Tag: Author Stuff

Summer Update

Hi Everyone! I’m a bit of a late updating this month. I usually try to post something a bit earlier, but life has been busy! Well, busy doing everything but writing. But! I have been thinking about some really cool ideas for book two rewrites–so there’s that. I’m actually excited because it’s going to clean up a portion of the story that I wasn’t quite happy with, and I actually could not stop thinking about–so yes! It’s going to make the story flow so much better.

Anyway, other than that, the day job has me beat. And the time I’m not there, I’ve been using to decompress with family hanging out watching Ted Lasso! Ya’ll seen that? It’s good. Best comedy I’ve seen in awhile. And I’m a softy for movies where they transplant an optimistic, lovable American into some other country, and Jason Sudeikis nails it.

Oh, I saw Suicide Squad, too, on HBO Max. It was pretty good! Gory, but good. If you didn’t like the first one, you should give this one a chance, it is definitely better. And way more outlandish, but in the best way. In a fun way.

Well, I think that’s it from me this month. Keeping it short and sweet. Well, shorter.

Have a great one!

Work, shows, and stuff

Hi Everyone! Hope y’all are having a great summer. Mine has been crazy! The day job has been taking up all of my attention–having to work 12 hour days. It’s been hectic and a little frustrating for sure. Unfortunately, not much to report on the book front this month. I’ve been trying just to keep my head above water. When I’m not working, I’m trying to relax to keep myself from burning out.

On a good note-I’ve watched some quality shows whenever I’ve had the opportunity. For those of you looking for something to watch I’d recommend Loki on Disney+. The show has gotten a lot of flack for being confusing, but man! I don’t think so at all. It’s a fun, fast paced, and Tom Hiddleston is excellent. Is it weird with all the time jumping? Yes. And having several different versions of Loki? Sure! But it’s a fun, different, and entertaining.

What else did I see? Hmmm, well I saw Mare of Easttown–and whoa. If you’re looking for drama and mystery, it will definitely fit the bill. It’s about a small town detective that is investigating a murder. But at the sametime going through some shit. Kate Winslet is really, really good. Like really good. She deserves all the awards. All of them.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for this month. Hopefully next month there will be something to report about book 2. Until then!

Almost there…

Can ya’ll believe it’s already September? Fall will be here before we know it, and then winter, too. Personally, I can’t wait. South Texas has been hot and a cool front is much needed. Especially since I’ve been trying to make an effort of spending some time outside. Working from home has gotten me into the bad habit of staying indoors for days. I might’ve been turning into a bit of a hermit. Nothing against hermits, but everyone needs their vitamin D.

In other news–football is back, and with it brings a feeling of normalcy that has been lacking since Covid started. I’m a bit ambivalent about it. I love the idea of rooting for my favorite teams and letting myself fall into the distraction sports offers. But watching some of the college games today, and noticing all those fans stacked in the stands–well, it looks like an outbreak waiting to happen. I suppose the laxness was because they were all outside wearing masks? Anyway, I hope no one gets sick.

On the writing front–things have gotten better, and I’m at a place in the novel where things are getting a bit more complex and exciting. Everything is coming together and gelling. I’m getting super stoked about it. I realized that the past few months I was going through a bit of writer’s block. Which happens, because you know… sometimes writing sucks. Like really, really sucks. Words are hard to come by. I’ll hit a wall and nothing seems to get the creative juices going. But the important thing is just to keep at it. And before I know it–things change. Everything just… works. And the words start to flow. So that’s how I’m feeling right now. And it’s really not a bad place to be.

Other than that there’s not really much to report this month. My life is pretty much just work, exercise, writing, and playing guitar or watching TV. Socially–it’s just hanging out with family, but other than that I don’t really get up to much. I’m still not going out or eating at restaurants. Although, I do have a bad habit of going to Target with my mother on the weekends and blowing through money like a gazillionair when all I meant to do was buy a few necessities. It’s gotten so bad I don’t want her to ask if I want to go because I don’t have the heart to say no. Oh, well. I know I’m not the only person who’s got a soft spot for Target.

Well, that’s all from me. Ya’ll take care and stay safe!

August update

Hi everyone! I hope ya’ll are doing alright. Can you believe it’s already August? The year sure is flying by–or is it crawling at a snail’s pace? I suppose it depends on your perspective.

Well, not much to report this month. Had a stay-cation where I spent some time visiting with family and getting some much needed R&R from the day job. I’ll tell ya–usually working from home has its perks, but I’ve been working non–stop the whole darn day since the middle of March. I’ve ended up working harder from my kitchen table then I did when I was in the office. Isn’t that the darnedest thing? So anyway, a week away was exactly what I needed. I even went up to the coast for a day before a hurricane hit. Missed it by a few days!

So, onto a book 2 update. It’s going a little slow, but I’m still planning to wrap it up by end of year. Then it’ll be on to the editing process. To be honest–it’s looking like book 2 is going to be a bit longer than book 1. I can feel it just from the writing and the progress of where the plot is at this point. Good news is I know exactly where I want to end the story. Bad news is there are a lot of words needed before I get there.

Other than that, not much to report this month. Still staying home and being careful. I know things are still not back to normal as much as some folks say otherwise. At this point I’m avoiding all to the stories about people who don’t want to wear masks, or follow CDC guidelines, or the plans to send the kids back to school. My only hope is that everyone stays safe.

That’s all from me. Ya’ll take care.

Some book stuff, some movie stuff…

So good new everyone! I have two events coming up! You can check them out here. I’ll be sure to add more events as I book them since I’m planning to do as many as I can in 2020. Hopefully some of ya’ll will come around and see me!

In other news–writing is going slow but steady but it’s getting there. I’m making a great effort to do a little bit of writing everyday–and with my work schedule–it can be tough, but I’m committed. I also have a working title that I’m really pleased with. I think it fits the narrative pretty well. I’ll share that with you guys when I’m a little closer to getting the thing done.

Okay–enough of the book stuff. Let’s talk about movie stuff. I recently saw the new Harley Quinn movie, which had a comically long name that has since been changed to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey (Why you ask? Because marketing, that’s why!) and it was so, so good. Margot Robbie was excellent. I’ll be honest, I’m not a big Harley Quinn fan. I’ve never watched the animated show, but Robbie’s take of the character has got me on the cusp of being a fangirl and checking out all things Harley Quinn. She’s that good!

The rest of the cast is pretty good, too. Although, my brother had a bit of a problem with Rosie Perez being cast as Renee Montoya (She’s too old!), and thought Rosario Dawson would’ve made a better choice. But I think Perez was fine along with Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Huntress) and Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Black Canary) who make up the rest of the Birds of Prey crime fighting group. I do want to mention that this is not your typical women-fighting-crime kind of move. It’s not Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel. The characters in this movie are gritty anti-heroes. And aside from Black Canery, there’s hardly any skimpy outfits, so if you’re showing up for that, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

But if you’re looking for a movie that has a great plot with decent comedy and action, it’ll be right up your alley.

My first event…

Slinging books!!

This weekend was my first event. Nerdtacular, although exhausting, was a great experience. I sold some copies of my paperback and met other vendors and artists and received first hand experience on what works when it comes to selling my book to people who’ve never heard of me before–which lets be honest, is pretty much everyone. But the best thing about people not knowing who you are or what you’re about is there are no expectations. So you can just put yourself out there with no second guessing. Overall, it was defiantly an interesting experience that I will do again next year.

One of the most enjoyable aspects was talking to all the people who had a genuine interest in my book. It made me realize how supportive people can be, especially when it comes to local, self-published authors. I definitely picked a great event as the participants were definitely my demographic for the book. People that stumbled onto my table had a genuine love for fantasy, and loved talking about fantasy stories. I’m hopeful that I gained some readers that will want to follow the series.

There was even one heartwarming moment when a woman who had bought my book asked me to write something on the dedication page. For those of you that don’t know–I dedicated Dark Sun Rising to my grandmothers, who both passed away before the book was published. Apparently, the woman had recently lost her grandmother last month, and when she opened her new book and read the dedication page, it really touched her. I was really touched as well.

So, what I really want to relate is that my weekend was successful, and definitely memorable. I had a lot of fun. So much so, that I look forward to my next event, which is scheduled for 2/15 at Twig Book Shop at the Pearl. Ya’ll should definitely come see me then if you haven’t made it to see me yet. We can talk books. My books–your books–whatever ya’ll want.

Another TV show review

Hello Everyone! Happy Fourth of July!

It’s been awhile since I posted and that is mainly because I’ve been working on marketing for Dark Sun Rising. I won’t lie–it was so much work (and so time consuming) reaching out to book bloggers that it kinda put me off of writing. I didn’t even really get a chance to work on book 2 either. Between work and all the other life stuff it was hard to do anything creative. I spent most of my free time recharging.

I think by now you all can tell how I recharge my batteries–Netflix!

So what show has caught my eye, you ask? Well, Lucifer, of course. For awhile now, I had heard about this show–how good and entertaining it is–but I had no idea how fun a watch it was. It’s kinda formatted like Law and Order and CSI in the sense that Lucifer helps the local police department with solving murders. The only difference is he has a secret power of making people tell the truth. Very handy for solving murders, that is.

Lucifer is also a lovable guy, not quite the fire and brimstone characterizations that have been done in the past. He’s actually a bit of a dolt when it comes to self awareness, which makes for some good comedy. The fact that he’s very honest about the fact that he’s Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil of Hell, and no one believes him make for some funny situations. I’m on season three, Chloe (the female lead and love interest) still doesn’t believe he’s the Devil, so I’m eagerly waiting for that reveal.

So yes, this show has been used to keep me from doing the thing I should be doing: writing. But it’s not a complete waste of time… I mean inspiration and all that.

Right?

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