Writing Progress Report – Third Quarter 2025

Progress Report – Third Quarter 2025

How was the third quarter 2025 for writing? So, I spent third quarter 2025 working on my website, including the whole newsletter… thing. I did a ton of writing while juggling, well, the rest of my life. So, there was that…

There was also a ton of time taken up by helping with my elderly father. My brother and I moved him into a much smaller place, so there was a lot of very fast downsizing. This included finding some of the first fiction I ever wrote.

Will it ever see the light of day (er, this blog)? I don’t honestly know.

Third Quarter 2025 Posted Works

First of all, I worked on a number of new short stories. A lot of these had been drafted on paper and so I spent some time editing them and getting them into electronic form. In addition, I finished some and combined others.

I also worked on editing older stories and finishing some, to tie up loose ends.

Then on Wattpad I posted nowhere, although I did take note of stats.

Milestones

Also, I have written over 3.91 million words (fan fiction and wholly original fiction combined, with about 2.13 million words in original writing!). So right now, my stats on Wattpad for wholly original works are as follows:

† Dinosaurs – 43 reads, 11 comments
• How to NaNoWriMo – ended up with 26,183 reads, 340 comments (this one was pulled from Wattpad due to their severing their association with NaNoWriMo)
† My Favorite Things (like kibble) – 1,004 reads, 133 comments
• Revved Up – 59,549+ reads, 531 comments
† Side By Side – 22 reads, 2 comments
• Social Media Guide for Wattpad – 17,091+ reads, 592 comments
† The Canadian Caper – 531 reads, 37 comments
• The Dish – 257 reads, 24 comments
† There is a Road – 192 reads, 28 comments

Published Works as of Third Quarter 2025

Also, I am amassing quite the collection of published works! So, here’s everything that has found a home so far.

Untrustworthy, which is my first published novel. So yay!

A True Believer in Skepticism, published in Mythic Magazine.

Almost Shipwrecked, a story in the January 2019 edition of Empyreome, a site which unfortunately is no more. In addition, this story is now a section within a longer story completed in 2025—

Canaries, a short story in the March 29, 2019, edition of Theme of Absence.

Complications, a story in the Queer Sci Fi Discovery anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds went to supporting the QSF website.

Cynthia and Wilder Bloom, stories in the Longest Night Watch II anthology.

Props, a story in the Longest Night Watch I anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to Alzheimer’s research.

Surprises, a story in Book One of the 42 and Beyond Anthology set.

More Published Works

The Boy in the Band, a story in the Pride Park anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to the Trevor Project.

The Interview, the featured story in the December 14, 2018 edition of Theme of Absence. So they even interviewed me!

The Last Patient, a story in the Stardust, Always anthology. This was an anthology where the proceeds go to cancer research.

The Resurrection of Ditte, a story in the Unrealpolitik anthology.

This is My Child, a short story published in the April 8, 2019 edition of Asymmetry Fiction, another site which is no more.

Three Minutes Back in Time, a short story published in Mythic Magazine.

Killing Us Softly, a short story published in Corner Bar Magazine.

Darkness into Light, a short story published in Corner Bar Magazine.

Looks like Lizzie Borden is Vital to the Timeline is getting the nod, but I don’t have particulars yet. Stay tuned!

WIP Corner

In addition, my current WIPs are as follows:

The Obolonk Murders Trilogy – so this one is all about a tripartite society. But who’s killing the aliens?

The Enigman Cave – can we find life on another planet and not screw it up? You know, like we do everything else?

The Real Hub of the Universe Trilogy – so the aliens who live among us in the 1870s and 1880s are at war. But why is that?

Mettle – so it’s all about how society goes to hell in a hand basket when the metals of the periodic table start to disappear. But then what?

Time Addicts – No One is Safe – so this one is all about what happens in the future when time travel becomes possible via narcotic.

Time Addicts – Nothing is Permanent – this is the second in this trilogy. What happens when time is tampered with and manipulated in all sorts of ways? It’s the ultimate in gaslighting, for one thing.

Time Addicts – Everything is Up For Grabs – as the timelines smack together and continue to diverge, it gets harder to tell the “real” timeline from all the newer fake ones. And what if some of the changes are for the better?

The Duck in the Seat Cushion – in the 1960s, MJ Tanner is the only Jewish student in her school in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Navigating antisemitism is one thing. But when her mother abandon’s the family, MJ’s life gets even more complicated.

Prep Work

So, currently, my intention, for 2026 or 2027’s November writing, is to write the third trilogy in the Time Addicts/Obolonks universe. But I need to iron out the plot! So, I’ll undoubtedly spend some of this year on that. I have no name for this one yet.

For 2022 – 2026 NaNoWriMo/30Day50k events, I have decided to create a prequel for each of the 5 main universes.

These are: Real Hub of the Universe, Obolonks, Time Addicts (while the Obolonks and Time Addicts are in the same universe, I just plain want to write two separate prequels!), Untrustworthy, The Enigman Cave, and Mettle.

In 2022, I wrote the prequels for Time Addicts and The Real Hub of the Universe. For 2023, it was the Untrustworthy prequel and Obolonk prequels. And for 2024, it was the Enigman Cave prequel. The Mettle prequel is set for 2025.

But I just might end up bumping it in favor of a new idea that’s kicking around and it won’t let go….

So, I anticipate a lot of fun and perhaps a little confusion. But it’s all good!

Third Quarter 2025 Queries and Submissions

The older ones have moved. You can find them on my Publishing Stats page.

It’s been quiet. But that has been by design. Right now, I just plain don’t feel like putting myself out there these days. So, this is going to remain a small section for the time being.

In Progress

As of third quarter 2025, nothing is in the running for publishing.

I have updated the Submissions Grinder and know that, at some point, I will have to get back up on that horse.

But not yet…..

Third Quarter 2025 – Most Popular Posts and Pages

And, if it interests you, here are the three most popular posts and/or pages from this site!

I look at the following metrics, and here are the top 3 with them:

† Clicks – #1 – Dialog Tags; #2 – Getting Inspiration from TV Shows; #3 – Getting Story Ideas

• Impressions – #1 – Dialogue Tags (again!); #2 – Why use a Screen Name?; #3 – Avinash Kaushik’s Web Analytics 2.0, a Book Review

† Clickthru Rate (CTR) – #1 – Self-Review: Time Addicts: No One is Safe; #2 – Character Review — They Say This is the One – TSTITO; #3 – Character Review — Craig Firenze

• Position – #1 (average position of 1.0 for their respective keyword phrases) – Character Review — Dalton Farouk; TSTITO (again!); My Querying and Publishing Stats; and Self-Review – Scavenger Hunt at Lanterman’s Mill;

#2 – (listed at position 2.0) – Self-Review – That’s Alien Entertainment!; Getting Inspiration from Names; Quinnipiac Assignment 02 – ICM 527 – Strategic Planning, Formative Research, and Issues Management; and Quinnipiac Assignment 03 – ICM 527 – SWOT and PEST Analyses;

#3 – (average position of 3.0) Character Review — Tathrelle and The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott, A Book Review.

I suspect there is not a lot of competition for some of these keyword phrases, but that’s all right.

Recent Blog Additions with Traction

In addition, self-reviews of the following newer stories or character reviews all showed up with stats this quarter:

† The Escape Violinist
• The Shimmering Wasteland
† Cave Canem and Cave
• Beacon: A Light Shines in Gloucester
† Uninformed
• African Escape
† Leave Your Tone at the Message
• Escape from Alien Mines
† Brown Eyes Are the Law
• I Trade This for my Life
† The Field Gleaner
• Frozen Fortress
† Stellar Stowaway
• Dinosaurs, a short story
† Bet on Marnie
• Side by Side
† MJ Tanner
• The Bleeper
† Corwin Zachary
• Mythic, a short story
† Kitty Kowalski
• Jealousy, a short story
† Astrid Hennigsen
• Sally Bowles AKA They Say This One Tiles Bathrooms Adequately

Third Quarter 2025 Metrics With a Few Surprises

While my clicks and impressions went down every month, my average clickthru rate and average kwp positions improved every month. What this is telling me is that the people who are getting to my blog seem to be liking what they’re seeing.

As a result, they seem to be clicking more often. However, at the same time, I may simply be winning some rather obscure keyword phrases. And while that may sound like bad news, I think it’s actually pretty good news.

After all, I write about some pretty obscure stuff. Would I like my metrics to be better? Well, sure, as that would probably lead to more sales. But I can afford to play the long game. You kind of have to, in my position.

Third Quarter 2025 – Productivity Killers

So, it’s looking for work, what else? And it’s looking like third quarter 2025 will not be the end of that. And, right now, making time to see my dad while I still can. I have been south to see him twice in September alone, and am returning in October.

Also, I will most likely be returning again before the end of the year. If I go back in December, then my husband will join me. These visits are not easy, and I write very little during them. Frankly, I’m shocked that I’m able to write at all.

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