#iliane

[dynamoe]

How many elephants = a whale? by Elizabeth Via Flickr: From The Whale written and illustrated by Iliane Roels, 1969.

[thekisforkeats]

50 Followers!

So, Tumblr, I have 50 followers! (51 as of this writing.) I figure this is a milestone that deserves a bit of celebration, and I happened to have some ideas in mind.

I am not the sort to do giveaways (too poor) or "follow forevers" or blogrolls or like that. No, I am the sort to promise you writing in celebration. There will thus be three things this week:

Thing the first: I will do a few of those "ask me stuff" lists, so my followers can get to know me better! Woo! (Please actually put some stuff in my askbox so I won't be sad. :P)

Thing the second: I'm going to actually finish and post my review of "The Daleks" this week, which will be the impetus for continuing reviews going forward. Enough of a hiatus.

Thing the third (and the best thing, to me!): I will be writing an original short story and posting it here. This comes along with the decision and announcement that I have decided to go with self-publishing for my original work (more on that below.)

The story in question will be set in the universe of my first novel, and will be a possibly-canon, possibly-not horror story. The Slender mythos stuff has gotten me thinking on horror, and I have thought up a story that I'm excited to write. It's my first foray into both a publishable short story and horror writing. It will not be Slendy, specifically; it'll probably be more influenced by Lovecraft, but if you like Slenderman or Dr Nyarlathotep, I think it'll be interesting.

It'll also be my novel gang's first introduction to the wider world. I'm so nervous, you guys.

As for self-publishing: this is a decision I've been struggling with for a long while. Traditional publishing has a lot of pros, to be sure, but the ultimate con was one I could not get around: almost all of my characters  are queer, trans, disabled, or people of color (or combinations thereof), and I will not bend on them. I don't want to fight a publisher on a character's pronouns or identity. There's plenty about my story I'm willing to get advice on, and I will be seeking out good indie editors and publishers, but my intended audience is not the mainstream, so I may as well strike out on my own.

Anyway! I'm really happy for everyone who follows me, and I look forward to more in the future. 50 doesn't seem like a lot in the world of blogs with 5k+ followers, but that's still 50 people who watch my posts go by and I appreciate that. :)

So, woo! Celebrations! Here's to the next 50!