You get… me. And apparently, a fully reorganized YouTube channel.

You know, I wrote that title to be funny about organizing my YouTube channel, but now I want to read that book. Lort.

ANYway.

I just spent the week working on “assets” (sounds like I’m a spy when I say it like that, y’all) for our marketing. One big part of that is organizing my YouTube channel, The Noonhour, into clean Playlists.

What YouTube channel, you ask? This one: https://www.youtube.com/@TheNoonhour/playlists

For those of you familiar with YouTube, go forth and browse.

For those of you who have no idea what I just said, or who have some idea (“I know what YouTube is, but what’s a Playlist and why should I care?”), here’s the background.

Welcome to The Noonhour

(Cue “Welcome to the Jungle…”) (Kidding.)

Way back in the Before‑Times, when I started my YouTube channel, I had no idea what I was doing. I had this brilliant idea to read books I loved for people, to share my love of them. I sat down, got all ready to read Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight, and realized…

I don’t have the copyright to be able to do that.

Oops.

So I pivoted. I tore through my library looking for stuff that wasn’t under copyright anymore.

I know, I’ll read Sir Francis Bacon!

(As one does.)

(Turns out, reading archaic English is hard when you try to raw‑dog it, y’all…)

So then I decided to try something easier, and read a Czechoslovakian folktale about a chicken. (And the fact the book listed it as “Czechoslovakian” tells you how old the book was, considering the Civil War was quite a while ago now.)

Then I decided to hang up my spurs. Because nobody, Wildling, nobody wants me to read them John Locke.

And so it sat.
Quiescent.
Waiting.

Enter Author Nation 2025 and Bradley Charbonneau

He taught a class called YouTube for Authors, and Rachel and I went. He had us stand up, right there in the conference room at the Horseshoe Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and hit record — just point it at the ceiling, he said, or the floor, it didn’t matter.

What mattered was the start.

This sounded like NaNoWriMo, y’all — the whole “just write it” ethos I’ve been preaching for nigh on these many years. Every extrovert in the room leaped out of our chairs. I dragged Rachel out of hers (she’s the introvert of the two of us) and we made our very first video together:

Bradley made a really good point: Your first video will be your worst — but that means every video after gets better.

He even brought in a surprise Special Guest — Dale L. Roberts, bestselling author and keynote speaker, and one of the nicest men you’d ever care to meet. Turns out Mr. Roberts wrote a book called YouTube for Authors, which is actually eighth in a series of books for indie authors about building a sustainable creative business.

So what does all this mean for The Noonhour?

I’m so glad you asked.

Like I said, I’ve been working on creating marketing assets — Kindle screenshot videos, slideshows, microfiction clips — featuring our books. I’ve also kept up with Bradley’s challenge: 30 Shorts in 30 Days. I’m all about challenges like that; nothing teaches you as much as doing the thing.

And now?

I’ve reorganized The Noonhour into clean, intentional playlists that reflect my actual creative life.

Announcing Our Playlists

Author-in-Motion

Short, story‑driven moments from my author life — microfiction, Foundlings shifter lore, writing updates, Kickstarter hype, and behind‑the‑scenes glimpses into the worlds I’m building. These are the fast, fun, book‑ecosystem shorts that keep my stories in motion.

Storysnax – Weekend Fiction Readings by Noony (A. Catherine Noon)

I’m Noony (A. Catherine Noon). I write across worlds — from queer urban fantasy and shifter romance with Rachel Wilder as Noon & Wilder, to our science fantasy series in the Persis Chronicles, to my own speculative fiction. StorySnax is where I read short excerpts from all the worlds I’m building, one cozy Saturday at a time.

Calm Life Shorts

A collection of quiet, real‑life moments — dog walks, cat chaos, carwash vibes, and everyday calm. Short, grounding videos from my life as an author.

Studio Downshift

Quiet, creative downshift moments from my studio — fiber work, calligraphy, craft table resets, and the gentle transitions that help me shift out of activation and back into myself. These are the grounding, hands‑on clips where art, calm, and curiosity meet.

30+ Shorts in 30 Days

Bradley Charbonneau @RePossible challenged us to post 30 Shorts in 30 Days at Author Nation 2025. I took the challenge and created some fun content, but what’s more, I got comfortable with my phone in my hand, talking to you — which was Bradley’s whole point. Smart guy.

I hope you’ll join me as I share a little about the behind‑the‑scenes of being a writer, living with dogs and cats, and especially, spider season.

Why was “Spider Season” my most popular video of the series, y’all?? I DON’T LIKE SPIDERS. THEY SCARE ME.

I think this maybe just proves that I don’t know this whole internet thing as well as I thought I did.
_grin

Five Things I’ve Learned

1. It reminded me that I love blogging, and doing short videos is a lot like blogging.
2. I’ve done Toastmasters for years; this is a natural evolution of that.
3. “Fail faster” means you get better quicker.
4. Don’t wait for perfection. Movement is Magic.
5. Apparently, y’all like spiders. Wut.