The month started with my baby turning one! She had a cold, so she was slightly miserable, but noodles and cake cheered her up a bit. She and my four-year-old have been getting along really well, which has been lovely to see.

As for the rest of this month? It was…a lot. Thanks to family being out of town, illnesses, the kids having trouble sleeping, and snow, I had a lot less babysitting time and less energy than usual, while simultaneously having an immense amount of work. I’ll talk more about this in the “on learning to say no” section below, but I want to mention this because I get a lot of “I don’t know how you do it all!” comments. They don’t bother me—it helps remind me that I am doing a lot—but I think it’s important to share the reality. There is a cost to taking on a lot, and sometimes other people take on part of that cost. I’ve really appreciated that in order to max out my writing time, my husband has been handling the kids’ evening routine so that I can write from 7-10pm each night. Late afternoon and evening are my best writing times, so this has been key to my making progress in revisions.

bird's eye view of writing desk featuring laptop and latte — *Kelsea’s laptop + latte on her new writing desk!*

NOVEL REVISIONS + MORE!

This month, I spent most of my writing time revising It’s Only a Game! This will likely be the most substantial revision with my editor, in large part because we’re making structural changes that include my writing a lot of new chapters and scenes in addition to deepening the characters’ histories and relationships. It’s been a lot of work, but I’m loving how the book is turning out!

I also wrote and submitted the cover memo for It’s Only a Game—the document that will help kick off the design process, which I’m really looking forward to. And I filled out Bloomsbury’s author questionnaire, which will help the publicity and marketing teams. It’s been fascinating going through this process, and I’m really enjoying each step along the way.

And, as part of thinking about publicity and marketing, I researched local photographers. After looking through tons of sites, I found one I absolutely love. We chatted over the weekend and scheduled a session for spring. Professional author photos are the gift I promised myself for when I sold my first book in traditional publishing, so this step is also making everything feel more real!

dark red mug that says "revise" sits on a desk with snacks and laptop and view of greenery in the background. — *“Revise” mug for motivation*

Cover of Aseptic and Faintly Sadistic: an Anthology of Hysteria Fiction edited by Jolie Toomajan. Features image of femme body covered in flowers enclosed in an oval, with lines to objects outside the frame. — *Gorgeous cover for ASEPTIC AND FAINTLY SADISTIC*

AWARDS + RECOGNITION

It’s awards season! I was excited to see some news for two of the anthologies I’m in.

Death in the Mouth, which includes my story, “Obedient Son,” was selected for the 2022 Locus Recommended Reading List in the Anthologies category! That means that it’s automatically on the ballot to be voted upon by the public. There is no association membership requirement to vote—all you have to do is go to this link, if you’re so inclined. There are a lot of amazing books and stories on the list!

And, Dark Matter Presents: Human Monsters, which includes my story, “I Swear I Didn’t Kill the Others,” is officially a 2022 Bram Stoker Award Nominee in the Anthologies category!! Horror Writers’ Association members will vote on the final ballot, so the winner hasn’t been determined yet, but it’s exciting for the anthology to be recognized as one of the five finalists in the category. :)

On a personal note, I was absolutely floored to find that “China Doll,” my story in the upcoming Aseptic & Faintly Sadistic anthology (benefiting the Chicago Abortion Fund), was mentioned in a very cool horror podcast, Cutthroat Queens! They invited the fantastic editor, Jolie Toomajan, as a guest on the podcast, and they had the nicest things to say. Plus, the podcast was such a fun listen all around! I’m mentioned in this episode shorter after the 39 minute mark, in case you’re curious.

In the five months since its release, I’ve also been tagged in many kind mentions and reviews of Bound Feet, which has been incredibly lovely. Too many to mention them all here, but I appreciate every single one. <3

GETTING ORGANIZED!

My husband and I have been using Microsoft’s To Do List app for a while, but we’ve been looking for something with more functionality. My friend Dana showed me her Trello boards, and they looked so good I had to try them out! So, this month, my husband and I set up a shared ‘workspace’ with boards for grocery lists, errands, etc…and I set up a separate workspace I’ve dubbed “Kelsea’s Writing Desk.”

So far, we’re loving Trello! I made a separate board for each book or book concept (novellas + novels), a board for short stories, another for essays, and then boards for other author things (tasks like claiming my Goodreads author page or strategies to discuss with my agent) and bookish things (Netgalley reviews, book clubs, etc.). It was really intuitive to set everything up, and I love how visually appealing it is. I’ve been using it to clear It’s Only a Game revision notes, among other things. And I like that it has a desktop app for Mac as well! Super convenient.

Screenshot of Trello app showing eight boards of different book projects or author things with relevant background images. — *Kelsea’s starred Trello boards*

Smaller snack bowl filled with sweet snacks centered inside larger snack bowl filled with savory snacks. Bowl sits on desk next to sting ray mug and laptop. — *Say no to overcommitting, yes to snacks.*

ON LEARNING TO SAY NO

One thing I’ve often struggled with is my tendency to say yes to too many things. I get hyped for so many projects, and I love helping others however I can. Unfortunately, I almost always underestimate how long things will take. I’m also a perfectionist who hates putting anything less than my full effort in. And it’s really important to me to keep my promises, which I like about myself…but also means I tend to sacrifice sleep or downtime or whatever I need to sacrifice in order to keep those promises.

These days, with two kids under five, a house we still haven’t finished fully moving into, a writing career that’s starting to really take off, my spouse having a full time job, and all the other little things that come up in life, I’ve begun to recognize just how detrimental my tendency to overcommit is becoming to me and to my family. Sometimes, keeping those promises I’ve made to others means taking time away from spending it with the kids. Or it means staying up late to finish something up, and then being unfairly snappish the next day. Or it means being so stressed that I start getting stomachaches, headaches, toothaches, eczema flares, and other fun symptoms, which is what happened this month.

So…I’m finally recognizing that I need to start saying no. And I need to learn to be okay with saying no.

Last fall, I saw an open call for novella pitches from a small press I really respect and admire—one of the presses on my “someday dream” list. I brainstormed a story concept that would fit their call and sent it in. They loved it, and invited me to write and submit the full manuscript novella to them at my earliest convenience. I was excited and planned to write it immediately…but then I ended up unexpectedly getting two (completely separate) book deals shortly after that conversation. With those book deals/contracts came new deadlines. So I let this publisher know that I’d need more time, figuring I’d work on it later this year.

But this month, with all the difficulties and stress symptoms I’ve had, I made myself take a hard look at everything on my plate, and I realized that no matter how much I wish I could write that book this year on top of everything else I have planned and promised others, it just isn’t realistic.

I didn’t want to keep stringing the publisher along—I think people deserve better than that, and I think it’s important to keep everyone informed—and even the thought of having yet another thing on my plate this year was stressing me out. So, after much agonizing and internal debate, I contacted them to let them know. They were so, so kind and supportive, which made it both harder and easier.

And even though I still feel a pang when I think about the novella that could have been, I’m so glad I did it. I still hope to write that story someday, but now there’s no timeline or expectation attached to it, so it can happen on its own time.

It’s one step toward a more sustainable career and stronger work-life balance, which is one of my big goals for 2023.

FEBRUARY HIGHLIGHTS

Wrote | worked on It’s Only a Game revisions | final edit pass for “China Doll"
Interviewed | HWA interviewed me for Women in Horror Month (March)—I’ll share the link when it’s public!
Critiqued for friends | critiqued 1 novel
Read 12 submissions | combined for Dark Matter Presents: Monster Lairs, khōréō magazine
Reviewed 3 books | Netgalley, Goodreads, etc.

FEBRUARY RECOMMENDED READS

I find it difficult to draft new scenes while reading books in a different category/genre/vibe from what I’m writing. Since this revision involved drafting fourteen new chapters and several new scenes, I’ve been sticking to reading YA thrillers and listening to music or podcasts (since they don’t mess up my writing voice/vibe). As such, I read less than usual: 6 books. Here were a few favorites:

collage showing three book covers: after dark with roxie clark, firekeeper's daughter, and the weight of blood

After Dark with Roxie Clark by Brooke Lauren Davis | My editor sent me this YA thriller (which she helped edit), and it was absolutely wonderful—loved the characters, the ‘after dark’ tours, and the big reveal!
The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (reread!) | This was an audiobook reread, and I was already tearing up from the start—Angeline Boulley is BRILLIANT and the narration is perfect. This upper YA/crossover book is an absolute must-read that combines thriller with contemporary fic perfectly. I’d recommend it to anyone and everyone!
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson | This YA thriller/horror book was recommended by my friend Maraia, and as usual, she did not steer me wrong. What a powerful, suspenseful story about desegregating prom, a girl with terrifying powers, and a small town reckoning long in the making.