Happy May, gentlegerms and ladyfolk! I hope the weather in your part of the world has been as pleasant and enjoyable in the last few weeks as it has been here in eastern Pennsylvania. We've had plenty of opportunities to get outside the house and, as the kids say, touch grass. Doing so tends to induce an allergic reaction. Wouldn't recommend.
It also feels like I was just writing the April newsletter. I'm convinced a black hole passed within a few kilometers of Earth, because I swear I experienced some sort of time dilation. When I started hearing NSYNC lyrics at an elevated rate, so too did my heart reach an elevated rate. Never before has It's Gonna Be Me induced such panic in a man.
"It's gonna be May!? I need to finish this book!"
Sibling Suns 3
That's right, it's officially the last month before my deadline for Sibling Suns 3! There's still a lot of work to do in May – I had another mini panic attack when I looked forward a few chapters from where I left off after my latest writing session and realized, oh my God, I need to write the climax, the finale, the big shebang, like this week. Talk about pressure. But also excitement!
Last month's progress was very good. I wrote 6.5 chapters and, even better, subsumed one chapter into another when I realized the planned scene was already included in an earlier chapter. I love it when work vanishes into thin air and I get to mark it as done with no effort. We writers are very lazy, as I've mentioned before.
That leaves a total of 7.5 chapters to write this month. And then will come that sucking feeling that always accompanies the end of something big, where I don't know what to do with my life. I guess I'll, like, do another draft or something, geez. But I'm getting ahead of myself. First I need to finish this dang book, ideally with enough time left over in May to get a jump on the next Odyssey of JoshSE.
I have committed a grave error, however. A perennial writing sin. You see, the outline calls for a character to give a big speech, one on which the fate of the world hinges, a masterful oratory that sways hearts and minds and changes history. I began that chapter, wrote the big buildup that sells its importance and makes the character feel the weight of what he must do. And then I realized... Darkfather's balls, I actually need to write that speech. My mid-session notes ended with "this needs to be the best damn speech I've written in my life. But it won't be. Not in the first draft, anyway."
And that made me feel better. Knowing no one ever needs to see your first draft is incredibly empowering as a writer. I'm not saying my first drafts are total crap (a friend of mine calls his "toilet drafts")... but they could be, and you'd never know. Not as long as I do one hell of a job revising.
I'm rambling a bit – it's early in the morning, and the caffeine rush of my coffee is just kicking in. The point is: I'm feeling good about getting the book done this month. It will be a challenge, but the good kind of challenge that pushes me past my perceived limits.
31 days to write 7.5 chapters – that's plenty of time!
SPSFC 5
In just a few days, the first round of the fifth Self-Published Science Fiction Competition comes to a close and the semifinalists should all be announced. I say "should" because many of the judging teams have been quiet and haven't even announced quarterfinalists, including the team judging Grave of the Waiting – Team ZAPS.
To be fair, quarterfinalists aren't part of the official competition rules. It's just something teams started doing a few years ago to give recognition to some books that were a cut above the rest but didn't achieve semifinalist status. Each team only chooses 2 semifinalists, so the number of spots is very tight.
All this to say: I have no idea what is going on with Grave of the Waiting, but in the unlikely event it makes it to the semifinals, I will definitely be hooting and hollering about it! Honestly, at this point I'd be appreciative if one of the judges posts a review of the book, just so I can see how it landed for them. Fingers crossed!
Speaking of Reviews
It's that time of the month where I cajole you into doing me a favor. Now, now, don't click away. You'll be rewarded with some very cute Nazgul pictures right after this!
I simply wanted to mention that it has been more than a full year since An Ocean of Others received a review. The latest one was posted by a good fellow named Pete on April 1st, 2025, and bless his heart, it wasn't an April Fool's joke of a review.
If you've read An Ocean of Others, I'm guessing it has likely been a long while. That's okay! A review doesn't need to be a super detailed analysis of the book. Even a single sentence letting other readers know you enjoyed the story helps me immensely.
I'm going to leave an inconspicuous little button here. You know what to do. 😘
Nazgul Reaches the Legal Drinking Age
As promised, we've got some excellent photos of Naz this month. That's because he turned 21! In dog years, that is. Our puppy (yes he's still a puppy and always will be) has now been alive for 3 years of human time.
He had an excellent (ongoing) birthday party. He got new toys, new treats, and a bunch of trips to the park!
As usual, he wanted nothing more than to run around like a crazy dog.
But after a long day (and night) at daycare and the park celebrating his big day, our Naz loves coming home and cuddling up on the couch.
Happy birthday to our handsome boy!
That's it for this month, my friends! I've got another busy month ahead, another time dilation to experience, I'm sure. And then I'll be back with my big yearly update, The Odyssey of JoshSE, on my birthday! Until then, May the Fourth be with you, always.
As always, thanks for reading!
—Josh