Friday, September 28, 2018

The Sunday Woman

I feel guilty about this, but I've started taking weekends off.

The guilt is interesting because I know that there are very real, completely practical reasons to support this decision--the decision to take time for myself--but when there is so much to do--ALWAYS SO MUCH TO DO--it feels...wrong.

Now, when I say "taking weekends off," that's a bit of a misnomer because I usually work all the way through the weekend. But I don't tend to write--and the stuff I do is whatever I feel like crossing off the list rather than what is next on the list.

And yet I still feel like I'm getting away with something.

The decision to take the weekend has become a conscious one, but it started out with just being too tired to be effective. I started taking longer lunches on the weekend and then I started knocking off at lunch time. And eventually it turned into full blown, I'm not sure what I'll do today!

Wow.

It feels like quite the luxury to just do whatever occurs to me--be it laundry or taking a turn at cooking dinner or wrapping parcels for Patreon or outlining notes for a brand new project. It feels like this is why I wanted to work for myself. So I could actually have some control over my life.

Anyway, that's what's happening on the weekends now. Rest and recharging. And it does seem to be paying off in some ways because I'm feeling much more creative again. Not only do I have ideas for new projects, I feel like I have the energy to pull them off.

What I don't have is extra time, but the funny thing is how the decision to stop obsessing about time has seemed to generate extra time. Maybe it just feels like that because I'm working more effectively?

Anyway, Happy Friday!

Friday, September 14, 2018

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like, er, Autumn

Which means, gulp, Christmas and the winter holidays are right around the corner.

Time to start thinking of Ye Olde Advent Calendar.

I know! But yes. Really. It's that time again.

I want to extend an invitation to all and sundry (okay, maybe not -- rather to all fans of my work and this blog) to contribute to this year's calendar. Stories, art, games, contests (giveaways), essays... Basically anything that relates to my characters and worlds and/or the winter holidays would be most welcome.

I'm aiming to do six codas this year. I haven't settled on the character pairings yet, but that's the goal.

Which leaves a LOT of room for reader/fan contributions as well as giveaways and all the usual holly-jolliness.

If you're interested in participating, drop me a line through my website OR through Facebook or Goodreads or Twitter or any of the usual places. The more the merrier, IMHO. 


Friday, September 7, 2018

Just Another Morning in September

I love mornings like this.

I woke up around 5:30--even too early for Marlowe the Mutt!--and went outside to water and just breathe in the quiet cool fall morning. So quiet. All around me house lights are coming on, people waking for school and work, but the buzz has not yet begun, is not yet audible. This is my favorite time of day. When there are still infinite possibilities for the day ahead.

What does my typical Friday morning look like?

The dark and cool garden smelling of earth and damp flowers

Email & coffee & thinky-thoughts (So many thinky thoughts!)
1 - Am I making a mistake not letting Amazon control my print backlist?
2 - Can I talk about this new series without getting reamed for daring to think of new books before I have delivered old?
3 - Could an art gallery be used as a front for the mob?
4 - Is audio still viable in the age of subscription services?
5 - Why do people with two stunningly mediocre books under their belt feel comfortable giving writing advice to other newbies?
6 - Will the plane crash on the way to GRL?
7 - Could a publishing house be used as a front for the mob?
(You see how it is...)

Maybe a little bit of social media (So. Much. Talking.)

The SO wakes and the TV goes on (BOO! I knew I should have remained single!!!!) :-/

The SO brings me another cup of coffee and asks what I want for dinner (YAY! I KNEW getting married was a good idea!!!) :-D

Massage and more thinky-thoughts
1 - I will resume yoga
2 - I will eat more veggies
3 - Could a film company be used as a front for the mob?

The day begins for real...

What is your Friday morning like?