Thank God It's Friday!

But not Joe Friday!

Guess you need to be a Boomer or older GenX to get that joke.

Anyway...

It's been a bit of a crazy week. Taxes were completed, filed, and...

Can you believe DH and I already got our refund back? It shocked the crap out of both of us. It means the IRS is rubberstamping returns, and I really, REALLY hope that doesn't  come back to bite us in the butt once the current fascist regime is, um, gone. (I was about to say "overthrown", but I know some asshat or Google itself will report me as unpatriotic.)

Tuesday I jumped back into A Barrel of Vintner, only to realize I'd dropped two subplots that need to be woven in since they relate to the last two novels. Once I finished cursing myself, I started cycling back through to add the text needed and straighten out some issues with this story's timeline. So, if you check the word count on the reader blog, it will be lower than usual because I was doing a lot of editing as I went through the chapters. Which is fine because it means less work when I do the actual copyedits.

Then I went out to dinner with DH and some of his old friends. They get together once a month at my favorite restaurant in town. Usually it's an enjoyable hour or two. This time however, I discovered just how bigoted they are. One person was complaining about one of their children cutting off contact with her. The truth is that the child (who is in their 30's) in question is non-binary and the person cannot accept the child as they are. While everyone else was cooing about how the child will come around, I nearly bit through my tongue to keep from telling the person how hurtful they were being to their child. Luckily, I kept it to one margarita, or else I probably would have unloaded on the person.

On the way home, I told DH I probably wouldn't go with him to another one of these dinners. There's a couple of his friends I really like, but it's not worth hearing someone who sounds just like my own mother getting all self-righteous. There's not enough tequila in the world to trade for my peace and sanity. *sigh*

I've managed to attend yoga class three days this week. My body isn't sure whether to thank me or curse me. Why? Because every time we have a weather front come through, my knees complain. Rather loudly, too.

On the other hand, Ohio's February fake spring arrived, and it has melted a good chunk of the 13+ inches of snow on the ground. Hopefully, the weather stays sunny and nice over the weekend so the pups can get some outdoor exercise. We haven't been able to take walks or play for fear of frostbite because it's been that effing cold for the last four weeks.

Today, I need to pay bills and make out a grocery list since it's the middle of the month. Tonight is an early Valentine's celebration and catsitting. The rest of the weekend will be cleaning the house interspersed with watching the Winter Olympics.

And I need to finish cycling through the last ten chapters I wrote. 

So what about you guys? Any big plans for the weekend, or are you just relaxing?

Tax Time!

Yep, it's that time of year. All of the 1099s and W-2s have arrived. I've run the necessary reports from our accounting software. Now, it's time to wade through the paperwork and double-check everything is correctly categorized before we meet with our CPA Monday night.

I know tax prep is the last thing most people want to do. However, I like getting it out of the way as soon as possible. Now that I'm doing minimal elder care (Both DH's parents and mine have passed to the next realm. I just check on a particular cousin once in a while.), I can knock this crap out in a few.

Especially since we'll probably be snowed in again through the weekend. Various meteorologists have predicted a dusting to two and a half inches more of the white stuff. I don't blame the poor people doing the predictions. Climate change has thrown the weather modeling developed over the last 50+ years out the window.

And the weather is the very reason I want to have taxes done. The weather has been too dangerously cold for the Grandpuppy and the Princess Pup to stay outside longer than absolutely necessary to do their business, even though they both love playing in the snow. That means a distinct lack of walks to burn off excess energy and weight gain for them both. I want to be free to take the pups outside as soon as the weather allows.

FREEDOM! And sun! We don't care what the groundhog saw! We want spring!

So, yeah. I need to get the taxes done over the next few days. 

Wednesday Got Away from Me

I hate upgrading to a new computer, but upgrading my solid state drive has been been a royal pain in my butt.

For the record, I get the idea of the IMAP protocol. It's nice to have all your devices seeing the same e-mails. However, I rely on having an e-mail on a second device if I accidentally delete something important.

Even if I didn't have that option, having my devices syncing by copying my thousands of old e-mails that I HAVE TO KEEP FOR THE IRS back to my e-mail service providers is NOT A GOOD THING!

Seriously, one of my business e-mail accounts has less space on that provider's servers than other business and personal accounts. So, IMAP kept copying everything back to that particular server and maxing out my allocated space.

To the point, I couldn't send or receive any e-mails. ARGH!

This is the account I use to keep in touch with my cover artists and formatter. It was a very necessary account to keep up and running.

Unfortunately, I wasted the last two days figuring out how to stop IMAP from doing this. Unfortunately, I can't turn off the copying function of IMAP. Nor would Outlook recognize my old PST file as a valid e-mail data file. The issue meant creating a brand-new POP account on Outlook and copying everything from the old PST file to the new PST file.

But after the hair-pulling and chocolate-eating, everything's sorted. I can now send my files for April releases to my formatter. And I was able to retrieve the e-mails with cover art attached from my cover artists.

I still need to go through and unlock the rest of my files because apparently my backup software couldn't handle copying subfolders. When I did a manual copy, both my backup hard drive and Microsoft thought I was stealing from myself so there's a ton of files and folders with permissions stripped from them.

 ARGH!

But that's a bitch session for another day.

Tax Time and Sadness

We've started getting our W-2s and 1099s here at Chez Harden. Unfortunately, we also needed to find a CPA here in Ohio. Ed, our long-time CPA in Houston, sold his practice last summer when his Stage 4 cancer stopped responding to treatment. He passed away the week before Christmas.

Ed was our CPA for nearly thirty years. He's been with DH and me through house-buying, children (both human and furbabies), and our various businesses. Most of all, he was a cheerleader for me when I started my publishing company in 2011. He always believed I would be successful when lots of other people called me a fool.

The best thing about Ed was he didn't have the dry, dull manner of a lot of other CPAs I've met. He was genuinely enthusiastic about the tax code and helping his clients save every penny they could from Uncle Sam.

The last time I spoke to Ed was over the phone a year before his passing. He truly believed that one of my series would be picked up for a movie deal or a television series. And he was still enthusiastic despite his illness and the rough sound of his voice.

Rest in peace, Ed. I like to imagine you on a beach, relaxing, but I know you'll be helping the angels with their own accounting problems.

Stress and the Little Things I Do to Deal

The last five months have stressful for me. It's sucks that even good things stress me out these days.

My cataract surgery was very successful. It's so cool I ditched glasses for the first time in fifty-one years. But still, it's surgery. Things can go wrong. And I have one of those brains that has to analyze every single possible outcome.

Because of the unexpected surgeries, I got behind on fulfilling my 2023 Kickstarter campaign. I failed to get the majority of holiday gifts out before New Year's Day. I struggled to get my tax information collected and handed off to our CPA.

And I feared we would lose our fabulous CPA last year when he was diagnosed with cancer.

CANCER SUCKS.

Another friend also had cancer surgery this week, too. I know I'm at the age where shit happens to my peers. But the stress collects in my body. Yoga classes help, but not enough.

A friend noticed, and she suggested we get away for a weekend. She's had her own issues over the last year. We both need a little break right now. So, I'm taking her up on her idea of a little weekend getaway to a hotel with a spa.

I'm really looking forward to this getaway, and I'm sure I'll come back refreshed.

I hope you all find your own ways to relax over the weekend!

Silence Falls...

...during the U.S. Tax Season.

Yep, I'm trying to get the dang taxes done. The worst part is reconciling all the medical stuff. I try to keep up every year, but invariably, what the Flex Spending Account says we spent and what Quicken says we spent are two different things.

So, don't expect a whole lot from me for the next 5-7 days. DH and I did see Dune 2, so I'll try to put up a review on Monday. Initial thought--the cinematography is fabulous! Definitely worth seeing on the big screen.

Tax Season Again!

Nope. I don't wait until April to work on taxes. I can't. Things are too complicated between DH and I owning our own companies in different states over the nearly thirty years of our marriage.

And for a bit, I was terrified that our CPA might not survive his own cancer. I know, I know. I was selfish as fuck, but he knows our stuff inside and out. Ironically, he's one of the few people in my life who's super excited about my writing career.

For those of you who are attempting a career in writng, here's some tips (and NONE of this is financial or legal advice!):

1) Keep all your receipts. If you don't want to deal with a whole bunch of paper, scan them as PDFs in case the IRS has questions.

2) What expenses apply to your business? Cover artist fees, software, formatting fees, editing fees, basically anything that goes toward your writing career.

3) Pay attention to IRS rules. I do everything in a cash accrual basis. What this means is pay for your expenses ahead of time. For example, I'm attending a class Kris Rusch is teaching next January. I've already paid for the class itself, which means I can take the deduction for 2024 instead of 2025. By the same token, most retailers pay me on a 60-day delay, so any money I made in November or December of 2023 isn't paid until 2024. Therefore, I don't owe taxes on it until 2024.

4) Find accounting software, learn how to use it, and keep your entries up-to-date. No one likes this crappy part of owning your own business. I generally do all my data entry every two weeks to keep up. For software, I prefer Quicken, but use whatever you feel comfortable with. GK prefers Excel spreadsheets.

5) Find a certified professional accountant! You may think it's too expensive, but a good CPA is worth their weight in gold.

By the way, don't let your spouse/partner talk you out of proper bookkeeping just because they do your tax return. Sure, writing may start as a hobby, but things can change in a flash. If your other half doesn't know what they are doing or are just plain damn lazy, it's time to find a CPA for both of you.

Or maybe find a significant other who's more supportive of your dreams.

A Holiday and a Date Night

DH had Presidents' Day off so after sleeping in, we went to a matinee. The first time we've been to the cinema since the week before Thanksgiving of 2022. So there will be a movie post next Monday.

Then our theater has the re-release of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, so I'm dragging DH to see that one tonight. Also, I stayed up on Sunday night because TNT was having a Marvel movie marathon. I watched Ant-Man and the Wasp as a refresher, then Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

I don't care what anyone says. I loved the 2005 and 2007 FF movies.

Anyway, it may not seem like I needed the break this week because my readers don't cross the series streams, but I've been writing like crazy since January 1st, plus working on tax stuff since February 1st. So, yes, I definitely needed a break.

At least, I finally talked to my CPA. Yay! The first good news is I don't have to claim my Kickstarter campaign funds as income until I completely distribute the rewards. The second good news is that the taxing of estate-related wealth hasn't changed too much since I stopped practicing probate and estate planning law. I feared a gigantic amount due to the IRS, but I think we'll be okay.

But it means I need to redo some of my reports and figures before sending off the paperwork. So tomorrow, I'll be back on the grind.

And lest you think I did nothing writing-wise, I've been sprinting with some writer friends for 2-3 hours each day. Heck, I even got up early (for me) to sprint, which is why I didn't do my blog until now, and I'll write some more after DH goes to bed tonight. But, gosh, I needed to fill my creative well!

All's Quiet, Maybe Too Quiet

Don't expect another post from me until Monday, except music videos on Saturday nights. We received the last of the 1099 documents I'd been waiting on, and I've got to get the tax info sorted and to our CPA.

And to top things off, our CPA sent out an e-mail to his clients today that he'd been diagnosed with cancer, but we are in capable hands with his staff.

Don't get me wrong. DH and I trust his staff implicitly, but it prompted a discussion of what do we want to do should our CPA's firm shut down.

We're simply at that age, and most of our professional contacts are, too. Two dentists have retired on us in the last ten years. I'm trying to figure who to name as my alternate trustee to my literary trust should something happen to DH. GK isn't interested, at least, not now. Most of the friends I trust are my age or older. That leaves two younger friends, one an attorney and one a CPA, to name as alternates. But what happens if they both say no?

And don't even get me started on looking for another doctor! Or three, in my case.

But on the good news front, and depending on the results of my upcoming mammogram, I will officially hit the five-year mark for my breast cancer in April. And if I'm still cancer-free, that will be the end of having to take tamoxifen as a preventative.

So, DH and I are sending a "F*ck Cancer" mug to our CPA. From two cancer survivors to another. Cancer sucks!

Plague, War, Taxes, and Snow

Coronavirus Pandemic Day 769
Known COVID-19 cases in the U.S. - 80,612,681
Known COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. - 988,558

This will be my last COVID-19 numbers update. A large amount of local and state government health and welfare departments have stopped reporting. The official number above are no longer accurate. And all this is being dropped as Omicron-b is wending it's way through the nation. I need to ask my own general practitioner about another booster when I go in for my quarterly checkup in June.

In the meantime, the invasion of Ukraine continues. Atrocities rise, and President Zelensky pleads for help from an uncaring world.

Today is Tax Day in the U.S., but the government is being incredibly slow in processing returns, even if you got yours in early and are due a refund. I don't mind paying taxes because I like good roads and good schools, but no one in Washington can pull their heads out of their asses long enough to compromise a tiny bit in order to get things accomplished. *sigh*

And then, I woke up to the picture above. The early spring flowers bloomed like crazy last week. These two little daffodils had some protection from the eaves, but the rest are frozen and drooping on all sides of the house. It's supposed to be sunny and dry tomorrow and Wednesday, so I'll try to get the rest of the pruning and trimming done.

I don't know about the rest of you, but as much as I like sipping coffee while watching the snow fall, I'm ready for some shorts weather!

Words, Taxes, and Stuffy Noses

On Monday, I was bebopping along on doing tax stuff when I hit my usual snag. No matter how careful I am over the year, medical transactions were effed up. After working through the transaction detail reports two times (I swear it's the same as proofreading a manuscript), I gave up for the evening. DH and I hit the grocery store, dropped off bills at the post office, and ordered pizza to pick up on the way home.

I was tired and had a bit of a headache, which at the time I chalked up to staring at numbers all day. So I went to bed at 1 AM, fairly early for me. I only stayed up to watch Nathan Chen's short program. I'm not much of an Olympics fan, but I do love figure skating.

Unfortunately, I woke up in the middle of the night with a sore throat and congestion. By daylight, the body aches and chills had started. Therefore, Tuesday was spent curled on the couch, watching more Olympic coverage, sipping tea, and toodling with Apocalypse? Not Now! and Pestilence in Pumpkin Spice.

I felt a little better when I woke up this morning, but by the time I finished my third round on the medicals and everything reconciled, I was exhausted. I don't know if I have Omicron. This feels more like a middling cold, but DH isn't taking chances and won't be going to see his dad regardless of what I'm infected with.

It is funny how drugs and disease got me to see some issues in both manuscripts I'm working on. I spent yesterday forming the connective tissue between the two. I'm really hoping readers enjoy these books!

Tax Season Is Here!

Even though the deadline for W-2s and 1099s to be sent isn't until next Monday, ours have been streaming in since the second week of January. Computers make calculations and delivery SOOO much easier.

Of course, you've been keeping track of your writing income and expenses. Yes, if you sell your stories or license them to someone else for a fee, you need to report this stuff to the IRS.

How you keep track is up to you. I don't have any employees so that makes things a lot easier. I use Quicken for both household and business expenses. However, you can use a calculator and a notebook, a spreadsheet, or whatever your heart desires.

I do a much better job of tracking business numbers than I do medical expenses. The medical crap is the stuff I always have to cross check fifty times. The rest? I have standard reports I run once I get those last, pesky December receipts entered.

Keeping better track of your expenses and income through the year will make your life so much easier at tax time. Have a dedicated file cabinet or drawer and clearly marked folders to keep your paperwork in case you need to double check your documentation.

Whatever you do, don't leave everything until April. You'll save yourself a lot of headaches and get your refund back from the government a lot sooner!

Taxes Are Kicking My Ass

Or writers.

I haven't gotten much writing done this week. Despite my best efforts, there's missing receipts, missing records, and incorrect entries in my accounting software. Not regarding Angry Sheep Publishing though. No, it's always the fucking medical shit.

I miss the years when I only went to the dentist twice and the gynecologist once. All I took was birth control pills because I was NOT getting pregnant in the middle of law school.

Luckily, I only need to write a couple of short stories for my next release. However, I'm overstocked in covers, and I want to write the new stuff now, but I have to finish the tax stuff first, and I still need to write the next HERO book, and I need to finish unpacking because we've been in the new house for four months, and it still looks like a bomb went off in here, and spring's coming, and I need to do yard work because there's a ton of dead branches and deer poo, and Bella wants to roll in the damn deer poo, and--

Yeah, taxes make me a bit crazy.

Hero De Facto Is About to Debut

It was a busy weekend at Casa Harden, even with the atrocious head cold I picked up.

The e-book version of Hero De Facto is currently up for pre-order on Amazon. It officially drops on March 15th. The trade paperback should be up soon, as well as the e-book pre-order for Hero Ad Hoc. Just need to polish Hero De Novo, then I'll settle back into Justice Anthea's world for the rest of the month.

I worked on the writing biz on Saturday, but Sunday, I had to get tax stuff done. It's a pain in the ass, but it's off to the accountant to plug things into his computer. I'm not holding my breath that we'll get a large refund, but it's one thing off my plate.

Next month, I know my headspace won't be there. April starts the annual round of checkups, but I'll be poked and prodded thoroughly thanks to the C-word.

But I'm getting my publishing groove back. That feels pretty damn good.

Tax Time!

One of the joys of owning my own business is when tax time rolls around.

NOT!

Actually, I try very hard to make sure everything is labelled appropriately, so I can just run the reports and send them to my CPA. Inevitably though, something doesn't match up, and I have to dig through receipts to fix it in the accounting database.

So here's your friendly reminder for my fellow U.S. writers that you still have file a return even if you didn't make any money on your books.

Especially if you didn't make money on your books. You can still take the losses (in most instances) on your taxes, and the IRS won't demand money you don't owe them.

So today, I'm gathering and double-checking everything before I send it to Ed the CPA.

And for everyone who keeps checking the Justice tab here and on my main website, let's just say you have a nice Valentine's Day present coming.

Crippling Computer Despair

I'm not sure what happened over the weekend. My virus traps were clean. No strange cookies appeared. My computer wore her security condom like a good girl so no strange Trojans could infiltrate her pathways.

But something happened. I took me a good forty-eight hours to restore everything. The print drives were the biggest hassle.

Thank Goddess! I didn't lose a damn word from any of my current wips!

And this children is why you do backups.

However, the lost time in writing and putting together tax return info was annoying as hell.

Therein lies the problem. Since I've crossed the half-century mark, I'm much more conscious of time. How little I have left. How much I want to do.

It's the same weird feeling I get when I go somewhere for vacation. The first half is all excitement and wonder and fun. Then at the halfway point, I get nostalgic. I try to remember each and every moment, knowing they will be the last ones of that trip.

Damn you computer! Damn you for reminding me of my mortality!

#&@*ing Taxes!

I'll be blunt. I'm trying to get my f***ing taxes done.

In the blurry mess of the last three months of 2014, paperwork was mislaid. In the rush to enter receipts into the accounting software database in the first two months of this year, items were mis-categorized. And I'm developing a bald spot.

I wish I was joking about the last part. But no, I've got majoring thinning over my right ear. Not the left though. If I blame it on the taxes, can I take Rogaine as a medical deduction?

Bra-a-a-a-i-i-i-nnnnssss!

This is a normal person's brain. This is what we're doing to our children by telling them to grow up, by telling them their imaginary friends aren't real, by telling them to sit still for hours on end while listening to boring lectures.




This is a writer's brain. (Link originally shared by the effervescent Kristine Kathryn Rusch.) As a writer, it's best that you take out only one kitten at a time. Otherwise, chaos ensues.




This is a writer's brain after spending the last six days working on the Selket-damned taxes.




Any questions?