Where was I?

Keen observers of my serial will have noticed that I haven’t published any new episodes for a while. Several months, in fact; yikes.

Such as the very cringe glitch in the “previous/next” navigation at the end of my episodes. I am absolutely certain that these links worked correctly when I posted the latest instalment. Going back to it now they have somehow inverted – click on “previous”, and it’ll take you to “next”.

No real reason; the days just got away from me somehow. Busy summer. So here I am poking around the site tugging at loose ends and taking stock of a few stitches that seem to have unravelled while I had my back turned.

I have no idea what happened or how long it’s been this way. However, this plot twist does explain why the kind visitors who checked out my serial over the past few weeks don’t seem to have viewed the episodes in sequence. (I don’t collect identifying visitor information, but among other things the anonymised stats I use do track which pages have been accessed, and in which order.)

What a frustrating reading experience that must have been… Sorry about that, folks. It’s fixed, and I’ll keep an eye on this feature in future.

And, just generally speaking, if you notice anything wrong with the site, I’d be very grateful for a heads-up. Obviously, this goes for typos as well. There was a really horrible one lurking in the second sentence (!) of the latest episode.

Accepting this little contretemps as a teachable moment, a few notes to self:

1. A little distraction can easily turn into massive disruption.
2. Things that seem to work when you put them online may have gone off the rails when you check back five minutes later.
3. Even if you read, re-read and spellcheck every single one of your posts religiously, that doesn’t mean theirs nothin laft to fiNd .

Shout-out, by the way, to all those extremely prolific creators whose beautifully polished podcasts and book series I enjoy. Honestly, I don’t know how you manage to turn out all this quality content so reliably and so fast. The whole lot of you are amazing.

So, now that I’m back at my desk – what’s next for StoempSurprise, I hear you ask?

Episodes, to start with. I still have Jade walking down a dark alley in the middle of the night, and while it’s perfectly clear to me what happens next, you had no way of knowing before today. Nor do we have updates on how Cara’s getting on at Charlie’s place of work, or how Adelphine’s coping with her potentially demonic patient. So much ground to cover, so little time.

Site promotion, in some form. How does a writer without social media skills reach out to potential readers? I do think you’re out there somewhere, but how to connect with you currently has me flummoxed. Of course, I could – in theory – attempt to learn a few basics, but in fairness that’s just putting lipstick on a pot plant. I’m more of a face-to-face type of person. Ideally, just a few faces at a time, in true introvert fashion (not that I’m fighting off invitations to major events, obviously).

Illustrations. My lovely friend F.A. Bergen has volunteered drawings for various episodes and characters, which will be going online over the coming weeks. Check out her take on rage garlic!

And a few add-ons. I think we need a page introducing the main characters, and I’d also like to post an excerpt from Josse’s never-ending to-do list. Among other things.

All this to say welcome back to my serial. I hope I haven’t lost my two faithful readers, and I would love to attract a few more. There’s room for us all among the assorted weirdos and misfits at Jos Le Rêveur.