Wow, it's been a while since I had a written journal, but anyway I wanted to update y'all on some goings on. On the one hand I've officially started the process of job hunting and filed for unemployment benefits.

I had my first interview about a week ago, it went well but they decided to go with someone else. I might possibly have another one but we'll see how things go.

Anyway I'll do my best to keep everyone in the loop no matter where you follow me, but bear with me a bit longer.

 laurenrivers

Well, I'm pretty sure I've almost finished updating all of my relevant legal information to my new name, but just in case I have any watchers who have done this maybe they can tell me if I've missed anything.

So far I've done...
Court Order
Social Security
Driver's License
Bank Information
Car Insurance
Doctor's Records
Dentist Records
Credit Card
Media Sites (Paramount + and Disney+)
Employment Record with Last Employer (Working on)
Car Registration (Working on)
Updated my DBA


PENDING
Certificate of Citizenship
Birth Certificate


Anything I'm missing?

 laurenrivers

As of this morning, Shrag and I are both partially vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. So far I feel pretty normal, with the exception of a little soreness but that's normal. We go back in three weeks for the next shot.

Hello everyone!

Welcome to all of you who found me either through my ad or general wanderings! I appreciate every one of you and hope you'll take the opportunity to peruse my gallery and see what you like. :)

I try to provide a variety of work though right now I am in a transitional period but I think I've got a good body of work in my writing and art sections (though I am not an artist myself, most is commissions/fanart) but please enjoy!

More soon!

 laurenrivers

So hey guys.

January was a bit of a wash, partly because of life stuff, and partly because I fell into a bit of a hole. But now that we're in February I'm going to try to put the time I have available to me to best use and try to be more disciplined about the exceptions I make to my routine, at least in part. There are a lot of things I want to be different by the time I hit my next furcon and there's only one way that'll happen.

So to that end...

I'm trying to figure out a sustainable thing to do, especially in terms of if/when I go back to work. Right now I'm still home although money may become a concern in a few weeks but I do have a good amount of savings to coast on for the time being but I'd prefer not to dip into it unless necessary.

But I was thinking about trying to release and produce what amounts to one video a week on my youtube, which I think I can do. We'll see how long that lasts but I didn't see any noticeable increase in views or subscribers by posting more often and especially when working I can't keep up the rate I tried a few months ago so we'll see how that goes.

As far as new projects, I do have some things I am writing and editing, apologies for not having much apparent output but there are some things I am waiting on in order to be able to share, and hopefully before long I can start putting out some more things but for now, hang on a bit longer.

Lastly, Patreon. My patreon hasn't really been all that successful, and while it was at least semi worth it I'm down to one patron which doesn't really require me to generate any active rewards. This is a ponderable moment for me. I do still appreciate the patron and understand that things change especially with the pandemic. But this leaves me with two options. Shut it down, or use this as a chance to retool it while I don't have anything I need to produce.

Now this is where I would appreciate your feedback, because I'm not sure what I can offer too much that'd be worth it, and I don't know if I have enough shiny things to present on any kind of a regular basis to make it enticing over the many artists and other things you might choose to support. Even if you just follow my patreon which I think you can do for public posts, that'd mean something to me.

I just need to know, what do you all think I should do?

 LaurenRivers

Apologies for the lack of communication on my part. Honestly I've been in a bit of a slump for a few reasons. Among them I had to take my car into the shop, was dealing with laptop issues (it kept disappearing my files), my PC fan was acting up again, and we had a funeral to go to. On top of all that my cat wasn't eating much, despite our efforts to get her to eat.

All this had not helped my ability to focus, plus my own self blame for not being as far along as I wanted to be. Plus a few things delayed as far as release while I wait for a few other things to fall into place, but the truth is it's my fault. I haven't been great at anxiety management or self discipline even though I know in part what I need to do.

I'd meant to make a VLOG about all this but I kept screwing it up so I'm putting it in written form just so I hold myself a bit more accountable to my usual standards and pick myself back up one step at a time.

That being said, the car is now back in our hands, the PC is running fine (and I want to get a stand for it to get it off the ground). Can anyone recommend a good one?

The cat is eating again a bit, now that we have her on an appetite stimulant and antibiotics. I hope she keeps it up.

Also, I do have some stuff which I hope to release soon, and would like to maybe submit some things as well but bear with me a while longer.

 laurenrivers

Some of you may remember one of my stories was accepted for The Voice of Dog, by  osfer

It went up today, and you can listen to it here!


“Every morning the McKane siblings meet at their favorite diner for their morning cup of coffee. A daily tradition, the two sit at their favorite booth for breakfast and a conversation.”


https://www.thevoice.dog/episode/mo.....-lauren-rivers

Let's do this thing.

Woo hoo! Just a quick note to say thank you for all of your support. It's nice to see that number grow and here's to a lot more in the future.

Lots of content and news coming soon, so if you want to get in on the ground floor, now's a good time to do it!

If you're new, I'm a furry writer that specializes in fantasy, scifi, werewolves (and other creatures) and assorted other topics. I try to keep my body of work pretty varied so there's something for everyone as long as you like good stories with compelling plots. ;) I also produce youtube videos on a semi frequent basis consisting of writing advice, announcements, reviews, game content, random stories, and so on! So go on over and take a look!

Thanks for stopping by!

 laurenrivers

Okay, folks, so I put up and paid for a six month ad for FA so hopefully that will help grow my audience a bit, I've had the ad for a long time but finally went ahead and posted it, so we'll see how it goes and hopefully it's worth the money. Now if you end up watching me as a result of the ad, do me a favor and let me know.

If it caught your attention, I'd be curious what about it made you click the link. :)

Anyway, if you're browsing FA take a look at it if you see it and tell me what you all think. :)

Here goes. :)

 laurenrivers

Wow, it's November already. Hard to believe it's been a couple months since I left my job of 13 years and switched gears to this, which is arguably a better place for me to be, at least for now.

Things are gearing up, with some plans starting to look pretty good and my confidence being relatively high that I can start making some formal announcements soon. I'm probably going to tweak my patreon in light of recent changes and for now the next few months will stay the same in terms of rewards and such for the two of you that are on it. (Thanks  chocolatevixen). Anyway, I've put in an email for an ad on FA, if anyone has ever signed up for one before how long does it usually take before you get a response?

Anyway it's my hope that arranging for an ad will help boost my numbers on all my sites, with FA currently being my hub for the time being. Right now youtube and twitter are probably the fastest places to get updates but I of course plan to compose written updates here as well, so thanks for reading.

For the time being I'm going to switch my focus for a little while and try to solidify a few of my ideas, the hope being once I have more of it nailed down I can devote more energy to actually writing while I have the time to do it, so if you've liked my stuff, thank you so much.

I have a lot more to do before I can breathe, so for now bear with me. My plan is starting this week to hopefully make a regular schedule for youtube uploads. If you're on there, please subscribe as I try to put out a variety of content both writing related and otherwise, so feel free to check there for any announcements, tips, and other things I have to offer.

I've got quite a few things to say in the near future, the biggest challenge has been to decide how, when, and in what order.

Stay tuned, and hope you all had a safe Halloween. Ours was pretty mellow. Though it looked like there were some local trick or treaters, we didn't see any. After visiting relatives, we watched a movie and then I worked on a video for a few hours.

Back to the grind!

 laurenrivers

And with that, I am legally Lauren Alexis Rivers. Monday I go to the District Clerk's office and pick up copies of the judge's order to update the next few documents in the process.

 laurenrivers

So this morning I went and voted. I looked up early voting and found out I could do it today (yesterday at the time). I decided I wanted to get it out of the way since I was concerned my legal name change would require me to reregister. So just to make sure I could cast my vote I went ahead and did it.

I urge everyone who is tired of this current administration to vote them out.

It's always important to vote, but during this election it's more important than ever we act while we still can. Vote because your vote matters, especially if we do it in great enough numbers.

It's always blown me away that voting is not universal across states. It seems strange to have people go in person to vote when mail in voting has been a thing for a long time. Why not simply make it easy for everyone to do it?

Anyway I think I'm losing my point here, but I voted, and you should too. Before you miss your chance.

 laurenrivers

Hey guys,

So I was approached by  osfer aka Khakidoggy about submitting a story to The Voice of Dog podcast, and to that end I've decided to offer a short piece I wrote called Morning Coffee. Originally scheduled for debut next month, you guys will get to see at the same time as my patrons (all 2 of them so far) in a rare schedule shift.

It's a short piece featuring Davis and Lucy McKane, showcasing their daily tradition of meeting for coffee before work.

Look for it on the podcast, and here as well, and enjoy!

 LaurenRivers

Also, just a reminder that it's Furry Book Month! Support furry writers!

EDIT: Here's the link to the podcast. The story isn't up yet, but when it is it'll be here. http://thevoice.dog/

Hey everyone, hope you're all doing well.

It's hard to believe it's already October, or that I'm finally getting around to legally changing my name with all the fun stuff that comes with it. Anyway a lot of things to talk about. First and foremost I've dropped off the paperwork to the District Clerk's office so the process is underway. For the moment at least I am waiting on the court but they've told me everything looks good so soon I will be Lauren Alexis Rivers.

A lot of things to talk about, I've been using this time while between jobs to produce a lot of videos and work on getting my writing back on track. So far it's going well and I'm excited to share what I have with you. It's been way too long since I've been able to say that. Anyway, I have a lot of things to talk about so here are the highlights.

I've ordered business cards so anyone who orders a signed copy of my book will receive one as a bonus, and also anyone who buys my book through October will receive a free bonus story set just before the main narrative. Email me at IridescenceStudioslm at gmail dot com and I'll send you Harbinger, currently a Patreon exclusive.

Find it here!

I've got a few announcements prepared as well as having updated my youtube channel changing the Blue Moon Videos playlist to 'From The Studio' for official announcements, special offers, and anything else that fits under that category. I've moved the writing advice up towards the top, and have resumed recording videos on writing advice.

There's a lot coming in the approaching months, and while I'm still slow I'm picking up speed and gaining courage, so hang on for the ride. ;)

Valid until the end of October!

Most of the time I try to keep my problems to myself but in this case it necessitates me to put on my big girl panties and start doing things that I normally hate doing, or haven't been doing as I should.

Yesterday I was laid off from my job of 13 years. I had heard such things were coming but I was shocked when it happened. I had no idea that they would get rid of my position given our relative importance to where I work. I was brought into a meeting, told that I shouldn't come to work tomorrow, and escorted back to my desk where I packed up my things and tried my hardest not to bust out crying.

I never thought I'd be there for 13 years or that it would ever go away unless I left. It's the longest time I've held any job, and I've known some of those people forever. I told my officemate and took my starships and Grumpy bear doll and went home.

Last night I just couldn't bring myself to do anything. I'm still grieving. It's funny, because I never really felt any loyalty to the job in that it was a means to an end for me, but it was comfortable, I had good coworkers, and a lot of perks.

As for what happens now, I'm okay. I have a lot of money saved, and we own the house so there's no immediate issues. The car is paid off, but I may have to suspend adding to the car fund for the duration of the unemployment. I've never been laid off before so I have no idea what to do just yet but as I have been told by my job, I have pay coming for 2 months and benefits until the end of November.

Sadly, all but one of my patreon pledges I'm going to have to drop, and maybe one  jakkal I may have to reduce, and all non essential art will be on hold until I'm an employed zebra again. This means I must apologize to  matthiasrat for being the worst person ever. And no 'fun art'. For now.

I'm in no financial danger for at least 6 months, probably more if I stretch it, but we'll see what happens.

To that end, I'm going to do my best to see that this time is productive, however long it ends up being.

I hate interviewing, and I've never interviewed after transitioning before.

There are a lot of things to do that I've been putting off, but I can't do that anymore.

So since I have no excuse right now I'm going to put more time into my videos and get my writing back on track. Once I tackle that herculean task, I just have to keep it going.

I'm not okay.

But I will be.




If you've read this far, thank you. Now is probably the time to remind folks that I do have a book for sale on amazon, and if you like werewolves I'm pretty proud of it.

Blue Moon



Coming soon I'll put in place a mechanism where you can order a signed copy for an additional fee, should you want one.

Just a quick follow up to say the storm missed us, we are fine. The downside is my AC chose this moment to quit on me so I haven't been sleeping well, but hopefully in a couple days things will be back to normal.

Stand by. :)

 laurenrivers

So if you've been following the news/weather, there are a couple of hurricanes in the Gulf. While at this time we are not planning to evacuate we have emergency supplies and do not anticipate a major disruption, however, as a result things may slow down for a couple of days due to weather.

That being said, for now, we are okay and I will do my best to keep folks in the loop. In the event we lose power I'll try to keep in touch through an intermediary.

See you soon!

So I've decided that I should have a laptop once again, as both a backup machine and a way to enable myself to change my working environment from time to time. With a robust laptop that should in theory be able to do everything my current machine can do, it should make it easier to do whatever I need to do no matter where I am, at least that's the idea.

For general operations I'll probably have it be for a few tasks I currently use my main machine for but in the event I ever need it it will be nice to have a second machine to keep making progress.

More info when it arrives. :)

 LaurenRivers

With the posting of Echoes ( https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37594935/ ) we hit the milestone of 300 submissions! It's a nice round number and it makes me happy that a story I'm pretty pleased with takes the honor. :)

That's all, just wanted to point that out :)

 LaurenRivers