End of the Month Chaos

The Month That Looked at August and Said, “Hold my goggles and parasol.”

September didn’t stroll in so much as it clanked, hissed, and steam‑vented its way into existence, dragging a heatwave behind it like an overly dramatic stagehand. The Steampunk Festival in Hannibal, MO was supposed to be whimsical, quirky, and full of brass gears and goggles — and it was — but it also decided to cosplay as the inside of a malfunctioning boiler.

Friday hit 116 degrees. Saturday hit 120. I’m pretty sure time slowed down, reality wobbled, and at least one of my water bottles tried to unionize.

But we showed up. We dressed up. We sweated through layers of Victorian‑inspired nonsense. And we survived.

And then — blessedly — the heatwave broke on Sunday, and suddenly people had enough energy to browse, chat, and actually buy books instead of melting into the pavement. We made new connections, welcomed new readers, and even made a few new friends who didn’t seem bothered by the fact that we’d spent the previous two days slowly evaporating.

We’ve already reserved our booth for next year. Because apparently I thrive in chaos and heatstroke.

House Mayhem & Milestones

Back at IUPH headquarters, September was loud, busy, caffeinated, and full of motion — so, a typical month.

We welcomed a few new authors into the house, each bringing fresh energy, new stories, and the usual “Hi, I’m new here, what button do I press?” questions that make me smile even while I’m juggling metadata, formatting, and the occasional tech gremlin.

Behind the scenes, the gears kept turning as formatting projects flew across my desk, launch prep stacked itself like an ambitious game of Jenga, graphics were created at all hours, newsletters were drafted and sent, website updates were wrangled into submission, metadata behaved badly (as usual), immersive experiences were refined, and all the tiny invisible tasks quietly kept IUPH from collapsing into a dramatic pile of paperwork and existential sighs.

The catalog is growing. The community is buzzing. The chaos gremlins are thriving. And the house is very much alive.

And in the middle of all that motion, IUPH hit a milestone that only a tiny fraction of independent presses ever reach: We purchased our second set of 1,000 ISBNs.

This is the kind of achievement that quietly separates hobby presses from professional houses. Most small publishers never use their first hundred. Many never finish their first thousand. But here we are — eight years in — rolling confidently into our second thousand, with a catalog that keeps growing, authors who keep creating, and a community that keeps expanding.

It’s proof of momentum. Proof of longevity. Proof that IUPH isn’t just surviving — it’s thriving. And honestly? It feels damn good.

Small Bites Short Story Contest Prep

We also started gearing up for the Small Bites Short Story Contest, kicking off November 1st. This year’s theme? “Things Unsaid.”

And let me tell you... the authors are already whispering ideas, plotting twists, and preparing to emotionally devastate readers in under 5,000 words. It’s going to be delicious.

The Sprint Toward the End of the Year

September also marked the beginning of our annual end‑of‑year sprint, where the calendar looks at me and says, “You didn’t think we were done, did you?”

We have 12 books launching in the last three months of the year alone, and next year’s calendar is already filling up like it’s trying to win a competition. The house is expanding, evolving, and humming along like a machine powered by caffeine, chaos, and the occasional existential sigh.

Final Thoughts

September was messy. September was loud. September was sweaty, sparkly, productive, and full of unexpected connections — from Steampunk heatstroke to new authors to contest prep to the ever‑growing mountain of launches.

And October? October is already peeking around the corner with that “I have plans” expression. It always does.

The chaos continues.

But so do I.