So, here's the game plan...

Hello, everyone.  It’s been a crazy few weeks, hasn’t it?  

Since it’s been a while since I’ve talked to you all directly, and because there is a lot happening right now (both inside and outside the life of pretending to be an ever-growing power vixen), I want to take an opportunity to touch base and let you know what’s going on.  It’ll be mostly good news, I promise!

So, let’s talk about stuff I’m writing, because that’s probably the entire reason you’re here, right?  Yeah.

Right now, I have two projects I’m working on, the first one being obvious (although there’s a lot I want to say), and the second being an idea I’ve been hinting at for a few weeks now on Twitter and such.  So, let’s start with the latter!

Big Tiger Women?  Yes please!

I’m working on another Jaymee story!  The tigress dancing queen from the eighties has grown on me in recent weeks (har har), so it was inevitable that she’d get a second story of her own.  Since the first story focused mostly on her casual life, I wanted this one to be more focused on her business acumen.  The tigress is just as dangerous on the dance floor as she is in the shark tank, and you can’t have one without the other and all that.

I’ve always pictured Jaymee being the polar opposite of herself when it comes to her job.  Whereas Jaymee is spirited, carefree and rebellious, Janice (her legal name) is what you’d expect from a no-nonsense boss, with high expectations of her employees, and determined to run a tight ship.  But at the end of the day, she’s still Jaymee, so my thoughts veered towards “how would Jaymee handle a business negotiation where things don’t go the way she expects or wants?”, followed by “and what if that negotiation involves an out-of-touch, misogynistic, egotistical CEO who cares more about profits than his fellow man?”, and the answer to both was pretty easy to reach: she gets big.  Very, very big.

Right now, I’m preemptively calling the story She’s A Big Deal, and while this story’s theme will be more down-to-earth than Mango Tango, I still want to keep Jaymee’s tales fun, entertaining, a little witty, and (hopefully) incredibly sexy, so any social commentary that I make will be in service of making her story more enjoyable to read (although I very much agree with Jaymee’s worldview, as well as her approach to problematic people).  Besides, seeing a rich jerk get his comeuppance is always fun -- at least, I think so, anyway!

Now, for the million-dollar question -- when will you get to read it?  Well, I’ve been poking at it off and on during the weekends, usually after I’ve posted the latest episode of Dogs Chase Squirrels, and I’m pretty happy with where I’m at with it.  If things go well, I’d like to have this ready in the next week or two.

However, with the world being in a very bad place right now, I felt holding this story behind a paywall would be a bit disingenuous.  I want to help make people smile and take their minds off things for a little while, and if reading a story about a tiger giantess helps with that, even just a little, then I’ve done my job.

So, I’m going to make an announcement: She’s A Big Deal will be free to read, for everyone.  No Early Access or month-long exclusivity this time -- once it goes live, it’ll be accessible to everybody right away!  I’ll post the story here and on FA, so you won’t miss out.  I’d love to hear your thoughts once it goes up.

I know not everyone is able to support a creator financially, especially right now, which I totally understand and respect.  I hope this brings a smile to a few of you, and that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it all down.  Jaymee really is a lovely and fun tigress, and I’m thrilled to share more of her with all of you.

So What about the Serial?

With the next episode going live in the near future, Dogs Chase Squirrels will be finishing off its first act!

Up until this point, I’ve been exploring the feelings that Irene and Camelia have toward each other -- and all the struggles that entails.  It’s been a bit of a bumpy road for the two of them, but it’s clear they want to make things work.  The first fourteen episodes have been focused on the two of them figuring things out, along with balancing their professional lives.  Without spoiling too much, their dedication to each other is about to pay off in a big way.

With that being said, there are a few things I’d like to talk about as the first act comes to a close.

• My 4000-word cap will be rescinded for Episode 14.  I feel that the two of them have been through a lot to get to this point, and I want to give their love for each other the time and attention it deserves.  I’m not sure how long it will end up in terms of word count, but I don’t want to feel that I have to stop once I reach Page 10.  If I feel that there’s more to say, I’ll just let it happen.
• I’ve been in...a mood lately.  So far, the serial has been PG-13 to R in places, and I plan to keep things that way in future episodes.  But fair warning (and again, I don’t want to spoil too much) -- there’s a very good chance I’m going to be punting the rating well past R for this episode, so be careful if you’re reading this at work.  Unless you’re (hopefully) working from home, in which case, go nuts. :)
• Things will take a different turn once we reach the second act.  Since the first part focused almost exclusively on Irene and Camelia’s relationship, I want the second act to focus on their individual conflicts and hang-ups outside of their feelings for each other, as well as explore a grander theme of acceptance -- after all, this is a world where a select few can make themselves large enough to be a nuisance, and not everyone enjoys their company.  I’ll also be tying events from a previous story into this one to help set the mood.  Some of you will recognize the scene once you see it, and yes, it did have a ripple effect that went beyond their personal conflict.  I probably don’t need to mention the title (hint: you can read it right here on Patreon!), but again, I will stress that you don’t need to read that story in order to understand what’s happening in Dogs Chase Squirrels, and I’ll do my best to keep the spoiler-y bits to a minimum.  However, I will need to spoil where that story goes just a little, so just a friendly warning if you’re spoiler-sensitive. :)

So, where does that put Dogs Chase Squirrels right now?

Well, as I want to dedicate as much time as I’m able to in order to nail the “season finale” as it were, next Saturday will not have a serial post.  Instead, I plan to post the next part the following Saturday, on May 2nd.  I’ll be working on She’s a Big Deal since that’s nearing completion; the goal is to have that story up and ready between now and May 2nd.

This also brings me to the less fun part -- I think I’m getting burned out.

Before I go on, I should clear the air -- the burnout isn’t because I’m not enjoying writing the serial.  Far from it; it’s been a fun challenge to work on a regular schedule on writing, and this will most likely turn out to be my biggest project yet, so it’ll be fun to look back at this all once it’s done and admire what I’ve accomplished.

That being said, a lot of factors have been weighing me down in incremental ways, and I think it’s starting to add up.  While I’ve always found writing cathartic and relaxing, writing is a mental activity, and requires energy and effort to do well.  That isn’t helped by the fact my workplace has been in a constant state of flux with the goings-on of the world.  Every day I’m introduced to a new policy change, or a new project I need to work on, or new metrics I need to keep track of, and it’s getting to be a little bit much, to the point that all I want to do once I clock out is go back to sleep or zone out.  I don’t say this as an excuse, but to give you perspective -- working in the healthcare industry right now is hard.  Really hard.  I think it’s taking a toll on me physically and mentally, and I’m starting to notice it in the quality of my writing.

Now, I’m not saying that I think my writing is bad -- at least, I hope it isn’t.  I wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing if I didn’t feel it was worth reading.  However, I can’t deny that setting time aside to work on the serial is akin to setting time aside for a work project.  As it turns out, writing 3000-4000 words in a few days, editing those words, and making sure I’m not making any huge, glaring mistakes -- and doing this every week -- is difficult!  Fun, but difficult.  Eventually, you will hit a wall and your weaknesses will come to the surface, and avoiding those pitfalls becomes impossible once you’ve hit that wall.  I don’t think I’m quite at that breaking point, but I’m closer than I feel comfortable with.

So, I’ve come to a decision: once I finish this next episode of Dogs Chase Squirrels, I’ll be taking a break for a little while.  Note that I said break and not hiatus.  I’ve been planning and outlining the next major act for the serial for some time now -- even before I planned to write a serial, in fact!  There’s a lot I want to explore, and I’ve been chomping at the bit to reach this particular section of the story -- and for those of you who may feel there haven’t been enough giantess scenes, I do plan on changing that in a big way in the second act!  At the same time, I also recognize my limits, and I want to give myself time to recharge, and not have to feel guilty about not working on the serial whenever I have a tiring day at work.

I don’t plan on this break to take more than a few week, hence why I don’t want to say this is a hiatus.  I just want to step away from projects, take a deep breath and center myself.  And who knows, I may decide to poke at a chapter or two during the down time -- I’ll just be a bit more relaxed in my approach.

That all being said, I don’t plan on keeping you all in the dark.  I may do more talking pieces or show off some works-in-progress to help fill the gap.  If I do feel that I won’t have much to share come June, I’ll be sure to let you know -- and I’ll freeze payments for the month, so you won't be charged if I don’t have much to share.  That’s the worst-case scenario, though.  Honestly, I think taking a couple of weeks to relax and do other things will be just what I need to hop right back into writing about gigantic, sexy canine and squirrel women as a hobby!

With that, I think that’s all I wanted to say.  Thank you for your support and your patience, and I promise, I won’t keep you waiting for too long once May starts.  Dogs Chase Squirrels is only about 30-40% drafted, by my estimate, so trust me, I still have a lot that I want to say, and I can’t wait to go back in refreshed and ready to make you all smile, or laugh, or cry just a little. :)

Also note, drafted and not complete.  I do plan on giving this the polish it deserves in the not-too-distant future, and maybe look into e-book options.  We’ll see. :)

Talk to you all soon!