Tag: writing

Saturday’s plans are peaceful and calm

Saturday. Raining for a change. Another good, long night of sleep, and my blood pressure where it “should” be. I am inclined to regard all medications with suspicion, and experience has shown that I am wise to do so. Levothyroxine has tested beneficial — a rare exception. I may have to make a second exception for Lisinopril, if this keeps up.

There has been a Question regarding the current book club selection, which is Sourdough by Robin Sloane, not Angela Slatter.

I don’t honestly know who Angela Slatter — no, wait, here she is. Australian. Graduate degree in Creative Writing, started doing the commercial fantasy thing in 2005, a number of titles under her byline, including Sourdough and Other Stories. I do believe her work has eluded me thus far. This does not mean it’s bad work — I can’t have an opinion, having not read it. So many books, as they say, and so little time. Also — old age speaking — it always give me pause, when I realize that someone who started doing something in 2005 (say) — the year I turned 53, and Agent of Change, 16 — has had a 20+ year career.

The morning so far was my first cup of Russian Caravan Tea while I sat in the glow of the Happy Lite with Tali on my lap, and Firefly on the back of the chair. Breakfast toasting now. I’m going to have to make bread — I’ll put that on tomorrow’s list.

Today, I plan a lazy day of writing, much like yesterday.

What are your plans for the day?

Fragmented Friday

This morning, some of us slept in:

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Friday. Juneteenth, I’m told.

640ish new words written, bringing the total words to 10,700ish.

Stopping for lunch. Rook and Tali helped me do my PT homework, and Firefly oversaw the writing part of the morning. My duty to the cats has been performed, and now I need to eat lunch and go outside with my chair for half an hour and weed.

Speaking of the new meds — my blood pressure dropped 30 points overnight (taking it from Scary High into the vicinity of what I consider to be Normalish) and I don’t know whether to be impressed or horrified. That’s some quick work, if it isn’t a fluke. I guess we’ll see.

How’s everybody doing?
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Today’s Done-To List:
1 Wrote 670ish words
2 PT exercises
3 Duty to Cats
4 Walk
5 Cooked and ate lunch
6 Weeded side of garage
7 Worked on “lesson plan” for the characterization course
8 Washed dishes
9 Read 20 pages of book club book (Sourdough)
10 Updated FB

Still to-do
1 Answer a couple of notes
2 Feed cats
3 Compile blog entries and post
4 Serve Tali Happy Hour right now (ahem)

Thursday at home

Thursday. Rainy and cool. Sitting in the comfy chair in my office with an orange cat on my lap. Drinking my first cup of tea.

First load of towels is in the washer and in a minute, when Tali lets me, I’ll get up and get some breakfast and then I’ll go write for a while.

Yes, that’s boring. I can probably use some boring.

How’s the day shaping up at your house?
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Lunch break. I have done my duty to the cats, and also due diligence on my new medication, which leads me to believe, given the other Real Medication that I take daily, lisinopril needs to be taken at lunchtime. Since linsiopril holds out the tantalizing possibility that it may induce dizziness and I should be cautious on stairs*, cat box cleaning is hereby shifted to before lunch, rather than after.

I’ve had a pretty good morning of writing, and intend to go back to it after lunch, since I haven’t finished my scene yet.

I don’t know that I’ve mentioned this before, but Rookie da Cookie has taken to curling up with his head on the pillow next to mine at bedtime, which I’m at the moment finding adorable, and also canny. Tali sleeps tucked up under my right arm, and Firefly sleeps across my ankles. This way everybody has room, nobody gets swatted in the face with a tail (including me), and there are therefore very few midnight squabbles.

. . . and it looks like lunch is warm.
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*I remain amazed by the people who scold you for being Old and At Risk for Falling who then prescribe med after med that “may make you dizzy.”
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And that’s a wrap. For local definitions of “wrap.” One thousand six hundred fifty-five words, bringing the WIP Entire to!

+/- 10,660 words.

Time for a cup of tea and a cookie, is what I’m thinkin’…

Marchin’ Monday

What went before:  So, Sunday afternoon. I’m a bit late getting lunch, which I guess will be hummus and crackers, because — easy, and late.

The WIP now stands at +/-8,230 words, which might make some arithmatically gifted persons to suppose that I had written 2,500 words today. While I grant the appearance, the fact is that I only edited two pieces of Steve’s work to fit them into the frame I’m building. Still, progress is progress, and it’s looking like — ow!

Sigh.

Tali likes to sit under the lip of my stand up desk and nip my elbow occasionally, to keep me on my toes. I think that one was a little harder than she had intended.

Continuing — progress is, indeed, progress, and — fingers crossed — it’s looking like the WIP will be breaking 10,000 words this week, by hook or by crook.

So! Lunch, then correspondence, including filling out my “paperwork” for Wednesday’s doctor’s visit.

No, the fun never does stop. Why do you ask?

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Monday. Raining like a raining fool when I got up, now sullen and damp.

Wrote a couple hundred new words, to kick an existing scene into a shape that will align with the next scene upcoming. Outlined the next two scenes so I can hit the keyboard typing on Thursday, which will be my next writing day.

Out to bookclub in 90 minutes or so, then back home to bookkeeping and getting the trash and recycling into the garage so it can acclimate itself before it’s moved to the curb tomorrow morning.

. . .brief pause while I go outside to Speak Sternly to the groundhog, who is as big as a baby black bear, stoopid rodent.

I finished reading (listening to) Ghost Ship yesterday and am into Dragon Ship. I hadn’t recalled that Joyita appeared so quickly, and I’m reminded again about Cresthaller, which I really ought to rectify. In my spare time.

The listening to the books is working out amazingly well. Lately, my vision is too blurry by the end of the day, when I typically read for pleasure, to even focus on an ebook (I had to give up paper books a couple years ago, because I couldn’t focus on the page), and — bonus! I can “read” and do something else, or just sit resting my eyes. I suppose I ought to try listening to a new-to-me book at some point, to see if that exercise is as pleasant, else I’m going to have to find another way to read. Always exciting, life.

So! How’s the beginning of the week looking from your side of the world?

Here’s how Firefly’s Monday is going so far:

Saturday writer

So, that was a day. Eleven hundred fiftyish new words written, bringing the WIP to +/-5700 total words. We’re smokin’! Ahem.

Stir-fry for lunch, fresh batch of hummus made, last load of clothes in the dryer. Getting ready to pour a glass of wine and read a bit before Happy Hour and my own dinner–hummus, I think, since I’ve got fresh.

Tomorrow, with luck, will be another writing day.

Looking ahead to next week, that’s book club on Monday, crafts on Tuesday, and a morning run to Bath to see the doctor on Wednesday. That was a quick turnaround on the appointment, FWIW.

I remind myself that I really want to achieve a whale watch this summer, so I guess I’d best cast around me for a likely cruise.

Rookie has employed Tali as his agent, to inform me that it is now time for Happy Hour, and, indeed, it’s later than I thought it was.

So! Everybody have a good evening; stay safe.

I’ll check in tomorrow.

Writing along…

Where are we? Wednesday? That sounds right.

So! Wednesday, sunny and gonna be hot, again. I’d thought that tomorrow I’d declare a Writer’s Day Off and go view peonies, but tomorrow the ‘beans are calling for thunderstorms. No sense going to a peony farm in a thunderstorm.

Was up and writing a little early, which actually works well for the balance of the day, since I have a noon-time appointment.

Today is an exciting day as the WIP breaks Three Grand! We’re currently at +/- 3,340 words, and have visited two master traders at their letters, including one from Master Trader’s pin’Aker’s cha’leket, who’s a fashion designer. And also Midys Herself.

Next up is Jethri at Sactizzy. I hope to get him off of Meldyne as quick as I credibly can.

Steve had gotten hung up with the details of the conference, which — boy, do I empathize. I had suggested a clean break in one of our how-do-we-make-this-book-work conversations, which he rejected, and, looking through his drafts, I can see why. I think involving the master traders early and getting some of the backstory from them will move things along on Jethri’s line, and let him get moving.

I think.

I tell you what — it’s good thing that writing is easy.

I may need to go out this afternoon, and pick up tag board so that my class, if I have a class, can make themselves name cards, just like we do at cons, and thereby make the teacher’s life easier. Also should look for some puzzle glue or tape or sticky backing so I can display my jigsaw puzzle and remember that I can too work jigsaw puzzles. It just takes me 15 times longer than anybody else.

So! What’s happening on your edge of the world today?

Tuesday

Tuesday. Sunny and what passes for hot in these parts.

Breakfast was. . . what was breakfast? Oh! Oatmeal with strawberry preserves. Lunch will be a salad, in just a few minutes.

Only wrote +/-425 words today. My excuse is that I had to name people and think up the plot for a melant’i play. WIP currently stands at 2,425. More or less.

I actually got a good night’s sleep, in spite of a brainstorm as I was brushing my teeth that had me darting off to Make A Note, so the boys in the basement are on the case, anyhoot.

After lunch, I need to do my duty to the cats and open the paper mail. Looks like a bunch of people want money — as who does not? After that? I’m for the sewing circle at the library.

An easy, pleasurable day so far here at the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory.

How’s your Tuesday shaping up?

Some days are like that, Mrs. Miller. . .

Business first: Those who have recently read/re-read the Fey books in their original form, may now review the books as one work under their omnibus title, The Fey Duology, in the venue of your choice. Given the Fair Mess this release has become, reviews will help considerably.

Once again — Spanish Aunts, and many, many thanks for your support and patience.
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I did finish enough research that tomorrow, I believe I will begin to write down words in the book file, so that’s good.

After that, things kinda went downhill. Possibly because the book I’m writing is the last of the Jethri arc, and Jethri was Steve’s buddy. OTOH, I wrote the first one, so it’s fitting that I write the wrap-up. Hear that, Brain?

I went out for some Alpaca Therapy, which helped a little. I think, but I’m still not Top of the Pops, so I’m shutting down for the rest of the day. I figure to do some coloring and listen to The Talisman Ring, go to bed early, and try again tomorrow.

Everybody stay safe.

In case anyone else is in need of Alpaca Therapy, here’s a picture:

And so it’s June

Business first! The Fey Duology, including dark fantasy novels Duainfey and Longeye, is now available for purchase in electronic format from!  Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, and Baen.

The paper edition is for sale at the Amazon link.

Go forth, Big Book, and Find Your Audience.
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So! Monday. Sunny and cool-but-not-cold.

Did some good start-up work on the new novel. I still have to find a few names of planets and locate a couple spaceships, but so far, all the Signs and Portents are positive.

The cats were very supportive.  Photographic proof.

A couple people asked me what I “usually” do with a completed jigsaw puzzle, and the answer is!

The puzzle the cats completed for me yesterday is, I believe, the very first jigsaw puzzle I have assembled as an adult. My spatial sense — by which I mean, the ability to recognize what will fit into where — does not exist. So! While it’s very lowering to read that a 500-piece puzzle ought to take, eh, up to five hours to assemble, I’m kind of astonished I actually got one together At All, despite it very likely absorbing 3 times that many hours (I didn’t time myself, really, but I do know that yesterday alone, it took 4 hours to finish.)

The completed puzzle is taped up safely in its portfolio. It being an Accomplishment of its kind, I may glue it together eventually, as a trophy.

Lunch has been et, and in a moment or two I will start in with emptying trash cans, and staging the trash bags and recycling, so that it can easily be moved from the garage to the curb tomorrow morning. Also up for my exciting afternoon is doing my duty to the cats, taking a walk, and making two phone calls. Sigh.

Since last week, I’ve listened to Georgette Heyer’s Cotillion and Black Sheep. Yesterday, I started listening to The Talisman Ring, and I’m … a little shocked at how very menacing Basil “The Beau” is, listening to him being read, professionally. Of course, I read Heyer as comedies, and the narrators are obliged to read them as if they were serious.

So, that’s me caught up on the first day of Back To Work.

How’s everybody doing?
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So, that’s enough excitement for one day. All the to-do list items are crossed off, including the one where I had to remove Steve’s name from the sock-drawer credit card (new cards arrived in the mail today; I’d forgotten he was even on it).

Also? The altered state that newly bereaved people exist in is an impressive coping mechanism. I made dozens of those calls right after Steve died, and they were hard, but today was gut-wrenching.

And, apropos of nothing much, I don’t talk to many people from Texas, and that accent falls odd on the ear.

So, anyway. Knocking off for the day, having Done Great Deeds. I have a mid-morning dental appointment tomorrow, and after that? We’ll see.

Everybody stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.

Writer’s day on…

Business first: Preorders for the The Fey Duology stand at! Amazon 204; Apple 30; Kobo 16 (BN, from which the title has been delisted, 8).

I have today read Steve’s narrative and notes for Trade Lanes, and started making notes of my own. Which I guess means that, indeed, Trade Lanes will be the next Liaden book.

It was a very calm and fulfilling day, just sitting with my art and letting the ideas bubble and flow. This is how writers are seduced into writing the next book, even writers who have written many books and really ought to know better.

I am more or less packed for my vacation. Overpacked, of course. I always overpack, and I’m just going to have to live with that reality. People who arrive for a week — 10 days! — away with a single duffle bag — amaze me.

Tomorrow, I have a few last-minute things to do — change out the cat fountains, make sure I’m current with passwords and such on the laptop, and have another Talk With the Cats about how Deb will be taking care of them and the house. I’ve told them this three times already, but they don’t believe me; you can just tell they don’t.

Everybody have a good evening. Stay safe. I’ll check in tomorrow.
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Well, look. I am behind in announcing that! My pleasant chat with Sean Hazlett was broken into two parts for the Baen Free Radio Hour. I had no idea I’d talked so much.

Part One aired last week, and Part Two has just appeared.