{"id":5312,"date":"2026-03-09T08:40:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T15:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/?p=5312"},"modified":"2026-03-09T08:40:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T15:40:49","slug":"where-the-heck-have-i-been","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2026\/03\/where-the-heck-have-i-been\/","title":{"rendered":"Where the heck have I been?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’d like to think I can use the excuse of life getting in the way, but in reality, it really hasn’t. I’ve been writing. A lot. And also reading a lot. I think it’s the reading that’s been taking me away from the social aspect of being a self-published author. In fact, I don’t think I’ve been participating online in about a year! Yeah, that’s real good for brand recognition, lol. So bad, in fact, I quietly published a LitRPG<\/a> and literally told no one about it. Ugh. That will be a later blog post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m almost finished with the 5th book in the Rose Cross Academy<\/a> series. I almost called it the “final book” but that’s not the case. Again, I’ve been writing a lot, and have come up with an extension to the series. Also, a side effect of reading too much. The next phase, so to speak, where the teens involved in the goings-on of my world graduate to the next year. Since certain things were stirred up in the “last” series, that leaves some loose ends to tie up in the next series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, once I get through the final battle, the inevitable fight between June and Elan and what happens after. I already have the “what happens after” written, now I’m just getting through the battle and making sure everyone gets a piece of the pie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’d like to plug a writing tool I’ve been using, though. It’s a free online site, and of course there is a paid portion. A bit of a back story. With NaNoWriMo shut down due to reasons, I didn’t know what would become of November. I write best with a goal and reward system, and having to meet a daily word count and getting badges along the way meant that November was always the months I pounded out the most work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since October last year, I’ve been participating in 4thewords<\/a>, which is an online writing app similar to an RPG. You defeat monsters by writing, and you get prizes and rewards to do things like equip your character, build a house, and participate in forums. The whole goal-and-reward system is what keeps me writing, and what has allowed me to pound out a cool 180,000+ words since last October. I’ve started 2 new series and I’m on track to finish RCA #5 by the end of March. So, if you’re in need of a system to keep you writing and you like video games, check out 4thewords<\/a>. If you wanna be friends, I’m QnFairyFarts.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
My avatar on 4thewords<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Alright, so I’m going to try to keep up with the blog posts and see if I can ease myself back into social media. It’s a toxic world in general to be chronically online, so I’m sticking with a post here and there to at least keep my presence alive and my sanity intact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy writing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Rissa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’d like to think I can use the excuse of life getting in the way, but in reality, it really hasn’t. I’ve been writing. A lot. And also reading a lot. I think it’s the reading that’s been taking me away from the social aspect of being a self-published author. In fact, I don’t think […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[8],"class_list":["post-5312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-updates","tag-updates","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6odz9-1nG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":631,"url":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/when-life-gives-you-dead-leaves\/","url_meta":{"origin":5312,"position":0},"title":"When Life Gives you Dead Leaves . . .","author":"Rissa Renae","date":"October 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Geesh. 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The publishing date is almost here! I\u2019m tying up a couple of loose ends such as photography and defining samples and previews of book one. Worst of all, though, I\u2019ve flip-flopped on the title for book one, and I\u2019ve come to the conclusion that sometimes too much\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Updates"","block_context":{"text":"Updates","link":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/category\/updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Oct2015_Update2.jpg?fit=500%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1322,"url":"https:\/\/www.rissarenae.com\/blog\/2022\/03\/cherry-blossoms-and-nano-prep\/","url_meta":{"origin":5312,"position":5},"title":"Cherry Blossoms and NaNo Prep","author":"Rissa Renae","date":"March 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"April is Camp NaNoWriMo time. Here in the Lower Mainland, it's also cherry blossom time. 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