A little tat

It’s February already. My birth month. I’m running a 99 cent sale on Earth Reader ebook for the 7th of February as a result. If you haven’t already, check the book out.

I’ve updated a few more of my Vellas. And I got the first two chapters/episodes of A Field of Bones, book 2 of Bone Whisperer done. But I haven’t put it up yet on Vella. Book 1 of Bone Whisperer, A Playground of Bones, will be published in March, I think. I have to write the blurb yet.

Book 3 of Ghostwolf has two chapters done and working on the third. It may take a while as I’m doing Vellas to get this book done. Spirit Talker, Book 5 of Elemental Voice is still in the preliminary stage, book bible gathering but it’s up after Ghostwolf book 3 so there’s no hurry on it yet.

Still running the naming contest for book 5 of Elemental Voice series. If you got a good name for a vampire matriarch, her vampire PA, her vampire head of security, a human villain, or a morally grey vampire assassin give it a try. You may win a signed book or a signed bookplate as well as being mentioned in the author notes. So put your email and the name(s) in a comment.

Been a sad month so far. My cat went over the rainbow bridge the other day and I miss her. She was my baby. The ferals we feed just aren’t the same. I like them don’t get me wrong but they’re not my babies.

Hopefully this month gets better and it does become a happy month full of love.

Stay tune for the next installment

February 4, 2024 0

Fini

I finished Book 1 of Bone Whisperer!

Yes, A Playground of Bones is done and all 20 Chapters are up on Vella. Publication date is March. Book 2, A Field of Bones, is started and will be up on Vella as soon as I have the first 3 chapters done.

I have updated 3 of my Vellas. Once I finished Bone Whisperer I sat down again and worked on my Vellas. My muse actually cooperated and I wrote 3 different episodes/chapters. I did another this morning. I love it when a plan comes together.

I registered for the writer’s conference Between The Pages and reserved my room in June. Now I just got to get some books for the table. I only have a few left, less than 3 of each. I didn’t restock after my last in-person event. Actually I haven’t restocked since last June. Just got a few here and there so I would have at least 5 of every book. So restocking time.

I also got a new wheeled tote/cart to carry my books and in-person event stuff in at the end of December. That Vella bonus came in handy as it paid for the new tote/cart. Dad paid for it with his store card and I paid him a few days later when I got the bonus. I could get used to this bonus thing. 🙂

Stay tuned for the next installment

January 21, 2024 0

Welcome to the New Year

Well, 2024 is here.

I really don’t do resolutions. They never seem to last long. People start out with good intentions but seem to lose their way, their determination, and their motivation. I’m the same and don’t regret or worry about it. It’s just the way things seem to go with us humans.

I make short-term goals and hope I fulfill at least a few of them.

This new year I plan to finally finish and publish Bone Whisperer, work more seriously on my Vellas, and write on the next book in my queue.

I’ve been sitting on the last chapter of BW for over two months now. I think I don’t want to finish it because it would be like saying goodbye to my bestie again. I miss him terribly. His death was sudden and I didn’t get to see him before he went. This book has a character based on him and I’m dedicating it to him. Though I met my Travis later in life than Indy did hers, we were just as close friends, almost brother and sister. AS I said I miss him terribly.

My Vellas. I plan to update them more regularly and promo more. The more reads and likes you get the better the bonus which is where you really make the money on this platform. And if I make enough I might be able to save some and maybe go to another in-person event this year or next. That’s my dream. Being able to go to a Con somewhere as a vendor and sell some of my books. I go to my local Festival but I’d love to go to a big Con.

Writing queue. I have two books up next in my queue, Book 3 of Ghostwolf and Book 5 of Elemental Voice. I have already started on Book 3 of Ghostwolf. The prologue and chapter 1 are written and I’m working on chapter 2 now. It will probably be slower going as I’m also doing my vellas.

So those are my plans so far for this year. I’ll probably have more plans later as time goes on but that’s what I have decided for now. They should be doable and not very stressful so I should make them.

Stay tune for the next installment

January 1, 2024 0

Happy Holidays!

This will be a short blog.

I’ll write a longer one in the new year.

We have a holiday meal, but we’ve long since stopped doing anything else for Christmas. No tree, no presents under that non-existent tree. It’s just the three of us here. My parents aren’t really into Christmas–or any of the holidays really. I enjoy all the hoopla of the holidays but with no one to do it with…So I watch Die Hard and The Santa Clause during this time. Not much of a tradition or celebration but I do love those movies.

It’s the end of 2023. I have only published one book this year but I have started Kindle Vella and written a few chapters on seven different stories. I’m also (still!) one chapter away from finishing book 1 of Bone Whisperer. My muse just seems to be dragging her feet on this book. I’m going to try and finish it before the official last day of the year so I can say I finished two books in 2023.

December 24, 2023 0

December

It’s December already. This year just flew by it seems. Time for me to get out my ‘Christmas Movies’, Die Hard and The Santa Clause. Christmas just isn’t Christmas without Hans falling from the Tower and Santa falling from Scott’s roof. 🙂

My T.L. Books should be in Ingram Spark before the end of the month. Got the ISBNs transferred. Sharon’s working on it.

Bone Whisperer is still setting on that final chapter. My muse is just not cooperating. I wrote two sentences the other day cause I sat down with her and wouldn’t get up until something was down. So I’m going to have another sit down with my muse every night until I finish BW. That prequel vella can wait, though I do need to update my vellas. And get started on Ghostwolf 3.

Speaking of Vella, I got a nice bonus for October. 80% more than September’s. So I’m happy. I’m going to be playing more of the pay-to-play token promos this month. At least I’m going to try. See if I can get more reads. If I don’t play any promos I don’t seem to get any reads or very few if I do get any reads. I’m also going to do more of the ‘free’ promo groups. But I need to think of a good copy/blurb to use when I do that.

I’m going to try to go back to writing my blog every fortnight. Seasonal Affective Disorder has been affecting me, getting dark early and the cold. While I usually write more during the Winter, I still get more depressed and withdrawn during this time. My writing helps me as does reading books and watching movies to get undepressed. 🙂 But it doesn’t help the withdrawning. My best friend died this year and none of my other few friends are that close, either in proximity or emotionally. My pen pal is a help in that as we write little notes to each other every week. I love getting and sending snail mail. There’s just something nice about getting a note or postcard in the mail that email just doesn’t do for me. I wish I had more than one pen pal though.

Stay tune for my next installment.

December 2, 2023 0

November

First off, we’ve started the first steps of transferring my T.L. books to Ingram Spark. We’re waiting on them to transfer the ISBNs. So awaiting an email. I’ll keep you updated on that.

Bone Whisperer is still not done. I only have one chapter to go but my muse is just not cooperating. She focused on a prequel to one of the 7 vellas I have up on Kindle Vella. I haven’t even updated any of the vellas. My muse is being fickle. I need to finish BW and get to work on the next book in the queue which is Ghostwolf 3. Elemental Voice 5 is also up for working on in 2024. Me and my muse need to have a talk. Stuff needs to get done.

Speaking of Vella, I’m playing some of the promos but I’m on a budget so I play mainly the ‘free’ ones. I’m going to use some of the bonus to buy tokens I think this month when I get it and try playing some of the bigger ones or at least more of the smaller ones. Most of the other vella authors that play the pay-to-play promos have Linktrees so I set myself up with one. That was an experience for this Luddite. 🙂 But now the readers have all my vella stories at their fingertips.

Stay tuned for the next installment.

November 15, 2023 0

Contest

For Book 5 of Elemental Voice I’m doing a naming contest.

I am looking for names of certain characters. The book is in the ‘planning’ stage, meaning I’m writing the book bible right now and thus doing character names and place names for the book. I need names for the Orro (vampire) Clan matriarch, her PA(vampire), her security chief(vampire), and the secondary villain (Maybe human/maybe vampire) as well as a morally grey assassin( vampire). My muse is not being cooperative with these names.

Should your name(s) be picked, the name of course will be used and you will be mentioned in the author notes. You may also win a signed bookplate.

I reserve the right to pick one single name from one person and one single name from another so you all have a chance to win. There are five names so five people could possibly win. Comment here or on one of my FB posts/pages with the names.

So the covers for Ghostwolf 1 & 2 and Resurgent are up on KDP. Sharon is working on moving the books to Ingram Spark. But she ran into a little problem so they may not get on IS until December. I’ll keep you updated on that.

Down to one chapter on Bone Whisperer.

Vella stories are up to 7 now. I updated two and put up 5 episodes on the 7th story. I’m making money writing. More than I do with just the books. Because of the bonuses. But I still want to publish books cause I can sell them at in-person events. And holding the book in my hand is just indescribable.

Stay tune for the next installment

October 28, 2023 0

My Favorite Horror Movies

In honor of my favorite spooky season I’m writing a bit about my favorite horror movies. Some you will have heard of, but some you will have probably not. I watched a lot of horror and sci-fi movies during the 80’s and 90’s. I don’t think I missed any to tell the truth. If it was out on VHS, I watched it.

My number one top favorite is one called simply enough ‘Playroom’. It stared Christopher McDonald as an archeologist plagued by a nightmare in which his family was murdered. His parents were murder when he was a child at an archeology site where they were all staying. As the movie goes along you find out ‘Chris’ had an imaginary friend named Daniel that he played with while his parents worked. Chris starts remembering things and gets obsessed with finding the hidden room. And you find out that Daniel may not have been imaginary. I love this movie but it is only available on VHS and my copy was lost in a move. I can’t bring myself to buy a VHS copy when I don’t have a VCR and don’t plan to get one. But it is still my favorite and always shall be because it hit me in the heart at the end.

My number one favorite psychological horror is Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. All four of them. I do not have them right now, lost in another move. But they are on my list to rebuy. I love Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates. I just couldn’t get into the tv series. But the movies are great and I can watch them over and over again.

My number one slasher is Friday the 13th. Jason is the man. However if you’re going to watch them I advise you to skip 5 & 9. And I only watched 10 because Jason in Space, come on. 🙂 I have a special edition of 1-8 with wonderful extras and the Crystal Lake Memories: Complete history of Friday the 13 2- DVD edition. I used to have the edition of His Name Was Jason, but alas it was lost in a move. This Friday the 13th I’m doing a marathon.

There is one other movie I’d like to mention. it is my second favorite horror movie. Blood Clan. In the past, a family is executed by soldiers for cannibalism – except for the little girl, Katy Bane McKay. She is adopted by Judge Mackay and goes home with him to Canada, where she grows up with no knowledge of her family’s past. Then, in the present, several deaths occur and people begin to think it’s Katy Bane McKay. After all — blood will out. This one hits me in the heart too. And alas it too is only available in VHS. Lost too in a move.

That these movies still have an impact on me even though I haven’t seen some of them in a long time show that they should be given at least a watch. Else how can you give an informed opinion on them?

Hope you have a hauntingly good spooky season.

October 9, 2023 0

October

It’s spooky season!

On Instagram, I am doing a sort of 31 days of Horrortober theme. Like the 12 days of Christmas only with Halloween. I hope I can find enough things to put up one a day. I’ve got a few days already set but I don’t know if I’ll have enough for the whole month. We shall see. Check it out, if you dare. Ha!

Bone Whisperer is still not done. I really only have two more chapters and I’m done. But my muse is being so fickle. She hops around the Vella stories, only letting me write about a paragraph then moving on to the next. I need to get BW done so I can publish it. It will be out before the end of the year. At least I’ll have in to Sharon so she can try to get it out before the end of the year by the middle of the month. Even if I have to beat my muse. 🙂

The Vella bonus. August’s bonus was twice what July’s was. I did a jig. I’m playing some of the promos, a few paid, a few ‘free’. I can’t afford to play the big ones. Especially not if I actually read. I read one author’s whole story and spent over what I wanted to but the story was soo good I couldn’t stop. That was the last time I did that. I got a budget for the month and I need to stick to it. But I follow a lot of vella authors.

So the covers for Ghostwolf Book 1 & 2 are done. They’re with Sharon. I’m having Resurgent, a book of the Time-Lost series redone next. This month Sharon’s going to transfer these books over to Ingram Spark. That’s why I want the covers redone. New covers for new publish. Covers for Book 3 of Ghostwolf and Book 5 of Elemental Voice are up next.

Stay Tune for the next installment

October 3, 2023 0

Update

Well, Hootin an Hollarin is over. I sold more books than last year but still not a lot. It’s always fun at in-person events. I get to talk to people and people watch at discretion. My booth is just off the square near the necessities, food and Johnnies, and I don’t have to worry too much about sticky hands, my books walking off. And I get to indulge in fair food at this event like funnel cakes. I plan to return next year.

Book 1 of Bone Whisperer is almost done. I’m working on it and 5 Kindle Vella stories right now. I’m hoping to publish Bone Whisperer before the end of October or at least the end of the year if I miss that deadline. Book 3 of Ghostwolf is also being worked on off and on. I’ve been doing the vella promos but not many of the spend/paid promos. I missed two days of promos during my in-person event. And I haven’t been updating the stories regularly this month. I need to get into gear. I got soo many stories to write. They’re all demanding attention. I’m not a fast writer and that frustrates me ’cause I want to get them all written. But I just don’t feel like I’ll be able to get them done. There’s soo many and I can’t write a book a month like some people. Like I said it frustrates me.

There hasn’t been an announcement yet for August’s vella bonus. I get July’s bonus this month.

Ghostwolf Book 1’s cover is done. I like it. I sent it to Sharon to put up. Book 2’s cover is next up as well as the cover for Book 5 of Elemental Voice.

Stay tune for the next installment

September 24, 2023 0