Hello readers! Been some time, hasn’t it? I’ve been busy with my nose to the grindstone of writing, and now I have updates to share with you all!

First off: the latest round of “Corpses and Cognac” edits were completed in mid-November, and are currently with my editor! The process took longer than expected as I ended up rewriting the bulk of the novel, and while I was able to recycle the themes and story beats of the previous draft, I wasn’t able to carry over as many scenes as planned. However, the book is far stronger for all the work, and I’m certainly happier with the final product.

The process has also taught me a lot about the value of a good editor; one who doesn’t just point out overused words and grammatical errors, but conceptual issues as well. I also learned a lot about my own process and what can help me stick to writing (and editing) on a schedule, even during a pandemic. (Heck, especially during; I think keeping my head down to work on this book has helped me weather this year.)

While waiting for edits on “Corpses and Cognac”, my cover artist M. Brackett and I are forging ahead on cover art. We’re both super excited about the concept we’ve come up with, and can’t wait to show it to you. In fact, you can watch M. Brackett work on the cover this month at https://www.twitch.tv/quelfabulous.

In fact, M. Brackett and I are teaming up for a special Q&A Stream on Friday, December 11th at 4 PM PST / 7 PM EST! Watch M. Brackett bring the cover to life as I answer questions about the new book and the “Deadly Drinks” series in general. It’ll be a grand time, so I hope to see you all there!

With 2020 drawing to a close, I have a ton of plans for 2021. I have three main book projects in the first draft stage; the third Deadly Drinks book, a cyberpunk/cosmic horror project tentatively called TechnoGnosis, and my high fantasy (with some ~romance~) “For Those Who Burn”. I also plan to return to streaming soon, starting with the concept art that will be includes in the Extra Features section of “Corpses and Cognac”. I’ll make an announcement once I do, and since I won’t be on a strict editing deadline, I hope to continue regularly streaming art. 

I also have high hopes of relocating next year with my newly wedded spouse, who I wed in a small ceremony on Halloween this year. It’s nice knowing at least a few positive things came out of this rollercoaster of a year.

I hope all of you are able to stay as safe and healthy as you can manage. We’ll get through this year yet, and the one after that, and so on. One day, and one word, at a time.

~Dorian

PS: Part of what’s helped me stay on track has been a site called 4theWords; it gamifies writing with little creatures to fight by writing, and a cute little story with quests. Instead of hitting a larger wordcount every other day or two, I’m at least hitting a smaller wordcount every day and often going above that in order to finish a quest I’m close on. Since it’s been helpful to me, I figured I’d mention it here for anyone else interested. (And if you’d like to give it a whirl, here’s a referral from yours truly: RLMGU26000).