Squalls Ahead

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done a blog post. Work has gotten in the way, but not in a bad way. But then it’s also been a hot minute because. . .

I’m about to publish a book.

I’ll dive into some details about it in a second, but I just wanted to start off with saying how much I’ve appreciated my family, friends, coworkers, students, and my students's parents regularly asking me how my writing and publishing has been going. The small check-ins here and there have really kept me going. I appreciate how much they look forward to seeing my writing in print. The love and support I've gotten has helped me tremendously, more than I could ever express. There are times I really need a confidence boost and there are so many people in my life that help give me that.

Thank you.

Anyway, aye. I’m about to publish a book. It’s really about to happen.

I haven’t done too much new writing lately because any time I am not in a dance studio (or on the PS5) I am diligently working to self-publish my debut novella. Writing the story was actually the easy part, it’s been everything after that’s got me tangled in anxiety-infested seaweed at the bottom of Davy Jones’s locker (Sorry. I tried for a pirate joke.). There have been a lot of things I’ve learned along the way, and I know it will still continue to be that way. . . especially when I dive into the marketing part of self-publishing. Trial by fire, which is usually how I approach teaching new tap combos to my students. The kids work so hard and never give up so they've yet to fail me. I'm just following their example.

I am still avidly querying agents to traditionally publish my graduate-thesis-turned-novel. It is a very gut-punching, slap in the face, and humbling process, but just about every author who has been traditionally published has gone through the same thing. In the heat of all the emails and requests on QueryManager to agents across the country, I started writing a novella that serves as a prequel to said graduate-thesis-turned-novel. I had the initial idea that the novella would just be a short story I’d release as more of a serial on my blog, but I kinda decided I wanted to do more than that. So began the self-publishing. I figured I’d continue querying my thesis/novel, but in the meantime, why not try this era’s most common method of publishing? Self-publishing.

These characters I write about have been in my head for a very long time. (Like I found a notebook from c. 2003 long time. It has the first draft I ever wrote about this story. We will not talk about the actual contents of this notebook, though. Cringe.) These characters are obviously a part of me, but they’re also a reflection of the people I have in my life. I just want to get them out there in print. Even if it ends up being only a few readers that see them.

So, here comes Andi May’s debut novella, The Wild Tales of Squall and Chubasco: El Saqueo de Nassau. A tale of two daring pirates who lead their crew to take back the city of Nassau in the name of the Pirate Affinity. There are monsters, superpowers, plundering, treasure, betrayal, and intrigue. It's a tale inspired by some of my most favorite stories, some stories of which go beyond tales of pirates. It’s a short read, but gives a taste of the world that my nerdy brain has been trapped in for so long as a writer.

Now, I definitely just pulled that annoying thing that most bloggers do: saved the important info for last. And to make it worse, I don’t have a real answer yet. . .

I do not have an official release date yet.

I am still waiting/working on the kinks of what the published book will actually look like (from both an ebook and paperback standpoint). Formatting, the cover, solidifying the copyright page, etc. But it is all in the final steps. I also applied for an LCCN —Library of Congress Control Number— so that my novella can be cataloged by the Library of Congress. An LCCN isn’t really required for books these days, but if you want your book to be available for libraries and officially registered and cataloged in the largest library in the world, this is what you need. It could take some time before my book is assigned an LCCN, but if all goes to plan, I hope to have this book out and published before the holidays.

Projected release: December 2023.

Check back here on the blog or @mrgoodiebluesky for the official release date and sneak peek, which I hope to give SOON! It will be available as ebook and paperback on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and eventually I'd like to try for Google and Apple. I'll keep up with updates.

I do, however, have an official publishing imprint:

Applying as an author and publisher with this imprint is what truly started to make this all feel real. It's wild.

Thank you again to everyone who has supported me as I navigated through these stressful, stormy, uncharted waters. I am terrified to finally release my writing out and beyond grad school assignments and my ever-cluttered Google Docs, but terrified in the best way possible. “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” (Thanks, FDR)

One last quote before I go, as thanks to perhaps the biggest inspiration for this story:

“Psst! Avast there! It be too late to alter course, mateys...and there be plundering pirates lurking in every cove, waitin' to board. Sit closer together, and keep your ruddy hands inboard. That be the best way to repel boarders. And mark well me words, mateys...dead men tell no tales! Ye come seekin' adventure and salty ol' pirates, aye? Sure ye come to the proper place. But keep a weather eye open, mates, and hold on tight, with both hands if you please...there be squalls ahead, and Davy Jones waiting for them what don't obey.”

—Pirates of the Caribbean: The Ride

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May no seas fare smooth.

—Andi May