New Year - New Projects

Hello Ink Drinkers,

Soooooooo... It's the new year.  I didn't join a gym.  I barely remembered to drink something bubbly on New Year's Eve.  

This last year, my personal goal didn't have anything to do with writing.  Ever since I gave up trying to make money with my writing, I just do what makes me happy as a writer and move on.  With that mentality, I released four science fiction novels this year and two novelettes (one fantasy, one contemporary).  So, I'm a beast... I get it.  I also experienced a HUMONGOUS leap in hits and downloads.  So, refusing to focus on writing worked out well for me.  

All last year, I focussed on fashion.  I wore a different thing to church every Sunday for the entire year.  IT WAS AMAZING!  Honestly, I have rarely had so much fun.  I had so many options of what to wear when all the holiday parties hit.  I didn't even fuss.  I just walked into my closet (which isn't as cool as it sounds) and chose something to wear (which was way cooler than it sounds).   It was such a riot that when I tried to figure out what to do with myself this coming year, I found myself wondering if I could just do another year of fashion.  Honestly, when I think of that, it sounds amazing, but... I don't think I can dress much better than the people around me without causing a completely unnecessary problem.  I mean, I'm an old hag, but I was hit on by five teenage boys in the mall this last year.  They didn't even notice the gray hair.

Anyway, another year of fashion is out.  So, I thought of making my own hair accessories.  I have a lot of hair and I could always use more, but hair accessories are a younger woman's game.  I craft quite a lot.  I had one year where I crocheted an afghan every two months, so I had six at the end of the year.  

*Sigh* This post is shaping up like whatever bloggers put before they share a recipe.

I decided to do audiobooks.  

First, I started making audiobooks on GooglePlay.  From the selections available in the dropdown menu, they only let you make AI audiobooks, so I started doing that.  Fighting with GooglePlay is not my strong suit.  It tends to win, so I've been fighting with it this week.  So far, I have live audiobooks on GooglePlay for:

Tiny Wishes

The Blood that Flows

Whenever You Want

Kiss of Tragedy

Behind His Mask: The First Spell Book

Hidden Library: The Second Spell Book

If I'm a good girl, I should have the rest finished by the end of the month.  However, that's not really what I want.  Frankly, after experimenting with AI, I have to say... it doesn't swear very well.  I don't put a lot of bad words in my books.  I leave them out because using swear words all the time turns me into the boy who cried wolf.  If my books are littered with strong language, what do I do when I want to imply the severity of the situation?  That's right.  When I use strong language, I want it to pop.  It doesn't pop when being read by an AI.  If anything, it makes the swear words sound ridiculous.

Anyway, I'm experimenting with making audio books myself.  I'll start small and see how it goes. 

I also have a big snarly stack of unfinished novelettes and other goodies.  I made a list of all my unfinished projects that I hope to finish and the list was long.  

We'll see what I can accomplish this year, but if I'm really productive, I'll have proper audiobooks that have not been read by AI.  Seriously, tell your Google to pronounce 'Damn it' for you and see what you think.