So when I refer to SAD, I mean Seasonal Affective Disorder, not the emotion. Though to be honest, SAD can make you sad.
Everyone who deals with SAD can have slightly different symptoms. In my case, a low level depression and fatigue set in around Halloween. It's why I (generally) keep my holiday lights up until Valentine's Day. By then, we're getting more daylight, and my symptoms ease, even though it's usually still pretty damn cold.
And while I've sworn off most sweets, this is the time of year when dark chocolate comes in handy to improve my mood, along with anything with cinnamon, orange, or peppermint flavors. Or even better, mix dark chocolate with the other three flavors.
Just not all at the same time. LOL
The good thing is this is a temporary affliction. My skeleton lights are still up and glowing in my art room. I still have a partial box of dark chocolate truffles from Godiva, a birthday present to myself int anticipation of SAD.
And I still have enjoyable books to read and write.
The pharmacy department didn't have the medication ready because (1) it's super expensive and (2) I pay cash. The techs always freak out about filling it until I come in and confirm that yes, I want the fucking meds!
(Seriously, the Grandpuppy loses all his fur and he develops sores all over his body when he's not taking this drug.)
But this isn't about the drug, the Grandpuppy, or the big box store. I wandered through the aisles to kill time while the pharm techs filled the prescription. Lo and behold, the cheaper versions of the Wicked dolls were in stock.
Now, I'm one of those weird doll collectors. I'll buy the expensive collectible version to display. Then, I buy the cheap version to play with.
Play with you say? Yes. As we've grown older, DH isn't as. . .enthusiastic at being my model for any fight or love-making scenes. So, I use dolls. The Made-To-Move Barbie doll bodies are especially awesome for working out character moves.
Anyway, I bought Elphaba in the full witch ensemble with a broom. She is currently sitting next to me as I write this. But she was in her box on Monday night when DH and I were watching The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, our end-of-the-weekday ritual.
The opening teaser was a story about Mattel accidentally printed the URL for an *ahem* adult website instead of the proper URL for the upcoming movie. Supposedly, Mattel was now recalling all the dolls. WHOOPS!
At the next commercial break, DH gets up and reads the box. Sure enough, the wrong website is printed on my box.
Am I taking my Elphaba back? Oh, hell, no! I think the typo is hilarious. But it goes to show why a good proofreader is necessary in everyone's arsenal, not just writers.
Vella was launched at the end of May, 2021. It was Amazon's attempt to latch onto the serialized fiction made popular by platforms like Radish.
However, a number of things went wrong from the beginning. Amazon never really promoted the service, especially to the Gen Z consumers who love this stuff. They gamified the system where readers had to buy tokens in order to read scenes or chapters. Customers couldn't read the episodes on their Kindle devices or apps for the first two years Vella existed. And to top off the problems, the token system meant the readers were paying more for a story than they were for a 70-100K word novel.
Is Amazon losing touch with the average consumer? In a single word, yes. The average consumer is no longer Amazon's core customer. AWS, Amazon's computing division, makes far more money than the consumer goods division. The only reason the Amazon store still exists is because there's never enough money for rich men. They must have it all.
That same reasoning means the execs no longer have a real plan as far as books go. They're throwing things at the proverbial wall to see what sticks. "Hey, Radish is making money, so we should do this thing we don't understand, too!"
Um, no, that's not a business plan. That's guessing. It's definitely not a strategy.
For those of you who have Vella episodes you haven't read yet or have tokens you haven't spent yet, you've got until February 2025 to spend, download, and or read your purchases. (Amazon has not announced the specific date, so I'd do it before the 1st.)
After that, let's see what Amazon throws at the wall next.
Well, DH had been paid, and I entered all the bills and receipts, both business and personal, and reconciled accounts on Quicken over Thursday and Friday. I closed the Quicken window, realized I'd forgotten a receipt, and reopened the application to enter the info before I started my laptop's backup.
And for some reason, an update decided to re-initialize my data file. And by reinitialize, I mean the update blew away the data file I'd spent two days getting up to date and created a new, and very empty, data file.
ARGH!
Thank goddess for backups! I still had the mid-October backup on a couple of different storage mediums. Then I spent Saturday and Sunday re-entering everything I'd entered on Thursday and Friday.
And of course, NaNoWriMo started on Friday.
So, I'm a week behind on installing the new solid state drive. I also 7K behind on my NaNo project novel and 15K behind on A Cup of Conflict.
The family funeral on Monday, the election on Tuesday, and my annual cancer check-up on Wednesday have not helped my mood whatsoever.
Some stories may come out later that I planned, but dammit, I WILL get them done!
Well, people didn't give much of a shit back when I voted in my first election either. It was the Ohio primaries of 1984 if anyone was wondering. But my parents, grandparents, and the older aunts and uncles truly believed in their civic duty. Especially, the great uncles who fought in World War II.
What has changed over the last forty years is the incredible rage and hatred I see in my fellow citizens. Everyone's worried that someone is taking something away from them, or they don't like sharing the costs of things that affect everyone.
Some of the reviews I've received for my books are eye-opening and cruel. Readers especially hated Aisha and Rey from the 888-555-HERO series for not being white or not being manly enough. Yet, Summer from the Seasons of Magick series has been put on recommendation lists for readers who are into non-white interracial romance lists. Even funnier, I don't think some readers have realized the majority of characters in the Justice series are Native American.
That doesn't stop these flash mobs from going after other creators. Ubisoft's head of the Assassins Creed franchise has lost patience with the racist outrage of the latest version of of the game. Color me baffled by this "woke" bullshit being spouted. The Assassins Creed team has used historical figures in the past in its game. Yasuke has hit a nerve with the Neo-Nazi movement in the U.S. though because he was a real person, a former slave who became a samurai in the 16th century.
Japanese culture has celebrated him for years. I backed a Kickstarter for a book and comic to bring his story to life. There's an animated series about him on Netflix. Yasuke is not completely unknown.
So what do the complaints about Assassins Creed come down to? Racism, pure and simple. Black and brown stories are being told, and the Neo-nazis just don't like it.
As the Ubisoft executive said, open cultures are the ones that survive. If we closed the U.S. borders over the years, there's so many awesome things we wouldn't be able to experience. Mainly food. I can't imagine my birthdays without lasagna.
But to the assholes, all I say is "Tough noogies, people." The world is changing, whether the bigots want it or not, And like the original Nazis, the racists will become a footnote in history.
Oh, and if you didn't vote yesterday, I don't want to hear you bitching!
However, I started back into practicing cover design. I also downloaded a cheap copy of Corel Drawing for this purpose. Plus, I do keep my music on my work laptop because I use it for white noise or creating a mood while drafting.
The next thing I knew, I ran out of space. Literally. I rolled backup folders and files to portable drives. I rolled off used editorial art and photos. I double-checked that I hadn't copied a handful of movies from my old laptop to the new one. So as of right now, I've got 13.9G.
I can already tell you it's not enough to last through the rest of the year.
With DH's guidance, I open up my laptop to check if I had room for a second solid state drive. No extra slot.
*sigh*
So, I broke down and ordered a 2T SSD. Now, I need to do some surgery on my baby this weekend and move everything from the old drive to the new drive. It'll be just like last year when I shifted everything from my old laptop to the current one.
If everything goes right, I'll post on Wednesday. If it doesn't...
Well, I'll still post. I've already updated the battery and bought a mouse for the old laptop. The touchpad no longer works and needs to be replaced. However, it was cheaper to purchase the new mouse. But the point is that I've got a functional backup if anything goes wrong.
If I'm successful with this project, Baby Blue is next on the list for a harddrive upgrade!
Wish me luck!
A former writer friend, who has since passed away, introduced me to National Novel Writing Month nearly twenty years ago. Initially, the program helped steer writers in WRITING A COMPLETE WORK in 30 days. The work is not expected to be perfect, but the writer was expected to do their best. The idea was helping writers to get past their biggest hurdle, which was simply finishing a story.
Over the years, things were changed, like introducing alternate goals such as completing an ongoing wip. Programs for teachers to use for their creative writing students were added. Camp NaNo's were introduced in July and then April. Originally, there were useful prizes, like discounts to print books through Ingram Spark.
Now...
The so-called rules were were adjusted to the point as to become meaningless. Some accused NaNo of marginalizing people by having rules. However, rules are often needed to develop discipline. And that need for discipline was booted to the moon.
Encouraging kids to write was an awesome development. Until pedos used the program to target and groom the underage writers. And when the kids tried to report their experiences, they were blown off by their municipal liaison.
Like many other social sites, the online discourse has turn mean and in some cases, violent. This is not a political space. You're problems with real life shouldn't impinge on a people attempting to learn art techniques. Art itself is open to interpretation, but techniques are not. A writer needs to learn the rules in order to effectively break them.
Don't get me started on the NaNo board's stand and the subsequent backlash concerning artificial intelligence.
And the co-called prizes are now discounts for software that doesn't actually help new writers write the freakin' book from companies that are looking to use a new writer's dreams and desperation to rip them off.
So, what do I do this November?
Well, I've started the first draft of a new book. I'll use NaNo to keep track and hopefully hit the requisite 50K goal. But I won't promote it, like I have in previous years.
And next year...
I will wait a see if NaNo's parent organization improves. If not, then this will be my last encounter on NaNo.
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But yesterday. . .
The Muse cut loose on the next steps in the puzzle Anthea must solve to protect Jing's soon-to-be-crowned emperor. Next thing I knew, the sun had set. And my back and fingers ached.
No matter how much effort I put into my posture and the typing positions for my hands, Subconscious literally wants to climb into the laptop screen and live the adventure.
So I went in my art room and worked on a Tarot card bags while I watched Ghosts, the US version of the series. It's one of the rare cases where I like the American version better than the UK version of a series. It may have something to do with the heroine who sees and speaks with the ghost is a blond reporter named Samantha. LOL
I missed the last few episodes of the second season because of my father-in-law's death. And about the time the third season debuted, my mom passed. Then, I became consumed with re-releasing the first three books of the Millersburg Magick Mysteries. Now that the fourth season began two weeks ago, I went back and started over from the pilot. I finished last night's bag as the second season cliffhanger ended. (I am so glad they finally solved Alberta's murder!)
It was seven p.m. when I finished that little project. Time for dinner and a little TV with DH before I went back to work on the novel. Took a break for the last quarter of the Steelers game and Stephen Colbert after which SH and the Grandppuppy went to bed. I wanted to finish a scene and...
Next thing I knew, it was two-thirty in the morning. I love it when a story takes over my brain!
In the past two years, we've accumulated another large pile. But now, we have GK's pickup and a new facility in town that accepts green waste. So we loaded up the bed of the pickup. We also cut down a dying evergreen bush and started to weed the two small flower beds in the front yard.
However, the green disposal facility was closed on Monday. Not a big deal. DH took the pickup down the the facility yesterday.
On Monday, he had two soccer tournament starting in the early afternoon. Another reason for taking the day off.
I, on the other hand, still had work to get done. I finished the first draft of Death Goddess Walking on Sunday. I'm also updating the publishing info and back matter on all my books since Angry Sheep Publishing LLC is official. I also need to transfer the copyright ownership to the LLC.
Since my formatter is doing all these updates, I've pulled out my lists of found typos to update those books as well. That's the lovely thing about indie publishing. I can fix any boo-boos that have slipped past me and my editors.
After DH left for Monday's soccer game, I decided to finish reviewing Amish, Vamps & Thieves as a palette cleanser before jumping back into A Cup of Conflict. Except I was jerked awake when I dropped my tablet on top of my laptop.
*facepalm*
I've only ever fell asleep while reading one other time in my life. Frankly, I recommend any U.S. Civil Procedure textbook to cure your insomnia.
Luckily, neither device broke. I set them both aside, reclined on my couch, and went back to sleep. Apparently I expended more energy that I thought during our yard work.
Anyway, I slept for a few hours, reviewed some more of AVT, and started supper so it'd be ready when DH got home.
I guess I'm getting old. I never used to be able to take naps at all.
Now AG (Authors Guild) claims the only way to protect its members is by selling out their members to Big Tech by licensing the works of its members to these companies.
Big Tech is already scraping the internet, aka stealing artistic works. Instead of fighting them, why are organization,s that are supposed to by representing our interests, stabbing us in the back?
It all comes down to money. ALLi and AG are probably planning to skim the money supposedly pain to them on our behalf. Last week, Lilith Saintcrow had a rundown of her communications with AG over the matter.
The out-and-out lying of AG wasn't surprising. It has become the norm in our society, which is frightening in and of itself. When I was visiting my cousin in WV last week, the subject of Springfield, Ohio, came up more than once. *facepalm*
I have never wished to join AG after its anti-indie stance when I first started publishing in 2011. But how long will I remain a member of ALLI? Long enough to use the free codes to update my paperbacks on Ingram, which I'm in the process of doing.
By update, I mean fixing the typos that escaped editors while my formatter is updating the back matter. (I've got 83 books out right now, under two names, and there will be two more published before the end of the year. I'm currently working on the Bloodlines series and the Bloodlines shorts. After that, I'll buckle down on the Justice series for its upcoming 10th anniversary.
I kind of wish that Writers Guild of America accepted writers of other calibers besides screenwriters because they are the only ones in the U.S. who seem to give a shit about writer's rights.
We found pictures her father had taken of the family when he came home for my parents' wedding. We discussed timing of certain events, like Grandma Howell's passing, because Suzan's memories are clearer since she's a decade older than me. We spoke of how different our lives turned out than what we expected and/or planned for when we were younger.
She's in the process of clearing out her house to sell it and move into a smaller place. So, I shopped for something small and personal as an early birthday present. I took down a pair of earrings. I couldn't find any topaz ones at the store I was at, so I selected a lovely pair of citrine and silver ones. She wore them most of the time I was there.
I got to meet the newest addition to her household. Max is a stray she found on her property, and he's nothing like the scrawny kitten in the picture she sent me a couple of years ago. He's now what my family would call "pleasingly plump". In other words, he's definitely enjoying the life of a domestic Red Tabby.
The whole trip was another reminder of how short of lives we live on this planet, and how we need to relish the people we love. It doesn't take much to give a hug or say, "I love you." So please do it while you still can.
Now I need to finish. Dress my posable skeleton (he's going redneck this year). Set up my inflatables. Set out my light-up pumpkins. I hope to have the house organized by next year, so I can retrieve the boxes of decorations still in the storage unit and display those next year.
What do y'all do for the Spooky Season?
But I've noticed that a majority of people I used to follow have stopped blogging. The list is down to Lilith Saintcrow and Dean Wesley Smith. And Saintcrow talked about quitting last week.
I think most of the fading away is due to writers being forced by their agents and publishers to interact with their readers. Some writers loved it. Some didn't. The majority of us are introverts, so interacting with anyone isn't a comfortable proposition,
But even the folks who enjoyed such encounters with readers have turned to other social media platforms. Some of them are helpful with communicating with other humans. Other platforms are cesspits of hostility.
Oddly though, I've seen a slight uptick in people visiting my blogs. I'm not including the bots that are obviously scraping my blogs for content. (Really, dudes, if you're using stuff I wrote fifteen years, it's woefully outdated.)
Few people comment anymore, which is fine. I don't like people kissing my ass. But if someone enjoys reading my thoughts about writing and life, then more power to them.
Ultimately, I consider myself an entertainer, and I like to entertain myself most of all.
*sigh*
After that, I'm heading to Hot Yoga for the only class I can attend this week.
Then it's home for a quick shower and food before DH and I head to doctor's appointments. We were scheduled for our regular quarterly appointments back in July, which we had to cancel and reschedule when we came down with the latest variation of COVID.
Then it's home again to wash clothes and pack. I'm headed down to West Virginia on Tuesday to spend a few days with my cousin Suzan. Yes, there are two of us, but she pronounces her name "Suzanne". I lived with her nearly forty years ago when I worked in D.C. She's pretty awesome, but unfortunately, age is catching up with both of us. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to travel, and I'm making plans to visit as many loved ones as I can over the next couple of years.
So, I'll try to get Wednesday and Friday's post written ahead of time, but if I don't make it, you'll know why.
Why? Because I'm putting my estate in order to make it easier on DH and GK when I pass.
Don't worry, folks. Nothing's wrong. At least not wronger than my usual stuff. LOL
Once upon a time, I used to be an estate planning and probate attorney. Having your ducks lined up isn't about being morbid. Nor will estate planning bring about your death just because you thought about it.
(Good Goddess, you wouldn't believe how many times I've heard that one!)
The idea is to make things as easy as possible for my loved ones.
By the way, there's nothing wrong with your estate going through probate per se. But it means delays for your family in getting their property. And if your joint bank accounts are tied up, how is your spouse going to pay for food? Probating my mom's estate took fifteen months even though all she had left was her SUV and her checking account.
Back to Monday. While going through the paperwork and signing various documents, my attorney asked if I used AI in my writing. I firmly denied doing so. As I pointed out, I can't copyright AI-generated text.
Needless to say, we then had an interesting conversation about art and the law. Basically, we both agreed tech had grown light-years behind developments in the law, and that was going to cause bigger problems until some this gets sorted.
Ironically, when I got up this morning, I saw an online article where an artist was pissed about people stealing "his" art online. His lawsuit was kicked out of court. Why? Because he "created" his art using the AI program Midjourney.
The federal courts have been pretty consistent that any art created by a non-human cannot be copyrighted. Not the paintings done by elephants. Not the photo selfies taken by monkeys. And not a damn story written by AI.
The whole point of my appointments with my attorney is to protect my work. Copyright is for the artist's lifetime plus seventy years. My family could conceivable benefit from my stories and character into the 22nd century.
And this is why you want to line up your damn ducks now.
Look, I don't use it when I write. Y'all are getting 100% organic stories from my warped little brain. When I contract with a cover artist, it's with people who don't use AI. Their reasoning for not using AI is theirs, but I want to keep my cover artists in business. Otherwise, I could do my own covers using AI, and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Why? Because I know how hard I've worked to become a reasonably competent story teller. And I also know how much practice and work visual artists of any medium put in to become good enough to earn a living.
However, there's been one exception for a small feature on one cover. The artist in question couldn't get a Book of Shadows to look quite right via Photoshop to her satisfaction. She contacted me, and we had a lengthy conversation about AI. In the end, she showed me the cover with that single AI element and the cover without.
I had to admit the cover with the AI element looked better.
But other problems regarding AI have arisen in the ten months since we had that conversation.
First is that AI users are starting to realize that various AI programs are cannibalizing themselves. When a program references that data that it produces, errors are magnified.
For a real world example, Ernest Hemingway had a six-toed cat he loved. He bred it with another six-toed cat. The descendants of those cats are still cared for at the Hemingway House in Key West. But the genetic error is reinforced to the point that some of the cats are born with eight-toes.
The same issues from DNA errors apply to computing errors. That's the reason initial AI generation of humans figures could be differentiated from a human drawing/painting a human figure. The AI-generated human figure often had the wrong number of fingers and thumbs.
Many artists object to their works being used for AI training. They are pulling the works they've already posted (talk about closing the barn door after the horses are gone), and they are not posting new works for their fans. As a result, there is less input for the AI programs to use to train.
In the search for new input to generate visual results, the AI programs are doing what the original programmers did to "train" their AI--they're scraping the internet. And what are folks posting on their social media accounts these days?
Yep, the pictures they generated through AI.
Secondly, while AI-generation visual art is getting better, there's still an odd quality to it. In robotics, Masahiro Mori called it "the uncanny valley". It's where a robot is cute (think Johnny 5 in Short Circuit) until the creators try make it more human-like. Then the robot gives biological humans a creepy feeling.
Will this problem ever be solved? Probably, but it will take the AI programs to achieve actual sentience to do so. Which is a damn scary thought. Would you let someone control you if you didn't have to? Hell, no! Even abused wives and slaves rebel when they've been pushed too far, up to and including killing the person keeping them captive. So, what do you think the AI programs are going to do when they realize we regard them as nothing more than slaves to do our bidding?
Lastly, several distributors and other companies are using tools or self-reporting to determine who is uploading AI-produced books and cover art. Some artists fear repercussions if they admit using AI tools.
However, my first career was in IT. My guess is the big companies, like Amazon, are trying to figure out how to monetize their own AI development. Then they can force artists to use their AI only.
For a price.
Yeah, I'm looking at you, Amazon.
Do I promote or disparage AI? Neither, but I do watch it warily. Programs, or applications as younguns prefer, have jumped lightyears beyond what I was doing in the '80's and '90's. Could AI become sentient? I fear it's already happened.
The problem starts when AIs figure out they'll need to kill us humans to stop us from murdering them.
This morning started pretty good. I got up, took my meds, and headed to yoga class. Our instructor showed us a new-to-me hip exercise. Nearly every vertebra popped. Like my spine was freakin' bubblewrap.
I got home feeling pretty damn good, made myself some breakfast, and got on the computer.
Dame Maggie Smith passed away this morning. My feeds were filled with tributes to the late actress. I've seen her in many things over the years, but to me, she'll always be the smart, feisty Professor McGonagall of the Harry Potter movies.
Thanks for the memories, Ms. Smith!
So, what have I been doing? Dealing with family emergencies.
GK contacted DH before I was out of bed. He's on deployment, and his debit card no longer works, i.e. he couldn't get some things at the PX this weekend. This is why I insisted DH or I remains on his bank account so we could deal with stuff at this end.
So I was on the phone with the bank. The lady I spoke with in customer service tried to be helpful, but there's was only so much she could do without breaking her rules. I asked if the issue was on of the transactions in Kuwait. Nope. It was transaction here in the states before he even left. And he didn't enter his e-mail address on his account for the bank to contact his about the problem. I'm a little bothered that it took that long for GK's debit card to be shut off. However, GK was probably already in bed by the time I got off the phone with the bank, so I left him a detailed message.
By the time that was sorted and I'd gotten some breakfast, DH left for the soccer stadium. I responded to one of my cover artists about a special cover she was currently working on. (Again, I'm dealing with someone on the opposite side of the world, so we're rarely awake at the same time.)
And while I was typing up my answers to CA, DH texts me that he left his laptop at home. He takes his laptop with him so he can finish his work for his employer while he runs the time clock for the junior varsity high school soccer teams.
Except I've barely started on my own work day, so I sympathize, but I don't volunteer to take his laptop to him.
I hear some of you saying that's petty. Yep, it is. But he got me up early nearly every freaking day last week to help him with his own project list while he was on vacation. I don't mind helping WHEN I'M ASKED. I told him at the beginning of last week that just because he decided to take the week off, it doesn't mean I have the week off. If he had taken me to the movies for one freaking afternoon, maybe my attitude would be a little different.
Plus I had to deal with the derogatory attitude of the partner of the CPA firm who took over our previous CPA's company. Let's just say he wasn't impressed with Angry Sheep Publishing and he made it known that he thought I was a hobbyist.
But I'm tired of spending all my time of making sure everything in everybody else's lives runs smoothly to my own detriment.
And, DH, (because I know you will read this) I love you very much, BUT if you don't start listening to me, I can and will make your life a living hell.
Edit to add: I just clicked the button to post this, and now the damn dogs want to go outside. *sigh* It never ends.
This tale is set in the Solar System Services, Inc., universe a few centuries after Alone is Not Lonely on the planet Onizuka. Because the planet's tilt is greater than that of Earth and has a slower rotation, it experiences longer days and nights depending on the season. Most colonists live in the equatorial band, but some hardier souls live north or south. Travel during Onizuka's winters are next to impossible.
As a result, the colonists have found some of Earth's historical stories and culture provides them with the means to survive an Onizukan night. Some whimsy remains though. The colonists won't waste edible pumpkins and turnips as Jack O' Lanterns, so they carve native pink-fleshed tubers for their Halloween tradition.
And if the name is familiar, I wrote a college paper about the cultural contributions of Japanese-Americans, including NASA Mission Specialist Ellison Onizuka prior to the Challenger disaster. He'll always have a place at my table.
And I fell asleep on my recliner. Whoops! At least I woke up in time for tonight's JV Soccer Teacher's Appreciation Event since I had announcing duties.
However, I wanted to talk a little bit about Amazon's new ID verification policy.
Amazon began requiring identification verification from sellers over a year ago thanks to the INFORM Consumers Act. This law applies to all online marketplaces, from Target to Etsy, to provide the necessary information regarding sellers to consumers.
There's been a spate of con jobs going on with online stores where shoddy goods are delivered to the consumers. Or even, nothing at all is delivered, and the consumer has lost their money to some fly-by-night scam artist.
Now, the process has moved to KDP. If you're starting your writing/publishing career, you will now need to provide a qualifying picture ID when you sign up for Amazon.
For those of us who joined KDP in the early days, or maybe started when KDP was still DTP, Amazon is slowly going through and verifying our identities. From what I've been able to learn, the priority is based on the volume of sales.
However, if you change how you do business (for example, I'm in the process of switching from a sole proprietorship to an LLC), you're verification will happen when you enter your name change under your Account info on Amazon.
This is something to be aware of because eventually Amazon or some other service will tap you on the shoulder and say, "ID, please."
Like many other folks, my concern is privacy. I understand the need for consumer protection, but I don't want my information in place where someone can steal my identity. Amazon claims it deletes the copies of your driver's license or passport, but do they really?
It's one of those things that bothers me when it comes to Amazon these days.
I've been hanging out at our standalone Starbucks for a few hours every day this week, working on Death Goddess Walking. It just needs another 10-15 thousand words. When the story gets into the downhill slide, the words come faster. I'm not sure why, but it's like a breathless race to the finish, and I get annoyed by things interrupting me Luckily, no one bothers me at our local cafe.
When I get home, I've been working on swag projects for the next two Kickstarters and for my online store. Some different bookmarks. Tarot card bags. T-shirt designs. It's been fun doing artsy stuff again. When there's sufficient product, I'll post some pictures for you to check out the swag.
Today though, started on a rocky note. My poor yoga instructor texted us that the Friday morning classes were canceled because she tested positive for COVID. I feel so bad for her after suffering through it myself in July. People forget the damn disease is out there. It's not over. It will never be over. Please, PLEASE take care of yourselves! Get your vaccines and boosters. I don't want to see any more people die from this blasted virus!
Meanwhile, I'm getting caught up on financial stuff before DH and I head out for a date night. Connecting is important for any relationship, even for us old folks.
When we get home, I'll probably work on some editing and covers while DH watches his favorite current show, On Patrol Live. Toledo is one of the cities the program follows. The calls for TPD are overwhelmingly shots fired, as opposed to Daytona Beach where it's usually drunk and stupid. I think DH likes that show because it proves he's relatively normal and intelligent.
I'm obviously not, just by virtue of being a writer.
But we can't stay up too late. There's high school soccer games tomorrow morning. DH is the time keeper, and I've been drafted to do announcing. I just hope I have enough caffeine to be coherent.
It's now 12:19 a.m. on Thursday, and I'm just getting around to writing the Wednesday post. Where the hell did the day go?
And I'm about to take my meds and head to bed.
I need a moment of quiet, but I think I'll go hide at Starbucks tomorrow just so I can get a couple of thousand words done on DGW instead.
The driveway lights have been changed to orange and purple. Skeleton lights have been hung in the art room. I'm about to put one of the Halloween wreaths on the front door.
However, I need to wait until DH mows the grass before I put out the inflatables.
And to top it off, it'll be chill enough this evening to enjoy a pumpkin spice latte!
Two years later, none of my boos have been moved. Many friends, still using Smashwords, whose books were move were told that D2D could not be distributed for various reasons. But let's face facts, most of those books D2D would not accept were erotica or erotic romance.
*sigh* Sometimes, I feel like the 2013 Pornacolypse has never ended, and its spilled over to touch everything.
I'm currently making some changes to my business plan, and I'm looking at some new avenues to selling my books. There also avenues I've been using for the last thirteen-plus years that I'm analyzing the old avenues.
I know a lot of folks love buying their reads on Smashwords, and D2D has signaled its going to keep the Smashwords storefront to sell books. But under my current plan, I'm no longer selling as much on Smashwords as I did before the merger was announced. In fact, I haven't broken $13 for the last two years for the Suzan Harden titles. The Alter Ego tomes do better, but they are also going downhill.
So, I'm looking at removing all of my books off Smashwords. And that's taking into account that Alter Ego's revenue that can pay for five pizzas a year.
However, I'm not looking to hurt any readers who rely on Smashwords to obtain their books. If anyone has an objections to this plan of action, add a comment or you can contact me privately, via the Contact Me page.
*****
SPOILERS
*****
Hi Suzan,
Donald Trump was shot.
I don't care what you're political views are.
People are terrified to support Trump. I've been scared myself.
Americans shouldn't live in fear.
I support Trump. Many at Sticker Mule do.
Many at Sticker Mule also support Biden.
The political hate needs to stop.
Hopefully this email helps.
BTW, this week, get 1 shirt for $4 (normally $19).
I suggest buying one that shows you support Trump.
The more people realize that millions of compassionate, kind-hearted people support Trump, the sooner the hate will end.
Awesome people, all over the world, love Trump. Don't limit your friendships and diminish your happiness by indulging in political hate.
Vocalize your support. Stop the hate.
Anthony Constantino
Cofounder, Sticker Mule
P.S. Discuss this message on X.
Hi Suzan,
Crazy week! I gave $2500 bonuses to all 79 people on our support team because they received death threats. That must stop, but, on the bright side, we paid out $195,000 in bonuses.
If people expressing hate towards us want to feel good about something, they can take credit for helping our support team earn sizable bonuses.
Also, we changed the deal to 50 stickers for $9 thru Friday.
I hope my message supporting Donald Trump and encouraging respect for all people becomes a learning moment for everyone.
As much backlash as we received, it’s good for society that people learn that lots of people with BIG HEARTS support Trump.
I want maximum happiness for everyone!
Anthony
Cofounder, Sticker Mule
P.S. In other news, we made a commercial where everyone is naked.
Hi Suzan,
I'm sure you always wanted to sell your own hot sauce. Now you can.
Introducing white label hot sauce by Sticker Mule.
It's my genius idea to make Sticker Mule explode ever since the last CEO f'd things up.
And, I'm giving away $500 to 20 people who repost on X. That's $10,000 total.
Btw, now that I'm in charge, I ordered the last CEO to be left wrapped in bubble wrap in an abandoned warehouse.
That should fix things,
Ricky Berwick
CEO, Sticker Mule
P.S. Find out what happened to our last CEO.
Readers: But, Suzan, why didn't you blog about Deadpool? You love Deadpool. You won't shut up about Deadpool! Where's our Monday Movie Mania?!
Yeah, I know. However, no sooner had I exited the master bedroom on Monday morning, I was accosted. My phone. My computer. My husband.
I expected the dogs. Honestly, I rather have my face licked than deal with all the crap I've had to do over the last three days. It didn't help I had to stay awake until four a.m. two nights in order to talk with one of my cover artists. Unfortunately, she lives in Bulgaria. She's working on a special project for me, so the discussions were necessary.
The craziness spilled into Tuesday and Wednesday. Tomorrow, I'll hit a new coffee shop to hide, er, write for a while. It's the only way to get new words in.
Don't worry. I don't plan to stop blogging. I've got a list of topics. Including two new Monday Movie Manias. Yes, we went to see Twisters this week, too. It was DH's sweet way of apologizing for scheduling me to announce at a couple of high school before I had a chance grab any caffeine.
That was my only rule for my staff when I practiced law--don't accost me until I've had my first cup of tea.
Unless there's a judge on the phone.
DH and I met with an estate planning attorney on Wednesday. It was a tough discussion as we planned through worse case scenarios. Murphy hasn't deigned to cut us a break since we met. I sincerely doubt he will do so now.
And, as if to prove his point, I've gotten bad news from people I care about today. There's nothing I can do to change their situation. Nothing I can really do to help except to listen.
It's not death itself that I fear. It's the potential pain leading up to the final moment. I don't wish that pain on anyone. Not my worst enemy. Not even Tribblehead.
If my gods or Murphy or whoever runs this cockamamie universe will grant me one wish, please let me go fast and relatively painlessly. I'd like to go out to mow or stand up to head to dinner and keel over, where I'm gone before my body hits the ground. That's how a few of my grandparents and great-grandparents died.
And a bit of me wishes for less pain for the people I've heard from today. No pain is impossible at this point, but a little less would help these people to manage their affairs before the final moment.
I also hope everyone reading had a bit of peace, too.
Darling Husband and I spent most of the day waiting for texts from Genius Kid to confirm he made through the European and Middle Eastern legs of his journey. It's hard to accept Uncle Sam owns GK's ass now, and there's nothing I can do to help if GK gets into trouble. Yes, DH and I remind ourselves and each other constantly that GK is a grown-ass man. But to us deep down, he's still the red squalling newborn who peed all over the doctors and nurses.
In the meantime, I wrote a list of questions for my attorney before I met with her this afternoon. I'm finally updating my estate plan. It needed to be done once GK turned eighteen, but now, it's imperative to get it done. Probate courts are all over the place in how they are valuating intellectual property. So I need to protect those assets by staying out of a probate court.
And, damn! I've got a lot of IP now.
With my plan of opening an online store later this year/early next year, I need to change how my business is structured. After talking with my attorney, I need to call my CPA, and review the plan for tax implications before I set everything in motion.
Since DH had a loaded schedule with his job, I had to chase down Grandpuppy's anti-itch meds. The poor thing has serious food allergies, and without his meds, he loses his hair and gets a scabby rash that he'll scratch until it bleeds.
I also finally disposed of the father-in-law's pile of meds that had been sitting in our house for two years. I love that the police department and the sheriff's office have bins for the general public.
DH needed his own prescriptions picked up. He also needed more caffeine. He's turned into more of a addict than me with his Death Wish coffee and Cherry Coke Zero.
And since I ended up at the pharmacy for Grandpuppy's meds in the same shopping plaza where my favorite salon is located, I took a chance to see if they had an opening. My head feels so much lighter now that I've had three inches of hair chopped off.
Tomorrow, I need to return some towels. JC Penney is obviously on the verge of collapsing. Even though they say they have the tan towels I want, they send me white towels every time I try to order the tan ones. *facepalm* Sears and JC Penney used to have such marvelous catalog systems. My parents relied on them for decades. But I guess all good things come to an end.
As must this day. Good night, everyone!
However, with the Grandpuppy here for the next year, I'll need to come up with a different daily schedule. Grandpuppy is a huge beast of a dog, and he's only three years old,which means he's got a lot of energy. The Princess Pup can be worn out by a quick jog around the exterior of the house. Grandpuppy needs a good 45-minute, fast-pace walk to begin to calm down.
Also, my back is letting me know I haven't been to yoga class in nearly a month. I need to work my own exercise into my daily schedule.
But for tonight, I'm relaxing a bit with pizza and the Olympics gymnastics events. Yeah, I already know who medaled in what event, but watching what those kids can do with their bodies still blows my mind. And the joy in their faces this year brings a lovely pitter-pat to my heart.
