End of year status

Sorry I haven't written in so long.

Toby dying and getting the new cat used to me took it out of me. I'm feeling better now but I still don't feel as comfortable as before.

My computer is still in the shop. Not enough money available right now. Especially with the new truck.

Did I mention that my car broke down too.
When it rains it pours.

Hopefully the new year will be better.

I'm starting the new year off right and going to the mega write in.

I am going to write old school with pen and paper. I got three stories on my mind and I may just work on all of them. Stuff is just building up in my brain and it needs to get out before my head explodes.  I so miss my computer.

I'm still writing down my story ideas. Not too many have come my way but then my mind has been mired down with other things.

Hope you all have a happy new year

Status report for October

Love my new place. I'm getting used to the different noises.

I'm working on the Bible for my first sci-fi novel. I'll be able to input the data in the computer as soon as I get it back. I decided that that's the next book I want to do.

Of course that's the only one that I can remember where I stopped.

I was working on four book when the computer went down.

I am so far behind on everything.  The Time-lostseries needs to get out there. As does Alliance books.They each got different voices.

I'm going to finish the Elemental Voice series but I think I'm going to do the first books of Time-lost and Alliance beforehand.

Those books are planned for 2019. Anything else will be gravy.

New place

I made the payment on my computer. So I am off on the schedule. Hopefully I will be able to make the other payments. Writing old school just doesn't cut it.

I'm selling stuff on FB marketplace. Just little items. I got rid of a lot but still have a few things that need to go.

I like the new place. I turned the dinning area into an office. So I have an actual living room and separate office.  Instead of them being crammed together. I need to clean though. I got stuff spread out.

Oh and I got a dishwasher! Love it.

Back

That was a hard 2 weeks without a phone. No internet access either.

But I'm moved

I still have 4 boxes to go through and put away. I'm also selling stuff. I sold a few things before I moved and left a few things.

Toby and I are settling in.  Hopefully we stay.

Next month maybe we'll be able to work on getting my computer.

Help needed

I got a friend helping in the morning with most of my heavy stuff but no one to help me in the afternoon.

Anyone have some free time? I'll buy you a soda for you trouble. Most of it is boxes and miscellaneous.

Found

I found an apartment!!

Yes!!!

I'm either moving in this Friday or by next Friday. Toby's been showing anxiety so he knows something's up.  So have I for that matter.

So the next few days are going to be busy.

Status

Still looking for a place.

Got 2 apps in. These application fees are for the birds.  $20 here, $20 there, and $30 someplace else. I'm spending my deposit on application fees.

Anyways my computer is still in the shop. No money for it.

I'm packing a little at a time so I don't get overwhelmed. My anxiety is bothering me. So much going on.

Packing and work.

I got rid of some of my stuff. Saves on the packing and moving. I got a few things on the FB market place. Little things.  I need the money and they're taking up space right now.

The anxiety is so bothering me. I need to get everything squared away.
Otherwise I am doing okay.

Another tat

Still looking for a place. All these application fees..  I'm spending my deposit on those fees.

I'm packing a little at a time.  I still have awhile to go.

I've been reading a lot of fan fiction.  Nothing much on TV and I've read all my books several times this month. My computer is still in the shop. No money to spare.

Everything is in a holding pattern. Well except for apartment hunting.

I'm a nervous wreck about not having a place yet.. And about having to do things in one day. Small Windows and all that.  It'd be nice to have a PA for the next two months. Square me away.

A brief tat

My search for an apartment is ongoing.

I'm just realizing that I really have to move by the end of this month. I tentatively scheduled movers for the 31st. A lot of the movers are busy with students right now.  College starts soon.

Also I get paid that day.

I've also scheduled a walk thru with my landlady.

Computer is still in shop. No money for it right now. He'll keep it til I can pay.

Man do I miss it. I haven't been writing a lot. Old school pen and paper just ain't the same. I got spoiled by my computer.

Packing ain't coming along at all.  I haven't even started.  When I moved here I got rid of a lot so I probably will when I move again. I hate packing so...

Toby was scared when we moved last time. Hopefully he'll take this move better.

Just wanted to check in. I'm still here. Real life just has me for a while.

A tat

Still hanging.

Saw this bottle and liked it. Too bad I don't have space for it. .

Computer still in shop. .

I've been reading.  Pen and paper still going for my stories. Not very far along. Harder to write old school.

So I m still around.

Still here

One of my favorite tees.

Next check I'm paying a payment on my computer.  A third.  Hopefully I can swing the rest by August.

I've been sick the past couple of days. I'm feeling better today.  I have to venture out tomorrow so I hope I feel well enough to. Bills don't pay themselves.


I've been reading mostly this last week. Two books by David and Aimee Thurlo . Second Sunrise and Blood Retribution. I'd give them each 5+ stars.  Vampires and shape-shifters. In today's society Hidden  but not . If you read them you'll see what I mean. Great books.  Makes me want to write on my shifter book.

But that will have to wait.  I have too many books on my plate right now and no computer.

So I'm hanging on still.

Old school writing just ain't the same. But I'm at least getting some writing done.   I even have the cover for the time-lost book done.

Being without a computer sucks.  So does being poor.

And I'm both!

Hanging on

Just checked my mail box and found the July issue of Writers Digest.  Finally something good and new to read.

I'm totally broke right now.  Well, 50 cents to my name.

I wrote a few pages for my time-lost book. That's the only one I can remember where I stopped on the computer.  So I guess I'll be working on it until I get my computer back.  Hard to write without names and places. But I'm using placer names until I can .   Maybe I'll get a lot done and only have to type in.  I'd like to finish at least one book before October.

I should be able to pay at least half and maybe get computer back by August. Depends on final cost.

I've been cleaning out my bookcase again. I got rid of some more books that I don't care for anymore. Some of my taste seems to have changed. I still like my normal genre but I seem to have moved on. Some of the books don't interest me any more.  Half of the romances were scrapped. I got rid of some of the books in series and only kept the ones that I thought were the best in that series. And my thrillers are down to six .  I am streamlining. I got limited space.

My writing books made the cut of course. They have their own bookcase and a whole empty shelf.

So I am hanging in there.

At least I have my phone to check emails andFB.  Doing this blog is an exercise. I can't see what I'm typing. So please forgive any misspellings.

Suggestions

Anyone recommend some books for me to read?

My computers going to be in the shop for awhile. I don't have the cash to get it out right now.

I've read my backlog of books so I need something new.

I like mystery, sci-fi and fantasy.  And of course supernatural.

So anyone got some suggestions?

I love going to used bookstores.

Still in a holding pattern.

New computer is ready but I don't have money.

Read a book, then reread. Just in case I missed something. Now I'm bored again.

Old school is not working for me. I can't change things or rewrite unless I scribble. Messy.

And I used to do this all the time.

I can't see what I'm typing on the phone. So I hope you can read this.

You really don't know how much you depend on something until it's gone. Though I knew I depended on my computer a lot. The phone is just not the same.

This has put back all the books. I still plan to have at least one book out by October. I have a signing tentative my set then.

Exploding motherboards

My computer is in the shop. So no more updates until I get it back.

I have to go old school. Pen and paper.
Such a boomer.

Everything is set back.

Rumors

I heard some talk about my Elemental Voice series and wanted to set it straight.

EV is written the way it is for a reason. It is a series within a series. The Jaci Travers character of Mortal Voice writes the EV series.  That's why EV's kinky and a bit campy. It's a romp through Jaci's mind.

MV is written in similar style but with a twist. A serious twist.

So don't judge MV by EV.

My time-lost book.

Deeper into the Past is a terrible title for a sci-fi book but that's what's happening. They're going into the past, past misdeeds. I thought about calling it Jihad since it concerns a religious war. Both past and present in the book. The more I think about it the better I like Jihad. But I don't know...There's a lot of negativity to that word.

Well, I have time yet to think of a title.

There are five time-lost books. So five titles to come up with.

I messed around with canva.com and did some 'fake' covers. Pics I liked. So I have something to work with when I figure out the titles.

I have temporary titles for my Alliance books as well as covers using those titles. Just started on the bibles for them. 

Got a lot of bibles to put together.  I work on them when I can't write. Keeps me 'at work', even though I'm not working on a book per se. Without the bibles I'd be lost.  Too many books to keep track of. My head is just full to the brim, overflowing actually.

Which is why I write to begin with. Get all this out of my head.

They say we only use 10% of our brain. I think writers use more.

Bit of a word

I opened a time-lost book.

It was knocking at my brain harder so I decided to open it. So Flames and it are open right now on my computer. Flames is next on the list to be done and so is Wind, but the time-lost book has been on my mind for awhile and won't go away. 

I've been dreaming about the time-lost book. 

It's tentative title is Deeper into the Past. I'll probably change it as soon as an appropriate title comes up. I'm twenty pages in so far. Most of which was already done. I added a page when I opened it.  The plot bunny for it calmed down when I wrote that page.

It's been hot in my apartment this last week. I haven't felt like writing. I've been reading and doing covers for my books. Everything in my apartment is electric and I'm already behind on my payments to CU. So I've been working on the computer in the cooler morning, then laying in bed reading in the afternoon with the windows wide open. Sleeping's been rough too.

 I finally broke down and turned on the air this afternoon. . I'm sure Toby was happy I turned on the air. He can't change his fur like we can. (clothes)

And the first thing I did was take a nap!  :)

So I'll leave open Flames, the horror story, and Past.  Those are the three I'll work on now. Mainly Flames. It needs to get out. It and Wind.

I'm working on the horror-mystery story's bible. Still don't have a title.

I have the time-lost outline bible done. Just have to get down to the nitty gritty.

.

Nattering again

I had a fairly nice book signing.

I set up another one for October. 

Hopefully, I'll have Flames out by then as well as the dragon book. I'm also working on a horror mystery. Maybe I'll have all of them out by October. :)

So the three books I have open are Flames, Wind, and the horror mystery.

The horror story has a vampiric shifter who returns to his home to find that it had been sold ages ago  and strangers were now living there. He offers them money to leave but they refuse and he kills them. Their probate lawyer refuses his offers as well and he meets a similar fate.  Meanwhile the homicide detective learns that these aren't the only murders and strange happenings associated with the house. Two past inhabitants had disappeared and were presumed dead, bodies never found.   Hanlan, the detective, stumbles upon a hidden way, and finds the bodies of those inhabitants trapped.  The shifter gets his hands finally on the deed and crosses verbal swords with Hanlan. There's a secret in the house that the shifter wants to keep Hanlan--and the rest of humanity-from getting.

What do you think?

What should I call it?

Flames. The suspect is going to be revealed. Confrontation is coming up soon. More revelations about the why.

Wind. Still in chapt. 2. Haven't done much with this story.

I hope some people try out my new book. It's different from my EV series even though the main character has the same gift. No vampires to be found.

My sci-fi books are coming up soon. I think I'll finish Flames and Wind, then do one of my sci-fi books. A time-lost one I think. They're in better shape than the Alliance books. 

I just have to do covers for them. Well, and come up with titles. The Alliance books already have titles and covers, but only ideas written down while the time-lost have chapters written but no covers or titles.  I wrote the time-lost a long time ago, teen years, while the Alliance ideas came to me more recently. So covers and titles for the time-lost.

So off to public domain for pics.

Book Signing Saturday

I hit a little bump.

Well, besides the being robbed bit last month.

I got the few issues of the new book I ordered, but my bank says I don't have money in my account to cover ordering any more. I had planned to order some of the others but now I'm stuck with just the little I have.

I thought I had some money in that account but the bank says no.  Maybe all those fees that they keep hitting me with ate it.  :)

Anyway I'm still going to be at ABC Books Saturday.

Someone is reading one of my books through KU or KOLL.  I checked it this morning and it had some activity over the last few days. I hope they like it.

The Elemental Voice Series is 'written' by the main character Jaci Travers in Mortal Voice. So I made it a little 'over the top' in some areas. At least I think so. But I had fun writing them and still do.  The Mortal Voice series is more serious in some ways but I wanted to keep that fast-paced read feel.

If you've read Earth Reader and liked it, please review on Amazon. 

If you haven't read it, go to KU and DO! :)

EV has one book(Wind Whisperer) and it is done while the companion series has two(Deadly Flames & Deadly Waters) Then there is an Epilogue book Deadly Aether that brings everything together. SO four more altogether to complete, then I can more on to my sci-fi books.

Or I might slip one of the sci-fi books in after Flames & Wind. The time-lost and Alliance books keep knocking at my brain and whispering things. They've waited a long time already.


I'm going to go through my table/signing storage bin tomorrow and make sure everything is ready for Saturday. It got glanced over last month to ensure everything was still inside. Now I'm going to make sure it didn't walk off while I wasn't looking. :)

I also have a "free" book starting tomorrow. Fire Walker. So if you don't have it now's the time.

Thinker, writer, reader, detective

I look similar to this every night when I sit in front of my computer, working on my book or surfing the internet.

I'm in my own little world. Well, not so little. :)

It's more like I daydream, then think.

Sometimes it does seems to me that I over think things though.

I stare and sink into my mind and think, but then something happens and all the plans go up in smoke.

Writer. I'm a pantser but I still make outlines and plans. I just ignore them.:)  You got to be true to yourself.

I'm an avid reader. Once I start a book I usually finish it in the same day.

And being a detective. That comes with murder mysteries. You got to have a clue, in more than one way.

These four words describe what I think of myself.

How would you describe yourself?

Flames is still half-way done. The arsonist will be revealed and the chase will be on. Another fire and there will be a confrontation in the woods that will go pear-shaped. After this they're going to need a vacation--wait that's what this was suppose to be.

Wind. Still second chapter. Already introduced two suspects or are they just caught up in the murders? Is one of them the cause and the other the perp?  Is it a serial or is it purposeful?  Maybe all the above?

MVII. Second chapter. Gaea has dropped a bit of a bombshell on Jaci. There is a reason the land is seemingly recalcitrant. Jaci has to fix the problem before she can get real help, but she needs the land's help to fix it. a catch 22.

I got a new review on Earth Reader. A 5 star. Thank you.

Now if all 100 who took advantage of my free book would do the same. I'd love it.

Precis

100 people took advantage of my free book. YES!

 Hopefully, some will give me 'good' reviews on Amazon.

And go for my other books as well. They are all fast-paced and got at least 4 stars. An hour or two amusement, depending on how fast you read. I usually read books twice. The first time fast, the second time slower to make sure I get the nuances.

Flames is coming along. It's half-way done. The arsonist is about to reveal him/herself.

Wind. Into the second chapter. Cop shop talk right now. They'll head off to the club next where they'll meet one of the suspects. Or is she the reason for the murders?

MVII. Wrote out the burglary scene, but still working on chapter 2. Why is research into an old crime and disappearance so important? 

I straightened up my story folder. Now everything is in separate folders instead of all lumped in the misc. folder. There's still stuff in the Misc. folder, but I separated out the series. Looks much neater now. I wasn't working on a story so I decided to mess with the story folder. Sometimes during my 'working' time at the computer, I can't seem to focus on a story so I either mess with the bibles or create covers. But this time I decided to mess with the folders.

I was working on my stories, but not. So officially, I was working during my working hour(s). :)

The Alliance books are still knocking at the backdoor of my mind. But I need to finish Elemental Voice first. At least the next two books anyway. Then I might slip in an Alliance book.

My time-lost books have also slipped up a notch.

I got a review on Mortal Voice from Jan. 5 star. She likes this better than EV.  I hope others have the same opinion and it takes off so that the second book will have a following. EV has a small following and I'm hoping MV will have a larger one.

EV is the urban fantasy version of MV which is itself an urban fantasy. A play on a play.

Naming & Character Development

I've been asked how I come up with the 'perfect' name for my characters  and how I develop my characters.

As to the characters, I write down a list of who I need in each book, i.e. cop, bad guy, victim. Then I decide which is the ones that will interact the most with my main characters.  Those are the ones that get more development.  Most of this happens in my head, but I do put some of this in the story bible to remind me. Each character is basically developed in my head before I even start the story.

The names I choose from a baby book I have in my bookshelf near my computer. Each name gets said out loud until I happen upon the one I like best for the character.  I put the names down in the story bible next to who they are in the list (victim, bad guy, etc.)  And so they become that character.

Most of this is, as I said, done in my head,

I'm a pantser and I just write what comes to me.

Sometimes the storyline suprises even me.

I'll be writing along and suddenly the story takes a turn. I think what if this happens instead of this. And I write the new storyline and it changes the whole chapter or even the whole book. 

The 'What ifs'.

New scenes appear in my head. The characters even change a bit to fit the storyline.

All of my stories have been in my head for years so my subconscious has had time to develop these characters.  I have scenes for each and every book in my head.  The characters all have placer names like 'bad guy' for bad guys or Sara and Nick for every main character since I like those names. When I start writing that's when my characters get their names.

Names. Boys get boy names, and girls get girl names, of course. But most of the last names come from the boy section.  A lot of the time I flip through until a name catches my attention, then I build from it and deciding who it belongs to (victim or cop).  I usually have the bad guys name by the time I start writing. It usually has a meaning to it. Sort of like a spoiler. :)

Mostly by the time I'm ready to write, everything is already done in my story bible or in my head and I just sit down and write.

Mortal Voice is out!

Both the printed and Kindle editions!

The back cover is a little long, but it explains the story better than what I first had. As I've stated before I'm terrible at writing blurbs so good thing Sharon looks them over and fixes them. :)

I set up a freebie for the 18th thru 23rd of April to Celebrate the launch of this book. So if you don't already have Earth Reader on Kindle, that's the time to get it. Fire Walker is free on the 5th of May to coincide with my book signing so even those who don't attend get something.

I got two self-made books from Toby's blog that I'm taking to the signing. If anyone wants one, bring a bag of Meow mix. Toby has no use for money. :) 

Processing

Mortal Voice is coming out on Ebook/Kindle today.

Hopefully, it takes off once it launches. Isn't that what we all hope?

It took three years to get this one out. I had started it in 2015 and was to be my second book out. But I got distracted, I suppose you could say. The readers of Earth Reader wanted to know what happened next so I decided to work on Fire Walker and pushed MV aside. I did that for two more books, then decided I needed to get it out so last year I pulled it back out.

Right now I'm working on MVII, Deadly Flames, and Wind Whisperer.  Deadly Flames is about half-way done and the one I'm working on the most. But all three are always open on my computer so I can work any of them at any time.

As I said these are my 'urban fantasy' books or paranormal mysteries. I decided to get them out first before I get into my sci-fi books. The Alliance and Timelost books are next on the list. I listed the four Alliance books on my Alliance blog.  They're a bit different in that they paint humans in a negative light and I warn people about that. It's a very negative look at humans. What arrogance will do to the human race if it's allowed full reign.

The Timelost books on the other hand are positive look at what one good person can do. They are set in a different universe than the Alliance books. Humans are just humans, good and bad, plus we got evil aliens.  Just a normal sci-fi series.  Well, sort of. If Bio-mechanical changes and nanities are normal sci-fi. :)

So that's what's next.

 I also have some dragon books. The Fallborn series which is set in different worlds and some standalones that are set in modern day. I'll work on them as I work on the other books. These are on hold right now since I have one Fallborn book finished. As soon as it's published I'll open another dragon book.

Generally, I open three books on my computer and hop between them when I work. I write a few words or a scene, then I go to the next book and do the same. I have ADD and have a hard time keeping to just one story at a time. I get distracted easily. I play music or an old movie while I write. I used to do my homework to music and got better grades when I did. I seem to write better when my subconscious is engaged with the music while the rest of my brain is on my writing.

 Or is it the other way around?  :)

The processing part is getting the Alliance and Timelost books out of my old files and moving them to the Misc file folder where I can get to them more easily. All my old stories are stored in a large folder or are still on hand-written papers so I have to process them one way or another to get them to my Misc. file folder where my working files are located. I have to get all this together before I can work on them any further. Though I have four books yet to go on the Elemental Voice series I still like to get everything together ahead of time.

So now you're up to date with what's going on in my writing world.

A summinging up & Proofs

There are four more books to go in my Elemental Voice series:

Deadly Flames. Second book in the companion series. Half-way done.

Wind Whisperer. Fourth book in EV series. First Chapter.

Deadly Waters. Third book in the companion series. Bookbible.

With Aether at the end. The Epilogue of both series.

I had of course thought to get this series out by the time I turned fifty but that doesn't seem like that's happening so I just want the main part of the series (the four element books) at least out by then. The one companion book and Aether can happen after as long as those books have been out. They were the original set I wrote down, adding the three companion books and Aether after I had started working on book one.

And then of course, there are just two more books so far in the Mortal Voice series.

MVII After Long Silence. Second book. Chapter one done.

MVIII Earth Bound. Third Book. Bookbible started.

I had planned to get MV out just after Earth Reader. Sort of as an omiyage to Kathy Reichs. one of my fav mystery writers. The main character is an Earth Reader who writes the EV books and works with a PI to find missing people. 

After Elemental Voice Series is ended I plan to write a quadrilogy or a tetralogy of books set in my Alliance universe.  I also have a series of five Timelost books  that will be coming out of my Misc. file at about that time as well.  These books are sci-fi/fantasy, different from most of my books which are urban fantasy

Well, I call them urban fantasy since they fit more in that category than any other. Besides just fantasy and paranormal mystery of course.

I have several dragon books as well, both the what I call the Fallborn series as well as what I consider standalones. I usually have a dragon book open along side whatever main book I'm working on.

Just got the two proofs to look at.

I think they're gorgeous. They look just like I want them to. The color is just perfect and definitely captures your attention. Sharon said the pic would be out of focus which it is but I still like the whole.

For this series I wanted an eye-catcher. Both the color and the pic seem to do that.

Now I just got to get the one copy to my proofreader.

I'm just so excited!






I have literally hundreds of story ideas, but these are the ones that have priority. They are the ones I keep coming back to. I even have a blog set up for the Alliance books, though I only have four of them outlined in my head so far.

For some reason I have the feeling the Alliance books will take off.

We'll see.

An interlude

Flames gave me a little surprise.

I was writing  that they were going back to the cabin when Santino appeared. She tried to inject Nick with the bond breaking drug but Sara knocked it away.  Santino is now really in trouble with the Vampire Council though she's delusional and thinks that she'll only get a slap on the wrist. Her Clan like Nick's is near royalty. Nick sends her away but will she really turn herself in to the Council?

I hadn't planned on Santino showing up. I was thinking she had left when Nick called the Council about her and her ex kicked her out of his place. Then Chapter eight segwayed. 

Wind will now be a little different. because I have a feeling Santino doesn't turn herself in and she figures into Wind prominently. 

I did tell you I'm a pantser, right? :)

Now the scenes in my head are all changing around.

Mortal Voice. I ordered the proofs(two). One for me and one for my proofreader. They should be here by April 4.

I had a college friend go through it before I sent it to Sharon, but like me the friend isn't perfect so there's probably a lot of errors that were missed. We're both terrible with punctuation but I mainly wanted a basic read though to catch any major errors. My proof reader can catch the stuff we missed because she's good.

I can't wait until the book signing. I'll have my new book! 

A brief rundown

I set up a free promotion for the 18th of April for my book Earth Reader in lieu of the release of Mortal Voice. It should be out around that time or near there.

I also set up a free promotion for the 5th of May for Fire Walker.

So if you don't already have them, that's the time to get them.

Flames. I'm rounding the chapter out. They interviewed the suspects and next comes a revelation. Also a little 'them time'. After all they are suppose to be on vacation. :)

Wind. Still in the first chapter. They have discovered that the victims have all been to a club just before they died. A club that caters to would-be-vampires. The LEO assigned as their liaison hates fake vampires.

MVII is still in the second chapter. Still haven't figured out what I want in the research material they have so I'm stalled for a bit. Think I'll have Paul go through it, then have someone try to steal it. Stir the pot a bit with that.

Toby's book and 'Eye' is still in the wings, done and waiting.

Deadly Waters bible is still being worked on. I haven't even started the story yet.

Haven't even started Aether's bible yet. The idea is just sitting in my mind.

I have thirty other book ideas on the computer in my Misc. 'books to be worked on' folder, including the two Alliance books. Plus the basket of written ideas that I haven't put on the computer yet. I also have a journal with more story ideas beside my desk. Sometimes I wish I could clone myself so I can write more. I have so many stories I want to write but only two hands and only so much time to work.

Sometimes I even wish I had ghostwriters like James Patterson so I could put out several books at a time.

And of course the money he makes would be nice too. :)

Anyway, I've been distracted by all these plot bunnies hitting me at once. All the stories want to be written and now!  The Alliance books are kicking at me, but I need to finish Elemental Voice books first before I start another series of books since I already got EV, the companion series, and MV going.  The dragon books are on hold right now since 'Eye' is finished.

Once one book is finished, another slips into the slot and I have a hard time holding off on working on it. Since Mortal Voice is done, MVII slid in and when I finished 'Eye' the Alliance books moved up and knocked. But I have EV to finish.

It is always a big deal when I finish a book. I have so many distractions that getting any of the books to the end is like a miracle. Which is why I work on three at a time; at least that way one of them will get finished! 

Book signing coming up in May

I set up  a book signing for Cinco de Mayo at ABC Books here in Springfield MO, 11 am to 2 pm.

My new book Mortal Voice should be out and there so if you want a signed copy, come.

Mark your calendars!

The two main characters, Jaci Travers and Paul Rooney, run Necro-Covery which searches for missing persons, presumed dead.  Paul is a PI while Jaci has a unique gift: The earth talks to her like a gossip to her coffeeklatch.  This gift allows Jaci to find the missing, the hidden.

Flames is coming along. I finished the interviews so I just have to round up that chapter. Using fire as the killing method speaks to a passion/strong emotion. That doesn't go away even when the object of that emotion is no longer there. Memories and the mind can play tricks...

Wind. I'm revamping the first chapter and making it longer. I think it needs more than four pages but I'll see how the revamping is going. It might only need four to five pages to start. I made the victims vampires instead of what I originally was going to do. It adds more to the story I think. A wind whisperer killing vampires. If it got out, it would be hunting season on Voices.

Waters. I haven't touch this at all and I need to. The bible needs to get done and I haven't even started the first chapter yet. I don't know where I want it to start though I have scenes for further in the book. It's mainly set in a marina and on a boat. I got a pic of the boat, a catamaran I think they're called. I got to do more research on that too. As I said the bible needs to get done so I have every thing at my fingertips when I need it.

And the dragon books, both Fallborn and standalones, are still in holding. Until 'Eye' is published that's where they'll stay for at least a little while.

I got Flames, Wind, and MVII open to work on right now.

I put a sneak peak of the first Alliance book up on my Sidereal blog. If you haven't seen it already then go read it. I might open it up as well to work on. I'm itching to start them.

https://dragconicsidereal.blogspot.com

Progress & A sneak peek

The obsession of de-cluttering has calmed down.

I have Flames, MVII, and Air/wind open to work on. I've been adding snippets to each of them since Saturday.

I'm not sure if I want to get Flames out next or work on Air/wind and get it out next so EV series is out and just the companion series is left to finish or do Flames and Waters and get them out before Air/wind.  I promised myself I'd get the series out before I was fifty but seven books and an epilogue book just ain't happening. So should I get out the Main EV series than finish the companion vacation series or do Flames next? Which should be next up?

Flames is a little over the third of the way through while I only have the first chapter of Air/wind done. I'm working on both right now.

I'm holding off on the dragon books until after I get either Flames or air/wind done. I still have 'Eye' to get out. The dragon books can hold out until I get 'Eye' published.

The two Alliance books are still waiting in the wings until I get EV and the companion series done.

I got a lot of books in my Misc/Stories folder to work on. I also got stories in MyStories folder that I'm still putting in the computer. Though I've nearly stopped doing that since it makes me want to write on THOSE stories instead of the ones I should be working on.  I traded the milk crate for a basket but those stories still need to be inputted into the computer.

Mortal Voice is coming out soon.

The earth talks to Jaci Travers like a gossip to her coffeeklatch. This gift allows her to uncover the hidden, the missing.
Jaci and her PI partner Paul Rooney are called in to consult on a now hot cold case. Women have been disappearing without a trace and the sheriff now has a suspect but no evidence. Necro-Covery, Jaci and Paul's business, investigates missing persons cold cases and has a high Closure rate. The sheriff is desperate and time is running out.
 A victim's father makes a business proposal that would make Paul and Jaci's dreams come true. Is it for real or will it be snatched away by the negative PR sure to come from the one killer case?

What do you think of the blurb? 

Here's a bit of a sneak peek:

 

She was already getting a faint reading just from touching the road. When she stepped onto the land proper she knew the strength of the sending would be increased.

“Captain Horne said that you didn’t find anything in the house or at any of the crime scenes to link this guy to the murders.” Rooney looked at the sheriff. “But he said you think he’s good for it.”

“He ran into a woman that fits the type the killer goes for. His bad luck a deputy came upon the scene moments later.”

“According to what files I saw all the cars were hit and runs with the female drivers missing.”

“Yes.” Ackers nodded. “Five so far. With little or no paint transfer. The color matches his vehicle but there’s no damage for yesterday’s accident. The house he rents was a bust as was the yard around. Then we found he owned this parcel.”

Jaci stepped onto the grass and paused as impressions hit her. Taking a deep breath she walked until she came to a deer trail, then moved along it for a bit before stopping. She squatted and laid her hand on the ground. More impressions assaulted her. She pushed aside the strong negative emotions and concentrated on the perceptions she was receiving.

“Jak?” Paul squatted beside her, the sheriff standing to the side.

Seven, females, secret

“He’s killed more than five, Sheriff.” Jaci withdrew her hand from the ground and looked at Ackers. “There are seven bodies here.”

For the whole chapter see the teaser on Pages.

Rearranged again

This configuration looks less crowded than the other so I think I'll keep it this way.

The other way looked a bit cluttered and since I'm trying to de-clutter...

My cat tree moved to the window where the desk used to be and the two drawer bookcase moved to where the cat tree used to be. So my cat still has his view, though of a different area now. As soon as I moved it he jumped up and stayed on it for thirty minutes. I don't know whether he liked the new location or was just watching me do the moving around of the other stuff. :)

This way I get to stare at my lovely woods picture more.




Flames is in limbo right now. I haven't touched it since I started this de-clutter kick. But I plan to get back to it by next week. I gave myself another week to get this business out of my system.  Got to finish the questioning and end that chapter.  I think as soon as I do, I'll re-read the whole so I can re-fresh my memory on what has happened so far.  That should get me back in the rhythm and I should be able to churn out some words.

MVII is still in chapt 2. I still don't know what I should have in the research. But this book is not urgent so I have time.

Waters. I need to work up the bible so when I get Flames done, I can slide right into Waters. I got some of the bible done but I need to get more of it completed. This one is more urgent than MVII so I need to get on this. I want to have this series and EV(Elemental Voice) series done before I'm Fifty. I only got 11 months before I turn the big five O so I need to get to it. 

Air/Wind. This is the last official book in EV series. I got the first chapter done.  Part of the bible is done. But I still have stuff to do for it as well. Maybe after Flames I'll do this one so the EV series would be officially done and just the companion series would be hanging past my Fiftieth birthday?
See I got a lot to think about.

Aether. This is an epilogue of sorts to both EV and companion series. The main characters get married with both a body and an old enemy showing up. It can either tie up the two series or start a new one. I haven't decided yet.

Then there are my dragon books. Both Fallborn and standalones. I got 'Eye' done and it's in the wings waiting. The others have been started. All I have to do is pick one to work on.

So as you can see I have a lot to do. But this de-clutter thing is kicking me. So I'm going to work it out of my system and get back into writing.

Redesigned

In the featured post you'll see what my writing area looked like before.

I traded in my milk crate for two end tables that I stacked and replaced the two drawer bookshelf with a five shelf one.  I got magazine holders as well.

I'm still fiddling with it.

I want to make my whole apartment look less cluttered so I'm sorting through what I got and straightening things up.  

I'm a pack rat. I keep everything. So when I moved I left lots of stuff behind. Why move it if I'm just going to get rid of it later?

I'm doing a part of my apartment at a time. I did part of my closet Saturday and part of my bedroom Monday. Tuesday I did my office.  Today I decided to rest and think about what I want to do next. I'll do some basic cleaning today in the rest of the apartment but nothing major.

If you go on my Sidereal Time blog you'll see the bedroom part of my redesign.

https://dragconicsidereal.blogspot.com

Needless to say I didn't work on my stories this weekend since I've been redesigning things.  So nothing new on that front.

a brief peek

I did a page in Flames.

Still questioning the suspects. The grandson, the daughter, the couple that owns the place, and the grounds keeper that reported the fire. Trying to figure out how to slip in a clue without it being too obvious.  It would give away who the bad person is if one thinks about it but I need to slip in a clue so no one can say I didn't give hints! :)

I'll think on it some more.

Haven't touched MVII. Still haven't decided what all I want in the research they're looking at. The grandpa disappeared while on his own hunt and the granddaughter was killed because she was hunting for the grandpa. And of course, The 'bad guy' didn't want the past brought up since he killed the grandpa and now the granddaughter. So Paul and Jaci will be meeting opposition. And the land itself is not making her job any easier as it is being strangely silent. Stones have long memories and the land is very rocky so Jaci knows the silence has something to do with the past. But how long in the past? And will she be able to unravel it all before the killer adds her to his tally?

The Alliance books. I have two of them started.  The first one introduces the Alliance through Fiona who is at that time the only human. Five races make up the Alliance, three of which are vaguely humanoid but never mistaken for humans. The Nein are the 'jacks of all trades' and are the arms and legs of the Regent while the other races simply enjoy the comforts of the Alliance. As I said before the human government is not a 'good guy' in these stories. I will be playing on Human fears and greed.

I plan to work on these books as soon as my Elemental Voice Series is done.

My dragon books. I still haven't picked one to start working on. I don't know if I want to do another Fallborn or one of the modern day standalones.

Right now I have Flames and MVII open to work on.  I have the Fallborn, the standalone dragon books, and the Alliance books all moved to my 'to choose from' Misc. file on the computer. I also have other stories residing there, awaiting my attention. Over thirty of them to be exact. Then there's the milk crate full of written ideas. Plus my 'idea' book.

I need Indunne's golden apple so I can live long enough to write just what I got so far. That's not counting the ideas that are still to come.

So where's that golden apple?

An overview

I set aside 'Eye' until my friend gets back to me with her ideas.

I haven't touched Flames for awhile. I'm still stuck on how I want to introduce the clue without making it too obvious. So I've been running different scenarios through my head but none of them feel right. The story's just been sitting there, waiting for me to get it down. I've been thinking just to not drop a hint here and just let the talk flow how it wants, then drop a hint somewhere else.

That's probably what I'll do.

MVII is still in chapt. 2. They're going to look at the research. I have to decide what's in the research and how much to reveal right now. Paul has an almost photographic memory so I'll have him look it over completely, and have Jaci just skim through it or better yet have Paul give her highlights.  

Dragon stories. I've been looking over all my dragon stories to see which one I want to do next. Another Fallborn or a standalone set in today's society. Two of the standalones have two or more chapters done as does one of the Fallborn.  One of the standalones is about a hidden dragon society within our own while the other is about a lone dragon surviving hidden in our society. There's a bit of magic to them, though there's also some science  or   alchemy involved.  The Fallborn one is In the Dragon's Claws.

Claws has magic as well.  Dragon magic. Dragons had once been common, but they had warred and only a few had survived. Those few had retreated to their shrines and most slept, but a few remained awake and had human Servants. Two slaves escaped at one such shrine and became that Dragon's Servants.

I'm not sure which I want to do next for my dragon fix.

I know that as soon as I finish Flames I want to start one of my Alliance novels. Well, I should say finish one of them since I started two of them already. I have a blog with info on the Alliance. If you're interested in reading a bit about it, you can get your info there.

https://theregentalliance.blogspot.com

I've been reading Fan fiction again. Yes, I started that back up and added another fandom: Avengers/ironman. I also expanded the pairing in NCIS to include others with Tony. I read slash as well as Gen since some of the case stories include such, though my favorite is the father/son of Gibbs and Tony.  Anyway I've been reading fan fiction again. This time I hope I don't get as obsessed with it as I was before.

Nattering

Ran off a copy on disk of 'Eye' so a friend could go through it.

I glanced through it, but I need someone to read it to make sure it's fluid. Everything is in my head but I sometimes forget to put it on paper as it were. Or I repeat something. Hence someone to read to ensure fluency.

Didn't move very far in Flames. Still interviewing the suspects. The Hougtons. I got through the other two's interviews no problems but I'm not sure how I want to do these two's. I need to add a clue here but I don't want it to be too obvious. Sometimes it's hard to skirt that line and I just drop the clue in. This time I want a little more suspense before the reveal.

I don't claim to be any expert on transsexuals. I've made he/she how I want he/she to be.

MVII is coming along as well. I opened it up and looked at it the other day.  I'm in Chapt. 2 on it. The mystery the victim was researching is being unveiled. Though most of it is still mired in time. Jaci is hooked, intrigued by the strange silence of the land and that silence leads to a very dangerous confrontation at the end.

 I've been looking through my old writing magazines. I don't have too many of them as I only had two years of subscription to Writer's Digest and snagged a few from the writing groups.  So I decided to renew a subscription. I need to get file boxes to put the zines in so I can store them better. They're just shoved in my bookcase right now.

And Pens.  I got pens everywhere. Well, everywhere around my desk. I got them stuck in a drawer, in a coffee mug, and three laying on top of the desk. When I look for one I can't find one so I got them where I can see them. I used one to write a story idea down. #3 million and 6 maybe  :)

I've been cleaning out the desk a bit. so that's why I got the pens handy. They were all shoved willy nilly in the desk so now they're where I can get to them easier.

Fallborn first draft done

I'm done with the first draft of  'Eye'.

It's a little over 38,000 words. 

So the first of the Fallborn series is done.  The series are standalone dragon stories set in different worlds/time frames. I use some of the same terminology and they all have dragons and a female human as the protagonists. And they are all PG13, well mostly. But none have sex in them.

Soooo that means I'm back to working on Flames. I opened it back up this morning and re-read the last bit to catch myself up to where I stopped. They were questioning the suspects.

The daughter--she was bullied by her father

The grandson--he was also bullied and seemed extra resentful

The owners of the resort--They employed Rafferty but didn't like him

And the rest of the staff just barely tolerated him

He was a rascally old man but in no way endearing. He was kind to the guests, but hard on his family and co-workers.

As I said the killer/arsonist has a twist. He/she is a transsexual. 

Gotta keep you guessing. :)

I love twists in my books.

Still haven't read my ole "romance" that I found. As I've said I'm a bit afraid to since I remember thinking it was good back when I wrote it in my teen years. But Tastes change and so does style.

In days of yore

I was trying to straighten up my hand-written stories in the milk crate when I came across one of my short story romances that I wrote when I was a kid. Well, a teenager.

I had read one of Mom's romance books, a regency. And of course I thought I could do better. (Have I mentioned I dislike regency romances before? I don't think I have. But it was the only book I hadn't read in the house)

Anyway, I decided to write a alien romance set on Earth, but in a somewhat different world than our own.  I had twenty sheets of typewriter paper so I sat down at the typewriter and began typing. Thirteen pages later I was done. I just sat down and let the words flow. I remember thinking it was a cool story.

A woman goes camping in the Arizona desert and a injured winged man comes to her campsite. She helps him, then he leaves. Bad men attack her and he comes to her rescue.

I haven't re-read it yet. I'm a bit afraid to.

The stories I wrote back then that I had read, I threw away because they were b*a*d. I thought I had thrown them all away, but here this one is.

Perhaps I should put it in the page section and let you all decide what I should do with it. Or maybe I should just throw it away without reading it. Tempting though that is, I feel like I should keep at least one of the samples of my early writing. 

I'm so conflicted about this story. It was my first and only 'romance'. 

What should I do with it?

Click on comments below and please tell me what you think.

Changing titles

Inkitt has a contest for publishing a book.

I think I'll send Tail in to it.

I'm also thinking about exchanging the names of two books: Under the dragon's tail and Through the dragon's eye. Paranormal/ psychic stuff is more through the third eye  than being under a dragon's tail. So maybe I'll change Tail to Eye.

 

Eye has Elemental magic.. Mages control the magic. They become Adapts when they entice a familiar to them. Familiars are created in leyline nodes but how is unclear to humans. A Voice, a head priestess of the Goddess temples, is asked to clear an old temple where a murder happened. She finds a dragon familiar

 

 

Tail has mental powers. Telekinesis, telepathy, etc. That's the 'magic' involved in that story. A royal messenger carrying a fabled jewel is attacked, but her companion escapes with the jewel. However, the companion too is attacked later and the jewel saves her life by connecting her to the last remaining dragon.

 

Dragon familiar sits on her shoulder with a tail wrapped around her neck so under the tail would be appropriate. And psychic--third eye use. So I think I will change the Titles around.

 

So 'Eye' is almost done and I'll put it in the Inkitt contest.

 

 

 



 

 

 

Reconfigured

I cleaned this weekend and one of the things I did was reconfigure my writing area.

I still need to get a few things to straighten it up like a few magazine file boxes.

I also need to go through the desk itself and get rid of things that I don't need or use anymore. When I moved I just brought everything in the desk too.

The photos on the wall are of signings. My first one, the last one and my table set-up. I also have a picture of some woods. It reminds me of my favorite Robert Frost poem:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
and miles to go before I sleep

The lamps are there because it's dark in that corner, the whole room actually. A folding chair for visitors and a padded chair for me.

So this is my reconfigured writing area.

confabulation of Dragons

Tail is almost done.

I decided on this cover for it.

It's the first of the Fallborn series. My group of dragon stories.

I have four of these started. Tail, Eye, Claws, and Wings. They are set in different worlds and even a few have 'magic'.

Tail has mental powers. Telekinesis, telepathy, etc. That's the 'magic' involved in that story. A royal messenger carrying a fabled jewel is attacked, but her companion escapes with the jewel. However, the companion too is attacked later and the jewel saves her life by connecting her to the last remaining dragon.

Claws has magic. Dragon magic. Dragons had once been common, but they had warred and only a few had survived. Those few had retreated to their shrines and most slept, but a few remained awake and had human Servants. Two slaves escaped at one such shrine and became that Dragon's Servants.

Eye has magic as well. Mages control the magic. They become Adapts when they entice a familiar to them. Familiars are created in leyline nodes but how is unclear to humans. A Voice, a head priestess of the Goddess temples, is asked to clear an old temple where a murder happened. She finds a dragon familiar.

Wings has shifter magic. Dragons have been hunted to exstinction and the only proof they existed at all is a set of wings mounted above an old throne in an ancient castle.

And that's the four stories.

Now I need to do a blurb for Tail.

Blurbs, Blurbs. Always got to do a blurb. They're hard to do. You want to hook the reader, but you don't want to reveal too much of the story.

I also have modern day dragon stories. There are three of them. I don't have titles for them yet. I just have a few scenes done for each. I'll summarize them in another entry.

Zombie Apocalypse is here!

Well, My version anyway.

My zombie dribble--a dribble is something less than 4,000 words--is out on Amazon now.

I sat down and wrote it out in that one sitting. I might turn it into a novel sometime in the future if I get a good response.

It's written in diary form. A survivor of an apocalypse decides to write about his days in a seemingly idyllic valley. However this valley holds a secret.

Here's a teaser:

We call them Z's; short for Zombies though they're more ghoulish. And, that slow-mo crap Hollywood portrays, it’s a bunch of hogwash. Z’s aren’t slow, yet they’re not faster than a human, and they sure as hell don’t walk funny. At least the movies got one thing right, destroy the brain and they’re dead.

More changes

Two London Bobbies guarding the entrance to my crime scene!
oops updated it again! Took the Bobbies off. Saw this and said "That was what I was looking for."

I also changed the pic for the link to my books as you can see. .

It's amazing what pictures you can find on public domain sites. A lot of my pics for my book covers and blog come from the public domain. They don't cost anything and they are nice quality shots.

I updated the word counters for my stories on New Years Day. And deleted some of the stuff from the Pages section. I'll repurpose those pages with something later. Teaser 3 is going to be an excerpt from Mortal Voice. I'm not sure about the others.

 I kept the  raw first draft excerpts from my first two books--Teasers 1 & 2--Earth and Fire respectively.  I also kept Z is for Ghoul excerpt up for right now but once it's out I'll probably take it down. .But Earth and Fire will definitely stay up to tease any newbies.

Mortal''s Blurb is still not done.

Flames is about to introduce the suspects. As you know this killer has a twist--the arsonist is transgender. There are four main suspects and a budding arsonist in the wings.

Tail had more of a twist than I thought. ;) Hawk didn't get to flambé the king, someone else got him first while Beka watched. But Hawk shows up and saves the day--well, Beka. Another confrontation is about to happen, one that will surprise the queen and Keth as well as Beka and Hawk. 

Mortal Voice II is coming along. Still in chapt. 1. Heading back to the motel from the crime scene where they found the mummified remains and a skull.  The victim was out there following a trail fifty years old and found what someone didn't want her to.