Tag: the writing life

A Saturday in May

Saturday. Sunny, breezy, still a little cool, maybe, but I have windows open.

Laundry is laundrifying.

Preorder numbers for The Fey Duology: Apple — 19. Amazon — 97. Yes, Amazon is 80% of all sales. This is the game, and if you don’t play, you starve.

So! The UFO files have been released, hey? And the Virginia courts have just proved that voting is a waste of everyone’s time? And Mr. Trump is awarding no-bid contracts to a friend?

Have I mentioned before that I hate this timeline? That one man’s stupidity, o’erweaning ego, and fear of being held accountable for his actions can do so much damage. And that’s not even the Really Terrifying Thing. The Really Terrifying Thing is that, if the god in charge of this narrative should wake from their doze, stretch out a hand and edit out every egotistical, self-serving monster in the story, leaving only persons of honor, who are working for the common good?

They might not be able to fix the mess that’s been made.

Well.

It was a pretty planet.

In other news, the to-do list tells me that today I will be writing, finishing the laundry, filing, baking, and trying my hand at fixing a mechanical clock.

What’re you doing today?

Friday on the edge

Friday. Sunny and cool.

First cup of tea sipped in the comfort of the comfy chair in the nice sunny office window.

Breakfast will be, um. Toast and hummus! There. I’ll dig around in the freezer for something that can be beat into a shape resembling lunch.

Speaking up freezers — the ice-bucket is full! of! ice! and I? am chuffed.

I woke up feeling unsettled — and the cats think so, too. They’ve been babying me, which I appreciate. I think the first estimate for various work, which I did go over yesterday, is gnawing on my never robust nervous system. These are Big Numbers — of which the screen “house” is the least. The deck itself needs some help with the supports (some of which don’t even touch the ground) and there was some wet wood identified. So between the Big Numbers, and the feeling that whatever I do, I will be making a mistake, yeah. Nervous System Yellow Alert.

I probably need to write an extra book to pay for at least the necessary work, but I’m not sure how I could pull that off.

Moving along to The Fey Duology . . .

This morning that D2D reports 16 preorders — all from Apple. I have, yes, seen people reporting that they’ve preordered from Kobo, BN, and other vendors. Thank you! Keep it up; it all counts, even if they’re slow getting their numbers in.  D2D “universal” link

Amazon reports 34 preorders since last night. Fingers still crossed. Amazon link

And, on that note, I’d better get my breakfast. The plan is to write for a couple hours this morning, and give the afternoon to housekeeping.

What are your plans for the day?

Publication news and Dragon’s luck

Business First: Amazon customers, I have submitted The Fey Duology to Amazon for preorder.

This does not mean that it will be accepted by Amazon, but, I am trying on your behalf. Right now it is in review.

If y’all could cross your fingers, that might help the process.
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Harvest Moon deli to the rescue! One cup of tomato-veggie soup with and half-sandwich of Appetite for Destruction. I also ordered in potato-salad-for-later, and a chocolate chip cookie bigger than my head, which I will probably consume the entire thing before Happy Hour, because I Have No Shame. Continuing to put the house back into order — I just heard an ice cube get ejected into the cube-catch in the freezer.

I FIXED A FREEZER!

Ahem.

So, anyway, putting house back into order. Then read contract — another ice cube hits the catch! This is so cool. — then maybe cut out some stars.

Oh, the dishwasher is running. I decided it would be a Good Thing to wash it first.

Your regular episode of The Writing Life According to Rolanni will air tomorrow.
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There are, so the internet tells me, Four Kinds of Luck.

There is Blind Luck
There is Motion
There is Being Aware of your Surroundings
And there is Unique Luck, or Directed Motion

And this explains why the luck swirls roughly around those of Korval, because they are, all of them, in motion (they’re not just sitting there, waiting for Something to Happen), they are intensely aware of their surroundings, and they all subscribe to the notion that, should they be Called, they will Do Something.

And on that note — goodnight, everybody. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.

Circuit Detectors and other Secrets of the Trade

Thursday. Sunny for the moment, though I’m told that will change.

Breakfast was cottage cheese and pineapple, since I haven’t been to the grocery, and I had a can of pineapple. Lunch? God, She knows.

I have one estimate in from a contractor, which I need to review, oh, after the plumber comes and does his thing. And! he has just called to assure me that he’s on the way.

The cats are locked in Steve’s Wing. Union Rep Talizea Kennebec informs me that they will be Writing Me Up for repeated, cruel and unjustified confinements, and that I can expect a personal call from the committeecat. Well. I always enjoy chatting with the committeecat. While I’m at it, let me just say that I’m very impressed with the … ardor with which Tali has taken to her role as Union Rep. She is stern, but fair, and she hardly ever falls asleep before the second of the triplicate copies is complete.

Also on today’s schedule is reassembling the ice maker to see if it has thawed and is now working, or if, in fact, I need a Whole New Ice Maker, which I suspect will Cost the Earth. Possibly, I will do without, if I’m not doing harm to the rest of the unit by depriving it of an expected component. I did learn yesterday that mine is one of “oldies” that doesn’t have a computer board, so — yay?

And — plumbers have arrived.

To be continued.
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I have not yet learned any new words, and to their credit, the plumbers — one certified, one ‘prentice — both understood the reference to the escape of the magic smoke.

Balancing the lack of new words, I have seen a New Device! A Circuit Detector. Which works like a Geiger Counter and was in the case extremely useful, because the switch in the box labeled DISHWASHER, did not in fact turn off the juice to the dishwasher. The switch labeled DISPOSAL does that. Naturally.

Also! The plumbers have taken charge of the old dishwasher so Josh and his crew do not have to make an extra trip today, and so I have informed the home office.

The new machine now goes in.

To be continued. This is exciting.
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While we’re waiting for the installation lesson to finish (including the instruction, “Now, this is against the Man Code, but our contract says that we will install appliances according to manufacturer’s instructions. That means you need to read this booklet.” And also the story about how we make sure the wires are grounded before we push the machine into its slot, in which the master acknowledged having done a short cut at one point, because it had been a while since he’d done something stupid, and he decided he was too busy to check the grounding, the wire sparked, and “yeah, my arm kinda tingled.”)

While we’re waiting, I say, I will note that (1) The Fey Duology preorders are up to 10 books, from Apple, and (2) If anyone would like to review Liaden Universe® Constellation 6, especially on Amazon, I’d take it kindly. If it gets enough reviews, Amazon will even exert itself to promote the title (I know; but I don’t make the rules), and that might mean new readers. (2a) While you’re there, if you’re taken with the urge to review any other Liaden book, no matter how old, that will let people know that the title is still live, and that they can buy and read it, too.

Spanish Aunts.
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And the plumbers withdraw, having checked their work and turned on everything they had turned off. I have made a note to alter the tab in the electrical box from DISPOSAL to DISHWASHER.

This dishwasher is going to take some getting used to. The old dishwasher had a panel on the front. The controls for this one are on the top of the door, so you set everything, then close the door.

Well. Now I will let the cats out of Durance Vile, and put the house back together, including all the Stuff that came out from under the sink.
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Thinking more on the icemaker:  If it doesn’t work, I’ll just turn it off, and dump the cubes I make with the ice cub trays into the ice-catch, since the ice cube delivery system on the door still works.  Since there is an off-switch, I’m guessing that the rest of the fridge will keep on doing its thing.  Which is to say, the lack of an active ice maker in the loop will not function like the lack of cyan when I want to print something in black-and-white.

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I was reminded yesterday, when I mentioned embroidering jeans, that I had failed of sharing a picture of my completed Flower Power shirt. I herewith amend that error:

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Celebration Tuesday!

Tuesday. Cinco de Mayo. We have a lot going on today, people, even before the mariachi guys get started.

First! Today is Book Day! for A Liaden Universe® Constellation Volume Six! You may find it at your favorite bookstore in trade paperback and ebook editions.  Here’s the Amazon link.

Second! The Fey Duology ebook is propogating through the D2D network and is now available for preorder from several vendors including Apple, Barnes&Noble, Bookshop, Kobo, Smashwords, and others. Here’s the Universal Link

Third! Platform Decay (Murderbot 8) landed in my TBR pile right around midnight. I won’t be able to get to it for a while, so no spoilers, please.

. . . I think that’s enough to get us started. Don’t want to get Celebration Fatigue when the day’s not even fairly started.

What’re you doing on Cinco de Mayo?

We were never gonna get old

Fey Duology publication update!

The ebook is percolating through the system and should seen be available for preorder at all the usual vendors except Amazon. Don’t yell at me; there are Reasons, which mostly have to do with Amazon’s complete non-understanding of the concept of “rights reverted to the author.” The price for the ebook, including two dark fantasy novels under one cover will be $12. It will publish on June 1.

I will be talking to Baen next, to see if they’ll list the electronic omnibus in Pinbeam Book catalog on their site. Watch the skies.

There will be a trade paper edition…eventually. It will cost a whopping $35. Thirty-two-fifty goes to paper, distribution, and the bookstores’ piece of the action. I’m sorry it costs so much. I brought in a Well-regarded Consultant, but he couldn’t figure out how to bring the price down, either, though he did point out that the cover price on the two Baen hardcovers was $24.99 each.

The reason we have an “eventually” in the trade paper equation is that I’ve ordered a physical proof copy, because I’m Just That Picky, and the book will not go on sale until I’ve OK’d the proof.

. . . and that’s the news at 3:25.

Oh. Here’s a picture of the Well-regarded Consultant, consulting:

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The dishes are done, the contractor has been and gone, promising a quote rsn, I updated the Adventures in the Liaden Universe catalog page on pinbeambooks.com, and there was something else I was supposed to be doing, but I’m damned if I can remember what it was, which is MY message from the Universe to knock off for the day.

So! Knocking off for the day. *waves*

Everybody stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.

This evening’s post brought to you by Southside Johnny, who I had never heard of until Steve introduced me to his music.  “It’s Been A Long Time” is a fair enough description of our life together… Money got made, baby; money got spent.  We were never gonna get old.

Quittin’ time

Well, look. Quittin’ time already.

I have not completed the layout of The Fey Duology. Most of this is because I’m picky, and D2D has A System.

Now, I know that D2D has A System, and I know that I can’t bend it to my will, and I also know that my skillset is limited. None of this stops me from fussing and getting frustrated and trying to bend the system to my will, anyway.

So, where we are right now is that I think I’ve worked my way into the proper pitch of frustration, and the next time I look at this project, which may be tomorrow or may be Tuesday, I’ll say, “Oh, D2D, you heartbreaker, you.” and hit the publish button.

For those who are interested in such things, it does look as if there will be a trade paperback edition. It will be ugly (ref “frustration” above), but it will exist.

Speaking of frustration, Tali is in the middle of her fifteenth tantrum in the last fifteen minutes. She demands to see the committeecat right! now!, and by Bast, I am going to be written up like nobody’s ever been written up in the history of ever for wrongly withholding Happy Hour.

Really, she’s in quite a state. Rookie actually left the room, rather than try to compete. Thank ghod they didn’t think of joining forces, or I’d be writing this from the deck.

Tomorrow, first thing, I need to take the car in for service, and do another couple errands while I’m in Augusta, so I may not be visible until after noon.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe.

Not Mother’s Day

Sunday. Rainy and chill.

Woke up naturally at a little after six and decided I was Up. Wished Tali a Happy Mother’s Day*, and threw a spring for her. Rook brought me his ball and I threw that for him. After I’d found pants and a sweater, and brewed the morning’s first cuppa to have with the Happy Lite, Firefly jumped up into my lap and gave me all the cuddles.

Breakfast was leftover mashed potatoes, leftover corn, leftover sausage, onions, parmesan cheese, and an egg all scrambled together. Whatever it was, it was good.

Threw in a load of laundry when I woke up, because I could, and I’ll have to shift it to the dryer in a couple minutes.

Regarding the morning cuppa. I had been drinking Russian Caravan tea for my first cup, which I liked very much, but then it was gone, so I moved on to the next envelope (these teas having been part of a Holiday Gift of Tea), which happened to be Lapsang Souchong, and I liked that even more. I ordered in more of both sorts, but while I was waiting, I opened the smaller envelope of Darjeeling. I’ve never much cared for Darjeeling, but, tastes change.

I can now report that, whatever it is that makes those first cups of Russian Caravan and Lapsang Souchong so satisfying, Darjeeling has it not. Perhaps it has a place as an afternoon tea, but I tend to switch over to non-caffeinated teas in the afternoon in the interests of getting some sleep on the overnight.

. . . and that’s my Tea Report.

Lunch will be soup, in honor of the rain, rain, rain, and I’m on my way to Steve’s office to get some work done. After I detour to the laundry room and switch the wet clothes to the dryer.

What’re you doing today?

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*No, today is not Mother’s Day, which I am now sufficiently caffeinated to realize.  In my own defense, the number and urgency of internet communications I’ve been receiving on the topic of Mother’s Day led to me to believe it must be upon us.  Steve and I did not celebrate Mother’s Day; he would send flowers to his mother, but otherwise, it was just another Sunday in May.

Starting the day with sunshine

Monday. Sunny and already warm. All the windows are open and the cats are lounging in the breeze from the sliders in Steve’s office.

The first load of towels needs to be taken out of the dryer and the second load put in.

The area rugs and runners are outside and over the rails, taking the sun. My deck chair and table are set up and ready for use.

Regarding the deck chair. When I got it out of the closet where it overwintered, there were five springs taking shelter beneath its skirts. FIVE.

For book club, I’m reading A Gentleman in Moscow, which I’m enjoying. It strikes me that this may have been what Theo of Golden was striving for, and, err, didn’t achieve.

Since I just recently read Balance of Trade, I started Trade Secret last night, wherein I note that the Young Gentleman reveals to us The Plan. I believe that Jen Sin reviled the Young Gentleman’s clan in Salvage Right, and also said something about The Plan, which I will need to check.

Honest to ghu, this universe is tight. The authors must’ve have a million databases. *cough*.

I have a couple titles that will fit in the small blank stars on the front of the Starry Shirt, so I’m getting those ready to be embroidered.

And! I have not yet heard from D2D customer service, which is not surprising, and I really don’t expect to hear from them this week.

I believe I need to step out for a few minutes to hit the TJMaxx in-town, and also the Hannaford. P’rhaps I’ll get the car washed. I have a pass, after all.

How’s everybody doing this fine Monday morning?