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I’m a dreamer. Always have been. But I’m not as much of a doer. It’s only been in recent years that I’ve been more proactive in seeing my dreams become realities.

The writing that was once a passing hobby now dominates my free time (y’know, those rare times when I don’t have work or SCA stuff going on), and it’s growing and blossoming in a big way. I’ve gone from fixating on one project at a time to managing multiple projects simultaneously, and I will have works coming out in multiple publications next year.

This all makes me happy, but is it enough? I mean, I still need my day job to pay the bills. I can’t just walk into the office, declare myself independently wealthy from my writing, and tell them where to go. No, I have to keep at it. Keep trucking. Keep surviving day to day.

Survival, though, is not enough. I want to thrive. Live life instead of merely existing. So what’s a girl to do about it?

Looking for other work is a possibility–provided I can find something that pays as much as I currently make (or more…more would be nice). It’ll be tough, though, and no guarantees that I will like a new job any more than the one I’m at.

I’ve started updating my resume, but I’m still uncertain of the direction I want to take. Not the direction I’m going, sure, but where to next then? That’s the million dollar question, I guess. First I have to narrow down what options are available to me, then narrow those down to ones that I qualify for. Find the positions… apply…sit and wait.

It’s going to be tough. I know I won’t likely get the first job I apply for, or even the second or third. I could go months without hearing so much as a peep. Something’s got to change for the sake of my mental health, that much I know.

While I contemplate and work towards a better day job, I’ll keep on writing. Who knows? Maybe something will happen that I don’t expect. Something new, something exciting, something extraordinary.

I won’t know for sure until I get off my ass and shoot for the stars.

^^ Pretty snazzy, huh? ^^ Thanks to my publisher, who clued me in to this opportunity, I have joined an online book fair for sci-fi and fantasy books.

C. L. Cannon’s Fantasy and Sci-Fi Book Fair is all about good sci-fi and fantasy books, and Abnormal is right in the thick of it. From today, November 15, 2019, through December 15, 2019, the book fair will run. There will be contests, prizes, discounts, and more! If you’ve been looking for a few new must-reads, the Fantasy and Sci-Fi Book Fair is the place to be

That’s not the only news I have for you: I’m also starting a newsletter for my writing/publishing updates. It’s late, and I’m tired, but starting tomorrow I hope to have a functional newsletter to send out to subscribers. This is to fulfill multiple roles, the most notable to keep you, the reader, informed of what’s going on with my Abnormal series, my upcoming romance novella, and more.

In addition, I am going to start sharing more reviews and recommendations on my BookBub profile. Maybe a giveaway or two? Time–and budget–will tell, but I’m hopeful that I can get something together soon. Maybe not in time for the holiday season, but the new year isn’t outside the realm of possibility.

The BookBub profile is getting more attention because it’s vital in a new project. Bottom line, I need followers. I’ve neglected that resource for far too long. Now is the time to act. To utilize it, to make it work for me. Network and all that.

More will be coming on the the book fair in the morning, along with (hopefully) a new link on this site to subscribe to the newsletter. Have suggestions for content? Use the contact form at the bottom of my home page to tell me what you’d like to see!

For right now, I’m going to crash after a long, long day!

Well, so much for the hopes of being able to fight rapier again soon. I had a follow up with my podiatrist yesterday, and he has sentenced me to four more weeks of boot on my broken foot, with an indeterminate amount of time after the four weeks “taking it easy.” (I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that “taking it easy” does not include rapier fighting.)

I had also hoped to be out of the boot by the next big Kingdom event, Coronation, but nope, that’s not happening.

The only good thing is I got a new boot because the one I had was falling apart. Velcro tearing up the padding, some of the straps slipping a bit. If I was going to be wearing it any more than a couple of weeks, I’d need a new one.

I don’t know why I’m so disappointed. I mean, he did say “six weeks minimum” when he assigned me the boot in the first place. That implies that it could be longer.

Four more weeks of lugging around this three-pound monstrosity. Four more weeks of hobbling. Four more weeks of being a passenger. Four more weeks of questions from patients.

Drumroll please! ABNORMAL is coming soon to audiobook!

That’s right, soon you’ll have no excuses for not having a copy. ? Don’t have time to read a physical or digital copy? This will be your opportunity to dive into the world of ABNORMAL.

Work on Book 3 is coming along nicely. I managed to get over 8k words added, and it’s good stuff. 😉 Book 2 is with beta readers through the publisher, so things are moving right along… Which again means it’s a great time to catch up on the first of the series.

I’m so excited to hear my words narrated soon! It’s kind of overwhelming but amazing at the same time.

Transcript:

I’m writing this blog post on paper with an ink pen. Why? you may ask. Well, despite the good signal I have at this SCA event, I’m trying not to kill the “period” mood by whipping out the cell phone here at the Arts and Sciences display.

This weekend has so far been mostly relaxing–when it’s not sweltering or freezing, that is. Note to self: 1 make lighter garb and more layers of garb, and 2 don’t trust the weather forecasts for overnight temps.

Thanks to the lovely selection of goods at the merchant’s area of the event, I am five yards closer to step 1 above. I got a gorgeous light blue cotton to make a new Viking area underdress. My current underdress (well, the one that currently fits me) is made of raw silk. Very pretty, very period, v-e-r-y heavy. Not very breathable. I have some embroidery projects lined up (don’t I always?), but if I use my silk underdress as a pattern I should be able to make quick work of another one.

I haven’t actually done much more than sleep, shop, and bitch about the weather this trip. Not exactly productive, but at least this morning I’m participating in things by placing something on display at the A&S showcase. I’m talking to people and interacting, but I’m not freaking out at the number & volume of the people under this pavilion… probably because I have this pen and paper here with me. I guess as long as I can write, even if it’s just a handwritten blog post, I have a “security blanket” of sorts.

Once the A&S showcase is over, I’m not sure what I’ll do next. Probably have lunch, maybe take a class on how to “curse like Shakespeare.” Maybe shop–again. But only window shopping. I might have spent quite a bit yesterday. Not, like, an exorbitant amount for a vacation, but quite a bit. Unless I find the shop that had the warm gloves. I should have bought them yesterday, but I was a fool & thought I wouldn’t need them last night/early this morning. [Insert “Never have I been so wrong” meme here.]

The broken foot has slowed me down but not overly hampered me this trip, aside from the pesky “can’t drive with the fracture boot on the right foot” thing. My poor husband has had to do ALL of the driving for the past 3+ weeks, and I still have over 2 weeks of boot left.

Someone asked me just now if I was a Laurel. Lol. I corrected them, but it’s nice to have someone think I could turn out Laurel-quality work. Some day. Some day.

Tomorrow we break down camp & head back to Atenveldt/Arizona, and Monday afternoon it’s back to mundane life. I enjoy my journeys to the middle ages, but I can’t afford to do that all the time.

In mundane news, Book 3 got (yet another) reboot this past week, with a new restart-from-the-beginning and a new plot direction. I’m very excited for this new path for the story, because it presents challenges that I haven’t had to face yet. I might have to annoy my publisher and editors by POV-hopping to pull it off, but I think in the long run it will be worth it, both for me, for the publisher, & for the readers.

Well, I think that the A&S showcase is ending soon. It’s almost 11am & the showcase started at 9:30. I’m actually hoping it ends soon, because I finished my energy-drink-in-a-tankard a while ago & I’ve really gotta pee. Maybe I’ll leave my table for a few minutes to take care of that before it becomes an issue. 🙂

I think I’ll post this blog post as-is, with photos of these pages. That sounds interesting–& don’t worry, it’ll all be transcribed in a nice, easy-to-read font below. 😉 (<– winky face emoji)

Finally! After months of struggling with the plot of Book 3, I’m finally back on track with the flow of it.

Book 3 is going to take Clare to some pretty surprising places, and even though this weekend is all about the SCA, my mind is buzzing with story ideas for her and her cohorts in the future.

I obviously can’t reveal much–that will ruin things–but it feels good to be out of that rut and back in the game. I’m so excited that I’m half tempted to stumble outside in the pre-dawn light in this unfamiliar house to grab my laptop and start typing. Only half tempted, though…I don’t want to piss off our hostess by waking her up this early.

Book 2, Escape the Light, is still moving through preproduction. It’s agonizingly slow from my point of view, but that’s because I want to share the next installment of Clare’s story with everyone. I realize that my publisher is doing what they can, though, and I know I need to be patient. As for Abnormal, I hope to have news on that front soon, too. What news could there be for a book that’s already been published, you might ask–well, just wait and see ?

Once people are up and moving, I’ll grab my laptop and get busy making words happen. For now, though, I’ll keep entertaining myself with my phone and social media lol

I thought I could do it. I thought I could get the new garb all made in time for Great Western War. I knew it would be a challenge, sure, but I thought I could do it.

I didn’t anticipate getting a nasty cold. Once I came down with the cold, I didn’t anticipate the drain it would be on my physical and mental faculties. I was foolish enough to think I had it in the bag, right up until last night. Then it hit me: I am not going to finish. Not before the day after tomorrow. No way, no how.

It’s extremely disappointing. I may always be cramming to finish, but I always finished.

Until now. Now I have to go to the event and see all the people dressed up as period versions of heroes and villains and know that I can’t be part of that because I failed.

My husband is very understanding about it, which helps to soften the blow a bit, but I’m still disappointed in myself. I had all these detailed plans and they just evaporated as time ticked by.

There would be more to this post, but the cold is already zapping my mental energy. I can’t think of what I want to say. I thought there was more, but I’m just a lump with thumbs who knows how to spell. I hope…

I thought when I finished the embroidery commission I’d be better off time-wise to get things ready for Great Western War next week….

…I was wrong.

Things would have been okay, I think, if I hadn’t gotten sick. I don’t know if this is the flu or just a bad cold, but I feel like crap. So of course sewing is a slow process right now, but I’m hoping I get at least all of the machine sewing done before we leave Wednesday afternoon. I mean, I only have:

• All of my husband’s tunic, to include neck facing, contrasting color blocking that he wants, and assembly of the pieces
• My tunic, which will be easier but still needs a facing cut out and full assembly (oh yeah, and I derped the pattern myself, so it’s kind of an experiment)
• My linen pants, because even though I have black Viking pants already the fit is terrible and they chafe
• A Skjoldhamn hood for my outfit, along with embroidery and applique of some wings, plus any other stitching I may want to do around the hem and seams

It’s a lot of work to do in less than two days time. I get most of today, any time I’m awake before work tomorrow and Tuesday, a little time after work, and Wednesday morning while my husband is at work, before we leave.

I am not a fast sewist by any means. I’m pretty damn slow with the whole process, and this illness is not helping matters. Still, since I got the bodies of the tunics cut out last night, I’m hopeful. Not 100% confident, but hopeful.

That being said, it’s time to stop blogging, plug up this bloody nose (yes, that just happened), and get back to work.

I’m so close to being done with the current embroidery project… Close enough that, when my back started to ache, I thought I’d get on the laptop for a while. Things were going fine. I checked Facebook, started some music playing, did a few of the Twitter writing hashtag games… and then I decided to open the file for Book 3.

I scrolled maybe halfway down the first page when the above image appeared on my monitor.

Oh, shit.

The restart didn’t really restart anything. I mean, the logo came up and the “waiting” circle was spinning, but after that? Blackness. The keyboard was the only thing lit up.

I took a picture of the blue screen of death to send to my husband when he wakes up (he doesn’t get up until after I’ve left for work on Thursdays) in the hopes that he can work some magic on the laptop and get it up and running. I’m not holding super high hopes, but there’s a smidgen of hope there.

This is a terrible time for this to happen. I’ve had a lot of medical bills between the sleep apnea and the broken foot, and a new laptop is probably several months off for us, financially.

At least I wasn’t very far on Book 3…it could have been worse. I could have written epic gold and lost it all. I will have to be more careful about backing stuff up, though. I’ve been lax lately.