Celebrate Every Victory.
Changing things up this week, I am going to discuss the rescue work that pays the bills before anything else literary or personal. In case you missed it, writing doesn't pay the bills - ask a million indie writers and you will hear the same - so during the week I work at an animal rescue rehabilitating and rehoming abandoned dogs. One such dog is a big girl called Roo, she has been in the rescue for almost three years and today Roo is finally going to a home that wants her and loves her. Adoptions like this really make the work easier on days when it feels like an uphill battle.
Otherwise the past week has seen huge amounts of progress for the dogs, I finally managed to harness and walk both Howie and Stanley - two particularly complicated boys who need a bit more patience. They have both enjoyed my company for the majority of my time at LU, but this week was a great reminder of what patience and observation does for these relationships. It has been a busy month or two, we have lots of adoptions going through and visits for dogs. It feels like a real tide has turnt and we are finally getting through the backlog of dogs that have never had the focus they needed, after a couple of long drives and longer days, I can feel a weight easing on my shoulders to really make a difference here.
Writing Update.
It took weeks of editing and uploading but Organ is now fully available from start to finish, you can find the chapters organised in the Index page for easier chronological reading. What was really crazy to see - well not really when I think about - was the huge uptick in views on the chapters when I finally got that index fully functional. Organ chapters went from 8-10 reads per chapter up to 40-50 per chapter, and that isn't exaggerated. After staying afloat on Amazon with perhaps 100-200 downloads/sales of Organ, but no real way of knowing if they are being read or just hoarded. Seeing people actively engaging with individual chapters and staying on the pages long enough to read them, well it feels more rewarding than the £3 Amazon might throw me every month. So thank you to anyone who read Organ weekly as it came out, and thank you to anyone leaving behind feedback, it really boosts the morale.
Other writing business and a bit of information that I never thought would be the case, I wrote a short story based on a silly idea called; A Brief Account of an Unfortunate Packet of Crisps. This was a distraction piece really to keep my brain active while I figured out these remaining chapters for the third and final Bulldog book. Random chaos did its thing and that little science fiction story about a sentient packet of crisps has become my best read story. I really think people should read it - obviously, I wrote it - because it is silly, a bit dark and really unexpectedly entertaining for such a weird idea. I will leave a link here, go read it and let me know what you think. I love having conversations with people about writing and my work: https://www.johnjanderson.com/2026/05/a-brief-account-of-unfortunate-packet.html
Some exciting pieces of information, I have a new short story that is almost completed. It's dark and really soulless, left me feeling cold as I wrote the central event on what should have been a calm day off work. Current working title is; Little Ed at the Geyser, but that is obviously going to change. Just wanted to give you a little slithering tease of what it might revolve around. I will make a big post about it on Facebook and BlueSky when I am ready to drop this nasty little nightmare, keep following me wherever you are and watch for the post. Speaking of upcoming posts, with the success and great reaction to Organ being uploaded, I am moving my sights to the first Bulldog book. It will be arriving sometime later this month as chapter one kicks off with two of my favourite characters I have ever written, Frank and Bucket. Jump in and survive with them both.
Some Poetry.
I first thought against writing on the poetry I post online, it feels somehow more exposing than the journals or books. While they do cover a nice void somewhere between this casual rambling journal and the structured fiction, the poetry feels like a good descriptive way to unload confusing feelings and anxious/angry outbursts. It took some long nights thinking whether it was the correct decision to post some of these, especially those I wrote in the manic writing moments fuelled by energy drinks and booze, but I am glad they exist in the wild. They deserve to be read, and poetry is a form that deserves to have new fans finding it. I really think poetry is a wonderful way of getting shit off your chests, its a perfect therapy for those that don't want to talk about their feelings but can find the courage to write them down.
I guess sometimes I wonder how I could monetise these poems, Digging Graves did incredibly online when I released it on Amazon - not that it exists there any longer. That was a book consisting of short stories and poems, people seemed to have a taste for it but I have no way of knowing if that was the shorts or the poetry so it still feels like guesswork. The really odd thing is that I don't enjoy reading other peoples poetry, some are really good obviously, but for the most part poetry feels like something personal and too unique to be replicated in reception. Does a poet telling me his feelings about his mothers death have the same weight as it did when he felt the words on his heart, obviously not. I don't know where I am going with this, much like my own poems, just a little burst of unorganised vibes.
Gathering some Magic.
You know that guilty feeling of wanting to find time for your hobbies but getting distracted or becoming too tired when you do have the time, I am feeling that bubbling anxious itch in regards to my Magic the Gathering collection. I want to play more. Maybe I should finally cave and visit that store in Harlow that has weekly or monthly Magic game nights, albeit with the caveat of having to avoid commander games altogether. It is really odd having a hobby that you physically possess, but seem to only engage in entirely through YouTube videos and reddit threads. Currently all I have been seeing regarding the game that I love has been rage or adject praise for the new universes beyond set, not something I really want to participate in but that deviation to the normal theme of the trading card game is only making me miss the fantasy nerd out even more. I need to make more time for my hobbies.
Substack
In the search for some way to both make a bit of money off my work, but also not bother my readers with adverts of payment structures I had a run at Substack. I set up the page and did all the recommended start up things that various blogs online advised; good hook for the bio, nice entry post to welcome in potential readers and listed a short story that seems to be growing in popularity. But something wasn't feeling right, and I think I know what that was; the echo of attention seeking. This is a problem I have come across countless times across a plethora of other hosting sites, socials or article pages. You set up a page and hope that everyone will see and read your work, but neglect to acknowledge the obvious fact that everyone else on the site is doing the same thing. People want people to read their works, but they also rarely want to read other peoples. How do we correct that, well I decided Substack wasn't for me and retreated back to the wonderful simplistic 2000s aesthetic safety of my site. I learnt that depending on people to click and read an article swimming amongst thousands (does Substack have much traffic) of other articles is a fruitless effort.
Onto my Angel.
My chatty little lady is doing well, her poop schedule is regular - or at least predictable - and while the cloud of her diagnoses still looms over every day that I worry. She is doing much better than expected, every morning she gives us conversations in the bathroom and very familiar with the medicine routine every evening. It is a challenge caring for an animal with chronic kidney disease, but every second we get with her is something we should be thankful for, many people don't get that joy. Her next check up is next month to get an fresher picture of her bloods, urine and overall health, my girl is a fighter and having her ready for cuddles and bongos on her backside every night still brings light to the dark.
Other bits.
That was another long journal entry, felt good though. Got lots of stuff emptied from my skull and gave you lots to look forward to in the future. Keep your eyes out for the new short story whenever I get round to posting it and make sure you give Organ a chance, I am still searching for a way to somehow make a bit of scratch off this writing stuff - but for the time being, its all free and the world gets to enjoy it all the same.
Until next week, keep your garbage in your pockets and eat more tofu, you ravenous baby vegans.
