It’s just after eight in the morning and my house is 63 degrees right now. I left select windows and the skylights open all night, so all that nice cold air could flood in. It’s called cold trapping, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. The windows and skylights are closed and the house’s improved insulation should retain the cool, easing demand on my AC.

The next door neighbors really ought to learn this trick. I swear, they keep their house at 63, if not colder, all summer.

Their AC unit is right outside my bedroom window. So I get to listen to it all night long.

writing

I worked outside yesterday afternoon again. More on Absolutely Alyssa, Book Seven in the Tales from the Sheep Farm series. Better use that link in the header and catch up! I’m on Book Seven and you’re on book… Which one again?
Speaking of catching up, I switched how my book is distributed to Kobo and get a report from the old distributor for Kobo Plus reads and… well, that was a year’s worth of reads. Thanks to everyone who’s been reading my books via Kobo Plus! That’s a nice chunk of change.

It’s a nice way to warm up after this cold trapping! 63 is a bit chilly!

Safe House is, yes, still on sale! Only seven more days, so you’re running out of time to take advantage of the sale price. As (almost) always, there’s a discount at my direct store!

Since the end of the month is in sight, it’s time to remind you to max out your loans at Libby and/or Hoopla. I know a number of indie writers who’d love for you to borrow their books from the library. I’m one of them.
But it’s a win-win-win. You get to try a new author for free, although I’m not a new author to you.
The author gets paid for the borrow. (Not every author!)
The library gets to brag about their circulation numbers. With libraries under fire by the government, it’s up to us to use them and protect them.

editing

Hey! One of those eight manuscripts arrived!

Now to finish up what I’m working on and start that one… it’s nice to see these manuscripts arriving.

Book of the Day

The Body in the Paddy Field by Nadishka Aloysius
(As always, this is an affiliate link)

Not cold trapping your house? Not one of those wonderful people reading my books via Kobo Plus? Maxed out your library loans? You can still support me by donating directly to my ko-fi. Easier than a monthly Patreon (or not, since you can’t set it and forget it), and all money goes to operational costs here at West of Mars. Lots of us small businesses are hurting right now, and I hate to say it, but I’m not immune.

If you follow me on Facebook at all, you’re familiar with my Thursday evenings spent in the library. I bring MacDougall — also known as the West of Mars Portable Office — and sit and write.

I had to go on hiatus from this in June, and last week was supposed to be a return to the habit. And it is habit forming; don’t get me wrong. Two hours to do nothing but churn out words? My own words? Paradise.

Last week, I had a Boy Scout meeting during that time.

Yesterday, the reason for the Thursday nights in the library came home from school hobbling… and I spent the evening with her at the doctor’s office… sprained ankle. As I suspected.

No Thursday night at the library last night. Possibly no Thursday night next week.

“Oh, come on,” I can hear you saying. “You can write just as easily at home.”

Err, no. I can’t. With one kid using voice chat as he Minecrafts and the other wanting to spend time with me…

I love my kids and they come first in my world. But every now and then, I do yearn for those dedicated two hours in the library, just me and a screen and no other worries … except what the people looking over my shoulder are thinking as they eavesdrop on a work in progress.

I was at the library, working on what will be Demo Tapes 4, and I decided to treat myself. I was going to go find myself a romance. Hopefully, a good, hot one. AND it was going to be a work of Rock Fiction.

How hard can it be? I figured. All those Rock Fiction books have the same sorts of titles. Rock Me. Backstage Pass. Spotlight. (Nevermind the 90% of books that don’t have cliched titles… gimme a break. I was tired.)

But you know what I noticed?

On almost every exposed spine — and there were many — the book’s title was so far down, I couldn’t read it. Maybe I could see part of it, but that was it. Part. There were author’s names and pictures of half-naked men, but titles?

All hidden under those library stickers.

I gave up on romance and wandered into the general collection, where I encountered some books by Maya Banks. I’ve wanted to read Maya’s books for a long time now — since I met her at RT 08, most likely — and a glance at the back cover copy showed me … I’d found it. A romance, hopefully hot, by an author I have been eager to read. Did I mention it’s Rock Fiction?

Slam dunk.

Oh, and the title? That oh-so-rocker-like Sweet Possession.