Tag Archives: WritersLife

Work, shows, and stuff

Leave a reply

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!

And I’m done…

Leave a reply

Guess who finished writing book 2? That’s right! This girl!

It was a bit of a rough road, but I’m finally here! Now, I just need to go in and polish it before sending it to my beta. From there, it’ll move on to my editor, proofreader, then last, to formatting. As you can see, there’s still quite a bit to go, but the part that takes the most time to do is now complete.

I’m definitely celebrating this weekend. Gonna get a piña colada or something. With some nachos.

On Friday, I’ll also be fully vaccinated–so it’ll be a dual celebration of sorts!

I don’t know about you guys, but it feels like an exciting time. The world is slowly getting back to normal. People are starting to venture out now after going through a year of the pandemic. I’ll be in New York next month on vacation, too.

So really, it seems like a good time.

Just another update…

Leave a reply

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!

These strange times…

Leave a reply

So, how is everyone doing during these strange times? I hope you are all doing well and staying safe. Especially those of you that are still working and putting yourselves at risk daily so that the rest of us can get our groceries or other essentials–ya’ll the real MVPs.

So what’s going on with me? How have I been spending the COVID-19 shelter at home thing? Well, aside from watching the news everyday and witnessing our president contradicted daily by CDC doctors–I’ve been working from home and staying indoors and away from people. I only wander out to grab groceries. So basically trying to do the whole social distancing thing.

I might be having a bit of a vitamin D deficiency when this whole thing is over with.

Most of my time consists of working, exercising at home, or watching TV. And writing, too, of course. Especially those first few weeks–I was just writing up a storm and getting a lot of words in. Now, it’s a slow drizzle. But progress is still being made so I’m happy about that. Did I mention I have a title? I’ll let you guys in on that soon.

But really–it’s crazy to think how far we’ve come from just a month ago (when I was at Lost in Wonderland) to now. People were out an about with their families having fun. Now, all the stores are closed. Gyms too. Bars. Clubs. All closed. Some of you social butterflies must be really feeling the heat right about now. Cabin fever is a real thing, and I’m sure it’s a challenge right now to do the right thing. Which is stay home.

It’s so simple. Just stay home. Watch some Netflix or read a book. Learn to play an instrument–Musicians Friend delivers by the way, so no need to leave your house. Or just chill. Just relax. This is the best time to do one of my favorite things in the world.

Just do nothing at all.

Some book stuff, some movie stuff…

Leave a reply

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.

It’s almost time…

Leave a reply

Well. It’s finally here–the month of my book’s release. I’ve prepared as much as I can so now I’ve just gotta wait and see. I’ve had lots of support from my family as well as friends, so at this point, I’m just happy that it’s going to be out there for people to love or hate.

And, I’m happy to say, that I’m not worried about the reception. I thought I would be. But nope. Maybe because I have been keeping myself sufficiently busy–at the moment I’m in Little Rock for training for the day job. When I’m not filling my head with IT stuff, I’m listening to Radiohead’s OK Computer over and over (Track 5 is on repeat!) while writing away in my hotel room. I’m hoping to get a large dent in for book 2 or at the very least, bang out that novella.

I’m also hoping all the writing will make the days go quicker. I’m missing home something crazy. Hotel rooms are for the birds. I want my own bed and my own pillow and blanket. And I already know what I’m going to eat after my plane lands on Friday. It starts with ‘T’ and ends with… oh, hell. It’s TACOS. TACOS PEOPLE.

On a side note: it just so happens that August is also my little brother’s birthday month. So, I’m just giving him my book for his birthday. No other gift. Just the book. So, there you go little brother! May you enjoy it. Happy Birthday to you! And Happy Birthday to all the other Leos, too! I give you my ART! Here’s an honest review of Dark Sun Rising just so you know what you’re in for.

Well, that’s all from me. See ya’ll.

Another Update…

Leave a reply

Hello everyone! I feel like it’s been forever since I posted even though in reality it’s only been a few weeks. There’s an explanation–I promise. And that explanation is: life has been crazy. The work life that is. I’ve been assigned several projects that are all due at the same time, and so, most of my mental energy has gone into keeping those projects going successfully.

I also took a much needed vacation last week to Miami which was ridiculously hot and sticky but still lots of fun. I even took a little jaunt down to Key West. If you’ve never been, you should definitely check it out. Very nice, cool little beach town. I even got to check out Ernest Hemingway’s house, which I thought was pretty cool. And taking a stroll down Duvall street and eating key lime pie at one of the numerous bakeries was pretty sweet.

I will admit, I’ve been so busy, I haven’t thought much about the release of Dark Sun Rising, which is just a few weeks away, incase you didn’t know. As the time draws nearer, I keep wondering if there’s more I could do to make it more successful. Should I have reached out to more bloggers? More readers? Just more…

In these moments I tell myself that I’m doing the best I can with the knowledge I have. It’s all a learning experience. Trial and error. And all I can do is try to grow my readership. And lastly–I’ll make up for any shortfalls with book 2.

One good decision I made was setting up a blog tour with the nice folks from Rockstar Book Tour. Hopefully you guys see that in the internets in the next few weeks.

Anyway, that’s all from me today. Hope you guys have a good one.

K.M.

Inspiration and when it strikes.

1 Reply

Inspiration is a funny thing–at least to me. The oddest things will inspire me to write. Sometimes its something mundane, like taking a walk outside. Something in the air will just put me in the mood to grab my laptop and type away.

Other times, it’s when I’m eavesdropping on conversations (Don’t judge me, but eavesdropping is one of my favorite things to do. And hey! If people don’t want to be overhead, then they should have their conversations somewhere private). Sometimes the dynamic people have–the camaraderie between good friends, that’s something that moves me to write as well. Because that’s actually something I try to capture with my characters. I want them to strike a chord with readers. I want my characters to feel real, and their conversations authentic.

When it comes to emotions–well this is going to sound basic, but I get that from real life. My life. I try to remember not only how I felt, but those around me in certain situations. Weddings, funerals, vigils. Church, holidays, get togethers. All the good, the bad–those are the kind of situations that I pull emotions from, and I try to transfer them into my characters.

For settings–well, it’s usually places I’ve been. I recently took a trip to DC and Virginia, and just being in Old Alexandria put me in the mood to write. If you’ve never been, it’s really beautiful. So beautiful I decided to write a novella that takes place in Virginia in a town a lot similar to Old Alexandria.

So there you go. Just a small list of the things that inspire me to write. So what kind of things inspire you?

person typing on typewriter

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com