That "Getting Published" Feeling Never Changes

And what I'm doing lately to stay relaxed,and extremely focused, at the same time...

Hi ya’ll,

May is always a busy month for me and my fam. Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays. The month keeps us busy. Add in there my 9 to 5 job, love of tv shows, and desire to keep writing! Yeah, I been busy. I hardly have time to stop and realize the Spring/Summer time is when less illnesses happen. Of course, I say this after having a 100.6 temp just this past weekend! Anyhow, what’s been going on with me and what are my June plans you may be asking? Well, let’s see…

CODING IS A RELAXING VIBE

Sometimes you just have to roll your sleeves up and get to work. There are no excuses for why a thing can’t be done or exist if you take the time and set your mind to it. Now, I tend to feel like I’m lost my mind and I have precious little time. But still, somehow, I make it work. All this to say, I’m finding this “new-age” way of coding a thing I need and learning the ins and outs of (I don’t expect you to know any of what I’m about to say as I had to look up and learn all of it myself and I’m still learning) Supabase, Vercel, GitHub, and Visual Studio Code. All of these things combine to make beautiful things that live on a URL and, if done correctly, actually work and do the thing you set out for it to do!

I started small. That is to say, I wanted to build a Substack/Scrivener/NaNoWriMo killer platform. Yeah, for me that was starting small! LOL

Then, I did a pivot and thought, maybe I could just build a royalty tracker. A place where the contributors of the anthologies that TiF Press publishes can see their split on a monthly basis. Turns out that was a better use of my time.

THEN, I realized I had the TiF Summit 2027 coming up and, wouldn’t it be great if The Scheduler where participants select their time slot could do it all in one clean and convenient place and I wouldn’t need to create countless spreadsheets to track it all? Yeah…would be quite nice…

Oh, and if you’re wondering whatever became of the Substack/Scrivener/NaNoWrimo Killer Platform? Oh, it’s still happening. I’m just taking my time with it. I’ve learned so much and I’m still learning. No need to rush what could end up being an amazing thing.

In the meantime, yes, the TiF Press Portal and TiF Summit Scheduler are both Live sites that I’m having Alpha testers tinker around in. I’m honestly only sharing all this because I never thought I’d find creating something like this would be so relaxing. But right now it is.

I hope you’re finding something to do that relaxes you, however strange it may seem…

THE MIDNIGHT VAULT II IS HERE…AND I’M IN IT!

It was quite some time ago when I heard “through the grapevine” that something was coming in the form of a Twilight Zone style invasion to Substack. Several writers were secretly plotting to release their own spin on a Twilight Zone story. I was so excited. I was even more excited when the second volume was happening because I knew I would try my hardest to submit something for it in the hopes that I might secure a spot. 100 entered and only 22 were chosen. I am humbled to count myself, and my story, among them. It’s been a while since my words have been published and to be in a collection that I know will stand the test of time is an honor.

Special thanks to J. Curtis for his Tiny Worlds vision that will always dream big and succeed bigger, Shane Bzdok for his amazing skillz in both cover and interior design work (have you SEEN these covers?!), and Bryan Pirolli who understands what it takes to bridge community and resources for fiction writers.

So, feast your eyes on the covers of both Volume I & II of The Midnight Vault anthologies and click the link to support indie authors by buying one or both, out as of today!

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MY JUNE PLANS

• The #ReadChristie2026 book of the month is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. This book recently entered the public domain, which means, unlike the other books for 2026 I will be sharing a chapter a day (9am EST daily) for 27 days in June. Read along or download the book and read at your own pace here.

• June is my birthday month! No actual birthday-birthday plans set as of yet but this month I’ll be returning to my neighborhood for a visit in da boogie down Bronx, I have a couple bookcases I need to put together (unpack some more book boxes), and I’m sure I’ll be visiting Barnes & Noble at some point. Just a few things I enjoy doing. Taking my son to see his 3rd movie in a movie theater. Going out with my wife for a nice meal at a restaurant.

• I am starting to feel the “I need to write a story” itch again which, in truth, I have not felt in quite some time. I’m excited. I have a story or two in my back pocket that might fit just right to satisfy this itch I have. Not too long. Not too short. I hope to have more about it next month.

Till next time, ya’ll!