I know I haven't made an appearance in a while. Peri-menopause has been doing a number on my sleep cycle. To the point, I was going to bed when DH was waking up. In turn, the sleep issues have screwed up my blood sugars. So, I've pushed back bedtime over the last week until I slept for the last eighteen hours straight and woke up at a normal morning time today.
It doesn't mean I haven't been writing. I've been typing at a furious pace during my waking hours. I've been setting up things for my January Kickstarter to launch the Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse series. And finally, I've been working on the last edits to get the last few novels' paperbacks out.
However, I'm taking today off and watching the Doctor Who marathon on BBCAmerica. Later this evening, I'll make chicken phyllo, and we'll curl up and watch It's a Wonderful Life. That's our Christmas tradition. However, it's the first Christmas Eve where it's just me, DH, and the pet(s) we've had in twenty-two years.
Take care everyone! I hope you have a peaceful weekend.
This December has been a bizarre mix of emotions from the people around me. One friend is getting married tomorrow to the love of his life. Another friend texted in fury over politics and irresponsibility.
One friend has multiple exciting career opportunities after a dry spell. Someone else would rather lose multiple jobs rather than getting vaxxed.
All-in-all, it's a crazy holiday season compared to even last year when we had a quiet dinner at home with Genius Kid on leave. This year, everyone we would hang out with is vaxxed, but the Omicron variant is giving everybody some hesitation. Especially, after FIL's girlfriend was recently diagnosed with the variant. Thank goodness, she's had her two vaccines and her booster and is, so far *knock on wood*, asymptomatic.
So, DH and I are at a conundrum. Should we even try to get together with the family?
It's funny in an ironic way that I had no problem taking GK and GC (aka Genius Cousin who's the same age as GK) out to dinner a couple of weeks ago.
I need to take some of my books to the library, so Monday may be the last time I venture out this year.
For the rest of you, take care and stay safe. We're not out of the woods yet.
On the other hand, I made a second public appearance at an author event since the pandemic started.
DH and I attended the Writer's Block Author Fair on Saturday at Franklin Park Mall in Toledo. On one hand, it was nice to get out of the house and talk to people. It was also a lesson on how far from "normal" we still are.
The mall was not as packed as it would have been pre-COVID, and I say this as someone who worked holiday retail during some major dips in the economy. For the second to last full weekend of the Christmas shopping season, it was a very light crowd. That's not to say people weren't shopping. But the majority seemed to be focused on getting into the mall, getting what they needed, and getting out.
The number of people wearing masks was roughly fifty percent. There were only two men who avoided those authors who were masked, and they both were wearing their attitude chips on their shoulder. I was rather glad DH came with me because these are the type of idiots who like punching down.
My books got quite a few looks, but I only sold one. Yep, that's right. One. I'm just not a salesperson when it comes to my own products. There's a part of me that still avoids attention for my own accomplishments because I was often punished for it when I was a child. You'd think after five decades I'd learn to toot my own horn.
But I didn't feel so bad in the post-event discussion with other authors. Only the children's book writers were making any traction because most of the adults were focusing on purchases for the kids in their lives.
I don't blame people. Everyone's not spending much for Christmas, DH and I included. We're all waiting to see which way the economy jumps next year.
But in the meantime, I'll continue writing because it's a lot better than staring out the window and fretting about the future.
If you're in the U.S., let me know which book you want, and I'll contact you about availability and payment through PayPal.
If you life outside of the U.S., the costs for mailing you books from the U.S. has become absolutely f**king ridiculous, so I'm looking into getting signed bookplates to you.
Either way, shipping is taking a little longer than normal. (I'm still waiting on Kickstarters I supported that were supposed to be fulfilled LAST year.) So a little patience will be necessary on all our parts.
On my list of plans for next year is to set up an online shop, so you can order ebooks and print books.
I just need to remember to take a Wonder Woman mask with me tomorrow!
But most of all, I'm trying to finish my holiday shopping. Usually, I would have finished months ago. But between family stuff and supply issues, I'm a little behind.
Decorations-wise, I hung our Christmas wreath, and I dug out a gingerbread candle to burn. Otherwise, we left up the Halloween lights because the non-drowned Christmas lights are still buried somewhere in the storage unit. The tiny tree we've been using for the last several years and its lights had to be thrown out after the indoor swimming pool incident.
I'm not sure why, but I'm feeling rather nostalgic this year. But I'm chalking it up to the general blues caused by SAD.
I think it's time to snuggle up with tea, a crackling fireplace, and a book.
38 writers from Northwest Ohio and Southern Michigan will be there to sign and sell their paperbacks. (Yeah, I know the original sign says 30, but we got more!)
Drop by and say hi!
Join me on Zoom for a talk about some of the elements that go into writing a novel. The event is free, but you do need to register ahead of time in order to receive the link.
Click here to pre-register for this talk.
Hope to see you there!
Or she was until she discovered how delicious Puppy Anubis's food and snacks are.
Also, A Very Hero New Year dropped today. It's available right now at Amazon. I'll update links on the 888-555-HERO page as they go live.
Have a great December 1st!
Frankly, the reasons are many, but everyone's blaming inflation, and some folks are considering raising their prices. However, I believe that's not a good idea at this time.
1) For the last eleven years, November has been notoriously slow for indies and busy for trad publishing. This is the time of year where trad really pushes sales for holiday giving. Bestsellers like the latest Grisham, Patterson, and Sparks novels rule the sales, and then there's the specialty items like Paul McCartney's Lyrics. Shoppers like getting a physical object they can wrap and hand over to a loved one.
2) Are we having an inflation issue? Yes, we are, but it's a factor I've been expecting with the shortages and hangups in the U.S. ports. We are still in the middle of a world-wide crisis, and until shipping gets back to normal, prices are going to rise. But raising book prices is a catch twenty-two. Books are a luxury item. If someone is struggling to feed their kids, they're not going to buy your book. And if they do have a little extra for some cheap entertainment, they're not going to buy your e-book that's the same price as a mass market paperback.
3) I won't be worried unless Kindlemas totally tanks. Kindlemas is the nickname for the roughly forty-five days after Christmas when people use their new devices and redeem their giftcards for books. For indies, it's the cyber equivalent of Black Friday. However, I do expect Kindlemas sales to be lower this year because there's a ton of devices already on backorder thanks to the shortage of compute chips.
For now, I'm staying the course--writing and publishing on a regular schedule. Any revisions in my business plan won't happen until February at the earliest.
I hope y'all have a safe, pleasant Cyber Monday!
It didn't used to be that way. In high school and college, my sister and I would pick up our maternal grandmother and hit the early sales. By early, it meant K-mart opened at 8 a.m. We'd hit a few other stores for some odds and ends. We ended the morning at Bob Evans for breakfast.
Now, you're lucky if someone doesn't pull a gun on you while you camp out in front of some store or customers don't trample you to death while you're trying to unlock your employer's main doors.
Unfortunately, Black Friday is not the only "crazy people" day in our part of the country.
But we need to make the trek up to Detroit to deliver my father-in-law's car to a buyer. (He's nearly ninety and voluntarily stopped driving for which we are profoundly grateful.)
Darling Husband suggested instead of taking the car up on Friday, why don't we do it on Saturday?
I just stared at him.
"What's wrong with Saturday?"
"Ohio State and Michigan."
"Oh, shit," he muttered. Along with a few other words I don't feel comfortable repeating in public.
And I'm the one with the potty mouth.
You see, our little town is on the route that a large number of folks from Columbus, Ohio, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, take to each other's stadiums. Since Michigan is hosting the game, we'd be sharing the road north for a good chunk of the way with pumped up, and possibly drunk, Buckeyes fans.
So, despite my Black Friday fears, and if you're reading this on Friday morning, we're heading up north to deliver the car.
I just wish I knew where my Michigan University sweatshirt is.
Once upon a time, I used to be an attorney. There was a time when I really believed in truth, justice, and the American way.
Not anymore.
This pandemic has shown a glaring light on all the iniquities and injustices in our society. And rather than make the effort to fix things, there are people fighting to make things worse. They want things worse because they think it gives them power. They want things worse to protect themselves.
But our society is teetering on the edge because the foundation is so rotten.
Can we as a nation fix this? Do we even want to?
I'm taking baby steps to do the right things, be generous with my time, without burning myself out more than I already am. My name is Suzan, and I have pandemic and social justice fatigue.
But that's nothing compared to the suffering of others.
So I'm asking you all to help where you can and show a little kindness to others.
Thank you.
No, that is not a typo. B as in billion. The deal would make the Big Five into the Big Four. A lot of publishing observers have been expecting this even before CBS put their little brother up for sale.
Then the DOJ stepped in and said, "Noppity no," and they slapped an anti-trust suit on the deal.
A big part of Randy Penguin defense is "Look! Indies! We wouldn't control that much of the market." Some writers are grinding their teeth to nubs and other are laughing their asses off since the Big Five have refused to see indie publishing as even real publishing for the last ten years.
Here's my observations and thoughts on the matter:
1) Randy Penguin's defense is a back door jab at Amazon. As in PRH is trying to claim Amazon is the indies' publisher. There's a big difference between Amazon publishing a writer through one of their imprints and the rest of us to whom Amazon is one retailer (out of many around the world).
2) The DOJ is more than a little short-sighted in that they have no fucking clue of how the book industry works as a whole. They made the same mistakes with the tech industry when they were going after Microsoft thirty years ago.
3) While it's nice the DOJ is concerned about writers, the protections of anti-trust law are for the consumers. If the DOJ actually gave a fuck about the consumers, they would have tackled ebook pricing long before now.
4) Simon & Schuster are the last wholly American-owned large book publisher. You'd think CBS would be parading that around or the DOJ would. Nope, no one gives a rat's ass with $2.18B on the table.
5) How much longer will the increase in book sales be trending up? With the pandemic still ongoing, TV and movie production has been delayed and is finally getting back to a semi-normal pace. During that lull between late 2019 and late 2021, people were reading, but will they continue to do do with new video on the rise?
6) If the DOJ stops the sale, it is likely CBS will spin Simon & Schuster into its own company where it could die a slow quiet death. Unless someone with a fucking clue can rebuild it. But that would mean changing the cultural mindset of the company, which is unlikely.
So how will this all shake out? I don't know, but I'm popping some corn and melting some butter because it's going to be entertaining as hell to watch.
Seriously though, I'm trying to stretch my wings a bit and get out in the world. I'll have paperbacks from the Bloodlines and 888-555-HERO series with me. If you plan to stop by and you want something from my other series, let me know so I can order the book(s) and have them on hand for you.
Hope to see some of you there!
Lonely craftshop owner Finlay Brewster has already lost her family. Can she save a homeless woman from a motorcycle club leader on the Winter Solstice? Or will she lose her soul to her mysterious guests?
P.S. Deputy, now Sheriff Jimmy Birkheimer from the Bloodlines series and the Millersburg Magick Mysteries makes a special guest appearance!
Amazon, all countries
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Google Play
Kobo
Smashwords
Or you go to Cancun.
But I can't pull out the Christmas/Yule decorations just yet. Halloween lights and blankets will stay out until Thanksgiving. Or even December 1st.
Because I'm in the middle of NaNo, and dammit, I want to finish it this year!
So what do you all do in this little quiet space between Halloween and Thanksgiving?
The rest of the stories are pretty awesome, too. *grin*
You can purchase it at the following places:
Amazon, all countries
I'll be there with some paperbacks to purchase or if you simply want to drop by and say "Hello!"
This year, the library is suspending normal operations at 5 PM, so the authors can spread out through the main floor instead of crowding together in one of the basement conference rooms. Social distancing and all that.
It should be a fun night!
The 2021 WMG Holiday Spectacular has one day left on its Kickstarter!
What is it? You, or the person you are giving it to, will receive a brand-new holiday story in your e-mail every day from Thanksgiving until New Year's Day. That's 38 stories! It's also a way to de-stress dying the holiday hoopla.
The Kickstarter has a lot of extras like holiday-themed books for readers and classes for writers. Those will only be available from the Kickstarter. You can always order the Spectacular e-mails from WMG later this month, but you won't get the other cool stuff.
You have until 10 PM EDT on Thursday, November 4th, to back this Kickstarter and get the extra goodies!
National Novel Writing Month ("NaNo") officially started at midnight. How many words have I written so far? Zero.
Unless you count this blog.
Last night, I finished updating my inventory in my point-of-sale software. And the inventory sorely needed the updating. It hadn't been done since the last library Author Fair I attended in 2018.
(In 2019, we had to go out of town at the last minute,. Last year, we couldn't have an in-person event.)
Today, I didn't wake up until 3 P.M. because I'm still recovering from the party we had on Saturday. Even good stress drags me into the pit of pain caused by an overloaded body chemistry.
But my NaNo project is ready to go. Wish me luck!
Interspersed between those, I tried to get rooms cleaned and boxes unpacked before our Halloween party on Saturday. I think any writing will have to be set aside for tomorrow and Friday in order to finish cleaning and making some pies for the party.
So TL;DR - don't expect too much brilliance from me until Monday when National Novel Writing Month starts.
Have an awesome Halloween!
Only to be awakened at 10:15 a.m because Significant Other was trying to call me. After the initial surge of adrenaline that something was wrong, my heart calmed down at the video chat of Adorable Spawn taking his first bites of solid food.
This little rapscallion has grown so much in the last four months. I miss him terribly, and I'm so happy he and his parents shared one of his milestones with us this morning.
It was worth the lack of sleep.
A Very Hero Wedding (888-555-HERO #8) dropped last Friday on Amazon. It should be live on other retailers soon-ish.
"A Place at the Table" will be released somewhere between October 25th and November 2nd under the WMG Holiday Spectacular. On November 4th, the anthology Halloween Harvest will be released by WMG with "A Place at the Table" among the many great stories that were selected.
On November 15th, another holiday story "The Yule Switch" will drop. It's currently on pre-order across all online stores.
On December 1st, my last New Hallowthanksmas story A Very Hero New Year (888-555-HERO #9) will hit stores.
I'm still playing catch-up with my Angry Sheep Publishing paperbacks. Hero Amicus Curiae (888-555-HERO #7) will be out in a couple of weeks if I can get a breather next week to review the print interior. That leaves the latest two Justice and latest two HERO books to put together for paperbacks.
Once A Very Hero New Year is finished (hopefully, this weekend *fingers crossed*), I'll be going full bore on the Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse series. I plan on doing something a little different with this series. I'm going to do my first Kickstarter and release the series all at once to my backers before the books go on sale in stores.
Why am I doing this? Because outside deadlines make a bigger impact on my production focus than internal deadlines do. Second, I've been supporting Kickstarter projects for the last ten years, and now, I want to try one. Third, I've already been ordering some nifty rewards to make sure I have them in time for my Kickstarter. So stay tuned for the official Kickstarter announcement!
Oh, the picture above? That's the magnet currently on my refrigerator. I'm so excited about this project! 😎
I'm writing a holiday novella in the 888-555-HERO universe. Secrets explode, but fear is conquered with hope and joy. The goal is to finish it this weekend.
Next week will be a force majeure of unpacking and cleaning since we have house guests visiting next weekend.
And after that is National Novel Writing Month.
So I'm relishing the peace and quiet while I can.
No such luck.
And since I promised DH coffee and the Starbucks down the street closes at 1 P.M. on weekdays, I had to drive to the next town.
I'd planned on going to Las Vegas for 20Books, but with the fall surge, I nixed that plan. So did several friends. Even my doctor was "Nope-nope-noppity-nope. You're still a high-risk cancer patient. Stay here and go get your booster shot."
So I did. Again, unless your doctor tells you not to get a vaccine because of REAL health issues, like you're allergic to the ingredients, get your damn shots, folks. Everyone I personally know who's had this damn disease wouldn't wish it on their worst enemy.
In the meantime, an idea flashed for a holiday novella regarding a secondary character in the 888-555-HERO series. So between writing that this week and getting some boxes unpacked, I'm slowly but surely getting some shit done.
BLURB
Aisha Franklin’s baby brother is
getting married, and the whole office has been invited to the big event in
Atlanta. However, trouble follows them across the country, and it’s not the
usual superhero shenanigans. Personal conflicts may tear the firm apart before
they even get to the nuptials.
Can the bride and groom rebuild
their family and friends’ relationships before a super battle erupts at their
reception and becomes the leading story on the evening news?
Call us at 888-555-HERO. The Law Offices of Winters
& Franklin, where the only thing more dangerous than a superhero is his
attorney.
Amazon, all countries
Halloween is a nice cutting off point for me creatively. I try to have all my projects for the secular year finished at this point, and it gives me a little breathing space to focus on my prime project(s) for Kindlemas.
For those who don't know, Kindlemas is the indie term for December 26th through the end of February. Folks who have a Kindle or received one for their winter holiday gift go on a book buying spree. That period is the indie equivalent for the Black Friday through Christmas sales for brick and mortar retail stores.
I came up with a good holiday story idea for one of the side characters in the 888-555-Hero universe. It'll be a novella, so I should be able to finish it before Halloween.
But next year? I'm taking off September, October, and November. With the chaos, both good and bad, in our lives, I would like to kick back the week of my birthday and catch up on reading and watching TV and movies that I've missed out on during the pandemic.
Really, I need some decompression time. Something I haven't had since my two-week trip to Las Vegas in February of 2020.
I hope all of you can find their measure of peace in the upcomimg holiday season!
The month of October offers you a double-feature from me (and in one case, a few other writers)!
WMG Publishing, Inc., has been doing an advent-type calendar of short stories for the Winter Holidays for the last three years. This year, they've added Valentine and Halloween short stories in addition to the Winter Holidays.
Given the books I write, it isn't too hard to figure out I have a story in the Halloween collection.
For $15, here's what you'll get:
1) Starting October 25th and ending November 2nd, you will receive one story per day. An email will be sent to you with a link to download the short story in the e-book reading form you prefer.
2) "Wait a minute, Suzan," you say. "$15 for only nine stories?" Nope, you will also get the e-book anthology including the nine original stories plus two additional short stories on November 4th!
3) Not into Halloween, but you know someone who would love this collection as a gift? Just give WMG the e-mail address of the gift recipient. Easy-peasy!
4) What about a paperback version of Halloween Harvest? Yes, there will be, but I don't have a date yet. The cost for a paperback will be separate from the cost for the newsletters and e-book.
To order Halloween Harvest, go to the Halloween Spectacular Calendar 2021.
My story is "A Place at the Table," a sci-fi tale where the exoplanet Onizuka's axial tilt is so sharp that the night lasts for three months. And when Dark falls, creatures come out of hibernation. Creatures that modern weapons cannot kill.
All the stories in the collection are marvelous. I hope you'll check it out!
The New York Times ran a story in Saturday's edition concerning the recent Blushing Books scandal.
Like the Ellora's Cave saga six years ago, Blushing Books ran into fiscal problems with the rapid turn of writers to indie publishing. There's also questions of altered and unfair contracts.
Folks, no matter how charming someone is, check their background before you do business with them. I see too many writers getting themselves into bed with unscrupulous people just to get the feeling of being validated, the feeling of being "the chosen one".
As a result, writers lose money and worse, the rights to their intellectual property.
Look, I know it's scary to do your own publishing. However, no one can tell you you're good enough, EXCEPT YOU.
Trust in yourself. Trust your talent. Trust your stories. There's an audience out there for your books.
Which means I'm very tired.
I'm going to need to focus on the book the first half of October since its release date is the 15th. And then scramble with the unpacking since GK and his family will arrive the following week.
I'm so excited to spend Adorable Spawn's first Halloween with him.
Even better, I found a replacement for my skeleton dragon lawn decoration, and it should be here on Friday!
That's not counting the series I took down last year to rework or the short story sales I made to trad publishing markets. Some of my indie-published stuff are short stories and novellas, but the majority are novels.
At some point, I'll break everything down for y'all and include the trad published numbers. But damn, that's a lot of books!
I think I need to keep track so I can celebrate when I hit 100!
I got stabbed for the flu yesterday. Unfortunately, my doctor also ordered me to get a COVID-19 booster. Our county's infection numbers are shooting up because the Delta variant is rampaging through the area. Too many unvaxxed folks are on ventilators. There's only two hospitals in Hancock County so there's a limited number of beds.
I don't want to be one of them because break-thru infections are happening. I really wish some of my friends and family took this disease more seriously. I don't want to send out any more sympathy cards. I don't want to lose anyone. And I don't want to die either.
Take care of yourselves, folks. Get your shots if your doctor recommends them. Remember...
Winter is coming.
1) The first issue is the supply shortage. All companies are suffering this, but for publishing, the printers are having trouble getting paper.
We went through a similar paper shortage in the '90's. That coupled with the collapse of a major distributor triggered a rise in prices.
This time, the companies producing paper are looking at their own supply shortage of raw material thanks to lockdowns, illness, and death from COVID-19. Then they have their own problems staffing their facilities.
Unfortunately, shortages drive prices up. I use Ingramspark for printing my own books. The CEO of Ingram sent out a notice that they are initiating a 6% increase in printing costs because they're having to pay extra to get paper. This means I, as a publisher, have to increase the price of my books to cover my overhead. It sucks the big one for my readers. Since I use POD printing, the cost is already higher than a Big 5 paperback.
2) The second issue is staffing. Just like the factories that produce pulp for the paper mills and mills themselves, there's a major shortage in employees. There's a combination of factors: deaths from COVID-19, people with health issues thanks to long COVID, quarantines because of sick family members, employees forced to find other jobs do to shutdowns, etc. Ingram is facing the same low staff problems as every other company, which was why the CEO told his own customers to get their orders in early.
Ingram isn't the only printer having these issues. The shipping companies are also having staffing issues. Ports don't have enough people to unload ships coming into the U.S. There's a shortage of truck drivers, warehouse workers, and delivery drivers.
The Big Five are especially sensitive to these problems. As a result, even if an author's book is selling like gangbusters, the major publishers aren't bothering to reprint those books. So if a bookstore owner has a zillion requests for whatever book is the new, hot thing, they can't get it!
In a way, I'm lucky being a small cheese publisher. I have some print sales, but not enough to start fretting about the shortages. Yet.
However, I will have to adjust my calculations for my proposed Kickstarter in case the paperbacks become a big reward item that backers want.
The hardest part is estimating the overhead. The Kickstarter fee is easy enough. But it's the physical rewards that are a mess.
Loren recommends keeping it simple for your first Kickstarter and only use digital rewards. The problem is I know several of my readers prefer paper. I'm not even trying to do something new like hardcovers yet. That will come next year.
I'm looking at my basic trade paperbacks. The shipping in the U.S. is bad enough right now. But there's also my overseas readers who want paperbacks.
I've already ordered magnets and stickers as promo for my new series in preparation of the Local Author Fair in November. And a part of me wants t-shirts to wear at the fair, so if I'm going to order them, why not offer them as a reward on the Kickstarter.
It's all something to consider and calculate and make sure shipping is covered.
Budgeting and accounting makes my head ache.
Now, there's a pile of bills to be dealt with, and a ton of writing to do.
Hang in there, my friends. Entertainment is coming your way.
Instead of posting a new chapter of my current work-in-progress over on my main website, there's a new short story under the Free Short Story tab. (Or you can click this link.)
The Trickster Priestess and the Demon is set in the Justice universe. I hope you enjoy it!
Known Coronavirus Cases in the U.S. -- 41,547,621
Known Coronavirus Deaths in the U.S. -- 670,527
I've heard variations of the words "You don't matter" all my life.
I'm a female so I don't matter.
I don't have a college education so I don't matter.
I have a college education so I don't matter/
I like Star Trek so I don't matter.
I live in rural America so I don't matter.
I live in urban America so don't matter.
I'm not an athlete so I don't matter.
I'm a bookworm so I don't matter
And I could keep going, but you get the gist.
It's tiring, right? Except now, I have some measure of peace in my own home with a flower garden. But what happens to the people who can't find that peace. The ones who can't escape all the voices and actions that scream they don't matter.
Social justice warrior is a dirty word in our society. Those against it want to cling to their fragile illusion of power. But it's power based on cruelty. That cruelty is wielded to break all the bonds of fairness that people are trying to weave together. How nasty can we be to our fellow humans before we break inside?
I do matter. And so do all of you.
With the Delta variant of COVID-19 surge, I don't dare go places I don't have to. So I have to resort to phone calls, texts, e-mails, and various social medias to keep in touch with friends.
The need to distance is chafing my psyche, even for someone as introverted as me.
We bought a house with a guest room, added some awesome furniture, and yet none of our friends have been able to visit.
Heck, I haven't even had a chance (or the bravery) to shop for patio furniture and a barbeque grill. I only wave to the neighbors. And it looks like I'll need to figure out how to incorporate medical masks with my Halloween costume.
Maybe Psycho Surgeon?
Anyway, for those of you who don't like shopping Amazon, I've been uploading the files on the other e-book retailers as I get them from my formatter. In regards to the paperbacks, I'm uploading files, but Ingramspark is also behind due to employees out with COVID-19. So far, only one book out of five loaded have made it through the gauntlet.
In the meantime, I'm trying to finish A Very Hero Wedding in between file reviews. And I'm really hoping to have a very special announcement soon!
After years of funding other people's projects, I've been studying fiction Kickstarters for a while now as a new way to introduce my books into the world. Here's a couple I'm studying:
A friend of mine Matt Herron, aka MG Herron, has taken the plunge before me. His Kickstarter for his space opera trilogy, Relics of the Ancients has been been going like gangbusters. He's got some awesome things as rewards. Things I've considered like stickers, bookmarks, and t-shirts. And some things I haven't like little models of his series' starfighters. It's a super-awesome campaign, and you should check it out!
And once again, WMG Publishing is running a Kickstarter for a new Kris Rusch book. It's the first novel involving her Spade and Paladin characters. *SQUEE*
However, the better part are the classes WMG offers for writers as part of their rewards. The awesome part is a lot of these classes are aimed at mid-level writers, i.e. those of who have a novel or 60 out in the world and are trying to fine-tune their work. It doesn't mean newbies won't get anything out of these classes.
Anyway, both of them give me ideas on how to handle my own Kickstarter when I'm ready to dive in.
Known COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. - 659,316
Yeah, there was a spike over the last week, thanks to the Delta variant of the damn virus. Just in the last week, COVID-19 cases in our county have doubled. What the average Joe and Jane don't seem to realize is that with every infection, the virus could mutate again.
Even when it's a break-thru infection for someone who is vaccinated.
The folks not getting vaccinated are setting themselves up to help create an even more deadly version of COVID-19. Why, oh, why is the human race so suicidal?
This is one of my Halloween wreaths, the current one hanging. I thought the green and black was a little too garish for my front door.
By the way, a red door brings good fortune under the principles of feng shui.
I got very behind over the last two years in getting paperbacks out. So far behind, a couple of readers contacted me to find out if I was still doing paper versions of my novels.
Ironically, just as I'm getting caught up on that end of the production, Ingram is having problems with file reviews, production, and distribution thanks to the Delta variant of COVID-19 that's currently sweeping across the U.S.
I've got to finish A Very Hero Wedding and buckle down on the Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse series, not to mention finish revisions on the Millersburg Magick Mysteries series.
I also need to finish unpacking the boxes in the living room and get everything put away before the kids bring Adorable Spawn here for Halloween.
I also need to shop for new Halloween decorations and a new area rug for Adorable Spawn to crawl on to replace the few things I lost in the unintended indoor pool situation.
However, it's September 1st, which means I WILL hang one of my Halloween wreaths on the front door this evening!
Known cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. - 39,343,501
Known deaths caused by COVID-19 in the U.S. - 648,051
GET YOUR DAMN VACCINE!
It's a catch-22. Do you spend the time learning new things? Or would you be better off writing?
That's a question every indie writer needs to figure out for themselves. Most of the time, the money I spend on covers and my cover artists' time is worth the time I save in not creating the covers from scratch.
But on the other hand, I want to develop that skill set so I know what to ask for from my cover artists. So cover time is actually time I'd spend watching TV.
For example, I sprint in the evenings with a friend until 11 pm. Then I watch Colbert or Family Feud until bedtime because these days, I need the laughs. So I can listen to monologues or trivia questions while fooling around with PAINT.
The other problem is I usually don't understand stuff unless I am doing it myself. That hint of tactile learning in me is one reason I was able to homeschool Genius Kid who is 100% a tactile learner. So spending the couple of hours learning how to do paperback covers has been super beneficial for reasons that have nothing to do with time constraints.
Next week, I'll do an entire paperback cover from scratch. I'll let you know how long that takes and show you the results.
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| Original Cover |
I've done my own ebook covers before. I'll be the first to admit I suck at design. But I keep trying because I don't want to be stranded should something happen to one of the ladies I employ.
So I still try every once in a while. Like for a couple of my short story collections.
On Revenge Served Hot, my formatter begged me to please send her the original JPG file because, well, look at what she did to make the cover POP!
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| Published Cover |
In the meantime, I'm practicing with turning the cover for Practical Witches into a paperback cover. We'll see how that one turns out. I'm still struggling with converting PDF files to JPGs and back again, because the printers need PDF files.
I'm reminded daily of how much I don't know.
JACKHAMMERS!
IN OUR BASEMENT!
A waterproofing crew is doing some work on our basement in an effort to keep it from turning into an indoor swimming pool again.
The princess pup already gets riled up when strange humans enter her yard, much less her home. So when men come in with their strange and loud tools of destruction, she must be taken elsewhere because the noise is simply too painful for delicate canine ears.
Today, we spent our time at the house of DH's baby sister where we did what we usually do--share breakfast and then she naps on my lap while I write.
I hope the rest of you had a peaceful late summer day!
In my hubris, the great god Murphy took the opportunity to strike me down with a summer cold.
I'm struggling through some edits, and I'll try to write during my sprint time with a friend later tonight. In the meantime, I sucking down fluids, staying away from DH, and praying this doesn't turn into a sinus infection.
Back in the early days of our marriage, Friday was date night. We hit a local restaurant and went to see a movie. EVERY Friday. When Oscar nominations came out, we'd viewed nearly every nominee. Those we hadn't seen yet? Well, that was the mission--see them before the actual awards broadcast.
Once GK was born, we had to back off on trips to the theater until he was old enough to go with us.
I was thrilled when 2020 rolled around. There were lots of things scheduled for release I wanted to see. GK was off being an adult. And DH and I started off with Birds of Prey.
That turned out to be the last movie we saw in the theater. When I returned from a writers' workshop, we discussed seeing Bloodshot at the theater. I didn't feel comfortable going since I tend to pick up every germ in a ten-mile radius. The following Monday, Governor DeWine shut down Ohio.
We've resorted to watching new or recent releases on one of the various streaming services we subscribe to. Granted, it's not the same as being in a theater with greasy popcorn and a zillion mouthbreathers.
However, I don't know if the change in venue is affecting my perceptions, or if the movies I would normally love have truly gone downhill.
Wonder Woman '84 could have been better. Bloodshot was boring even by Vin Diesel standards And don't get me started about The Suicide Squad.
Stellar cast, stellar director, and a what-the-holy-fuck script.
I know things won't be the same after the pandemic, but I'm damn well going to deliver better entertainment in my books than the crap I've been watching lately.
You people deserve it.
Tonight, DH and I are doing Mexican food and watching The Suicide Squad. Tomorrow, we'll work on the yard and flower beds. Sunday, we're meeting some friends from Cincinnati for brunch.
Frankly, I can use the breather.
What are y'all up to this weekend?
And today, my body said, "Fuck this shit!"
I was up at 7:30 am like I have been nearly every day for the past week and a half (any friends reading this will be laughing their asses off because they KNOW I'm NOT a morning person) because the repair/placement folks start early. Today, I didn't have a choice. DH was headed to a medical appointment, and the HVAC folks were finishing the furnace installation.
My sole job was to keep the princess pup out of the way until DH got home. I fell asleep reading, which is something I never do, despite all the banging downstairs and the cherry limeade can of Reign I'd had for breakfast in an effort to stay awake. Luckily, Bella slept with me and didn't try to go downstairs to supervise the crew. The HVAC guys were done by 10 am because the thermostat they'd ordered hadn't arrived, and that's the very last thing they need to do.
Once they left, I was still exhausted. I crawled into bed, thinking I'd nap for an hour or two.
Six hours later, a rather loud crash of thunder woke me. So I got some lunch and started going through e-mails.
And I'm still tired. I don't think I'll have any problems falling asleep tonight.
Yet, people continue to refuse to get the vaccine.
I read this anguished essay from a doctor last week. She echoes the things I'm hearing from friends who are in various medical positions. The amount of people pleading for someone to save them when all they had to do was get a free vaccine shot is horrible.
The healthcare profession are considered essential workers. They haven't the luxury of Netflix and chilling for the last seventeen months. And a lot of them have caught COVID-19 and died because of the lack of PPE and any vaccines.
So, for those of you who haven't gotten or refuse to get one of the vaccines for reasons that have nothing to do with your own health issues, what are you gong to do when the entire healthcare system breaks, mentally and physical, over the strain of trying to take care of those, like you, who refuse to take care of themselves?
What are those of us who need the healthcare system for things other than COVID-19? Believe me, you have no idea how much I wish cancer could be dealt with in one or two shots!
Look, take a ten-minute visit to your pharmacist. A quick poke, maybe two, depending on which vaccine they have in stock, and it's done. If any one was going to have major side-effects from the damn shot, it would have been me. But, nope, nary a sniffle.
Please get the vaccine! I don't want you to die!
[Full disclosure: I was a member of RWA from 2004 thru 2012. I've lost track of how many contests I judged in RWA, and frankly, it's not an easy job. I left because of how they treated erotic romance, gay romance, and ebooks. Their educational programs are fabulous, but the inbred weirdness of the Board and the management got to be too much for me. I also have several writer friends who are still members, and that's their choice.]
After the controversial handling of what amounted to a publisher's complaint against a POC member, the entire Board disintegrated. Board members quit in disgust. The president was forced to resign, as was the executive director. Then there was the dust-up over the old Rita Awards when a story about a Nazi officer who hooked up with a Jewish chick and she converted to Christianity won a fucking Rita.
A lot of folks quit RWA after those hot messes. Judges withdrew from participating in any RWA awards. Hell, even several chapters left the parent organization over the bullshit.
So the new Board, the most diverse Board I've ever seen, eliminated the Rita awards, going as far as cancelling them outright in 2020 (which was probably a good thing in regards to the raging COVID-19 pandemic though the cancellation happened before the U.S. shut down).
The new Board tried to address the marginalization of non-white, non-straight, non-Christian authors. They renamed their awards to reflect the Black founder of RWA, Vivian Stephens, and overhauled the rules for both entries and judging.
Apparently, they didn't go far enough.
I marginally paid attention to the Vivians on Saturday. I was in the middle of trying to finish writing a novel, and only because a friend was up for the romantic elements category. (She didn't win, and thank Cthulu, she wasn't in the Christian romance category!)
*facepalm*
I'm going to start by pointing out a similar FICTIONAL situation. Back in the early '80's, Chris Claremont was the writer of the Uncanny X-men, a Marvel title. (You may have heard of it.)
He had one of the heroes, Jean Grey, aka Dark Phoenix, eat a sun, and as a result, she killed an entire planetful of people. Billions of lives were lost.
During a story planning session with then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, Chris outlined his redemption arc for Jean. Jim said, no, Jean needs to die. The men went back and forth until Jim laid down the law. Marvel heroes DO NOT commit genocide!
To me, this is a much bigger deal than DC claiming Batman does not eat pussy.
Other Marvel writers have since retconned the Phoenix Saga so it wasn't the real Jean Grey who committed genocide. But the original storyline has stuck with me. My heroes CANNOT do something so heinous and irredeemable and remain a hero.
Real life is bad enough. Real life sucks. Romance readers want their happy ending. I get that. But not at the cost of 300 real people who died in one of the most atrocious government acts in U.S. history. And especially, not when the bodies of dead Native children from what was a re-education facility were returned so recently.
RWA has issued a statement regarding the Vivian awards.
Every time I think things are becoming more equitable, reality slams a frying pan into my head. I should be working on my novel, but I needed to get my disgust out of system.
And to my friends who say RWA has changed, it hasn't, and it makes me queasy.
