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A little bit of catching up…

Published by J. Robert Matthewson on April 20, 2025

Nenene from the anime R.O.D-The TV. A young woman in her 20s sitting as a keyboard, staring blankly at her monitor.

Okay, so this update is gonna be a little all over the place, so please forgive the random jumps in tangents.

First off, what have I been up to since the release of Tales of a Stranger Sister? Well, besides constant promotion of the before-mentioned debut novel, and occasional posts here, I’ve been working on the next book. I’m about three chapters in, so that’s still a ways off. I prefer not to start talking about details of the story itself until I have an alpha draft complete, but the goal (absolutely not a deadline) is to have that step done by the end of the year. This one will likewise be a light fantasy, but also very different from Stranger Sister.

Writing on this new one has been slower than my debut novel for a couple reasons. First and foremost, I’ve spent the last two years in “Rewrite, Revise, and Edit” mode for my debut, so it’s been a while since I had to pen a true first draft. Second, circumstances occurred that forced me to change careers recently after nearly twenty years at my previous employer. Part of that entails adapting to not only a new work environment and new responsibilities, but also a new routine outside of work. Thirdly, my amazingly awesome spouse (and fellow author) has been dealing with some health issues, which has obviously impacted both of us as writers, if not to say as partners and human beings. Lastly, the world is on fire. I mean, it’s been on fire for a while now, but lately it seems like some people are breaking out the gas cans and marshmallow skewers. It’s… distracting.

I’m still getting in some writing every day (even if it’s something like these blog posts) but until I fully find that balance between work, life, and art like I had before everything went a little crazy, my output will be a little less than what I prefer. Still any output is better than no output, right? Right.

We’re two-thirds of the way through #IndieApril and my promotions have run their course. first, the positive: My 0.99¢ US promotion generated 5 sales, so that means I have now surpassed last month’s sales. *Tosses single handful of confetti in air* The negative: The 0.99£ UK promotion netted a big fat goose egg. I also haven’t sold any copies outside the promotions this month. *Sweeps up confetti and tosses it in the bin* Last-minute positive: Tales of a Stranger Sister received its first five-star rating and review on Goodreads. *Pick up bin and dumps slightly dusty confetti on self* Thank you, kind reviewer. I try not to attach the value of my work nor my own self-worth to outside validation, but still, it is nice to hear that someone liked what you put out in the world.

Oh yeah! If I can turn the conversation back around to my crazy-talented spouse: their own amazing books are currently either part of an awesome bundle promotion or will soon be on sale as part of another promotion. If you seriously want touching, heartfelt, and incredibly fun reads, this is a perfect opportunity to try their stuff.

Now, seeing as I had to install the air conditioner in our bedroom today to prevent it from becoming an unbearable sweat box, I will declare that spring is officially here. I hope yours is a season of renewal and new growth. Be kind to each other and to yourselves.

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Okay, but was it actually a “good read?”

Published by J. Robert Matthewson on April 13, 2025

Just a small update for today for a lazy, but not actually lazy Sunday. Added another social media icon to the menu. The book has finally appeared on Goodreads. There are no reviews as of yet (not surprising), but hey, if you were one of the few who both bought and read my debut, perhaps you’d be willing to leave a review there (or on the Amazon page for that matter).

And when I say review, I don’t assume to mean a positive one. If you liked it, great. If you hated it, that’s fine too. If you thought was good in places, bad in others, and “Meh” in chunks, then that’s fair. It’s not for me, really. Reviews are for other readers, so whether you loved it or loathed it, if you want others to find it or avoid it, those reviews matter.

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Non-book related content: Let’s talk anime (Part 1 of ?)

Published by J. Robert Matthewson on April 11, 2025

Okay, so I’ve not been shy about calling my debut book a “Ghibli-inspired fantasy” and indeed I have a deep love and respect for what Miyazaki as a creator and what Studio Ghibli has done for both animation in Japan and worldwide. It’s not a stretch to say that you don’t watch a Ghibli film but rather you experience it.

My first experience with Ghibli was in 1997 when Princess Mononoke was released. I was a freshman in college and my circle of geeky friends made the two-hour drive to the one small, independent theater (which ironically was in the neighborhood where I would find myself living with my then fiancé ten years later) to see the much-hyped cinematic experience. It did not disappoint.

And in years that followed, I tried to hunt down and watch every Ghibli film that was available, mostly through the Disney/Miramax releases, but a few were some truly awful lost dubs. Yes, the first time I saw Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was New Line Cinema’s Warriors of the Wind dub, which I would not recommend.

But my love of anime didn’t begin with Ghibli and it dates back much further. As a young child in the 1980’s, I was a die-hard fan of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, though 5-year-old me had no idea that the show originated from Japan or that it was actually called Beast King GoLion. As far as he knew, all cartoons were made in the same cartoon factory and they drew Scooby Doo & Inspector Gadget right alongside my favorite cat-themed giant robot.

My first true exposure to anime as a medium from another country and culture was in 1994 and my best friend brought over a VHS tape he’d recorded from what was then The Sci-Fi Channel during their special week-long “Animation Festival” hosted by Ralph Bakshi (of Cool World, Fritz the Cat, and Lord of the Rings fame). What the tape contained was four hours of Japanese anime that would start me on a 30+ year journey into a fandom that that has enriched my life in many unexpected and unusual ways. The specific anime that was that tape? Masamune Shirow’s Dominion: Tank Police.

Even 30+ years later, that dubbed opening still kicks seventeen kinds of ass and It’s one of the few titles in my collection where I prefer the English soundtrack over the original Japanese. Sadly, the series itself is badly dated in the sense that at the time it was created, over-militarized police who blatantly ignore both suspect’s and civilians’ procedural (and human) rights was supposed to be a dark satire. Now, it’s kinda… ugggggghhhhh.

But still, it was what kickstarted what would become a lifelong fandom for me, and I would spend the next three decades evolving from a teenaged Weeb (though that term did not actually exist at the time I was one) to a full-fledged Old-Taku. And if I hadn’t watched it, I wouldn’t have wanted to watch Princess Mononoke, and if hadn’t watched that and fell in love with Studio Ghibli, then I wouldn’t have written the debut novel that I did. So, to recap: animated movies about hyper-violent cops in tanks –> sweet, coming of age story about friendship, feelings, and food porn.

Hey, I never said it was a particularly straight path.

I’m going to end this little trip down memory lane here. I plan to pick this up again later to talk about some particular favorite anime series and films I’ve loved (and may have inspired my writing), as well as how this fandom has impacted my life. Hope you’ll come back for that next leg of the journey.

Webpage note: I have disabled comments on this and future posts. I was getting too many crypto spams, and when got one for a pro-suicide website, I was thinking that maybe there are better ways for people to tell me that they have thoughts about what I’m writing here. So, if you like my content, hit me up on BlueSky @infinitesquirrels.bsky.social.

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Happy Promo Day to All Who Celebrate!

Published by J. Robert Matthewson on April 4, 2025

The day is finally here! If you’ve been holding off on venturing into the world of Litia and meeting Riv and Sam, then now is your chance to do it at a great discount! The E-book version of Tales of a Stranger Sister is on sale for .99¢ USD from now until the end of April 10^th!

And to celebrate both the promotion and my first month as a self-published author, I’ve also published my first batch of BONUS MATERIAL for Tales! So, if you’ve bought (and hopefully read) my novel, and found yourself wondering just what the origins of that card game they all enjoy are, then check out the history and rules of Poor Man’s Fortune.

A Happy #IndieApril to one and all!

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Good news, everyone!

Published by J. Robert Matthewson on April 1, 2025

Welcome to April, folks! That means one thing! #IndieApril is here! Time to support Indie and Self-published Authors by loading up your various devices with the interesting and unique books. Warmer weather is almost here, so maybe grab a book or dozen to enjoy under a tree by a babbling stream, on the beach, or in a gently swaying hammock.

Like, for example, the awesomely amazing books by my amazingly awesome editor and spouse, S.E. Robertson/ C.A. Moss. They have created two wonderful and unique worlds that you will lose yourself in and love the experience. If you like character-focused stories about the people most fantasy novels tend to relegate to the background, then The Healers series is must-read. If you long for new take on the isekai formula with a diverse cast, fairy tale aesthetic, and not a single mention of levels or harems, then the How I Became a Therapist in Another World series is an absolute treat to read.

And that’s just one of the many Indie Authors out in universe putting out amazing work for readers like you to enjoy. Hey, wait a sec… I’M also an Indie Self-published author with a hopefully unique and interesting book, and it, coincidentally, just happens to be going on sale beginning this weekend!

That’s right! From April 4^th to April 10^th, the digital version of Tales of a Stranger Sister is only 99¢! That’s a 66% savings! If you’ve been on the fence about trying a debut novel from a new author, maybe now’s the time to give it a shot? Emotions and Feelings! Non-power-fantasy Isekai! Ghibli-vibes! Food Porn! All for the same price as an AriZona Iced Tea!

Okay, enough about the sale, let’s talk about… um, sales…

April 1st also marks one-month since I officially published my debut novel. So, how did I do as a newly self-published author with no promotional experience and a book in a unique genre niche? Well, let me pull out the ol’ TI-82 and crunch some numbers…

Four.

Four copies sold.

Futurama meme featuring Fru and The Professor. Fry seems disappointed that he only sold 4 books, but he's actually thrilled to have sold 4 books.

Look, from the moment I hit the “Publish” button, I was unsure if I would ever sell A copy of this book, and now, for reasons that still elude me, I’m averaging a book a week sold. In a world that loves to shit all over tiny achievements, I will treat this as the win it is. Feel free to laugh at the tiny writer and his pocket change, but I’m still gonna go buy me a sundae this weekend from the most awesome ice cream shop under an overpass and enjoy the F outta of the fruits of my labor.

Now, back to working on the next one. Maybe by this time next year, I’ll be able to get sprinkles on my sundae, too.

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Covers and GenA.I.

Published by J. Robert Matthewson on March 29, 2025

Okay, so two updates, one large and one small:

First, I have added a new article to the Trivia and Miscelania page for Tales of a Stranger Sister. This article, ahem, covers the creation of the gorgeous cover art and title design. Its chock full of original sketches that any cover art aficionado will appreciate.

Second, I have updated my About the Author page to include an official statement about the usage of Generative A.I. in regard to this website and my books. (Spoiler: I don’t, I won’t, and I don’t ever plan on starting.)

Big news next week! Have a great weekend everyone!

a rough sketch of the character Sam from Tales of a Stranger Sister. A woman in professional office attire lounging with a cup of takeout coffee and a tablet computer

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Happy Ears, Happy Years

Published by J. Robert Matthewson on March 26, 2025

Hey, hey! It’s time for some new page content! I have finally opened up the Trivia and Miscelania page for Tales of a Stranger Sister, and the first article for that page is all about the wonderful and beautiful music that helped inspire me as I spent many evenings scurrying across my keyboard. Typing! I meant typing! Humans don’t scurry and I’m certainly a human writer.

Yes, certainly.

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A Measure of Success

Published by J. Robert Matthewson on March 24, 2025

Writing and self-publishing is an interesting animal at times because people will mostly judge if you’re a success or not at it based on 1.) sales and 2.) reviews. That does make sense, I suppose. A lot of people bought a thing you made, and they liked it! Money AND acclaim! You’ve made it! You win!

But the problem I have with that mindset is that is dependent on other people’s actions. Other people have to do something in order for me to feel like a success or not. I can’t MAKE people buy a book. I can’t MAKE them read it. I certainly can’t MAKE them like it enough to say something nice about it. Don’t get me wrong, sales and positive reviews are certainly nice, but for most intents and purposes, it is out of my hands if either happen.

I’d rather base whether or not I am a success or not by measuring it against the goals I’ve set before myself, and I’m a strong believer that a goal is something actionable through one’s OWN actions. That’s why I refuse to set goals like “sell 1,000 copies of this book” or “get 100 5-star reviews.” Those aspirations are dependent on others, and it basically makes me a bystander in my own journey. That, frankly, sucks.

So, when I first set out to write and sell my own book, I set four goals:

Write a story to the best of my ability at the time
Revise and edit a story to the best of my ability at the time
Publish and Market a story to the best of my ability at the time
Do it again, taking what I learned last time and doing to the best of my improved ability at the time.

By the terms I set before myself, at this moment, I’ve achieved 75% of those goals and I’m currently working on achieving the other 25%.

I’m a #$@%ing astounding success, and to hell with anyone who tells me I’m not. You’re not my self-affirmation supervisor.

Calvin and Hobbes comic strip by Bill Watterson. Calvin is explaining why the 75% score he received on a test should be an "A" and not a "C" because if anything else achieved 75% success-rate, it would be praised and not referred to as "Average"

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Master of the Soft Sell…

Published by J. Robert Matthewson on March 22, 2025

Well, I finally sold my first paperback copy of Tales of a Stranger Sister. It appears that my cunning and subtle sales strategy of standing in the middle of a busy intersection and screaming “Buy my book!” is finally working.

To the three people on Earth that appreciated that reference, I thank you.

But in all seriousness, thank you, physical book-buying stranger. The fact that you not only took a chance on my debut effort, but wanted a copy that will physically sit on your shelf somewhat blows my mind. It was a pleasant emotional boost on what has been a very trying week for me personally.

I promise you, I don’t plan to use this blog just to report every single sale I’ve made. Like I said above, it’s been an emotionally trying week in my personal life and simple things like that take up less mental energy than most other things right now.

That said, I do plan to use this site for some additional content beyond just promoting Tales of a Stranger Sister while I work on my next book. I have some additional material about my first novel in the pipeline both in the forms of bonus materials and in behind-the-scenes minutiae. I also want to talk more about the writing process, both what I’ve learned during creating Tales and what I’m applying from that experience toward my next novel. To summarize, I plan to detail the interesting mistakes I made, what I learned from them, and the amazing new mistakes I’m making now.

I also want to talk more about the things I love beyond writing. Other books I’ve read and loved (or loathed), media I’m enjoying be it TV, Film, Comic, or Game, and I might even share some snippets of what two writers sharing both a home and life together is like.

But that will have to wait until next time. I need to head back out into the intersection now.

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