Just a Quick Note

Two major things are happening today.

First, Genius Kid (aka GK) will be home in approximately twenty minutes from the second I wrote the title of this post. He's been deployed overseas for the last year, and his parents and his dog (aka The Grandpuppy) miss him terribly.

Second, I will be writing the final chapter of A Cup of Conflict later this evening. GK will go to bed early due to the seven-hour time difference, and DH has soccer tonight (he runs the time clock for the high school teams and their season started last night). The book is currently at 115+K words. With one more chapter to write and editing, it will come out at 120K.

I knew it was going to be a long book, but DAMN! There were a ton of loose threads I needed to wind up in this trilogy. In case any readers haven't noticed, the Justice series is four trilogies with a stand alone story in the middle.

I'll let A Cup of Conflict rest over the weekend and get some words in on A Barrel of Vintner while I'm still in Anthea's head.

So what does this all mean? Since GK is home, and my contractors have last minute summer plans, I'll need a couple of weeks for edits and formatting. I'll set up the pre-orders on the retail sites later tonight or tomorrow.

The official release date will be August 29, 2025!

I'm so happy this book is essentially done! But to certain readers (you know who you are!), please don't ask me when the next Justice book will be out. I'm still recovering from this one.

Working from Home in the Age of Coronavirus

It took DH and I a long time to learn how to work together when we both started working from home. It's a delicate dance that requires some patient and the ability to explicitly state what you need in a diplomatic way. And in homeschooling GK, it became an intricate dance.

Now, a lot of folks who've never worked from home before in their lives are being forced to figure out how to keep home and work separate. Even worse, they're dealing with kids at home because schools and daycares are closed.

So here's some tips to survive living, working, and schooling from home:

1) Figure out who's a morning person and who's an afternoon person. Seriously, this can go a long way into maximizing your productivity and minimizing your frustration.

Example: DH had to be online at 8 a.m. Monday thru Friday. GK played quietly in his room until I woke up. I handled admin tasks, homeschooling, and errands that needed done before 5 pm. After supper, the guys left me alone so I could write.

2) Who needs to be on the phone for their job?

Our mistake was having DH's office in the loft of our house Houston. In the beginning, he was constantly on the phone with clients, and the sound echoed through the entire house. Now, he's in the spare bedroom. He can close the door for calls. We don't interrupt him, and we don't hear everything.

3) How to signal you're in the middle of something?

The closed door is a good way, but we don't have an extra room for me. I was often in the living room on my laptop. The key for us was to check if Mom's wearing her earbuds. If she was, leave her alone unless there's blood or someone stopped breathing. However, GK was old enough to take care of himself.

But what about that magic time between learning to walk and can make their own peanut butter sandwich where you need to keep a closer eye on them? Look at it as a training period for boundaries. Give them some paper and pencils/pens/whatever and have them draw a picture for you while you're on that conference call with the main office in Miami. Now's the time to use bribing to keep your sanity.

4) Kids and screentime.

The coronavirus pandemic is a unique situation. Parents, don't get hung up on your kids' screentime right now. Even though it's spring, a good chunk of the country still has chilly weather. And even if it's nice outside, it's not smart to go to the playgrounds or have playdates right now. It sucks for all of us. So if a Harry Potter or Trolls movie buys you two hours of peace to get that spreadsheet done for your boss, don't sweat it!

I hope everyone's hanging in out there! Stay safe!

Writing Full-time

I officially left the Day Job on August 31st. Last week was my first full week treating my writing career as a full-time job. Yes, I know last Monday was Labor Day here in the U.S. But my goal is to write every day, and since this is now my main source of income, that mean 'butt in chair' to produce.

I'm not saying everything is magical, songbirds land on my palm and mice create the most beautiful ballgowns for me. (Actually you can keep the mice. There's been a confirmed case of hanta virus in the Houston Metro area.) But the first week has been fulfilling in ways I didn't expect.

Minuses first
1) You need discipline to keep the family from bugging you. Since I'm home, DH (who works from home), GK (who's homeschooled) and even the Wonder Dog seem to think I should be able for their needs 24/7. The growly voice ususally works. If it doesn't, there's the Death Glare. No one wants the Death Glare.

2) You need a dedicated space where you can close the door, or at least put up the dog gate. Working in the kitchen or living room does not help at all with Minuses #1.

Pluses
1) My goal was 10K words per week, or 2K average words per day. I surprised myself how easy it was to meet. (I'm not saying they were good words. *grin*) In fact, I did 3500 words one day so I could meet with a good friend the next.

2) I have a little more flexibility with my schedule. The friend in Pluses #1 was someone I hadn't seen in three years. She was in town for one day only before she moved to Indonesia. If I'd been working at the Day Job, I would have missed the opportunity to see her.

3) I'm a hell of a lot more pleasant to be around. Both DH and GK came up to me on two different nights while I was cooking dinner, hugged me and said I was more relaxed than they'd seen me in a long time. I think NOT working three jobs has more to do with that.

4) I'm not so fried that I don't have the energy to exercise. And since I'm the only one who will walk the Wonder Dog, he is ecstatic now.

5) I'm eating better and in smaller amounts. First of all, I love to cook. We haven't picked up fast food last week, other than the boys ordered pizza the night I met my friend for coffee. We're going out Thursday because it is DH's birthday. And I'm a class A-1 stress eater, so no stress equals no binging.

So, overall, this seems to be working. Ask me again in six months. *grin*