Here Again, Gone Again, Jiggity-Jig

I received my novel back from the editor! She loved the changes, said that I managed to fix 99% of her originals issues with it. I was able to fix those in under a day and have already returned them to her for a final grammar pass. So, this is it, guys. I'm waiting on payday to order my cover, but that is the last thing big thing that I need to do. I have been working on the back cover copy so as soon as we have the cash I can send in my request. Hopefully, it won't take too long and I'll be able to do a cover reveal in May.

I am stupidly excited about it.

I still have work to do for its release of course. Arranging cover reveals on other sites and blogs, putting the book up for pre-order on Amazon and the rest. Getting the novel up on Goodreads, ordering the print copies... all of that fun stuff.

It's going to be awesome.

In less stellar news, due to Corvid-19, our local government has finally put official restrictions in place for the summer. No groups of more than 15 may congregate for any event. This means that for the first time in literally over a century, we won't be able to celebrate the Calgary Stampede. It also means that our writer's convention most likely won't be going ahead. Or, at least, won't be going ahead as scheduled. We've been told to expect an email later today on how they expect to proceed. I'll keep you guys updated on what that means as well. I am disappointed though. I was so excited, finally knowing that I was going to be able to share a new novel with all of the readers there.

In a final bit of whimsy, I'll let you know that I started playing Black Desert Online this week as well. While I will never be a hardcore gamer, I thought I would let you guys know that I am finding horse wrangling most enjoyable in it. Here is my character riding her two horses. The brown one is Alenos (a tier 1 stallion, the lowest tier and my first catch) and the grey is Dapple (a tier 3 stallion).

I'll end this post off with the hope that you guys are all staying safe out there. And let me know if any of you are playing Black Desert. I'm still hanging out in Valia mastering my animal training skills... let me know if you play and what you think I need to go and see out in the big wide world if you do? 😊

My First Panel!

Its been a heck of a week. My headaches happen when the temperature/pressure can't decide where it wants to sit. That means that in summer and winter, I may have a bad migraine or a bad day, but in the other two seasons, I'll get weeks when I have headaches every day and migraines on worse days. This week was one of those. Still, I got my editing finished and will be jumping back into writing again, either tonight or tomorrow.

Despite having one of those weeks, head-wise, I had a great time though. The most interesting bit of news is that this year at WWC, I am going to be on at least one panel, which is awesome. I'm gunning for three, but I haven't heard on the other two yet. Part of the delay is that we're just not sure if it's still happening. But the most exciting news is that I am going to have a workshop all my own that I'll be giving on being an author/artist with aphantasia. The main difference between a workshop and a panel is that a workshop is just me giving the talk. It's going to be my first one so I'm stupidly excited and really hoping it still happens this year.

The only other bit of news I have is really no news. I haven't heard back from my editor yet. I'm not worried and I've been keeping myself busy trying to finish book 4. Don't worry if I don't get book 2 back immediately. As soon as I finish book 4, if two hasn't arrived, I'll be picking up book 3 to start editing it, so I still have tons of work to do.

And that's where I've been all week. Hopefully, I'll be able to report back that my headaches have disappeared with warmer climes next week and book 4 rough draft done, if not book 2 in my hot little hands. Either way, you'll be the first to know!

Woot! I have my first paid job!

This week, I am still waiting for my novel. It isn't late yet, but I can't wait to find it. I have finally started writing on my novel again. I think I finished another 4k and then got a paid editing gig from Fiverr, so now I'm working on that. While I can't talk about the actual job, I can talk about the task of actually doing it.

I think I've mentioned before that I really love doing developmental edits. I have done this three or four times now and I love it every time. One of my favourite things to do is looking at books and trying to think about how to fix them. It frustrates the heck out of my husband because I'll tend to do it while watching movies, too. I remember watching Moana in theatres with him and getting to the part where she hands Maui the Heart so he can return it. Within seconds I was excitedly whispering to my hubby that this clearly couldn't be the end battle of the movie since Moana is the character that needs to change and grow, not Maui. My husband grumbled since he prefers leaving the retrospection to the end if at all possible. Heck, I like figuring out stories so much that I've taken courses specifically on understanding how good stories work.

This doesn't mean that I don't think my editor isn't useful. It is, after all, a truth, rarely acknowledged outside of the writing community, that you are always too close to your own story to judge it correctly. The Rules of Being an Evil Overlord, #5, states "One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that they are able to spot will be corrected before implementation." Like that evil overlord, everyone needs somebody to cough slightly to gain your attention and then tell you kindly but firmly what your problem spots are and why they are causing problems in your draft.

Anyways, that is what I'm doing this week. I'm hoping to finish it before my editor sends me my manuscript because it will kill me to not be able to work on it immediately. I am super excited to do so!

Eeek!

Hey guys! Sorry for no post last week. We are still self-isolating up here and while I'm used to staying in the house all day, I am not used to having my husband home all day. Thus, I've temporarily ended up changing the hours I spend awake and I'll be honest, its kinda weird. Nice to wake up in the AM, but that's about it. Fortunately, I've finally managed to change my sleep schedule somewhat. 

However, having my husband home all day means that I end up having no idea what day it is anymore. I'll try to do better next time.

As to what I've been doing, I've been working just a bit on writing, I've been spending half an hour or more trying to work on jewelry every day, and Hunting Fiends for the Ill-Equipped was finally released yesterday, so I spent most of the day reading that. I also made a point of baking some cookies to enjoy while I read. Aside from that, I've rediscovered my love for a little known game called Unholy Heights. The devil owns a condominium for monsters. Fight your way to world domination, while dealing with renters who refuse to pay their rent and must be evicted as well as defending your turf from adventurers set on taking your stuff. Its a great game. Simple, but hilarious. 

And that's about it. I'm signed up for camp Nanowrimo and set myself a goal for 50 hours. I'm at just over an hour now, but I'm enjoying the work. 

And that's about it. What have you been doing to keep yourself entertained?

Reading for the Self-Isolating

We're all finding ourselves with more time on our hands right now. But what to do while you're stuck inside self-isolating? The obvious answer is your favorite streaming service, but as a reader myself, I'm calling on all of you to try to read a little more. One of the benefits of reading in a situation like this is also that you won't feel quite as locked in your house. For a few hours a day, you'll feel like you're out of your home and in a completely different world. While I would love to hear that some of you are reading Hunter's Gambit, there are a lot of other great books out there for you to pick up. Many authors are discounting their ebooks specifically during the pandemic to give people something to do while they're stuck inside.

Laura VanArendonk Baugh is offering sales for physical books on her website and her books on Kindle are very cheap, as well. In particular, I can suggest her Kitsune series (Kitsune Tsuki & Kitsune Mochi) and her Shard of Elan series (Shard & Shield & Blood & Bond). The nice part about her Shard of Elan series is that the third book is coming out soon, so you'll have another out soon after you finish the first two.

Starla Huchton is offering most of her Kindle books for very good prices as well and I saw a post about her cutting three of those down to $0.99. In particular, I can suggest her Evolution series; think superheroes dealing with adult issues and throw in a bit of sex and romance. I found them very entertaining and like the way Starla writes her romances. Of those, I've read the first book of her Endure series, Maven and loved it as well.

Ana Johns's novel, The Woman in the White Kimono is also on sale in the Kindle store for under $5 and that was the best new book that I read last year. Consider it highly recommended by me.

As for what I'm reading right now, the book I'm reading from my 100 TBR list is Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra and so far, I'm rather enjoying it. Digitally, I'm reading The Hidden Princess by Georgina Makalani. As soon as I finish that book, I'll be reading my way through Annette Marie's Guild Codex: Demonized series; book 3, Hunting Fiends for the Feeble, is coming out on April 4th. For audiobooks, I'm currently listening to CE Murphy's Urban Shaman series, which is one of my favorites to date. I have also purchased and will be listening to Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs soon. This is the newest book in her award-winning Mercy Thompson series, another favorite of mine.

If you want to join me in reading any of these books, I am always looking to discuss books and share favorite quotes from them, so let me know if you decide to pick up any of these.

Taking a Week for me

This will be a very short post, so I'm apologizing in advance. My tendinitis snuck up on me this year and took me out this week. I'm under strict orders to rest my wrists, which means no writing or drawing for a few days. Which is sad, but since it happens at least once a year, I'm kinda used to it, even if I hate it. 

I will say that I and my family and friends are all okay and no one has caught Covid-19. My husband and I are self-isolating as much as we can. That means I'm staying at home and my husband (whose job is essential and therefore can't) goes to work and then comes straight back home.

I'll leave you with blessings that your family remains safe as well, remind you to isolate yourselves as well as you can, and I'm hoping that I'll be back, better than ever, next week. 

Personally, I suggest reading during your self-isolation to keep yourself entertained. It's about all I can do, since holding a mouse hurts too, which throws Don't Starve right out of the running. Oh, here's a WIP of my latest drawing. It isn't finished because of my wrist, so I'll post it again when it is done. There are a few things I still need to fix in the sketch (mainly connected to the head placement) and the colors aren't quite right yet. Aside from that, I quite like where it's going. What do you think?

Storytime - "We are smarter than I will ever be"

Okay guys, today we're talking writing, some storytime and how I fix my plots.

Research can be impossible sometimes. Normally for any rough draft, I'll find the information I need by doing a 5-click google search. This is something that was suggested by a Nanowrimo participant at one point. The general idea is as simple as it sounds. When you need to research something, you go to Google and put in your question. The catch is that you're only allowed 5 pages total. If you can't find what you need in those clicks, you put a little question mark on your page, describe what the heck you need to research and that's as good as it gets until you start editing.

Today, I hit a point where my research met my plot though, and I jumped into Google, trusting the 5-click google search to solve it. I needed, specifically, to know how people in the middle ages or Roman era would have tested the purity of water. Unfortunately, a 5-click search told me that they tested the purity of water by using sight, scent, taste, and temperature. However, beyond mentioning those things, they didn't explain it at all. And in my book, the thing they're looking for is tasteless, scentless and clear when dissolved in water.

I'm in a rough draft, which meant that I'd put in the earlier plot point, "test water". Unfortunately, I couldn't leave an entire chapter for editing that says "figure out how to test the water and show them testing it". This had now become a plot point. I needed to know this since it directly affects the plot. Unfortunately, partially because Google is a computer that does not know me and partially because I had a headache that was making it difficult to work (I can be honest) I couldn't find what I needed.

Obviously not a picture of me and my friend, but it works in this context. 

Then, while talking to a friend, it suddenly occurred to me that they might have the answer I needed. They are a chemist, by training and inclination and while I understand the basics of chemistry (that was a science I took in school and did reasonably well in), they naturally understood way more than I did. This all goes back to one of my favourite phrases on writing; "WE are smarter than I will ever be."

Of course, my friend didn't have the information right off the bat. I had to talk him through my problem, tell him why I couldn't use certain easier fixes and other ways to do it. But within about twenty minutes, we'd figured out what I needed and how to solve the mystery of my plot. I love the idea of what's going down, even if I still have to write it to figure out all of the exact ins and outs of how it starts happening.

It may be books away before you get to experience everything I'm working on, of course, but I can already tell that this information is going to make my book way better than what I could have come up with alone. And in the end, you getting the best book you can is the most important part, right?