Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Why are ballads always rock bands' biggest hits?

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Sometimes, you need a little Tupac in your day.

Why Does Stuff Pile Up Right Before You Go On Vacation?

It's almost nine p.m., and I'm just now writing my post. I got up early to sprint with a friend. For me, parallel work keeps me on track.

But there's so much personal stuff to get done. The dogs want play time and walkies. Also, I'm the only one who can sweet-talk the Grandpuppy into taking his skin allergy medication.

We're eating too much junk because we end up grabbing take-out while running to the post office, the bank, the pharmacy, the eye surgeon, the surgical center, picking up the last of my ornaments from Hallmark, going back to Hallmark because I got so enamored with Chewbacca book end I forgot to ask for my ornaments, drop off the water bill, cancel the insurance on GK's Jeep which he sold last week while he was here, dye my hair, send a note to our CPA about the solar panels installed on the roof and me opening a online store, and somehow finish the new edits on the Millersburg Magick Mysteries and send them to my Kickstarter backers.

In the meantime, DH's employer had a massive layoff, and he's doing the work of three people. Needless to say, he's a little stressed already.

Plus, DH hasn't been able to mulch leaves as often as he normally does. So, all of us are tracking leaf bits into the house. And I hate coming home to a dirty house.

My weird little brain is spinning like a bionic hamster. Clean! Bills! Write!

I think I might need additional medication. It's a good thing pot is legal in Nevada!

Writing More than Showing On the Stats

Over at my main website, I keep a list of stats on current and future writing projects. Right now, it doesn't look like I'm doing much of anything. My NaNo project is an Alter Ego book, the first in three(?) years. 

Also, I'm double-checking for typos in Magick and Murder after finding a few I missed in Fae and Felonies while proofing the paperback. Also, there's the annual Christmas short to write. I need to have everything done before DH and I set out on our first real vacation since GK was born. (The treks to Ohio to visit family do not count as vacations because they definitely weren't relaxing. Neither were the staycations to fix house stuff.)

After we return from our trip, I've got two eye surgeries scheduled in December to fix the cataracts I have thanks to the tamoxifen. Like I told my oncologist, if there's a weird side effect to a drug, I'll have it. Merry Christmas to me.

But that also means, my writing may be limited until my body processes the new bionic lenses, as my buddy Jo would say, and we figure out if I need glasses or just reading glasses or *fingers crossed* I don't need anything at all. By January, I should be able to drive al night again.

Can I now? Technically yes, but I don't feel comfortable doing it.

This is just one of many things a person deals with on the way the big 6-0. Yet, I still want Barbies for my birthday, and I plan on hitting my favorite comic book shop when I'm in Houston. I feel very paradoxical at the moment.

However, I will be taking Baby Blue with me on vacation. DH no longer flies so the drive to our destination will allow me to only write. While technically a laptop, Baby Blue isn't much more than a glorified tablet with a keyboard. She only has WORD and EXCEL loaded, and the wi-fi remains turned off unless there's a dire emergency that my phone can't handle. And there isn't much a smart phone can't handle these days. However, I only have my personal e-mail on the phone.

If all goes to plan, I should have a few giant updates on stats at the beginning of December. Then, things will be quiet until the beginning of January.

P.S. The entire Justice series is currently on sale at all retailers (or it should be) until December 10th. Pestilence in Pumpkin Spice (Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse #1) is $0.99 until Deember 31st!

Monday Movie Mania - The Marvels

Don't let the trolls tell you what to do!

The Marvels was a damn fun and funny movie. Were there some nitpicks? Of course, there were. As a writer I have a hard time NOT picking. But I loved these characters in the comics, and I think the writers, directer, and actors did them justice.

* * *

SPOILERS

* * *

LOVES
1) The chemistry between Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani was awesome!

2) It was funny! Not pee in my pants Deadpool 1 hilarious, but I laughed through most of the flick.

3) Fan service by using all of Carol's monikers (except Warbird, which I hated anyway).

4) Kamala's fangirling was just too adorable!

5) I was really expecting Nick Fury to say "I'm getting too old for this shit" at a certain point.

6) Kelsey Grammer

7) THE FLERKEN RESCUE SQUAD!

HATES
1) Dar-Benn needed a little fleshing out. I don't blame Zawe Ashton. She's an excellent actor. I don't know if something ended up on the proverbial cutting room floor or if the script was that bad when it came to her characterization.


Overall, I give Ther Marvels a solid 8 out of 10 stars.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Here's a little more upbeat tune.

To AI or Not to AI

Yep, that's the question these days. Especially when it comes to cover art for my books.

Will I ever use AI for writing a book? No, because it kind of defeats the purpose of writing. For me, writing is almost the same as reading. I'm often surprised by what my Imagination can come up with.

Like the zombie Andean condor forcing down a plane in Blood Sacrifice.

But for cover art, I've been reluctant to use AI. There's more than a few ongoing lawsuits in regards to training the AIs with copyrighted material and no permission from or recompense to the artists.

At the same time, the US Copyright Office has deemed AI-generated items as non-copyrightable since they were produced by a non-human. Kind of like the Monkey Selfie or the paintings of elephants, chimpanzees, and gorillas. On the other hand, the EU says that AI-generated art is copyrightable because it's generation is directed by a human's instructions.

 However, the Bern Convention currently fails to address who owns the copyright to an AI generated image because the treaty is massively behind the times.

In an effort to make people comfortable with using their AI, Adobe offers indemnification. Does this indemnification hold up in court? It hasn't been tested yet, so only the Creator and the Supreme Court knows if the indemnification will hold up.

And I can guarantee if Adobe loses its first lawsuit over the matter, it'll rip that clause out of its Terms and Conditions and hang its users out to dry.

I've talked to the cover artists I've used about the matter. Frankly, none of us quite know which way to jump, but one thing was glaringly obvious. AI is not going away.

Even Alexa on my Echo Dot agrees.

It Has Been a Long-Ass Day

Yesterday, after I spent a good couple of hours of medical testing and a surgical consult, everyone agrees I need cataract surgery. After all the stress of tests, talking with the surgeon, and scheduling the surgeries for next month, I thought I'd be able to sleep in and get a lot of writing done today.

Didn't happen.

I woke up to Grandpuppy (yes, the gorgeous black boy in the picture) racing from window to door to window to door. Genius Kid sold his Jeep Liberty this morning to a family who made an appointment last night for 10 AM. So, Grandpuppy was all excited about new hoomans outside and then, his own hooman leaving. He didn't bark, but a 50-lb German Shepard-Staffordshire mix doesn't have a light footstep.

By the time that business was finished, I had checked my e-mail. One of my cover artists had questions about the two covers she's working on this month. I didn't have a chance to answer everything before we needed to take Grandpuppy to the vet.

Don't worry. He's fine. Genius Kid has been given so many new duties now that he passed his sergeant boards that he hasn't had a chance to get Grandpuppy to his regular vet. Plus, we're puppysitting Grandpuppy for the next two months, and I want to make sure he has his vaccinations since he'll be around Princess Bella.

After that, a stop at the pet store to get some more food for the Grandpuppy, a quick stop at the pharmacy for my prescriptions, another stop at the grocery store for a couple of ingredients for the homemade pizza Genius Kid requested for dinner, and a much needed trip through the Starbucks drive-thru for an equally needed pumpkin spice latte.

While the dough rose, I finished my answers to my cover artist, and the guys did a little car work. I put together the pizzas and put away the clean dishes in the dishwasher while they baked.

And now, it's 10 PM, and  I'm finally opening my current wip.

People often don't understand why I stay up until dawn to write and sleep through the day. Seriously, it's the only way I can get anything written.

A Justice Super Sale!

Yep, I'm having a Justice Super Sale from now until December 10th at all retailers! All proceeds received by Angry Sheep Publishing from this sale will be sent to Maui Strong for the benefit of residents of Lahaina, who lost everything in the wildfire that destroyed the town.

All e-novels are marked down to $2.99 and all electronic short stories, even the collection Justice: The Beginning, are $0.99.

Share this with friends you think might be interested in the adventures of Justice Anthea and Brother Luc!

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Anguished ballads were such a big thing in the '90's, weren't they?

Author Fest and the End of Daylight Savings Time

This afternoon, I'm prepping for tonight's Author Fest. Hope to see you there!

P.S. Don't forget to turn back your clocks tomorrow night!

Author Fest and the Start of NaNoWriMo

The Findlay-Hancock Library is holding their annual Author Fest during the city's Art Walk on November 3rd, from 5:30 until 8:00 p,m, I'll be there along with a couple of dozen local authors.

It's not often I do public appearances because of my health, but I love supporting our local library! Stop by and say "Hi!"

Also, today is the first day of National Novel Writing Month, AKA NaNoWriMo or just NaNo. There are no rules to NaNo. If anyone tells you there are, they're full of it.

The objective is to getting writers to sit down and concentrate on their craft for the month. I like to use is to jumpstart a new novel.

So, if you're a reader or a writer, there's lots of stuff going on this week. On the plus side, the weather should be a tad warmer with no snow!

See you at the library on Friday!