Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Back at Home Base, Hooray!

 

After 11 weekends of events in a row, I'm finally back to a more manageable schedule. This month's events are only traveling to and from home with no overnights or long distances. Hooray! Do I endeavor to break this record of insane booking? No. No, I do not.
 
Did I intentionally schedule myself so heavily? Sort of, but when doing so, I had not planned on having exchange students. I also didn't plan on having storm damage that wiped out my entire home network including work stuff that put me a week and half behind at my day job, nor did I plan on having a major day job equipment issue that required an bringing in a tech to fix that also set work behind a week before the storm damage happened. All of those things required a lot of $ that I'm not exactly swimming in because continuing to breathe air is expensive these days. It's been a stressful time, to say the least.

The good news is that day job work is back up and running so $ is coming in to pay bills. The exchange students have been fun, but are nearing the end of their time with us so that will free up evenings a little more for writing time. Because, holy cow, I do not write when under stress. I'm even out of stuff to watch on Netflix. You may have a problem when you look at the 'because you watched this, you may also like this' lists and you can say that you've already watched all of those suggestions that look even remotely interesting. So I've been reading. This is a good thing I suppose, because it's making a little dent in my towering To Be Read stacks. Yes, I have multiple stacks. Four of of them, actually, and that's not counting what's lingering on my Kindle. Wooooo boy.


Ok, enough of the state of the author... on to positive things. I'm hoping to add another book or two to this stack before the end of the year. 
That means it's time for the monthly project update.

I9 is glaring at me and supporting fans are nagging me. Yep, I know I need to get on this one, but I haven't had the brain for it lately. Edits take a lot of brain.

Interface is also glaring at me, however, I'm so used to angry looks from this book that I can shrug it off. I'll get back to it. Really, I will. Yes, really, I mean it this time.

Nugget #2 has been the only project making a little progress because kids' books are my brain level right now. That said, I'm only four chapters from the end, yet I still haven't written those four chapters. (headdesk)

Sahmara's audio book is still in progress. The narrator tells me she's on chapter 7. This one is out of my hands currently so, um, yay? I guess? To be fair, our agreement was for a fall release, so that's on track.

One project is on track! woohoo! Small victories.


If you're not familiar with 
and find links to all the 
other participating writers.

Let's get to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question: What books impacted you as a child or young adult?

All of the books.

Oh, you want examples? Ok, fine. 

As a kid I was a huge fan of the Black Stallion series. I still have all those books. It was my 'I like horses' phase, even though I rarely got to ride a horse—as in it was a one or twice a year thing— but..but...horses! I also read a lot of Linda Craig mysteries, because horses! But also because: mysteries! My mother was an avid reader of mysteries so that's where I went in my first forays into chapter books and series. That included the entire Trixie Beldon series at one point. I think I'd gotten over horses by then. After that, I veered hard into Tom Swift books and then vanished into Narnia. I've been on a fantasy/sci-fi jag ever since.

Did your childhood genres stick with you?


Tuesday, May 6, 2025

I'm Still Alive. The Kicking Is Questionable.

It's been a busy streak of weeks. As you can see from my event list on the side over there --> , I'm in the midst of 11 weekends in a row. June 7&8, I'm very much looking forward to you. That said, I'm also having fun meeting readers and making book sales. It's fun to write books and all, but it's also nice to pay bills and that means getting my books out there for people to find.

Events have been going fairly well, my favorite for the year so far was Viking Fest in Whitestown Indiana. I had a fun booth neighbor and other than some light rain on Friday, the rest of the weekend was gorgeous. Books were sold, beer was imbibed, acts were enjoyed, and I got to introduce my newest little chicken into the world of meeting people and traveling in the car. Peep did well.

My least favorite event of the year was this past weekend at the Southern Indiana Renaissance Faire. This was a new to me event and pretty much all the things went wrong. I've been doing events for ten years and hands down, this is was the biggest mess I've ever had to deal with. Yep, it even beats the year we had hail at Viking Fest making it so cold that I didn't realize I'd broken my finger loading out until later during the car ride home when my hand thawed out, and the Sturgis event where the organizer thought it would be a great idea to place the author tent at the far end of the field with nothing else around to make it a 'destination' for patrons to venture over to. Hint: they did not venture over.

Rather than rant about all the bad things, I'll skip to the star of the show. 

It rained intermittently for four days. When I got there to set up, it looked like this:

By the Sunday, the area in front of my booth looked like this:

We could not drive in to load out and so all the vendors had to carry or cart their items through 6 inch puddles and shoe sucking mud all the way to the parking lot to get out of there. 

Having done shows for ten years, I'm prepared for a lot of things, but this was a challenge I'd be happy to never repeat.



Onward to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question: What are your greatest fears as a writer?

If you're not familiar with 
and find links to all the 
other participating writers.

1. A reader discovering a plot hole or inconsistency that I missed. This is what my brain tells me is going to be revealed every time someone starts a conversation with #3 on this list.

2. Inadvertently reusing a name from another one of my novels. With 18 books currently published and several more in the works, this one becomes more challenging every year. Is this actually a huge deal? Probably not, but in my head it is.

3. Anytime someone comes up and says: "I read your book." Readers have no idea what kind of anxiety this lead in instills in a writer. And? Did you hate it? Loved it? Give me a little something with those words so I can either relax or brace myself. 99% of the time, it's good things, but that line still makes me wince.



Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Springing into Spring

 March was fun, with some new to me events. 

We started the month at Mona Shores Comic Con, which was great because it was free for vendors, and also, many of my fellow author and vendor friends were there so we got to catch up. This one was put on by a high school so we met many students as well as some of the general public. I've been informed that next year, the chicken should also be in attendance. 🐔

 I even had a few early copies of Nugget for Fantasticon.

Next, I ventured over my first Ohio event in Toledo. Fantasticon was full of new to me vendors. New friends were made and I got to chat with a few old ones too. It was great to get to meet a new audience and introduce them to my books.

I had a tiny table for Third Coast so we had a book 
mountain instead of my usual spread.

Then came the inaugural Third Coast Book Festival near to home. The short travel time was much appreciated after the trek over to Ohio. Stationed throughout Grand Haven, 140 authors sold books to the public and then we dispersed for a few hours, during which, my local author gang hung out at one of the breweries for a tasty beer. We spent the evening at a Gala where we made lots of new author friends and also got to chat with readers and enjoy delicious snacks from local restaurants. Much networking was accomplished.

Author friends, old and new

I wrapped up with month with my annual across the state college con in Alma, MI. Attendance was down this year due to a lack of advertising, but I did meet some new readers, as well as visiting with a few fans and I got a lot of reading done.


There are lots of places to find me in April on the list -->

Now that Nugget the Space Chicken is out in the world, I'm onto the second project of the year, I9. I closed the window on beta comments on Monday so now comes the fun of compiling feedback and digging into revisions.

Audio narration of Sahmara is also in the works. I'm guessing I'll have a few more chapters in my inbox at some point this month.

Interface is making slow but steady revision progress and going well with my critique group. 

I also may have started writing the second Nugget book.

Can one have too many projects going at once? Nah. Ok, maybe, but I'll do it anyway because that's how I roll.

If you're not familiar with 
and find links to all the other participating writers.

Onward to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group Question: What fantasy character would you like to fight, go on a quest with or have a drink with?

Have a seat, Vlad, we're gonna have a few beverages and see what happens.

It would probably start as a drink, then we'd get talking and either end up in a fight or find ourselves on a quest or a combination of the two because really, what's a quest with a fight in there somewhere?


 




Saturday, March 22, 2025

Release Day: Nugget the Space Chicken and the Dragon of Ishenor

 

It's release day for Nugget the Space Chicken and the Dragon of Ishenor! 

I had so much fun writing this book and watching my daughter's illustration sketches come to life. Now, here we are in print. Woohoo!

Jasper and Opal’s first mission with their scientist parents is to study the world of Ishenor to see if it could be a home for humans. They travel to the planet’s surface with Nugget, their pet chicken, to collect samples. Everyone has a job to do.

While their parents explore the landscape, Opal gathers plants and Jasper collects rocks. Nugget’s job is to stay out of trouble, but hunting for bugs leads her to a lost baby dragon.

Can Opal, Jasper, and Nugget get the dragon home safely before their parents return, or will they all be grounded forever?




If you'd like a preview, I did a reading of the first chapters on Indie Reads this week. It's available on Spotify and YouTube


 


You can find me and Nugget's book at the Third Coast Author and Book Fest today (March 22) in Grand Haven, MI, along with a hundred and some other authors who are taking over the downtown shops.

Monday, March 3, 2025

New release: Nugget the Space Chicken and the Dragon of Ishenor

March begins the busy times that will continue until September. Deeeeep breath and GO!

The first book in my new Nugget the Space Chicken series releases on March 22. Pre-order links are live on all the usual online locations. Book two is outlined and on my writing schedule for 2025, along with Interface. I9 is currently in the hands on beta readers, and I've been hearing good things. Hooray! I also wrapped up an editing job and the first two chapters of the Sahmara audiobook are in my inbox for approval. #somanyprojects

Nugget the Space Chicken aims to fill the early reader gap in my book catalogue, offering something fun for kids between picture books and full chapter books. Aimed at ages 6-10, this fun sci-fi  series will follow the adventures of Jasper and Opal and their pet chicken, Nugget as they explore new worlds with their parents. 




Jasper and Opal’s first mission with their scientist parents is to study the world of Ishenor to see if it could be a home for humans. They travel to the planet’s surface with Nugget, their pet chicken, to collect samples. Everyone has a job to do.

While their parents explore the landscape, Opal gathers plants and Jasper collects rocks. Nugget’s job is to stay out of trouble, but hunting for bugs leads her to a lost baby dragon.

Can Opal, Jasper, and Nugget get the dragon home safely before their parents return, or will they all be grounded forever?

Amazon / B&N / etc. and also signed copies direct from me on that handy tab above


If you're not familiar with 
and find links to all the other 
participating writers.
This month's ISWG Question is: If you could be anyone or anything in the world, what would it be?

I'm pretty happy with being me so other than the improvement of being me with enough $ that I don't have to worry about bills being paid every month, I'm good as is. If you'd like to help the improvement come to fruition, links to all my books are over there <-- 








Last month was my return to book signing events after the holiday hiatus. Our Michigan Author gang had a good time at the Mid-Michigan Women's Expo. 

After three long days of pitching books, most of us 
still managed to smile.

I also did a small comic con and a tiny library event with Laya.

Hanging out at my booth at the Women's Expo

Last weekend was the Mona Shores Comic Con, another small local high school event, but with lots of author and vendor friends. Next weekend, I'll be driving to Toledo, Ohio for Fantasticon, then staying closer to to home in Grand Haven, for the Third Cost Book Event, and finally, venturing over to Alma, MI for Alma Con. Busy busy!

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

We're Off and Running!

Last weekend was my first comic con of the year. A small show but perfect for getting back into the swing of things after the holiday break. It was fun getting the con vendor gang back together and meeting new readers. 

This weekend I'll be remembering how to do three day events again at the Mid-Michigan Women's Expo. Our author alley will feature eighteen Michigan authors (who will likely be chugging a lot of caffeinated beverages). Books are stocked and my event gear is ready to roll.

In writing news...

Nugget the Space Chicken and the Dragon of Ishenor is ready for ARC readers. If you're interested in a review copy of this early reader chapter book aimed at ages 5-9, there's a sign up form here.


I9 is out with beta readers while I ponder cover art. The blurb is done. It's looking like a May-June release.

In non-writing news...

We've been attending small concerts almost weekly. Lots of great music! Including blasts from the past Big Head Todd and the Monsters and an excellent ABBA tribute band. 

The exchange students are halfway through their USA adventure and are doing well, enjoying snow days off of school, and doing their favorite thing: taking naps and reading books. Two things I can get behind.

Which brings us to...

This month's Insecure Writer's Support Group question:

Is there a story or book you've written that you wish you could go back and change?
If you're not familiar with 
and find links to all the other 
participating writers.


Change as far as go back and entirely rewrite? No. 

That said, I do go back and read my published books every couple of years for two reasons. 
One: Because I wrote a story I wanted to read. 
Two: To fix little things that I now see with my more experienced eyeballs. So, no, not rewriting, but tweaking here and there. Not changing the content or story, but more the mechanics behind it. Smoothing out a sentence, inserting a better verb, or fixing formatting errors or ninja typos.

Thankfully, my books are all printed POD so I don't have to sell off a couple hundred copies before new readers get the most polished version of my books. If you pick up a copy with a current 'Also by' page, it's likely the newest edition of that book. 

I don't publish and forget it. These are my book children and even through they're grown up now, I nag them get a hair cut now and then and I still buy them new socks for Christmas.

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

2025 Goals

If you're not familiar with 
and find links to all the 
other participating writers.
Welcome to the first Insecure Writer's Support Group post of 2025 (AKA my incentive to write a monthly post - and yes, I'm posting early. Look at me go.). I'm bypassing the optional question this month in favor of a quick chat about goals. Every January I update my new goals and check in on the old ones to see how I did. Goals are what keeps us going. Well, that and breathing.

Let's see what was on the agenda for 2024 and how I did.

New books I hope you'll see in 2024:

Frayed - out with ARC readers RELEASED!

One Shot At The Sphinx - in the last round of edits RELEASED!

Laya's Vacation - waiting for illustrations RELEASED!


Projects I hope to get to or wrap up in 2024:

Godmother - currently just notes I did start this one. So yay? Is it wrapped up? Nooooooo

i9 - first draft in progress First draft complete! Hooray!

Interface - first draft in progress Ooooooh, yeah, so uhh..... FAIL. AGAIN. Sorry, Interface. 

On the bonus side, I did write Nugget the Space Chicken, which wasn't even on my list (currently out for edits and a reading by my target audience). Woohoo!


Other goals for 2024:

As always, I'm hoping to read more. I have so many books on my TBR stacks and on my kindle.  I did get at least one if not three books read a month, so I'll call this a win. Did I also add to my TBR stacks so I looks like I accomplished nothing? Yep.

I'd like to get out in my flower garden more. We'll see if my body cooperates. I did return to the flower garden and cleaned out / replanted several large sections, redid my stone stairway, AND built a large raised vegetable garden out of five pallets full of very heavy blocks. #muscle  

Maybe work a little less. Yes, I'm laughing at that one while looking at my 2024 events over there on the right, but we're back to that hope thing. On paper, I did work less. A little. I only did one book event Sept - Dec so yay me. The down time would have been fantastic had I not also taken on two exchange students in Sept for the rest of the school year. Are they fun kids? Yep. Are we having a good time? Yep. Am I relaxing? Umm Nope.


Which brings us to... Goals for 2025:

Publish Nugget the Space Chicken

Publish I9

Finish writing Godmother

Finish writing Interface (Shaking my head at this one. Poor Interface)

Successfully juggle enough book stock for all those events ---> 

Read two books a month

Keep working on the overgrown flower garden


Did you have a good year? Do you have goals for the year ahead?