in scripturience

A while ago, I read an interview with the esteemed Tom Hiddleston, in which he mentioned keeping a record of all of his unsuccessful auditions in a book. For a long time I wondered why someone would be so masochistic, why someone would keep a physical record of failure.

I’m not good with failure.

I’ve too long been a person who gets shortlisted (if that) or told that I am not quite what people are looking for. For a very long time I couldn’t come to terms with that, and in the end, it really impacted my writing.

That’s when I got thinking that perhaps there was some wisdom in embracing rejection, rather than running from it. In the end, it’s inevitable, right? Rejection happens to everyone. Be it with writing or any form of creative arts, applying for work, seeking out a significant other, hell, offering help on the street to someone.

A very important person in my life - the truly talented @trans-droid - sent me this incredible post that really helped. And it got me thinking... perhaps I need to embrace the failure more than fear it. When you embrace something, you can’t fear it. It holds nothing over you. So... this was born:

My rejection journal. Currently it holds 16 entries, nearly spaced. I have more rejections than I have acceptances, but you know what? It reminds me every day that I have acceptances, that despite my 16 (so far) rejections, I have 14 acceptances, and that is huge. For someone starting out, for someone keeping up, that is a huge deal.

So I suggest if you feel particularly low, if you’re wondering why you’re writing in the first place, when all you get are rejection emails... start collecting them. Have a folder. Have a notebook. Have something to remind you that, yes, rejections exist. Rejections always exist, and they always will. You will always have them, no matter how successful you become, in whatever area. Start collecting them so you don’t fear them, and so they have no hold on you whatsoever.

Flashback to the amazing weekend I got to meet the extraordinary C.S. Pacat <3 one I will never forget. I hope, one day, I can be as gracious and fun-loving and truly supportive to people who read my work as she is!

It means so much to me how many people took the time to read (and in most cases enjoy) my work. I will certainly keep writing, and take all advice and criticism to heart as I move forward with my craft.

I am so proud to be featured in this issue of Polychrome Ink along with @trans-droid and other brilliant writers.

OFFERING FREE E-BOOKS FOR HONEST REVIEWS!!!

One thing I have learned as an amateur writer, is that the most important thing are your readers. I have the most supportive and wonderful readers any writer could ask for. You’ve been with me as I transitioned from someone who just writes online to someone who publishes in anthologies, and your help has been invaluable to me.

So... I would love to give something back.

Writers learn from reviews and criticisms. We learn what our readers are looking for and what we can improve to not only write for ourselves but for those amazing people who read our work.

So I would love to open up the floor for you to review and give some feedback on the work I have written! I am offering a free e-copy of any anthology I have been featured in for an honest review left on it! It can be left on Goodreads, on Amazon or Kindle or any place you can see it for purchase. You can leave a review just of my story, or the entire collection, and please, most importantly, BE HONEST!

Anyone leaving a review will also have a chance to win paperback copies of THREE of the anthologies I have been featured in as well as a free e-copy of the novella @etinarcadiamegan and I have on pre-order for its June release!

Please have a look at my Goodreads page, and email all interest to [email protected], with the name of the anthology(ies) that you would like to review, there you can also inquire which story would be right for your tastes, of those that are available to choose from!

More info below the cut, and thanks in advance, everyone, for your unending and incredible support!

Vance is having a terrible day, and the crowning insult is his lost luggage, which contained all the suits he needed for the conference he's attending. An unbending perfectionist, he refuses to settle for some cheap, shoddy substitute.

He is directed to Ethan Adler, a supposedly brilliant tailor who proves to be too brash, proud, presumptuous, and handsome to possibly be any good at his job. When he completely ignores everything Vance says, set on his own design, Vance is determined to teach him a lesson—but it's a lesson that may cost him far more than a perfect suit.

That’s right! The story that my incredible cowriter @etinarcadiamegan and I have penned, loved and nurtured just for this moment! There are suits, there are salty posh bastards, there are prejudices and ultimately happy endings...

Golly gee! Alrighty!

It looks like June is quite popular at the moment with TWO RELEASES due that month, one for Torquere Press on the 22nd and one for Less Than Three Press on the 28th.

I will keep everyone posted regarding giveaways, sit-ins, launch parties and anything else of note. You can also have a look at my “events” tab on the left hand side for anything upcoming.

Phew! It’s been a while since I did anything new on this page... I’ve had a lot of fun poking around making it look a little better and be far more accessible to anyone willing to give it a look.

Please do let me know if any of the links are broken, if I should add anything else, or remove something you feel is unnecessary. I am still learning and I love any and all feedback - not just on my writing!

Life happened to catch up to me for a few weeks and I’ve been knee-deep working through some plans rather than writing and keeping up on here. Need to get back into the swing of things!

I just got another acceptance into a Love Slave anthology and I could not be happier! I am always so proud to work with amazing people, and this crew is just brilliant. Thank you for this opportunity, again, to work with you!

Hopefully some new submissions will be written this weekend and sent out, and hopefully some will come back as accepted!

To wherethey-walk, hughdancysexual and ego-laqueum-fui for your support at the Schooled: Launch Party event on Facebook just now! It really meant a lot to me :)

Some days I really hate seeing that my rejections outweigh my acceptances on my Trello.

But what can you do?

Write more. You can write more, is the answer to that question.

So that is exactly what I shall do! From tomorrow, though, I think. I need a lazy day watching TV with my flatmate.

So I now have a Goodreads page!