Sunday Update - Week 30

Hello again.

Let's see...  I didn't write anything.  I didn't edit anything.  I didn't do much of anything writerly... Oh, wait, I did do some stuff.

I received the final cover for Sleeping Ugly.  Then I wrote the back cover copy for Sleeping Ugly and, with the help for AWE, I got it suitable for other people to read.  Then I created a Goodreads listing for it.  I also started the process over at Amazon to get it out there for all of you to read.  They're telling me as long as I get it uploaded by the 25th, it'll be available for preorder on the 29th.  :shrug:  I'm still shooting for the 18th.

I added the cover and link to the sidebars of my blogs.  And I did a new banner for my Facebook page.

I started to set up advertising at Book Barbarian for a sale on Wish in One Hand for later this month, only to discover they're booked solid through mid-Sept.  Bummer.  Ya snooze, ya looze.  I'll have to sit and think a while on how else I'm going to do some marketing.  I was hoping to do a sale on the Once Upon a Djinn books prior to the release of Sleeping Ugly.  Not that SU has anything to do with the OUAD books, but, ya know, paranormal and paranormal.  :shrug:

I read four books last week and DNF'd two others.

I had my yearly last week, too.  Everything is copacetic with me.  Blood pressure was up a little, but I was already irritated.  And I promised I wouldn't go into all that.  Anyway, it's back down to normal now.  And I won't have to go through that again for another year.  Yay.

On the 'being active' front, I managed 7 out of 7 days.  Not all hard core but being active is being active.  And I'm down to 180.4 pounds.  Like I said before, the clothes are fitting better, so it's all good.  Down the road a bit, my clothes will be loose and then I'll do some shopping.  What I'm really looking forward to is losing enough weight that I can wear my wedding ring again.  I mean, if I really tried, I could shove it on, but then I wouldn't be able to get it off again and my finger would hurt.  So I'm not going there.  I have no illusions about getting back to my pre-married weight.  That'd be another 25 pounds.  But my ring was a little loose back then, so there's hope I'll be able to wear it again. Eventually.

No fishing.  Between the heat in the afternoons and working in the mornings, I'm finding it hard to eek out a few hours to sit at the lake.

We still only have two fawns.  Well, unless that pair of fawns Hubs saw the other day were a set of twins and not our usual two.  Then we'd have four.  But it's unverified.

Our grain bug infestation is ongoing.  And I'm cleaning the kitchen in segments.  The cupboards are done.  I did the counters yesterday (full-on, move everything and clean under/behind).  I swept the floor, but I need to scrub it.  They're harmless little bugs, but gah.  It's not like we don't already have plenty of bugs in here.  All part of living in the woods, I guess.  At least these grain bugs don't bite.  That'd suck.

Well, I think that's about it for me this week.  What's up in your world?

Saturday Reading Wrap-Up 6/23/18

Here we are again.  I've been procrasta-reading this week.  Which isn't helping get my work done, but it is giving me things to talk about on Saturdays.  ;o)

This is how the week went...

33) The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope by CW Grafton (6/22/18) - Hard-Boiled Mystery# - 5 stars - New to me and WAY underappreciated.
Review: "Wow. That was an unexpectedly awesome read. Every once in a while, you pick up a book at a thrift store that just exceeds your expectations and blows you away. This was just such a book. More like a hard-boiled crime novel in the sphere of Gardner (DA Doug Selby more than Perry Mason). Definitely NOT a cozy. Gritty and twisty. Just the right amount of whodunnit to keep me guessing, and while the solution to the mystery wasn't ultimately surprising, the path to get there was not where I thought it would go. Like I said, awesome."

32) The Blunt End of Oblivion by LJ Simpson (6/21/18) - SF* - 5 stars - I read the first book in this series about a month ago, so not really 'new to me' anymore, but still underappreciated.
Review: "This book was made of awesome. Even better than the first, and that's sayin' something because I really enjoyed the first one. I'm hoping there'll be a third book at some point. Please."
This was released in November of last year.  I stalked the author online, but I didn't see any news about him working on a third book. I guess I'll just have to wait and hope he writes more.  Note: It didn't end on a cliffhanger or anything.  I just want MORE.

31) Cleaver Square (DCI Morton #2) by Daniel Campbell & Sean Campbell (6/16/18) - Suspense* - 5 stars - I also read the first book in this series a little while ago, so not new to me anymore, and it has loads of reviews, so not underappreciated.
Review: "Ooo, good one! This is even better than the first book. Twisty and turny and deliciously suspenseful. Plus, the end was so perfect. Well, except for that one thing, but I expect somewhere down the road in a sequel, they'll address that. (No spoilers from me. You'll have to read the book.)"

------------
Last night, I started The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  Because I do try to get around to reading the best sellers every now and then - albeit late.  I picked this one up at a thrift store* last month.  OMG, the beginning is so boring I was beginning to wonder why this got all the press it did, but it got a little better.  I'll hang in there and read the whole thing unless something makes me want to throw it at the wall.  

Goodreads is telling me I'm now 'on track' with my reading goal.  Woohoo.   

That's it for me.  Have you read anything interesting lately?

*If you see me reading a paperback**, there's a 99% probability I picked it up at a thrift store.  I'm too cheap to buy hardcopies new anymore.  Except for select books put out by people I know.  
** If it doesn't have an asterisk after the genre, it's a paperback.

Thursday This n That

This year's Christmas presents for Hubs and I are joint presents - fishing gear.  We spent yesterday morning looking at stuff on Amazon and picking out what we figured would be a good mix of stuff to catch bass.  Should be fun this Spring.   

Right now, I'm reading Robinson Crusoe.  Or as I put it to Hubs last night, "I'm finally finishing Robinson Crusoe after 42 years."  This is the book I picked up when I was about 4 and started 'writing' it by copying the words down on a piece of paper.  So I read probably a paragraph worth back then... well, 'read' as much as a four year old can read anything.  I can't wait to see how it turns out.  ;o)

Back in October when I was reading up a storm, I adjusted my Goodreads goal to 90 books.  Then November hit and I read like one book.  I'm pretty behind now.  I've read 79 books.  I don't think I'll make it to 90, but I made a rule that I can adjust my goal up but never down.  Cuz that's cheating.  We'll see where I end up.

Yes, I believe that cheating on yourself is still cheating. 

Way back when, in another life when I was a younger me, I had a best friend.  We were thick as thieves, Mags and I.  Then life happened.  And we drifted apart.  Long story short, I haven't seen or spoken to her in like 27-28 years or something.  I started looking for her pretty much as soon as the internet was born.  Not every day or anything - I'm not a psycho - but like whenever the idea struck me.  I found her Facebook page last night.  I sent her a message and a friend request*.  Now, we'll see if she replies.  If so, cool.  If not, oh well.  At least I found her.  She's alive and she looks happy in the pics she's posted.  That's the most important thing I wanted to know. 

*Ever see that Sonic commercial where the two guys who star in those things are sitting in a car next to two guys who look similar to them, and they want to make friends, but the blond guy gets all weird?  Yeah, in retrospect, I think that's probably how my message reads.  Total loon.  :shrug: 

What's on your this n that today?

Sunday Update - Week 35

Good morning!  How the hell are ya today?!*

As of last night, I am 70 pages from being done with this round of edits.  Then I have to do a final pass through it all.  I started the formatting last night when I was sick of editing but still working. I now have a title page and a copyright/acknowledgement page.  Yay.

I went fishing twice last week and brought home a total of six bluegills.  I have tentative plans to go fishing today while it's still cool.  The rest of this week is supposed to go back into the low 90s.

In reading news, I bought the first book in a series I've been meaning to read for like freakin' ever.  I inhaled the book.  Illusion's Child by DJ Salisbury.  (Yes, that is our own Deb Salisbury - commenter extraordinaire.)  It rocked.  Now I need to snag the other two books in that series.  Plus read the other book of hers I bought which isn't in that series.  I also picked up and read a copy of Silver James' latest - Barefoot Bay: Double Trouble.  I love her books.  And this one is set in the framework of Roxanne St. Claire's Barefoot Bay, which I also love.  The gals are rocking things out.

That's it for me.  I'll let you all know when Up Wish Creek is available for purchase.  Meanwhile, stop by Goodreads and give it a 'Want to Read', if you will.  Thanks!

*Yeah, the enthusiasm is faked.  It's morning and I haven't had enough coffee to be that excited about anything... except coffee.

Sunday Update - Week 9

It doesn't feel like Sunday.  Not sure what day it feels like, but not Sunday.  As I approach release day, my sense of time gets all messed up... err, messed up worse than usual.

Anyway, before I begin, I'd like to let y'all know that the Kindle version of Blood Flow is free today and tomorrow - sort of to celebrate Leap Year.  Because, why not?  It's an extra day that only comes around every four years. Doesn't it deserve some lovin', too?  If you haven't snagged your copy, now's your chance. 

This past week... let's see...

I finished the edit notes for In Deep Wish yesterday morning and started the proofreading.  This is the part where I re-read it and try very hard not to re-write the whole damn thing because I want it to be perfect for you and it's never perfect.  This pass is supposed to be JUST for making sure I don't have typos or misplaced commas or irritating shit like that.  I did chapter one last night and have a page of fixes because I couldn't stop myself.  Everything will be fixed and entered and the book will be uploaded for pre-order on Friday if it kills me. 

There is now a Goodreads listing for In Deep Wish.  And in case you missed it, here's the cover I revealed on Friday both at Killer Chicks and at Outside the Box.

I got a note about a couple typos in Blood Flow. Those have been fixed and the fixed copies have been uploaded to Amazon and Createspace. 

I went looking for cover images to send to my artist for Up Wish Creek.  It's not due out until August, but I want to have an idea to send to her so she can get started. I found a couple that will work.  It'll be just Jo again with a purple background.  I'm thinking library in the back this time.  Like the trees with Spanish Moss this time.  And the antiques for Wish in One Hand.

I didn't do anything active on two days last week - Thursday and Saturday.  But Monday, I overdid it gardening, so maybe that balances out a little.

Speaking of gardening, my beds are all uncovered now.  Which was necessary because all my bulbs are coming up and the leaves were getting mutated under the leaf litter.  Two crocuses are already blooming and my hyacinths have buds.  Moving all the bulbs last year seems to have made them all happy.  We'll see who blooms and who doesn't.  The hyacinths didn't bloom at all last year, so at least that's something.

Hubs and I went for a drive yesterday.  The weather was gorgeous and we're both getting a little stir-crazy up in here.  We found some roads we hadn't been down yet, saw some pretty sights, and just relaxed.  Nice way to recharge. 

What's new in your world?

Sunday Update - Week 42

It's Sunday and I'm sitting here wondering where last week went.  Hell, I'm wondering where January through September and the first half October went, too. Zoom.  Right by me. 

Anyway, piecing together the last week, here's what I came up with...

I finalized the cover for BloodFlow and posted it on Outside the Box on Friday.  In case you missed it or don't feel like clicking over there, here it is:

Tada!

I also finalized the blurb.  I'll post that on Outside the Box tomorrow.

I didn't want to wait for the newsletter to come out and I'm really not sure why I have a newsletter.  The people who subscribe are all people who follow me on FB or on the blogs or on Twitter, and holding newsletter contests really doesn't seem to be netting me any new subscribers. (The last contest, I drew the name of someone who already had the book.  Yay, Janet!) So, I'll continue to reward the people who follow me everywhere else and maybe let the newsletter lie dormant until I figure out a way to get people interested.  
We're still on track for launch on November 24th.  I hope to have it available for pre-order on the 13th. 

A friend just now sent me a link to this Q&A with Bella Andre.  She's my self-publishing idol.  Which reminds me that I really need to get cranking on these sequels. Right now, I'm still trying to decide between Djinn2 and SCIU2.  I read through Djinn2 (In Deep Wish) and love it. I'm reading through SCIU2 (Fertile Ground) right now and I'm loving it, too.  Ack, decisions.  If I could afford it and wouldn't think I'd break my editor and my sanity, I'd push them out back to back. 

I read three books in the past few days, but only one of them is available - Until Proven Innocent by my good friend, JB Lynn.  It rocked.  I also read a beta copy of a book that's due out 10/31.  And I read In Deep Wish.  Those last two don't count toward my Goodreads goal (yet), and I'm like 12 books behind.  I knew going into this year that 100 books was too high a goal.  :shrug:

 Other than that?  :shrug:  What's up in your world?

Writer Strangelove

Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love 2-Stars.

It was bound to happen.  Sooner or later, I would get 2 stars.  I was prepared.  I fully admit Dying Embers isn't going to be everything to everyone.  Still, when it happened, it was a little depressing.  Like when I found a dead hummingbird in my iris garden last Spring.  I don't know what killed her - I certainly didn't do it - and there wasn't a darn thing I could do about it, but it made me a little sad. 

First off, the two stars was not a review.  It was a rating - this thing Goodreads lets readers do where they can give their flash opinion without getting into the reasoning behind it.  It's not a bad thing.  I use it from time to time when I can't seem to put into words why I felt how I felt about a book I read. 

So there it was Sunday night.  Sitting amidst my 4 and 5 star reviews.  Naturally, I did what any self-respecting writer does - I went to bed.

Yesterday, I sorta forgot about it.  I mean, I knew it was there.  Any time I went to Goodreads, it showed a dip in my average.  But I had better things to do.  Until last night when I scrolled down the Dying Embers page to check where I'm at in this 'Beach Reads' list (154th out of 428, tyvm) and I saw the person with the 2 stars.  So I clicked the name. 

I couldn't help myself.  I mean, I'm not stalking or even all that invested.  I was just curious.  I figured I'd have a looksee and go on about my evening.

Well, Goodreads has this thing where you can compare the books you and another person have in common.  So I clicked it.  And I found something interesting.  Pretty much everything I've read and loved, they've read and hated.  In fact, one author I absolutely adore consistently got 1-star ratings from this person.

Suddenly I found myself wishing I'd gotten a 1-star rating, too, because then I'd be on the same level as this bestselling author.  Silly, I know, because when it comes to that other author, I'm totally Wayne and Garth on my knees going 'I'm not worthy!'  All at once, though, I felt proud of myself.

So, yeah, that's how I came to stop worrying and love my little 2-star rating.  If it was a physical thing, I'd put it on a shelf and pet it nicely. 

When you see a low rating on a book, does it have any effect on whether you purchase the book?  Do you ever 'consider the source' (as my mother always put it)? 

Screwing Around

I'm kinda at loose ends right now.  Clicking over to look at sales data, when there's no sales data to speak of, is driving me bonkers.  As if, checking for new reviews, etc.  Bleh.  I should be writing, or rather editing, but I'm a little under the weather and I don't have the patience. Plus, Max is in the office today and he's more than a little... MAX! Cut that out!... distracting.

Anyway, I was screwing around the other day answering 'questions' at Goodreads, so if any of you want to know any more little tidbits about me, go here:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/13476020.B_E_Sanderson/questions

And if you have any questions you'd like to ask, feel free.  I'll answer them if I can - and if they aren't too personal or anything. 

BTW, Max is at least part Maine Coon.  If you don't have experience with Maine Coons, they like to climb and they're easily bored and they crave attention.  Of course, to them negative attention is the same as positive attention.  Same same. 

Now you can return to the regularly scheduled screwing around of your own.

Sunday Update - Week 6

Yep, forgot it was Sunday.  Let's just say my mind has been elsewhere lately.  Chiefly, this is the beginning of my first ever week before release day. 

Which means I'm scattered.

Last Sunday, I set up my very own FB author page and to encourage fans, I held a contest for a $25 gift card open to my first 50 likes.  Took about 24 hours.  I'll hold another one for my first 100 fans, so if you're on Facebook, and haven't liked my page yet, go like it.  When I get close to 100 likes, I'll formally announce the other contest.  Which means people who like this blog would get in on the ground floor. 

I also spent the week scouring Dying Embers for mistakes, flaws, continuity errors, and anything else I might've missed along the way.  I finished last night and I can safely say... Well, not that I got them all but that I am done looking.  What ain't fixed ain't gonna be fixed, cuz if I ain't seen it by now, I ain't a-gonna see it.

Also, I made a Goodreads listing for Dying Embers, and applied for membership as a Goodreads Author.  I got approved for that this morning, so that page is set up now, too. 

Ugh.  I'm tired just thinking about it all. 

The cover artist and I are like this close to having a print cover.  And some marketing materials.  Which will be cool.  He did this as a fun thing:

Except I didn't know it was for fun, so I was all like "I see my target reader more as sitting in sweats eating a half-gallon of double fudge brownie ice cream - spoon in one hand, book in the other.  Or with wine."  (At least that's how I like to read a good suspense.  How about you?)

Other than Dying Embers stuff I haven't done much of anything.  Well, Friday I did go thrifting and picked up two awesome chairs:

I edited in the right one yesterday morning while Hubs was sanding.  It was awesome.  The left one is for Pretty Pink Pig - unless Hubs wants to sit there.

Hubs also made some progress on the sanding (which was why I was editing in the office instead of the living room - it's pretty loud). 

What's news in your world?

Am I Just a Fickle Book Whore?

If you've ever been over to visit me on Goodreads, you might notice something curious.  Most of my reads have either 4 or 5 stars.  You'll see the same reaction if you find my Amazon reviews.  And you might ask yourself - is she too easy?  Is she just a fickle book whore, throwing her love to everyone she sees?  Am she really not that discriminating?

I think the answer lies more in the fact that I don't finish books I don't enjoy*, and I don't add a book to Goodreads if I didn't finish it.  It also lies in the fact that I was raised with the maxim: If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything.

Of course, that doesn't mean I only ever say nice things.  More often than not, though, I just don't speak.  =oX

And I am kind of easy to please.  I admit it.  If a book does what I expect it to - which is to say, entertain me - without any extraneous crap, I'm usually happy with the book.  If I enjoy the book, but the author's philosophy creeps in (and it's a philosophy I don't agree with), they might lose a star - if the philosophy took away from my joy of reading, that is.  But usually, I can get past the parts I don't love and back to the parts I do without too much of a problem.  If it becomes a problem, I don't finish the book.  Simple as that.

Maybe I am too easy that way.  I mean, I see a lot of reviews where the reviewer is tearing at the writer, and ripping away stars right and left, over things that I really didn't notice. Sometimes a secondary character's hair color starts out brown, changes to blonde and I never notice.  But other people do.  (I've seen a couple reviews that point out things like that.)

Are they being too picky?  Or am I not being picky enough?  :shrug:

How about you? Are you a tough judge?  Do you put down books unread if they're not your cup of java?

*btw, I finish most of the books I start.

Goodreads and Me

A long time ago, I joined Goodreads.  And then promptly did nothing with it.  At all.  I was like the ghost in the Goodreads machine.  Earlier this year, though, I finally decided to get into the place in a more active way.  Sure, I'm not partaking of everything the site has to offer, but I'm finding my place and enjoying the scenery.

I might have mentioned (if not here, then elsewhere), that I became a Goodreads Librarian.  It's really not that hard a position to get into.  You exceed a certain number of books in your library and then fill out a form.  They accept or deny you.  I got accepted.  Basically what that means is I can update books, fix listings, and add books (when I'm absolutely certain it's not out there already). It all came about because an acquaintance of mine needed help getting his books up on the site.  Since then, I've helped him, and a few others, to get their books on Goodreads or get additional materials up there (like cover images, etc.)

I'm also keeping track of the books I read with their reading challenge - if you didn't notice there's a widget thingie over on the right.  I still keep my own page for that, but this is cool, too.  Now everyone who's friends with me can see what I read and I can see what they've read.  It's totally cool - in a nerdy, book-addict kind of way.

Additionally, I've found a few great books to read by seeing what my friends on Goodreads are reading or have in their too-read list.

All in all, it's a pretty neat place for book lovers to hang out and connect - and it's totally what you put into it.  No pressure, just books.  :happy sigh:  They even have discussion boards for those people who are interested.  (Not me.  I'm a recovering forum addict.  But you might like it.)

So, have you tried Goodreads?  Feel free to friend me.  I'd love to see what you're reading.