2014 in review

Well, we survived the holidays, where we ate too much and sat around enjoying days off and being together. I thought it might be time to do a wrap up of 2014, since I haven’t posted to Ye Olde Blogge in a while.

I’ve been busy writing stuff, when I haven’t been sick. Most of 2014 was spent lying around feeling like crap. It was horrible, and my biggest wish for this new year is to not be sick. Between whatever weird virus-thing I picked up last year — oddly enough, it was on January 4th — and the sinus infection in August, I spent the better part of the year under the weather. Bah, humbug!

Anyway, I’m sure you only really want to know about what’s going on in the chicken coop. I’ve heard you muttering about the lack of updates and cute pictures. Yes, I’m talking about you, don’t try to look innocent, it ain’t working. Sadly, there are no recent pictures, but the girls are doing fine, still laying pretty well. We’ve got a light in the coop that comes on just before dawn and twilight, staying on for about a half hour each time, to give them a little more light so they give us a few eggs, usually three a day.

George is still King of the Coop, and tells the world daily with his crowing. He talks to a couple of other roosters in the area, mostly bragging about his girls, I’m sure. He’s a handsome devil, and knows it.

The garden didn’t produce as much as I’d hoped, what with a late spring and very wet conditions throughout the season. Still, it was worth the trouble, and the basic structure is there for the coming planting season. My brother and I will be working to expand the garden, because we plan to grow some portion of the food for the chickens. The more I can grow/raise myself, the cheaper those eggs get.

I’m still writing. I publish most of my stuff lately into the new Kindle Unlimited program, which works really well for the short stories I have up. I’m trying out a new genre and a new pen name, but still working on the other stuff I had going on. I’m also getting to some more pure romance stories, though science fiction and horror are still my faves.

After reading a recent Dean Wesley Smith blog post, I'm going to work towards achieving what he called Pulp Speed One, which is one million words this year. It sounds like a lot -- well, it is, really -- but broken down into a daily word count it's reasonable and I'm sure I can get there, if I keep working. I picked my One Little Word for 2015: "consistent". My word for last year was "persistent", and I strove to persist in reaching my goals. All in all, I did pretty well.

I’m not sure how much I’ll do on this blog, though I’m hoping to post regularly. I have a blog about Gothic romances that I really want to do something with, and the publishing site I set up earlier. That will be getting the majority of my attention, because business.

The family is doing well, both parental units are maintaining their health, my siblings are doing pretty good, all things considered. And my boys are fine. Number One, Second-of-Three and Sk8monkey say Hi! See them behind me, waving and grinning? Yeah. They’re so cute. <3

And there you have it, folks. You’re all up-to-date on my exciting life, with a promise to write again soon, and I swear I will start taking pictures to post. It's no wonder I still have so much scrapbooking stuff, the way I take pictures.

Ta for now!

Horror fans, October is going to be a good month.

Mostly because I’m participating in a promotion for the month of October, called 30 Days of Indie Horror! (Oh, come on, you had to know it was all about me, didn't you? ha ha ) My collection, Zombie Town, is being featured on October 6th. You can read one of the short stories for free, yo.

Julie is also having a Rafflecopter drawing for some books from her publishing company, so if you’d like a chance to get some free horror books, check it out. And while you're there, enjoy some good fiction by indie authors. There are lots of good writing to be had in the indie world.

To see the schedule of authors, and get more info on the drawing, you can check out this post of Julie’s.

I’m pretty excited to have my collection listed there, and to give folks an opportunity to check out one of the stories (it’s the whole story, not just an excerpt, too). This is a story I wrote especially for the collection, so it hasn’t been posted anywhere else before now.

The book is actually selling pretty well for short stories, so I’m pleased with that. Novels seem to sell best, and novels in a series best of all, so having people buy the collection is pretty awesome.

I’m working on a few things that I want to have ready to publish before the end of the year, mainly a science fiction novel (tentatively called Landfall) that I've been working on for a while now, but keep putting on the back burner, and the sequel to Bound in Amber. I’m plotting out a few other things, like a couple of SF romance serials, one of which I'd like to start this month, a horror novel and a PA book about an asteroid impact. 

The last two would be the first stuff out early next year, and there's lots more I have on my idea list.

Belated Happy New Year, and random ramblings.

I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful New Year, and if you're superstitious, that you ate the traditional black eye peas, greens and ham. We had everything but the greens. Yech.

We did do another superstitious thing, though:  I put all the cash I had in an envelope, wrote what we wished for in the new year, and placed it outside the house before midnight. Then Second-of-Three (aka my middle son) brought the envelope in after midnight, as he is the tallest and has the darkest hair.

I forgot to do this last year, and needless to say, money did not come rolling into our house. So I didn't take any chances this year. Sound crazy? Maybe so, but it doesn't cost anything, or hurt anybody, so I'm good.

Despite my best efforts, I still haven't gotten the habit of regular posting on the blog down, and that's one resolution I'll be working on this year. I need to shake things up a bit. I'd been working on a new header, and that will probably get up in the near future. I've been contemplating a new color scheme as well. Who knows what I'll end up with? Well, you will, if you stop by, I guess. har har

I'm continuing to work on the resource page for writers. Thanks to some great and patient help from Second-of-Three, I managed to get links that work, so you can go directly to the subject you're interested in rather than having to scroll down. I've found a few new things to put in. Maybe a "new" icon would be helpful, too. I'll look around for one. And figure out how to make it work with blogger, which can be extremely annoying for me at times.

My writing has suffered over the past couple of years due to issues with my parents' health, as you'll know if you've read here any length of time. I've semi-committed to a challenge over on the kboards, which has the lofty goal of one million words this year. Yes. I am crazy. I'm just hoping to be inspired/shamed/goaded into doing a fourth of that.

I also will be getting back to a low-carb eating plan -- I'm not looking forward to the carb withdrawal, but I'll deal. The first time I did this, I cut down rather than do the famous -- or infamous -- induction levels, and it wasn't too bad. I really need to get some pounds off, and following Dr. Atkins' plan is the only way I can do it.

I've tried just about everything else over the years, short of surgery, and that's not going to happen. And no more repeats of that whole vegetarian thing. I gained 60 pounds! Egads. There's a post on kboards about writers who want to lose weight, too. I spend a lot of time over there, it's the best forum I've found for self-publishers.

So, there you have it, Gentle Reader. The first awesome post of 2014. Aren't you glad you stopped by? I know I'm glad you did. Best wishes to you all for a safe, happy and prosperous year, take care and come back soon.

My one little word for 2013

I've written about the concept of one little word before. It's a scrapbooking thing started by Ali Edwards a few years ago. You can read more about it here.

I've been pondering what single word sums up what I want for next year, and it came to me early this morning:  focus.

Focus has been a problem this past year (my word was completion), due to family issues and my mother's near-death following a partial mastectomy. I did finish my novel, and a couple of short stories, but many more works remain partially done because I kept letting myself get distracted.

Of course, those early months while Mama was very sick from her treatments were way more serious and important than my writing. Or so I told myself. Yep, I'm a procrastinator. Big time. But it was hard to think of anything else when she was feeling so bad, and we were all so scared.

I've thought about what I want to accomplish this year, writing-wise, and I've come up with what seems to be a reasonable list. What I have to do now is keep myself focused. Which means I need to work every day on some part of my writing, whether it's actual words written, covers designed, editing, formatting. Whatever needs to be done.

There was a good post on Dean Wesley Smith's blog the other day that got my attention, and made me think about stuff. This was part four of a series he's done, and they are a fantastic read.

After some serious thought, here's what I'd like to get done in 2013:

New Fiction

• one short story a month
• 3 novels: at least one of the series following Bound in Amber (which I call in my head "the books of the spell bound"); my SF novel, Landfall; the apocalyptic/post apocalyptic When Goliath Fell

Non-fiction

• my doll repair/dressing books: there are two, for two different dolls, one of which is partially done

Other

• compile short stories into collections
• make a boxed set of the Spell Bound series
• edit the novel my sister's MIL wrote
• get ebooks in print

Of course, if I can get more done, I will, but this seems like a doable list. I had way too much in mind for this year, and I've felt really down on myself for not getting more done.

Posting the list here will give me some accountability. I'm thinking if anything has to go, I won't do so many short stories, but I hope to get my butt in gear and finish this list. I've been at this for about eighteen months, and it's time to get serious.

So, there you have it, Gentle Readers. My great plans for world domination. Reminds me of that Pinky and the Brain cartoon. snort  Take care and ring in the new year safely and lots of silly hats and noisemakers.

Gosh, is it 2012 already?

It seems like just yesterday we were saying goodbye to 2010, and now a whole new year stretches before us. For the last couple of years I've done a little thing inspired by the scrapbooking hobby, called One Little Word.

Well, truthfully I only do part of it, since I don't really document it throughout the year. I need to work on that part, but I am motivated by my word to work on things in my life.

Last year, I chose the word "success", and I feel that overall I had a successful year. I have written and published several short stories, as well as a collection of five holiday-themed stories, and had a good amount of sales.

The word for this year is "completion". I have so many projects that are in various stages! It's unreal. So after much thought, I've decided to work on completing things, whether it's writing, crafts, business or home-related.

I have also worked out a publishing goal for the year:

4 novels
12 short stories/novellas
the doll repair/dressing book
the novel I'm editing for my sister (it's her late MIL's work)

If I can do more, I will, but I feel this is a reasonable goal in regards to my chosen word, and my work-load in other areas. I have probably half of each item done, it's just languishing on my hard drive.

My sister wants us to work on growing our wedding officiant business, and that will take up a considerable amount of time, as does my crafting business. I hope that having more of a plan will let me focus on the things that need to be done, rather than flitting from one to the other.

So there you have it, Gentle Readers. Keep on keeping on, and remember to be happy.