What's next for Nicole Walsh Author? News about novels, short stories and projects in the pipeline. Videos below for a sneak peak at upcoming work :-)
Lust and Submission is out and about! I am trying to market this, but I do feel super shy and awkward. I need to push harder further. I have set up an author platform on both Instagram and TikTok with the plan to post every single day (I heard this is the minimum of what is needed). Two out of three posts are a writing lifestyle/random story post, with the third more of a sales post. It is very nerve wracking and time intensive, but I wil give it a red-hot go and see whether it gets word about my products and platforms out there a smidge more.
Book Two (title not yet revealed) of Lust and Submission is complete. I have sent this to Blueberry Lane Books to see if they are in a position to publish this piece as well. Fingers crossed!
Feb 2023: CONTRACT PENDING! Short story (2500 words) accepted for publication! Contract and details of the piece and the magazine to come. NEW magazine, and NEW genre (more lit fix than spec fic).
Jan 2023: NEAR MISS! Most publishing opportunities will give you a timeframe of when you can expect a response, and invite a query after that. I queried a piece in 2022. The publisher explained via email that I should have received a rejection. I resubmitted the piece elsewhere, and it was published. Jan 2023, and the first publisher contacts to check the piece was still available. Sounds like there was a glitch in their system - that piece had always been shortlisted and they were keen to publish it! Unfortunately, this particular place could not accept reprints, so my story was no longer a match. But, I'm going to take as a win. They DID like it and they WOULD have published it :-)
Jan 2023: CONTRACTED: A longer piece has been contracted for a magazine in April 2023. This is a magazine I have been submitting pieces to (unsuccessfully) for years. They asked for some edits in 2022, which I submitted with help from my stellar beta reader buddy JP. It looks like there was a glitch and the contract didn't find its way to me. Contract is now signed! Magazine and genre reveal pending. Watch the "published" page for details!
Dec 2022: SHORT-LISTED: A new piece has been short-listed by a fantastic magazine that I have been aiming for for some time. They advised my piece made it through THREE sets of readers. It is now on hold, to be considered by the editors. Only one in 20 pieces that are "on hold" makes it into this magazine. Even so, I am going to take this as a win!
2022: CONTRACTED: An anthology open call accepted not one but THREE of my reprints for its upcoming project. The contract is signed. Anticipated release date, December 2022, but it looks like there are some delays. It feels like it was a very ambitious project, with the number of pieces they were looking to include.
I'm watching their website and socials weekly. No update on whether this is happening...
My goal for 2023 continues to be: to have many things published in many places.
2022 ended on a beautiful note with eight pieces published that calendar year (a novel, a podcast, four magazines and two anthologies).
Novels:
Short stories/Novellas:
There's also a lot of writing... ideas, fragments, half-completed pieces with their wheels off and grass growing over them and crickets chirping. Every now and then I stab my toe tripping over an old piece and kick the muse into gear :-)
Tidal Bones, Carmina Magazine: https://youtu.be/Kr9CS6MoDU0
HellBound, Cloaked Press:
The Cat, CatsCast: https://youtu.be/KUSKJFYJ698
Situation, Metastellar: https://youtu.be/HitrpTMxgPg
Check out the Novels tab for promo videos for Lust and Submission
3. Nov 2022: Lust and Submission: https://youtube.com/shorts/BTHzCGNvLVI?feature=share
2. August 2022 The Best of Metastellar 2021: https://youtube.com/shorts/V8fGIzDexSU?feature=share
1. August 2022 Cloaked Press, Summer of Speculation, Villains: https://youtube.com/shorts/-5q-EqqoFCA?feature=share