Oh hi, blog readers!
I’ve been remiss in letting you know that I’ve been writing on my Substack publications, including posting free fiction.
My bad.
Basically, I’ve rolled my blog and newsletter into one Substack publication, and that’s going to be the home for my fiction and book related content from now on. My web hosting account expires in April, and unless I think of a good reason not to, I’m going to let it go and just point my domain to my Substack profile.
I’ve actually got two publications on there, both of which you can find on my main profile. Let’s Talk About Truth, which I’ve told you about here before and which is about to get a name change, focuses on faith and theology. And recently I launched Through a Glass, Darkly, which is where I’m going to be publishing my fiction from now on, along with posts about all the fun/spooky/weird fringe stuff I like to delve into.
You can read in-depth about my decision to start publishing on Substack in this post, but the shorter explanation is that I’ve done traditional publishing and I’ve done indie publishing and both have left me feeling jaded and tired. I’m ready to try something different, to get free of all the soul-sucking trappings of being an author in this day and age and get back the joy of just being a writer.
The beauty of Substack is that it gives me the option of giving YOU the option to pay for what you read through a monthly subscription. I haven’t turned that option on yet, but I likely will soon. So you’ll have the option to vote for what I write with your dollars, or not. Either way, I’ll keep writing.
I’m in good company there, and I feel like, for once in my life, I did something with excellent timing. Serial fiction is enjoying a real renaissance on that platform, being written and posted by some amazing authors you’ve never heard of.
So far, I’ve just posted a few previously published short stories that you’ve probably already read. But starting this week — Monday, hopefully — I’m going to start serializing my brand new novella, Flesh and Blood. Here’s a teaser:
When Mae Bishop finally did in her abusive husband and dumped his body in the river, she thought her troubles were behind her. When his ghost shows up and leads her away from the police and straight into the lair of a serial killer, she realizes trouble never left. And when a mysterious angelic being recruits her for purposes yet unknown, Mae knows she and trouble are in it for the long haul.
You can read more about the inspiration and back story behind it in this post. I’ll be posting a new chapter each week. If it’s well received, I’ll turn it into a series. If it’s not, I’ll let it go and move on. Unless I decide I want to keep writing it for my own self.
(I hope it will be. Unlike my previous series that started as stand-alone novels and probably should have stayed that way, I conceived this as a series from the start, and I have big, big plans for Mae.)
So if you’re not already, consider subscribing to Through a Glass, Darkly so you can follow along for free, right in your inbox.
If you’re on Substack, you can also follow me on Notes to keep up with my postings and interact with me there (Notes is kind of like their version of Xwitter, but where people actually value thoughtful discourse and diversity of thinking and ideas and tend to mostly treat each other with kindness and respect. It feels to me very much like a grown-up version of the old days of LiveJournal and I love it).
If you’re subscribed, we can also have private chats from time to time. Note that you need a Substack account for those features, I believe. You can access them through the Substack website, or you can download the app, which really opens up your reading options.
Hopefully, I’ll see you there. But with this post, I’m officially retiring this here blog. So if you don’t follow me to Substack, then perhaps I’ll see you around.
Thanks for hanging with me up to this point. Don’t be a stranger.
Signing off,
Jean ♥