July 16, 2025
The weather can be gross during Safe House. Grab your copy — did you know the main character is nonbinary? If you’ve read either Maybe the Bird Will Rise or Populated, you’ve met them already!
I went outside last night after dinner. It was still in the mid-80s, but the shade made it bearable. And I opened the louvers, to shake loose more dried leaves — and got quite the shower; I need to remember to do that before I go out — and had some extra light. Funny how now that we’re past the solstice, I’m wanting the natural light and not the pergola’s LEDs.
One thing I’ve noticed, over and over again, in my life is that when I say something that includes the word “never,” it comes to be. In this case, it was “I hope I never have to give up editing.”
Sigh.
I’m still waiting on those four manuscripts to arrive. Two are overdue. One was here and withdrawn. One’s not due until next week.
I’m editing my own book as I wait. May as well, right? Y’all are waiting for it…
And yes, I’m doing it inside, not in the gross outside. That’s for the actual writing part!
Which brings me to my writing. Not much to say. Slowly catching up on the word deficit around here… and I’ll be adding to it again tomorrow night, since we’ll be at The Block Northway’s Farmer’s Market. I’ll be with Cristina Rouvalis and Lydia Wayman, who have written a wonderful middle grade book about a young woman with autism. And cats! Stop in if you’re in Pittsburgh and say hi.
Maybe the Bird Will Rise is still on sale at Kobo (US and Canada only) until the end of July. It’s of course free with Plus (ebook only!), but if you aren’t a Plus person, 99c is a great price to start the series.
Or you can pay $1.99 and get it at the Smashwords Summer/Winter July sale. The rest of the Sheep Farm books are the price, so for just under ten bucks, you can have all five. Add in another $2.48 and you can have ALL my recent releases!
Want more books for that under ten-dollar price? The Trevolution is ALWAYS free during the Smashwords sales. That’s six more books!
Thirteen books. Twelve-plus bucks. C’mon. THAT is a deal.
The Gurugu Pledge, by Juan Tomas Avila Laurel and Jethro Soutar (Translator)
Like usual, this is an affiliate link.
Reminder! The best ways to support me and keep the Book of the Day coming to you (and for free) is to support me in other ways. Book my editing services. Buy my books. Leave a review online, talk about my books to your friends, read via Hoopla or Libby and your library. And, of course, stuff my Ko-fi, either with cash or grab a copy of the Beta Reader’s Guide and/or the Writer’s Guide to Library Events.
Keep it cool, friends, and avoid the gross outside if you can. Or… wait for the shade to take over the spot you want to occupy. That’s what I’ve been doing.
July 9, 2015
You all know I’m a music lover, so “summer strains” could refer to some really cool music I’ve been listening to. And go ahead and boo me, but the new Five Finger Death Punch single cracks me up, especially once you know the backstory to it.
But no. Sadly, summer’s a tough time for me. The pulls of being outside, the need to work, the kids underfoot — I sadly live in a place that leaves us almost 100% dependent on cars to get around — and in need of supervision lest they become sucked into their computer screens and the games and manga that are filling their days. It’s tough. It’s very tough.
The good news is that my clients continue to be amazing, and my calendar continues to be full. June was my best ever June, although still the worst month of the year. New opportunities are still knocking and I’m doing my best to fit them all in, but how much can one girl cram into her life? Especially when, this summer, I’m spending three days a week in parks… when it’s not raining. Feeding the troops is a challenge even though we’re all good cooks, and then we have to get out the door. The past two weeks, one’s walking in when two are walking out. Crazy busy. It’s a strain, yes. It’s tough.
And I do love it. Well, not all this rain (can we send it to California please?) or the desire to be outside. But the job, the clients, the fiction. My kids crack me up, and they are smart enough to find themselves good friends. This is the good kind of summer strain: the strain on my pantry as everyone feeds themselves!
So blogging may be scarce. Paying work always takes precedence. The new admin over at The Rock of Pages still needs to get up and running and to pull Jett back into writing the reviews she owes me, you, and the authors she made promises to.
Lots going on… it’s all good. Except the rain.
And in all this, I do have openings in my schedule for August! Leaving them open will mean finishing up some of these in-progress projects but the simple truth is I need the editing every bit as much as I love to do it. It’s hard to get lazy and procrastinate when people are depending on you. But wait until you see what I’m cooking up now! You’re going to like it, especially those of you re-thinking your publication plans in light of the changes Amazon is making.
Stay tuned and keep sending your manuscripts and your friends my way. It all works out, and character is what we gain from the summer strains.
