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Summer thus far…

one_does_not_simply_have_time_for_that-212891

The person who made the above meme is a genius. A friggen genius. Because in that one little sentence, it sums up my last month.

My kids got out of school in early June. Yay me, right?

No. Even though the last two weeks were a whirlwind of things to go to, be ready for, etc, it was nothing like the past month. I have had company, which I LOVED. Please don’t misunderstand. I love the people who are willing to come and stay with me.

But I get nothing done. And normally, folks, this wouldn’t be a bad thing. Because I love my days of lazy.

L-O-V-E.

However, I have been blessed and fortunate enough to stop working outside the home, and be an author. Yes, with Thea’s Tale now in digital and print form, I call myself an author. In a slight topic change, it’s rather scary to title myself that. I’ve never assigned myself a career before. It’s always been something I’ve been hired for, or gone to school for, or whatever. One more new and awesome thing about being Lisa Manifold, Author.

Back on topic. While everyone was in school, I had 4-5 hours a day to write. And I did. Now – pffffft. Nada. It’s late and I’m hiding out in front of the computer. I should be writing, and I have a project to finish. But it’s so nice, so very nice, to be here, sitting alone, in the peace and quiet for the first time in nearly a month that I am not hyper-focused on task, but am doing all the little things I’ve missed, like writing in my blog. Catching up on my boards.

On the positive side, I had an amazing time with my family. Mesa Verde, the Grand Canyon, and Glenwood Springs. All with kids old enough to see and appreciate the places we were. We clung to toe-and-footholds in Mesa Verde. Stargazed at the Grand Canyon. Did slides and sat in the therapy chairs in Glenwood. Those are memories that will be with me always. I hope that the same will be true for my kids. Just for fun, here’s all of us on a short mule trip. I wanted to get them introduced to the idea of mule rides, because one of my bucket list items for the family is a mule ride to the bottom of the canyon.

mules

It was amazing. So there’s that.

But I’m greedy. I want it all. ALLLL. I love what I do. I love that I’m a mom. Didn’t plan on it, ever. But decided to have kids, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. Love that my sweetie works hard for us all so one of us can be with the kids. I also love that I get to work from home, and do the best job I’ve ever had.

And THAT is what I am whining about. That I haven’t been able to go to work for weeks. I MISS it. Like crazy.

Having whined, and off-topic-ed all over you all, I am now going to report that Casimir’s Journey is still on track for August. One Night At The Ball is in final stages, and I am working on getting it to my editor. The cover is GORGEOUS. Absolutely gorgeous. For those of you who have read Thea’s Tale, this is the story of Catrin as a young woman. I’ve had readers ask, What is the deal with Catrin? She needs to have some wine and chill out.

Well, Catrin has…issues. She really does. She’s awful to Thea. Almost irrationally so. I’m hoping, with One Night At The Ball, it’s a little more clear as to why. Just for funs and teases, here’s the cover.

onatbtype1b

I’m really excited for this. Catrin’s story came to me while writing Thea’s. It made what happened in Thea’s Tale so much more…understandable to me.

SO. There’s my month. I’m looking forward to being back on track, getting some writing time back into my schedule, while enjoying the family for the last bit of summer vaca. I know, some of you are saying What? It’s only July! We have odd schedules here.

I’ve dawdled long enough. Need to get back to work.

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The Woe is Meeee!

I belong to a great group. Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. I have been a member for almost two years now, and have taken the step to volunteer for more. Recently, I took over the task of Newsletter Editor.

Whoa. Whoawhoawhoa. Woe.

The previous editor let me know it’s about ten hours of work a month. She was right. More, this time. Why? Because it was my first time putting one together – the first time putting ANY newsletter together. So let’s just say, ‘learning curve‘ and leave it at that.

Well, actually, let’s not. I really like MS Office Publisher. It’s fairly easy – but – and this is a big but – the templates are NOT your friend. Maybe it’s because I am newsletter-impaired, but a fair amount of my learning curve was trying to work with the templates. Which I chose because I thought, Oh, this will make things easier.

No. Just. No. That’s where it went to Woe. Much, much woe.

Finally, I tossed the template, and started from scratch. Did it all myself. Note to self and you – look at the Page Parts section. Then look at the additional parts link offered. Parts is parts, but using them made it look better.

In a year, I’ll look back and give a scoffing laugh at my humble efforts, I’m sure. But right now, I feel pretty good. Because I taught myself something that I hadn’t done before. With only a normal amount of colorful descriptives (see previous post).

As well, as an indie author, being able to put together a newsletter that you’re not ashamed of is important. It’s one of the ways you communicate to your readers. With One Night at the Ball releasing soon, I’ll be sending out my first newsletter. Now I know how to do it. I won’t lie, the thought of building one has been rather daunting. But having put together one in a really short time frame because I tossed my initial work – I know I can do it, and it won’t be all that bad.

So there’s my PSA today. Go outside of the things you normally do. Learn a skill – and don’t be afraid to step up and volunteer to learn it. Things that confounded me – I went and Googled them. You can find anything on Google. You can usually find a video of how to do it. (Yes, I know this intimately.)

But everything you learn can be used moving forward. And we should never, ever stop learning. Something to keep in mind – because it’s easy to forget when you’re just trying to get through the day.

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Celebrating the small things

So through one of the people who have stopped by, I discovered this wonderful thing, a blog hop. I hadn’t heard of it before, but I did a little reading, and I love the idea. You post a celebratory thing – whatever that thing is – on your blog on Fridays.

It’s easy to be a bitcher. I’m pretty good at it sometimes. I have to stop myself, and remind me that I do indeed have a good life, and a lot of my stuff is first world complaints.

I love the idea of celebrating the good stuff! So here goes.

This week, I am kind of back on schedule. I had company last week, and as much as I would love to move in with all those ladies (I’m serious) I am excited to be back to the regularly scheduled program.

This week I made it to all my kids’ stuff. Presentations, gathering the items for the presentations, and a field trip. Plus a doctor’s appointment.

AND – I uploaded my second bit of my serial novel. I’m finishing the next bit today. I also managed to make a decent cover. That’s a feat.

It looks like my novella will be done in a (relatively) timely fashion. Fingers crossed.

What’s your good stuff today? We all have it. Mine are all small. But add them together, and I think, dang. I had a good week.

For those who have lost family in the service of our nation, I thank you. And my thoughts are with you. Being willing to die for something is so damned noble, I don’t have words. Thank you.

We owe it to them to look up, see the small things, and enjoy them.

http://lexacain.blogspot.hk/2015/01/celebrate-small-things.html

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The Warm-n-gushies

So my book has been out for a little while.

Most of the people who bought it know me. Bless them.

But – there are those who I don’t know, and I bless them for taking a chance on it as well. Because they don’t even have the excuse of knowing me, LOL.

I’m going public here, and saying I took a Big Chance with the ending. BIG CHANCE.

I am a passionate reader, and I ADORE the HEA – the Happily Ever After. A-DORE. As a reader, I am pissed, as in go online and bitch pissed, when I don’t get a HEA, or when the author chooses ambiguity. I said it. I’ll go to my fave reader forums and complain.

Except. And here’s my saving grace – except when I know the author is doing a series and they’re not gonna leave me hanging there on the cliff edge like the hapless heroine from the talkies.

So back to me, since it’s all about my warm-n-gushies. My ending for Thea’s Tale was a chance. I took it, because it’s been the ending since I started thinking about this book last year, and I KNEW I was doing a series, so I could….well….stretch out the HEA.

Because trust me, I believe and support and adore the HEA.

The response I’ve gotten from those who have read it, both the folks who know me and those wonderful strangers who don’t is “Wha—-??? WTH, Lisa? Where’s the next one?” If they know me, a, ah, colorful descriptive may be attached to that last sentence.

So today, I heard from someone whose email addy I don’t recognize. And the person was commenting on the ending, and how they needed the next book. I read the notification, and sat back in the Chair of Creativity and Knowledge, and was stunned. Pleased, and stunned.

Someone I don’t know was affected enough by my Big Chance to not only NOT hate me, but tell me to bring it on with the next one.

I LOVE that. I don’t have enough colorful descriptives to express how much love there is.

With that, One Night At The Ball will be out by month’s end. (My editor is colorful descripting me right now.)

Casimir’s Journey has an August 2015 publication date. Given the feedback, and my overall schedule, I am working (I swear!) on getting it done sooner. (Editor is gnashing teeth again.)

The feels, guys. Seriously.

sheldon

random

The….Feels.

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Random-osity

I was thinking about my blog, and thought, Oh. I haven’t posted in a while. Bad Lisa. But then, I haven’t had a lot to post.

I had to clean my house like mad, because my friends were visiting and I got a case of the “I must clean or they will judge me and talk about me in whispers” syndrome. That makes me laugh, because none of my friends care about that, but I think we all THINK they do. Until everyone shows up, the wine bottle is opened, and you realize that all is really well, and no one cares that your dog pooped on the deck. (I have a little dog. He hates going downstairs to the grass.)

So that’s what I did for two weeks. Cleaned. Organized. Got ready for people to come to my house and actually stay. It ended up being so much fun. I didn’t sleep well because we stayed up and laughed hysterically over stupid stuff. For nearly a week.

Now everyone is gone, and the end of year school stuff is hitting. I don’t want to embarrass myself with the number of emails I got updating me that contained things of complete mystery and surprise to me. I believe there may have been a response to a teacher inquiring whether I had actually signed up to chaperone a field trip occurring this week.

Why yes, I am indeed Mother of the Year. LOL.

Needless to say, this is cutting into my writing time. I have a set schedule, so I’m a bit tetchy. I’ll live, and make my deadlines but lord. I WANTED to write all week.

However, I tell myself that my kiddos will not want me around for much longer as a chaperone for field trips, or anything else for that matter. I enjoy their field trips, and being with them. They still enjoy me. Since they are my children, I can already see glimpses of how teenager-hood is going to go, and it ain’t gonna be pretty. I want to enjoy having a relationship with my kids while they still let me.

That’s my public service announcement for tonight. Hang with your kids while they’ll let you. You can make your deadline for whatever it is you still need to get done. Blink, and they’ll be ditching you in public whenever they can.

Wish me luck in the dissection field trip.

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Thoughts on my first week.

Thea’s Tale went live on Tuesday. It’s been a great week. It’s getting a little traction. A couple of reviews, some borrows,some sales. I’m pleased. It’s staying in the top 100 for my genre, and in the Hot New Release section for my genre. All of that is fantastic.

So I’m browsing around Kboards today, and I come upon a thread that makes me go to Google, and see what I find.

What do I find? Evidence of the same thing the author of the thread was discussing. My book had been pirated.

In all honesty, I don’t know what to do. I want to be outraged, and in way, I am. At the same time, I know it’s part of digital publishing.

I think it’s a measure of how much I’ve read about this that my first thought, upon seeing the page with my work on there (other than, How in the hell did they get an audio book download? I haven’t done anything near audio yet!) was…Well, wow. There are reviews.

Wish they’d post them on Amazon. So I am posting them here.

Surprise! I actually like this.

OH MY GOD! This has got to be one of…if not the best book I have ever read. It was written so well, and the characters were all amazing.

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This is it

In less than twenty-four hours, my book is live.

I’m so nervous, and excited, I almost don’t know what to do with myself.

Over the course of the year spent writing this, I have undergone several plot revisions, different directions, name changes, and it’s not the same book I imagined a year ago. It’s better.

Thea’s better. I like her even more than when I started. She’s grown, come into her own, stretched her wings.

I feel as though I have done the same.

After tomorrow, I can say, I’m an author. I write books. I actually sell them.

After tomorrow, my career is something totally different.

What a concept – to change your career and life with the click of the mouse.

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Organization!!!!

I’ve been so busy with writing that not having a looming deadline has left me sort of at odds.

I’ve caught up on sleep. My house (see previous posts, LOL) is now clean. Organized…not so much.

I am one of those people who gets overwhelmed with trying to get organized. Lord, the paper piles in my clutter ‘Hot Spots’. Like many of us, I look at the clutter, and go, “Well, dang. What am I gonna do with this mess?” I consider where to start, and then get depressed just thinking about it, and go and watch a Jane Austen. I feel marginally better, because Hey, at least I considered it, right?

This means I have what my Dear Husband calls the Corner of Hell in our kitchen. It’s where paperwork goes to die. The kids have a Corner of Hell with their things – because I don’t insist on getting rid of stuff (my poor kiddos – I already see some pack ratting in them). I cannot even begin to discuss my closet and dressers. Yes, I have three dressers. They’re not all the same size – but one really doesn’t need three of them.

I was bemoaning this earlier in the year to some of the ladies in my Tuesday critique group. I think clutter is a universal language. Recently, one of the ladies shared what has become a solution for her.  It’s this.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KK0PICK/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title

The whole idea is to only keep things that bring you joy.

That idea is thrilling to me. One of the things I’ve struggled with over the years is that the act of acquisition is fun for me. Particularly if I can get it for a bargain. Lord-a-mercy, I love a bargain. For a long time, I didn’t bother to look and see if I NEEDED it. I paid attention to the fact that I wanted it, or thought I did. That meant I ended up with a lot of STUFF.

Home decor is a prime example of this. I have specific things I like to have in my home. I search them out, and the hunt is as fun as having them in the home. But I don’t have enough wall or display space for all the things I have. So I have begun to pare down my decor. It’s really HARD. I also bought two more display cases, but I’m not going to chastise myself over that. It organizes things, right? And with more space, it will allow for the things I have to be more readily enjoyed, right? LOL. I am actually moving one case down into my office, thus freeing up space for enjoyment in more places in the home.

I digress. Back to the book, and the premise behind it. Several of the ladies in my group have started working through their clutter hell based on this book. They report a high level of success so far. They also report that they feel better. Lighter.

I have company coming in two weeks. I want my house to show to the best advantage. So I am going to be employing the techniques listed in the book, and working through my areas of embarrassment.

I will keep you all updated on how it goes.

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Book baby thoughts

So in two short weeks, my literary baby will be heading out to stand on its two little feet. Like any parent booting the kid out, I’m nervous.

Now that it’s finished, I know it. I KNOW it. My editor asked me a flurry of questions the other day. I knew the answers to every single thing. Some of it wasn’t anything that was in the story, but it was part of the arc that I knew. Know. By heart. After the amount of time it took to get those details sorted, that is a thrilling feeling. I’m all atwitter even as I type it.

Like a child, I know so much about Book Baby. I know the whys, and there are things that are non-negotiable. No, my character will not be buying a vowel (I used medieval spellings for some of my characters names. I’ve gotten a little…flack for that). No, I will not change that name. (Another character.) There are things that when I’ve gotten suggestions to change I think…eh. It doesn’t change what I want to share and makes the work flow smoothly, so sure. Why not? There are other things I get absolutely stalwart about and WILL. NOT. CHANGE. I’m always surprised by both.

And while the writing of it was a solitary thing, the getting the book out there is NOT. Not at all. My editor has been invaluable. My bestest critique partner has been as well. My critique groups (I have two, I know, I know, but they both kick ass, so there it is) have shown me things that I wouldn’t have considered. They’re also completely unafraid to tell me the truth. It’s couched in the criticism sandwich, but they say it.

I’ve wanted to finish and publish a novel for…oh…years. I did some serialized bits last year, but it’s not the same. Technically, it is, but it sure doesn’t feel the same. I’ve been in a daze since I concluded that I was done. And ready for the editorial eyes to latch on like a lamprey.

I was reading a blog somewhere else – it was Hugh Howey, I think – and he said that he never wanted to lose the joy that came from publishing something new. I agree. I never, ever want to lose how wonderful this feels. Of course, being able to speak coherently in full sentences would be nice, but I’ll live.

So if you have that novel lounging around in your head, waiting to get out, time to get to it. I won’t lie – getting this finished – to the point where I was no longer saying, ‘Oh! Just one more thing!’ is not easy. But it is easily one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever done.

So there it is. tl;dr – Go write your own Baby.