In something I completely forgot to do a “proper post” about, the latest novella in the Poles Reversed series by “Logan Fournier” was released at the end of September: How I Became a Pop Princess.
I started Poles Reversed a few years ago because I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to, I don’t know, innovate every time out, to reinvent the wheel and make a big statement with my writing (please just leave me my delusions of grandeur.) I was craving a chance to write something simple and straight to the point, with a premise I could revisit over and over again — my very own Altered Fates or, if we’re being honest, Trading Post (which I have always been proud to contribute to but I don’t own it.) I selected an alternative pen name for it to distinguish it from my other work.
The first three installments, How I Became a Bikini Babe, How I Became the Sitter, and How I Became a Biker Chick, were written and released between 2023 and 2024, with the intention being to release new ones at a regular clip. Though they were well-received and intentionally brief (targeting around 16,000 words but usually closer to 18K) I ended up not having time to get back to it until this summer.
The idea for “Pop Princess” had been on my mind for a while as a possible future installment, and it became one of those things that shouldered its way past other projects, including ones I had made a lot of progress on. Given I’m a lifelong music fan and used to work in a music store as well as blog about music, it was natural subject matter for me to explore, and arguably get carried away with as this is by far the longest Poles Reversed I’ve yet released at over 24,000 words.
When a strange electromagnetic anomaly hits the Earth, dozens of people are mysteriously shifted from their own body to a new one.
For Spence Graves, the leader of a garage band with dreams of making it big, that means waking up as world-famous pop idol Traci Tyler. Forced to perform his shallow music every night on tour while being pulled from place to place by Traci’s team, Spence struggles not to lose sight of himself, and his own dreams. But is there someone else who also needs his help…?
Having worked on it through the summer I was extremely proud to release it in September, although the response has hardly been overwhelming. That’s okay, I know that some titles spark more than others (“The Sitter” is my highwater mark, as it garnered a lot of attention before I even alerted anyone to its existence.) Some are just better than others, and when I get one that sparks it may bring this up with it.
As for right now, I’m about halfway through the next installment in the series. I want to keep writing them for a while until I feel satisfied that I’ve gotten enough of my ideas out of my system. I spent the early part of the summer thrashing about in different directions trying to figure out what I want to do with my time and I’m happy to have honed in on it. Poles Reversed may not be as ambitious as some of my other works, but they please me by giving me an “assignment” to fulfill and a reason to do so with a minimum of mental meandering.
There are still other things going on — I get new ideas for short stories all the time, or old ideas I’d like to revisit. I have a few longer works on the backburner that I would also like to eventually get back to. And then there’s this whole thing called life that I have to live.
For now, I am glad that I have put something out there, breaking the longest cold streak since I started publishing in — my goodness, 2021.
I hope you enjoy it! Either way, be kind
Liam