What a Chore

It's been so long since I release a book, I'd almost forgotten what a chore it all is.  Oof.  The writing really is the easiest part for me, even if it takes a while.  Editing seems to take forever.  Then there's the formatting.  And all the little things - like adding it to the blogs and posting announcements, etc.  :falls over:

Editing... Thicker Than Water went through 6 drafts, 7 if you count the final one. 8 if you count the other final one for print publication.  Which I guess you should.  I mean, you did the work, count it, right?

So, you get the book out into the world and you job is done... umm... If you think that, you're missing something.  What is it?  Oh, yeah, marketing.  That's a job that's never done.  Not unless you want to never sell your books.  And if you're not interested is selling books, what did you publish it for?  Jus' sayin'.

So yeah, I've been busy.  This morning, I've already posted scads of marketing things to get RHI seen by thousands, so I can sell maybe a few copies of TTW.  Yesterday, I did the marketing things, plus I formatted TTW for print and went through that process with Amazon.  It looks pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself, but the real proof will come when I get the... umm... proof.  Which should be in a week or so.  

One thing I realized while I was doing the print formatting and uploading thing was that I had missed fixing the scene breaks in both the epub and the print versions.  If you bought a copy of TTW and already downloaded it to your Kindle, the scene breaks are *** and they should be --∞----∞----∞--.  It's fixed and uploaded now, but like I said, early copies have the old placemarkers.  

So many little things to check and change and fix, I may be a little nuts this week.  Good thing Hubs is used to me and I don't associate with anyone else.  I keep my nuts at home.  :gigglesnort:

Anyway, I do have plans to get back to writing this week.  We'll see if that happens.  It should.  I'm ready to resume being a writer again.  Woot.

Marketing Monday - Rumor Has It

Hello!  Welcome to another installment of Marketing Monday.  Today, I'm pretty excited because not only do I have a free book to offer you, but for the first time in three years, I have a new release!!  

First, the free book...

To celebrate the release of its sequel, RUMOR HAS IT (Duke Noble, P.I. #1) is free today through Friday. (Always free with KU.) Pick up your copy today!

Hearken back to the gritty, 1950s crime novel with Duke Noble. Duke's a guy ready to tackle anything the world throws at him, but this time, he's facing something much harder to dodge than bullets and fists… His past.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZNXQKPC

Then, if you hadn't already heard, THICKER THAN WATER hit the Amazon 'shelves' on Saturday.  WOOT!  It's $3.99 and available wherever Amazon sells ebooks, plus through Kindle Unlimited.  

So basically, you'll get both books for the price of one this week!  Double woot.

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 19

First off, Happy Mother's Day.  

Next, I didn't get any writing done this week, but I did get a boatload of editing done.  And a cover made.  Then formatting, etc.  Thus, as of last night, THICKER THAN WATER is live on Amazon.  Here it is in all its glory:

Family ties and blood… Duke Noble’s had more than enough of both.  When he receives a frantic call from his mother, Duke’s not the kind of man who can simply ignore her pleas.  But discovering a body in his brother’s apartment wasn’t at all what he expected.  Wondering whether the body belongs to Harry means there’s no turning back.   He’ll have to work his way through both secrets and lies to get to the facts.  Even if it means digging up truths better left in the dirt.

Which brings me around to marketing...

Starting tomorrow Rumor Has It will be free for 5 days.  I'll be marketing that.  Last week, I marketed Song of Storm and Shroud.  Here's hoping RHI does better than that did.  I could use some sales this month.

Today, I'll be formatting TTW for print and getting that process underway.  This week, I'll get back to working on Duke Noble #3.

Now back to my regularly scheduled updatey stuff...

Reading - check out yesterday afternoon's post.  It was a good week for reading, and I'm now only 6 books behind on my reading goal.  Woot.  

No baking this week.  I'm trying to cut back on the breaded products for a while.  Not sure how long that will last.  I do love me my baked goods.  Not baked, but I did make a lovely beefy-rice dish that I'm jokingly referring to as Beef Risotto.  I also made a vat of turkey/chicken noodle soup that was quite yummy.  And a pulled pork that was so good, I was walking around going 'mmm...meat candy'.  

On the activity front, I was an animal.  There was only 1 day that I didn't do anything active.  I walked, I gardened, I did yard work, I moved some furniture around.  I walked 3.8 miles last week. Whoa.  Weight: 173.2 - you'd think it would be lower, but meh.

Gardening... my little trees are doing well.  The baby redbuds are about 4-5 inches tall and have several leaves now.  The dogwoods are about 3 inches and have about 4 leaves each.  The oak is looking good, but only 2 leaves so far.  The cedars are thriving, of course.  The tree seeds I planted last week aren't doing anything yet.  Yesterday, on the way home from Wallyworld, I stopped at the feed store and bought a flat of Roma tomatoes.  Those went in pots when I got home, so hopefully one or two of the six will flower and fruit, giving me yummy treats.

Well, I think there's probably more to update you on, but that's probably enough out of me for now.  Look for a marketing post tomorrow.  Have a great rest of your day and if you're a mom, I hope you get to spend time with the kids today.  :hugs:

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 5/10/25

 Hey, I know it's late, but I have an excuse.... well, several of them really... and it IS still Saturday.  

This week, I didn't get any new books, unless you count the fact that I just ordered a copy of my brand-new, never before seen or published book THICKER THAN WATER.  Yep, that's one of my excuses.  I've been working on getting the book published.  Another excuse was groceries.  A third excuse was planting my new tomatoes... but that's neither here nor there.  Let's just get on with it...

Books Read: 

18) Bill and the Last Cup of Coffee by Lance Lassen (5/8/25) - dystopian action/humor* (I read the ebook, but this is the link to the paperback. In the time between now and when I downloaded the book, the ebook page has been removed and the paperback was set to 'out of print'. :sadface:) - 5 stars.  New to me and so underappreciated it's not even available anymore.  I got this for free off of one of Amazon's top 100 lists.
Review: "I read this book in the e-version and it had a different cover, but I can't find it on Amazon anymore, so I'm leaving a review here. Not sure what happened there. I hope the author puts it back up because this is an amazing book.

I found it on one of Amazon's 'top 100 free' lists and gave it a try. I'm so glad I did. It's an amazing story. Sure, the humor doesn't stay amped up throughout the book, but that's probably a good thing because sustained giggling can be bad for your complexion. Anyway, this is so much more poignant. I loved the characters, I loved the premise, and I loved the ending. The plot was unique, the pacing was spot-on, and the writing was solid. I inhaled this, ignoring my husband and both cats, and stayed up late to finish. (Which was a bad idea because even after I closed the book, I couldn't stop thinking about it.)

Please, Mr. Lassen, if you're seeing this, bring the book back into print. And thank you for letting me read it."

17) Goldfinger by Ian Fleming (5/5/25) - action/hard boiled crime - 5 stars. Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  I got this from a thrift store for 25c.
Review: "All the twisty-turny action you can expect from a James Bond novel. I loved it."

16) In Plain Sight by Dan Willis (4/27/25) - magical hard-boiled crime* - 5 stars.  New to me but not underappreciated.  I got this for free off my Amazon wishlist - placed there after a friend recommended it on FB.
Review: "This is a most excellent and brilliant story with an interesting little treat at the end. A well-written novel with awesome characters and an intelligent plot. I inhaled it. I only wish I'd read it when it was first recommended to me and I put it on my wish list. Better late than never, I guess. It's definitely worthy of 5 stars and every glowing recommendation I can give it to anyone who'll listen."

DNFs:

5/5/25 - free SF - this was supposed to be a hard-boiled crime in outer space, so I was super jazzed to read it.  Unfortunately, the formatting was SOOOO bad, I couldn't get past the first chapter.  I'm not sure what the author was thinking, but every page (assume Word pages) had 'Chapter 1 Continued' and then the chapter's title.  I'd read like 4-5 paragraphs and BLAMMO I'd get hit with that again.  Plus, the author left extra spaces between every paragraph.  It was most disconcerting.  I hope he gets it fixed for future readers, but I never go back to check once I DNF an ebook. =o(

Currently reading... an Agatha Christie I picked up at the thrift store.  So much yummy Poirot goodness.  Squee.

What was on your reading list this week?

Not a Banner Night

Last night was not a banner night for sleeping.  First, I made the mistake of staying up a little late to finish a book.  It was a really good book.  Of course, once I went to bed, I couldn't stop thinking about it, so there was that keeping me up.  And I couldn't get comfortable.  And I was too hot.  And I was also thinking about TTW's impending publication and all the things that need doing before I can push it out into the world...

Like I said, not a banner night for sleeping.  At one point, I gave up and got up.  Turned the computer back on and worked on my blurb.  Whether it's any good remains to be seen.  I haven't opened the file and looked at it since I woke up.  I finally went back to bed and fell asleep around 1 a.m., and woke at 7.  A solid 6 hours of sleep isn't bad, I guess, but I think my gumption is still comatose.

At least it wasn't the cats keeping me up this time.  Nope, they were being good boys.  Figures.

Today, I'm supposed to go grocery shopping.  This may or may not happen.  There's always tomorrow.  I've also got to start working on formatting this novel into ebook and print formats.  I had played with the idea of setting this to pre-order, but that never seems to work out for me, so I'll probably just push it into the world.  We'll see.

Anyway... look for my review of the 'really good book' tomorrow.  And look for THICKER THAN WATER to come out sometime before the 20th.  I should get a post out with the cover and blurb sometime this coming week.  Stay tuned.  

As for me... :wanders off in search of more coffee:

Thursday This n That

I'm about halfway through the edit suggestions for Thicker Than Water now.  And the cover has been created.  (Looks pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.)  I'll post it when I get the blurb done, which will probably be this weekend, so look for it Monday or Tuesday.

Speaking of covers, I took what feels like a gazillion pictures.  First, I did the set up in my bedroom - where I did the cover for Rumor Has It.  Those pics were okay, but not quite it, if you know what I mean.  Then I got an idea and ran with it.  I set everything up in the sunroom and started snapping pics.  The first ones were okay.  I re-set some things and snapped more pics.  Those were pretty good, but I realized I forgot to set up the drink.  Hasten to the kitchen, get the glass I bought for just this occasion, drop in some ice cubes, and pour in the 'whiskey'.  I don't drink, so I had to be creative.  It's actually apple juice with soy sauce mixed in until it got the right color.  I think I nailed it.  (Yes, it got dumped down the drain afterward, and no, I didn't taste it.  Eww.)

Here's one of the pics I took in the bedroom.  All rights reserved and all that jazz.  (Don't steal my work. I'm too pathetic to steal from.)  It's too bright, if you ask me, and the lamp is turned wrong, and the cig has the wrong end lit, but you get the gist.  I did much better with the second set in the sunroom.  

Here's the cover for Rumor Has It for comparison:

Anyway, I'm pretty excited.  I'm going to try to have the book out by the 20th.  We'll see how that goes.

And I think that's it for me this morning.  Not much of a This n That, but that's how it goes sometimes.  Have a great day!

The Sixth of May

Every year on the sixth of May, at some point I remember and it hits me all over again...

My father died on the 6th of May.  Years later, Hubs' best friend's funeral was on the 6th of May.  Needless to say, it's not a good day for me.  

Dad's been gone for 20+ years now.  It wasn't a shock.  We knew he was going.  He chose to go, in his own way, and he let us know his decision ahead of time, so we were prepared.  He didn't kill himself.  He simply chose to refuse dialysis after over a decade of dialyzing.  We understood and supported his decision.  He was tired and he had earned a rest.  He missed one dialysis and he was gone that night.  

Cancer got Phil.  It wasn't expected, but it wasn't a shock either.  We'd hoped he would beat it.  He didn't. Damn him. He was the best friend Hubs had and a good friend of mine, too. When things got bad for Hubs at work, I'd drop into Phil's office and talk it out with him - something I couldn't do with anyone else.  Phil understood.  Phil would be just as pissed as I was and we'd commiserate.  Then he was gone.  I don't remember the exact date he died, but I remember the date of his funeral because it was the anniversary of Dad's death.  I swear Phil did that on purpose so I would cry at his funeral.  He was that kind of guy.  A real troublemaker and a hoot to be around.  He was such a card.  

Anyway, the pain of their passing has boiled down so it only really hurts when I poke at it.  Like now.  

I expect Dad and Phil are somewhere today, drowning worms and drinking beer, and spinning yarns.  They'd both tell me to get over myself and get on with life.

So that's what I'm going to do.