Wednesday, April 1, 2020

The Impact of a Pandemic #IWSG

The official word in Australia:
The number of confirmed cases in Australia exceeds 4000. As of 31st March, my state, Queensland has 55 new confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) raising the state total to 743. Our Prime Minister announced that Australians "must stay at home" except to shop for essentials, for medical care or compassionate needs, to exercise, and for work and education if either can't be done at home. People over 70 are strongly advised to self-isolate. And we're only allowed out in groups of no more than two now. Fun times.

How this affects me:
My husband works in IT which is considered an essential service, so he still has a job. Yay! And he gets to stay at home to work. A bigger yay! However he has recently been asked to take a massive chunk of leave. Boo! We'd been saving up the leave for Iceland. I guess we won't be going to Iceland for a while anyway. Boo!

As a writer, I work from home anyway. Yay! But now there are a lot more distractions. I had hoped to release book 3 of my Wielder's Storm trilogy at the end of April, but it looks like it won't be until May now. Boo! But I do have a cover reveal for you. Yay!


Marooned on an island, stripped off her magic, Jasmine must find a way of mending her heart and defeating an ancient evil. Wielder's Fire, the explosive finale in the Wielder's Storm fantasy trilogy.


I've also noticed a general drop in sales. Boo! I had expected an increase with more people having time to read, but alas they are choosing to binge Netflix or play online games. Read people!! Expand your brain! Find an escape through awesome stories! Try some of these:

Sea of Rust: Available on Kindle Unlimited. Loved this scifi. Great premise and world-building and I loved the characters. I think Amazon is offering a free month at the moment (maybe 2 for US customers), so check out my affiliate link if you're interested.

Obsidio: Loved it too. YA scifi

The Vine Witch: Also available on Kindle Unlimited. This is a historical fantasy. Loved it.

Ash Princess: If you like YA royal fantasies, then you'll probably like this one.

Wielder's Prize: Also available on Kindle Unlimited. It's awesome (if I do say so myself). Read this YA epic fantasy. You won't be disappointed.

And if you're looking for spiritual support, then Cling to God and read my daily devotional.

*(assume all my book links are affiliate links)

Back to the impact of world events:
The grocery shops are struggling to keep up with demands on some items. I can't get flour anywhere. And that means no cake! Boo!!!!!!!!
Notice at a local cafe. lol.
And I can't visit my folks. Not only are they over 70, but they live in a different state and the state borders have closed. I can get through by request, but I'd then have to self isolate for two weeks when I get there and then self isolate when I get back for another two weeks. Yikes. That's when this change of life really hit me.

Overall, though, I've been super lucky. I should say blessed. An income is still coming into the house. This isn't the case for so many people. I'm not on the front lines. So many are risking their health for others. A HUGE thank you to those people. And I'm still able to write. Kinda. Yay!

Join the IWSG for support from like-minded writers. We're in it together!

How are you faring in this difficult time? What are you reading?