Great news! The Audible version for the revised version of Amuse is now available!
It was a challenging time. I had planned to drop the Audible version on Halloween and started promoting, and it wasn’t showing up as ready on the site. So I reached out and learned we had missed one spot updating my narrator’s name – she got married in between recordings. 🙂
So started the never ending back and forth correspondence…
Me: “Hi, just checking in to see if it’s ready yet?”
ACX: “There was a name mismatch.”
Me: “Oh, I thought I got all of them, sorry.”
ACX: “No worries! We can correct that now if you provide us the original and updated information.”
I did and they did and then I asked ever so hopefully, “Is it ready now?”
ACX: “It needs to go through the quality review.”
Me: “Again? It went through already, the change was with the producer name.”
ACX: “Yes it’s in review. The process takes up to 10 business days.”
It actually took much, much longer than that but, It has arrived!
Wow, that’s a long link! Anyways, I hope to hear what you think of it, the good, the bad and the fugly. Amuse is the first of a series, currently awaiting notes from my beta readers for book 2 and hard at work outlining book 3.
Tell me, what BIG or little projects are you working on in 2026? Whatever they are, I bet they are amazing!
I know we’re a ways past Halloween but since I’m behind on everything; it feels appropriate.
AMUSE NEWS! The eBook version is NOW AVAILABLE on Kindle Unlimited! If you, like myself, have a subscription for KU then Amuse is included. I wanted to make it easier for not only new readers but readers who want to refresh their memory before moving on to Amuse 2 – in progress now! More Amuse news below.
Why am I behind? Besides working full time – 40 hours.
My mom came home from the hospital after months, starting in May with ER then ICU then Long Term Recovery then Skilled Nursing. It was tough when she first came home, really felt like I had 3 jobs, she wasn’t fully mobile, heck she wasn’t mobile, but she has been working really hard to become more independent. Which has freed up a little more time.
I’ve developed a creative writing schedule, it’s called ‘Do you have five minutes?” I write before work, on breaks, after work, in my sleep-if only, right! I did switch from the screenplay back to Amuse 2. I missed Calli and I had the bulk of the story completed, in fact, it had a beginning, middle and end…BUT then I went in and changed everything around. See, when I’m not writing I’m listening or watching videos about how to be a better writer.
You wouldn’t guess it by this post would ya?
In other news! The short delay for the launch of the revised Audible version of Amuse – my narrator got married so we needed to update her name – has become a long delay! Originally, the planned launch date was 10-31-25 (Hey the title makes more sense now!) So now it’s been 14 days. It’s been emails and me going into the details in ACX and updating then confirming then more emails because the revised version isn’t showing on the Audible site. Last email I received, yesterday, stated that all was well and they provided the link for the audiobook-the same link I’ve been going into daily and testing.
Yes the info is showing the correct narrator name, however, the original cover art is showing and when I play, it’s the original. Now when I go into ACX, the details are incorrect BUT the cover and the audiobook is correct. *heavy sigh* Hopefully, this will be sorted out soon. I’ll let everyone know.
Until next time, Love and Blessings! – Karma Marie
I started a fantasy novel, my first ever novel and got stuck.
What got me unstuck was an unusual process I learned from Burt Goldman.
What he teaches is how to Quantum Jump, which involves you jumping into an alternate reality where you already have what you want!
You go into a meditative state, imagine there is a door and on the other side is the version of you who has already accomplished what you want.
You open the door, step across the threshold and meet your ‘other self’. You are then able to receive answers to your questions.
I visited my successful writer self. She lives in Carmel, in a townhouse a couple of blocks from the beach, close enough to hear the waves. Her writing desk has a tall shelf filled with books bearing our name, I didn’t stop and count them but there were at least a dozen.
We sat on her balcony, in the dark, with a fire pit and talked. I told her about my problem finishing my novel and asked her for advice, she told me, “Just write.” I’ll be honest, I was pretty annoyed! I mean, I came from an alternate reality to see her and get feedback and she gave me a shoe slogan! She wouldn’t offer more, so I dropped it.
She had questions for me as well. She was single, no kids, no pets. She wanted to know all about my life, having been married with 3 kids. I hadn’t expected this, give and take. I felt a little guilty about my visit just to get an answer, not thinking about her and possibly having some questions of her own.
In future jumps I was more readily open with the other versions of me, introducing myself and really having a reciprocal experience full of gratitude and appreciation. Just because this is a version of you doesn’t mean you should have the assumption that they owe you anything and you should always be mindful and above all grateful for their assistance!
I told you I wasn’t happy with the response I received, so how was I able to use this experience to finish writing my first novel? Well, I believe it was seeing all the books ‘we’ wrote. Just knowing, not only the first book, but subsequent titles were published in some reality inspired me. It was already finished, therefore, possible. I really did need to “just write”. So I did and it was quite the accomplishment.
I visited again recently, I wanted to know how to get unstuck on the sequel and she told me, “answer the questions”. So that is what I’m doing. I still have a ways to go until complete and then on to the third book but to highlight her advice she waved her hand at the full shelf of Amuse books.
It was tempting to take the second book off the shelf and have a peek but I knew in my heart that wouldn’t work. Her first Amuse book and mine were different iterations of the same idea. I could take inspiration from the existence but more than that, I was on my own. I needed to answer my own questions.
I gave her a hug and thanked her profusely. She asked me to come back for a visit, next time we would take a walk on the beach. I told her it sounded lovely. Hanging out with her was what I imagined having a sister would feel like.
Karma Marie 