My bestseller at Blythe Books, as part of the Great Pittsburgh Book Crawl! Pick up your own copy; what are you waiting for?

So I did it. My first solo signing in at least a decade, but probably closer to 15 years. Selling in a bookstore is very different from selling under the tent!

Today, I start getting the kid ready for the big move to the new gig.

editing

I’ve got about 100 pages left in my current edit, and then about a day’s work after that, cleaning things up.

One of the six I’ve been waiting for finally arrived and I’ll be working on that in between getting the kid ready for the move. The client knows I’ll be delayed because I wouldn’t feel right not being brutally honest. That’s kind of what my clients know me for. That, and really good editing.

writing

I made my stretch goal with Absolutely Alyssa over the weekend. I wasn’t expecting that, between the kid coming home and the signing yesterday, but baby, I did it. I just came home after the crawl and the signing, let the kid have their space for a bit, and got lost in the story. Lizzie at Blythe Books told a couple potential readers that it’s great escapist fiction, and that was the highest praise!

Book of the Day

Water Moon, by Samantha Sotto Yambao
(Affiliate link)

As always, if you’re digging the content, my ko-fi would love to be filled, or if you would rather, pick up the Beta Readers Guide and/or the Writer’s Guide to Library Events. They’re both in my shop, and seriously. I’d rather they help writers and beta readers and librarians than make a killing on them. That’s code for “it’s set to pay what you want, including free.”

Of course, now that the crawl is over, I need to come up with a new form of mischief, a new way to challenge myself… got ideas? I’m open to hearing them!

Here’s my table again. Will it look like this tonight, at the Indie Author Bash?

I am STOKED about today. (I’m also considering pre-napping.)

Lunch with a couple of good author friends, and then I’m hitting the road to Ashtabula, Ohio for the Indie Author Bash, hosted by author Chelsea Banning and Pretty Good Books. I was a late addition to the roster of 50 authors, and grateful they had room to include me. And I get to meet Chelsea! We’ve been buddies on Threads for a bit now, and if you open a copy of her Of Crowns and Legends, you might see my name in it, depending on which edition you get. Might. Maybe. Go look for yourself.

So that brings us to the daily updates:

editing

Not much to report. I’m talking to other editors, and we’re all agreeing that right now requires flexibility in our pricing and billing practices. The times are what they are, so let’s survive them together.
(And remember: Editors deserve living wages, just like every other person out there.)
I’m still waiting on those seven manuscripts… three have been promised imminently, so let’s see which arrives first. My money’s on the longest one.

writing

Not much to say here, either. I got a bit of work done, but also was fighting a migraine. Spring allergies? The lovely scent of mushroom manure left by the landscapers as they correct the damage done by the contractors? I’m not sure, but it did go away quickly.
Safe House is still on sale! Grab your copy, and remember there’s a further discount if you buy it at my shop.

Book of the Day

Island Queen, by Vanessa Riley

As always, links to Bookshop.org are affiliate links, and any pennies earn there go to operational expenses here at West of Mars.
If you like what you see and want to be more directly involved in that “editors deserve living wages” part, here’s my ko-fi. Or send a friend over for an edit.

And if you’re at the Indie Author Bash tonight, be sure to say hi!