Tag Archives: Book 2

August update

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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.

Just another update…

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Hi Everyone! I hope you all are safe and doing well. Talk about crazy times we’re living in, right? Covid has taken the world and nation by storm, and some folks are all about being safe, and others seem to be fed up with being told what to do. Some going so far as to thwart safety measures. I’m guessing they think the government and CDC doctors and other medical professionals don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. And Plandemic! Plandemic people!

Well, I think that there’s nothing hard about wearing a mask and keeping to social distancing. I don’t think it’s an infringement of one’s rights. God, talk about entitled. Whatever. Wear the damn mask and stay six feet away. Alright? Thank you.

In other less crazy news–I’ve been happily hacking away on book 2, and I feel pretty good with the way things are going. If I’m really lucky, and this pace keeps, I’m hoping to be done with the first draft in a few months. God willing! I can hope right! My writing ebbs and flows, so hopefully it keeps flowing.

Other than writing, I’ve also been doing my fair share of watching Netflix. I confess, I am no different than any other American in quarantine. And this week was all about the new season of The Last Kingdom. If you’ve never seen it, I definitely suggest you check it out–especially if you love historical dramas. It’s sort of like Vikings, but better with a more interesting lead in Uhtred, who is played by Alexander Dreymon (yeah, I’ve never heard of him either). It delves into the times of when Danes and Saxons fought and warred in Britain. Very interesting and bloody.

On the other side of the spectrum is Ozark. Most people have heard of this show–it stars Jason Bateman as a money launderer for a Mexican cartel. After his business partner steals money from the cartel, Bateman’s character is put in a bad spot. In a last ditch effort to save his life he promises to launder tens of millions of dollars in a matter of weeks. This causes him to uproot his family to the middle of Missouri. With the FBI on his heels and the cartel watching his every move he attempts to achieve his goal, all the while trying to keep his wife and kids safe. I just completed season three and the season finale blew my mind! That’s all I will say about it.

Well, that’s all from me. Ya’ll keep safe!

How the events went…

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At the Twig Book Shop!

Hello everyone! So I just wrapped up a couple of events the past month. One was at a book signing at the Twig Book Shop and the other was Lost in Wonderland. The book signing went really well! My book sold a decent amount in just two hours–I was a little concerned of how well it would do due to the limited amount of time I was booked, but overall it was successful.

As for the other event, Lost in Wonderland, it went well even though Sunday was a little slow. I’m not sure if it had to do with the Coronavirus (there was a scare in my city when the CDC let out a quarantined patient who’d tested positive for the virus before the results for their test came in; then the same day the patient went shopping at a mall) or the daylight savings time change. I’m going to blindly hope it was the daylight savings time change, but we’ll see in the upcoming months to come.

I think the one thing I’ve come away with from participating in these events is how there are plenty of book lovers out there that want to support local independent authors. I am so appreciative to all the people that took a second to ask about my novel and then turned around and bought it without even knowing anything about me. It was really just an exchange of a few words and that was it.

So, now I really, really want to finish book 2. I mean–I always do–I’m completely committed. But there’s something about engaging with readers that really lights a fire. So, I’ll continue to chug away.

Well, that’s it from me. I’m keeping it shorter and sweeter than usual. Until next month.

Some book stuff, some movie stuff…

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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.

Happy New Year

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Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a good holiday. I know I did. As I mentioned in my previous post–I had two weeks off at the end of the year, and I used it wisely by relaxing, writing, spending time with family, and just pretty much recharging the batteries. All in all, I had a great vacation, and although I’m not as well-rested as I’d hoped, I do feel like getting away from the day job for a little while was exactly what I needed.

First, the writing–I’m at fifty thousand words which puts me about halfway through book 2. I also have a working title, which I will share later when I’ve wrapped up the novel. Since I had some feedback that book 1 was a little slow in the the beginning–I’ve really focused on getting the plot going a lot earlier for book 2. I’ll obviously send the draft off to a few betas when I’m done to get feedback so by the time you readers get your hands on it, the story will be nice and polished.

Writing goals for the year–well, I hope to get book 2 done. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a bit of a slow writer and I’m so not a ten-thousand words a day person. I actually don’t count the words. I count pages. I’m actually happy if I can get a page a day during the week. With my work schedule and all the other things that come with life it can be tough, but I’ll try to get more time in to write during the weekend. At least an hour or two before bed. That’s actually the best time for me to write. I just zone out with the TV on and before I know it I’ve got ten pages.

What else did I do at the end of December–well, I saw Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker of course! Who hasn’t watched it yet? Well, you should. It was entertaining. And if you don’t think too much about how they completely did away with the “Is Rey going to be a Grey Jedi?” and just closed your eyes and imagine a white room with no windows and then watch it–then I think you’ll enjoy it too.

And don’t compare it to the original trilogy either, cause then you’ll be disappointed. And it’s way too early in the year for that.

A little update and some streaming TV…

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Look how much time has gone by since I’ve posted! I do apologize for not posting regularly. But I do have some good news: I’ll be attending Nerdtacular 2019 on December 7-8. It’s a little mini comicon here in San Antonio. If you’re in town, come by and see me! I’ll be selling paperback copies of Dark Sun Rising and some t-shirts as well.

In other news, I’ve been slowly getting through book two–no major updates on that front. Still chipping away and trying to find time between the day job that’s been taking up so much of my mental energy. I was so hoping for the project work to cool off around this time, but nope! Looks like I’ll be working hard all the way to Christmas, but I am taking a few weeks off for the holidays, so I plan on doing quite a bit more writing then!

You know what’s also happening around Christmas? Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker! I’m kinda looking forward to it. And, I really, really hope the trilogy wraps up nicely and leaves us all satisfied.

And speaking of Star Wars–I’ve watched the first three episodes of The Mandalorean and I’ve got to say–it’s pretty good. And not just cause there’s a Baby Yoda that is the cutest thing on streaming TV–but I pretty much love anything that broadens the Star Wars universe–and focusing on a Mandalorian, and his clan and their cultural ways is a nice way of opening the Star Wars scope. Peeling another layer off the onion, so to speak. So, if you’re a fan of Star Wars, and you haven’t checked this show out yet, put it on your To-Do list.

Well, okay folks. That’s all I have for this week!

Some Movies…

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Hi everyone! Can you believe it’s already May? The year is going by soooo quick. Before we know it summer will be here, and all the things that come with it.

So in between prepping Dark Sun Rising for release and writing book 2, and all the other day to day life stuff, I’ve been watching a few good movies.

Like half the world population, I recently saw Avengers: Endgame, and–like most people–I enjoyed it very much. There were several times I teared up, but that’s to be expected because I’m pretty much a sap when it comes to sentimental or sad movie moments. And Avengers had quite a few. But those parts were secondary to the action scenes–which were awesome! The battle at the end was probably the best battle scene I’ve ever seen. It’s worth buying the $14 dollar ticket just to experience it.

Another movie I recently saw was The Big Country. It’s actually a classic 1950s western that my father recommended. My dad is a big classic movies fan and every now and then one of his faves catches my interest. This one stars Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston and Jean Simmons. Gregory Peck stars as James McKay, a former sailor who travels to the American West to join his fiancé, a native westerner. Since McKay is from the east, almost everyone he encounters treats him as a city slicker and refer to him as the dude. If you like a good movie with a good plot, I recommend checking out this movie–even if westerns aren’t your thing.

Anyway, that’s all I have for this week! I’ll see you guys soon.

Happy Easter and another update…

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Hello everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and enjoyed some quality family time. And for those of you that didn’t–well ‘me’ time can be just as good.

So… not much going on with book 1. Still working on the formatting. It’s actually taking a bit longer than expected even though there haven’t been any issues. I’m hoping it’ll be complete by end of next week. After that, I’m sending it off to book reviewers. Blog tours are an actual thing, and I’m attempting to have one for Dark Sun Rising.

As for book 2–I’m basically writing every day, trying to get the first draft done. It’s slow going, but I’ve made an effort to write at least one page a day. I know that doesn’t seem like much, but it adds up. Plus on the weekends I binge write–sometimes ten to twenty pages a day–which for someone like myself who is notorious for being a slow writer, it’s quite a bit.

Wondering what I have been up to other than writing? Not much. Well, other than getting excited about Game of Thrones, but then, the whole world is all up in arms about that: Who’s going to live? Who’s going to die? Is there a bun in Daenerys’ oven?

I don’t know the answer to any of those questions, but I sure hope Daenerys and Jon live. And Arya.

The Night King can have Sansa.

March Madness!

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So this past week was the start of March Madness. Every year I participate in the Tournament Challenge by entering a bracket. To be honest, I don’t really follow college basketball, but (and I’m sure some of you know this) I have a bit of a thing for gambling.

The bracket costs $30 to play. Winner takes home some money, obviously, and that’s pretty much why I enjoy participate. Just the chance of winning even though I don’t know anything about college basketball. And hey! It’s all a toss up anyway, and hardly anyone wins with a perfect bracket.

Other than that, I’ve been doing a lot of writing for book two of The Continuous War. I decided to put down the novella for a bit. It actually served its purpose–kept me writing while my book two ideas simmered–but I’m definitely going to pick it up again once I’m done with the novel.

As for book one–I should be getting some drafts for the cover soon. I might share that with ya’ll to see if there is one you guys prefer over the other. We’ll see how it goes. I’m actually kind of excited as I let the contractor do their thing. I’m interested with what they’re going to come up with without my hovering over their shoulder.

Alrighty, that’s it for me this week. I hope you guys have a good one!