AUGH! Not Again!

2022 has been a major pain in my backside. The topper is when I uploaded Invasion! for distribution on Amazon. And the f***ing website froze.

This happened to me with A Twist of Love a few years ago. According to Amazon, I didn't upload the book file in time, and the preorder is cancelled. The poor customer service peeps cannot reinstate the preorder.

I'm frustrated and pissed and a bunch of other things. So I'm taking a step back. Taking a deep breath. And since this is the holiday season, I'm going to embrace that spirit.

I already promised a free copy to my mailing list. If you preordered Invasion!, contact me. I'll send you a link for a free copy for any e-reader, tablet, etc.

Or you can sign up for my newsletter before Saturday, December 3.

Will Invasion! be released on Amazon? Yes, it will, and all the other retailers, but I need a week to work off the accumulative stress of this year. And it's going to start with a hot cup of coffee and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer this evening.

I'm sorry for this, but I'll make the best of things and get the last two books for 2022 out to you come hell or high water!

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

I've always wondered what happened to Brad and Janet after their wild, crazy night.

The Day After

As enjoyable and low-key as yesterday's Thanksgiving celebration was, my body ached, and exhaustion claimed me. I slept nearly twelve hours last night.

It was a little reminder I need to be careful with my spoons. I'll need all of them for the rest of weekend to finish Invasion!

I hope everyone has an enjoyable holiday weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm cleaning, cooking, and writing in spurts today since we're hosting family for the holiday. If you have cinnamon and alfredo sauce on your e-book of Invasion! next week, that's why.

The Harden Menu
Conn's Potato Chips and Dean's French Onion Dip
Triscuits and spray cheese
Water crackers and Italian cheese ball
Sausage Alfredo Lasagna
Apple pie with cinnamon ice cream

Salads will be eaten the rest of the holiday weekend.

Have a wonderful holiday, everyove!

Sisters and Monsters

I submitted a short story to an editor last night. I don't know why I submitted it.

I had lunch with one of my sorority littles on Saturday. She found me through Facebook shortly before the pandemic started. We hadn't seen each other in thirty-five years and spent a good two hours talking. I made sure to tip our server well for taking up a table for so long.

So what does that have to do with writing and submitting a short story last night?

Little #2 and I didn't like a particular sister. She was a Karen before Karens became a thing. The Particular Sister was constantly trying to get me in trouble with both our sorority advisor and an advisor in another club. She tried to bully the girls in Little #2's pledge class. She was manipulative and passive-aggressive and an all around negative person.

And while I was reminiscing about college yesterday, the perfect revenge story clicked in my head. Or maybe I've watched too many episodes of Supernatural.

Anyway, the story spilled out of me during football yesterday. You know an idea has me in its grip when I pay no attention to a Steelers game.

I finished the story and sent it into the world. If it doesn't sell, I'll post on my author website. Maybe I needed a small break from all my other projects. Maybe I'll write more monster stories and publish a collection.

Either way, the experience helped me deal with some lingering anger at some people who shouldn't matter in my life now. And it felt good.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Oh, no! Not Meat Loaf again!

Latest Happenings

I know I haven't talked a whole lot about the publishing business this year. On one hand, I've been a bit distracted. On the other, everyone seems to be holding their breath, waiting for the next big thing to hit.

There's a ton of indies bitching about slow sales. However, this year's midterms garnered the kind of attention reserved for the presidential elections. The drop in my own sales in October was expected.

Other than a few grumblings about government overreach, no one is saying much about Randy Penguins being blocked from buying Simon & Schuster. Paramount Global have been looking to unload S&S back when the company was ViacomCBS. I find it interesting that none of the big American corporations really wants to run a publishing company anymore.

Internet ads aren't bringing in the big bucks to anyone but the advertising agencies themselves these days. Hey, I block a lot of shit on my browser, so I'm with the consumers on this one.

AI is probably the most talked about new issue this year. From fake voices reading audiobooks to computer-generated cover art, questions are arising about copyright. But not fast enough in my opinion. Ever worse is when AI can generate art in the same style as a living artist. I mean, I'd love Meryl Streep to do the voice work for one of my novels, but I can't afford her (even if she'd agree to do it). It's not right to teach an AI to sound like Meryl though.

So these are the weird things floating through my head as snowflakes gently fall outside. Anyone want to add an issue in 2022 that I overlooked?

One Last Sale

Pestilence in Pumpkin Spice is currently free on Amazon. Yep, that's zero moola WITHOUT joining the Kindle Unlimited club.

So if you need something fun and crazy to read while your uncles argue whether sasquatches and yetis are the same thing over the remnants of the turkey carcass, pick up your copy now!

The sale ends on Friday, November 18th!

Link to Pestilence in Pumpkin Spice on Amazon

Monday Movie Mania - Black Adam

Black Adam was the second film DH and I attended during his week off. Honestly, I wasn't planning on seeing it until I found out Viola Davis, Aldis Hodge, and Pierce Brosnan were in it. Sorry, but Dwayne Johnson is not the end-all, be-all for me. Beyond GK's childhood favorites that Johnson appeared in, it's usually his co-stars who attract me to the movie.

Then there's the fact that DCEU is trying to remake Black Adam into an anti-hero. It's a little hard to wrap my head around. I had the same problem with Joaquin Phoenix's Joker (a movie I still haven't seen despite my love of the DC Universe).


*** SPOILERS ***


PROS
1) The introduction of the Justice Society of America!

2) Aldis Hodge was pitch-perfect as the Golden Age Carter Hall/Hawkman.

3) Same for Pierce Brosnan's Golden Age Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate.

4) Henry Winkler's cameo as the Golden Age Atom was hysterical!

5) The kids playing Cyclone and Atom Smasher were adorable. And the movie stuck with their Golden Age orgins, even though they made Atom Smasher the grandson of the Atom instead of his godson.

6) You can never go wrong with an appearance of Amanda Waller!

7) Don't miss a certain mid-credit cameo!

CONS
1) The convuluted backstory of how this version of Black Adam got his powers. Can we do an origin story where a man's wife and kid aren't fridged as motivation?

2) I wished there was more backstory of the JSA within the movie. Instead of being treated as an early vversion of the JLA, they were tools of Amanda Waller.

3) Dwayne Johnson smoldering is not acting.


Overall, I give Black Adam a solid 7 stars out of 10.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

How can you not dance to this song?