DH and I had our Valentine's dinner on the 13th because my tolerance for crowds is waning. The emotional bombardment overwhelms me. So we had a quiet dinner at his favorite restaurant before we cat-sat for the niece's feline Miss M.
The rest of the weekend was spent writing and some heavy-duty editing in between watching the Winter Olympics.
"Editing?" you ask. "But the book's not done yet!"
Believe me, I know the book's not done. I was so focused on Anthea's side of the story that I dropped a subplot involving Luc. And that subplot has some very important ramifications for the next two novels.
So yes, I went back to the beginning to make sure those elements are inserted where they need to be. Which is what I've been doing for the entire last week.
Between all the adding, changing, and "killing my darlings", I've hit a net wordcount of 75K. Yeah, I think this book is going to be way longer than anticipated.
On the plus side of all that work is what I hope is a tense, hold-on-to-your-butts story that will knock the reader's socks off!
And I need to get started on this holiday Monday...
Guess you need to be a Boomer or older GenX to get that joke.
Anyway...
It's been a bit of a crazy week. Taxes were completed, filed, and...
Can you believe DH and I already got our refund back? It shocked the crap out of both of us. It means the IRS is rubberstamping returns, and I really, REALLY hope that doesn't come back to bite us in the butt once the current fascist regime is, um, gone. (I was about to say "overthrown", but I know some asshat or Google itself will report me as unpatriotic.)
Tuesday I jumped back into A Barrel of Vintner, only to realize I'd dropped two subplots that need to be woven in since they relate to the last two novels. Once I finished cursing myself, I started cycling back through to add the text needed and straighten out some issues with this story's timeline. So, if you check the word count on the reader blog, it will be lower than usual because I was doing a lot of editing as I went through the chapters. Which is fine because it means less work when I do the actual copyedits.
Then I went out to dinner with DH and some of his old friends. They get together once a month at my favorite restaurant in town. Usually it's an enjoyable hour or two. This time however, I discovered just how bigoted they are. One person was complaining about one of their children cutting off contact with her. The truth is that the child (who is in their 30's) in question is non-binary and the person cannot accept the child as they are. While everyone else was cooing about how the child will come around, I nearly bit through my tongue to keep from telling the person how hurtful they were being to their child. Luckily, I kept it to one margarita, or else I probably would have unloaded on the person.
On the way home, I told DH I probably wouldn't go with him to another one of these dinners. There's a couple of his friends I really like, but it's not worth hearing someone who sounds just like my own mother getting all self-righteous. There's not enough tequila in the world to trade for my peace and sanity. *sigh*
I've managed to attend yoga class three days this week. My body isn't sure whether to thank me or curse me. Why? Because every time we have a weather front come through, my knees complain. Rather loudly, too.
On the other hand, Ohio's February fake spring arrived, and it has melted a good chunk of the 13+ inches of snow on the ground. Hopefully, the weather stays sunny and nice over the weekend so the pups can get some outdoor exercise. We haven't been able to take walks or play for fear of frostbite because it's been that effing cold for the last four weeks.
Today, I need to pay bills and make out a grocery list since it's the middle of the month. Tonight is an early Valentine's celebration and catsitting. The rest of the weekend will be cleaning the house interspersed with watching the Winter Olympics.
And I need to finish cycling through the last ten chapters I wrote.
So what about you guys? Any big plans for the weekend, or are you just relaxing?
None of the white nationalists want to admit Latin rhythms have influenced pop music for decades. My friend and I danced to Santana, Menudo, Gloria Estaban and the Miami Sound Machine in the '80s.
Then, there was a surge in the late 90's and early 00's with Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, and so many others. Those tunes were especially significant to me. While I was pregnant with Genius Kid, all I had to do was find a radio station playing Marc Antony, and GK would boogie like nobody's business!
You can ask my OB/GYN and her nurses. I was getting an ultrasound. GK was perfectly still until "I Need to Know" started playing on the exam room's speakers. My doctor said, "Wow, he's active! Did he just wake up?" I pointed at the overhead speaker. "No, he loves Marc Antony!"
And when he was a toddler, we danced in the living room to Ricky Martin's "La Copa De La Vida" and Los Del Rio's "Macarena". Yep, my little boy loved Latin music.
Or he did until the other kids at school teased him unmercifully for being a white kid who appreciated Latin music and culture. *sigh*
And I don't care what anyone says. Bad Bunny's half-time show last night was fucking spectacular! If you missed it or want to see it again, I posted the link below.
Because Benito is right. We are all America.
Super Bowl LX Half-time Show starring Bad Bunny
I find this rather pleasant. Nothing against DH or the pups, but I can concentrate for a solid two to two and half hours. Whatever wip I'm working on receives my sole attention, and I can type a solid 1K to 1.5K in that time.
Yes, I'm a slow writer by most author's standards.
However, we had a snow storm this morning. Mother Nature added another two inches to the foot of snow we've received over the past two weekends. DH is out with the snowblower clearing the driveway and sidewalks even as I type this.
There's something calming about fresh powder. A blank tapestry over sleeping nature. It's a good day to knit with a cup of hot tea and puppy on your lap.
For those who love yarnwork and hate ICE, Needle & Skein in Minneapolis, MN, is offering a hat pattern for a donation. Employee Paul Neary designed the hat based on the red resistance cap worn by Norwegians during the Nazi occupation of the country during World War II.
Here's the thing--the state of Minnesota was settled by a lot of Scandinavians, including Norwegians, in the 1800s. Scandinavians are the descendants of Vikings. These aren't people who will roll over and show their bellies to a bunch of gun-toting bullies. If you don't believe me, read up on these countries' histories.
Which makes Tribblehead's efforts to bully Denmark into giving up Greenland and their refusal even more significant.
Want a personal tidbit about me? My middle name is Scandinavian and means "hope" or "luck" depending on the country.
Anyway, Needle & Skein donates all the proceeds from their "Melt the ICE" pattern to the immigrant programs in Minneapolis. They've received nearly $500K and donated to organizations that assist immigrants. (Note: This article is a week old. The current number I stated is from this morning's post on their Facebook page.)
With the cold and snow here in Ohio, I need something to keep my head warm! Fuck ICE!
I know tax prep is the last thing most people want to do. However, I like getting it out of the way as soon as possible. Now that I'm doing minimal elder care (Both DH's parents and mine have passed to the next realm. I just check on a particular cousin once in a while.), I can knock this crap out in a few.
Especially since we'll probably be snowed in again through the weekend. Various meteorologists have predicted a dusting to two and a half inches more of the white stuff. I don't blame the poor people doing the predictions. Climate change has thrown the weather modeling developed over the last 50+ years out the window.
And the weather is the very reason I want to have taxes done. The weather has been too dangerously cold for the Grandpuppy and the Princess Pup to stay outside longer than absolutely necessary to do their business, even though they both love playing in the snow. That means a distinct lack of walks to burn off excess energy and weight gain for them both. I want to be free to take the pups outside as soon as the weather allows.
FREEDOM! And sun! We don't care what the groundhog saw! We want spring!
So, yeah. I need to get the taxes done over the next few days.
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| Ohio Resistance by Bob Seay |
Welp, I got hit with the Amazon identity verification bullshit yesterday morning.
I don't think I would be as peeved about it if they started this nearly twenty years ago when they launched KDP. They've let scammers get away without ID for almost two decades with little or no punishment other than a slap on the wrist. The scammers would simple set up another account and keep doing what they were doing.Unfortunately, this ID check has nothing to do with preventing bad actors from scamming customers or stealing writers' intellectual property. Amazon will hand your information over to our fascist government to kick out anyone whose not a citizen and exile anyone whose books the fascists don't like.
Let's face it, kids. Amazon is deeply in league with the current fascist government. Why else would they pay the First Lady millions of dollars to make a film two-hour advertisement about how great she is?
But if I create a multi-cultural cast in a fake American city based on the real-life U.S. cities I've lived in, I'm a flaming SJW writing feminist propaganda?! *eyeroll*
Amazon, all countries
