Fri. March 30, 2018: I Hate Retrogrades

Friday, March 30, 2018
Day before Full Moon
Mercury Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Cloudy and windy

Yesterday was a mixed bag. Semi-productive with admin work. We went another couple of rounds on the cover for THE SPIRIT REPOSITORY and are all finally happy. The cover reveal was in the newsletter that also went out yesterday.

Got a little bit of writing done, but not enough. Worked through some contest entries.

Managed a few hours in the yard. Got most of the debris cleared out of the front, and one of the beds raked out. Slow going. I’m hoping that it clears up a bit today in order to get some more done. There’s a lot of work to do, and it’s going to take weeks, so I’d like to do a bit every day.

The Blue Moon meditation will go up on the Mediation page of Cerridwen’s Cottage later today.

And hop on over to the GDR site for the March wrap-up.

I have to track down a payment that was supposed to be in my account this morning and hasn’t shown up. This is from a reliable client, so I’m a bit concerned. I hate Mercury Retrograde, especially when it’s paired with Jupiter Retrograde.

I’m still having phone issues with AT&T. The phone hasn’t worked properly since the major cell service outage two storms ago. NOT acceptable.

Have a great weekend, and Happy Easter to those who celebrate!

 

Thurs. March 29, 2018: Writing & Yard Work

Thursday, March 29, 2018
Waxing Moon
Mercury Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde
Cloudy and mild

Hop on over to Gratitude and Growth for the latest on the garden.

Yesterday was a decent day, as far as client work. Got a lot done.

I made excellent progress on the serial outline, and on an outline for another project. Didn’t do much on MYTH.

I have to finish up the newsletter today and dig back into the TRACKING MEDUSA media kit, to recreate what I lost earlier in the week. I want to get that back up, so I can re-work the kits for HEX BREAKER and OLD-FASHIONED DETECTIVE WORK. also need to rework the Hex Breaker website.

I get back my notes for SPIRIT REPOSITORY today and then get back to that. I’m doing a cover reveal in the newsletter, and then, in a couple of weeks, will do the public cover reveal. I will be glad to get this book out there.

Of course, that also means putting up additional material related to the book up on the Coventina Circle website and get to work on both the SPIRIT REPOSITORY media kit and the more general Coventina Circle kit, which will be regularly updated as each book releases.

Never a dull moment, right? Which is a good thing.

I got some LOIs out this week. I got some yard work done. If the weather holds, I’ll do more yard work this afternoon, along with work on MYTH, RELICS, and NOT BY THE BOOK.

I’m also working on contest entries.

I feel lucky and blessed today, in my creative life.

 

Wed. March 28, 2018: Writing And Other

Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Waxing Moon
Mercury Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde

Hop on over to Ink-Dipped Advice to see the latest post for business owners on how to write an ad that attracts the right writer.

I’m clipping along on MYTH & INTERPRETATION. It’s great to be back with Gwen and Justin. Keeping in mind what my editor and I discussed about the outline helps me keep it moving without it getting too unwieldy. After all, this is a between-the-books-novella, not the second book in the series.

The fact it’s not the “second book” is probably part of why I’m not struggling to write it (so far, anyway). I struggle with every second book in a series, it seems, and wind up unhappy with it. The outline helps a lot, too.

Breaking this section off and developing it, keeping it separate from BALTHAZAAR TREASURE, was the right decision.

The notes are due back from my editor on SPIRIT REPOSITORY today, and I’ll have to start digging in to make our release date. I’m nervous about the notes.

Working on the Writer’s Rough Outline for the serial project. It’s coming along more slowly than I would like, but it’s coming. Even if the pitch isn’t contracted, it gives me clarity on where I want to go with this piece, and that’s a good thing.

Working on the Writer’s Rough of another outline for a piece that’s been bugging me. I want to get the notes down so it will leave me alone, but when I decide to go back to it, the bones are there.

The work on the outline is making me refine the pitch, which is a good thing.

Client work the past few days has been challenging. Not the work itself, but some of the personalities. All in day’s work. Especially when both Mercury and Jupiter are retrograde.

I did some promotion on both Facebook and Twitter for all the novels in all the series yesterday. I usually don’t do batch promotions like that, but I had the chance, and I did it. I’m not too worried about it; I spent a LOT of time promoting, re-tweeting, and encouraging other authors.

With all the anger at Facebook for the way they sell data on their users (well-placed anger, I might add), I’ve been looking at other social media possibilities. I prefer Twitter to Facebook for many things anyway. But I wanted to see what else is out there. So, far, not impressed by what I’ve come across. Again, they want too much control over my content and too much information.

I had a typical Mercury Retrograde experience on Monday. I spent hours on a supposedly stable computer reconfiguring the TRACKING MEDUSA media kit, tweaking content, adding content, switching out some of the excerpts, etc. And the damn computer crashed, so I lost the new material. I’m frustrated. But then, that’s what I get for working on a PC. It seemed it would make more sense to work on it than on my aging Macbook, but it wasn’t.

More on-site client work today, and then, I’m sure I’ll have the notes for the final big REPOSITORY edit waiting for me. Once I get over the shock of all the red marks (because, no matter how hard I worked on the draft, there will be plenty of red marks), I’ll get to work and make it better.

To the page.

 

Tues. March 27, 2018: Multiple Writing Tracks

Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Waxing Moon
Mercury Retrograde
Jupiter Retrograde

Yes, Jupiter went retrograde on March 9 (I’ve been in denial). And now Mercury is retrograde. It’s like walking on eggshells.

Busy weekend. Spent the bulk of it working on the Writer’s Rough Outline so I can finesse it into a synopsis for the project going out in a few weeks. Nowhere near done. Also made notes on another project pulling at me.

Any minute now, I’ll get back the edits on SPIRIT REPOSITORY and have to dig in, so we stay on track for it.

Worked on the newsletter; worked on the new media kit for TRACKING MEDUSA. Pondered new content for the Jain Lazarus site.

The new websites are working, though; people are finding them and, therefore, finding the books, the stories, the workbooks. It’s so good to have working sites again that support what I do.

Saturday, I had to take my mom for an ultrasound, but it came back clear. But we were still exhausted. The timing of the test meant I had to cancel my plans to join the March for Our Lives, which disappointed me. I am in awe of these teenagers who refuse to be murdered by special interests and refuse to let corrupt politicians look the other way. Maybe there is hope for our country, after all. If we can take it back before the authoritarians destroy us all, in order to line their own pockets. We are, sadly, living a portion of a dystopian nightmare. The lack of action by those who put their hands over their ears and sang, “lah, lah, lah, it doesn’t affect me” is coming back to bite us all in the butt.

Worked on contest entries. Can’t believe it’s already another week, and the last week of March.

Client work yesterday, and client work today, both onsite.

Continuing to work on MYTH & INTERPRETATION and the outline. Hoping the weather will hold this week, so I can get out there and clear up the debris from the last four storms we’ve had.

Onward.

Mon. March 26, 2018: Maximizing Efficiency Without Adding Stress #UpbeatAuthors

Monday, March 26, 2018
Waxing Moon
Mercury Retrograde

The solution to this is a fairly simple, three-pronged approach.

Prong 1: Break Away From the Myth of Multi-Tasking
Multi-tasking gives the illusion of productivity. In reality, it means fracturing your attention over a wide range of tasks, none of which get your full talent and attention. Studies prove that it is unhealthy, which is the biggest reason to stop.

Yes, you have to juggle many things in your day. But when you focus on each one, or break it down into a step that you can do with complete attention before moving on, you will get more done and feel better about it.

Prong 2: Learn to Say “No.”
I talked about this in another post, back in January, about balance. Far too many people want you to perform at their convenience, on their schedule, further their agenda — with no positive result for you.

Learn to say “no” politely and pleasantly. Remember, you are not required to give a reason. If someone demands it, say, “Because I said no.” That’s the end of it.

It culls those who are trying to add their load to yours simply because they don’t want to pull their own weight.

Prong 3: Get Off Your Damn Phone
Who has to be on call all the time? First responders. Caregivers. The rest of us, with the rest of the distractions? We don’t have to be reachable all the time.

If you want to be productive, you need uninterrupted time to give a task your full attention (see Prong 1). Turn off your phone. Close the door. If you work in a bullpen-style set of cubicles and someone tries to interrupt, say “Not right now” (see Prong 2) or “Give me five minutes to finish this and you’ll have my full attention.”

The transition to the above three steps is stressful in the short term. People don’t like it when you set boundaries and hold them. But when you do so, you will garner more respect, be more efficient, and experience less stress.

Fri. March 23, 2018: Anticipating a Writing Weekend

Friday, March 23, 2018
Waxing Moon
Mercury Retrograde
Sunny and cold

So, Mercury is retrograde. In Aries. Ick.

Yesterday wasn’t as productive writing-wise as I wanted, but it was productive in other ways. I finished the book I had to review, and will polish the review and send it off today. I worked my way through several contest entries.

The big deal, for me, was that I figured why the contact form wasn’t coding in properly on my websites, and fixed it. Now the websites have contact forms, rather than stating my email or writing out the email so I’ll get a lot of spam.

I cleaned up my new mailboxes. I am in the process of unsubscribing from a bunch of stuff, on all my email accounts. There’s too much crap coming in.

I figured out how to reconfigure my menu bars so I can use drop-down features where appropriate.

I have three different WordPress books checked out from various libraries in the system. In order to figure this out, I had to read the relevant sections in all THREE and then do something slightly different, based on what I read. Because heaven forbid, any ONE of them should have had the complete, correct steps.

I worked on the newsletter. I worked on the updated media kit for TRACKING MEDUSA. I may do the cover reveal for SPIRIT REPOSITORY in the newsletter.

I got ahead on some blog posts.

I’m working on the Writer’s Rough Outline so I can distill it down to a synopsis and get the submission packet for the last big project out in the next couple of weeks. I have another project to get back out on submission, but I will wait until after Mercury goes direct. I want to do another pass on it and make some cuts.

I have a lot of errands to run this morning, then a meeting, and then I’m digging back to drafting the books that are waiting rather impatiently for attention.

And, of course work on the Writer’s Rough/synopsis.

Have a great weekend!

Thurs. March 22,2018: Pitches, Process, and Disrespect

 Thursday, March 22, 2018
Waxing Moon
Mercury Retrograde
Snowing

Yup, Mercury is retrograde, and, once again, I can’t hide under the covers for three weeks, gosh darn it.

We’re in our fourth nor’earter of the month (hence the reason this is going up late). I have storm fatigue. It’s not as bad as predicted, at least so far, but I’m still over it.

Long day onsite yesterday, but, for the most part, an interesting one.

MYTH & INTERPRETATION is chugging along. I’m gearing up to start RELICS & REQUIEM. I’m behind on that, and I need the first chapter polished and ready to go for THE SPIRIT REPOSITORY’S release. NOT BY THE BOOK is getting some love, too.

I got two of the three pitch packets I wanted to get out before Mercury went retrograde out. The third requires more work. I have most of the pieces, but I don’t have the synopsis they want. It’s for a piece that’s yet to be written (although I wrote the first four chapters of it to get them out of my head a few years ago, and then put it aside for contracted work). I’d re-read the piece a few months ago and liked it a lot, but didn’t see a way to get it back into the schedule in the near future. It was more of a “someday” piece. But this opportunity came up, and, of all the ideas I’ve been playing with, this seemed like the best fit.

But they want a synopsis.

I have several ways I work on a book. Sometimes, characters start talking to me. I wind up outlining most of the book in what I call my Writer’s Rough Outline, and then write a few chapters to see if it’s viable, tweak the outline, polish the pages and then decide if it’s something I can sell on a pitch/sample, or if I need the whole thing written and polished. If it’s the latter, then it’s a case of deciding how to work it into the schedule. Right now, I’m scheduled tightly, and I have other potential pieces circling like planes stacked over LaGuardia.

Contracted, paid work comes first. After that, it’s whatever pulls hardest, which eventually becomes contracted, paid work.

The other way I work on a book is that characters start talking to me. I sit down and write my way into a piece, jotting notes along the way. Usually, it’s the first four chapters. Then, I stop and do a detailed Writer’s Rough Outline. That way, when I go back to it in order to work it into the schedule, I have the notes, the vision, and I’ve captured some of the energy of that first excitement.

With this particular piece, I wrote the first four chapters. I loved it, but it was during a time when I was overscheduled, so I put it away without writing the Writer’s Rough Outline.

I know I have some jotted notes. I remember the overall shape I want. But I need to sit down and work out the Writer’s Rough. From the Writer’s Rough, I need to distill and then polish a solid synopsis that works for the specific format/medium this outlet looks for.

That’s going to take a few weeks.

Fortunately, this pitch doesn’t have to go in on deadline. It gives me the room to do it well, but I still have to sit down and DO IT, rather than just letting it slide.

And I have to do it while working on contest entries, while keeping up with the books sent for review, while keeping up with client work, while anticipating the next round of edits for THE SPIRIT REPOSITORY, while staying on track with MYTH & INTERPRETATION and RELICS & REQUIEM.

Dropping any of these balls is not an option.

On a more wearying note, I had a rather nasty run-in yesterday. Someone wants me to co-author a book with her. No contract, no payment, no publisher lined up. All on spec. I told her that kind of work goes through my agent. She called me “stupid” and said I’d lost an opportunity.

I don’t consider working for free a lost opportunity.

This is my business, not my hobby. I am paid for what I do, especially when it’s work for someone else.

It would be stupid for me to accept something that will be a lot of work for no return, while putting aside my own work.

I was polite (although I didn’t want to be) and firm. It still left a bad taste in my mouth, especially about this individual. Unfortunately, it is not someone I can avoid interacting with in the future. Yet.

At every business networking event and far too many dinner parties, some yahoo comes up with the “oh, I’ve always wanted to write a book, but I don’t have time” or “I have a great idea for a book. You should write it and we’ll make a lot of money.” Both of those comments are complete and utter b.s.

First, there’s no such thing as “no time to write.” There’s writing. There’s not writing. We all have the same twenty-four hours in the day. It’s how we CHOOSE to use them that define us.

Second, writing is a business like anything else. Professionals aren’t going to put aside paying work for your vanity project.

I don’t meet a surgeon and say, “I’d love to start cutting people open, but I don’t have time” or “operate on me for free on YouTube and we’ll make a packet.” I don’t say to lawyers “I’ve always wanted to persuade a jury to see things my way, but I don’t have time.” It’s offensive.

So stop insulting writers.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to get out and get a few things done later today. I need to do some work on the websites, work on the newsletter, and get out some LOIs.

Plus, of course, work on the fiction and the synopsis.

Never a dull moment, for which I am grateful.

 

Wed. March 21, 2018: AND We Have Another Storm

Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Waxing Moon
Day before Mercury turns Retrograde

Exhausted, and we’re in the midst of another storm.

Hop on over to Ink-Dipped Advice for tips on how to scare away a good writer.

It looks like it’s a kidney issue troubling my mom. That means more tests and more of all kinds of everything. She’s upset, understandably. We’re trying to deal with it as best we can.

Mercury goes retrograde until April 15 — Tax Day. Yuck. I wish I had the option to just stay home under the covers. Sadly, I do not.

On a happier note, the writing on MYTH & INTERPRETATION is going well. It’s great to be back in Gwen and Justin’s world.

I’m planning to start digging in to RELICS & REQUIEM today, and NOT BY THE BOOK goes back into play tomorrow.

I got two of the submission packets out for interesting gigs late on Monday. The third one requires a synopsis, where I see something going for which I’ve only written the first four chapters. That’s usually where I pause to write my synopsis anyway, but I ‘d put the project aside due to other contracts. So, I need to sit down and write it. That’s not something that can be slapped together in an hour or two. I have to take time to sit and work out the different threads, where they weave, where they part. I figure it’ll take me a couple of weeks to get it put together. I’d rather do it well than only do it fast. Especially for something as complex as this particular project.

I’m working on the synopsis in long-hand, so I can keep going if and when the power goes out.

With a client on site today, then home to recover and write.

I’ve been working through the new contest entries pretty steadily, and I’ve got a book to review for another site. I want to get that done over the next couple of days so that I can send it off on Friday, earlier than deadlined.

Fingers crossed this storm won’t be as severe as last week’s. And that it is our last one.

 

Tues. March 20, 2018: Spring Equinox Without the Spring

Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Waxing Moon
Spring Equinox

It’s the Equinox, but we have another storm coming in. I have severe storm fatigue.

Hop on over to Biblio Paradise to read PJ Friel’s blog about her process for her upcoming release A TWIST OF WYRD.

Hop on over to the GDR site for the Mid-March Wrap-Up.

Hop on over to Kemmyrk for a post about the Spring Equinox.

I worked onsite with one of my clients on Friday, since we’d lost two days due to the storm. Then, I had some work to do on the Fearless Ink website. Although Ink-Dipped Advice is working, I’m still having trouble getting the contact form and the social media links to work.

The garage door stopped working in this last storm. I’m going to wait through the next one to get it fixed. Don’t want to get it fixed, only to have it go out again.

I’m frustrated with AT&T. Instead of doing right by the customers affected when cell service went down during the storm, they publicly pretend to “care” (as in the Twitter Account AT&T Cares), while privately making excuses and putting their customers in an endless loop of b.s. without fixing the problem or crediting the customers. I have limited service, minimal bars, and it’s going in and out. That’s not what I pay for. So fix the problem, and credit me for lost days, the way any ETHICAL business would. But ethics? In this day and age, when they see what Washington DC gets away with? No one’s even pretending to have any.

I had a few errands on Saturday, but I did them early, because there was no way I would drive around here on St. Patrick’s Day, when most people are drunk by 8 AM. Worse than it was in NYC. I can’t even imagine what it was like in Boston.

The rest of Saturday was about finishing this draft of SPIRIT REPOSITORY and getting it to my editor. I’m so relieved to have this book off my desk, even though I know we’ll be doing more work on it, and the work will have to be completed quickly, since this book kicked my ass so badly so far. But I’m happy with the climactic sequence, and that’s what I worried about the most. The word count works within the genre, although we have room to cut it back a bit. But I don’t have to look at it or think about it until my editor turns it around, and then we have to move, fast, to get it out on time. If this was going into print first, we’d really be screwed, because the delay on my end would have put the publisher back several months on their end. Fortunately, since the print edition is further down the line and the digital releases first, I haven’t hurt 50 other people’s schedules.

MYTH & INTERPRETATION, the Gwen Finnegan between-the-books novella, becomes the primary focus now, although I have to juggle it with RELICS & REQUIEM, the third Coventina Circle novel. And NOT BY THE BOOK comes back into play. I had a great session on Monday for MYTH, and hope today’s goes just as well.

The next shipment of books for the contest arrived. I’ve logged them and sorted them. I hadn’t quite finished the first shipment, but I was close, so I’m not worried. Many of these books look good, and I’m excited to dig in to them.

Even though I’m still tweaking the websites and haven’t started the serious promotions yet, the new sites are paying off. Sales on everything — Topic Workbooks, Digital Delights, and the series — have all picked up. Which is good news for when I start the serious promotions.

I prepped some in-depth pitch packets for a few places that interest me, and from whom I hope to land a contract. I needed to get them out sooner rather than later, because Mercury goes retrograde on Thursday, and there’s that whole not-signing-contracts-while-in-Retrograde thing. I ignored it a few retrogrades ago and signed a contract anyway and it was a disaster. Although, truthfully, I realize how much better off I am without that particular gig.

But these three gigs intrigue me. They’d all be long-term, remote, with room for growth. Two in fiction, one in non-fiction. So I put together packages and we’ll see. Either I’m what they’re looking for or I’m not. 50-50.

Also stockpiled some blog posts for various sites. Took longer than I expected, as everything does.

On site yesterday with a client, and then had to take my mom to a medical appointment. She has more tests coming up; stressful for everyone, especially her. On site with a client today, and then I have some stuff I need to do before the next storm hits.

Equinox ceremony this morning — always makes me feel more optimistic about what’s to come.

Either I’ll be online here Wednesday or not — who knows?

In any case, on Wednesday, if the Fearless Ink site is working properly, Ink-Dipped Advice will have a post of interest to both writers and employers about ad phrasing to attract the right writer. Check it out.

 

Mon. March 19, 2018: Renewal #UpbeatAuthors

March 19, 2018
Waxing Moon
Upbeat Authors

Renewal. Great for spring, and great for us in my area right now. We had a heck of a blizzard last week that knocked out power AND cell service. So we were unable to communicate for quite awhile.

You can choose how to renew, start with a fresh slate. Sometimes, it’s as simple as waking up and saying “Today will be a good day” or “Today will be a better day.” There are more ritualistic ways of renewal, such as New Year’s Resolutions and the first day of school.

My yoga and meditation practices provide me with an opportunity to renew myself daily – or, on a bad day, when I add extra practices, whenever I stop and make the choice.

That’s the biggest factor: Make the CHOICE to renew. Make the choice to CHANGE.

Otherwise, you can go through the motions, but they are meaningless.

Fri. March 16, 2018: Still in Storm Recovery

Fri. March 16, 2018
Dark Moon

Yesterday, I was exhausted and sore, but I pushed on with SPIRIT REPOSITORY. I want to get it finished, if not today, by tomorrow, latest, and get this book off my desk. It has thoroughly kicked my ass.

Today, I’m with a client in the morning, with another in the afternoon, and then pushing on the book.

And trying to recover from the storm.

Best wishes for a great weekend.

Thurs. March 15, 2018: Storms and Ides

Thursday, March 15, 2018
Day Before Dark Moon
Sunny and cold

We got walloped by the storm.

A little over a foot of snow, power out for two days, and, more frightening, NO CELL SERVICE. Yup, cell service was down – no calls, not texts, nothing. Which was dangerous.

The point of cell service is to work when everything else goes down.

But we weathered it just fine; huddled with the fire on and the cats. We could still cook (gas stove) and had hot water, but no heat, because the gas heat is tripped by an electric switch.

Yesterday, it took me five hours to shovel out. The path and driveway weren’t that bad, but the plows had packed three feet of snow and ice against the bottom of the driveway, and that took longer than the rest of the property. But we all helped each other, in the neighborhood.

This morning, I had to take my mom to the doctor. Tomorrow, I’m with a client in the morning, and another in the afternoon; not sure what’s going on with my own computer time.

So, the new, business-oriented blog, INK-DIPPED ADVICE, debuted in the blizzard. Kind of amusing. Hopefully, the omen is more about “making a positive impact” than “disappearing in the storm.”

I’m in the final push for SPIRIT REPOSITORY. Couldn’t get anything done with the power out; although I could have written longhand, it didn’t really make sense for this piece. Hard for me to switch back and forth within a draft. Something I need to overcome.

I did write, but something else; played with some ideas. Like I have time for any more ideas!

And worked on contest entries. The next batch is on their way to me!

Power and cell service are both flickering. Not sure how much touch I’ll be in over the next few days.

Onward.

Tues. March 13, 2018: And Another Storm

Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Waning Moon

We’re set to have another snowstorm today. Boston might get up to 18″ of snow.

My mother isn’t feeling well, so that’s a worry, especially in bad weather.

Speaking of Boston, that’s where we spent Saturday. Up early, on the bus into South Station, a cab to the MFA — which cost a lot of money. It would take three different trains on the T, but I’m thinking we should have done that instead. Not happy about the cab costs.

Anyway, we met some friends and wandered around the MFA, and saw exhibits including Jewelry Revival, Musical Instruments, Phantasmagoria (which I can use in upcoming books), Regency furniture, Klimt, Escher, Monet, and some of the Dutch and Flemish painters. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was for good art.

When I lived in NYC, I was a regular at the Met, and often visited the MOMA and the Guggeneheim; less often the Whitney and the Frick. Not to mention popping in to gallery openings here and there. I miss the access to wonderful artists. Yes, there are artists here, and some of them are quite good; but not on the scale of artists whose work has been around for decades or hundreds of years with good reason.

Originally, we were going to have lunch at the museum; however, I wasn’t thrilled with any of the choices. The most expensive restaurant’s choices were too much for a light lunch. New American Cafe was a loud, overpriced cafeteria with poor acoustics and screaming children. Taste looked like it accumulated Starbucks’ leftovers. The Garden was, again, full of screaming children. No. Just no.

Hey, great there are so many kids, get ’em hooked on art when they’re young. But there was no way I was going to have my meal disrupted by them.

So we skipped lunch.

We headed back on the bus in the afternoon, and had Chinese take-out with a nice wine. Much more satisfying, all around.

Sunday was my actual birthday. It was lovely to have so many warm wishes flying across the internet. I felt really special.

It was a day for prosecco, good food, chocolate, and relaxation. There were plenty of things I should have done, it being a nice day and a day off. But I didn’t. I took the time off.

Of course, I was a big groggy and cranky from “jump ahead.” I HATE jumping ahead for daylight savings time, and resent it when it’s on my birthday. I prefer jumping back in fall, and gaining an hour.

So Sunday felt very short, and I felt I couldn’t get much done.

I cooked a lot — a potato, egg, and andouille salad for this week’s lunch, and a huge pan of lasagna for dinner. Both turned out very well. Yes, I cooked on my birthday and enjoyed it!

I took the weekend off writing, for the most part. In spite of being on deadline. I needed the break. I did, however, jot down some notes for some ideas that started percolating. One idea, in particular, is being very insistent. But the notes are down, and it will have to wait its turn. The characters are arguing about their names — I will probably change them. Because they know what their names are, and if I impose them, it won’t work.

Monday, was back to work, writing. I’m so close to the end of REPOSITORY I can taste it. I can’t wait to get it off my desk and on my editor’s desk.

Fearless Ink, the business website, is up and live. Part of it is a new, business-oriented blog called Ink-Dipped Advice, that will premiere tomorrow and run on Wednesdays, talking about my odd way of approaching business writing, how I meld it with my fiction, and why it works for me. Doesn’t mean it will work for everyone, but it works for me. I hope you will check it out. I hope you will become a regular reader.

We’ll see what the storm does. If I’m not online tomorrow, it’s due to the storm. I will be late on Thursday, because my mother has medical appointments.

Have a great week!