update « Chel's Corner

Victory! (and other updates)

2022.12.25

The Ascalon paperbacks are live again at last on Amazon! Thanks for the xmas gift KDP!

With this update now complete, I will now restore the corresponding pages here as well as the Planes of Ascalon companion pieces in the downloads section.

As for future works, 2022 having been the annus horribilis that it was, all my timelines have shifted more or less a year. Next year right now is looking to be pretty much entirely focused on sci-fi, as I really want to complete the first draft of TUW and send it for editing before the year is out, for a revised target publication date of 2024. I’m pushing The Commodore’s Gold a bit farther down the line as a result; however, French Ascalon fans rejoice, as the French translation of The Dragon Run will hit the shelves some time this year, probably in time for the summer holidays.

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loading…

2022.12.07

Done! Ebooks are resubmitted and paperback proofs are underway. If everything checks out, I could have all versions back on sale like before as soon as next week. Stay tuned!

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Update on book listings

2022.11.30

Okay, so updating names on Amazon kinda worked… but kinda didn’t. As it turns out, once published, the print version of a book cannot be unpublished (something something second-hand sales as per KDP support), so the versions with my birth name on them are going to stay there indefinitely it seems, unless I file a copyright claim against… myself. Which yeah, is ridiculous.

Anyway, long story short, I registered a brand new author profile on KDP, and I will resubmit my books for publication from this new profile in the coming days. This way, while the other versions might appear in search results, at least they won’t be listed side by side with the new when someone visits my author profile.

While all this is going on, sorry for any inconvenience caused. (Let’s face, given the popularity of my titles, I don’t think I’m losing any sale anyway! Ha ha *sad laugh*).

Fingers crossed that I’m not flagged for impersonating myself in a different profile, given what I’ve seen of how everything works that’s a risk I guess… At some point, after I publish Ascalon #3 and my profile is more established, I might file that copyright claim and nuke the original profile.

To be continued.

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this is 43

2022.11.25

Last year, I stood at a threshold, unsure of what would happen after I walked through. I set to make my 42nd round around the sun the year where I would “build my own answer” to Life, the Universe, and Everything that is, in a wink to Douglas Adams.

It’s been a year of transition not just in terms of my journey with gender, it’s been a transition at virtually every level in my life. A move. A breakup. A new job. A new car. A new kitty. A new relationship with my family, a new loneliness of a kind I never knew before, the closure of a secret garden, in the words of my dear Saint-Ex, and a new, secret regret that time passes relentless, and its wake sometimes hurts to the core.

It was a year of Grief, learning to live without dad. A year of Joy, learning to live as myself. A year of Light, as I stepped out of the closet…

And this year, technically, has now ended.

It’s a bit early for 2023 goals, but I’m looking ahead at that 43rd revolution as a year that will hopefully bring quietness to the turmoil. More stability and confidence, as I progress in my transition, as I settle in my new job, as I rebuild, as Najwa Zebian so beautifully says, a new home for my soul.

Here’s to a year of quiet, content growth, of warmth, and joy.

Love

Chel.

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Quick note about the past

2022.11.04

So I’m working on getting the listings updated and the pictures on the website will reflect that, but at the same time, I will not be deleting or editing past promo pictures here or on IG. They’re also me, if not the whole me, and they’re part of my writing journey. Sone of them also contain some of my earliest reviews, and that’s very dear to me. Long story short, I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t been there first. I just expect y’all to be understanding and respectful, and not use the name on these pictures going forward. Just so we’re clear.

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KDP update

2022.11.03

As you may have noticed, my books went offline yesterday as I’m the process of republishing them under my real name. This means that the ISBN, listing and URL will be new. This also means, unfortunately, that I am losing the ratings and reviews that I had so far.

The new books have been sent and the links will be updated as soon as the review process clears. For now both TDR and TKC will be only available as ebooks. I need to locate the source files for the paperback covers and this is going to take some additional time. The companion PDFs will be updated accordingly as soon as the books are live at the latest.

The French translation of TDR was scheduled for publication in time for the end-of-year holidays but I am no longer sure I can make the schedule, sorry. There’s been a lot more change behind the scenes than the transition and I barely had time to review it.

That’s all for today. Later folks!

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Mini-review: Severance (2022)

2022.05.09

These past few weeks haven’t been smooth sailing, but I’m kind of back. I’m extremely behind on my writing, NaNo April was a bust, I just didn’t have any heart for it. I’m planning to slowly get back into it, but I just haven’t yet. After my dad’s passing, I flip-flopped about focusing on my French hist-fic saga project… But I don’t know.

Everything is pretty much on hold on all fronts, except for one thing that I can’t quite get into yet. I’ll probably have an announcement about it later this year, if things go as planned. The release dates for the WIPs are likely going to be pushed back.

In the meantime, I spent the weekend on Severance (on Apple TV+), a dystopian show where a new implant technology allows us to hermetically separate our work life and our personal life. It’s as captivating and horrifying as it sounds, and absolutely riveting.

The show manages to capture the tedium of office environments and make it both gorgeous and ominous, making you wonder what hides behind every turn of the labyrinthine corridors of the “severed” floor, and behind the smiles of its cultish managers… The photography and art style are ultra polished and framed to perfection (the Bell Works building and its atomic age vibes make for a perfect location for a show full of retro-futuristic mid-century-ish elements) and the cast brings everything together incredibly well. The finale also resolves enough of the mysteries to be satisfied, but leaves enough pending that you just can’t wait for Season 2 to drop.

One of the best written shows of the year. Greatly recommended.

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end of an era

2021.12.20

This weekend, I shut down my historic domain freylia.net.

I first opened this website in August 2003, during an internship at the European Court of Auditors in Luxembourg. I was making progress with HTML/CSS and I had grown tired of the limited confines of Geocities-hosted pages… The site started as a System Shock and Deus Ex fan site; it also exposed many elements of what is now The Uncertain War, the main draft of which (currently undergoing heavy rewrites) I wrote during the 2006 or 2007 edition of NaNoWriMo.

I also hosted several sub-sites for a while, ranging from walkthroughs to fan projects, some of which I participated in. From gaming, it evolved into a file repository, then a portfolio of services, from Translations, to Photography, to Desktop Publishing.

It went through many lives, but even when it was occasionally on hold, there was always a plan to bring it back. This is the first time since 2003 that I take it down indefinitely. My focus, as far as websites are concerned, is now firmly on presenting and promoting my books. This is not the only change I have in mind, as this is part of the process I alluded to in my last post; But this is the first, and its symbolic significance to me is pretty deep.

The simplest thing is, freylia.net was created when I was a different person, and as such it belonged in the past. It is time to close this door now, and look towards the future.

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portents

2021.10.29

I’m standing at a threshold, and as I prepare to take the next step, the idea of the changes to come scares me to my core. But the idea of leaving things be, and living in the past… It scares me more. This is the right decision, and the only way out is forward.

I don’t know when I’ll be making the relevant changes here on this site, as I will be fairly busy dealing with real life. I have cancelled my plans to do NaNoWriMo and work on TUW for the time being, as this coming month of November mark the beginning of a grander, and more deeply personal journey.

This November, I am turning 42. The Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, according to Douglas Adams… This November, I begin something I never attempted before: to build my own answer.

I’ll be back, with the knowledge that I’m facing forward, and the courage to face these new challenges head-on. This site will change, but for the better. Because behind it, will be a better me than ever existed before.

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life is change

2021.09.04

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