#caged in publishing

[cagedinpublishing]

November 20th, 2023

In my travels through life, I've come to realize that a lot of issues I suffer from come from the traumatic experiences of life itself. At the young age of four, I witnessed domestic violence, child abuse (some of which landed me in the hospital) -- I was displaced from life at an early age. As I've gotten older, I did blame everyone for my faults.

But when you're confined and you're forced to look at yourself through these concrete mirrors, it is a constant reminder that you messed up. And it's no one's fault but your own.

How do you admit that to someone if you can't admit it to yourself?

My aunt taught me the rights and wrongs of life, but because the wrongs were never explained to me, I became rebellious -- I became everything that was dished out to me. I punished women for the actions of my mother. I bullied the weak because I was bullied by my father. I took all the bad things that happened to me and used it to treat other people who really loved me messed up. So now I sit alone in prison, remaking myself and trying to apologize to as many people as I can so that I can sleep at night; and there are a lot of sleepless nights.

When I found out that I had mental health issues, I was already into my second decade of my prison sentence. That was a heavy blow because of the stigma that surrounds it. It's not something loosely or easily talked about.

But I am willing to face this thing head on. I don't know how bad I am -- but for me to like or enjoy being locked in solitary, that shows how bad it is and can be. Some prisoners in here cannot take the solitude because their minds drift in and out of the wrongs they've done and they can't be alone with their own thoughts. So sometimes you will get sudden outbursts from them, which means that they will be forcefully removed from their cells and taken off to the hole, which administration calls "restrictive housing."

This can be further damaging to the mind. Mentally ill people are trapped in a system that's incapable of delivering the long-term care that many prisoners need.

I've begun my mental health healing journey by hearing and reading stories about famous people overcoming their battles, such as tennis champion Naomi Osaka and NBA player Kevin Love.

So with the little things I've done, I've tried and reached out to as many people to whom I've caused discomfort. I've even started writing urban fiction novels as part of the process. Finding a hobby sometimes is the best therapy -- don't take my word for it, though; I have no degree in this field.

I want to thank you for taking the time out to read my blog. I will be sharing short stories and a little bit more about myself and my growth. So be on the lookout for my first urban novel later next year! Have a good day and a blessed week.

From Eric Humes -- Caged In Publishing

Eric Humes #119468 CSP POBOX 777 Cañon City, CO 81215 USA

[keenzinemugstudent]

Sonya I understand now I truly do understand 😳

[blindmagdalena]

i'm so sorry, i wasn't able to get a chapter of gilded cage done this week 😩 i really underestimated how busy halloween season was gooing to be. but hopefully the inter-chapter i posted last week helped tide folks over. i plan to be back on schedule by next week!

[just-trying-to-figure-it-out]

Tell me I'm not the only one to be unsettled by this

[thearchertheprey]

“Maybe I could’ve been this happy in another reality,” he says, “but I doubt it.”

[authorkrysejay]

Indie Author Update# 38

I broke through the wall! Woot woot! I knew it would happen eventually. It has been a more productive week than I've had in a while. I'm quickly tying up loose ends that I know will have to be rewritten again. But what's important is just to get it down on the page.

@author-a-holmes had some good advice on how to combat writers block, by doing 20 minute writing prompts. To keep working your creative/writing muscle without the added pressure of a fully written story. I do them on occasion to get out of Moira's mind set or just to dip my toes into a completely different genre. Last week I ended up writing an exploration piece about a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by monsters and government experimental super soldiers spliced with said monster's dna. Sci-fi meets dystopian fantasy.

I also finished setting up my ARC of Phoenix Caged's distribution. They will all be sent out via book funnel on Saturday. I'm excited for book two to reach more readers.

Next week I've gotta keep writing book 3 (fingers crossed i finish it), post more about the upcoming release of Phoenix Caged and go to bed earlier.

[evilhorse]

Alter Ego magazine #173

[paytonmccartysimas]

On November 26th, my first book, One Step Short of Crazy: National Treasure and the Landscape of American Conspiracy Culture, is coming out via The Brooklyn Rail and Autonomedia! It's a deep dive into the complex ways Americans engage with conspiracy theory, from memes (like stealing the Declaration of Independence) to political violence (like storming the Capitol). I couldn't be prouder to be sharing this work!

[aidenwaites]

Just got an ad for a Quantic dream game that looks nothing like quantic dream games what the fuck is going on

[albino-parakeet]

Finally got an actual bookshelf and not a dresser/shelf combo to fit my books.

Sadly my art books and copies of Dinotopia are too long for it so I'll have to figure out where else I can fit a shelf.

This bookshelf is probably such a read on me...

(Sorry for the poor quality lol my phone is not great)

[hopecomesbacktolife]

I don’t have the words to articulate this more fully without getting way too into the contextual plot and subsequently giving away so many spoilers, but I think José Tyler in The Rift by Peter David just saw their future post-transition self as an out and proud trans woman?! good for her honestly ♡

source: this convo José has with Pike on pages 36-37 (in this edition at least) (convo begins w/ “there was a chime at his door..” ends w/ “come on. let’s greet our guests”)

[medusasprogeny]

so with the announcement of mk1, im reminded that mkx had my favorite roster of all time…i loved all of the characters and the DLCs. with that being said:

which characters featured in mkx would you like to see back in mk 1?

im a takeda stan so i really hope they bring him back,!! but tbh i would be happy if they brought back anybody from mkx, i think that roster was impeccable (aside from the baraka erasure!)

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

i've rotated glazed defects in my mind about once a month since i read it and i want you to know that matt murdock fanfiction is now my favorite method to learn about supreme court cases and if you ever want to write another supreme court crossover i will gladly show up to your lecture with my three-ring binder and different colored pens

oh thank fuck I have truly found my target audience thank you beautiful readers i am absolutely going to be writing more about the Supreme Court in my fanfiction

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: The Cage of Dark Hours by Marina J. Lostetter

Series: The Five Penalties #2Author: Marina J. LostetterPublisher: Tor BooksReleased: February 14, 2023Received: NetGalley Book Summary: For a moment, it seemed like the Charbon (the long-dead serial killer) was finally in the past. Naturally, they were wrong. Once again, Krona and her Regulators will have to step up to protect the city. However, it’s never as easy as it sounds. To protect the…

[readerviews]

"Control My Night" by Sarah L. Richhelm

A Superbly Unique Story #books #bookreview #reading #readerviews

Control My Night Sarah L. RichhelmThree Lane Publishing (2024)ISBN: 978-1763519510Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (10/2024) In “Control My Night: The Shadow Cages,” talented author Sarah L. Richhelm crafts a gripping urban fantasy that navigates the intense journey of self-discovery through the eyes of Keanna, a naïve young woman forced into a dangerous world involving mobsters and…

[authorkrysejay]

Indie Author Update# 40

AHHHH! I did it! Draft 3 of book 3 is completed!!! This is the hardest book I've ever had to write up to this point. Acts 1 and 2 were easier to work through, having been explored in previous drafts but Act 3 was merely a jumble of ideas and plot points I'd never set onto paper.

When I got to the end, I thought to myself, didn't I already write this part? And low and behold I did. In 2019! And it was written in first person. I am so glad I changed that.

I'm going to be focusing on Phoenix Caged's upcoming release for the rest of this week as well as making sure I'm prepared for my first semester of university beginning next month. I will be focusing on schooling for a few weeks into September while I figure out how to balance that with beginning another draft of book 3. Act 3 needs a lot of work but now I have a base to work off of.

I normally go through seven or eight drafts before I'm completely happy with it, including spelling and grammar checks. I also have to finalize the cover, write acknowledgements, fine tune the trigger warnings, and write the blurb before I'm even remotely ready to publish. So my timeline as of today, is to publish book three by next October/November.

I'd like to start the fourth and final book before then. Potentially beginning to write it next summer. But the final book of the series is going to take at least a two years to develop, if I'm going to do the story justice. I have general ideas, plot points and the ending figured out. But the hardest part for me is always the first draft. Editing and rewriting are the fun parts.