Long Day

The clock just rolled over to Saturday, and I haven't had two seconds to even really write. There's a lot of things going on, some of which are other people's stories I'm not at liberty to discuss. But you know something? Sometimes, other people need help. And I'm going to help people who gave me help when I needed it

This will probably piss off some people expecting new stories NOW.

Honestly, I've been stressing about getting things done, too, which doesn't help my concentration. After a super-busy week and today's events, DH told me to put everything down and took me to see Wicked.

It was awesome! I've read the book twice and seen the musical twice. 

And it did relax me. So, I got home with renewed vigor tonight.

I think.

I still pretty tired, so I'll start fresh tomorrow.

Exhaustion and the Middle Aged Writer

I. AM. EXHAUSTED.

Sometimes, kids, you just need to walk away from everything and sleep. The last month has super crazy. Lots of stuff going on. Even Princess Bella's stress was bad enough to prompt vomiting.

So, we slept a solid twelve hours. Now, the two of us are lounging on the recliner today and ignoring the giant to-do list.

Last weekend, DH and I packed up our bags and visited friends in Cincinnati. Our friends tried to be the excellent hosts they normally were, but DH and I were both saying, "We've had a long-ass month. Can we please just hang out and talk?"

Which was pretty much what we did the entire weekend. Good food. Good friends. Interesting IPAs for them and excellent chocolate for me.

We only did one big thing. Saturday night, we went to Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglasias's show at the Funnybone in Liberty Township. A lovely comedy club, and Fluffy is fantastic as ever! I even managed to snag a Fluffy POP! for my collection.

Despite our hosts letting me sleep in on Saturday and Sunday mornings, I fell asleep on the relatively short ride home yesterday afternoon. I went to bed early and still managed to sleep for a full twelve hours. Despite all that sleep, I'm still tired.

I'll take it easy this week. Some writing. Some editing. Some cleaning. A lot of sleep. Hopefully, the princess and I will be back to normal by Friday.

The Best Laid Plans

I'm trying to finish two books. And then things happened.

No, no, no. It's not me this time. Exactly.

I lent an ear to a friend who's having their own problems. This person was a rock for me when I was diagnosed with cancer. The least I can do is provide similar support during their trials.

Plus, a couple of ideas I've been toying with for Justice's 10th anniversary found an artist last week. A very enthusiastic artist who thinks these projects are awesome ideas. And boom! We're off and running. Frankly, it's literally going to take the next two and a half years to complete fruition for these projects, but I think the fans of the Justice series will love them.

Both the artist and I are concerned about our friendly business partnership surviving a project of this size and scope. But the fact that we're not glossing over anything gives me hope. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can pull this off.

The weird thing is I'm totally scared. But in a good way. It's the same scared feeling I had when I signed up to take the LSAT, when I started dating DH, and when I pressed the publish button the first time on Amazon.

Anyway.

I needed to get this off my chest so I could focus on writing today/tonight. Wish me luck!

Suzan's Not-So-Sexy Phlegm Voice

I've finally hit the stage where coughing doesn't feel like I'm trying to hack out a lung. Or a rib. I even managed a small sprint session last night with some writer buddies.

However, my voice sounds horrible. I asked DH if I sounded as bad as I think I do. He said, "You have Phoebe's phlegm voice, but it's not sexy."

This is one of the reasons Friends - Season 4 is one of my all-time favorites, though it's Thanksgiving episode wasn't the greatest.

And now from Friends Season 4 episode "The One with Joey's New Girlfriend", here's Phoebe Buffay at Central Perk...

Corrupting the Friends Theme - One! More! Time!

With all due respect to Lt. Kevin Reilly...

And Now for Something Completely Different!

Presented without further comment...

When the Muse Dangles the New Shiny

We writers have enough problems focusing on whatever we're currently writing. Invariably, our muses like to tempt us away from the current file/page with some awesome new idea.

The temptation often happens when we've hit a sagging middle, or worse, when we're near completion of the current work-in-progress. My muse is no different than any one else's.

So of course, I dream a story last story. I mean it's tons better than the nightmares that have plagued me for the last three months. But still, the last thing I need is another story when I've got a ton of partially finished manuscripts THAT I MUST FINISH! I mean, the readers have been patiently waiting for these stories for the months I've been dealing with my cancer.

What's worse is this idea is not even fantasy. It's a weird combination of This Is Us and A Million Little Things, two TV shows I don't even watch.

Normally, I write a page of any new idea, just to get it out of my head, before I return back to my wip. But this crazy idea isn't even in my wheelhouse! And worse, the muse cast the idea with several actors from the cast and guest stars of Friends as a further method to tempt me. And no, it wasn't funny, not funny at all, but the type of serious drama the other two shows I mentioned above would do.

And this idea will not leave me alone!

GAH! I wasn't joking when I've said my muse/subconscious was a bitch!

Something Fun for Friday

With the horror that started The Walking Dead's seventh season, this seemed to be a perfect antidote. Have a wonderful weekend!


Youtube took down the original post, but I found another version. Here's another video that discusses the mash-up.

TV Shows with Cool Themes

A staple of the '90's!

Videos I've been Watching

Since everyone is all nostalgic this week thanks to the New Year, here's a classic video from twenty years ago.

(Yes. Twenty years. Scary, isn't it?)

Controversy and Friendships

Before I get into today's post, I'm going to make a change on the what-I'm-reading header by including the format of the book.  So, drumroll please. . .

Currently reading - Pale Demon by Kim Harrison (HC)

I'm heading off-road for some writer psychological analysis.

The whole e-book vs. print book controversy seems to be taking a weird twist lately.  Someone I know who's traditionally published went on a--well, tirade would be the best word--about the recent changes in the publishing.

On the surface, it sounds as if she's against people diverging from the traditional publishing path, but that's not the case.  She's scared.  Scared that she's made the wrong choices in her career in the face of the recent publishing chaos.  Scared she'll have to start over if her publisher crashes and burns.  Scared she won't have a brick-and-mortar store to sell her books at because her publisher is focusing only on print books.

And this is where being an empath sucks.  The words I hear her saying and the psychic flood crashing into me are two different things.  I've learned from experience when the other person isn't acknowledging her own feelings, me pointing out the discordance will only piss them off more.  But by the same token, I'm not going to roll over and play dead if you're dissing anyone, including me, on a personal level.

Ironically, later on the day of the tirade, I received an e-mail from another published acquaintance.  We'd had some words months ago about whether she should try SF&F.  She was very much against writing SF&F despite that she loved reading it.  In fact, she had lots of reasons not to write SF&F, most of which sounded logical on the surface.

But in reality, her objections were also based in fear.  She'd already lost agents and contracts when the first genre she wrote tanked years ago.  It had taken her a long time to find another agent and break back into publishing, and she did so under another name and a second genre.  She couldn't stand the thought of another uphill battle.

So what was in her e-mail?  Her cover for her new-you guessed it-SF&F novel.

What can you--whether you're trad-published, indie-published or a newbie--take from my experiences?

1)  There is no right, perfect, predictable path to your goals.  Get over it.

2)  Your path is not the same as everyone else's.  Get over it.

3)  You can't tell anyone else what path to follow.  You can try.  They probably won't listen.  See #1.

Artists Supporting Other Artists

Currently reading - Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

There's a little secret at the Day Job. I work with a talented group of people. Kat does amazing pencils. I write.

And then there's our assistant manager, TJ Lampart who's got the most unbelievable voice. He's putting together a demo, and this is a video of one of the sessions. TJ's a little self-conscious because of the filming, so just close your eyes and listen.



I really hope he makes it to Nashville some day.