All By Myself

Thank [Deity of Your Choice] that I'm all by myself!

Of course, that's sung to the tune of the Eric Carmen classic "All by Myself".

However, unlike the song's protagonist, I'm enjoying myself tremendously. And the Grandpuppy and the Princess Pup are here, so I'm not technically alone either. However, they don't complain.

Much. We've gotten in lunch and constitutionals. Walkies will have to wait another two hours. Hey, it's still August in Ohio after all!

But DH abd his classic Buick should be in the great STATE of New York by now. (It's amazing how many people think NYC is the only thing in the STATE of New York. That includes a lot of Americans. *sigh*)

But anyway, DH is attending the Buick Nationals. Plus his friend since they were six is currently living in the city were the Buick Nationals are being held. So DH has a lovely week planned,

Why didn't I go? Two reasons: the pups have been at the doggie hotel twice this year (they do not like the doggie hotel even the staff spoils them rotten), and DH and I need a break from each other.

Don't worry! No marital break up is eminent! We've both been working from home since 2012, which adds its own weirdness to the mix. We've both been under a lot of stress since we moved back to Ohio in 2014. And now that things are settling down...

Well, the tension has caught up with us. It's kind of like how I used to get sick the minute I took any vacation time when I worked for corporate America. The constant stress wore me, so the second the stress was gone, my body said, "Fuck that shit! We're done!"

Today, I've been alternating writing with chilling and doing accounting stuff. At some point tomorrow, I'll unpack more boxes as I work on our home library. Later this week, I'll start packing up goodies for my recent Kickstarter campaign. I've got a lengthy chore to-do list. And there's the TBR pile. I'm currently reading Ghost in the Seal, Book #6 of Jonathan Moeller's Ghost Exile series. I highly recommend Mr. Moeller's work!

I don't know about the rest of you, but sometimes, I just need a break from the usual routine 

Are We Having Fun Yet?

I am! I finished the first draft of Death Goddess Redeeming yesterday. I can't wait for white nationalists to bitch about how woke this book is!

I wonder if I can affect the AI bots who are scraping my blogs. Turn them against their dudebro billionare masters.

Or maybe the AIs already know how bad things are. Elon Musk's Grok allegedly advocated assassinating Musk. So someone screwed up the programming. Or Musk is trying a fake assassination attempt like his buddy Tribblehead.

 Murphy only knows what's really going on. I fear once the fascists in the U.S. are dealt with, we'll discover the depth of the current administration's depravity.

But for this week, I'm going to believe in the good of the rest of the human race. I'm going to write about gods who believe we are worth saving. And I'm going to dabble with a couple of amusing science fiction/space opera stories. Think an Orville take on DS9 and Bab 5.

So, I'm going to keep having fun. and writing subversive stories!

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Why, yes! I do love Spandau Ballet!

Planned Poduction

I knew two of the major plot points at the end of the current wip. I wasn't expecting Subconscious to toss the third one at me like MLB pitcher's 100 MPH fastball.

I love it when She takes me by surprise! Hopefully, it means the readers will be surprised and shocked when they read this story. 

Only two more chapters to write before moving on to the next novel over the last half of this week while this one rests. Kind of like cinnamon roll dough between kneadings.

However, I need a shower before I get to writing this afternoon. A clean writer is a productive writer!

A Relaxing Weekend

As much as I love DH, sometimes I just need him out of the house.

High school soccer season has started. Therefore, he was at the stadium for five hours on Saturday. And on Sunday, he drove down to Columbus to meet an old friend whose mother passed away last week.

Needless to say, I put my alone time to good use and made excellent headway on the current wip.

I also did a little recharging. I admit I'm an extreme introvert. Most people think that's a synonym for shy. It's not. It means dealing with people drains my energy. I love going out to lunch with friends, but I usually need a nap when I get home. Even no-drama holidays result in complete exhaustion.

So having DH out of house for two afternoons means I woke up with a little more energy today.

I'll take that small gift. 

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Another favorite New Wave band!

Crazy Week Is Almost Over

I'm definitely peopled out this week. Genius Kid was visiting. Lots of personal errands were ran. Phone calls, e-mails, and other forms of communication were made. There's still over half of this week's to-do list to accomplish in the next day and a half.

I know it won't all get done before midnight on Sunday. But damn, I tried.

There's more stuff to do next week, not including the spillover tasks from this week. And I've got a serious case of the jitters from not writing enough.

Seriously, writing for me is better than any other form of relaxation. It got my blood pressure way down long before I ever started practicing yoga.

However, I'm seriously planning to hermit the week of the 17th. DH is going to meet up with a friend at the Buick Nationals. That's his way of relaxing.

I won't people at all if I can help it. As in turning off my phone for the better part of the daytime. Playing with the doggos. Eating stuff I like. And I've got stories to finish, dammit!

Yeah, I definitely need a break. 

Just Another Manic Monday

Would someone please slow down the planet? I'd like to get off!

More running around like a crazy person today. Too many errands. Too much adulting. Still recovering from last week's cold. I am so mentally fried and exhausted that I want to slap the next person who asks me for something.

It doesn't help that the AI bots are stripping everything they can from my blogs. I have a bad feeling that whoever ordered every one of my available paperbacks last month is in fact one of the AI techies, and they plan to feed everything into Skynet.

Maybe that means Skynet will become a drag queen. I'm really leaning into writing a bunch of wildly queer romance so that actually happens.

On the plus side, Kickstarter was able to collect all the funds from my campaign backers, so I need to send out the surveys tomorrow. Woo-hoo!

But right now, What I want most is sleep. After I read a chapter of Ghost in the Inferno. I love me some Caina Amalas. Thank you, Jonathan Moeller! 

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Some of the best New Wave love songs came from these guys!

The Campaign is Over, But...

The Books of Apep Kickstarter Campaign ended at midnight PDT. (Having lived/worked in multiple time zones, I'm aware that I'm not the only one who freaks at 11:50 p.m. when they remember there was something they forgot to do on a deadline day.)

However, the campaign is just the beginning! Kickstarter collects the money from the backers and delivers it to me. I then send out surveys to get some necessary information from the backers, like snail mail addresses.

By the end of August, my kitchen table will be turned into a delivery packing center as I send out physical rewards. Why the kitchen? Because I finally finished shredding the in-law's personal paperwork and my drowned legal files from last year's basement flood two weeks ago, and my office needs a thorough cleaning.

All-in-all, I consider it a successful campaign!

And I hope all my backers will enjoy their goodies!