Happy Samhain!

Really? You were expecting '90's music on Halloween? Guess what? I can combine them both!

Coronavirus Pandemic Day 230 - It's Not Going to Stop Until Everyone Takes This Virus Seriously

Over 8.7 million confirmed cases. Nearly 229,000 deaths. And this is in the United States alone.

Yet, so many of my fellow citizens still don't take this pandemic seriously.

 

Two weeks ago, I made a dash to West Virginia. A cousin had to have surgery. It was a laprascopic procedure, so the down time would be minimal, but she needed someone at home with her for a few days.

So many, so, SO many people weren't wearing masks on that. And they can't figure out why the coronavirus is surging in that part of the state.

 

But me? I still had the travel pack from the Texas dash in August. Disposable masks, latex gloves, and a huge bottle of sanitizer. I got weird looks, but I didn't care. My life, my cousin's, and DH's were more important to me.

The whole situation makes me sad. This pandemic should never have been politicized or lied about by national officials. The American eople needed timely accurate information to protect themselves.

And now, we have a huge number of people dead who shouldn't be.

COVID-19 is not going to magically go away, not matter how much we wish it would. The FIL's assisted living center has stopped visitation for the third time in the last eight months. They aren't taking any chances. No one should. It isn't worth your life.

I Love the 90's!

What Are You Reading?

I know a lot of people thought the COVID-19 pandemic would be over by now. Unfortunately, the Spanish Flu pandemic a century ago took roughly two years to play out. I resigned myself to that fate back in June. Ironically, accepting that potential outcome helped me shake off the low-level depression I had in the spring.

Like many of you, I've taken refuge in books. Not so much new ones though, for which I apologize to my fellow authors. I've been reading a lot of things I found comfort in while I was in high school.

Stuff like the Star Trek Original Series novels. Hell, Barbara Hambly managed to cleverly insert the cast of Here Comes the Brides into the Star Trek Universe in Ishmael. (For those who don't get the joke, Mark Lenard, who played Spock's father Sarak in the original series, also starred in the other TV show.)

Then there's Patrica McKillip's Riddle-Master series, Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series, and Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. I could keep going, but you get the gist.

 

So, what are y'all reading that's gotten you through the last seven months? What's on your list for the next seventeen?

Knowing Your Worth

I had a, well,  it wasn't strong enough to be an argument, but it wasn't exactly a discussion either with my cover artist. I've been working with her for five and a half years now, and she hasn't raised her prices once. Nope. Not one penny.

 

To top if off, she's working on the first cover for the Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse. And she came up with a super-cool logo for the series. So cool, I want to slap it on t-shirts, totes, cups, etc.

 

So, not only do I need the extended license from the non-royalty photo supplier, but I wanted to pay her for coming up with the logo. 

The logo for a company is valuable property. A logo is a company's brand. It's identity to the public. Think of Apple's silhouette of the fruit with a bite out of it. Or the Nike swoosh symbol. Or Disney's signature of its founder. And those companies paid a LOT of money to develop those logos.

So, in my mind, my cover artist should be charging more for her work. I see too many talented, hard-working women sell themselves short.

She disagreed. She didn't think she fell into the category of selling herself  short, and she gave me a lengthy list of her thought process of why she charged the amount she did. While part of me understands her reasoning, I still feel like I'm ripping her off. So after an extended talk, we came to an agreement. She would continue charging me an amount she felt comfortable with, but she would add a tip space on her invoice so I could pay her an additional sum I thought she deserved.

I'd still like to remind EVERYONE reading this to know your worth. Your skills are valuable. Your time is valuable. Your life is valuable. Don't give anything away for free unless it's part of a thought-out plan. KNOW YOUR WORTH!

I Love the 90's!

Saving the Earth one alien at a time.

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Program

Another musician of my young adulthood has passed. Eddie Van Halen died of cancer this last Tuesday, and the would is a poorer place from his loss. My salute to '90's music will return at it's regularly schedule time next Saturday.

Down to the Wire

This post is going to be short and sweet. Hero In Camera is dropping next Thursday. Normally, I have time to prep for the release, but right now, I'm trying to wrap up the final chapters and edit this puppy before I leave for West Virginia on Monday.

Why am I heading south in the middle of the pandemic? A family member needs a rather important surgery, and they need someone to stay with them a few days to cook and wash up. And I would willingly do anything for them in a heartbeat.

I'm try to get a proper newsletter out the week after next because there's some cool things I want to do before NaNoWriMo kicks in.

Stay safe, everyone, and WEAR THOSE MASKS!

Nice Boots, Hugh!

A commercial that would never air in the U.S., and I love it! (Link courtesy of Writer Joseph Bradshire)

Coronavirus Pandemic Day 208 - Why Am I Keeping Track?

 7.5+ million cases of the disease so far in the United States. 213+ thousand dead. Now, allegedly the president and first lady plus a good chunk of the White House staff have the disease.

I read an interesting article over the weekend concerning President Woodrow Wilson's handling of the Spanish flu pandemic. He followed a route of downplaying the virus similar to our current leadership. The result was he ended up with the flu as did many of his staff. In Wilson's case, the flu weakening his body may have led to the stroke that felled him a couple of months later.

From a more creative standpoint, watching the pandemic unfold has led me to changing the rough outline of the Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse. I rearranged the order of the series, and Penny (AKA Pestilence) will take center stage in the first book. Especially since she runs a coffee shop.

 

Damn. I really miss writing in the local coffee shops.

It's odd how this crisis has triggered new ideas and changed some old.

I Love the 90's!

I think I lost mine some time ago.

Thank Geb It's Friday!

It's been an insane week at Casa Harden. I'd forgotten how much documentation I needed to submit to the bank and how much of their stuff I needed to read and sign. So far, everyone's been cool with doing everything online that can be done online.

 

But alas, I have a book to finish in addition to a house to buy, so longer posts about writing must wait until next week!