Sunday, May 24, 2015

Just a Quickie

I did not participate in the A-Z writing challenge during the month of April. With moving and settling in, the time just wasn't there. I really miss doing it and for the first time in three years I didn't. I think I'll sign up for next year now.

In the meantime since June only has 30 days I think I'll do my A-Z challenge then. Look for my first blog to be on June 1st. I will skip the four Sundays and write the other 26 days. Not sure if I will have a theme or just write from the cuff. You'll have to wait and see.

Lots happening in my corner of the writing world. I launched Doris Plantus in February. Her book Sihastrul is flying off the shelves. It is speculative fiction, so a bit different. We now have it translated in Romanian and will be putting it out soon. The big news for her is because she is adjunct faculty at Oakland University (my alma mater for my Master's Degree), they are going to get behind her and give her a ton of marketing. Good for both of us. The more books she sells, the more money we both make.

I have edited once again Target of Vengeance and sent it to my wonderful design team at Blue Harvest Creative (www.justaddblue.com). They will give it a new interior and cover design and it will be re-released later this year under Lilac Publishing. It will also be available in ebook format when we are done.

I am working with Amazon.com attorneys to get my book Cold Case: Sleeping Dogs Lie taken down. The company who put it out has gone under and are keeping my royalties. Since I did not break the contract they owe me royalties for 2013, 2014, and  2015. I will never see the money. I want the book taken down, so I can send it to my design team and have a new cover and interior and re-release it under Lilac Publishing. It's frustrating, because I own the copyright. It is my work.

On an up note, I am working on edits for a book titled, Death Wind. It is about Native Americans. The cool thing about this book is the author is 94 years old and legally blind. It's been an interesting book so far and will by my afternoon project tomorrow.

See I'm finding ways to keep busy without getting into trouble. Those who know me well, understand this is a major accomplishment. I still find time to crochet, write letters, see friends here, and I'm thinking the pool is starting to look pretty good.

TTFN

Friday, May 8, 2015

I've Survived a Month


This have been my new digs for just over a month. Most of the time it's quiet and a pleasant place to be. Still and all it is an apartment. I hear the young woman upstairs from the time she gets home until she settles for the night. Not because she is noisy, but because like all apartment buildings no one puts in sound proofing.

I see the kids come home from school as they like to sneak in through the woods. I never hear them outside playing or carrying on like kids should. I don't even hear them when the ice cream truck comes through. It has been through twice for sure.

I have a north facing apartment so no real sunlight gets into this place. Someone needs to tell their interior decorator, north facing apartments need cream colored walls to make it lighter and appear larger. This grey-beige color is depressing. Which is why I try to go somewhere every day.

This week I am starting to use the library more. I've made copies and used the Internet to make other copies. I've set up an on-line account so I can read magazines on my computer and have learned there is no known writing group on Johns Island. Food for thought.


I purchased and put together two bar stools so I can now eat at the counter. Tomorrow I'm cleaning the counter to make it possible for me to eat there and work on the computer from there. I will set one end up as my home-office and one end as my dining area. The bar stools are neutral enough to go anywhere and I only purchased two. I'm not expecting to have large crowds of people here.


Monday I'm going to look at this little gem. It's on the largest lot in the neighborhood, but I'm thinking the person who owns it likes privacy as much as I do. There are trees and bushes all around the property and you could miss it if you didn't know it was there.  While I know it has prison windows, I really want to see what is inside. According to what I have learned so far it was built in 2007. Someone was going for an old fashioned look. No, it does not have wood siding. Yes, it does need a storm door, something you see very rarely in this area. I do not understand.

My training with Next Steps continues Monday morning and I have additional training on the CareTrac database. It is a program to keep us from duplication of services. Some of our participants are registered with other outreach organizations in the community. I'm keeping busy.

TTFN

October Already

 I'm not sure where the time has flown. June was an exiting month. July was a mess. I had a change of medication which caused me to gain...