a progress update.

How is it already the end of July?

It certainly feels as though this month in particular has flown by without any regard for my productivity, and in general my summer is already winding down to a close faster than I can stomach. But such is life, I’ve found, every year I grow older. I still intend to make use of what little remains, however, with a tight schedule to hopefully have more than just one book releasing in 2026.

Before the Lotus Blooms remains on track for a March 2026 release, and as I receive beta feedback I am making small tweaks here and there to better improve the novel and to make it the best version of Jaeyun and Yuzeharu’s story that it can be! Initial readers are loving it, so I hope you all will too.

One of my goals for the month was to complete the first chapter of one of my standalone novels which I created the concept for quite some time ago. I already have a mostly finished first chapter that will certainly need to go through several revisions, but getting it down on paper (digital or otherwise) makes me even more excited to continue writing it, and I know I’ll really start to gain momentum once we get into the meat of the story. It’s a contemporary MM romance, set in rural Nebraska. An ode to the midwest, it’s hopefully going to shape up to be a comedic, heartfelt love story that explores identity, family, and of course, an unexpected romantic bond between the two main characters. (Project initials BFBC. Title announcement will likely be sometime in the later half of the year).

It’s completely outlined, and I’m shooting for a rough word goal of 85k-95k.

While Before the Lotus Blooms gets its finishing touches, I’m beginning to outline the third installment for Tales of Angaride, initials MITS. The title will be announced when Before the Lotus Blooms is published, as a little surprise in the back matter. Unless I really kick it in gear, I don’t presume MITS will be available any sooner than 2027. I know what I’m capable of, and while I think I could possibly have a manuscript completed in time for a later 2026 release, I don’t believe I will have the funds for the cost of editing and producing three novels before the end of 2026, unfortunately.

That being said, I’m going to continue writing at the best pace that I can, completing manuscripts even if they won’t be edited for a little while. I have 9 installments slated for Tales of Angaride, after all, so I want to keep those flowing at a consistent pace. I also have a second standalone contemporary planned (this one with a much darker edge) as well as a contemporary series of 4 books that will all be a bit shorter in length, somewhere between 70k-80k (tentatively titled The Hartfield Series). These 4 will be scheduled to all release a few months apart (one in each season), so they will have to wait until they’re all completely edited and produced and ready for publication.

Other than writing, I’m trying my best to stay on top of running my social accounts, which at this point has pretty much devolved to only Instagram and Bluesky. I haven’t posted on TikTok in quite a while (or Facebook for that matter), and they just haven’t felt quite as fruitful as Instagram. I might start using them again at some point, but there’s a good chance I’ve lost most of my following there. I’ve been able to make some wonderful connections through instagram, and I hope to continue, and the Bluesky community has been great too!

Working a full time job makes it difficult to find time to not only write but do social content also, so the social stuff tends to fall by the wayside for me, even though I know it’s imperative for a self-published author anymore to market yourself online to gain a reader base.

I’m working on it, okay? Crying while doing it, but I’m working on it.

2026 has been a tough year, and every day it feels like I’m weighed down by another stressor, whether it be work, home, or living in the US in general, but I’ve decided to let that motivate me to continue to create. It’s one of the only small joys I have, so I don’t want to let it go!

There’s still five months left this year to accomplish a lot more, so I’ll be sure to share my progress along the way. I’m looking forward to all there is yet to come!