May 5, 2025
I’ve felt like a Pink Snowbunny in hell this weekend, stuck at home because my mechanic can’t fix my tire until today. It’s been a Looooooong ten days, friends. Cross fingers all goes well with the mechanic and I didn’t do anything dumb like bend my rims. Also? Driving on a donut tire is NOT FUN.
One last note: While the Pink Snowbunnies In Hell anthology is now out of print, you can read my story, The Taste of Pink Snow, in the Broken but Undaunted collection, and you can get THAT at any retailer, Libby, Kobo Plus, and other retailers, including my own for less than the other retail sites. Just… not Hoopla. But feel free to request that Hoopla carry it again!
Clearly, I’ll be taking weekends off from posting here, and I’m okay with that. I’m allowed a few days off and things like “Not missing a day in years” aren’t the badges of honor we often think they are. If you’re chained to a task, when are you exploring the other facets of life? As an editor first and then a writer, the more I know, the more I learn, the better I am at my crafts.
I decided I hated this version of Absolutely Alyssa (the third one, mind you), so on Sunday, I deleted the whole thing and wrote 2500+ more words on a fourth entirely new version. Some books are not born easily.
I’m hoping to finish up this first readthrough of my current edit today, but that’s going to be dependent on my car. I need to stop at the grocery and bank on the way from picking it up.
I’m still waiting on those same six manuscripts, and I’ve been fielding a nice number of potential clients… but they seem to make contact and then ghost me. I’ve learned not to stress; it’s hard to be the one rejecting others, especially in a field so full of rejection. The right people will find me and benefit from my editorial skills, much as I’d love to edit for every single author out there. It’s just not practical!
Catfish in Paradise, by Joi Jackson
If that’s not proof I pick these randomly, nothing is because if I were engineering the Book of the Day, today’s book would have been about a car tire, or something automotive-related. It’s been hard being stuck at home!
Reminder that if you like my content, rather than a Patreon model, I’ve got a ko-fi that you can fill. Or you can pick up the Beta Reader’s Guide, or the Writer’s Guide to Library Events, and pay what you want for them. Support comes in many ways, including simply following along here, and/or telling your friends.
Cross your fingers that this is, indeed, the end of the tire saga for me!
April 24, 2025
I have a super busy day today, and we are starting off with a delightfully chilly morning. (Saving Sima’s here because it’s set in the late fall and there’s a couple times where characters are cold, and what do you mean that’s a lame reason?)
Wow. A lot going on here!
Today’s the monthly Pennwriters meeting, and I am meeting someone before it even begins, on a quick personal matter. All’s good, and the Pennwriters meeting is one of my favorite diversions of the month. I always suggest this type of format to other writers who want to connect — we have no agenda. We just sit and chat and conversation meanders from the personal to the professional, and we swap tips and team up for things and commiserate and it’s just a wonderful vibe.
I got yet more reports from Kobo Plus, and thank you to everyone reading the Sheep Farm books via Kobo Plus! Don’t forget most of the rest of my catalog is available too, and I of course recommend the short story twins, Permission to Enter and Broken but Undaunted. (The “most of” is because the Complete Demo Tapes is only available through my online store.)
And yes! Safe House is still on sale! Again, thanks to everyone who has picked it up so far, and if you haven’t yet, what are you waiting for? Yes, you can start the series here.
And since it’s Indie Bookstore Weekend, I encourage all my Pittsburgh friends to stop by Blythe Books and pick up hard copies of the Tales from the Sheep Farm series. All are pre-autographed. And if you ask, you can get your hands on the only copies of Saving Sima, Legacy, and Permission to Enter that I left there when I did my last restocking run.
OR
Come see me at the Bad Bitch Bazaar on Sunday. Not quite an indie bookstore but a pop-up bookstore, my friends Mary Walsh and Paige Staudt are going to join me on Craig Street and we’ll be glad to put our books directly into your hands.
Wow. Is that enough? It’s more than enough for me!
Like I said, one of the expected edits arrived. I won’t make much of a start on it today, with the Pennwriters meeting and all, but I can’t wait. My roster of authors works very very hard at their craft and I can’t wait to see what this author has come up with.
The Curious Secrets of Yesterday, by Namrata Patel
(As always, it’s an affiliate link!)
How’s that? Lots going on. Wasn’t I just complaining the other day that life was boring?
It’s these chilly mornings. I’m tellin’ ya. It’s the chilly mornings.
And a reminder: If you’re into what I’m doing here, feel free to buy me a bottle of fountain pen ink. Other ways to support me include buying my books, but also reading through services such as Kobo Plus or even your library apps! I get paid if you read that way, too, and it’s always good to support your local library. Plus, your tax money is underwriting the costs, and when else do you get such a great benefit from your tax dollars?
