An Introduction, Perhaps

A new author has to start somewhere, right?

As my debut novella edges close to the finish line, the duty now falls on me to be a little more active online — that is, get my author website up and running and start preparing my Substack for newsletter purposes. And, you know, make my presence known.

So, hi, hello, whoever has stumbled upon this post! I’m Reese Lavine, a fledgling author who specializes in sapphic romance fiction (and, within that, has a primary interest in fantasy/sci-fi in terms of genre, although a contemporary story from me isn’t an impossibility).

More broadly, I’m particularly interested in writing relationships between characters (both romantic and non-romantic) and exploring dynamics within them. I wouldn’t say my writing is all that cerebral, but I do hope there’s heart to be found within it, regardless of the subject matter.

But enough about my thoughts; I think that sort of opinion is probably best left to readers.

What’s this about a debut novella?

Of course, I’ll make a whole post about it when it’s closer to release. Currently, the final draft is in the hands of an editor, and once it’s finished I’ll open up a short ARC campaign. I’m hoping to release it sometime in July! It’s a shame I couldn’t quite make it in time for Pride Month, but surely the editing and ARC campaign will be worthwhile.

But in short: my debut is a roughly 50,000 word sci-fi romance novella titled ADORE. (Yes, yes, I know; it’s actually treading short novel territory, but I’ll continue to refer to it as such). It’s about an android mechanic that’s employed to fix an android who has bypassed her programming and gained full consciousness.

I’ve opted to self-publish this book myself. It’s a bit of a strange story (in my opinion), and I’m unsure it’d really work for tradpub. It means I’ve sunk costs into a book cover and editing, while being aware that it’s highly unlikely that an unknown indie author will break even.

Either way, I don’t mind. In the current era, I believe putting effort and time into something is well worth it — as is employing human artists and editors. This is a new foray for me, and I’m excited nonetheless! Even if it doesn’t go very far, I’ll be proud that I’ve worked so long on an original story and saw it to completion.

If you read this far, thank you! I hope to continue making blog posts and sharing my work as an author as time goes on.