A writer’s holiday

After the goof off weekend, I planned on one more day of writing. It turned out pretty well, but wasn’t a banner day. My iPad battery says it’s time to recharge, so I’m writing this while it’s on the wire.

I have two of three critiques back for Serang, and will wait for the remaining one. Maybe I can address all of them come Saturday.

Today I focused on the unnamed team-up adventure. I stopped doing word counts, but it feels like about 2000. Lizzie and the hat had a small spat, because they always do. They teamed up with Clovis to chase a red herring that revealed a big surprise. Of course he busted some heads along the way, because that’s what he does. He even got to kill a zombie using a sledge hammer. Fun, fun, fun.

Oh, and Lizzie and the hat stole a second upright bass. It was right there, what were they supposed to do?

Lisa and Jason got the last scene, so they faded into the background for this section. Jason is thinking about going home and cutting his losses. Gina and Gupta shared a new development that raised the stakes and anchored everyone until the end.

I have a conundrum with this one. I want it at novel length, but it’s looking like about 50,000 words will wrap it up. I’ve always said a story should be as long as it needs to be, no more – no less. I still believe that.

My problem is that I have enough 99¢ titles out there. If someone needs a stepping stone into my work, there are plenty of options, even a couple of free anthologies. I want to price this one at $2.99 like most of my recent work. I’d like some feedback here, but I won’t pad word count. I have several big scenes, and can’t be completely sure until I wrap it up. What’s your advice on pricing? Would you pay $2.99 for a short novel?

Keep in mind that my publishing desire is Serang before school lets out, then the un-named project around Halloween. I may park the unnamed one, finish Serang, then see if more ideas pop up for the unnamed one during the Spring.

In other news, the experimental bread rose well overnight. Sourdough is slow and you have to be patient. I punched it down before sunrise, but it’s taking its sweet time on the second rise. If I need to nudge it a bit, I’ll place it on a hot pad.

For the rest of the day, I’ll kick back and wait for the black helicopters to land. Why you ask? These are the windows I have open in my browser. It could give you some insight into both stories I’m working on right now.

• My blog, Entertaining Stories.
• Yin and Yang comparison.
• Viral Hemorrhagic Fever.
• Marburg Virus.
• English to Chinese translator.
• The Chinese Cobra.
• Three different tabs for an online convention I’m interested in.
• A chart about how fast Ebola spreads.
• A map of the districts in Chicago.
• Amazon for Voyage of the Lanternfish. (I was checking for new reviews. I need more.)

What’s your browsing history look like?

This afternoon, I have to get on with an interview for Lisa Burton Radio. Interest in these has tapered off, but I’m still doing them. I may use the online convention to push them a bit more.

What do you do?

I’ve been pretty quiet here this week. Things are going on at my paycheck job that have kept me hopping. It’s convention season, and I’ve had to cover the office while others are absent. We’ve all been tied up at one this week, but at least it’s in Boise. I’ll be heading to Texas soon for my own convention, followed by another week of covering for others.

This is how real life works sometimes. I try to keep the blog updated regularly, but might have let it slip this week. I have my Macabre Macaroni tales on Tuesdays this month, and I usually have Lisa Burton Radio. There has been a drop in authors wanting interviews, and honestly, I needed some of that time. There are two in the works right now, so we will likely have a couple of interviews over the next few weeks to help keep some original content here. Lisa needs guests, so if you could use a bit of free promotion, drop me a line.

On top of it all, I will have company at my house before I get out of the convention tonight. I’m looking forward to the visit, so it isn’t a burden or anything.

New fiction slides at times like this too. I have some editing to deal with, but might not be able to get serious about it until November. Since there is nothing I can do about it, there’s no sense in dwelling on it.

This is the kind of stuff you never seem to get on other author sites. We would like you to believe it’s all robot girls, and rocket packs, but that isn’t realistic. Authors have to deal with real life too.

I have a draft underway, and might not get to revisit it until November. I’ve always filled in the cracks with writing related projects, but there aren’t many cracks right now. About all I can manage is to read a few blogs before work, and tweet those out to help the bloggers out. I’ll get back in the swing of things, I always do.

What do you guys do about the real life stuff? Do you wring your hands and gnash your teeth, or just go with the flow? I’m learning to go with the flow. It’s about time for me to clock in, and I hope to deal with comments later this evening.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Updating from Big Sky

I’m at the convention for my paycheck job. Lot’s of chatting and politicking going on this week. Enough about work. Tonight includes an event I always skip, and I have an evening to myself.

Big Sky is a ski resort area, and it’s not terribly far from Yellowstone. I intended to grab some pictures for this update, but today was the day a huge thunderstorm decided to strike. This resort has multiple hotels, and the business events are spread all over the place. I got soaked a couple of times walking from venue to venue. A couple of the people I’m with wanted to ride the chair lifts to the top of the mountain, but they got closed due to lightning.

I have some interior shots I can share. My room is really nice, even though it has a Murphy bed. The bed is comfortable, so it’s no big deal really.

Looking the other direction, I even get a mini kitchen. Too bad I don’t have any food to prepare.

No really, it’s too bad I don’t have food. A simple breakfast here is eighteen dollars, and my hamburger lunch came to twenty-five with a drink. It’s pretty typical resort pricing, unfortunately. I get a meal per deum, and it doesn’t even begin to cover the actual cost.
I waited out the worst part of the thunderstorm in the tiny lobby. It looks cool though, and I snapped a shot or two for you.

I really like the carved base of that couch. My iPad Pro would work very well on this antique desk too. I don’t think my rear end would get along with that chair for long though. If this desk were in my room, instead of the lobby, I would try writing at least a micro-fiction piece just for the ambiance.
There is a cowhide on the wall of my room. I know this would look awesome on the new grey flooring we just installed at home. I’m pretty sure Old What’s Her Face would never go for it, but I like it. I’m also sure Otto and Frankie would find it tasty in some way. (Leather = rawhide toy.)

I’m trying to keep up with all my various social media. I caught Facebook a couple of times, but Twitter is off the radar while I’m here. I just don’t have enough time for all of that. I am a guest at the Storyreading Ape’s site today, and I’ve been trying to keep up with the comments over there. Drop in if you haven’t already and I’ll surf through for a couple more days. Hold down the fort while I’m away.