My neighbors across the hall are a straight couple about my age with two small children. Every night, after dinner, while she's cleaning the kitchen, he comes in and starts screaming at her. The topic varies. Sometimes he doesn't like dinner, sometimes he's angry she went grocery shopping, sometimes the kids made a mess and she didn't clean it fast enough. Every night, he screams until she and the kids start crying, and then their apartment gets very, very quiet. On Saturday night, if he stays home, he invariably starts to beat her. I can hear all of this from my apartment. I've called the police several times. She won't press charges, so there's nothing they can do. He doesn't beat the kids--he just screams at them--so child services has no reason to step in. It's awful for her, it's awful for the kids, and it's awful for the rest of us who can do nothing more than what we're already doing.
Earlier this week, the husband stopped me to chat about the kids since their youngest is about the same age as my only. The sight of this man makes my skin crawl. He disgusts me. I only barely managed to be civil and that I only did for the sake of my daughter. I couldn't justify provoking him by speaking my mind when there was a chance she would be in danger.
Today, I stopped the wife to let her know that I can hear what's going on over there and that it sounds frightening and terrible. I told her that if she ever needed anything, if she even needed to just get away, that I am almost always home. She seemed embarrassed and she laughed and explained that they "just fight a lot." I told her I didn't want to embarrass her or be rude, but I was scared for her. And then I pretended I accepted her "fighting" explanation, told her that her kids are adorable, and walked away.
There's really nothing more I can do.
I hate feeling helpless.
Showing posts with label personal update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal update. Show all posts
Monday, May 14, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Monday Miscellany: Things I've Done Instead of Editing
Wow. I am just having a hell of a time editing. In fact, it's so bad that I've avoided looking at the story altogether for the last two days. Instead, I've been watching New Girl to get all caught up (I love Zooey Deschanel and am glad she's finally got a starring role, but I wasn't sure about the show... I was wrong, it's hilarious) and reading. I'm still working on Candlelight Sinner but I've finished Mockingjay (not as satisfying as I thought it would be, which I guess is kind of the point of the whole revolution) and The Haunted Vagina (gross and weird and I've totally found a new genre to explore).
Today, we took the kiddo to the Frankfurt Zoo. That place is so nice. It wasn't busy, so she could run around without me worrying. She loves monkeys. And birds. The thing that surprised me most was the number of baboons the zoo has. I counted 22 in one pen alone. They were all eating, which was just so fascinating to watch. This is the husband's last week of vacation (though we're looking at taking the kid to Disneyland Paris next month) so we're trying to do some fun things. Saarbrucken won't happen, but swimming and shopping probably will.
I have also purchased Tim Timebomb's new album and the first episode of Rock'N'Roll Theater. I'm waiting for my PayPal transaction to go through (I am so tired of using them) but as soon as it does, I will be in heaven. I love Tim Armstrong.
Today, we took the kiddo to the Frankfurt Zoo. That place is so nice. It wasn't busy, so she could run around without me worrying. She loves monkeys. And birds. The thing that surprised me most was the number of baboons the zoo has. I counted 22 in one pen alone. They were all eating, which was just so fascinating to watch. This is the husband's last week of vacation (though we're looking at taking the kid to Disneyland Paris next month) so we're trying to do some fun things. Saarbrucken won't happen, but swimming and shopping probably will.
I have also purchased Tim Timebomb's new album and the first episode of Rock'N'Roll Theater. I'm waiting for my PayPal transaction to go through (I am so tired of using them) but as soon as it does, I will be in heaven. I love Tim Armstrong.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Monday Miscellany: Vacation, Speculation, Coming Soon
My husband signs out on leave tonight at midnight. We're not going anywhere big, but he needed some time off work. This will be the first time in the nearly two years of her life that he will get to spend "normal" time with our daughter. No grandparents, no reverse work schedule, just the three of us. It's going to be... interesting. We have plans to visit a city on the French-German border and maybe take a camping trip to the Black Forest, but for the most part, I think we're just going to stick around here and enjoy being a family.
I've been toying with the idea of raising the prices on my books. I suspect I've tapped out the target audience willing to pay $0.99 for my short ebooks, so I raised the price of my oldest one--the anthology--to $1.99 just to see what happens. I have the feeling I'll be playing with prices a lot in the next few weeks. It can't hurt. As I mentioned to the husband, this will be a lean month (sales have dropped dramatically over the last few weeks), so I might as well take advantage of the leanness and experiment. As usual, I'm sure you can expect to read about my findings.
Over the weekend, I finished drafting the next short story. I think I even have a title for it: Right This Time. I was able to find a lovely photograph at Dreamstime for the cover and downloaded a comp image (which means it's not full size and has watermarks) in order to play around with cover design. I've mentioned that I take a lot of inspiration from my favorite and other popular book covers, right? If I start to flounder, it's good to know where to go for guidance. Honestly, I can say I hope to have the story finished by the end of the week. I'm not sure that will happen, but I can try. I'm sure there are readers among you shaking your head and tsking me for such a quick turnaround. Four months is a ridiculous length of time, for me, to spend on anything under 10,000 words. At most, I should have spent two months on the last story. Short stories are kind of my Thing. And this one, Right This Time, I've had it in the works (for real--outlined, action-drafted, and a draft 1.5) for a little over six weeks.
I think a lot of confidence and comfort with writing comes from knowing your strengths and playing to those as you strengthen your weaknesses.
This week, expect at least one blog post on February's sales figures. I'm still trying to figure out which other posts I'd like to do, too.
I've been toying with the idea of raising the prices on my books. I suspect I've tapped out the target audience willing to pay $0.99 for my short ebooks, so I raised the price of my oldest one--the anthology--to $1.99 just to see what happens. I have the feeling I'll be playing with prices a lot in the next few weeks. It can't hurt. As I mentioned to the husband, this will be a lean month (sales have dropped dramatically over the last few weeks), so I might as well take advantage of the leanness and experiment. As usual, I'm sure you can expect to read about my findings.
Over the weekend, I finished drafting the next short story. I think I even have a title for it: Right This Time. I was able to find a lovely photograph at Dreamstime for the cover and downloaded a comp image (which means it's not full size and has watermarks) in order to play around with cover design. I've mentioned that I take a lot of inspiration from my favorite and other popular book covers, right? If I start to flounder, it's good to know where to go for guidance. Honestly, I can say I hope to have the story finished by the end of the week. I'm not sure that will happen, but I can try. I'm sure there are readers among you shaking your head and tsking me for such a quick turnaround. Four months is a ridiculous length of time, for me, to spend on anything under 10,000 words. At most, I should have spent two months on the last story. Short stories are kind of my Thing. And this one, Right This Time, I've had it in the works (for real--outlined, action-drafted, and a draft 1.5) for a little over six weeks.
I think a lot of confidence and comfort with writing comes from knowing your strengths and playing to those as you strengthen your weaknesses.
This week, expect at least one blog post on February's sales figures. I'm still trying to figure out which other posts I'd like to do, too.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Monday Miscellany: Writing, Reading, Weather
I've finally figured out how to fix the last 3,500 words of One Good Cowboy, so editing is going much smoother now. Blah blah blah. You'll believe it when you see it, won't you? I don't blame you.
Dear readers, I have caved. Let me say first that I have nothing personally against books on the important bestseller lists, it's just that in my experience, they're not my kind of books. Except I've heard rumblings about The Hunger Games since it first came out and it has always sounded like my kind of thing. Then it got wildly popular and I shied away. The last two wildly popular books I tried to read made my brain hurt. Over the last few weeks, I've revisited the Wiki page and the reviews and I took the plunge. Whoo, boy, am I glad I did. I'm about a quarter of the way through it and I am engrossed. So if you're wary, don't be. It's a really good read.
You know what else is a good read in a totally different way? Candlelight Sinner. Yep, I'm still reading it. Tom and Celia are such normal characters. I mean this in the nicest way possible. It's vaguely voyeuristic, like watching your neighbor across the hall and her new boyfriend settle into their new, happy life. I'll have more thoughts in the proper review, I just wanted to plug it again.
The weather is so, so nice right now. The kiddo and I are getting out of the house for a couple of hours in the middle of the day just to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air and to touch trees. She's a little hippie, I don't know what else to tell you.
I am determined to get some blog posts up this week. I have a couple of pages of titles and subjects scribbled into a notebook and if I don't write them, I'm going to get way, way behind. Wish me luck? Please?
Dear readers, I have caved. Let me say first that I have nothing personally against books on the important bestseller lists, it's just that in my experience, they're not my kind of books. Except I've heard rumblings about The Hunger Games since it first came out and it has always sounded like my kind of thing. Then it got wildly popular and I shied away. The last two wildly popular books I tried to read made my brain hurt. Over the last few weeks, I've revisited the Wiki page and the reviews and I took the plunge. Whoo, boy, am I glad I did. I'm about a quarter of the way through it and I am engrossed. So if you're wary, don't be. It's a really good read.
You know what else is a good read in a totally different way? Candlelight Sinner. Yep, I'm still reading it. Tom and Celia are such normal characters. I mean this in the nicest way possible. It's vaguely voyeuristic, like watching your neighbor across the hall and her new boyfriend settle into their new, happy life. I'll have more thoughts in the proper review, I just wanted to plug it again.
The weather is so, so nice right now. The kiddo and I are getting out of the house for a couple of hours in the middle of the day just to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air and to touch trees. She's a little hippie, I don't know what else to tell you.
I am determined to get some blog posts up this week. I have a couple of pages of titles and subjects scribbled into a notebook and if I don't write them, I'm going to get way, way behind. Wish me luck? Please?
Monday, March 19, 2012
Monday Miscellany: Paragraphs, a Toddler, a Website, and Books
Paragraph by paragraph, I am editing One Good Cowboy. I still feel really good about it. I managed to do about 25% of it yesterday, but today has been something else entirely. Toddlers are moody little creatures. One day they want nothing to do with you and the next they're all up in your business insisting that you hold them while they sit on the couch and watch "Tangled" eleventy billion times. (I actually like the movie. It's really cute.) If it's not a movie, it's listening to Queen. (I was prepared to listen to, say, the Gummibear for six, seven hours at a time--I was not prepared to listen to "We Will Rock You" for six hours straight.) I can't and won't complain too much, though. She has the same cold I do. This thing sucks.
Recently, I discovered the tumblog UnFuck Your Habitat. It has been hugely helpful to me. The best thing about it is the way it's helping me change my mindset when it comes to housework, to be glad when I make any progress at all not only when I've finished a chore. Twenty minutes spent cleaning the kitchen (which I hate to do, seriously, I'd rather clean a toilet bare-handed) is still twenty minutes spent cleaning the kitchen, even if the kitchen doesn't sparkle like a Febreeze commercial.
As I mentioned, I managed to finish No Wings Attached, so look for a review of that, Supertech, and Morgan's Choice in the near future. I also have started Candlelight Sinner, so maybe I'll be done with that this week? We'll see. I should be back on the blogging bandwagon this week. Fingers crossed!
Recently, I discovered the tumblog UnFuck Your Habitat. It has been hugely helpful to me. The best thing about it is the way it's helping me change my mindset when it comes to housework, to be glad when I make any progress at all not only when I've finished a chore. Twenty minutes spent cleaning the kitchen (which I hate to do, seriously, I'd rather clean a toilet bare-handed) is still twenty minutes spent cleaning the kitchen, even if the kitchen doesn't sparkle like a Febreeze commercial.
As I mentioned, I managed to finish No Wings Attached, so look for a review of that, Supertech, and Morgan's Choice in the near future. I also have started Candlelight Sinner, so maybe I'll be done with that this week? We'll see. I should be back on the blogging bandwagon this week. Fingers crossed!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
SitRep Saturday: Progress and Life
It was another crazy week. I got sick again (seriously, twice in one year--what the hell) and we had a ton of stuff to do for my husband's work (he reenlisted, he had a formal evening function to attend) and he was off for more than half the week, which means more family time. It was like the universe was conspiring against me. Or, you know, it was just one of those weeks where I had to play wife-and-mom instead of writer-and-blogger. These weeks happen.
As far as One Good Cowboy goes, I'm still struggling. I actually ended up converting the whole thing to html and spacing it out for web reading, doing a find-and-replace for words I knew I had overused, cutting the last 40% with the intention of re-working, and going through it paragraph by paragraph, ten minutes at a time. So far, the first 30% is much, much better and I'm feeling good about the rest of it.
I am going to finish this story. And it will be good.
Probably the best thing about the downtime this week was the fact that I got a lot of reading done. I finished No Wings Attached and started Candlelight Sinner and I read a Supernatural tie-in novel called Coyote's Kiss. I also read a short book on household tips, but I only mention that here because I want to offer this advice: if you're going to write a book of tips for hacking your home, please try to come up with new tips and don't rely on free Internet tidbits or things you read about on the back of the baking soda box.
I should also mention that I have about five blog posts in various stages of drafting. I kept meaning to get them finished and up last week, but you know how it goes. I have some email to check, too. I've been a terrible professional this week.
As far as One Good Cowboy goes, I'm still struggling. I actually ended up converting the whole thing to html and spacing it out for web reading, doing a find-and-replace for words I knew I had overused, cutting the last 40% with the intention of re-working, and going through it paragraph by paragraph, ten minutes at a time. So far, the first 30% is much, much better and I'm feeling good about the rest of it.
I am going to finish this story. And it will be good.
Probably the best thing about the downtime this week was the fact that I got a lot of reading done. I finished No Wings Attached and started Candlelight Sinner and I read a Supernatural tie-in novel called Coyote's Kiss. I also read a short book on household tips, but I only mention that here because I want to offer this advice: if you're going to write a book of tips for hacking your home, please try to come up with new tips and don't rely on free Internet tidbits or things you read about on the back of the baking soda box.
I should also mention that I have about five blog posts in various stages of drafting. I kept meaning to get them finished and up last week, but you know how it goes. I have some email to check, too. I've been a terrible professional this week.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Monday Miscellany: Cowboys and Toddlers and Books
I'm about halfway through the final editing pass on One Good Cowboy. Basically the same place I was on Saturday, but I have my reasons. It's not the horrible, sucky story I was worried it was. In fact, it's pretty good. I'm still shooting to have it finished by Friday, but we'll see.
My sister and mother have gone home. I took them to the airport on Sunday morning. It's just weird having the house all to ourselves again. Everything is quiet and my dishes don't magically get clean several times a day. (My mother, when she visits, does the dishes and the laundry, my two most-hated chores.) I'm adjusting okay (mostly by being lazy and watching "Community" on Hulu+) but my toddler... Well. Let's just say she got used to being constantly entertained and stimulated and is having a difficult time adjusting to mommy's version of "no" versus auntie's and grandmother's versions.
Last week, I started reading Stella Deleuze's No Wings Attached. Again, it's not my usual go-to genre for entertainment, but I have to say that it's pretty fun. It's so girly. I feel like I should be watching Lifetime or listening to Britney Spears and drinking red wine and eating really good chocolate while I read it. It's turning into one of those frilly pleasures for me, like Asking for Trouble. I'm glad I know the two main characters end up together because if I didn't, I'd feel really, really badly for Celia, but since I know they're going to be okay, my worry and sympathy are only mild.
This week, I'm hoping to finally finish that post on treating readers like customers, as well as a post on sales figures and at least one book review. I'm not sure I'll manage all of that, but I am sure going to try!
My sister and mother have gone home. I took them to the airport on Sunday morning. It's just weird having the house all to ourselves again. Everything is quiet and my dishes don't magically get clean several times a day. (My mother, when she visits, does the dishes and the laundry, my two most-hated chores.) I'm adjusting okay (mostly by being lazy and watching "Community" on Hulu+) but my toddler... Well. Let's just say she got used to being constantly entertained and stimulated and is having a difficult time adjusting to mommy's version of "no" versus auntie's and grandmother's versions.
Last week, I started reading Stella Deleuze's No Wings Attached. Again, it's not my usual go-to genre for entertainment, but I have to say that it's pretty fun. It's so girly. I feel like I should be watching Lifetime or listening to Britney Spears and drinking red wine and eating really good chocolate while I read it. It's turning into one of those frilly pleasures for me, like Asking for Trouble. I'm glad I know the two main characters end up together because if I didn't, I'd feel really, really badly for Celia, but since I know they're going to be okay, my worry and sympathy are only mild.
This week, I'm hoping to finally finish that post on treating readers like customers, as well as a post on sales figures and at least one book review. I'm not sure I'll manage all of that, but I am sure going to try!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday Miscellany: Road Trip, Kids, Books
Unfortunately, we waited too long to book our Paris tickets, so they are prohibitively expensive. It's okay. We're flexible. Instead of heading to Paris, we're going to check out Saarbrücken, Metz, and Luxembourg. I need to pick up my international license and rent a car, but we're planning a day-long road trip for Thursday. My mom is thrilled about Luxembourg but quite unhappy with me since I told her the kid and I are going to Paris on our own in April.
Maybe there will be pictures at some point. I keep forgetting to take them. The kid just hit her eighteen-month mark and I don't know if you know this, but toddlers are quite the handful.
I'm still working on the website update and I'm still working on blog posts. I feel much, much better this week, so I'm hoping to actually get some work done.
Over the weekend, I finished reading Morgan's Choice. You all know I loved it. (Admiral Ravindra. Rawr.) So I'll have reviews for that and Supertech soonish. I'm going to start No Wings Attached this week (probably today during the kid's naptime) and then Candlelight Sinner after that. And after that I'm going to read Starheart because OMGYES.
I think, after that, I'm going to read The Hunger Games. I'm really curious and the more I read about it, the more I think I'd enjoy it. I tend to stay away from wildly popular books like that, but this one is interesting me.
Maybe there will be pictures at some point. I keep forgetting to take them. The kid just hit her eighteen-month mark and I don't know if you know this, but toddlers are quite the handful.
I'm still working on the website update and I'm still working on blog posts. I feel much, much better this week, so I'm hoping to actually get some work done.
Over the weekend, I finished reading Morgan's Choice. You all know I loved it. (Admiral Ravindra. Rawr.) So I'll have reviews for that and Supertech soonish. I'm going to start No Wings Attached this week (probably today during the kid's naptime) and then Candlelight Sinner after that. And after that I'm going to read Starheart because OMGYES.
I think, after that, I'm going to read The Hunger Games. I'm really curious and the more I read about it, the more I think I'd enjoy it. I tend to stay away from wildly popular books like that, but this one is interesting me.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
SitRep Saturday: On Being Sick
As if I didn't have enough excuses, I can add "being terribly sick" to the list. Ugh. I get sick once a year, if that, and this was my week. To make matters worse, the kiddo was sick, too. We were pretty miserable.
I still managed to start work on the website update, though. That's something. I'm much happier with my book cover redesigns--you can see them there on the right side of my blog.
This next week is going to be a slacker week, too. My mother and sister are still here and we have travel plans.
Maybe the distance from the story is good for me? Maybe it'll make editing a lot easier when I finally get the chance to sit down and work.
I still managed to start work on the website update, though. That's something. I'm much happier with my book cover redesigns--you can see them there on the right side of my blog.
This next week is going to be a slacker week, too. My mother and sister are still here and we have travel plans.
Maybe the distance from the story is good for me? Maybe it'll make editing a lot easier when I finally get the chance to sit down and work.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Monday Miscellany: Family, Blogging, and Breakfast
My mother came to visit! She's here for two weeks and we're planning things like a day trip to Paris, another to Idar-Oberstein, bowling, swimming, and tomorrow we're going to the Fasching parade in a local village. Maybe I'll have some pictures to share next Monday. I enjoy my mother's visits. So, too, does my husband. Don't worry--I told him that it's weird. He said, and I quote, "But she cleans the house!" We all got a good laugh out of that. (My sister's husband is the same way. Something about Mom having an extra thirty years of experience keeping house and looking after kids means she's better at it.)
Needless to say, I'm not expecting to get much "work" done, but I am certainly hoping to. I have two posts in the pipeline: one on the reader as as customer, and one on self-publishing software essentials. These are both drafted, they just need some editing and links thrown in. I know I've been a bad blogger lately. I've been a bad writer and pretty much everything. Things will be back to normal soon, though.
In the meantime, I'm going to point you in the direction of a brunch cake recipe. I made this one last night and it is delicious. Light, not too sweet, and I am pretty sure the strawberry can be replaced with blueberry, blackberry, or apricot with results just as delicious.
Needless to say, I'm not expecting to get much "work" done, but I am certainly hoping to. I have two posts in the pipeline: one on the reader as as customer, and one on self-publishing software essentials. These are both drafted, they just need some editing and links thrown in. I know I've been a bad blogger lately. I've been a bad writer and pretty much everything. Things will be back to normal soon, though.
In the meantime, I'm going to point you in the direction of a brunch cake recipe. I made this one last night and it is delicious. Light, not too sweet, and I am pretty sure the strawberry can be replaced with blueberry, blackberry, or apricot with results just as delicious.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Monday Miscellany: Romance, Stress, and Why I Love Greta van der Rol
Tomorrow is Valentine's, in case you forgot. I have already gotten my sweetheart his present and card; "he" has already gotten my gift, too. (I bought some dishes for the house and told him that's what he got me--yes, I really am that romantic.) The funny thing is that my husband is actually quite wonderful at romance and remembering special occasions and he puts up with my surly attitude toward those things.
Yes, it's true. I read romance novels and write romantic stories, but I am quite possibly the least romantic person I know. Shh. Don't tell anyone.
I try for him. I really do. It's just easier for me to be loving in little ways throughout the year. I leave notes for him on Post-Its in his wallet or on the car steering wheel, I try to make sure we never run out of his favorite drinks in the refrigerator, I learned to properly use spices in my cooking for him, I don't pitch a fit when he wants to have boys' nights out, I take care of things he doesn't like or doesn't have time to do. Like right now, I'm working on a spreadsheet for him that he needs for work. I have to input roughly 1500 pages of data, then email it to him. I do not miss my days of spreadsheet maintenance. But if I don't do it, he'd be stuck at the office until God-knows-when all week. He'd be grumpy, the kid would be grumpy (she likes him or something--I don't get it, either), and I'd rather have both of them happy. To me, this is true love. It's the daily grind, the bad days and the low points that melt away in the memories of the great days and the high points. It's hearing him walk through the door at the end of the day and feeling like everything is okay because we're together. It's knowing that I'm better off with him than without him.
Okay, so maybe I am a tiny bit romantic. Please don't tell.
I've been under a great deal of stress over the last few months and late last week, I had a "screw everything" moment. I'm clearly not going to finish One Good Cowboy if I keep pushing myself. I can make slow and steady progress, but if progress is what I want, I need to find it in other places, too. Places like drafting other stories, getting my books formatted for AllRomance, outlining my website redesign, revisiting The Guest, reading, taking on household projects I've been putting off. So when I sit down at night, I still open up One Good Cowboy and I still work on it. I got a page done last night and I'm hoping for another page tonight. But I'm trying not to stress out about it.
One thing that is stressing me out, in the best possible way, is Morgan's Choice. Ugh, it's so action-packed. But I'm going to take a moment here (again) to flail my arms and deteriorate into asdjfk. Archaeology. Archaeology in science fiction. Real archaeology done by a real academic. I keep having to take moments in order to flail my hands around for real. I mean, let's just completely ignore Ravindra and Morgan, let's ignore the politics and the technology. Let's just for a moment look at the fact that archaeology as a practice plays a significant role in this science fiction novel and let's for a moment completely geek out about that fact.
As if I needed another reason to love Ms. van der Rol. I cannot wait for her next book.
I have to go flail again.
Yes, it's true. I read romance novels and write romantic stories, but I am quite possibly the least romantic person I know. Shh. Don't tell anyone.
I try for him. I really do. It's just easier for me to be loving in little ways throughout the year. I leave notes for him on Post-Its in his wallet or on the car steering wheel, I try to make sure we never run out of his favorite drinks in the refrigerator, I learned to properly use spices in my cooking for him, I don't pitch a fit when he wants to have boys' nights out, I take care of things he doesn't like or doesn't have time to do. Like right now, I'm working on a spreadsheet for him that he needs for work. I have to input roughly 1500 pages of data, then email it to him. I do not miss my days of spreadsheet maintenance. But if I don't do it, he'd be stuck at the office until God-knows-when all week. He'd be grumpy, the kid would be grumpy (she likes him or something--I don't get it, either), and I'd rather have both of them happy. To me, this is true love. It's the daily grind, the bad days and the low points that melt away in the memories of the great days and the high points. It's hearing him walk through the door at the end of the day and feeling like everything is okay because we're together. It's knowing that I'm better off with him than without him.
Okay, so maybe I am a tiny bit romantic. Please don't tell.
I've been under a great deal of stress over the last few months and late last week, I had a "screw everything" moment. I'm clearly not going to finish One Good Cowboy if I keep pushing myself. I can make slow and steady progress, but if progress is what I want, I need to find it in other places, too. Places like drafting other stories, getting my books formatted for AllRomance, outlining my website redesign, revisiting The Guest, reading, taking on household projects I've been putting off. So when I sit down at night, I still open up One Good Cowboy and I still work on it. I got a page done last night and I'm hoping for another page tonight. But I'm trying not to stress out about it.
One thing that is stressing me out, in the best possible way, is Morgan's Choice. Ugh, it's so action-packed. But I'm going to take a moment here (again) to flail my arms and deteriorate into asdjfk. Archaeology. Archaeology in science fiction. Real archaeology done by a real academic. I keep having to take moments in order to flail my hands around for real. I mean, let's just completely ignore Ravindra and Morgan, let's ignore the politics and the technology. Let's just for a moment look at the fact that archaeology as a practice plays a significant role in this science fiction novel and let's for a moment completely geek out about that fact.
As if I needed another reason to love Ms. van der Rol. I cannot wait for her next book.
I have to go flail again.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday Miscellany: Progress Report, Coming Up
I am making slow and steady progress on One Good Cowboy. I'm filling in the action now and once that's done, I'll be able to go back and start drafting. This story is giving me so much trouble! Oh, well. I think it'll be a nice, fun, sweet, funny romance once I'm done. I hope!
My sister is out of town for the week (well, out of country--she took off to London on her own for a few days) so I have the time to catch up on a ton of work. I did yesterday's blog roundup post almost on time this week! And today's post is on time! I still have a lot of housework and of course the writing, but this should be a good blogging week.
This week, I'll be posting my review of A. M. Belrose's Witch in Wolf's Clothing and an author interview! Expect to see those tomorrow and Wednesday.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Just For Fun Friday: 10 Things to Make You Feel Good
Today, I offer a break from the professional in order to share the personal. If you've read my tweets this week you already know that I've had a pretty crappy time of it over the last five days. It's just the little things, like having an incredibly unusual case of the Mondays followed by a whole slew of tiny little annoyances that snowballed into something awful and resulted in me refusing to do anything productive at all. Ever have one of those weeks? Of course you have. We all have.
In the last few years, I've had to cope with things like my husband's year-long deployment and postpartum depression. What I've learned is that the little things can suck, but they can not-suck, too. In fact, the little things can make your day and remind you that it's all going to be okay.
So here are some of the little things that help me remember that it's all going to be okay.
1. "The World Is Just Awesome" Discovery Channel commercial. (Version 1)
2. "The World Is Just Awesome" Discovery Channel commercial. (Version 2)
3. Dance Off with the Star Wars Stars (2008)
4. Dance Off with the Star Wars Stars (2009)
5. Boba Fett Dancing
6. Pictures of Tim Armstrong from Rancid
7. Mike Rowe and Geoducks
Monday, January 2, 2012
Monday Miscellany: Welcome to the New Year
Yesterday, I sat down and listed the projects I have planned for this year. There are eight. Three short stories, three short story collections, and two novels. That number might actually be nine because there might be a third novel, it all depends on how I manage my time. This number doesn't include the half-dozen ideas I have scribbled in notebooks and on dry-erase boards, it only includes the stories I have already outlined, action-drafted, or drafted. Will I be busy? Yes, I think so.
I'm still in the process of editing One Good Cowboy. Finding the time has been a little bit difficult, but things are getting back to normal soon (husband is going back to work, visiting sister is starting to venture out on her own), so I'm optimistic that it can be finished this week.
Over the weekend, I rang in the new year with a cranky one-year-old who refused to fall asleep until she saw her daddy. Yesterday and today, I lost the two most important cards in my life (my ID and my debit card) and I have not been able to find them yet. We suspect the cranky one-year-old threw them away without anyone noticing. So... not the best start to the new year. But I'm not pessimistic!
I'm still in the process of editing One Good Cowboy. Finding the time has been a little bit difficult, but things are getting back to normal soon (husband is going back to work, visiting sister is starting to venture out on her own), so I'm optimistic that it can be finished this week.
Over the weekend, I rang in the new year with a cranky one-year-old who refused to fall asleep until she saw her daddy. Yesterday and today, I lost the two most important cards in my life (my ID and my debit card) and I have not been able to find them yet. We suspect the cranky one-year-old threw them away without anyone noticing. So... not the best start to the new year. But I'm not pessimistic!
Monday, December 26, 2011
Monday Miscellany: Covers, Holidays & Birthday Shopping
Over the weekend, I came across this photographer and fell in love with his photos. Especially this portfolio. There was one photo in particular that caught my eye, so I emailed Rob Lang to ask about his stock prices for ebook covers up to 10,000 or 500,000 copies (vocabulary I learned from Dreamstime). Unfortunately, he was a bit outside of my price range for now, so I have him bookmarked for later use. I have another cowboy novel in the planning stages and I think I just may spring for one of his photos to use as a cover later this year when it's ready to go. He was quick to respond to email and his prices, despite being out of my range, were actually very reasonable. If you're looking for a good cowboy photo, he might be your man.
Anyway, I ended up finding a really excellent photo to use over on Dreamstime and the cover for the new cowboy WIP is ready to go. I'll post it later on today.
We celebrate Christmas in this house and we had a nice holiday. My daughter's gifts were all a huge hit. I'm really proud of keeping the number of them under control, too. She's one of two grandchildren on my side of the family and an only child in her own home, so the potential for things to get out of hand is really there. The adults here--my sister, my husband, and myself--seemed pretty pleased with their presents, too. I know I am. Do you want to know how boring I am? I was given the new Betty Crocker cookbook and I spent most of yesterday planning meals for the next two weeks featuring main dishes from it.
Today, I think we're venturing out for a bit. My husband's birthday is next week and so I think it's time to get his shopping out of the way since my mother will be here to visit in a few days and the rest of the week is full of doctor's appointments, airport runs, 24-hour-duty shifts, the New Year, finishing editing the new WIP, and lots of reading.
Oh, yes, lots of reading. Starting Wednesday, I'm giving up writing for however long it takes me to finish Witch in Wolf's Clothing by A. M. Belrose, and Supertech and Morgan's Choice by Greta van der Rol. Reading I can do with a house full of people. Writing I can't. I'm just dying to read Ms. van der Rol's other two books, too. I've held off long enough. I'm not looking forward to the empty feeling when I've finished them, but I am looking forward to starting To Die a Dry Death afterward. (Yep, still a fangirl.)
Anyway, I ended up finding a really excellent photo to use over on Dreamstime and the cover for the new cowboy WIP is ready to go. I'll post it later on today.
We celebrate Christmas in this house and we had a nice holiday. My daughter's gifts were all a huge hit. I'm really proud of keeping the number of them under control, too. She's one of two grandchildren on my side of the family and an only child in her own home, so the potential for things to get out of hand is really there. The adults here--my sister, my husband, and myself--seemed pretty pleased with their presents, too. I know I am. Do you want to know how boring I am? I was given the new Betty Crocker cookbook and I spent most of yesterday planning meals for the next two weeks featuring main dishes from it.
Today, I think we're venturing out for a bit. My husband's birthday is next week and so I think it's time to get his shopping out of the way since my mother will be here to visit in a few days and the rest of the week is full of doctor's appointments, airport runs, 24-hour-duty shifts, the New Year, finishing editing the new WIP, and lots of reading.
Oh, yes, lots of reading. Starting Wednesday, I'm giving up writing for however long it takes me to finish Witch in Wolf's Clothing by A. M. Belrose, and Supertech and Morgan's Choice by Greta van der Rol. Reading I can do with a house full of people. Writing I can't. I'm just dying to read Ms. van der Rol's other two books, too. I've held off long enough. I'm not looking forward to the empty feeling when I've finished them, but I am looking forward to starting To Die a Dry Death afterward. (Yep, still a fangirl.)
Monday, December 12, 2011
Monday Miscellany: On Seeing Family, Christmas & WIPs
My sister's flight got in at 8:00 this morning. I haven't seen her in 22 months, so this is a huge treat for both of us. She's here for at least three months and, if we can get the paperwork in order, maybe six months. It's wonderful. My daughter is being her cautious little self and my sister has crashed (jet lag), but it's already just wonderful to have her here and have them together.
Before I had my daughter, I wasn't a big fan of the Christmas. It was all right, and I have many wonderful childhood Christmas memories, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Now that she's here, however, I have a whole new appreciation for it. I am ready. I can't wait to see her face Christmas morning when she wakes up to her new Cozy Coupe and dolls.
Hard to Hold has undergone a few changes, and I've padded the action draft by a few hundred words. I'm still on track to finish the first draft by the end of next week or so. Did I mention that I think I even have a book cover?
Before I had my daughter, I wasn't a big fan of the Christmas. It was all right, and I have many wonderful childhood Christmas memories, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Now that she's here, however, I have a whole new appreciation for it. I am ready. I can't wait to see her face Christmas morning when she wakes up to her new Cozy Coupe and dolls.
Hard to Hold has undergone a few changes, and I've padded the action draft by a few hundred words. I'm still on track to finish the first draft by the end of next week or so. Did I mention that I think I even have a book cover?
Saturday, December 10, 2011
SitRep Saturday: New WIP, Personal Update
I "took the week off" to do housekeeping work. That wasn't really a success. I did get a lot done--but it wasn't enough. Today I'm scrambling to finish getting the house ready for my sister's arrival while I lament the fact that I've used up my pre-written blog posts.
It's okay, though. I have a few more blog posts started (I just need to sit down and write them), I should be done with my real-life housekeeping in a few hours, and starting Monday afternoon, life gets back to business as usual.
The new WIP has a tentative title: Hard to Hold. It's another erotic short story, but this one is about a cowboy, a bartender, and a closed bar beside the highway outside of Canyon, Texas. I've started the action draft and it's already about 1,500 words. It needs a lot of work. I'm hopeful I can have the action draft complete within the next few days and maybe even have the story drafted by the middle of next week.
It's okay, though. I have a few more blog posts started (I just need to sit down and write them), I should be done with my real-life housekeeping in a few hours, and starting Monday afternoon, life gets back to business as usual.
The new WIP has a tentative title: Hard to Hold. It's another erotic short story, but this one is about a cowboy, a bartender, and a closed bar beside the highway outside of Canyon, Texas. I've started the action draft and it's already about 1,500 words. It needs a lot of work. I'm hopeful I can have the action draft complete within the next few days and maybe even have the story drafted by the middle of next week.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Monday Miscellany: New Release & Housekeeping
Over the weekend, I released Please, Sir. (You can get it at Amazon or you can get it for free at Smashwords with coupon code NV22M until tomorrow.) I started pre-writing for the next project and realized that it's much bigger than I want to deal with right now. As in, it might possibly be a novel. So I set it aside and looked at the short story collection I wanted to write.
And then I realized that my sister will be here in a week and the house isn't ready for her and I have a professional to-do list that is several pages long. So I've decided to take the next few days--maybe even the whole week--off from "real" writing to do housekeeping things.
Things like rearranging my daughter's room so that it's more usable for a college student, doing the rest of the autumn deep clean, and hauling the toys the kid has outgrown down to my storage unit. Things like the website redesign I want to do, a bunch of blog posts for days I don't have time to write new ones, and cleaning up my currently-available work (including reworking summaries and tweaking covers as needed).
Today, I'm running errands and getting back into the habit of daily chores. I let the housework slip over the last few months while I worked so hard to reach my goal of four books available by Christmas. I have some paperwork to take care of, the mail to check, a friend to see... Real life stuff.
It's going to be weird to be out in the sunshine and breathe in fresh air, but I think I'll survive it.
And then I realized that my sister will be here in a week and the house isn't ready for her and I have a professional to-do list that is several pages long. So I've decided to take the next few days--maybe even the whole week--off from "real" writing to do housekeeping things.
Things like rearranging my daughter's room so that it's more usable for a college student, doing the rest of the autumn deep clean, and hauling the toys the kid has outgrown down to my storage unit. Things like the website redesign I want to do, a bunch of blog posts for days I don't have time to write new ones, and cleaning up my currently-available work (including reworking summaries and tweaking covers as needed).
Today, I'm running errands and getting back into the habit of daily chores. I let the housework slip over the last few months while I worked so hard to reach my goal of four books available by Christmas. I have some paperwork to take care of, the mail to check, a friend to see... Real life stuff.
It's going to be weird to be out in the sunshine and breathe in fresh air, but I think I'll survive it.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Monday Miscellany: Recovering From The Holiday Weekend
Even though we're stationed in Germany (far, far away from our families and most of our friends), we're still American and we tend to act like it. We celebrated Thanksgiving this year for the first time as just a family. No extended family, no friends, just the three of us and the food we wanted and a stress-free day. It was a nice change. I am a master of the traditional Thanksgiving meal thanks to my mother and grandmother (my sisters and I could prepare the whole meal, including the turkey, by the time I was fourteen, and when I moved out on my own the first time, I hosted Thanksgiving alone; we've hosted twice since we've been married, and both times the majority of the meal prep fell to me) and the cooking and cleaning doesn't bother me. I won't lie, though, the people do. Last year, we had some incredibly ungrateful guests. I put my foot down the day after Thanksgiving last year and told my husband that unless I was the only one making the guest list, we would never host Thanksgiving again. People showed up three hours late and my husband, being the decent human being he is, waited for them. As a result, the turkey was dry, everyone was cranky by the time we got to eat, and the people I actually liked left as soon as their plates were empty. The worst part about that is that I couldn't even blame them.
This year, we kept it simple. Husband barbecued a brisket since he isn't a fan of turkey, I roasted an acorn squash, and we made a gigantic pot of cheesy garlic mashed potatoes. The kid, adventurous eater that she is, loved the veggies.
I managed to finish the draft of Please, Sir and even finished the cover, as I posted before. I'm in the carefully editing stages now, but it should be finished very soon. I'm proud of it. It's very me. I have the next project ready to start, too, and that one will be another romance with another slightly-unlikable heroine. I have a weakness for unlikable heroines. Scarlett O'Hara is probably my favorite. What a little brat. I love her so much.
Despite the fact that I am nearing thirty, my grandmother still sends me birthday money. I tried to make her stop about seven years ago, but there's no telling a Texas woman--and a former preacher, no less--what to do, especially if you're just a lowly granddaughter. We did negotiate a smaller amount, at least. Anyway, I put it to good use. I got the accessories kit I've been wanting for my Kindle (a sleeve and a light) and, most importantly, I bought Supertech and Morgan's Choice. Books are so much more exciting when they're presents, aren't they? I can't wait to start reading. I am a legitimate Greta van der Rol fangirl. (For the record, my birthday isn't for a few more weeks. Its proximity to Christmas led to my parents and grandparents overcompensating and I still celebrate it early.)
I am in the planning stages of a website redesign. Now that I've been doing this blogging/social media thing for about six months, I have a better idea of my voice and what I want to offer. I think the website is going to be divided into a section for writers and a section for readers.
Speaking of readers, I'm incredibly grateful for mine. Or, at least, incredibly grateful for Kindle shoppers who thought The Cowboy Next Door looked interesting enough to download. It has been on and off the top 100 contemporary romance lists on Amazon this last week--mostly on--and it has even cracked the top 1000 of all Amazon books. For a quickie little cowboy romance novelette, that feels pretty amazing to me.
This year, we kept it simple. Husband barbecued a brisket since he isn't a fan of turkey, I roasted an acorn squash, and we made a gigantic pot of cheesy garlic mashed potatoes. The kid, adventurous eater that she is, loved the veggies.
I managed to finish the draft of Please, Sir and even finished the cover, as I posted before. I'm in the carefully editing stages now, but it should be finished very soon. I'm proud of it. It's very me. I have the next project ready to start, too, and that one will be another romance with another slightly-unlikable heroine. I have a weakness for unlikable heroines. Scarlett O'Hara is probably my favorite. What a little brat. I love her so much.
Despite the fact that I am nearing thirty, my grandmother still sends me birthday money. I tried to make her stop about seven years ago, but there's no telling a Texas woman--and a former preacher, no less--what to do, especially if you're just a lowly granddaughter. We did negotiate a smaller amount, at least. Anyway, I put it to good use. I got the accessories kit I've been wanting for my Kindle (a sleeve and a light) and, most importantly, I bought Supertech and Morgan's Choice. Books are so much more exciting when they're presents, aren't they? I can't wait to start reading. I am a legitimate Greta van der Rol fangirl. (For the record, my birthday isn't for a few more weeks. Its proximity to Christmas led to my parents and grandparents overcompensating and I still celebrate it early.)
I am in the planning stages of a website redesign. Now that I've been doing this blogging/social media thing for about six months, I have a better idea of my voice and what I want to offer. I think the website is going to be divided into a section for writers and a section for readers.
Speaking of readers, I'm incredibly grateful for mine. Or, at least, incredibly grateful for Kindle shoppers who thought The Cowboy Next Door looked interesting enough to download. It has been on and off the top 100 contemporary romance lists on Amazon this last week--mostly on--and it has even cracked the top 1000 of all Amazon books. For a quickie little cowboy romance novelette, that feels pretty amazing to me.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Monday Miscellany: WIPs, Recipes, and Blogging
So I have fleshed out the action draft of the new WIP and made some changes and, now, it will be decent to share under my current romance/erotica pen name. I just have to, you know, actually write it. Since it's a short story and I'm only shooting for 10,000 words it should be easy peasy. Well, that, and the fact that I really like it. I've even already found the cover art for it. Once I have a mockup I'm happy with, I'll share.
Last Friday, I made whiskey cookies. I used this recipe, but I would suggest the following changes: use half as much baking soda, add about 1/4 tsp lemon extract, and add an extra tablespoon or two of whiskey. I didn't add the nuts or fruit, but I planned to drizzle them with chocolate. They were still pretty good. Because writers don't have enough ways to ingest booze!
In the draft stages now I have a post on where/how to learn about the publishing industry. I am also planning a post on how and where to buy e-books and a post containing tips on cover design (the last one because I have seen some truly awful self-published covers recently).
Even though I'm not in the States, I'm still celebrating Thanksgiving this week. The hubs and I aren't doing it traditional, either. We have a brisket and a squash and we're planning mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, and some cherry cobbler. Nice and low-key and delicious.
And speaking of giving thanks: for a brief span of time, The Cowboy Next Door was on Amazon's Top 100 contemporary romance list. So a huge THANK YOU to everyone who bought the book!
Last Friday, I made whiskey cookies. I used this recipe, but I would suggest the following changes: use half as much baking soda, add about 1/4 tsp lemon extract, and add an extra tablespoon or two of whiskey. I didn't add the nuts or fruit, but I planned to drizzle them with chocolate. They were still pretty good. Because writers don't have enough ways to ingest booze!
In the draft stages now I have a post on where/how to learn about the publishing industry. I am also planning a post on how and where to buy e-books and a post containing tips on cover design (the last one because I have seen some truly awful self-published covers recently).
Even though I'm not in the States, I'm still celebrating Thanksgiving this week. The hubs and I aren't doing it traditional, either. We have a brisket and a squash and we're planning mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, and some cherry cobbler. Nice and low-key and delicious.
And speaking of giving thanks: for a brief span of time, The Cowboy Next Door was on Amazon's Top 100 contemporary romance list. So a huge THANK YOU to everyone who bought the book!
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