Friday, April 25, 2014

Down to Earth


It has been a crazy ass month.


Last night I was saying to the SO that I’d had a confused and unfocused day, and as I was standing fretting and fuming (and he was ignoring me as he lovingly basted the lamb we were having for dinner), it suddenly dawned on me how very few unproductive days I have now.


It is a rare day that I don’t get a ton of stuff done, including some writing. I think that’s one of the big changes post sabbatical. I work much more effectively now. I think overall my habits are healthier -- I had deep tissue massage yesterday, I worked in the garden twice this week, and I almost always sign off the computer by seven o’clock at night. I’m not saying I’m a contender for the Healthy Living Award of 2014 -- I don’t begin to get enough exercise -- but I feel pretty stable in mind and body.


And when I start to stress, I try to remember to step outside. The garden is starting to take shape and in another week or so the pool will be up and I will be swimming again. The chimes are back in the trees, the hummingbird feeders are full (and well-attended by buzzy guests), the newly potted plants seem to be taking root. All is well in the garden.


And when all is well in the garden, all is usually well with me.


Anyway, this is where we are heading toward the end of April. I’ve got the rough draft of Everything I Know done and I’m about to start the edits. I’m probably going to do something very short and sweet to follow that up because it’s a bit angsty. So I’ll finish the rough on Slay Ride, but then I think we’ll let that sit a bit while I -- YES, FINALLY -- get back to work on Boy With the Painful Tattoo. I have to get moving because it’s close to time to start Fair Play, the sequel to Fair Game.


And, if you were on my Facebook page yesterday, you saw my excitement at the news that Fair Game is going to be available in trade paperback for a limited time starting June 2nd. Carina Press is experimenting to see what demand there is for print in this genre, and I am one of a group of test authors. A lot of people have been asking for this book in print for a long time, so this is your opportunity. I’ll remind you again when we’re closer to the date.


In audio Don’t Look Back will be the next title up. It’s narrated by Graham Halstead for Brick Shop Audio.  It’s one of those stories that seems to slip through the cracks. I know I hadn’t thought about since it was originally published, so I was pleasantly surprised at what a tightly-written little suspenser it is. It is also a bit heavier on erotic content than some of mine, so WEAR YOUR HEADPHONES if the windows are open.


On May 5th we have the long-anticipated (by me) release of Stranger on the Shore.  It sounds like on the 3rd and 4th we’ll be hosting a little launch party on my Facebook fan page. I can’t seem to stop those crazy Fanyons from throwing celebrations. I did tell them we could just do something quiet at home that week, and they tell me that’s what they’ve got planned, but I saw the list of prizes and games, so…I’m standing clear and letting them do what they do so very well. I know when to shut up and be grateful.


And speaking of gratitude, I would like to thank those of you who’ve pre-ordered Stranger on the Shore already. If you don’t want to order through Amazon, you can preorder through Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and maybe even iBooks. Heck, you could even just wait till the book comes out.


So that’s April. Yes, we are already up to April. Can you believe it? Are you making time for sunlight, fresh air, and the good earth?



45 comments:

  1. WOW! Excellent news, I'm so excited I'll be able to get a paperback for "Fair Game", PB's are my 1st choice always!
    Sounds like things are going well for you too, and that's good news. Spring in Michigan has been so-so, but ANYTHING is better than the winter we just had. I know I'll feel better once I get a new JL story to read :)
    Your comment about chimes reminds me of my co-worker, he was not such a fan of them. His neighbor placed chimes in her yard,in the tree also, and he took them all down. Even used a ladder to get one in the tree. He had a box of them he returned to her when she moved. (not sure if that was her reason for moving, or not)...I think she stopped hanging them after @ 4 went missing...

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    1. Wow. I fear there would have been a less civil reaction to the unsolicited removal of chimes in this corner of the world. I would move them to the other side of the house, if asked. They can be noisy when we get windstorms.

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  2. It's wonderful to see the line-up of all your upcoming books. We look forward to a long, Lanyon-filled summer of reading. I'm especially happy to see The Boy With the Painful Tattoo. A friend of mine and I were discussing how much we hoped it would be coming in the near future.
    Spring has finally come to he Northeast and I don't know who is happier, the people or the birds, but there is nothing I like to see more on my way to work than the pussywillows out and the lilacs heading towards blooming.
    Have a lovely weekend!

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    1. That is the most requested book in my queue at this point. Right next to Adrien in reader demand. :-) So I AM paying attention.

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  3. You have been busy! It sounds like you have a good rhythm going. Congratulations. This year is going by so quickly. I love to watch hummingbirds. It seems the more frantic they are, the calmer I feel. I look forward to the fantastic summer you have in store for us.

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    1. Honestly, I cannot believe that we are about to slide into May. How can this be? It seemed like Christmas was last week!

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  4. Sorry about your "confused and unfocused" day, Josh, but very pleased to see you were able to squeeze in the deep tissue massage, which I hope included your wrists! And wow, the majority of April has been quite productive for you, so one or two "off" days are allowed. :) And with still warmer weather in your future, the pool and work in your garden can only mean an increasing feeling of well-being, both mentally and physically.

    The announcement of Fair Game to be out in print is definitely great news. That story always seemed right for it. And let's not forget Stranger on the Shore. It does seem such a very long time since we have had one of your brilliant full-length novels. So this will surely be one to savor.

    Best of luck, Josh, with all your WIPs. Looking forward to each one of them! :)




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    1. The guy who does my deep tissue is brutal -- in a really good way. But I probably do need to go back to weekly sessions given how much typing I'm doing again.

      Thank you for the kind words, Susan!

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  5. May 5th? Oh, I've been waiting a long time for a new release.. awesome! :)
    I've been looking forward to having something by you. Good luck with everything. I hope you break sales records and please don't work yourself to the ground. The anticipation makes the pleasure of reading one of your works much more exiting and sweet.

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  6. I have now read all your works (even the sci-fi type stuff) and I, too, am eagerly awaiting a new release. Stranger is on pre-order.

    I am gratified that you are working in your garden and feeding the birdies (saw my first hummer at the feeder this week, but living on a mountain, they come a bit later) and getting ready for some pool time.

    Tell your SO to take good care of you (seems he is) and remember to work some recreation into your schedule. And, work in some time to just be outside and absorb the Spring.

    Love ya, Josh. Stay healthy in body and spirit. We want you around for a long, long time.

    Now, back to the galley proof of J. L. Burke's upcoming book. It's a stunning work!

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    1. We are having the most spectacular spring weather. And we actually got a nice little rain storm last night, which we so desperately needed. The garden is wet and dripping and gorgeous.

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  7. May 5th is just around the corner! I'm so excited!

    And yay for Tattoo Boy! Go Josh, go Josh, go Josh!

    Wind Chimes - I love them but can't have them. Our Oklahoma winds tear them apart. It's throwing your money away.

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    1. I bet! I try and shelter ours, but sometimes it sounds like someone emptied a load of tin cans on our patio. ;-)

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  8. 5th of May!! Seems so far away :-). I've never preordered a ebook from amazon before, I wonder what time zone they use to swiftly deliver it to my kindle...

    Great news about the Fair a Game paperback, the bookshelves's been asking for it.

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  9. So glad to hear you're feeling balance in your life. And smiling as I re-read your thoughts on the garden. Always makes me happy to hear people talk about the healing effects of being outside with the plants and birds. I'll be starting my dissertation study soon on the connection between time spent in gardens and human well-being. Usually when I tell people about my research, their eyes light up and they start telling me about weed-pulling and planting and birds, and how these things keep them sane! And I have to agree! :D

    Ooooo, Don't Look Back is one of my favorites. Looking forward to that in audio.

    And super excited to hear about Fair Game in paperback (and that Carina is experimenting more with print)! Funny, I was just thinking about Carina the other day and if they'd given that up. Guess not! Woo-hoo!

    Happy Spring. :)
    --Christine, waiting patiently for May 5th

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    1. Thank you, Christine! I think there is no underestimating the power of the garden. Even if it just comes down to sitting in it drinking a glass of wine. :-)

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  10. I got tired reading that. How in the WORLD do you keep all this straight? (I'm pretending you have a cute cabana boy as your personal assistant...don't disillusion me and say you don't). ;)

    You just reminded me to go fill my bird feeders.

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    1. I do have some moments of spinning my wheels trying to figure out what comes next.

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  11. We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious!

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  12. Well, well, Mr. Lanyon, you have been busy. I look forward to all of the above! I'm also glad that you are finding time to enjoy life. A happy person is a more productive person, and since your writing makes me happy, it all works out pretty well. :D I have to say I found Don't look back delightful. I can't wait to get the audio version. Right now I am listening to Death of a Pirate King and since that is my favorite in the series I find that it's keeping me up instead of lulling me to sleep, and an audio book is meant to do. I've read the book twice so you'd think I would be content to hearing only a few minutes of it before I was ushered off to dream land, but no, I lay awake listening even though I want to strangle a certain person. Anyway, So glad to hear of so much coming soon, and can't wait for more!

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    1. I love falling asleep to audio books! :-) I'm so glad you're enjoying these, Susan.

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  13. Makes me very happy to hear that you are making time for yourself as well amidst all these wonderful, very exciting and very busy, plans. So much to look forward to! Can't wait for, well, everything! and i'm so glad we'll have another audio soon - Don't Look Back, it's been a while since i read the story but i still remember the suspense! :-)

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    1. I had pretty much forgotten that one! It was a pleasant surprise. ;-)

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  14. Looking forward to May 5th. I am beyond excited that Boy With the Painful Tattoo and Fair Play are on the horizon! Thanks for all of your hard work.

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  15. It's good you have a nice atmosphere for so we can also enjoy good reading too. Mens sana in corpore sano or they say. Thank you very much

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  16. Great to have so many new books to look forward to! In the meantime, I'm rereading the Dark Horse series. I didn't notice some scenes were so romantic the first time I read them (must've been too eager to get to the end). Nice to experience something new all over again.

    It's interesting to read about your comments on the audio version of Don't Look Back. I just reread it a few days ago during my trip to Sri Lanka and the erotic scenes in the first few chapters made me super conscious whenever someone was nearby (you know what a traditional country SL is :D).

    I was so thankful to have audio books like The Darkling Thrush, CUTYS and Kick Start, etc to accompany me some part of the long, jumpy and stuffy train journeys (> 6 hours, no kidding). Audio books are excellent companions to make such journeys bearable. Don't leave home without them! :p

    It must be nice to have a garden. Looking at my newly, deeply tanned skin though... maybe not. ;-)

    Savanna

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    1. Oh yes! That's another one. But I remember that I put a fair bit of sex in there because that was my understanding of the M/M genre. Well! It was what I was reading in my studies. :-D So that one for sure. And a couple of those very early ones.

      Newly tanned skin...hmmm. Maybe not. I know too many Californios already developing skin cancer. Not a good thing.

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  17. I'm sorry you had a bad day, but I'm happy to see that the sabbatical was sort of a reset button and you're now better able to balance work and relaxation. I'm very excited about the new projects.

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    1. Well, now days "bad day" is relative. It used to mean "can't write." Now it means, "didn't get as much done as I needed to." And that's actually a relief when it put it in perspective. Not having time to write is WAY better than can't write.

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  18. I think most of us (me included) have days where we don't think we got enough done. I am not sure you fit in this category. I am so glad for your fantastic April Hard to believe it's almost over. ALWAYS take time for yourself. You have patient fans! We want you writing for a long time. Me especially!! Your current and new projects sound amazing (as always)!

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  19. I always find that the months of Feb & Mar are an emotional fog and April is the month to push through - probably TMI but I just want to say...I am so excited and as always thankful you include your readers in your journey. :-) Peter & Mike's story...Graham needs to bring his A game. Off to iBooks!

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    1. Thank you! You know, the spring is usually a struggle for me -- maybe it's allergies. I *think* you'll all enjoy Graham's reading. "Peter" was sort of a tough voice to cast, but I think Graham did a nice job.

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  20. It all sounds wonderful, Josh. I'm looking forward to the coming months. Just try to be kind to yourself and pace yourself. I'm looking forward to the long race and not a sprint. ;) Just an aside, Don't Look Back has always been one of my favorites. Hearing you talk about the sex, I'm not sure what that says about me. lol. Actually, I like to compare and contrast it to The White Knight. Lots of similarities, lots of differences. All good.

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    1. Thank you, Karan. I think you're right about pacing oneself for the long haul. Despite the temptation to sprint. :-D

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  21. Hi, Josh!

    Thank you for the update. As you imagine I'm glad about a further printed book by you ;-).

    Your "didn't get as much done as I needed to." is probably a "didn't get as much done as I wanted to.": I hope that you check if your plans are realistic, mine often are a bit disproportionate...

    Anyway it is good that in general you take good care of yourself. Enjoy your garden!

    Be well!

    Antonella

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    1. We are having the most gorgeous spring. It's startlingly perfect thanks to two bursts of good solid rain. It is tempting to be out there all the time.

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  22. Hi josh
    You have had a very productive time don't worry, You are great and that beautiful garden you have is unbelievable, I should send u a picture of my five tulips ,that had already died, so you can have a laugh. Will like to ask you a silly question what SO stands for? And the other question is if I buy your last audio book Don't look Back , will.it work together with the book like Whispersync?I will buy it ,I have all your books and Audio books ,just want to know.
    Maria

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    1. Thank you, Maria. I think there's probably a pretty good chance the ebook and the audio will be whispersynced, so you might hold off on purchasing for a while?

      SO = significant other. It's a book discussion term, which seems especially appropriate. :-)

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  23. Thks for the SO translation.Seems that I spend my.life trying to learn English and find a lot of letters together that mean something else .jaja

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