Marketing Monday, or Lack Thereof

 There won't be any marketing today.  I haven't been sleeping well and I just didn't have the drive to create a sale.  And I knew I wouldn't be in any shape to do morning marketing today.  (We finally slept last night, which was good.)

The problem with not marketing is with no marketing comes no sales.  I mean, I'm still getting some page reads, but nothing to shout about.  :shrug:

Unfortunately, even with the marketing, I'm only averaging about $20 a month.  I keep hoping something will take off and fly, but so far, nothing has.  When I look at the amount of effort versus the return, it really makes me not want to market.  

This, of course, is all free marketing.  As in, no money is going to to accomplish it.  On the other hand, I'm spending a lot of time.  We won't go into how many hours I spend to make $20 a month, okay?  That's just depressing.  I get paid more than that for working on a single spreadsheet for an hour.  

Anyway, I know that if I paid someone else for marketing, I'd trade cash for time.  The problem with that is the last time I paid for ads, I made an 11.06% profit.  In 2019, I paid $355.31 and cleared $39.31.  Not sure if 11% profit is awesome or pathetic, but there it is.

With FB being a turd about how much I can market, I'm definitely going to need to start delving back into other sources.  I've started that, kinda.  At least, I've gone through and determined which newsletters are defunct, so I have a good list to use when I start back up again.  Bleh.

Tomorrow's post will be of a personally relevant nature, as opposed to a writerly nature.  Maybe I'll talk more about this marketing thing on Wednesday.  For now, though, it's time to get to my morning routine.  Have a great day, wherever you are.

Screwed by the Liberals Again

In case you missed it, the liberal government passed some new health insurance laws again last year that went into effect this year.  (https://help.ihealthagents.com/hc/en-us/articles/20207003806871-New-Short-Term-Health-Insurance-Law-Rules-for-2025) 

Let me set you the stage for how this effects me (and possibly you)...

For the last several years, I've been using short term health insurance.  It bypasses the Obamacare mandate, which makes it way cheaper.  I can't afford health insurance any other way, so there I am.  It's not great, but it's better than nothing.  Every 6 months, I would have to sign up for a new policy.  When I got the email saying my insurance was expiring, it seemed like it was the wrong month to renew, but I shrugged and got on with signing up.  That's when I noticed that all the new policies were 3 month with a 1 month extension.  I guess when I signed up in March for my new policy, I missed that fact.  Okay, fine, whatever.

I went into the site, did my thing, found my policy, and went through the process of getting my new policy.  5 days went by while I waited for my acceptance.  Instead, I got an email saying my application for new insurance had been 'withdrawn'.  Unfortunately, I got the email right before I went to bed, so there wasn't anything I could do about it (which didn't stop me from obsessing over it all night).  And time was ticking because my current policy would run out on the 30th.  

The next day, I contacted the company that manages this crap - ehealth, I think it's called - via chat message on their site.  The gal told me she couldn't help me and I would have to call.  So, I called.  I got a really nice lady who calmly explained to me that the law had changed last September and, in addition to the policies only being for 4 months each, they cannot be from the same provider twice in the same year.  They withdrew my application from United Health because I can't have them again this year. 

The only other companies offering short term insurance in my state... because, ya know, Obama fixed it so we can only have certain companies offering insurance in our states... are unheard of to me.  And either of them only offer indemnity policies instead of regular policies (PPO or EPO).  

I picked one and submitted a new application, because what choice do I have?  Even if I could afford to get a regular policy, you can't sign up for one of those outside the month of November.  (Obama again... although in all fairness, it's not just him. It's him and his cronies.  And Biden and his handlers.)  

So, as long as my application got accepted, I would have insurance.  Until 10/31.  (It was accepted, btw. So yay, I guess.) Then I'll have to go with the other unknown indemnity company for 4 months before I can go back to UH.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  On the upside, the new policy is cheaper with better coverage... except for the indemnity thing where we'll have to pay out of pocket and get reimbursed by the insurance afterward.  

While I was doing this, I accidentally ended up in the section for regular insurance quotes, and discovered that the cheapest of those was $750-ish a month.  Almost twice what I was paying UH and more than 3 times what I'll be paying the new company.  That's like half our monthly income.  

Yes, I know some of this is my own damn fault, right?  I could crawl to Obamacare and beg for alms, but my hypocrisy only goes so far.  Come November, I might have to debase myself and do that or choose to go insurance-less.  

I'm a healthy gal.  I can go without insurance, right?  (Don't worry, I'm not that stupid.  Bad things have a way of happening, especially when you temp fate by going without insurance.)

Sunday Update - Week 26

I almost typed Sunday Ypdate.  Yip.  LOL. Yeah, this is what comes of too little sleep and then waking up late.  

Anyway...

I wrote words!  5269 of them.  I gave myself a good talking to mentally and Monday night, I just started adding words to DN3.  I took Friday off because it was a mentally draining day and I just wasn't in a place where words would come out.  Then yesterday I wrote over 1800 words, which kinda made up for the day off.  The point is, I'm averaging over 1000 words a day, which is good.

And I even did some editing.  I stopped writing one night and as I lay in bed, I realized that something needed to happen between where Duke was and where Duke had been before, so I went back... a thing I almost never do while I'm dirty drafting... and fixed it.  The writing really started flowing after that.  Woot.

No Marketing this week.  I'll see what I can come up with this week for a new offering.  It's hard to muster the urge when I have to fight FB every step of the way, but if I don't market, I don't sell.  And I like selling books.

The reading... well, you can see that in yesterday's posts.  I'm not blazing any trails here, unless it's the trail to DNF.

Yesterday morning, I made a half-batch of cinnamon rolls.  They turned out pretty good, even if halving the recipe took some mathing.  

On the activity front, I did something active 6 out of 7 days, so woot.  I only walked three of those days, so 3.5 miles (37.4 total).  I meant to walk 4 days, but I was wandering in the yard before setting out and I got stung by some kind of baby, bastard hornet.  Hurt like a bugger and put the kibosh on that day's walk.  (It's all better thanks to Benadryl gel.)  Now that it's hot, I decided to start dancing in the living room again.  So I did that one day.  And I went grocery shopping.  Weight: 172.0

Look for more information on Friday's drama this Tuesday.  (The post's already written, I just need to schedule it.)

On a gardening note, my tomato plants are huge and they all look like they're getting the beginnings of flowers, so that's something.  My green pepper plants are still tiny, but they're making progress.  Some of my trees are looking pooky, though. I think they need replanting in bigger pots or in the ground.  Ack.  I have no more bigger pots and they're not ready to combat the deer yet.  We'll see how that goes.  I may go pick up pots today.  Also, the blackberry patch I've been watching down the road is getting close to being ripe enough to pick.  Cross your fingers I make it there before the birds do.

Okay, so that's about all I have for you today.  How was your week?  

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 6/28/25

Hello!  Thanks for stopping by my Saturday Reading Wrap-up!  I hope you find something fun or at least interesting while you're here.  Unfortunately, it wasn't a banner week for finishing books.  

I picked up 8 ebooks this week - all free, of course.  In there are 2 SF, 3 UF, 2 thrillers, and a YA action/adventure.  Should be some fun reading in there somewhere... I hope.  No new hardcopies. 

Books Read:

26) Sweet Harmony by Noel Bailey (6/25/25) - magical romance*# - 4 stars.  New to me and underappreciated.  Found this for free off the Kindle Freebies I found Today Facebook group.
Review: "This was a fun story. I loved the premise and, being a former band nerd, the heroine's problem raising money for the music program. But I wasn't 100% keen on the hero's dilemma. I mean, he took care of it, but I think he needed to be more forceful with his father. Be the hero his lady needed him to be. Right then and there. :shrug: It's probably just me."
Additional note: This was a 'magical romance', but there was very little magic or mention of magic in it.

DNFs:

6/25/25 - post apocalyptic - free.  It jumped from 2055 with one MC to 2075 with another MC with no clear connection and then to yet another MC.  Too much in too short a time made it really confusing.  Like I need more confusion in my life. LOL

6/24/25 - suspense - free.  I really wanted to like this.  I'd read several things by this author before and I was thrilled to see this one offered for free on his Facebook page.  Sadly, it read like he either didn't bother to edit it or he ignored his editor's suggestions this time.  I tried, but after a while, I couldn't take it anymore.

6/23/25 - suspense - free.  A suspense is supposed to be quick and... well... suspenseful.  This?  It seemed like the author put every sentence through the 'quotable sentence' generator.  For good story telling, snappy sentences should be sprinkled throughout, not poured on like hot fudge.  (I like hot fudge, so it's over EVERYTHING.)  I gave up after a few pages of slogging through that.

Currently reading... I'm in the middle of Murder on the Orient Express in that Poirot Omnibus I'm reading.  When I finish it, I'll hit the ebooks again.

What was on your reading plate this week?  Yummy things or brussels sprouts?  ;o)

Thursday This n That

Now that I have a phone substitute on its way here, the landline is working.  Like 5 days in a row now, which hasn't happened since like March.  Turds.  I'm waiting until I make sure the new device arrives and works before I cancel the old stuff.

I stopped by the old office yesterday.  They're in the same building as a company that provides us a service, so I stop to pay that bill.  Anyway, I saw one of the guys, which was awesome.  The other guy I wanted to see had the day off.  Bummer.  I spent some time talking to the gal who basically replaced my supervisor.  Nice gal.  I gave her a tip on how to keep the Epson working... it's temperamental and a brat, but it was my baby... and she's going to try that. I also chided her on using after market ink.  That stuff is horrible and can really f-up your printer.  But it wasn't my place to say that.  Not anymore.  Hell, it wasn't my place then.  :shrug:  I have a tendency to take over like the bull I am.  (Taurus, doncha know.)  I spent two years reining the bull in, and now that I don't work there anymore, the bull wants to run through that china shop.  LOL

The roadside blackberries are almost ready.  When I drove by them yesterday, they looked pretty red.  Once they turn black, I can have at them.  As long as no one else gets there first, and the birds leave them alone, and the deer don't find them.  Also, the elderberry plants are about done flowering and they're starting to grow berries.  I'm not sure if I can reach those over the barbed wire fence, but I'm going to try.

Speaking of roadside berries, I belong to a FB page about Missouri backroads and some gal on there was talking about picking roadside blackberries where she lives.  So, see?  I'm not the only weirdo who does that.  ROFL

I did the Wallyworld thing yesterday.  Man, it's hot here and I was all sweaty spaghetti by the time I got home.  But I got everything we needed and some things we didn't need.  My Wallyworld is carrying frozen yogurt, so I picked up one 'half-gallon' of vanilla and one of chocolate.  Yum.  All the yumminess of ice cream with less fat.

Speaking of half-gallons of ice cream... The damn things aren't actually half-gallons anymore and haven't been for a while now, but it still pisses me off when I think about it.  I think Blue Bell still does a full half-gallon, but who can afford that?  Last time I bought Blue Bell, it was like $8 for a half gallon.  Yeowch.  Don't get me started on all the other things that are smaller now but cost more.  Grrrr.

Anyway, it's creeping up on time to call Ma, so I'll leave you with that last thought.  What kinds of thoughts are you having today?

What I Did

Despite the risk of jinxing this, I'm going to tell y'all what I did yesterday.

I wrote words.  1558 of them to be exact.  Which puts Duke Noble #3 at just over 3000 words.  It's a start.  No promises.  No judging.  Just write the words.  Every day.

I also exercised.  Not walked... exercised.  5 minutes dancing (which freaked the cats out... like 'eek! hide! mama's having a spastic fit' or something), 4 minutes doing regular exercises, 4 minutes more dancing and then walking around the house to get my heart rate back to normal*.

I told you all I just needed to give myself a good talking to.

Now, I just have to keep it up.  I'm shooting for 1500 words a day but any words will do.  And I'm aiming at ramping up the exercising until I'm back to my old stamina - walk = 1.6 miles 3 or 4 times a week, exercise = 20/10/20 on the days I'm not walking.

No excuses.  I need this for both my mental and my physical health.  Lord knows, I'm not getting any younger.  If I don't want to end up as an old lady sitting in a chair watching the world go by, or drooling on myself in a corner, I have to do something to make that not happen.  This is it.  

Join me, if you're able.  

*Safer than just stopping on the exercise.  You've got to ease your heart up and then ease it back down again.  

No Marketing Monday

As you can guess from the subject of this post, there's no marketing today.  I need to regroup, reassess, and reanimate.  I'll try to take this week to walk through everything in my head, pull myself out of the quicksand, and get on more solid ground.  We'll see what July brings and what I can make happen.  

That's all for now.  Go on about your day and make it a good one, if you can.  :hugs:

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 25

I'm not exactly sure it is Week 25, but it follows last week, and I'm not inclined to go check, so there you are.  

I thought about writing this week.  I really wanted to be able to say that I wrote something when I did my update, but alas, I can't.  I also thought about giving up on writing this week, cuz it's not like I'm actually doing it and haven't done it for a long time.  But I'm a mule, so I guess we'll all just sit here and wait for me to write some stuff.  Or I'll sit here while what few followers I have left wander away.  I need to take a walk and give myself a good talking to all the way around.

Marketing was done.  I'm still hampered in my efforts, which isn't helping with the whole malaise, but I moved 83 books.  And someone somewhere is reading WIOH, so that's $$.  Not sure what this week will bring for sales or marketing.  Stay tunes.

Reading went slow this week.  I finished one book and then started on an omnibus of Hercule Poirot stories.  Not sure why I started this behemoth, but there it is.  I'll probably pause between stories to read something else.

On the activity front, I did stuff 4 out of 7 days - 3 walks for 3.35 miles, cleaning, and weeding.  Then it got hot and I retreated into my shadowy lair.  We won't talk about weight this week.  The heat is making me fluffy.  Yeah, yeah... that's the ticket.

Speaking of hot, no baking this week.  I meant to make cookies or cake or something, but meh.

Big news this week.  After eons of trouble with Brightspeed, I finally took the first steps to kick those assholes to the curb.  I'm going with a VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol - service.  VoIP uses a widget that connects to our Starlink via wifi so we can use our regular phone over the internet to make calls like anyone else.  I researched it and found a company out of Edmund, OK that seems stable.  The device will be shipping to us and once I have it, I'll start the process to port our phone number from BS to our new provider.  Once that's done, I'll call BS and tell them to pound sand.  Woot. Steppin' into the 21st century like a boss.  

Okay, I think I've about updated myself out.  Have a great day wherever you are.  

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 6/21/25

Well, hello there.  It's that time again.  Let's see if I have anything interest to impart today.

I picked up one new ebook this week.  It's a magical romance of some sort that I saw on one of the FB groups I post to.  We'll see how it goes.

Books Read:

25) The Danger by Dick Francis (6/15/25) - thriller - 5 stars. Neither new to me nor underappreciated.  I picked this one up at a thrift store for a quarter.
Review: "Wow. This is an excellent read. Everything I love about Dick Francis with a twist of the likes of Fleming's or McLean's knack for international intrigue thrown in. Definitely more thriller than mystery. And totally awesome as a result."

No DNFs this week.

Currently reading... I started an omnibus of Hercule Poirot stories.  I might read one and then read something else, so a bit of back and forth until it's finished.  Which reminds me... I still haven't finished that HG Wells anthology.  :shrug:  Sometimes life is that way.  I'm currently 7 books behind on my reading goal, so I better get some stuff finished, I guess.

What was on your reading list this week?

Friday This n That

 Yeah, I've been brainfart central all week.  No reasons. No excuses. Just brainfart.  Or slug.  The result is the same.  I lay around doing not much of anything, babbling and drooling.  (Okay, the drooling is perhaps a mite dramatic.  It's figurative. Or something.)

The family drama is like 90% done.  We're mostly out of it, aside from the worrying - which we shouldn't do because there's nothing we can do about it, but we're not the kind of people who just stop worrying, so there ya are.

I have things coming up in my flat where I planted pepper seeds.  One pepper seed per dirt cup.  The problem is that I have more than one thing growing in several of the cups.  I did leave the flat thing out on the deck for a while, so who knows what might taken root.  And I had originally planted redbud seeds in those, so maybe something made the freakin' redbud seeds wake up and grow.  :shrug:  We'll see when the seedlings get a bit bigger.  

My tomato plants are HUGE.  They're monstrosities.  And they're only now starting to get the beginnings of flowers.  Turds.  I want tomatoes, damn it.

Finn is Camo-Kitty.  Sometimes, I can be looking right at him and not see him because he blends in.  But he's just a tiger-stripe, so I'm not sure how his camo works.  Maybe he's like the Predator and bends light around himself to hide more efficiently.

I just paused doing this to reload my freakin' phone and then renew my freakin' health insurance, which jacked up again.  :headdesk on repeat:

I have nothing else to add.  I'm gonna go for a walk and talk myself down from wanting to go screamin' chicken on the whole insurance industry.

*for the uninitiated, 'screamin' chicken' is when you fly into somewhere flapping your arms and squawking up a storm. My oldest sister coined the term decades ago and it stuck with me.

Marketing Monday

 Today, I'm on the ball and have scheduled a freebie for FERTILE GROUND.  Yay!  Get it while it's hot.

Yes, it's about the hunt for a serial rapist.  No, it's not graphic.  And it has a really satisfying end.  Nothing to fear here.

Anyway...

Blogger's being a turd and won't let me upload pictures to this damn thing again.  So here's the verbiage...

Now through Friday, FERTILE GROUND is free. (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.) Get your copy of this spine-tingling suspense today! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FOPNE9Y

And there'll be a pretty graphic I made to post along with the verbiage and the link, with text and a picture and junk.

I swear, between Blogger being a booger and FB being a turd, I'm lucky if I sell anything.  I really need to suck it up and pay for advertising.  

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 24

 Hello.  It's Sunday and I woke up late.  Bear with me.

Nothing on the writing or editing front.  I did some marketing, but I'm still hamstrung, so I can't do as much as I hope.  I only moved 59 copies of WHTF.  On the upside, I sold a copy each of the other OUAD novels.  Yay.

I did some reading.  I'm really into this Dick Francis I picked up.  I should finish that today.  I'll tell you about it next Saturday.

Monday, I made pizza, but that's it for the baking update.  I almost made cake yesterday, but I don't need cake.

On the activity side, I did something 4 out of 7 days.  Three days were walking and I added about 3 miles to the total, which is now over 30 miles for the year.  The other day, I did garden/yard stuff.  Weight: 171.6

In gardening news, some of my tomato plants appear to have the beginnings of buds. I've been begging them to flower so they can make fruit, so I can have something to show for all this work.  Also, of the 18 green pepper seeds I planted, I have 17 seedlings. Yay?  We'll see if they all make it to adulthood and give me fruits.  When I did my yard/garden stuff last week, I found a bunch more volunteer trees and have most of those in pots now.  I had to ditch a couple cedars to pot them, but that's okay.  (Because I ran out of dirt.)  There are 2-3 that I don't actually know for certain what they are, but I'm okay with that, too.  I need to buy more dirt for when the peppers are ready to transplant.  Maybe I'll do that today.  

As you can probably guess, I'm not my perky self today.  Blame it on the gray day.  Blame it on the lack of constructive anything regarding my writing.  All I want to do lately is sit and read or watch tv or play poker or maybe putter in my garden.  I'll go for a walk shortly and hope not to get rained on.  Maybe that'll shake me out of my funk.  No worries, though.  I have these funks and I always manage to shake out of them one way or another.  

Have a great day wherever you are out there.

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 6/14/25

Hello again.  Not the most exciting of reading weeks, but reading was accomplished and DNFs happened, so here we are.

No new books this week.

Books Read:

24) The Face in the Water by Kathleen Pennell (6/8/25) - mystery*# - 5 stars. New to me and underappreciated.  Snagged this one for free off Amazon's top 100 free Murder list.
Review: "A fun combination of gritty suspense and cozy mystery! I really enjoyed reading it."

DNFs:

6/11/25 - 25c mystery.  I just couldn't get into it.  Of course, it didn't help that the cover fell off when I started, but that's the risk you take when you buy used books.  I'll repair it and then take it back to a thrift store.

6/10/25 - 25c SF.  It wasn't bad, per se, but I just wasn't in the mood for a story with thinly veiled leftist politics.  Eh, I'm never really in the mood for that.  Back to the thrift store this one goes.

Currently reading... a Dick Francis paperback.  It's different from the other Dick Francis novels I've read, but it's still pretty awesome.  (Yes, it still has a tie-in to horse racing.)  

What have you been reading lately?

Wandering the Countryside, Eating Nature's Bounty

When I was a kid, I spent countless hours roaming the surrounding countryside.  One of my favorite pastimes was searching for edible stuff.  I knew where the one currant bush was and the patch of wild asparagus.  I cultivated the back hill's plethora of wild strawberries.  I tended the roadside bramble of boysenberries.  I snatched grapes from the wild vines and was brave enough to actually eat them.  (Wild grapes are SOUR, btw.)  

Some of my fondest childhood memories, of which I have woefully few, are of those summer days wandering with my dog, eating what I found.  Or searching for things that were rumored to be out there somewhere.  

One summer, my brother heard there was a gooseberry bush in the fallow cow field across the road, so off we went in search of it.  We never found it, but the hunt sticks in my memory.  Another time, the same brother was sure there was a butternut tree in the woods on the other side of the landfill.  (Yes, I grew up near a garbage dump.  Don't knock it.  It was a magical, if stinky, place for a kid.)  Off we tromped for that tree.  I don't remember if we ever found that one.  Part of me thinks we did and another part suspects it was another wild goose chase.  

I was heartbroken the day I got home from school to find they'd bulldozed the back hill.  I guess they were trying to make it smoother or something, but in one day, they eradicated my strawberry patch.  I'd spent hours and hours on that hill, pulling weeds and tending plants.  Every spring/summer for several years beforehand.  I'm pretty sure I cried.  I know I called Mom at work to rat them out, only to find out she okayed it.  I'm sure I never felt so betrayed.  (I was a kid, though, so I'm sure much worse betrayals came about since.)  I talked to Mom about it the other day and she doesn't remember it.  She said I never told her I was tending those strawberries, which is probably true.  They were my secret garden and my summer feast that I never had to share.

Recently, on a walk, I discovered a patch of blackberries, growing along the barbed wire fence beside the road.  I picked the ripe ones and brought them home.  There's another patch farther along that isn't ripe yet, but is loaded with berries.  I just hope the property owner doesn't come along and cut them down, or mow, or spray for weeds to kill everything on the fence - all of which they've done over the course of the past 12 years.  There's also a stand of elderberries that came back after the last cutting and they look like they might fruit this year.  Right now they're covered in flowers, so yay.

After we moved here, I was so happy to see what I thought were wild strawberries all over the southwest part of the yard.  Except the flowers were yellow.  (Strawberries have white blooms.)  They're not strawberries.  They're mock strawberries.  Same leaves, similar but yellow flowers, similar looking fruit - except the fruit isn't tasty.  It's pithy and watery.  They're so flavorless, even the critters don't eat them.  Bleh.  (I tried it, trust me.)  It was a disappointment, let me tell you.  

We also have black cherry trees.  Edible, but SOUR and very medicinal tasting - not surprising since they're used to make cough medicine.  The critters love those.  

I really do wish I had the cornucopia of edible things around this house that I had access to as a kid, even if it's just for the nostalgia of it.  Wandering the countryside eating nature's bounty... :happy sigh:

Thursday This n That

 Sawyer is being needy-kitty this morning and is now locked out of the office.  So he's outside the door meowing.

Life would be easier if it wasn't so hard.  Deep thought, eh?

If every tomato and pepper plant I have now actually fruited like it was supposed to, I'll be up to my armpits in tomatoes and green peppers.  Not a horrible situation, but what am I going to do with all that food?  Freeze it, of course.  Maybe I could sell them by the roadside or get a table at the farmer's market.  We'll see.  First things first, of course...  They need to grow and bloom and produce fruit.  :fingers crossed:

I have a tough enough time convincing myself to do marketing without getting things thrown in my way.  The urge to market against a sea of troubles is woefully low.

One of my sisters gave Mom something called a waterfall begonia for Mother's Day.  It sounds really pretty.  I got her mixed nuts and a tin of Walker Shortbread cookies shaped like Scottie dogs.  The begonia will last longer and not go to Mom's hips, but I hate buying plants for other people.  I never know what it'll look like when it gets there and whether it'll live.  

I got nothing for Mother's Day.  Yeah, I'm whining.  Wanna make somethin' of it?

Last I heard about the novella I read for that son of that dude was that the son went ahead and uploaded it for pub without listening to his writer dad or apparently waiting for input from me.  :shrug:  You can lead a horse to water, but sometimes all it does is eat the weeds and wander away. 

I'm not writing, so what do I know?  Like I have the right to tell anyone anything about this business.  Feh.

And that's more than enough out of me.  What's going on our your way?

Marketing Monday

I'm dragging a little bit today, so my marketing is suffering.  Still, it is the first day of this freebie cycle for WISH HITS THE FAN.  

Now through Friday, WISH HITS THE FAN is absolutely free.  (Always free with KU.)  Get your copy of this snarky paranormal mystery today! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075C7FCXG

It’s up to Jo to gather the genies and save the world. But who’s going to save her?

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 23

The first week of June went by... whoosh.  And today is already whoosh.  Of course, I got up late, so part of that can be excused.  The rest?  No Excuses.  I'm not really sure how much reading the minutiae of my life interests anyone else, but these posts help me, so there you are.

Anyway, there hasn't been much in the way of writing or editing lately.  Sorry about that, too.  As for marketing... Well... FB, in its infinite wisdom, decided to limit the amount of posts I can do in a row.  I can get 5 out before it tells me that in order to avoid 'spam', it won't let me post anymore for a while.  Not clue as to what amount of time that is.  An hour later, I might be able to get another post or two out, but not always.  The next day I can rinse and repeat with the same or worse outcomes.  Still, I managed to get posts to most of the groups I belong to and Friday, Project Hermes took off - moving 121 that day alone.  Still, with the other drab days added in, I gave away 161 books.  I'll try again tomorrow with Wish Hits the Fan.

Reading went okay, I guess.  I DNF'd more that I would've liked.  See yesterday, but also stay tuned for next Saturday's Wrap Up.

I made oatmeal raisin cookies this week.  Woot.  They turned out a little dry this time around, which sucks and is weird because it's the same damn recipe I've been using since I was a kid.  I also did a round of pulled pork.  Yummers.  I might make pizza today.  Or Cuban sandwiches.

On the activity front, I did three walks for a total of 2.7 miles (27.6 miles for the year so far).  I also moved some plastic tubs around and went grocery shopping.  (And if you don't think shopping is exercise, you're not doing it right.  Or I'm doing it wrong.)  Weight: 173.8

The deer are all getting un-pregnant, although we've only seen babies with Sissy and Lumpy so far.  They'll come around eventually.

I think a couple of my tomato plants might have buds.  Other than that, they're growing big.  Nice plants, but make with the fruiting already. Sheesh.  One of the pepper seeds I planted has germinated and is about an inch tall.  I think it has a friend that is trying to peek through.  Two plants producing green peppers would work for me.  The trees are doing well.  I lost one dogwood to what I assume was a squirrel digging in my pots on the deck.  It also got a cedar tree.  It dug in my walnut and my hickory, but those are fine.  Stupid squirrel.  I have weeding I need to get to this week, which I should've started doing last week.  I'm blaming the rain.

Speaking of rain, we've gotten about 2.5 inches in the past 7 days, with more on the way this week.  Enough already.  Sheesh.

And that's about it for me for now.  I'm sure there's more, but I'm about done sitting at the computer for this morning.  Time to start the day whether I want to or not.  Have a great day!  And feel free to tell me all the minutiae of your week.  =o)

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 6/7/25

It wasn't the busiest of reading weeks, since I only finished one book, but I did spend some time on a couple books I ended up DNF'ing.  

I picked up one new ebook this week - a suspense novel by an author I'd read before, but it was free, so yay.

Books Read:

23) Blade Runner (or Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep) by Philip K Dick (6/5/25) - dystopian - 5 stars. New to me but not underappreciated.  I picked this up at regular price from Amazon, so $7.48 for the paperback. (I needed to round out an order to get free shipping and this was it.)
No Review.  What could I say about this book that hasn't already been said?

DNFs:

6/5/25 - free - noir mystery - The beginning of this was written three different ways and they were ALL in the book I downloaded.  Like first draft, then second draft, then final draft.  By the time I got to the third iteration, I was confused and tired of it.  Too much work for what might've been an interesting story.

5/31/25 - free dystopian/SF - I made it over halfway through this and then it got weird, and not in a good way.  Which is too bad because I was really enjoying where it had been heading before it shot off down a murky, ill-advised path.  :shrug:  I paused this to read something else and then decided to just DNF it.  Life's too short.

Currently reading... A little underappreciated cozy mystery.  I'm not sure yet if I'll finish it.  The beginning has the same problem as that noir mystery I DNF'd this week - repeating info, which is annoying but not as bad as here as with the noir.  We'll see if it gets better.

What have you been reading lately?

Thursday This n That

Oh, joy... I'll be in the jury pool here from July - November.  That's how it works in MO... you get notified that you'll be in the pool for a certain time and then, if they pick you, you'll get another notice that you have to serve.  THEN you have to call the night before to see if they're actually going to have court or if it was cancelled.  I've been in the pool a lot in the past 12 years, and I've been picked several times, but it's always been cancelled the night before.  Whew.  Especially the last time because I went to Michigan while I was still in the pool and it would've sucked if I'd been called up while I was away.

FB is still screwing me hard on the marketing thing.  Turds.

I saw something this morning about how like 54% of Americans can't read above a 6th grade level.  And like 1 in 5 is functionally illiterate.  And how like 1 in 3 is like math-illiterate.  Which all sucks.  On a happier note, I saw how 2nd Lady Vance has a reading initiative this summer that kids can sign up for and win prizes and maybe win a trip to the White House.  I don't care what your politics are... that's a good thing and everyone should be all for it.  Anything that gets people reading more is awesome.

And if you're actively against Mrs. Vance's summer reading program, what the hell is wrong with you?  Illiteracy is everyone's problem.

Lumpy's baby is super cute!  A couple days ago, it walked right under the window where we were watching.  So tiny!  Awwww.

I'm really feeling that last walk.  I did the loop, which is only 1.1 miles, but it's very hilly and my calves are mooing this morning.  

Last night was not a good night for sleeping.  I was too hot and then the cats decided it would be an awesome night to run around the house playing with their jingly ball and then they found something interesting in the corner of the bedroom that HAD TO BE investigated right then.  They were being good boys, but their goodness was certainly noisy and I was not in the frame of mind to ignore them.  Oh well.  Naptime later and for now, lots of coffee!

Right now, though, I think I'm going to go finish my book.  Maybe snag some breffest.  Have a great day and feel free to leave whatever this or that your mind spits out.  

Scams Abound

I hate that we have to be constantly vigilant so we don't get ripped off, but we do, so here are a few tips that might help...

In Facebook groups: 

If you see someone with a new account complaining about all the scammers... they're probably a scammer.

If you see someone boohooing about not getting any sales for their new/first/unloved books... they're probably a scammer.

If they comment on your marketing posts telling you how awesome your book is and asking you questions that they could answer on their own if they read the post or followed the link (like what genre it is)... they're a scammer.

If you can't pronounce their name (usually African, but sometimes middle eastern), but they have all sorts of awesome ways to market your book... they're a scammer.  (Like the Nigerian prince emails of yore.)

If they have some other sob story about anything... cats, kids, health... their probably a scammer.  Take it all with a grain of salt.

On the phone:

If they say they're calling from any one of several government agencies - the IRS, the local police, the prosecutor's office... they're a scammer.  Those agencies don't call you.

If they say they're from any one of several computer companies - Microsoft comes to mind, but also Amazon - they're a scammer.  Those companies don't call you.

If they say they're from your credit card company or your bank, they are most likely a scammer.  Hang up and call your bank or your card company using a number you already have.  Do not call any number they give you.

If you get a call telling you a family member is in jail, either here or overseas... they are a scammer.  If you are worried, though, call the family member in question before you do anything.  If you can't reach them, call someone else who would know whether they could possibly be where they're supposedly in jail.  Do not send money without verifying.

If you get any kind of call where someone wants you to send them a gift card to pay off a 'debt' or a 'bill'... definitely a scammer.  

You can also get a variety of these same types of scams via regular mail or email, chat message, text messages, etc.  Verify everything before you hand over any personal information or financial data.  Hell, I don't even use the word 'yes' when talking on the phone with a potential scammer.  "Is this B.E. Sanderson?" "This is.  What do you want?"  I'm not sure if it's an urban myth that these scammers use your spoken word yes to bypass actual authorization and take your money, but I'm not taking any chances.

Being paranoid helps keep you safe.  Hang in there out there and remember... Scams abound.

Improvise, Adapt, Overcome

Okay, so FB hammered me yesterday for posting too much.  I did five marketing posts over about 5 minutes and they wouldn't let me post anything else.  They didn't tell me for how long.  They didn't tell me what the limits are.  They just blocked me from posting to any groups and to 'try again later'.  So, I did.  I tried at 15 minutes... nope.  I tried at 30 minutes... nope.  I tried at an hour... huzzah!  And got 3 posts out before I got blocked again.  Then, I gave up.  

Yesterday afternoon, I came up with a new plan.  I would try again this morning, but only post to one group every 5 minutes.  So far, it seems to be working.  I've gotten 4 posts out.  It's almost time for #5... and #5 went up.  Yay.  

In the interest of data, yesterday, I posted to FB and X asking for anyone who saw my post to wave, so I could see who is actually still seeing my posts.  I have like 270 followers on FB and 600-something on X.  So far, like 20 people have 'waved' on FB and one on X.  And I'm paying for X.  Either way, that's disheartening.  Which is why these posts in marketing groups is so important.  It's the only way I'm reaching readers.

Sure, a lot of the people who are downloading my free books aren't actually doing anything with them.  I'm not exactly burning up the world with reviews for any of my books.  People aren't talking about them as far as I can tell.  But I am seeing residual sales here and there.  It's worth the time and irritation.

Five minutes went by and #6 is up!  Yay!

Anyway, as I was saying, it's worth the time and irritation.  This new wrinkle takes more time and is more irritating, but a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do.  

I was actually pretty gung-ho to get to marketing yesterday.  I'd even joined about a half-dozen new groups to market to.  Fresh eyes!  Yay!  And then the FB retardage happened.  I went from gung-ho to ;sad trombone noise: in an instant.  Life is hard enough without added pitfalls, doncha know.  But I'm trying to remember and hold to the Marine motto: Improvise, adapt, overcome.  (I need to buy that t-shirt.)

This other one is good, too... ONWARD AND UPWARD.  Let's do this.

Oh, and if you're reading this, drop me a 'wave' so I know you're there.  Just for data purposes.  

:WAVES:

Added: I just tried to do #7 and got this message again - "We limit how often you can post, comment or do other things in a given amount of time in order to help protect the community from spam. You can try again later. Learn More.  

If you think this doesn't go against our Community Standards let us know. Give feedback."

Turds.

Marketing Monday - Project Hermes

Hey, Folks.  It's that time again... Marketing Monday!  Woot.  :throws confetti:  

From now until Friday, PROJECT HERMES - my medical/political thriller - is free.  (Always free with Kindle Unlimited.)  Get your copy today.  And remember, it's the little things that kill.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017Y6G0EW

(Full credit to my BFF, Silver, for today's graphic.  She rocks.)

Sunday Update - 2025 Week 22

What a week I had.  Let's see if I can reconstruct it...

Okay, so I didn't do anything writerly.  I took the week off from marketing, too.  I didn't even get my spreadsheets ready for June - which is something I have to do today.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

There was reading... see yesterday's post.

I made banana bread and pizza this week.  Woot.  And yum.  The pizza was yesterday, so I'll have pizza for breakfast today.  Yay!

The big update is activity, because I was busy busy this week.  I got in 4.8 miles worth of walks on 4 separate days.  Plus, I did a bunch of errand running, plus groceries.  Unfortunately, it didn't equal weight loss, so... Weight 173.8.  :shrug:  

So, you're saying to yourself, what made you so damn busy?  I guess in the scheme of other peoples' busyness, I wasn't really.  But for me, this was a busy week.  Tuesday, I did groceries.  Wednesday, I went northwest to get my car inspected and then over to the DMV to get my plates and my license renewed. (and pick up Chinese food for lunch.)  Friday, I went northeast to get Hubs' prescriptions and run errands up there - bank, supply store, grocery store, thrift store.  Since I stopped working, I don't get around much anymore.  Anyway, all that made me tired, so here I am.  And yes, I would like some cheese with that whine.

Gardening update... Everything is growing, except the green pepper seeds I planted a week ago yesterday.  I wasn't really expecting anything there, but I wanted to be happily surprised.  :shrug:  The tomatoes are getting tall, but not really spreading out much and no flowers yet, so no fruit on the way.  The little trees are all doing their things.  Yeah, not exciting news.

This week, I really need to weed the beds again, and continue to work on weeding the front rock path.  I also need to vacuum.  The dustbunnies are starting to gain sentience.

What's on your list for last week?  What's on the menu for this week?