Happy Monday!  I’m still playing catchup and have several unchecked boxes on my to-do list – which I’m hoping to take care of before vacation.  I’m keeping the vision of waves, sand, a chair, books, and an umbrella at the forefront of my brain for inspiration.  And I have to make my list of beach reads!

Last weekend we visited with my oldest son and went to see The Lion King.  At around two-years-old, he was obsessed with it – shirts, shoes, sheets, a sleeping bag, and action figures he took everywhere – we contributed a lot toward Disney’s healthy bottom line.  He also watched the movie on video every night.  Hubby and I could probably still recite it from memory.  Seeing the new movie with him was special – kind of like coming full circle (or circle of life – you know I just had to throw that in).  We all had the same opinion – the new version wasn’t bad, but the animated one is still  better.

In case you missed it next week, I still have openings for Bad Moon Rising in October.  About half the spots filled up the first day, so contact me at tpolen6@gmail.com soon if you’d like to participate!  Click here for more details.

This is the week.  Subject A36 is due on Thursday, August 1st.  I still have to write the acknowledgements and a couple of minor things, but thanks to a village of friends (mostly the incredibly talented writer and editor, Staci Troilo), the blurb is written.  After the book is turned in, I have a long list of things waiting for me – house cleaning, books to review, book fests to prepare for, etc.  And Bad Moon Rising – I’ll be posting sign ups within the next couple of weeks.

And vacation in a few weeks!  Hubby and I are headed to the beach – it’s been several years since it was just the two of us.  I already reserved the chairs and umbrella when I made the condo reservation – now to decide which books I’ll read.  Tons to choose from, but I have to narrow down the list.  Hubby stil has to schedule his golf tee times.  We’ll both be in our happy places.

Hubby and I watched a couple of movies last week.  Isn’t It Romantic with Rebel Wilson – A waste of talent and 90 minutes of my life I’ll never get back.  Second Act with Jennifer Lopez – not bad for a rental movie.  I’ve got a couple of things on Netflix I want to try – Another Life (alien invasion series) and Point Blank (couple of actors from Marvel movies) and two on Amazon Prime – High Life (space mission hurtling toward a black hole) and A Ghost Story (indie movie with Casey Affleck).

Happy Writing and Reading!

 

 

Last week was a good week.  I finished my edits and sent Book 3 to an author who generously offered to blurb it (and also recruited a friend to give one!).  Thanks to a good friend, I took care of a plot hole discovered by my editor, so that was also a huge relief – after a big moment of panic.

Speaking of Book 3, I mentioned last week I’d decided on a title.  A friend and I brainstormed ideas while driving to Memphis, then my editor mentioned some ideas which also incorporated what my friend and I had come up with, so it seemed like fate.  Without further ado, I present to you the long-awaited title of Book 3:

Subject A36 (Book One of The Colony series)

This week I’ll be working on the acknowledgements and description, which is sometimes harder to write than the book – for me, anyway.  Wish me luck.

I finished the third season of Stranger Things, and it was mind-blowing, humorous, and bittersweet.  Each season is better than the previous one, IMO.  Those young actors do an outstanding job.

Did anyone catch the new trailer for Top Gun: Maverick?  If you didn’t, here you go – enjoy!

 

I have three different levels of good news to share with you today.  Good news – I finished Book 3 and sent it to my editor on Thursday.  Fantastic news – she sent it back to me on Saturday night!  Staci, you’re an editing rock star.  About damn time news – I think I have a title.  I’m mulling it over this week while doing edits, and I hope to share it with you next Monday.  Woohoo!!!

This past weekend, hubby and I traveled with friends to Memphis.  Half of us had visited before, but it was a new experience for the rest of us.  It didn’t start off in the most promising way.  On Wednesday, the IHG hotel we had reservations with emailed all of us.  Their AC was out, and we were instructed to call their customer service line for assistance.  Long story short, IHG needs some serious remedial training in customer service.  They were absolutely no help, and we were on our own to find another hotel.

Anyhoo, we made it, and Friday night was spent eating BBQ, dropping by the Peabody Hotel for dessert (you knew it had to be chocolate), and listening to music on Beale Street (sorry the pic’s so crappy).  Saturday, we toured Graceland.  I’m not an Elvis fan, but I was in the minority – hubby and a couple of friends with us were huge fans.  The grounds were beautiful, but the house is much smaller than you’d think.  Visitors were permitted to tour the first floor and basement, and the 70s decor (lots and lots of shag carpet!) brought back some memories of the house I grew up in.

If you’re thinking of traveling to Memphis, I’d highly recommend City Tasting Tours.  We chose the Arts District Food Tour, and it was sensational.  Not only were we treated to some delicious, appetizing food from four different restaurants, we learned fascinating details about the area and history of the district from Christina, our fabulous tour guide.  By the end, the six of us were well-stuffed, and had throughly enjoyed outselves.

Well – I’ll be busy on edits, acknowledgements, and a book description this week.  Happy writing and reading!

 

Happy Monday, guys!  Not sure about you, but we’re roasting here.  I feel like we live inside a dryer turned on high – the heat and humidity are miserable.  When it’s like this, I stay inside with the AC.

My beta returned her notes a week ago – she had some fantastic ideas, and confirmed some things I already suspected in the back of my mind – and I’ve been hunkered over the laptop for the past eight days deleting, rewriting, and adding/deleting POVs.  We’re going out of town this weekend with friends to Memphis (first time for me), so my goal is to get this done, sent off to my editor, and enjoy the weekend without thinking about the book every second.  This is also why I’m so behind on visiting blogs – I promise I’ll get to yours!

I’ll post more about it this week, but with some expert help from a friend (thanks, Staci!) The Gemini Connection now has a new description on the back:

Planet Tage is dying, and the best hope of saving it is gone.

Seventeen-year-old identical twins Evan and Simon share an extraordinary bond, a trait that’s both useful and invasive. They use their connection in their work at Scientific Innovations. Evan is a Mindbender, someone who enters the minds of scientists to spark ideas, join thoughts, and battle nightmares. Simon is a science prodigy and Tage’s best chance of survival.

Unfortunately, their unusual link often bleeds into their private lives. When Evan discovers his brother is keeping a secret from him, he lashes out and ignores requests to talk, and even pleas for help. By the time Evan tunes back in, he finds their connection severed and Simon missing.

He suffers a terrible case of survivor’s guilt. Moreover, he’s desperate. The fate of the world rests on Simon’s return, and Evan is willing to do anything to get him back—even working with his greatest rival, who also happens to be Simon’s boyfriend.

Evan finds allies among enemies and adversaries among friends. When nothing is as it seems and everything is depending on him, he must explore a dangerous aspect to his twin connection he never knew he had.

If he fails, he’ll lose both his brother and his world.

What does this mean for you?  A Christmas in July sale!  I have a stack of books at home with the old description I’m selling for $10, and will ship them to you media mail.  If you’d like to purchase one (or more!) email me at tpolen6@gmail.com

I usually mention what I’m watching, but this week, it’s what I’d like to be watching.  I’ve been waiting for so long – Stranger Things is back!  Season 3 dropped last week, but because of the rewrites, I haven’t been able to get to it yet.  I forsee bingeing in my future.

Happy Rainy Monday!  At least here, anyway.  Rain and more rain.

I’m participating in The KU Addicts Express Spring Into Summer Facebook Hop through this Friday.  If you like free books and other prizes, this is the place to be.  Go HERE to the main page, and you can hop from there.  Or you can go to my FB page HERE where I’m giving away signed copies of Sarah and The Gemini Connection.  Over 100 participants = lots of prizes!

A few weeks ago, I was part of OWS CyCon 2019.  Can’t believe I forgot to mention this earlier, but Timothy Bateson read an excerpt of The Gemini Connection, and he did a fantastic job.  If you’d like to listen, click HERE.

Have you guys taken the Myers-Briggs personality test?  Last week, I received an email with reading recommendations based on personality type.  It’s been years since I’ve taken it, so I gave it another try HERE.  Turns out I’m INTJ-A.  After reading the description, it sure does explain a lot – and it totally nailed my parenting style.  The test is around 10 minutes – give it a shot and let me know your type.

My oldest son was here for the weekend, and we saw Toy Story 4.  When he was younger, he had a Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story bed sheets, and we went through numerous pet goldfish named Buzz and Woody (until they were found floating, and we waved goodbye as they swirled around the toilet bowl), so it was fun to be able to see this with him.  And it’s a great movie.  Lots of laughs, and I loved seeing these characters again.  If you have some time, go see it.

Have a great week!

With Book 3 in the hands of my beta reader, last week I treated myself to seven days of mostly just reading.  It was wonderful, relaxing, and with hubby out of town, very quiet.  Just me and the cat, and dinner out with friends one night.  This week will be different.  I need to get started on the book description, and a list of authors to contact for blurbs.  If anyone wants to volunteer, feel free!

Then there’s still the title, of course.  Epiphanies and lightning bolts of ideas are in short supply around here.  I keep waiting for the perfect words to fall from the sky and appear…somewhere.  Billboards, songs, books I’m reading – still nothing, so far.  The waiting continues.

This past weekend was Keanu Reeves-themed – not planned, it just kind of happened.  On Saturday, hubby and I saw John Wick 3.  Not as good as the first one, in my opinion, but still a darn good summer movie.  On Netflix, we watched Always Be My Maybe, a rom-com (hubby loves them), in which Keanu has a small role and plays ‘an extreme comedic version of himself’.  Trust me, it’s hilarious.  The movie was enjoyable, and if you’re a fan of rom-coms, I’d recommend watching it.  I’ve been a Reeves fan since Point Break, and was also thrilled to hear he’s voicing a character in Toy Story 4 – which I hope to see in the next couple of weeks.

Several weeks back, I mentioned Black Summer, a zombie apocalypse show on Netflix.  After watching the first four episodes, I decided these characters were too stupid to live, and I was rooting for the zombies.  Weeks passed, and I gave it another chance.  Stupidity is still rampant, but there are also plot holes big enough for a zombie horde to easily pass through.  Verdict:  I’m done.  Life is too short.