A Brand New Week, A Brand New House?

We've been randomly looking at houses this year. Kind of, sort of resuming our house hunt after my cancer put a crimp in our plans over a year ago. Since we both work from home, we need space for offices, but we're trying to be real about our ages since I already had arthritis in my  knees.

However, I put a bug in DH's ear about maybe looking for a condo. Someplace where someone else dealt with the mowing and the snow.

Good idea, right? Except the very first condo we looked at, the one that said the master bedroom was on the main floor, had five freaking levels! And the description left out the part where the kitchen was on the top floor.

In all fairness, the place had an elevator. A teeny, tiny elevator. An elevator we could never get a wheelchair on.

So the search has gone on. The last one we looked at insinuated that it overlooked the water.

What water you ask? Nearly thirty years ago, someone decided to fill the old quarry at the edge of town with water and build condos and offices around it.

Needless to say, the condo was NOT on the quarry side of the subdivision. You could see the water if you walked to the very end of the drive. Nor was the condo something we thought we could live with. The front door opened into the dining room. The carpet needed to be replaced, etc. So, we passed.

As we were leaving, I idly wondered what appeared to be two-story condos that did face the water looked like on the inside. DH laughed and said, "Stairs!" That was back in June.

Last week, we received our notice that our lease expires in two months. So, assuming our hunt was on hold once again, I told our complex assistant manager we would be here another year.

Yesterday, DH's Zillow alert went off. Guess what just came on the market? Literally, one of the two-story condos across the drive from the last place we looked at. He texted our realtor, and now we're looking at it tonight.

But if the freaking kitchen is on the top floor, I'm heading straight back to the car.

I Love the '80's

Saving Readers from Bad Books...

...is probably the DUMBEST thing you can waste your time doing. Why? Because "bad" is such a subjective measure.

I know I say don't look at your reviews. What I looked at were the reviews given by a particular person who gave Zombie Confidential a one-star on Goodreads. And I laughed my ass off.

This person has weird criteria. If it's epic fantasy the book gets a five-star. If it's a classic, e.g. Pride and Prejudice or The Three Muskateers, it gets a two-star. If it has paranormal elements, especially vampires, they give the book a one-star.

Does this person have the right to their opinion? Sure!

However, there was no analysis. No foundation to this person's opinion. People who have given a written discourse while rating books in a similar pattern claim they are trying to save readers from what they deem to be "bad" books. If it's not what they love, then it has to suck.

But you can't make everyone love what you love. And someone isn't an idiot for loving something you don't.

I simply think it's sad people are wasting their finite time on this planet reading stuff they don't like.

Back to School

Nope, not GK. Me.

It's been a while since I've taken any formal classes regarding writing craft. As in years, which is a little sloppy of me since I really do believe in continuing education no matter what your career is.

Anyway, Dean Wesley Smith suggested I take his Depth in Writing online class before attending the Anthology Workshop in February. Not only has it been a while since I've taken a class, it's been even longer since I had homework.

So of course, the old performance anxiety reared its head because the class starts today. Last night's sleep was riddled with the nightmares where it's finals week and I haven't even cracked open the book. Or I forgot to drop a class and it's too late, so now I'm going to get an "F" because I haven't attended the class all semester.

Sometimes, my Subconscious can be a total bitch!

Reality Bites Preorder!

Yes, Reality Bites is on preorder at all the major e-book retailers and will be available in less than two weeks!

REALITY BITES - Coming August 15!

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?

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I find myself a little sad as we draw to the close of the Bloodlines saga. These books were the first decent things I wrote, and I'm going to miss the characters.

I Love the '80's

Showing my age, but I don't care!

The Friday That Got Away

I spend Friday mornings every other week to get caught up on our household and business paperwork. I had a lot more to do than the typical three hours thanks to my visits to various doctors.

Yesterday was spent getting things ready for the release of Reality Bites. Despite getting much accomplished over the last two days, none of it was writing.

As DH and I were walking last night, I complained about needing an assistant and not being able to afford one yet. Trying to be helpful, he offered to do things for me in the evenings after he was done with the day job.

Oh, boy.

I tried to tell him, as gently as I could, this was NOT a good idea. He already thinks I'm anal when it comes to household stuff. I couldn't handle him not taking my business seriously while working for me. Or with me as Dr. Raj Koothrappali would say.

Too many writers I know have run into problems when their spouse works "with" them. Their marriage especially suffered.

DH and I have worked too hard the last twenty-five years to throw away everything by working together. My marriage is too important to me.

It doesn't mean my writing is not important. But life is all about juggling priorities. But I don't want to juggle my marriage within my career.

Reality in Fiction

Writers struggle to make their characters live and breath, to make them "real" to the readers. The goal for me is to make the reader feel like my characters could be someone they meet in real life.

On the other hand, I can't inject too much reality in my stories. The main goal of my fiction is to provide escapism for my readers. It's what I look for in my own reading. Too much realism reminds the reader of the very things they are trying to escape from.

Apparently, there's another problem I didn't realize until I released the first three books of the 888-555-HERO series last spring. People have their own definition of reality, and if the story doesn't mesh with their reality, the reader gets a little irate. (Or in one case, VERY irate. LOL)

While Canyon Pointe is a fictional city, it's based on parts of New Orleans, Denver, Phoenix, and Houston.

For example, everyone is aware of Houston's thriving Hispanic community, but it's not all Mexican-Americans. Houston has Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Guatamalans, Hondurans, etc. Little Vietnam has the greatest collection of restaurants outside of the home country. DH's primary care doctor was from Pakistan; mine was from Taiwan. So there's more than one or two ethnic groups in any major U.S. city. I wanted Canyon Pointe to reflect other U.S. cities.

A lot of Harri and Aisha's quirks are based on several female attorneys I know in real life. All of them a tough and passionate about their jobs.

There's also the age difference in relationships in my stories. Again, many women I know bucked the trend in America and married guys younger than them, including my own paternal grandmother, who was part of the Greatest Generation. So I'm having a little fun with Rey, a Gen Z, pursuing Aisha, a Gen X.

It's funny how the older Gen Xers and younger Boomers find my stories appalling. Appalling, they say! Especially, the "liberal agenda"!

Ummm, what?

Apparently, having a multi-ethnic, multi-age cast blows some people's minds. Except that's the world we live in now.

We live in an apartment (our immediate house-buying plan was blown up by my cancer last year) squarely in the very red Midwest. We're a town surrounded by farms and fields. Yet, ours neighbors in the complex have run the gamut of ages, from white Gen Z kids rooming together, to Millennial Pakistani grad students, to older Gen X empty nesters in the proverbial rainbow of colors.

Our reality is that things are changing. Things are ALWAYS changing. All the righteous anger in the world isn't going to change that.

So, in the meantime, I will continue to write characters that reflect people I know in real life. Now, get off my lawn!

The Monday That Got Away

Usually, I drag my butt out of bed in the morning (or what's morning for me), take my first handful of drugs for the day, then stumbled to the kitchen for the first round of caffeine. The first productive thing I do next is check my e-mail.

Most times, there's a note from one of my West Coast writing buds and a bunch of ads. But not today. No, siree!

There were a bunch of work related e-mails, including some from readers (which are always nice to get). And not just e-mails, but texts and voice-mails on my phone as well as messages through other social media. There was switching over/changing some of Genius Kid's accounts so his dad and I could deal with his financials while he is at basic training. Plus, one of my dentists (yes, I have more than one, LOL) called. His receptionist squeezed me in this afternoon to go over some test results.

Let me put it to you this way--I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast until three in the afternoon.

So it's nine in the evening, and I'm just now pulling up my wip.

I'm looking forward to August. GK heads off to begin his adult life. Darling Husband will be spending several hours a week at the soccer stadium as the high school's official time keeper. And maybe, just maybe, I'll get a little ahead in my writing production.

Music I've Been Listening to

At least Joan Jett and the Blackhearts get appropriate credit here as the fictional band, the Barbusters.