I missed last week. The audio for Nothing but the Ghosts was ready, and I spent a good chunk of the weekend listening to that. The narrator, Amy McFadden, has done such a fantastic job with the entire series that I’m pretty much speechless.
In other news, I finished a story this week that I started longhand in Iowa while working at the Java House with a little tiramisu and tea.
And I did a little background/worldbuilding work on a possible story/series. Yes, I know. That’s vague. On purpose.
I love this mural (from Iowa City). I want to live in the apartment (I think it’s an apartment) with the fire escape that lands you in the middle of that scene.
I’m thinking of a story where something like that could happen.
I did a little writing this week. Not about this particular mural, but I may have to soon. Otherwise, I’m getting back into my regular routine, getting caught up at work, and all the other things you do after taking off for a week.
I’m back from the IowaSummer Writing Festival. I had an incredible time. It was just what I needed.
Of course, after that five-hour drive, I think I need a nap.
This week, I’ll review the extended sample for Season 3 of Coffee and Ghosts, which means in a few weeks, the entire audio will be ready for review.
Now, I’m off to do some laundry and maybe a little writing as well.
On Friday, a nice surprise landed in my inbox. The audio for Coffee and Ghosts 2: The Ghost That Got Away is ready for review.
I’m really looking forward to getting the entire series out in audio.
Season 1 is making its way through the distribution system (sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly), but listeners are already discovering it in various library systems. I have to say: I love this pay-per-checkout model.
That’s about it. I’m gearing up for a week of listening (and maybe some writing as well).
Sending you over to the Women on Writing blog if you want to read a bit about coffee, ghosts, submitting stories, and a host of other writerly things.
So, I discovered that the US Amazon store was selling the print version of The Complete Coffee and Ghosts for $6.88.
Usually, it’s $24.99.
I know. Totally insane. The price stayed like that for a few days, so this morning I took a chance and alerted my newsletter subscribers to the deal.
You know what happens next, right?
Amazon jacked the price back up to $24.99. Because, of course, they did.
No doubt people clicking through from the email triggered some algorithm or other. Even I missed picking up a couple of copies. I was going to grab some for a giveaway or little free libraries.
But all is not lost. The Kindle version is still on sale for $6.88. It’s not the fire sale of earlier, but it’s not bad.
In less frustrating news, I submitted a story this week, played around with some time travel ideas (story ideas, not actual time travel), and of course, saw The Way Home published over at Long and Short Reviews.
So, minus the Amazon debacle, not a bad week.
I’ve been thinking for the past few weeks about what it is I want to write and how I want to write it. I’ve spent a lot of time on Tea & Sorcery, and as much as I think there’s a gem of a story in there, somewhere, I’m not in a place to dig it out.
Or at least, not yet.
So I’m setting it aside. For the time being. Heck, I might get a burst of inspiration tomorrow and decide to dive back in. Or possibly not
I am still writing. After all, I’m gearing up to attend the Iowa Summer Writing Festival next month.
But during the summer, I’m going to walk, breathe, think, and write. And not worry so much about completing something I can sell immediately.
That will come in good time.
This week, I played around with ideas and structure for The Trouble with Necromancers (which may or may not remain as the title).
I do not want to revise (once again!) only to realize that I’m no closer to the true story.
Therefore, I’m questioning everything.
And I do mean everything. Lots of what if and do I need that and what happens when …
I hope this is it. If it isn’t? Well, then there’s a good chance this book and series weren’t meant to be. Or maybe that I need to let it compost for much, much longer than I have.
But I hope not. Let’s see what this new week brings.
Wish me luck.
Hit a bit of a bump in the road–or plot as the case may be–with The Trouble with Necromancers. It seems that I have some … trouble.
So, this week, I looked at a new structure for the novel, and yes, that may take some (major) rewriting/re-drafting.
But I’m hoping this time I finally have what I need to tell this story.
However, I did manage to write a short story this week, one that was a lot of fun.
And that’s about it. It was a quiet, contemplative week, writing-wise.
Introducing … Milo!
Yes, we’ve added another four-legged member to our family (this makes three dogs and one cat if anyone is counting).
Milo is an American Bulldog, and he’s the sweetest dog you’d ever want to meet. American Bulldogs are often called a large-breed lapdog. Um. Yeah. He’s totally that. And everyone is (more or less) getting along as well.
In writing news, I not only completed the “book map” for my trip through expanding The Trouble with Doppelgangers into a novel, but I started work on it as well.
I also played around with some cover concepts for the first book and the series.
In audio news, I approved the audio for the first season of Coffee and Ghosts. Now the fine people at Findaway Voices will do all their technical checks and get it into the distribution system.
Writing Wrongs 