about Greek mythology, old stories and the need for tragedy to balance comedy, but I got distracted. I am also regretting not picking up ice cream on yesterday’s trip to Costco.

Anyway. I am implementing a plan. If you have anything to say about it, feel free to comment. I love to hear from readers. This can be a very lonely job and it’s nice to know you are out there.