Another Monday...

...but hey! I got shit done over the weekend!

Chaos Station, a space opera short story I wrote back in January of 2025, is up for pre-sale on the usual e-book retailers.

Speaking of selling books, you need a good cover, a good blurb, and a good concept. Yes, in that order because its based on how most readers shop for new-to-them authors. Including me. But for the love of Lord Djeduti, make sure your fucking writing is good, too!

I'm not mentioning names or book titles because I'm not a totally evil skank, but I ran across a book on one of the reader newsletters I subscribe to. It clicked on the cover and blurb. The concept was delightful and unique! So, I went and read the sample at an online retailer because I'm too aware of the AI slop being shoveled into the market. And...

Holy shit! I couldn't make it past the first to pages. *facepalm* It was boring! Passive voice all over the place! And a vocabulary of a third-grader! No, it was not a kid's book either.

Honestly, if it were a taste thing, I wouldn't have said a damn word. This wasn't something a good editor could fix. And no, I don't think it was AI either. The writer is question just needed more practice before they published.

But you can't just say that to any artist. We are gentle souls and our fuckin' fee-fees are delicate and easily damaged. I'm no exception.

So, if you don't like science fiction, don't read Chaos Station and then tell me it sucks. And if you like SF and don't like Chaos Station, you don't have to tell me. Just walk away and find something else worthy of your time.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

I've been in an Annie Lennox mood recently. Her voice fits the tang of autumn in the air.

Edit to add: I swear to Set, Thor, and all the other storm deities I picked out this video for this weekend long before Hurricane Isaias was a wave sweeping off the coast of Africa!

Changes in Retailers - Amazon

Last week, I was considering some advertising for the Bloodlines series because Sam and Ellie were both born on Halloween, and hey, the series has witches and vamps and zombies! OH MY!

Then someone at Amazon hit the wrong switch, and Blood Magick was suddenly full-price and not free. *GULP*

I'm glad a friend warned me before I paid for the damn advert! I wasn't the only indie author this happened to, and as of yesterday, Blood Magick is back to $0.00.

But in all the craziness over the last few days, I forgot to mention a couple of thing a little more positive that Amazon has done.

1) They raised the limit on retail e-book prices in order to receive 70% royalties. That's right. E-books can be priced from $2.99 to $12.99 to receive the higher royalty, instead of the old cap of $9.99.

2) Indie publishers can now set their pre-orders up to 18 months in advance. The old limit was 12 months.

3) Amazon now allows indie publishers two delays per year without any punitive action. This one I'm ecstatic about! Because sometimes life happens when you're trying to get a book out. I had to ask for delays each time mine and DH's parents died. Other writers I know have been injured in car accidents, spouses or kids required hospitalizations, houses have burned down, etc. Sometimes, you can do everything right and just have shitty life events. At least, we're no longer being penalized for acts of [Deity of your choice]!

Will I get my ad for Blood Magick out? Probably, but I don't know when. We just had to cough up four figures for some car maintenance on the one truly reliable vehicle.

Will I have another setback where I need to delay the release of a book? Oh, definitely. I'm not a spring chicken, and I'm the  medical power of attorney and executor for two family members who will probably die before me. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed we all stay relatively healthy long enough to finish up my goals for 2027 before any more shit hits the fan.

In the meantime, the e-book of Blood Magick is currently free on all retailers who carry my tomes!

Amazon
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Google Play
Kobo
Smashwords

Changes in Retailers - Draft2Digital

I think I mentioned nearly a year ago that Draft2Digital ("D2D") changed their terms and conditions regarding entry into their garden and their payment threshold. But frankly, I'm too overwhelmed to double-check older posts, so I'll repeat the salient points.

1) If you didn't already have an account by the end of 2025, you had to pay D2D $20US to enroll in their program.

2) If you don't make $100 in royalties each year, you will be charged $12US per year to continue using their program.

3) You will not be paid until they've accumulated $10US in royalties.

I only distribute to Smashwords through D2D thanks to their buy-out of Smashwords. And guess what? Suzan Harden hasn't sold a singled blessed thing on Smashwords in 2026. Not even during the Christmas in July sale.

Frankly, it ain't worth continuing, so I'll take my current offerings off sale next month.

Alter Ego has sold a handful of volumes, but royalties have not reached $12, much less the $100 necessary to avoid being charged. Unless something changes radically, I'll be taking those offerings off sale in December.

So, it's time to get on the Old Town Road and find some greener pastures.

Prices Are Getting Ridiculous

I know I'm not supposed to talk politics, but dammit! Things are going way beyond simple politics. We have a person in the highest office of our country who should be in a dementia care unit. I'm saying this as someone who spent nearly ten years dealing with my in-laws as they faded from life.

In the process, this person is making decisions that affect not just the 342.5 million people in the United States, but the other 7.7 billion other people in the world.

People are losing their jobs. Prices are rising astronomically. And food is becoming scarce.

To top it off, I work in the entertainment industry where AI is ripping off my work. I know damn well I'm not getting 10,000 people a day reading my blog. And then, AI turns around and spins my words and thousands of other writers into fake books. My cover artists' business is down because AI is stealing their work and refashioning it cheap for people without artistic talent.

The problem is the person in the White House wouldn't give a shit if he did have his facilities. But others are taking advantage of his elderly incapacity to pillage whatever they can while they can.

Plus, there's the war in Iran after he promised no new wars. There was no real reason for it, and it has destabilized the Middle East even worse than it was. The Straits of Hormuz, a common trade route is now impassable. And that mess has added to the already horrendous scarcity and inflation in the U.S.

What started this diatribe? DH needed jeans. Seriously. His current pairs are not something I want him to wear to meetings with casual clients. We weren't even looking for suits and ties. Three fucking pairs of jeans. $250.00. It would have been $300 if they weren't on sale and I had coupons. And that doesn't include the price of the three gallons of gas for the trip. Why? Because we have to go to a fucking specialty store an hour away because he's six feet-five inches tall. *facepalm*

And don't fucking tell me to order online. I generally won't for clothes because I want to know they fucking fit! 

So what do we all to to change things?

For starters, research the candidates in your area, and vote. Get out and fucking vote. Don't go by the candidates' words. Look at their actions.

You can make a difference. You can affect change. But you've got to get off your ass and do something.

I know you can. Just like I wouldn't get anywhere unless I get my butt to my desk and my fingers on my keyboard every morning.

Hang in there, everyone! We've got this! 

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Natalie put a sweet spin on Bruce's song!

I Need Longer Days

Seriously, I wish Venus was inhabitable by humans. The planet has a 5,000-hour day compared to earth. I might actually get caught up on my to-do list if I could adapt to a Venusian day.

But then my to-do list will just get longer, wouldn't it?

It doesn't help that I have an author event coming up next month. I'm glad I check into some things early. My tablet is officially too outdated to support my point-of-sale app. ARGH! Planned obsolescence is fucking annoying!

Which means I need to get a new tablet, an expense I so didn't need right now. But DH is taking me shopping tonight because he also needs to look at some equipment for other things. At least, 1) he just looking tonight an 2) I found a similar tablet at a decent price online, but I want to check it out in person.

I already know I'll need to order a magnetic strip reader because the current one I have had a standard audio jack and everyone's moving USB-C jacks. The question is whether I'll also need to buy a new wireless chip reader, or will the current one work with the new tablet.

I was hoping to plan more in-person sales events for 2027, so I'd rather know now that I need the upgrades. It's a small price in the long run. I hope.

These are some of the little issues I'm looking at a small-business owner living in a country with leaders bent on turning it a fascist hellhole. And people wonder why I write fantasy and romance. 

Some Tasks Are Accomplished...

...and some aren't. I had a pretty big to-do list last week, but I didn't get everything done.

However, the damn storage unit got cleaned out! Now, I have even more boxes stacked around the house despite going through...

Oh, geeze, I've lost count. I can say broken down cardboard boxes have filled the recycling bin every Friday for August and September when we've set it and the garbage bin out for pickup.

When we weren't running loads of boxes home, I was at Starbucks working on Death Goddess Rising. (You can ask the staff because I was also catching wasps inside the cafe.) I had to throw out the original first two chapters because Subconscious pulled a fast one on me during the climax of Death Goddess Redeeming. Annoying, but I think it's a better overall story. Nebet-Het (Gr. Nephthys) had a much larger part to play in the series than I expected. However, I'm glad Subconscious is letting her shine because she's short shrifted in the surviving myths of Ancient Egypt.

But I've got one thing crossed off the to-do list! Now, to hack away on the rest!

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

One of my favorite duets!

Busy as the Bees

Bees of different types have been collecting all the straggling grains of pollen in the last flowers of the year around our house. The purple flowers I haven't identified were literally coated with bumblebees, honey bees, sweat bees, mask bees, and a few others during today's afternoon constitutional. The Grandpuppy volunteered to get closer to identify the rest, but I didn't want the bees to think he was going to steal their share of the pollen and pointedly retaliate.

I'll have more and different information next week. I have too much on my plate. And I'm running out of time.

Just like the bees. 

SAD Is Starting Early This Year

Okay, I have to admit all the rain over the last week isn't helping, but yeah, the stupid Seasonal Affective Disorder ("SAD") is definitely starting early. I usually can get to the end of October and/or the end of Daylight Savings Time before the lethargy and oversleeping hits. Nope, it hit this weekend.

GAH!

The last two years weren't as bad, but I was going to yoga classes three times a week. Unfortunately, the studio I attended closed at the end of June. I admit I have a rough time with self-motivation when it comes to exercise. I need to look for another yoga studio, or something to get through this winter.

So exercise and a lot of Vitamin D a going to be necessary over the next few months.

 

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

She is the QUEEN!

What a Friday!

A friend of mine calls Friday "Fri-YAY!" She works a conventional nine-to-five office job, so five p.m on Friday mean she's able to d what SHE wants. Not what the boss wants.

When you work for yourself, it's not always that simple.

There's a lot of good things about it, like arranging your schedule to suit your own needs. I'm not a morning person. My husband doesn't understand I'm still waking up when I come out of the bedroom. Instead of giving me some space, he acts like Barney the dinosaur on coke.

And I don't mean the shit bottled in Atlanta. 

Back when I worked the conventional nine-to-five, I couldn't tell my day-walker co-workers to fuck off when they acted like this.

Another good thing is when I have insomnia or a sinus infection like I did three weeks ago, I can actually rest.

Then there are other times when I have deadlines.

Like this month.

And the hubby wants to play.

*sigh*

So, I took advantage of a local event and sent him on a playdate with some of his friends.

And for some strange reason I made my daily wordcount before midnight today. 

It's Hump Day!

And I still haven't finished my to-do list from Monday! LOL

It's not from lack of effort. I've been kicking ass the last two days between business and household tasks. My breaks have been a round of solitaire to clear my mind between publishing tasks and accounting updates and reading a chapter of Jonathan Moeller's Ghost in the Pact before bed.

My library is starting to take shape despite the enormous pile of boxes we've brought back from the storage unit. Now, it's matter of bringing the last two large book shelves to the house.

We haven't have to throw out much despite water that seeped into the unit. So, DH suggested putting some stuff up for sale over the winter on Etsy and Ebay. Whatever remains will go in the spring garage sale.

I just want my home organized. There's been several studies that show a cluttered house also clutters your mind, and I need my brain clear to write. Which is why I currently have to go to Starbucks. *sigh*

We'll get there. I just want it to be done before we die. I can't leave a hoarders' maze for GK like DH's parents did to us. 

Not Quite a Manic Monday, But Close

DH's birthday was this last weekend, so I didn't get too much writing or editing done. He wanted some play time, and frankly, we both needed it!

I'd planned a quiet Monday of loading an updated series (front matter and back matter needed to be revised so I always do a typo check), getting the new sales/pre-order links updated on the websites, and settle in for some serious writing.

Except I got an e-mail this morning from the organizer of the Fall Author Fest at our local library. The space had filled before I got my application in back in July. Disappointing--yes, but not a real problem. I'm happy the event has grown from a dozen local authors to forty! I was put on the stand-by list in case someone dropped out.

Lo, and behold, someone dropped out. So, now I'm pulling things for the publicity the organizer needs to finalize. I'll post more information once I have it.

Plus get everything else on my to-do list for day done. LOL

So, this is a quick post to say I'm still alive and kicking butt! And maybe take a few minutes to get Uncle George out of the closet since it's officially Halloween season!

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

To friends, family, and everyone else suffering from metal illness, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Just remember the voices inside your head lie!

Yes, I Know What Day It Is

GenX and Millennials talk about this day the same way that the Silent Generation and Boomers talk about November 22, 1963. It's that trauma that changes your perspective on the world. Something that shouldn't have happened and did.

We were living in Houston at the time. The weirdest thing of the day that still sticks with me was the silence, except for the occasional roar of a pair of fighter jets from Ellington Field patrolling the Gulf Coast.

We lived under the approach to Bush Intercontinental Airport, the largest commercial airport in the Houston Metro area. Once the FAA got every plane but military on the ground, DH stood in the back yard watching the jets while I kept GK occupied.

When he came in, he said that something was wrong. So, me, GK, and the dogs followed him out the back door.

I didn't expect to hear traffic noises. Most businesses had shut down. Each of our own offices were located near the Transco Tower (now the Williams Tower), a skyscraper in Uptown Houston instead of Downtown. City officials feared the tower would be targeted, and as a result, it and the surrounding buildings were evacuated.

Finally, I realized what was missing while we stood in the backyard--the constant hum of air traffic headed for Bush.

Even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, planes still flew. Maybe not as often, or as full, but their background noise meant the world was still going. When snow shuts down towns in Northwest Ohio, there's still that barely audible white noise of jet engines.

But on 9/11, the silence was the entire country holding its breath and waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

Making Progress

Most of the writing is done for the latest series. Now, I need to finish the editing.

So, I'm juggling those tasks with cleaning out the storage unit and going through a few hundred boxes. Things we started packing up seventeen years ago. There's going to be a lot donated, like GK's toys from his grade school years.

However, I contact him before I dispose of anything. It's more about me than him. I was often punished by having my toys taken away. I don't want to by the parent I had and dispose of anything with sentimental value. But GK gets a little annoyed, saying that while he's in the military, he needs to keep his belongings light because he never knows when orders to deploy might come. (Especially with the current administration, but that's a whole nuther post!)

I understand his sentiment, too. I wish we could store things, both his and ours, in the basement because the main floor of the house is getting very full. But until the county gets the drainage  work completed near our neighborhood we can't risk leaving much down there, in case the basement floods again.

Regardless of how DH and I Tetris the rest of our belongings, the storage unit must be emptied by the end of the month, as well as getting the books out to my Kickstarter backers. Some way, some how, I need to make it happen. 

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Yeah, I've been listening to a lot of Dolly lately.

Feeling Groovy

I'm finally starting to feel coherent again, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed I don't have a relapse of the sinus infection from Hell.

I'm also tying to catch up on my to-do list from two weeks ago that I didn't finish before the headache became unbearable.

At the top of the list is getting the editing for The Books of Apep wrapped up before sending out the completed books to my Kickstarter backers. Next is finishing the last two books of the Justice series. And in between those, I'll practice formatting a couple of science fiction short stories that were completed last year.

At the end of the year, I hope to be ahead enough in writing to test out some patterns for Barbie-sized costumes, so my dolls can dress like my characters. Yes, I'm really looking forward to playing with my dolls again!