Thurs. Jan. 12, 2023: Unexpected Snow Day

image courtesy of  Kati via pixabay.com

Thursday, January 12, 2023

Waning Moon

Uranus and Mercury Retrograde

Mars Direct (but still in Gemini)

Snowy and cold

Huh. We were supposed to get a storm coming through with rain tonight. Instead, I woke up to snow. Oh, well. Life in the Northeastern Mountains, right?

Garden post is up over on Gratitude and Growth.

Decent writing day yesterday. Although I only got 500 or so words on the novel in longhand, I drafted the next episode of LEGERDEMAIN and adapted the next chapter of ANGEL HUNT into five serial episodes.

I did the rounds on social media, promoting the latest Process Muse post, and spending time on the sites designated for that day. There are two sites I’m pretty sure I’m going to drop soon. I spent some time on Bookbub. Since they don’t allow us to list our serials in our booklist, I put the serials in my bio.

A book arrived for review, and it’s lovely, so lovely. Such beautiful design elements. I’m excited to get into the text. Read half of another book for review. It’s perfectly serviceable for the genre, but lacks sparkle.

Switched to reading some books for pleasure. One of them (I’m not sure how I ended up with it) is just awful. Everything in it is so completely disconnected from each other and a flat trope that I suspect it was run through AI. If I’d paid for the book, I would be angry, but I seem to remember it was sent to me free.

Read most of another book by an author whose work I know well over years. It was trying to fit a market niche, but she’s too much herself to be niche-restricted, and I could see where she was fighting the expectations. I mean, I enjoy it, but other books, where she can just let it rip, work better for me. And for her, since she doesn’t plan on continuing with the series.

Slept well, for once, although woke up after some weird dreams. But I woke up to coffee and snow, so it’s all good. I’ll put off my errands until tomorrow. There’s nothing urgent for today.

In my morning noodling session, suddenly and idea I’d played with off and on since last summer started coming into focus. I took a few notes. It will be a bit down the schedule before I can actually work on it. The idea was prompted by a submission call. I couldn’t make it work within the guidelines within the time frame, but I liked the idea, and hoped I could figure out what to do with it. I think I have, in a format with which I want to play more anyway. I’m playing with some character and plot notes, and then I’ll have to see how it fits into the structure and adjust.

I missed working on the other piece on which I usually work in longhand in the morning, so I may sneak in a few pages later today, between other bits and bobs.

Meditation this morning, then more LEGERDEMAIN, more ANGEL HUNT, making the rounds to promote today’s new episode of LEGERDEMAIN, the start of promotion for ANGEL HUNT, work on the article, finishing up books for review. Still no scripts in the queue, which is a worry, so I’ll also get out some LOIs.

I need to work on the direct marketing post card this weekend and get it to the printer (since my big printer is out of commission, and it would look awful on the inkjet).

I love watching the snow come down. I love even more that it gives me an excuse not to go out!

Have a good one, my friends!

Wed. June 16, 2022: Work Day

image courtesy of StockSnap via pixabay.com

Wednesday, June 16, 2022

Waning Moon

Pluto & Saturn Retrograde

Cloudy and humid

Yesterday was a reasonably quiet day, especially as to where we were last year at this time. It wasn’t without its disappointments. A grant opportunity landed on my desk, and looked promising. But it’s one of those where they didn’t let the applicant read through the entire application nor did they list all the requirements. So after spending too much time filling out the application, I hit a requirement that was not mentioned in the guidelines that required unpaid labor to create something they would keep for their archives, whether they gave me the grant or not.

No. Just no. That’s exploiting grant applicants.

There’s a post on Creativity is a Business over on Ink-Dipped Advice. The profits that the arts have made, even in the year after the shutdowns, is astonishing. And too damn small a portion goes to the actual artists.

There’s also a post on Gratitude and Growth that goes into more detail about Tuesday’s visit to Berkshire Botanical Garden, and about the other garden stuff happening here.

Had to make another bank deposit, mailed my quarterly taxes (ouch), and attempted, yet again, to check out the new coffee place that opened a couple of blocks away. They were still closed a half hour after their posted opening times. This is the second time this has happened. Just proves that you can’t trust a “business” that only has a Facebook page and not an actual, professional website.

Got some writing done, wasn’t happy about any of it. Handled a bunch of email. I’m still at nearly 500 emails in the inbox, which will have to be addressed today. Turned around a script coverage. The pay period ended yesterday, and I nearly made my goal. Let’s hope I can hit it in the second half of the month.

The guy coordinating the World’s Largest Poem sent me information on a playwrighting workshop offered by a playwright from this year’s Williamstown Theatre  Festival. I took a look, and signed up. I’m feeling a little stuck in the stage play aspect of my career right now, as far as writing, and it would be good to shake that up a little. There are COVID protocols, and it’s at the Berkshire Atheneum down in Pittsfield, a space in which I feel comfortable and know that they have protocols in place, too, so it is a calculated risk that tips in my favor, rather than the virus’s favor.

Spent some time on BookBub. I’m adding authors to follow and recommending books I like. I think I will have to work my way author-by-author, because it takes time. I need to do it slowly.

But that’s how one builds sustainable accounts anyway, slowly and organically.

Had a bad night. First the fire alarm went off, for no discernible reason. I got it quiet, checked everything and double checked it, just to make sure. Had trouble going back to sleep, and then woke up every hour. Charlotte had her paws full, trying to look after me (and she is exhausted this morning). At four, I gave up, and moved to the sewing room, so Tessa could keep an eye on me. Charlotte joined me. Tessa forgot I was in the sewing room, and went back to my bedroom to wake me up, astonished I wasn’t there.

I gave up and fed them a little before 5.

After my first writing session in longhand, I was excited to hit my desk and do my second writing session on the computer. Only Windows11 decided to do one of its long updates, and then I had to “set up” the computer as though I’d never used it before, even though I set it up exactly the way I wanted it when I bought it two years ago. It was a ridiculous waste of time. On top of that, it’s trying to force me to synch with my phone. No. I don’t run my life from my phone, I resent the fact that I’m forced to HAVE a phone, and I don’t want my devices synched to the phone. No.

Not the start for which I’d hoped this morning. But still better than last year at this point, when we were in moving hell, and doing our second round trip to drop off stuff here.

But I have meditation group coming up, and then it’s back to the page. There’s plenty to do, and I need to get it done: working on The Big Project, finishing the anthology story, proofreading “Personal Revolution” so the re-release can happen on time, working on the Topic Workbooks, writing and submitting the book review so I can get my next assignment, turning around a couple of scripts.

Better get going then, huh?

Have a good one, friends.

Thurs. June 2, 2022: No Use Crying Over Spilled Pork Chops

image courtesy of Conger Design via pixabay.com

Thursday, June 2, 2022

Waxing Moon

Pluto and Mercury Retrograde

Cloudy and pleasant

Yesterday morning was chaotic, due to all the traffic barreling down our street in the wrong direction. I contacted my City councilor, who, according to the city government website lives. . .next door! We had a good exchange about it. He’d done some investigating on the cause when he saw what was going on, and, with my statement, had additional information to take to the Mayor so this can get resolved.

Did I mention that my BookBub account was approved, under the Devon Ellington name? I’m @devonelllington there. I’m not yet sure how to build up the account; I will have to spend some time poking around. Once the Devon account is established, I’ll apply for another under the Ava Dunne name (each name has to be approved/set up separately).

I was also approved to join the PaganSpace community, and I’m over there under the Cerridwen Iris Shea moniker. The Cerridwen Iris Shea website will get some updating/redesigning/et al this summer, too, since more is happening under that name.

Got some more scripts in my queue, so that takes me into the weekend. I have quarterly taxes looming, and it’s start-of-the-month bills, so the more work I can get, the better right now.

I went down the rabbit hole of the new covers for the Topic Workbooks, but I’m glad I have it all sorted out. Now it’s about taking down the old editions and putting up fresh ones. I think I’ll do a Topic Workbook for my CCWC class in August, and give it to them as part of the class, scheduling it for general release the week after. I need to make sure, at the very least, the Submission and the Series Bible Workbooks are released before then.

I got 7 new scripts in my coverage queue, and turned around two of them yesterday afternoon. It will get me to almost where I need to be this week, and, if I have enough scripts next week, I’ll be okay.

I looked at some graphics software, such as Pixlr, Paint.NET, Blender, and Inkscape, and I’m looking at Storyboarder for when I need to storyboard. I’m trying to get up to speed on GIMP, but the logic on that program is very different from the way my logic works, so finding the places where they cross is a challenge.

I wrote and sent off the book review, and received my next assignment.

I got very few new words written, and only about 25 pages or so on the multi-colored draft of CAST IRON MURDER, so I have to do better today. This weekend, I’ll need to dig into The Big Project, because the first of the three arcs needs to be done, and I need to be well into the second arc. I have to be able to announce the project in my newsletter later this month, and then it has to go live early in July. Which is already later than I’d hoped, but needs must.

I had a stupid, clumsy accident last night at dinner. As I turned with the plate of hot, sauce-covered pork chops, I hit against something, the plate flew out of my hand and landed, face down, on the floor. On the way, it splattered both me and the kitchen chairs. It burned the tops of my feet (yeah, I know, chefs always warn not to be barefoot in the kitchen, yet I usually am). Thank goodness I have an aloe plant again.  Changed into fresh pants and soaked the stained ones, cleaned everything up, washed the floor.  I’ll wash it again this morning with a vinegar concoction.

Thank goodness there was enough food in the pantry so ruining dinner didn’t mean going without. There have definitely been stretches in my life where that would have been the case, but not last night, and for that I am grateful. I had some vegetable curry to heat up and put over the rice, so it all worked out.

But I felt like an idiot.

I’ve been meaning to recover the kitchen chairs for years. I guess it has to happen now.

Meditation this morning, then I’m making French toast with the leftover ciabatta. Then some writing before Freelance Chat, and script coverage in the afternoon.

There’s the latest on the garden over at Gratitude and Growth.

Have a good one!