It's NaNoWriMo Time!

This year's project is A Touch of Mother, the fourth novel in the Justice series. Anthea and Luc are back home after the events of A Matter of Death, but that doesn't mean all is quiet and peaceful again in Orrin...

Squee! I can't wait to see what happens next!

Relearning an Old Lesson

It's been so long since I've released books on a consistent basis I'd forgotten one of my own rules--the best advertising is putting books out on a consistent basis.

I released the first three books of the 888-555-HERO series March through May, but a personal situation put me behind on the next Justice book, so I pushed the release schedule back. Not a big deal, right?

But Hero De Facto hit what we call the 90-day cliff on Amazon. That's when books disappear from the algorithms because they are considered old. Or they do unless you constantly goose the promos or ads.

But the third method of goosing the system is simply to release another book. Seriously.

I released A Matter of Death on Monday. The same day I had a surge in page reads on 888-555-HERO books through Kindle Unlimited. The last time I had any page reads was July 5th. The last sales on that series was July 2nd. But I've consistently had page reads all this week in addition to the lump of sales for the new book.

Do this mean I'm not doing any paid promos or ads? No, but I don't always do them on same day as a release.

One thing to keep in mind is this is what's working for me. It's not a hardcore blueprint for everyone. You may have to experiment a little on your own titles to figure out what works for you.

In other words, YMMV.

A Matter of Death Is LIVE!

Yep, folks! It's a release day! My fourth this year, which alone makes 2019 so much greater than the last five years.

Even better, I've figured out preorders on all the major retailers, so the latest Justice novel is available to everyone at the same time! Including the paperback! (Though you may have to get your local book store to order it from Ingrams for you.)

Below are the blurb and links. And just to warn you, you may need some hankies at the end of the book.

BLURB
Two skinwalkers controlling Tandor had been bad enough, but then a demon army waltzed up to the city gates…

Anthea, Luc and their allies are trapped inside the border city of Tandor. They’ve lost all contact with the rest of Issura and their neighboring countries. And if the demons get by Tandor, the entire continent will become their dinner table. But the city is low on food and more importantly, water.

Can Anthea and Luc find a solution? Or will they be forced to activate the final defense spells of Death to stop the demons, and kill everyone in Tandor and themselves in the process?

Magic and mayhem have never been this desperate. Or this fatal.

Amazon
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Google Play
Kobo
Smashwords

Power Writing!

I've got to have A Matter of Death finished and edited before June 26th. Yep, in five days. Because the gal who does my formatting will be out of the office from the 4th of July through the rest of the month.

Hey, at least she warned me.

So this is a little note saying I'm writing my butt off! Have a great weekend!

My Mind Is Scarmbled!

Between numerous dental appointments and trying to get A Matter of Death sorted so it makes sense, I totally forgot to post on Monday.

First of all, I'm fine. Except for the snoring. And the low-grade sleep apnea. But it's not bad enough to go for a CPAP. Honestly, I don't know if I could handle a CPAP. I can't sleep with air blowing on me.

It's only one of my many peculiarities. I have a lot.

So the sleep specialist handed me off to my dentist's partner for a mouth guard specifically for sleep apnea. It's a nifty thing that reminds me of a cross between my old retainer and my sports mouth guard. So they took impressions of teeth and created the device. Now, it's a question of fine-tuning it so I can sleep without dislocating my jaw in the process.

It's the first time I've EVER had a dentist recommend I chew gum. Sugarless, of course.

Then there's A Matter of Death. *sigh*

I got off-kilter somewhere along the way. Not panicking because I did something similar on A Modicum of Truth. I finally figured out the problem, and now I back on track. However, I put myself in a time crunch since I wanted to release it next month.

This will be a challenge, scary and exciting at the same time.

So, what are y'all doing this summer? *grin*

Preorders for Justice and Bloodlines Are Live!

In what is probably a massive amount of confidence (or overconfidence), the preorder link for A Matter of Death is up and running on Amazon. I'm planning to try other retailers preorder links later this year.

BLURB

Two skinwalkers controlling Tandor had been bad enough, but then a demon army waltzed up to the city gates…

Anthea, Luc and their allies are trapped inside the border city of Tandor. They’ve all lost contact with the rest of Issura and their neighboring countries. And if the demons get by Tandor, the entire continent will become their dinner table. But the city is low on food and, more importantly, water.

Can Anthea and Luc find a solution? Or will they be forced to activate the final defense spells of Death to stop the demons, and kill everyone in Tandor and themselves in the process?

Magic and mayhem have never been this desperate. Or this fatal.

A Matter of Death will drop July 15th.

========================

I also set up the preorder link for Reality Bites.

BLURB

Being a regular human in the supernatural world is never easy, something Mai Osaka learned before she could walk. So when her boyfriend’s fairy ex strolls into the casino where Mai is head of security, she knows there’s more to the Seelie’s story than she’s telling. But can Mai figure out the real plan and who’s behind it before the fae pull the biggest heist in the history of Las Vegas?

Reality Bites will drop August 15th.

The IRS, Plots, and Cinnabons

Poor Darling Husband has been dealing with family freak-outs the last few days.

It started Friday. Genius Kid got a letter from the IRS stating he would not get his refund until he proved his identity. In the letter, the IRS demanded he need to come to their office and show his 2017 return.

I don't know why people spaz about the IRS. Keep your nose clean and don't take $2 billion in losses unless you have the receipts/paperwork to back it up. You'll be fine.

In GK's case, his return was flagged because 2018 was his first year to ever file, and Ohio had massive problems with fraud/stolen identities a few years ago. Both the feds and the state have been cracking down on anything remotely suspicious. In fact, DH and I had to jump through some hoops the first year after we moved back to Ohio.

After calling the IRS, GK found out he only needed to drive to the local office with his identity paperwork.

Also on Friday, I found my notes from A Modicum of Truth regarding the plot threads that needed to be resolved in A Matter of Death. Oops! So, it's meant a few days rearranging the chapters I've already written and adding some scenes. I'm more angry with myself than anything, so DH has been patting me on the back and saying that I'll get this sorted before the July release date.

Then yesterday, DH was sick. Sick enough to take a day off. And his dad called in a panic because his printer was out of ink.

Now, my father-in-law, bless his heart, is not technically inclined. DH has to download books onto FIL's Kindle for him. He'd never be able to swap out ink modules.

But DH tried to be responsible and told his dad he'd be over in a few days because he didn't want to give his dad whatever germs he was carrying. So FIL, not knowing how else to help, called several more times yesterday to check on his son even all DH needed was sleep. Which was pretty much what FIL did when DH had cancer, too.

So today, DH is feeling a bit better and went with GK to the IRS office over his lunch hour. And GK, who has been on our cases about sweets and weight, actually suggested they pick up some Cinnabons on the way home.

Because cinnamon rolls with vanilla frosting will make everyone feel a little better.

Third One Down for the Year

I've been ignoring most things in favor of finishing edits on Hero De Novo. The files were turned into my formatter about five this afternoon. WHEW! That's one major thing off my plate.

Now, I've got to buckle down on A Matter of Death.

I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm looking forward to just writing for a while. That's the best part of this job!

Party Time!

I got the final print version of Hero De Facto back from my formatter yesterday. For once, the print version of a title will be available, if not at the exact same time as the e-book, within a couple of days, instead of several months.

Yay!

It's the little things like this that make me happy. My business is solidifying into a regular tempo. I feel like for once I'm keeping up with what I should be doing. I WANT to get the edits on Hero De Novo done so I can get back to writing A Matter of Death.

Maybe it's the warmer weather and longer days improving my mood, but I'm going to enjoy this feeling of accomplishment while I can.

Drifting Like the Leaves

It's been a rather bizarre week. I'm a little stuck on Book 3 of 888-555-HEROES. When that happens, it means Subconscious is working on something in the background that will click together when she's damn good and ready.

The story already took a turn I wasn't expecting, but that is usually a good thing. I like it when Subconscious surprises even me. It means (hopefully *fingers crossed*) that the story will surprise the reader as well.

In the meantime, I do what I usually do--jump back to another project. I started writing A Touch of Mother, which will be the fourth novel in the Justice series. The opening of the first scene was a little mushy for a Justice novel, so I scrapped the original 300+ words and started over. Yes, folks, you CAN do that.

But it also shows how much further along Subconscious is in the writing process than I realized. In the first version of AToM, I knew the wardens weren't letting the clergy out of their sight for a moment. This was long before I wrote the reason WHY in A Modicum of Truth.

Funny how the mind works sometimes.

Today, I'm back working on A Matter of Death. There's more than a few things that need to be ironed out before I continue on with Book 4.

The goal of course is to have a book out every month for the first eight months of 2019. Keeping my toes crossed that nothing else untoward happens for the next year!

Tumors, Tubes and Superheroes

I have breast cancer.

Four words I really never thought I'd say.

The last two months since my annual mammogram have been a whirlwind of tests and doctor visits and raw rage. I had a plan mapped out for releasing eight books this year, and I'm so fucking furious my writing/publishing plan has been blown to hell. However, this isn't the first time cancer has upended my life, though it is the first time I'm on the receiving side.

Jo, one of my writing friends, helped me put together an alternate plan. I keep writing as best I can through the surgeries and treatments, and I don't worry about the production side of things, like editing and formatting until I get through treatment. I don't have to worry about the covers because the lovely Elaina Lee of For the Muse Design already completed them last year, which I'm forever thankful for.

As I write this, it's been ten days since my first surgery, the mastectomy of my left breast. I have Stage II-B lobular invasive carcinoma. While it is the second most common breast cancer, it only affects 10-30% (depending on which literature you read) of diagnosed patients. The five-year survival rate is over 90%, which means I have a damn good prognosis.

When I rolled into the operating room last week, I thought I'd hit acceptance mode. But as I sit here in my recliner, minor irritation is transforming back to rage. My incision site has hit super-itch mode, and my arm rubs against the Jackson-Pratt drain sticking out my side a couple of inches below my very smelly pit.

Which is that way because I can't shave or use antiperspirant right now, and I really can't stand the smell myself, much less want to go out into public. And yes, I am showering.

What does this all mean? When are the books actually coming out?

I'm looking at another four weeks of healing time from the mastectomy. Then comes the radiation and/or chemo. I'm not sure which treatment or combo is likely because the tumor turned out to be larger than what the surgeon and radiologist estimated from the MRIs, the only decent pictures they could get. I haven't talked to the oncologist yet. Worse case scenario is twelve weeks of follow-up treatment, assuming I have no complications from the treatment itself.

There will be another four to six weeks of recovery from the radiation/chemo before the first reconstructive surgery. Four to six weeks of recovery from the first stage before the second reconstructive surgery.

And that takes us roughly to February of 2019 before my life returns to a relatively normal position.

I can hear y'all thinking, "Wait a minute! We have to wait nine months for a new book?"

I don't know if that will be the case. The timeline may be shorter. It may be longer. Despite the mental and emotional bullshit of the last two months, I wrote 42,000 words. I finished the first draft of Hero De Facto, and I'm roughly halfway through Hero Ad Hoc, the first two books of my superhero series. The real question is how much can I get done before chemo brain sets in because that's the real danger to my writing productivity. I can't promise any specific release dates because I can't guarantee what will happen next.

And as they wheeled me into surgery last week, my husband whispered, "You'd better live. You need to finish A Matter of Death."

See? Y'all aren't the only ones ticked with me for leaving A Modicum of Truth on a cliffhanger.

Snow Day!

A huge storm passed through Chicago and Detroit last night. We were supposed to be on the southern edge. The weather reports said we would get 0-1 inches while Toledo, which is an hour north of us, expected 7-9 inches.

Needless to say, we got a little more than an inch. Genius Kid and I said, "Screw it," and went back to bed. Okay, we both stayed in bed. When Genius Kid's alarm went off, he checked the school closures report and rolled over.

On the other hand, I slept through the whole thing. My stamina sucks these days. I've been getting up every morning to do writing sprints with a fellow author. But he wasn't going to be able to do it this morning, so I didn't bother to set my alarm.

This afternoon though, I've got to get back to work. Over the last four days, I've been writing 1,500 words on Hero Ad Hoc in the morning and reviewing the e-book proof of A Modicum of Truth.

[Lesson Learned: Don't write a 100K epic fantasy in the middle of a major release cycle. I'm not touching A Matter of Death until my schedule is clear.]

Luckily, the guys are still planning on their night out with Papa. I'll have extra time since I won't have to make dinner, and I'll have a silent apartment for roughly two hours.

I'm also not baking today as is my usually wont on a snow day. I made mint chocolate chip cookies on Monday. (Only a two-hour delay though.) I don't think my waistline can handle more no matter what those cans of pumpkin in the cupboard are whispering.

So for those of you in the snow belt, how do you handle snow days with the kids?