indie author – Katie Vincent: The Autistic Romance Author

When do you realise that you have to reset the chessboard of your life? I have never viewed being an author as something that would make my proverbial fortune. If I had a few people who liked my books, that would be great, since I intended to write alongside having a day job.

But, as Mercedes Lackey said, great plans only lead to great funerals. It is always a good idea to allow some flex. In changing jobs back in April this year, I did not expect that my new employers would have lied to the extent that they did over the need to run a busy town centre store on my own. Also, I didn’t expect that my boss would be that clueless in terms of a lack of days off in a working week. I worked ten days. She said it could have been nine, and then I could have two days off, but she missed the point: by then, it was too late. I am on the autism spectrum. I had a meltdown. That means my memory goes sideways at the very least. Then again, the same boss suggested that it was my responsibility to find someone to replace me when I phoned in sick.

I found another job, but similar issues occurred. This time I had ‘declared’ being a person on the autistic spectrum. However, the area manager felt that I should still be able to remember everything during one of the most disorganised training periods I have undergone. she also did not take into account the cognitive function issues of a diabetic hypo.

Where does that leave me? Unemployed, and able to spend time on my writing for the first time in over a year. Hence resetting the chess board.

Where does it leave my future subscribers and readers of my books. The good news is that FINALLY, I can finish some of the first draft stories, and I have a new short story in a soon-to-be-published anthology (link below). This story was born from wanting to have a story featuring the British Royal Marines, and orca-shifters, because I thought that of all the animals which could be shifters, no one had covered orcas to any great extent.

“Shift You Not” will be out in January 2023 as an e-book. Other plans include taking part in an author event in Cambridge on 7 October 2023 at the Holiday Inn Express in Histon, which is just of the A14 trunk road, with plenty of car parking. Again, tickets may be bought from now.

So that is all for now, dear Readers. It is decidedly cold in my house at the moment, as with the cost of living issue, coupled with being unemployed, I have been trying to avoid putting on the heating. I have admitted defeat and the heating in going on, while I need to find a wooly hat.

I hope that you have a pleasant end to 2022, and I shall do my best to be a bit more regular in my posts.

UK link for the Diaries of the Cwn Annwn: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08WL17FTX
US link for the Diaries of the Cwn Annwn: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WL17FTX

Pre-order link for Shift You Not: https://books2read.com/SU17

Apologies if that comes across as toxic positivity. As someone who has encountered mental health issues, nothing riles me more than the toxic negativity set, or those who want to close their eyes to the world around them. Why have chocolate ganache as a first image? I used to have a real hang-up over making ganache properly. I have used the time to work it out.

COVID-19 has changed both the world and our own personal spheres. At the moment, I am on furlough from my retail job as a Store Manager in The Works. That is likely to be the case until ‘Easter’, although whether than means before Easter, the beginning of April, the end of the school holidays? Who knows? Everyone says we can learn lessons from what is happening, and some have. As the events of the past few days in the American Capitol have demonstrated, some can’t and won’t learn about how the world has changed.

Our Prime Minister seems to be doing his best to ensure that the UK is cut off from Europe, a situation with which I do not agree. In the course of my working life, I have travelled to most European conference centres, and ventured out of the hotel as well. The exchange of information at international conferences is a vital part of development, or without it, we will stagnate. I worked for companies who imported their products from Europe and further afield. In the cost-cutting world of the National Health Service (NHS), the prices of those products as a result of being made abroad were key. But, who will pay when those prices have to rise due to the additional paperwork? I can’t see companies like my last employer being able to swallow that price increase.

Then again, the pandemic has brought other opportunities. Looking as someone who has been out of medical sales, but with a 20 year career behind me, I have seen the NHS change. Reduced face to face contact. Scanning job advertisements, some companies view it as an ‘opportunity’ to speak to more customers. Does that take into account that those customers are, to use the vernacular, up to their eyeballs in dealing with the pandemic? I used to work with Anaesthetists and ICU teams, those same teams at the heart of the pandemic. As the world changes, so must we.

So opportunity? Reconnecting with people. I have been talking to my old role-playing writer friends, and enjoying the flow of ideas that comes from that. Cakes? Not so much because my husband really needs to lose weight. Cookery? Yes, because I have time now to plan meals, to cook those dishes which are more healthy but take time. Working where I have been has given me a huge library of cook books. Planning. I have seen people who say there is no point in planning at the moment. But, your life is in your hands. Outline your dreams, plan your ideal holiday. If you don’t examine the ‘what if’ , then you will stagnate.

Don’t try for everything at once. That was the mistake that I made in the last extended lockdown. Pick and choose what you want to do. I have donated those craft items I bought which I won’t use, to focus on my art, writing and cookery. And yeah, that home office of mine is in for a shake-up, now that I know I will be off work until Easter … unless I find another job. Who knows? Whether you take baby steps or stride off into the wide blue yonder will be your choice. There is nothing wrong with baby steps if that is what it takes. Sales can be a game of patience. The trick is knowing when to move.