Sweeping up around here

I had a hard time getting into writing today. The old pitbull is having good days and bad days now, and last night was pretty rough.

The Yak Guy needs to make progress, so I forced myself into it to a degree. I never tracked the words, but it feels like 1300 to 1500 words. I need to feel a bit more romantic for the next bit, and that's a different mood than where I am today. Maybe a couple of beers and some decent music. Ha.

I assembled a rough for yet another Lisa Burton Radio show. This one is a long ways out, so I didn't send it back to the author just yet.

I did a pass through the short story and sent it to the Rave Reviews Book Club. I don't think it's quite what they had in mind, but you fail at 100% of the chances you don't take.

I shared my giveaway of Will O' the Wisp across several social media. Last time I checked there were 144 entrants. That probably isn't great, but if you whammy it out for another two weeks it could turn out decent. I'm giving away three copies, and well… You fail at 100% of the chances you don't take.

I'll include the link again if anyone is still interested. I'm going to do it in a format that you can copy and use on Twitter:

Enter to win one of three copies of Will O' the Wisp. This #Paranormal adventure is suitable for #Youngadult readers https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/b6a70022d2f0ba0f

Maybe that's kind of cheesy, but I might as well make it easy to share if you're going to lend a hand. Feel free to edit it if you have better hashtags or some groups you belong to.

I also managed some reading in both ebook and paper versions. If I don't budget some time for this, it never gets done.

I'm watching Godzilla right now. It's the one where he attacks New York, and features Mathew Broderick. I don't remember this one being well received, but I love it. It follows a pretty decent recipe for storytelling too.

Tonight looks like a lousy night for television. I'll probably go back to my reading, but I have a fun idea for a bit of micro-fiction that feels like about 2000 words in my mind. This one involves tentacles, and might provide a fun bit of Lisa art if it makes it into a future Experimental Notebook.

Back to the paycheck job tomorrow. All in all, things got done, but it wasn't a banner weekend like the last one.

One of those days

We all get them on occasion. I always have a ton of stuff to do, but never quite get to it all.

Last night the Rave Reviews Book Club announced another writing contest. I don’t always enter these, because I don’t always fit the mold. They had one for women writers at one point. Yeah.

This time, it’s about “Building a Better Me.” I’m sure there will be a bunch of redemption stories, maybe some about boot camp, or kicking drugs.

I’m a speculative fiction author. I stayed up late last night and wrote one anyway. I’ll probably get booted off the island, but when they asked about building a better me, I wrote about building a better me. What else would I write, right? Submissions open tomorrow, and I’m sending it in. If nothing else, I can use it for Macabre Macaroni come October.

I also managed to assemble and schedule a hosting post for a guest author. Then I assembled and scheduled the next edition of Lisa Burton Radio. Also on this front, I built the shtick for a future radio show and sent it back to the author. That’s going to be a really fun one, but it’s weeks away from appearing.

I picked through my critiques this morning. There weren’t a lot of adjustments to make, but they always see something I did not.

My wife turned on The Lord of the Rings about 10:00 this morning. It’s just after 6:00 and it just now ended. I cannot write new fiction with that kind of distraction. I wrote another guest post for when The Playground publishes. At least it’s something. If I add a couple of excerpts, I have enough for a blog tour. I won’t pick those until the last minute, but there is one with some creative dentistry that ought to draw attention.

I also tried one of those new Amazon giveaways. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m giving away three copies of Will O’ the Wisp through Amazon. If anyone is interested here is the link. It lasts for 15 days, and if it proves productive, I’ll probably do it again. Most of the regulars have read it by now, but maybe you can tell your friends.

We had the kids and grandkids over for dinner tonight. My wife makes awesome ribs and everyone left well fed.

All in all, it wasn’t a very productive weekend. There’s always tomorrow though. I took a vacation day tomorrow, and would like to add words to The Yak Guy Project.

I also received some feed back on The Playground, and need to address those issues. Distractions aren’t a problem when it comes to edits, so I’ll probably save those for the week nights. The best news is the book was well received. I honestly worry about that every single time, and until someone tells me – I have my doubts. My imagination is pretty far out there, so I never know if I’ve pushed things too far. That capped the weekend on a high note.

I kept all the email from those who volunteered for the street team. It won’t be too much longer and I’ll send out things to share across your social media.

I hope everyone managed more than I did. It seems like a lot, but it’s all little stuff.