It’s a chilly Monday morning in December, and I’m thinking a lot about writing.
As you may know, I’ve just put out a new novella in the Poles Reversed series, How I Became My Ex’s New GF, my second in only a few months after How I Became a Pop Princess.. Those two stories represent four months of very intense work, fueled by inspiration and frustration: inspiration because these ideas seized me and made me want to write them, and frustration because I hadn’t published anything in more than a year when I set down to write them and I channeled my annoyance with myself into productivity.
For many years now, every time I put out a new work I briefly consider whether I need to step back from my work as Liam Slade, writer of TG Fiction, and do something else. Maybe I feel like I have said all I need to say. Maybe I feel like I peaked with some past work. Maybe I feel like the audience out there has had enough of me. Inevitably, I end up having so many ideas that I just need to get out, whether people like them or not, so I always come back. And I don’t doubt that I will this time too.
I’ll confess that the sales for the two recent Poles Reversed titles have paled in comparison to the first two when they were released, but that’s only part of why I might consider quitting. I can still see they are being enjoyed, for whatever small monetary reward that brings me.
I look around and I see my house is cluttered, my kitchen is a mess. There’s snow on the ground and a Christmas tree in my living room. It’s probably a good time to dial back my writing work and focus on things that are a little closer to me: family, the home, myself. I still need to find a permanent, full-time job. I have chores to do, a dog to walk, and a spouse who needs my attention. I have a life, I’m not just a writer.
I had put some work in on yet another story, with my eyes on others beyond that, but I think the smart thing to do is give myself a break for as much of December as I can. I’m still a very compulsive writer and I don’t like going a week or so without doing something, so progress may be made in small increments. I also have another commitment I would like to complete before the year is done, which would not be an ebook I could sell. But the days of furiously and exuberantly chalking up writing time, ratcheting up wordcounts day after day, are being put on pause until 2026.
In the meantime, I do have something to share. December 8 (today!) marks the beginning of Smashwords’ End-of-Year Sale, and I’ve elected to put my entire Smashwords catalogue on sale for 25% off. This includes numerous novellas, my short story collection Beyond Ourselves, and both editions of my full-length novel, Kristi’s Mom.
In commemoration of this, I’ve also put out a special package. I’m pleased to announce Reveal: The Gender-Bending Collection. This tome collects all 5 of the novellas I have published as Liam Slade, as well as Beyond Ourselves and my short story Steven: A Love Story (which is admittedly available for free on this site) in one tidy package. Individually, these would cost upwards of $17 USD, but I’ve set the regular list price for the collection as $9.99, and the current sale price is $7.49, making it a phenomenal deal even if you’ve already read two or three of them. The sale runs until January 1.
I would not say it has been my best year ever, but it’s been an interesting one. For much of the first half, I didn’t have the time I wanted to focus on writing (although I began a few projects that I’d like to get back to.) After I left my job midway through the year, I began firing my energy wildly in all directions until I was able to settle in and work toward something with a clear goal in mind. Since then I’ve been very focused and have enjoyed the benefits of that.
I don’t know what 2026 holds. I could start work again, at which point writing would definitely take a backseat — and I think by now I would be okay with that, having explored what it’s like to have nothing but time to write. But unless that happens, I am still going to have long days to fill, and a lot of imagination working overtime that I need to get out on the page. It could be very interesting to see what I do next year, and I hope you’ll be there with me.
Until then, if I don’t see you again before the calendar changes over, be kind
-Liam