I have been a total slug since the beginning of April. I'm trying to rectify that now. To that end, I actually ordered paperbacks for Up Wish Creek (which was slugness from last fall) and I built a paperback edition and cover finally for Natural Causes, AND I rebuilt the paperback cover for Blood Flow (because it no longer matches the ebook cover). I'll probably have some kind of giveaway for all three of those sometime soon.
Speaking of Blood Flow, it's going on sale tomorrow through the 7th - all of Independence Day week because what else do you do with a political thriller? It's a Kindle Countdown Deal, but it'll be 99c through the whole week. US only because I totally forgot to set the deal for the UK until just now and now it's too late. Not that they really give a rip about our Independence Day anyway. Maybe I'll pick a week the UK people like and have a sale then.
Speaking of building a paperback edition, I spent a considerable amount of time and brain energy trying to figure out which page was the right page. (It shows up left on my Word because it doesn't allow for the blank inside cover. Derp.) What a brainfart. It's not like I hadn't done this 7 times before. Sheesh.
My best 'in real life' friend's husband is having open heart surgery tomorrow. Send positive energy winging up to Kansas City tomorrow. K? He's one of the good guys and we need to keep as many of those around as long as possible. They're in short supply.
You hear about so many crappy relationships out there in the world. I'm really lucky that I and my closest married friends all have good relationships. You know who you are. Give yourselves hugs for me.
I ran across a review of the book I'm reading that was posted by a 7th grade girl. It was sad - she basically gave the book a one-star review because she didn't realize that an anthology of mystery and suspense had death in it, and the two stories she read were confusing. I inhaled these types of stories at that age. Of course, I'm me and I've always been this way. Maybe she picked it up thinking it would be mysteries and suspense about stolen things instead of dead things. She really should've gone with Nancy Drew or something.
Okay, that's it for me. What's on your this n that radar today?
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Any Questions?
I would usually put a post like this up at Outside the Box, but since I do have followers here who don't follow there, I'm putting it here today and there tomorrow.
You see, I'm working on the final book in the Once Upon a Djinn series. And I want to wrap everything up, if I can. (Not that I'll never write another genie book, but I want all the questions from books 1-3 answered in #4 so readers can leave feeling satisfied.) To that end, I was wondering what burning questions readers would like to see answered in this final book.
Now, yes, the book is already written. All the way through. And I finished the first edit pass last night. But I might've missed something. I don't think I did, but there's always the chance I'm wrong. This is your chance to tell me what you're dying to know.
Yep, there's always still a chance I won't have wrapped something up to your satisfaction. Them's the chances we take when we read a book, don't ya know. But I'm trying.
To help, here are a few things I know for certain I have addressed...
- Zeke's disappearance in book 3.
- the cliffhanger at the end of book 3.
- the mysterious glimpse Jo was given into the future in book 2.
- the ultimatum the other supernaturals gave Jo in book 3.
- what happens with Reggie?
- the disappearance of Hans
Anything else? I'm sure whatever we don't catch now, JC will catch when she gets her hands on WHTF. But I want to know what you're thinking.
If you have any non-genie related questions, you can ask them now, too, if you want to. I'll answer what I can.
You see, I'm working on the final book in the Once Upon a Djinn series. And I want to wrap everything up, if I can. (Not that I'll never write another genie book, but I want all the questions from books 1-3 answered in #4 so readers can leave feeling satisfied.) To that end, I was wondering what burning questions readers would like to see answered in this final book.
Now, yes, the book is already written. All the way through. And I finished the first edit pass last night. But I might've missed something. I don't think I did, but there's always the chance I'm wrong. This is your chance to tell me what you're dying to know.
Yep, there's always still a chance I won't have wrapped something up to your satisfaction. Them's the chances we take when we read a book, don't ya know. But I'm trying.
To help, here are a few things I know for certain I have addressed...
- Zeke's disappearance in book 3.
- the cliffhanger at the end of book 3.
- the mysterious glimpse Jo was given into the future in book 2.
- the ultimatum the other supernaturals gave Jo in book 3.
- what happens with Reggie?
- the disappearance of Hans
Anything else? I'm sure whatever we don't catch now, JC will catch when she gets her hands on WHTF. But I want to know what you're thinking.
If you have any non-genie related questions, you can ask them now, too, if you want to. I'll answer what I can.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Sunday Update - Week 25
Hello again. Let's jump right into it.
Writerly stuff: I'm up to pg 158 on the editing phase for Wish Hits the Fan. Only 38 pages left to go. Yes, this one is a tad shorter, but action packed. Also, my sale and marketing venture wrapped up. It did not go as well as I'd hoped, but better than it could've gone. Cover stuff is going well. I got the new cover for In Deep Wish and it sounds like my artist and I are on the same page for the cover of Wish Hits the Fan.
Readerly stuff: I spent a lot of the week not reading. BUT, I did snag a new book from Jennifer Lyon and inhaled it. Savaged Dreams was amazing. I also finished another Cat Who mystery last Sunday. Those bring me up to a total of 48 book so far this year out of the 70 book goal. 15 books ahead of schedule. I'll probably end up raising my goal, but for right now, since I don't know what the coming months will bring, I'm leaving it alone. Right now I'm reading a honker of an anthology - mystery and suspense stories from the masters. That should keep me busy for a while.
It's been too hot to fish. I did go out once last week. Tried several different spots and only caught one little bluegill.
So, the lack of fishing and the lack of walking (because of the heat) has begun the slow slide into atrophied lump status. I tried dance-exercising last week to make up the difference and after 5 minutes I quit. Then I swept the floors, so it wasn't a total loss.
Made what I call quesadillas last week. They are totally not quesadillas, but I call them that. (It's probably more like a tostada.) Fry two tortillas until they're golden. Set them aside. Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning/water. Sinner until the liquid is gone. Put one tortilla on a pizza pan, sprinkle it with cheese, spread the beef all over it. Put the other tortilla on top, sprinkle cheese all over it. Put it in the oven until the cheese is all melty. Serve with salsa and sour cream. Sometimes I put sliced olives in it. Sometimes I saute mushrooms with the beef. Sometimes I use chicken. This time I put enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkled more cheese before I baked it. Anyway, they're pretty awesome. And it usually makes enough for two meals for us - if we aren't piggish about it.
Well, I think that's it for me. Anything up with you?
Writerly stuff: I'm up to pg 158 on the editing phase for Wish Hits the Fan. Only 38 pages left to go. Yes, this one is a tad shorter, but action packed. Also, my sale and marketing venture wrapped up. It did not go as well as I'd hoped, but better than it could've gone. Cover stuff is going well. I got the new cover for In Deep Wish and it sounds like my artist and I are on the same page for the cover of Wish Hits the Fan.
Readerly stuff: I spent a lot of the week not reading. BUT, I did snag a new book from Jennifer Lyon and inhaled it. Savaged Dreams was amazing. I also finished another Cat Who mystery last Sunday. Those bring me up to a total of 48 book so far this year out of the 70 book goal. 15 books ahead of schedule. I'll probably end up raising my goal, but for right now, since I don't know what the coming months will bring, I'm leaving it alone. Right now I'm reading a honker of an anthology - mystery and suspense stories from the masters. That should keep me busy for a while.
It's been too hot to fish. I did go out once last week. Tried several different spots and only caught one little bluegill.
So, the lack of fishing and the lack of walking (because of the heat) has begun the slow slide into atrophied lump status. I tried dance-exercising last week to make up the difference and after 5 minutes I quit. Then I swept the floors, so it wasn't a total loss.
Made what I call quesadillas last week. They are totally not quesadillas, but I call them that. (It's probably more like a tostada.) Fry two tortillas until they're golden. Set them aside. Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning/water. Sinner until the liquid is gone. Put one tortilla on a pizza pan, sprinkle it with cheese, spread the beef all over it. Put the other tortilla on top, sprinkle cheese all over it. Put it in the oven until the cheese is all melty. Serve with salsa and sour cream. Sometimes I put sliced olives in it. Sometimes I saute mushrooms with the beef. Sometimes I use chicken. This time I put enchilada sauce over the top and sprinkled more cheese before I baked it. Anyway, they're pretty awesome. And it usually makes enough for two meals for us - if we aren't piggish about it.
Well, I think that's it for me. Anything up with you?
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Thursday This n That
First off...
I said I'd give you the cover when I had the cover, and there it is. It's uploading to Amazon as I type this. I still need to put it up everywhere else the old cover is posted. Should be done by the end of the day.
A former employer approached me with an interesting business proposition yesterday. A non-writing business proposition. I'm considering it. Expectation is that it would take 10-20 hours a week. During regular business hours, so it wouldn't really interfere with my writing - which I do at night for the most part. Weighing the pros and cons now. I should make my decision one way or the other by the end of the weekend. I'll let you know after I let them know.
So, yesterday, some dipshit attacked an off-duty police officer at Bishop International Airport in Flint, MI. He was reportedly shouting 'allahu akbar'. In Flint, MI. For those of you who don't know, I grew up in a little farming community outside Flint. I mean, Flint sucks and it has for most of my life. I grew up knowing to stay the hell out of Flint proper because it was such a hole. But Islamic terrorists haven't been on the radar there. At least not for me. Murder? Yep. Robbery? Oh most certainly. Rape, etc.? Definitely. But Islamic terrorism? Wait, what? No way. I mean, Bishop is only an 'international' airport because it has some flights into Canada. (I think that's it. It may have flights to Mexico and the Caribbean by now. I haven't actually been to Bishop since 2001.) Of course, Flint is only about 90 minutes out of Dearborn, which has a huge - and so far low-key - Muslim population, so it probably shouldn't be as surprising as it was to me. It's just that I wouldn't have expected to hear about this shit there. Hell, it's only about 30 minutes from my mom. =o\
The world, she is a changin'. In scary, weird, asinine, unexpected ways. I don't know about you, but it kinda makes me want to dig a bunker and become heavily armed.
But I have books to write and promises to keep and miles to go before I... Well, you get the picture.
To that end, I'm at pg 131 in my edits. Even with the business proposition looming in my head. Even with a phone call from the Kid last night. Even with the world spiraling into a craptastic mess. I'm still working. Finally. You have no idea - okay, maybe you do - what a relief that is. And I'll keep working as long as the world lets me. Cuz this is America. And fuck those who would make it NOT America. Am I right or am I right?
That's it for me today. How's about you?
A former employer approached me with an interesting business proposition yesterday. A non-writing business proposition. I'm considering it. Expectation is that it would take 10-20 hours a week. During regular business hours, so it wouldn't really interfere with my writing - which I do at night for the most part. Weighing the pros and cons now. I should make my decision one way or the other by the end of the weekend. I'll let you know after I let them know.
So, yesterday, some dipshit attacked an off-duty police officer at Bishop International Airport in Flint, MI. He was reportedly shouting 'allahu akbar'. In Flint, MI. For those of you who don't know, I grew up in a little farming community outside Flint. I mean, Flint sucks and it has for most of my life. I grew up knowing to stay the hell out of Flint proper because it was such a hole. But Islamic terrorists haven't been on the radar there. At least not for me. Murder? Yep. Robbery? Oh most certainly. Rape, etc.? Definitely. But Islamic terrorism? Wait, what? No way. I mean, Bishop is only an 'international' airport because it has some flights into Canada. (I think that's it. It may have flights to Mexico and the Caribbean by now. I haven't actually been to Bishop since 2001.) Of course, Flint is only about 90 minutes out of Dearborn, which has a huge - and so far low-key - Muslim population, so it probably shouldn't be as surprising as it was to me. It's just that I wouldn't have expected to hear about this shit there. Hell, it's only about 30 minutes from my mom. =o\
The world, she is a changin'. In scary, weird, asinine, unexpected ways. I don't know about you, but it kinda makes me want to dig a bunker and become heavily armed.
But I have books to write and promises to keep and miles to go before I... Well, you get the picture.
To that end, I'm at pg 131 in my edits. Even with the business proposition looming in my head. Even with a phone call from the Kid last night. Even with the world spiraling into a craptastic mess. I'm still working. Finally. You have no idea - okay, maybe you do - what a relief that is. And I'll keep working as long as the world lets me. Cuz this is America. And fuck those who would make it NOT America. Am I right or am I right?
That's it for me today. How's about you?
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Sunday Update - Week 24
Here we are again. Which is definitely better than the alternative. ;o)
Last week... Let's see...
In the realm of writerly stuff, I'm up to pg63 on my edits for Wish Hits the Fan. I plan to hit the thing hard the rest of this month and maybe get something not-sucktastic to my editor by the end of the month. :fingers crossed:
Also, since the post where I said I had lost the will to market, I did marketing stuff. My genie books are free or cheap thru tomorrow night, with an ad going out today, so I've been hitting the FB status updates hard. I even went to Twitter for the first time in months. :gasp: (My author page on FB updates to Twitter automatically, but I felt I should probably visit the site. And I was reminded why I don't go there*.)
To that end, I have given away 54 copies of WIOH and sold 2 copies each of IDW and UWC - as of this morning, pre-advertising. (Which is more books than I sold all of last month, so I'm pleased.)
I read three books last week and I'm most of the way through a fourth. I read a scifi, a fantasy, and a mystery. I'm currently reading a paranormal romance.
I spent yesterday morning scrubbing the burner pans from my stove. I lead such an exciting life.
Fishing has been super sporadic lately, which means I only went out once last week. I'd set a reward system up for editing, but with the way things are going, I have to fish when I can if I want to fish at all. I guess I'll just have to kick my own ass into gear without the carrot.
The deer all seem to have had their babies, but we haven't seen any of the fawns yet. Thus begins Fawn Watch 2017.
Fledgling birds are everywhere. So cute. I don't know if you know this but fledgling titmice make this really high-pitched noise when they're begging for food that sets my teeth on edge like fingernails on a chalkboard. I can forgive it, though. Cuz they're cute.
Oh, and I spent the majority of the past three days watching the US Open golf tournament. So much golf that I'm seeing putting in my sleep. LOL, luckily today's the last day.
Well, that enough out of me already. How's about you?
Last week... Let's see...
In the realm of writerly stuff, I'm up to pg63 on my edits for Wish Hits the Fan. I plan to hit the thing hard the rest of this month and maybe get something not-sucktastic to my editor by the end of the month. :fingers crossed:
Also, since the post where I said I had lost the will to market, I did marketing stuff. My genie books are free or cheap thru tomorrow night, with an ad going out today, so I've been hitting the FB status updates hard. I even went to Twitter for the first time in months. :gasp: (My author page on FB updates to Twitter automatically, but I felt I should probably visit the site. And I was reminded why I don't go there*.)
To that end, I have given away 54 copies of WIOH and sold 2 copies each of IDW and UWC - as of this morning, pre-advertising. (Which is more books than I sold all of last month, so I'm pleased.)
I read three books last week and I'm most of the way through a fourth. I read a scifi, a fantasy, and a mystery. I'm currently reading a paranormal romance.
I spent yesterday morning scrubbing the burner pans from my stove. I lead such an exciting life.
Fishing has been super sporadic lately, which means I only went out once last week. I'd set a reward system up for editing, but with the way things are going, I have to fish when I can if I want to fish at all. I guess I'll just have to kick my own ass into gear without the carrot.
The deer all seem to have had their babies, but we haven't seen any of the fawns yet. Thus begins Fawn Watch 2017.
Fledgling birds are everywhere. So cute. I don't know if you know this but fledgling titmice make this really high-pitched noise when they're begging for food that sets my teeth on edge like fingernails on a chalkboard. I can forgive it, though. Cuz they're cute.
Oh, and I spent the majority of the past three days watching the US Open golf tournament. So much golf that I'm seeing putting in my sleep. LOL, luckily today's the last day.
Well, that enough out of me already. How's about you?
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Saturday Fishing Report - 6/17/17
Hello again, and welcome to the Saturday Fishing Report.
Not a lot to report from last week. The lake level is going down for the most part. Not sure what last night's rain is going to do to it, but it's headed in the right direction. Or something.
Right now, the lake level is at such a point where the places I can reach are just close enough to the trees that I spend more time hung up in branches and on deadfall than actually catching fish. Plus, the sun was out a lot last week. Plus, it's getting hot out. Plus, the summer people are here. So, I only went out once last week.
Tuesday. I went out early to avoid people. Sure enough there was a dude in an SUV parked in the middle of where I wanted to fish. So, I walked through the trees to try the river side rather than the parking lot. First cast was a clusterfudge. Hooked it left smack dab into the root ball of a fallen pine. Broke the line and watched my bobber float away. As I was re-rigging, the dude drove away, so I gathered up my gear and went to my go-to spot. Caught two little punkinseeds, but nothing bigger was biting. Tried casting in a couple different spots and got hung up on an underwater tree a couple times. Good news is I got that bobber back AND I got the bobber that had floated away earlier. But the sun was getting higher and my shade went away, so I drove around the backside of the area, hoping to fish in the cove. First cast, right into a cedar. Lost that whole rig - last seen still hanging in the tree. And when it broke free, the line shot back at me and became a horrible tangle. Having already depleted my stores of patience, I packed up and went home.
I had planned on going out Thursday morning, but that fell through. I thought about going out Friday, but thunderstorms rolled in, and when they rolled out they left clear skies with tons of humidity behind. Thunderstorms again this morning, and I'm just not motivated. We'll see what next week brings.
Not a lot to report from last week. The lake level is going down for the most part. Not sure what last night's rain is going to do to it, but it's headed in the right direction. Or something.
Right now, the lake level is at such a point where the places I can reach are just close enough to the trees that I spend more time hung up in branches and on deadfall than actually catching fish. Plus, the sun was out a lot last week. Plus, it's getting hot out. Plus, the summer people are here. So, I only went out once last week.
Tuesday. I went out early to avoid people. Sure enough there was a dude in an SUV parked in the middle of where I wanted to fish. So, I walked through the trees to try the river side rather than the parking lot. First cast was a clusterfudge. Hooked it left smack dab into the root ball of a fallen pine. Broke the line and watched my bobber float away. As I was re-rigging, the dude drove away, so I gathered up my gear and went to my go-to spot. Caught two little punkinseeds, but nothing bigger was biting. Tried casting in a couple different spots and got hung up on an underwater tree a couple times. Good news is I got that bobber back AND I got the bobber that had floated away earlier. But the sun was getting higher and my shade went away, so I drove around the backside of the area, hoping to fish in the cove. First cast, right into a cedar. Lost that whole rig - last seen still hanging in the tree. And when it broke free, the line shot back at me and became a horrible tangle. Having already depleted my stores of patience, I packed up and went home.
I had planned on going out Thursday morning, but that fell through. I thought about going out Friday, but thunderstorms rolled in, and when they rolled out they left clear skies with tons of humidity behind. Thunderstorms again this morning, and I'm just not motivated. We'll see what next week brings.
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Thursday This n That
This morning I was reading a news story about a car dealership in Michigan that had offered a panhandler a job. The panhandler laughed at them and told them he makes more money than any of them. Something to think about when you see them with their signs.
Yesterday I went to a new-to-me thrift store that benefits a local animal shelter. I won't be going back. I hadn't been there before because it looked hard to pull into and hard to pull out of. It was. I got there right when the doors opened. At the counter stood a man putting on his deodorant*. I mean, I'm appreciative of anyone who wears deodorant, but no. Just no. The place smelled of mildew. The books, what little they had, were in the basement down a narrow stairwell, and were two to three times more expensive than my usual thrift store. I did find some books, though. When I went to check out, I noticed a bullet-hole in the front window. I said, "Is that a bullet hole or a stone chip?" They said "It's a bullet hole. This used to be a pawn shop." Like that explained it all. Then the gal was all like "was that you that parked over there?" Yep, it looked like a perfectly normal place to park in their dirt lot. "Don't park there. People like to whip through the parking lot to turn around and we've had a lot of people hit backing out of those spots." Ummmm. Ri-ight.
The reason I was looking for a new thrift store is because my regular thrift store was snotty to me the last time I stopped in. (And had been snotty in the past.) Plus, their 'new management' jacked up all the prices. I'm not ever going to be a premier donor or shopper at these places, but I do donate stuff regularly and I do shop regularly. Driving away small customers like me seems unwise. But maybe that's just me. Next try? The Salvation Army location. I just want someplace that'll take my donations and offer me stuff to buy without any irritations.
Anyway, back to the books. I found some really cool stuff - a mystery/suspense anthology with a lot of awesome older crime novelists, a SF anthology with a lot of awesome older SF novelists, an Agatha Christie in the same edition as the one my mom had on her shelf when I was growing up (which I, oddly, never read), a fantasy paperback in a series I've been reading but haven't bought that one yet, a paperback UF by an author I've been meaning to read, and a mystery novel by Isaac Asimov. I didn't even know Asimov wrote any mysteries. Oh, and a Nero Wolfe I hadn't read yet. In hardcover. Score.
Okay, I think that's just about enough out of me for this morning. What have you got?
*Lest you think, 'well, maybe he was homeless', he was later telling me about his two houses and his 20 acres of land. He has a full-time job and volunteers there on his day off. And I saw the brand-new SUV he got out of when he arrived. Plus, I'm pretty sure the place has a bathroom where he could've applied his toiletries. :shudder:
Yesterday I went to a new-to-me thrift store that benefits a local animal shelter. I won't be going back. I hadn't been there before because it looked hard to pull into and hard to pull out of. It was. I got there right when the doors opened. At the counter stood a man putting on his deodorant*. I mean, I'm appreciative of anyone who wears deodorant, but no. Just no. The place smelled of mildew. The books, what little they had, were in the basement down a narrow stairwell, and were two to three times more expensive than my usual thrift store. I did find some books, though. When I went to check out, I noticed a bullet-hole in the front window. I said, "Is that a bullet hole or a stone chip?" They said "It's a bullet hole. This used to be a pawn shop." Like that explained it all. Then the gal was all like "was that you that parked over there?" Yep, it looked like a perfectly normal place to park in their dirt lot. "Don't park there. People like to whip through the parking lot to turn around and we've had a lot of people hit backing out of those spots." Ummmm. Ri-ight.
The reason I was looking for a new thrift store is because my regular thrift store was snotty to me the last time I stopped in. (And had been snotty in the past.) Plus, their 'new management' jacked up all the prices. I'm not ever going to be a premier donor or shopper at these places, but I do donate stuff regularly and I do shop regularly. Driving away small customers like me seems unwise. But maybe that's just me. Next try? The Salvation Army location. I just want someplace that'll take my donations and offer me stuff to buy without any irritations.
Anyway, back to the books. I found some really cool stuff - a mystery/suspense anthology with a lot of awesome older crime novelists, a SF anthology with a lot of awesome older SF novelists, an Agatha Christie in the same edition as the one my mom had on her shelf when I was growing up (which I, oddly, never read), a fantasy paperback in a series I've been reading but haven't bought that one yet, a paperback UF by an author I've been meaning to read, and a mystery novel by Isaac Asimov. I didn't even know Asimov wrote any mysteries. Oh, and a Nero Wolfe I hadn't read yet. In hardcover. Score.
Okay, I think that's just about enough out of me for this morning. What have you got?
*Lest you think, 'well, maybe he was homeless', he was later telling me about his two houses and his 20 acres of land. He has a full-time job and volunteers there on his day off. And I saw the brand-new SUV he got out of when he arrived. Plus, I'm pretty sure the place has a bathroom where he could've applied his toiletries. :shudder:
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