Editing in Brain Fog

Normally, I do my own editing. That drives readers and a lot of other writers damn near psychotic. I'm not sure why. I had to edit any tech manuals or legal documents I wrote during my other two professional incarnations.

In indie publishing, I'm also the first person to advocate do what you're good at and hire out the rest. I can edit. I still can't quite get the hang of covers. I'm practicing, but I simply don't have the eye my cover artists do.

However, I didn't realize how deep my brain fog from the COVID-19 pandemic was until I started to come out of it a couple of weeks ago. I'm in the process of re-editing Hero De Jure. Holy Cthulu! What a mess. I am usually much, MUCH cleaner than this.

That damn brain fog is also the reason I pulled the Millersburg Mystery series from Amazon.

Now, I could sit here and berate myself, but is that really doing any good? That's the reason I advocate being kind to yourself right now. We're all going through some variation of brain fog with our jobs.

Even the rare times we've done carry-out for dinner over the last couple of months, our orders have been screwed up more times than not. The poor kids working at the local restaurants are having as much trouble with brain fog as the rest of us.

However, life goes on, and I'm working on fixing my work. Luckily, the story I'm releasing for July is already written. Hopefully, that will give me a little time to clean up shit and get back on track with my writing.

Why I Don't Read My Reviews

Seriously, I don't read them. Heck, I can't remember the last time I went on Goodreads. I grew up with a parent who had to be "realistic". No matter how good I did, it was never good enough. I could have done better. Or even worse, why did I embarrass her by doing so poorly?

You'd think I'd be over it. I even did therapy for a couple of years to get those phrases out of my head. However, no matter what a review says, I still hear that parent's voice saying those words, especially if it's critical. And it puts me in an emotional tailspin. Even if it's a good review, I hear, "Well, they're just being nice."

Unfortunately, DH gets a little too excited whenever I have a new release. He's the one refreshing the screen constantly, waiting with bated breath for that first review. And he's so excited, he HAS to tell me. No matter how many times I ask him not to.

He doesn't truly understand. And in a way, I'm glad he doesn't. The in-laws didn't lay a whole bunch of insecurity on him or undermine his accomplishments, growing up or as an adult. In a way, I'm a little jealous of him.

So, he had to report the first review on Amazon for Hero De Jure.

We ended up having a long discussion about what it does to me when he feels the need to report those reviews. To him, it was a good review. To me, not so much. And I hate the feelings a review trigger in me, good or bad. So I don't read them.

Deep down, a review shouldn't matter to me. It's a reader's view on something they consumed. They bring their own pasts and foibles and desires with them when they read a story, any story not just mine. I can't change them. Nor do I want to. Because then I'm just like my parent saying, "You're not doing it right."

Coronavirus Day 96 - Starting Over

Today was the release of Hero De Jure. I took yesterday off and tackled the piles of stuff that collected over the last six months. The low level depression hanging over me for the last three months has eased a bit.

I'm sure part of it is I finally hit an acceptance level of the new normal. DH and I wear masks when ever we go out. Even when we go out, it's for essentials like food and prescriptions. Phone calls, e-mails, texts, and video chats have become the only way we socialize.

I've always been watching and reading light-hearted fare. Binges of The Big Bang Theory, Leverage, and Scorpion. Reading stuff like Ellie Moses's witch cozies or Lilith Saintcrow's sword and sorcery series.

It doesn't mean the danger of COVID-19 is over. It doesn't mean I don't support the needed social reforms. I do what I can from my living room, but the internet gives me a worldwide reach.

As much as other people try to divide us across the globe, we are all literally in this together. There's no place else for the human race to go. No matter how much we dream of other worlds.

Thank Goddess, It's Friday

I woke up this morning, feeling as of I had a huge weight off my shoulders. It was more than finishing a book yesterday. Something in the world shifted.

But Monday, Hero De Jure goes live, and I'll send the link to a "publish every month for a year" group (this is my first month). Then get the paperbacks set up since I'm so behind on those.

Today though, I'll write a few words on A Twist of Love, get some more caffeine, and start putting away all the crap that has piled up in my living room/office while I tried to get a bunch of books finished during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus isn't over by a longshot, but I'll take what little peace I can get.

I'll leave you with a little amusement for your weekend!

Spanish Dogs for the Win!

I woke up to thunder this morning. Mother Nature gave us a week of sunshine, so I'm not going to complain. In fact, the rain has cooled things off a bit, but not too much. Hopefully, I don't give myself another sunburn when the sun comes back.

Our apartment manager is keeping the pool closed this year.

I'm jamming on Hero De Jure. It's weird that being allowed to go places makes me feel better even though I'm not going to many.

However, I did pick up prescriptions for DH and me during lunch. And the root beer stand was open!

There's this little place in town that years ago was an A&W franchise. After A&W shut down, the franchisee decided to keep the place open. They signed an agreement for Coca-Cola's Barq's root beer, and it simply became known locally as the root beer stand. It's been through a few ownership changes. The awning was damaged by a storm a few years ago that officially was called straight line winds, but locals are pretty sure was a tornado.

And then there's the fucking pandemic.

But according to the local news and social media, the root beer stand opened early this year--carry-out only like every other restaurant in the state. DH and I have been trying to go to the root beer stand for the past week. They closed for the entire Memorial Day weekend. They had an equipment problem Tuesday night when we stopped and were in the process of closing up shop.

But this afternoon? When I passed it on the way to the pharmacy, I saw cars there! So after I raced through the pharmacy, I raced back to the root beer stand.

Two Spanish dogs and an order of cheese balls later, I'm in a food coma, laying in front of the TV. This place has the ultimate junk food.

For clarification, a Spanish dog is what other places would call a chili dog, but instead of chili, it's sloppy joe mix. And the cheese balls are deep-fried pepper jack.

Now, it's time to grab some iced tea and get back to Aisha who's been kidnapped along with her baby.

Coronavirus Pandemic Day 68 - Off Sale

I've temporarily removed the three Millersburg Magick Mysteries from sale on Amazon.

I could fill several blogs with the reasons, but it comes down to COVID-19. This was supposed to be a light-hearted series, a la Scooby-Doo but with real magick. The final results are not what I hoped to accomplish with this series. Add in some mistakes because my head's not in the game. Top it off with supporting friends who've lost loved ones in the pandemic. It all equals to an emotionally fried mind and soul.

I'm planning to re-do this series. It's not normally what I would do as a writer. But y'all deserve my best efforts, and I don't think I delivered. Millersburg Magick Mysteries will be re-released later this summer.

In the meantime, I'll finish Hero De Jure because this story puts me in a much better headspace. Well, superheroes and lemon Oreos do.