The people of Woolslayer — and Chad himself — are hoping he’s only a visitor to this neighborhood that borders the sheep farm and is vital to the series in many ways. Grab your copy of Legacy at all the usual retailers.

Well, speaking of visitors, I’ve got a very affectionate cat standing over my hands in a lovey mood. Ignore any Lucy Cat-inspired typos, please.

The other visitors are, of course, my kids. One’s already on a train. The other will be flying in later tonight.

Yesterday, I hit tech issues and was waiting for them to be resolved, so I skipped the Book of the Day. Which is another way of saying nope, you didn’t miss anything if you were looking!

editing

This is pretty much all that went right yesterday. I got a lot of editing in and exceeded my page count. With the kids showing up tonight, I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I’m hoping to wrap this one up and get it back to its author. Three more wait for me!

writing

I had my monthly interfaith class last night, which somehow had me thinking all about the current WIP and my goals for it, and how weird is THAT? So my notes in the margins of the handouts are all about fictional people and how the story aligns with the ideals we were discussing in class.

This is a way of saying I got zero words down, but that’s okay. Thinking counts as work, too.

Also, the rabbi showed up with candy bars for the pastor’s daughters and none for me and I had to take refuge in my Private Reserve ink, which is currently Chocolat and an absolutely gorgeous color. The rabbi’s seen me leave classes to raid his chocolate before. He knows how seriously I take my chocolate (and our cantor knows that yes, I do share). But I could not pry any out of him last night. Rude. Just… rude, Rabbi. Rude.

(Incidentally, the pastor’s daughters told me they know which desk drawer he keeps the stash in and hello? Visitors get that info but I do not? Again. Rude.)

Book of the Day

Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E Butler, by Susana M. Morris
That’s your affiliate link, and thank you for using it!

All the support adds up and helps out. Booking my editing services, buying my books, talking about them in person or online (this includes leaving a review or requesting them if your library’s Hoopla or Libby subscriptions don’t include them), and of course straight donations via my ko-fi all add up and help keep the lights on around here. And thanks for that. I like light, particularly at night.

The post Visitors Ahoy! — Thursday, September 4, 2025 appeared first on West of Mars.

Broken but Undaunted, by Susan Helene Gottfried

Not much happening here. My kids arrive tomorrow; plans for their visit are slowly trickling in, including a trip to a favored Indian restaurant that now has a complicated association… it’s the place we ordered takeout from the night before my mom died. I will never forget watching her push food around her plate, trying to make us think she was eating. I thought she didn’t like it. She probably didn’t, but the truth was that my mother was anorexic. Did that contribute to the “natural causes” of her death? Most assuredly.

People are treasures too. And our bodies really ARE good enough.

editing

I finished up the first read-through and started on the second pass. I need to type in my notes, but right now, it’s looking to be all systems go on the second read-through.

I have a new client whose budget doesn’t allow for my full rate, so we negotiated a deal — for this manuscript of hers and all future ones. Why? Because this is how I roll.

However, this doesn’t mean my higher rates subsidize the amazing clients who can’t pay them. Instead, the difference comes out of the inheritance I got from my mother. Hopefully, this is a sign I’m improving with age, as when I was younger, I’d have waved that idea off, hoarded the cash, and not worked with some damn good clients.

writing

I got outside for a bit last night! It’s getting dark so much earlier that I’m closing the pergola’s louvers and writing under the lights. Last night, I turned them orange — the lights, that is. Truly, they are more of a toy than an actual lightsource, but whatever. They make it fun.

I got my words in, and then some. I forgot to count last night, and in a rarity for me, I started writing chapters out of order. That was… different. But it also means I have a full vision of where I want this book to go, even if the idea of getting it there frustrates me to no end. I will be improving this draft for EVER, I swear it, before it’s ready to be in your hands.

Book of the Day

Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian’s Journey Home, by Chris La Tray
As always, that’s an affiliate link. And as always, your support matters around here — because I’m an editor first, and editing is my greatest income source. But when you support me by buying my books as well, or by giving me a cash tip via my ko-fi, it helps me not only keep the lights on, but also to keep meeting good writers at their price points. Good editing isn’t cheap, and I’m a good editor. I deserve a living wage, as do we all.

Enough of that. Do something today so the world can pause and say, “Hey, thanks for the help improving. Healing. Finding a better way.”

The post Improving: Wednesday, September 3, 2025 appeared first on West of Mars.

Trevor’s the ultimate sick boy. Pick up a copy at your favorite retailer. Note that it’s only in e-book, but I still have three print copies left… first come, first served!

Friday, I’d mentioned I had the feeling like I’d been sleeping with the windows open too much, and hoped it would be nothing…

It wasn’t.

But it WAS/is pretty evil.

I hate being sick, and it’s even harder when you’re too sick to let the people who are physically around you know that you’re sick.

Editing

But I managed to feel well enough yesterday to sit at my desk and work for a few hours, so I did that. If you are new here or haven’t been paying attention, I use a sit-to-stand desk, and 90% of the time, I’m standing at it. That should tell you how lousy I feel.

But I’m almost done with this first read-through, and the second will go even faster, if that’s possible. This has been a super clean project, as promised. Perfect for when you’re editing while sick. (It also helps that my brain’s pretty clear and focused, or I’d be sending out mea culpa emails to my clients!)

I have three lined up behind it.

writing

And despite it all, I got words in!

The bummer is that my first box set was released yesterday to absolutely zero fanfare. So check it out, if big files with multiple books are your thing (they are NOT mine, but I know a lot of people prefer them), download your own copy and have some massive reading fun.

It’s going to be a pretty quiet month. I’m not in-person selling again until next week, and have only one other event (At All Saint’s Brewing in Greensburg on the 21st) before the biggie: Books Books Books in Lancaster, PA. Hope you’ll join me at the Wyndham Resort Convention Barn, or whatever its name is. The Barn is a fantastic setting for a book event, so come on out. Tickets are $5 each and the money goes to charity.

And if not there, then the following weekend, October 4, I’ll be at the Claridge hotel in Atlantic City, NJ for RAGE. Again, come on out. Admission is free and I’d love to put books in a lot of hands and make a lot of fans.

Book of the Day

Rival, by Katey Hawthorne
Yep, that’s an affiliate link and yep, Katey’s also an in-person friend and yep, her book fits the Book of the Day criteria and yep, I’m always glad to showcase my friends and acquaintances and colleagues.

That’s it. I’m crawling back in bed for a bit, and should finish this read-through today. Onward, upward, and damn this virus to hell.

My wisdom for the day? Don’t get sick.

The post Another Sick Day — Tuesday, September 2, 2025 appeared first on West of Mars.

Maybe the Bird Will Rise, by Susan Helene Gottfried

I have that stuffed sinus, swollen glands fun times that often comes with sleeping with the windows open when the temperature drops. It’s such a glorious time of year that I can’t call it weather woes. More like body woes? I closed the windows overnight — it helped that it rained right before I ate dinner, so I never opened the house back up — and it helped, but not entirely.

And I am supposed to entertain my author group on Sunday night. It’s supposed to be my inaugural event on my new deck. I have private dibs on who’s going to grab the remote for the pergola lights and have fun, and who’s going to fight over it, and who’s just going to sit and watch. I’m also fully expecting my first programmed light display, and for it to be the colors of the rainbow, with orders to run it every June. All June.

This better be nothing…

editing

I mean, I am working on a fantastic edit — how often do I say that? Like, with every single edit I do, because I attract the best clients ever, thank goodness — and I don’t want to lose a day’s work because I feel crappy, which I don’t. This one’s time sensitive, too, as is the next one.

Also happening in my editing world is that I’m waiting on a FedEx delivery today from Levenger… I use their disc notebooks; I love them. I have six that are active notebooks and not just holding all the extra paper I wind up with because I have paper problems. So yeah, Notebook Number Seven is due to arrive today and I’m excited because the notebook I’m currently using is overflowing.

What does this have to do with editing?

Hang tight.

writing

Got my words in but gave in to being exhausted — I haven’t been sleeping well, which is unusual because usually when the nights get down into the fifties, I sleep so much better. So my plans to switch projects — I still need to get that short story for the Authors in the Steel City anthology (a companion to the Authors in the Steel City that’s now less than a year away) going, and I need to finish next year’s newsletter free short story. Tomorrow’s the weekend…

Today, tomorrow, and Sunday are your LAST chances for your purchase of the Sheep Farm books via Blythe Books to contribute to the store’s PBS fundraiser. Go!

Book of the Day

The Gems: Tomorrow Always Lies, by Doug Solter
Yep, that’s an affiliate link, just like always. And yes, if you’ve been hanging out here for any length of time, this is the same Doug Solter who I do a lot of in-person events with. It dawned on me that his Gems series fits the Book of the Day criteria nicely. (and unless he catches himself in a Google alert, he’s not going to know I did this until

Today, instead of the usual appeals for your support via editing, book buying, stuffing my ko-fi and all the usual stuff, send vibes that I’m not actually sick and this is just weather woes.

Have a wonderful weekend. I may take Monday off, since it’s Labor Day here in the States. We’ll see how Sunday night goes.

The post Weather Woes — Friday, August 29, 2025 appeared first on West of Mars.

The Complete Demo Tapes, available only at Susan’s direct store

My oldest has a birthday today and it’s a big one. His brain is now fully developed. Never mind that he’s been living on his own for years, that he’s just started the fourth year of his doctorate program. Nope. NOW he’s done cooking. Although… are we ever truly done? Don’t we change and grow through our lifetimes?

Anyway, I am not nearly old enough to have a kid this old.

editing

I finished yesterday’s edit and got it back to the client, and only spent a little extra time at my desk to do so. They say they are pleased with their first look at what I had to say, so YAY!

Seriously. You think I don’t worry that they’ll hate me, that they won’t agree, that they’ll go on social media and brand me a scammer? (I’ve seen it. Sigh.)

I’ve got the notes to type up and then it’s on to the next, with two more in the queue behind it. Apparently, I have hit a busy season.

Bring me more.

writing

Inspiration struck and I got in about 1500 words, although I’ve fallen behind my daily overall goal, when I took a week and read things over, start to finish. Sometimes, you’ve got to stop and remind yourself of what you wrote in shorter spurts.

Anyway, those of you who read me for the goofy, fun, silly things that usually involve animals, you will not be disappointed in this book, either. And there’s more to come!

For those of you who feel powerless and want to DO SOMETHING to fight back, reminder that there’s only a few more days left in August, and that’s the end of my support for the Blythe Books PBS fundraiser. You buy one of my books — online or in person — at Blythe and I’m donating $1 to the store’s PBS fundraiser. Small acts add up. I promise they do.

Book of the Day

Buck Me, by Andrew Grey
Yes, this is an affiliate link!
And a note… I met Andrew Grey two years ago at the Books Books Books show in Lancaster, PA. (We’re both going back to it this year. I believe Andrew’s an OG author, too.)
Andrew and his husband are lovely people, and I’m glad to know know them and to encourage you to read Andrew’s books.

So that’s it for the day!
Remember that your support of me means a lot, so keep it up. Share the Book of the Day, buy my books, book my editing services, talk about me/my books/all of this… Like I said, little actions add up.

And once again, happy birthday to my oldest!

The post Birthday Boy — Thursday, August 28, 2025 appeared first on West of Mars.

Demo Tapes 1, by Susan Helene Gottfried

Pick up a copy of Demo Tapes 1 at your favorite retailer. It’s 99c… unless you buy it at my direct store. It’s only 79c there, and cheaper in a bundle! (I recommend this bundle, in fact.)

Last night, Blythe Books hosted a pizza party to wrap up the summer reading program. Read books. Get pizza. Anyone else remember those days?

Wish I’d met more readers, but that’ll come. I had a lovely time with the folk I sat and chatted with. And Lizzie hung everyone’s reading tracker so we could see what everyone was reading. I didn’t see my books listed (why the hell not?), but did see some trackers whose owners need to come down to the sheep farm.

editing

Yesterday was massage day, so I didn’t get to my desk until late and it was hard to focus, so I wound up being four pages short of my daily goal. I’d like to finish this read-through today and write up the letter and get it back to its author because my next two edits are on tight deadlines.

writing

I left the house for the pizza party directly after my editing day, and got home and settled in with about fifteen minutes left of my writing night, but I got a couple hundred words in. I’ll call that a win.

Four days left of the PBS Fundraiser at Blythe Books! I’d really like to make another restock run… help me help PBS, will ya?

Book of the Day

The Build-a-Boyfriend Project, by Mason Deaver

There ya go! Be sure to order or pick up a copy of the Sheep Farm books so I can donate more of my income to PBS. Plus, you’ll own it, and rumor has it that book prices are going to spike into the stratosphere and none of us will be able to afford print copies anymore. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but…

Of course, if you want to support me to say thanks for not paywalling this content, here’s the list:
Book my editing services. Refer me to your book-writing friends.
Buy my books — for yourself or a friend. Talk about them online, via reviews or just in general discussion.
And buy me a virtual bottle of fountain pen ink via my ko-fi.

The post Book It! — Wednesday, August 27, 2025 appeared first on West of Mars.

Book cover for ShapeShifter: Demo Tapes (Year 3)

The weather’s cooling off around here, and while I appreciate it, I’m supposed to go out for dinner tonight, and I am debating wearing long pants!

Let’s get to it, because I am SUPER busy.

editing

And yet more manuscripts in my inbox!

It’s actually kind of amusing because I was talking to a good friend last night, who is a crack developmental editor, and they said things were cooling off for them. Around here, it’s getting hotter!

I’ll take it. It’s been an overall slow year, and I like it to be steadier, like it currently is.

writing

Because I’m an editor first, my writing may wind up cooling off a bit. Not the way I want it to be, and I did get my thousand words in, but sometimes, the little tasks that I generally enjoy are falling by the wayside. It’s hard to juggle both careers sometimes, but if I have to, I’ll pick editing first.

That doesn’t mean I don’t need your support as a writer — in fact, I need it more than ever! But I also need your support and understanding about my editing half.

We’re in the waning days of the PBS fundraiser at Blythe Books, so be sure to either pick up or order online your copies of the Sheep Farm books and make me donate $1 from every book sold to the ongoing fundraiser. It ends on August 31, though, so get busy!

Book of the Day

When the Tides Held the Moon, by Venessa Vida Kelley
Yep, that’s an affiliate link, so feel free to use it, or show your support for this effort by booking my editing skills, supporting my author self, or just throwing cash at me via my ko-fi.

The post Cooling Off — Tuesday, August 26, 2025 appeared first on West of Mars.

Yes, as August winds down and the school buses are back on the street, that means the PBS fundraiser at Blythe Books is winding down. And with it is that nice added bonus I threw in: $1 from every sale of the Sheep Farm books at Blythe Books is being added to the store’s donation.

What are you waiting for?

editing

Another manuscript showed up this weekend, and so I had to do some reshuffling to make everything fit with everyone’s deadlines.

Reminder that you don’t want to set release dates until AFTER editing. Not that this applies to my editing life right now; it actually doesn’t. But having to reshuffle the queue made me think about how if something goes sideways — and it’s happened to more than one client of mine! — it’s not always possible or easy to reschedule release dates, especially if you’ve already started taking preorders.

Anyway, I’m excited to have this stack; it’s all great stuff, by a great group of writers. Best of all, I don’t have a busy author schedule the next few weeks, so I get to savor being my editor self. Sometimes, she feels more authentic.

writing

That’s not to say Author Susan isn’t authentic! She is, too. But if I could only pick one half of this wordsmithing duology, it’d be the editing half. I can always write for myself, after all.

Speaking of which…

If you love ebook box sets, be sure to preorder your copy of the first Tales From the Sheep Farm box set! Yes, once it’s officially for sale next week, you’ll be able to get it via Hoopla, Libby, Kobo Plus, and a few others.

And yes, it’s the last week of the Blythe Books PBS fundraiser! We didn’t hit my initial goal of 50 books — and why the hell not??? — but this is a situation where every single dollar counts. And you get a book to read!

Book of the Day

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, by Moniquill Blackgoose
Yep, that’s an affiliate link. Use it and help me keep the lights on around here so that next time there’s a fundraiser, I can donate more. It’s all one big cycle…

The post Save a Sheep; Buy a Book — Monday, August 25, 2025 appeared first on West of Mars.

Tales from the Sheep Farm Volume 1, by Susan Helene Gottfried

Now that I’ve told my newsletter about it, I can tell you. Because newsletter subscribers deserve to get the news first. (They also get free stuff. Just sayin’.)

I’m dipping my toe into the box set segment of the book-buying population, with this first volume. Yes, there will be more, so stay tuned — and hit me up if you have requests. Do check my direct store, though, for bundles.

What’s the difference? Bundles give you each book in a separate file. A box set gives you one big file.

So… here she is! My first box set. Go grab her, and even better, grab her AND tell your friends to do the same.

editing

Nothing new here. Still chipping away, still have two in the queue, still expecting more. “Here she is!” I hear when some clients stuff my inbox. I love it.

Still a good time to open a discussion if you need my skills. I go all-out for my clients, and if you haven’t realized that by now…

writing

Not a ton of work done last night; lots to do and I was scattered. I did check over the tent because I was convinced I’d seen a small hole I need to patch before the Oil Region Festival of the Book tomorrow, but I never saw the hole, and neither did my neighbor, so… faulty eyesight? Anxiety playing tricks on me? Who knows. I’ll probably get there tomorrow and it’ll pop up and I’ll be all, “Yes. Here she is.”

And it’s still August, so $1 from every book I sell at Blythe Books is going to the store’s PBS fundraising drives. C’mon, friends! I want to make one more, if not two, restocking runs!

Book of the Day

Muscle Club, by Slade James

As per usual, that’s an affiliate link, so use it to your heart’s content as you expand your reading horizons.

Other ways to support me:
Book my editing services, or refer a friend my way.
Buy my books, for yourself or a friend. (I’m all about the friends today.)
Talk ’em up online, in person. Leave a review. It’s the easiest and it costs you nothing.
And, of course, just hand me cash. Stuff my ko-fi.

The post Here she is! — Friday, August 22, 2025 appeared first on West of Mars.

Vass is waiting, in Saving Sima. He’s waiting to be more than the family asshole. The women in his family will tell you he’s an idiot.

Read the book and see what I mean.

Yes, I’m waiting… I have book news for you and I’m waiting on Kobo to make the presale live before I can tell you about it. If you’re smart, you can do some digging and find what’s up, but official word will come first, as always, via my newsletter.

I’m really eager to tell you about this!

editing

This edit turned out to be a lot more intensive than I’d expected, so progress is slow.

I’ve also started working a little more seriously on the super secret thing I’m working on with Blythe Books. I know waiting sucks, but this will be worth it. Stay tuned, especially if you’re local. If you’re not local, there will be opportunities for you on this front, as well.

As always, if you need me, now’s the time to open a conversation.

writing

Not much to say on the writing front… I’m working away. I went back to the beginning and have been tweaking the story, making sure it’s not off in the weeds at all, and so far, it’s not, even if it’s not quite the story I wanted to tell. I’m eager to get back to new words on it and am waiting to get caught up so I can.

The PBS fundraiser at Blythe Books is continuing… there was an announcement of private money being invested into the system, going to the stations that need it the most (mainly rural, where it provides more of a community service, broadcasting events like football games and band concerts), but it’s not enough, and they acknowledge that. Every bit helps, even for a station as big and well-known as WQED. So stop in at Blythe Books here in Pittsburgh or order online, and for each of my books that the team there sells, I’m donating $1 to the store’s fundraising drive.

I’ll be up at the Oil Region Festival of the Book on Saturday… I’m excited (and a bit nervous about the setup; we have 45 minutes to unload the car and set up our tents and while Beck said yes, we’ll help each other, that still doesn’t make me confident about that narrow window. I’m used to working as a team!) to see a new area of the region — and Oil City is a place I’ve been to many times before. They have a fantastic rail trail up there.

Book of the Day

Drama!, by AJ Truman
As always, that’s an affiliate link, so have at it! Your purchases help keep the lights on over here.

And before I go, just a reminder that although I’ve chosen not to paywall this via Patreon or substack or other platforms, I could of course use your support. This is how it goes anymore; we have to take care of each other.
Book my editing services, or steer a friend my way.
Buy my books; they make great gifts!
Talk about my books, by leaving a review online somewhere or just talking about them to friends and people in real life.
Donate to my ko-fi, either with a straight donation, or pay what you will for my Beta Reader’s Guide and/or Writer’s Guide to Library Events.

The post Waiting… — Thursday, August 21, 2025 appeared first on West of Mars.