I’m out for the holidays.  Both sons will be with us for the next several days, so you know how excited I am.  And we’re seeing Aquaman tomorrow!  I’ve heard mixed reviews, so I hope I’m not disappointed.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!  See you in 2019.

I’m out for the rest of the week.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I don’t know about you guys, but it’s a rainy Monday morning here.  It’s been several weeks since we’ve caught up, so let’s do something about it.  This will be a quick post – meant to write it yesterday, but life got in the way.

Wish I could say I’m caught up on visiting blogs by now after Bad Moon – but I’m totally not.  But – this is my first time participating in NaNoWriMo, and I’ve met my word count goal every day so far!  For someone who struggled to get 500 words per day two months ago, it’s a huge achievement, and I have such a feeling of accomplishment after recording my progress every day.  My biggest obstacle to word count in the past was editing.  Going back over what I’d written the previous day, then taking far too long choosing the perfect descriptive words was sucking up valuable writing time.  First drafts are messy, and no one but the writer should ever be put through the torture of reading them – but when they’re finished, you’ve got the bones of a story, and something to work with.

I haven’t made it to the movie theater in weeks, and there are several movies (Bohemian Rhapsody, First Man) I’d like to see – but it just didn’t work out schedule wise.  However, it’s a safe bet that I’ll show up for The Crimes of Grindelwald.  I mentioned several weeks back that this season’s American Horror Story looked promising, and with only one episode to go, it’s at the top of my favorites.  Sarah Paulson and Kathy Bates are always a pleasure to watch, but a new actor to the series has really impressed me this season – Cody Fern.  He’s enthralling as Michael, and he’s  steals every scene.  Okay, yes, he’s playing the Antichrist, but he does it so well.

Fern also turned up in the last season of House of Cards.  I’d looked forward to this final season, with all the backstabbing (sometimes literally), political maneuvering, manipulation, and deceit.  Kevin Spacey wasn’t in these last episodes – but everything was about his character.  I’d hoped it would be Claire’s (Robin Wright) story, and it was such a disappointment.  When all was said and done, I actually yelled out loud in disappointment.  No many unanswered questions.  It definitely ended with a whimper.

Have a great week, and if you’re participating in NaNoWriMo, hang in there!

 

I’m back from Penned Con 2018 in St. Louis!  Had such a fantastic time meeting authors and readers.  Didn’t sell a ton, but other writers said their first year was the same way, and sales increased in subsequent years.  Already booked my table for next year – and it’s over my birthday, so I’ll take that as a positive sign.

I’ve been working on the Bad Moon Rising posts, and nearly half of them are done.  All slots are filled, and I think everyone has sent in their info.  After seeing so many tables decorated for Halloween at Penned Con, I’m in the mood for all things fall – cooler weather, football, Smores, and horror movies and books!  I’ll post an author preview list this Friday.

My current WIP has been giving me fits, and I’ve struggled with the basic outline I work with.  I’m already 20K into the first draft, but in my gut I knew something just wasn’t working.  While at the hotel over the weekend, I made a sloppy kind of diagram, with arrows, lines, question marks, comments – if I’d had yarn and thumb tacks, it probably would have looked like a crime board.  But I think I’ve figured it out.  The story in my head won’t fit into one book – looks like I’m working with a duology, friends.  It’s not something I planned, but you know how characters can be when they want to tell their story.  This is foreign territory for me, so more planning is in order.  And a mega ton of more writing.

On the TV/movie front, I watched the first episode of this season’s American Horror Story: Apocalypse, and it’s totally captivating and off to a promising start.  I have high hopes for this season.  Hubby and I just finished Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime last night.  I’m a huge fan of The Office and John Krasinski (A Quiet Place was exquisite), and he’s completely convincing as the ‘just an analyst, but also pretty badass CIA agent thrown into the field’.  We’ll definitely be watching season 2.

Wishing everyone a great week!

I’m leaving tomorrow for Penned Con in St. Louis, MO – both of which are new to me.  Another writer friend recommended the conference, so I’m hopeful, and it’s just a bonus that it’s in St. Louis, which is only slightly over a four hour drive for me.  An audiobook has been downloaded (can check one more off my TBR!)  – I’ve discovered listening to one significantly reduces my road rage and makes for a much more pleasant drive in a sea of idiots who seem magnetically drawn to my car.

To the right is some of the swag I packed.  Some of the giveaways other attendees are bringing look pretty awesome, and I’m hoping to get some ideas.  Mine includes the basic bookmarks, Gemini Connection wristbands, and stickers.  Magnet bookcovers, a couple of notepads, and a few tote bags are all freebies from Shutterfly.  I always enjoy walking around and checking out the other tables (some are really elaborate) and meeting new authors.

So if I’m late getting back to comments or visiting blogs, cut me a little slack while I’m hopefully selling tons of books and making new friends.  Have a great weekend!

 

 

Last week wasn’t huge for the WIP because of a couple of unexpected things that came up, but it wasn’t entirely bad, either.  Saw this mug online somewhere and thought it was pretty cool and kind of accurate.  Also, red wine works.

If you guys know me or read this blog regularly, you know I’m a fan of The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead.  I’ve always thought the writing was outstanding, compelling, edgy, and occasionally wildly creative – more so on TWD then FTWD.  But last week while watching the latest episode of FTWD, I found myself yelling at the TV over how a life-threatening situation was handled that two characters found themselves in.  Picture this – a howling, severe storm outside, one adult female and one female teenager trapped in a rapidly flooding basement.  They try the door leading outside – chained shut.  The windows – too narrow to break or fit through.  They’re standing on boxes, the water up to their shoulders, and instead of looking for an axe, a saw, bolt cutter – anything that could help them escape – THEY DISCUSS THEIR FEELINGS.  Are you kidding me?!!!  I guarantee you, if Rick and Daryl had been in the same situation, there wouldn’t have been any tender, heartfelt moments shared between them.  At that point, I was drowning – in disappointment, disgust, anger – and would have happily fed them to the zombies myself.

Just a heads up – The Gemini Connection will be on sale for $0.99 September 2nd through September 4th, so if you don’t already have a copy – here’s your chance.  Tell all your friends!

I still have a few slots open for October’s Bad Moon Rising featuring horror/thriller/paranormal authors.  Details here.

Have a great week!

 

Last week was a good one for the word count – woo hoo!  Butt in the seat, and words on the paper.  I’m somewhere between a planner and a panster (planster?).  I start with a one page outline-ish sort of road map, but occasionally making the transition from point A to point B is a stumbling block until I know the characters a little better.  And another new character introduced himself yesterday, but he showed me the path I need to take.  I’m expecting today to be a good writing day.  On a Monday, even.

We got the youngest son moved back into the dorm this weekend, and I’m not insulted that he was happy to get back to school.  With three weeks of downtime after his last European tour, despite seeing friends nearly every day, he was bored.  He’s happiest when he’s busy and working on his music – which is exactly what started yesterday with marching band.  Before he left, I pulled the Mom card and made him play a couple hours of video games with me.  And the dorm was amazing!  A beautiful lobby on each floor with updated furniture and flat screen TVs, a cooking show-worthy kitchen with granite and stainless steel appliances, a theater room that I wanted to live in with several rows of theater seats and surround sound.  And he and his roommate have a private bathroom.  Dorms have come a long way since I was in college.

I’ve seen several blogs lately mentioning BookBub, and my emails from BookBub have tripled.  They have several articles for authors about how to increase your following, and ideas for marketing books.  I’ve had a couple of readers recommend my books on the site, and I plan to start spending more time there.  I’ve also been working with my publisher on running a BookBub ad sent out to targeted readers.  I’ll let you know how it works.  Follow me on BookBub here!

Didn’t see any new movies last week.  Avengers: Infinity War was just as good the second time.  I’m still loving Yellowstone with Kevin Costner.  It was a short season with only ten episodes, and the season finale is this week.  Also need to get caught up on some DVR shows – Preacher, Legion, and Archer.