My Luck Ran Out

I've managed not to contract COVID-19 for the last four years, but my luck ran out this week. DH brought it home with him from the Buick Nationals.

And now I have it.

COVID-19 brain is making any thoughts a little fuzzy. So, any writing done for the rest of this week will be a major accomplishment.

I hope everyone else is staying healthy this week!

Getting Things Done

For those who desperately want Invasion!, give me until next week. I've got to redo links because I dropped all the balls for anything that was supposed to be released in the last quarter of 2022. I'm just now uploading the print files for Hero Ad Litem. That's why I'm not releasing a lot for the first half of 2023.

In the meantime, I'm working on Death in Double Mocha, and I need to continue on Queer Eye for the Super Guy.

There's a lot to do in the next few months because I really want to go visit friends in other states. People I love and haven't seen in years.

I would have spaced out my journeys if not for the pandemic. And after four deaths in the family last year, I realize how short time really is for both me and my loved ones.

A Brand New Start

Last night was quietest New Year's Eve we spent in a long time. No parties. No fancy foods. DH, GK, and I spent the day cleaning out the apartment. It's hard to believe we spent six years there.

So we picked up fast food on the way home. Arby's classic cheddar and beef with Horsey sauce and an Andes mint chocolate milkshake for me if you're curious. I was exhausted and planted my ass on my recliner and tried to write. Despite doing a couple of sprints with some friends also trying to get words in, I gave up and watched TBBT reruns until the news and Stephen Colbert came on. DH and I toasted with diet soda and water at midnight. He limped back to his office to place computer games while I did some formatting during the rest of Colbert and James Corden.

So yeah. It was fairly uneventful.

I'd gone into 2020 with so much excitement. I was writing on a regular basis again. I was healthy enough to travel. I had a couple of writing workshops lined up to attend.

I had a lovely time at the first workshop in February. I planned to take my best friend to a Cher concert in Vegas, only to have it cancelled at the last minute because Cher got sick. We made up for it with an awesome Drag Brunch at Senor Frog's.

But during my layover in St. Louis on the way home, the newscast said COVID-19 was devastating Seattle and New York. The first known death from the disease was announced. I self-quarantined when I got home.

Just in case.

But I'm entering 2021 cautiously optimistic. Vaccines are being produced. A stand-alone Starbucks is about to open in town. I surprisingly made a few more bucks than last year. And I can't wait to get started on a new series.

I hope all of you have a peaceful and healthy new year!

Moving on to 2021

The move to the new house is almost complete. We still have a couple of closets to clean out in the apartment.

Because of the move, I'm truly, absolutely behind on my writing and editing. This week will be a buckle down and get publishing stuff done week.

In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out a graceful way to publish in 2021 and still get the house in order. I had felt so much excitement for 2020, and the first two months were marvelous.

Deep down, I know the next three months will be scary bad with the virus, even though vaccines are being produced. We all just need to hang on. Keep to social distancing, wear your mask, and stay home as much as possible.

We'll make it.

The October Status Report

 I tried to do the publish-something-every-month for 2020. It didn't work very well.

Part of it was due to the COVID-19 crisis. Part of it was due to a bunch of personal things. No, the cancer is not back, but I did end up in a West Virginia ER last week because of the stress from the bunch of personal things.

What does this all mean?

It means I'm going to take a couple of steps back and rethink my goals for 2021. I still plan to rewrite the Millersburg Magick series because it didn't meet the fun Scooby-Doo-esque feeling I wanted. I'd hoped to get this done over the summer, but I didn't succeed. I want to continue the Justice and 888-555-HERO series because they are so much fun. And I really would like to get the Soccer Moms of the Apocalypse series past the first couple of chapters I've written because I think they will be hilarious.

And right there is eleven novels.

 

So much for taking a step back. 

The publishing challenge did tell me my strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, the experiment was not a total failure. But it may mean some rearrangement of the 2021 release schedule.

2020 wasn't all bad. If I can stay out of the ER, I'll have a lovely new office to work in for 2021.

I'm Still Here!

I know I've been quiet lately. I wish I could say that after dealing with the fiasco of the launch of A Twist of Love, I was taking some time off. That is definitely NOT the case.

I haven't put out the paperbacks for any of my releases that were written this year. The Seasons of Magick Anthology doesn't count because it was finished and uploaded back in 2019. So I've been proofing a bunch of novels to get them out because there are people who prefer paper copies.

In the meantime, Genius Kid left his car with us while he went through basic and advanced army training. He was supposed to have leave between the advanced training and his next post to come home and pick up his car. COVID-19 blew part of that plan to smithereens. The army isn't letting anyone leave a base except for approved travel.

Now, approved travel includes being able to drive your personal vehicle from Base A to Base B, but what happens if you don't have your personal vehicle?

Darling Husband looked into a bunch of options. Most were going to cost the same. All but one required GK to leave the base, which left us with only one option.

Yep, driving the car down ourselves.

So during DH's driving stints, I proofread my formatted paperbacks. We stayed as safe as we could with masks, disposable gloves, and plenty of hand sanitizer. Now, we're quarantined at home per our state's regulations for fourteen days.

Which give me plenty of time to proofread my novels.

The next Justice Thalia story Murder Most Fowl is uploaded and ready across all retailers and will drop September 15th.

I'll start posting chapter for the upcoming 888-555-HERO volume, Hero In Camera, next week.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Off Sale

I've temporarily removed the three Millersburg Magick Mysteries from sale on Amazon.

I could fill several blogs with the reasons, but it comes down to COVID-19. This was supposed to be a light-hearted series, a la Scooby-Doo but with real magick. The final results are not what I hoped to accomplish with this series. Add in some mistakes because my head's not in the game. Top it off with supporting friends who've lost loved ones in the pandemic. It all equals to an emotionally fried mind and soul.

I'm planning to re-do this series. It's not normally what I would do as a writer. But y'all deserve my best efforts, and I don't think I delivered. Millersburg Magick Mysteries will be re-released later the summer.

In the meantime, I'll finish Hero De Jure because this story puts me in a much better headspace. Well, superheroes and lemon Oreos do.