I’ve Discovered Something

Blog No. 339

Over the years since I’ve been writing, I’ve had a regular summer slump. I’ve mentioned it on this blog (probably a hundred times) but I’ve also talked about it with other authors. Most of the time people explain it away with good weather and lots of activities, but I feel the need to point out that (since I am a basement dwelling hermit) the good weather does little to change my day-to-day routine. Part of the problem is that the day job gets busier (and the usual schedule gets tossed in the trash due to lots of special rentals and yearly occurrences. Another part is that, yes the weather is nice, so there are more events. Some are ones that I attend, and some are just fun to go to. Some are neither and I’m just there to support a friend, but I do that willingly. The thing that seems to really throw me off track is the dreaded other half of writing. Editing.

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I Threw My Back Out Dancing

Blog No. 338

I’m officially in a period where the non writing stuff is busier than the writing stuff. Looking at my calendar, this should last at least until the end of the month. That’s not to say that I won’t get any writing done. I did a good (or okay I think) 1800 words on Monday. That said, I don’t have another free day until next Monday. I rely on my scheduled writing sessions to make progress, and without those, I slip farther and farther behind. I didn’t get any done last weekend because a friend of mine had a wedding, and I was graciously invited. The best part was that I got to see a bunch of folks who I hadn’t seen since a wedding a year ago (including the groom). It was a blast from the past with Arvin coming in on the Friday night (really Saturday early morning) the wedding on the Saturday, and recovering until a mother’s day pizza dinner on Sunday (which was nice, as dinner with my folks always is).

One Month Later

Blog No. 337

The Neon Heart has been out for just about a month and I’ve sold at least 70 copies. I say at least, because I have 18 left in person and there are 12 out in the wild (currently at Biblioasis and Anchor on Huron Line). I know some of those have been sold, but it’s a bit like Schrodinger’s books. Until I get a report from the store and/or a payout, I can’t say for sure if they exist or not. Considering that I printed 100 copies for my first run, I did pretty well for a month. I’m going to have to order more. The only problem is the money. I was supposed to recuperate the funds from those first 100, but somehow, that never happens. You get bits of cash for one or two sales. You deposit some, but hang on to a bit (because you were going to take our cash for whatever anyway). In the end, you tend to get some of the money back, but never the amount that you put in. So, when it comes time to order again, you are still digging into your pocket for the funds. Usually, it takes longer, so the sting isn’t so pronounced.

Up-Up-and an Update

Blog No. 336

Welcome to May. I’m not sure how we got here, or what I’ve been doing for the first four months of the year, but here we are. Somehow, things have happened. The Neon Heart is out and thanks to being able to meet up with Christian and Elly, I’ve gotten some of the first draft of the novel done too (thought I’m not sure what it’s going to be, yet). I’ve had a bunch of events, but the usual onslaught that starts in March and runs through June, didn’t happen. I did have a busy April, but March was light, and so far, the rest of my year is the usual one or two events a month. I’m not complaining, but events usually means book sales. Still, I am plenty busy and the more time I can spend writing, the better. I suppose, like most things, it’s a balancing act.

Breakfast Reviews 2019 – Part Four

Blog No. 335

I did not intend for my breakfast reviews to end up getting me anything. My intention was to talk about places where I enjoy going to get a good breakfast. I didn’t even think that the people who own the restaurant would read them. While I meant to be positive in my assessments (as I’m really only reviewing places I already like) I have pointed out some things that I didn’t like, or would prefer in a different way. Some of it was just being honest and some was for comedy (whether you think so or not, I’m funny).

The people at Deb’s Place happened to read my review and pointed out that I could get my potatoes without onions, and they did so the last time I was there (which was on a Wednesday, when I said that their hours stated that they are open but I thought they weren’t). They have also asked if I would be interested in kicking off an Artist of the Month at their restaurant. My new book, The Neon Heart will be available there for a month, then I will help them find another fantastic local writer to have their book featured. Again, none of that was my intention, but it worked in my favour and should continue to work in the favour of other local authors, so thank you to the fine folks at Deb’s who are open when they say they are and will gladly make you potatoes without onions. I’ll have the information available on the The Neon Heart book page when it’s available for purchase there.

Two in Two Days!

Blog No. 334

I forgot how fun it can be to go to an event and actually sell some books. Don’t get me wrong. It’s work. It’s making sure everything is organized and packed ahead of time, getting up early and piling everything into the car, finding where you are supposed to go and where you can (or can’t) park, then carrying everything to your table, sitting there for eight or more hours, packing it all up, and heading home. Most of the day is spent sitting at the table, greeting the people who wander by, giving the same pitch over and over again. It seems like no big deal, but it can be exhausting. When you have two events in two day, in two cities (though it’s easier when one of them is in your home town) the fatigue is magnified. Those days can feel like years. Sure, it can be fun and when you go year after year, you make friends, but the one thing that helps more than anything else is getting the first sale and keeping the momentum from there.

The Neon Heart – Release

Blog No. 333

The Neon Heart is out! It’s official, it’s available, and it has a very loud cover. The book took me a lot longer to finish than I had hoped. It is a lot longer than I had planned too, though. The initial idea for the series was to capture the crowd that wants to read, but doesn’t have a lot of time. I got a lot of good feedback from people who bought No Light Tomorrow just to be nice, but ended up finding it approachable and really liked it. I figured, why not make a fun, fast paced book, at a non-intimidating length? They’ll eat it up. They did not. The Thinking Machine sold okay, but it did not have the monster sales I had hoped. It was, however, a new book that I could bring to events and advertise. For The Neon Heart, I changed gears a little. I listened to the feedback from the people who did buy the last one. Thinking Machine was too short and felt rushed. They loved the format, though. With that in mind, I let the story in Neon Heart drive the size. Now I have a book two in the Novella Series and it is the best thing I’ve ever written.