An update on how I'm doing <3

Hey everyone! I wanted to update you on my progress on Giving Notice, and to share a preview of the chapter I'm working on. But first, I want to update you on what's been going on in my life lately, so you don't think I've fallen off the planet!

First of all, my day job has been completely insane. I work for a digital marketing agency as a content writer, and our other writer quit without notice so I inherited most of his clients in addition to my own clients that I was already taking care of, so my work load per week has almost doubled. They've got a couple of part time writers waiting in the wings who will hopefully be taking some of the load off my shoulders, but that has only happened in a very limited way so far and I'm being buried.

Second, my mom has been experiencing a huge health crisis. Last year she was diagnosed with a condition called POTS, short for postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Basically, her blood pressure is all kinds of messed up and it's killing her. Well, two weeks ago, she had to go to the emergency room because her BP was 192/130, which is well within the danger zone for a stroke. She was kept for the better part of a week, and she's home safe now. However, the condition doesn't have a cure or any reliable treatments, and unfortunately it will very likely be what takes my mom.

So, things have been completely stressful and utterly insane, and that's why I haven't been able to write much this month. HOWEVER, I did get some writing done today and I'm going to share that preview in a separate post in just a few minutes.

With everything going on, it is important to me to feel like I'm giving you value for supporting my writing through Patreon. That's why I skipped billing for the month of May for existing patrons, because I wasn't sure if I would get a chance to write at all this month and I didn't want you paying for something I couldn't deliver on. However, as I promised on Discord, the writing I WAS able to do I'm going to share with you regardless. Just think of it as a thank you.

I AM okay. I'm stressed and tired and feel like all I ever do anymore is work, but I have amazing friends and an awesome family supporting me and keeping me lifted up in spite of everything happening. And I refuse to allow my writing to be the thing I sacrifice, because writing is what makes me happy and sharing it with you guys makes me even more happy.

I had been kicking over the idea of discontinuing my Patreon entirely, but I really don't want to do that. Having people to talk to who really do enjoy my writing gives me such a feeling of validation and support. So instead, I may be revisiting the pricing for my tiers and adjusting them down. Because, while the extra money is a HUGE help, I don't want to charge you guys for something if I'm not giving you the value you deserve. So please feel free to weigh in and let me know your thoughts! Do you feel like you're getting what you're paying for? Should I adjust my tiers? Please, truly, do let me know what you think.

And sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. When I started writing the first chapter of what would eventually become my novel "The New Job", I never imagined that anyone would enjoy my writing or want more of it. You guys have given me a level of confidence I have never felt before, and that means the freaking world to me.

Now, all that blah blah blah out of the way, my next post will be a preview of chapter six of "Giving Notice". Though, before you read it, please read the content warnings I'm going to be adding to the top of the post! And please, as always, feel free to give me your feedback. <3