Hurricane

Cleaning Up.

Cleaning Up.

The storm is over, and now it’s time for cleaning up. Which, for us, wasn’t too bad. The pile of hurricane debris on the driveway is definitely smaller than it could have been. And once again, the storm gremlins played Frisbee with the lid of our compost container. I’m not sure what it is, or how they do it, but some storms just manage to unscrew the lid and fling it around the backyard.

There’s also the inside cleaning up — we have two leaks that are usually not an issue, but for a big storm, we have to prepare in advance. We go through quite a few towels. We’ll be getting those taken care of once the storm season is over, as well as getting the roof repaired.

Goals — finish this book before I have to abandon my office for potentially up to a week. Right now, it looks like the damage to the roof was minor — it just appears to be a missing shingle. But once the team gets up there, they’ll be looking for other damage. If there’s other damage, that means roof work, which means WHAMWHAMWHAMWHAM directly overhead for DAYS. (When the roof was replaced in 2010, it took them a week, but it was August and like an oven on our roof, so they had to go slow.)

Finishing this book — King of Swords is short about 30K words, more or less. Assuming that the book comes in where I think it’s going to, and doesn’t meander off into the weeds for another couple of thousand words. I mean, there are scenes that I want to include, but that I’m not sure will advance the plot. However, I want to write them because they make me happy… So I’ll write them, and then cut them in post if they’re not necessary. That’s what editing is for, after all. Right?

I’m still working on plotting out the Covert Saloon series — if you missed me talking about it, it’ll be another Weird Western. The pairing that I thought was going to be book three is apparently going to be a slow burn through all three books. The book 2 pairing is now taking over book one, and a third pairing in book three with a character I didn’t plan for. Yup, I just take dictation for the voices in my head.

Time to go listen to what my characters want to do next.

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

79220 / 120000 (66.02%)

Promotions

Kobo is doing a Free First in Series promotion for the entire month of October, so you can grab a copy of Hidden Things for free! (You can find it free where ever ebooks are sold — not just Kobo.)


I’m also a part of Enchanted Realms, and this promotion also runs for the entire month of October — sign up for newsletters, get free books and enter to win a $30 gift card!


Finally, I’ll be participating in a Stuff Your Kindle event from October 18-20th. There are over 400 books that will be free or discounted for that weekend, and I’ll have Written in Water up for free!

Appearances

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, Florida

***

Maker Faire Orlando
November 9-10th
Orlando, Florida

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, annoying-muse-is-annoying, Covert Saloon, forthcoming works, Hurricane, promotions, public displays of geekery, Tales from the Arena, upcoming books, upcoming work, Updatey things, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
So Many Stapler Memes

So Many Stapler Memes

You know, up until yesterday, I couldn’t have told you that the character in Office Space was named Milton. Then they named the hurricane Milton, and now there are just so many stapler memes.

Dark comedy is dark, and Tampa is about to get slammed for the second time in two weeks, as Milton is projected to come on shore in that area, and take I-4 across (expecting the usual slow downs in Champions Gate and around the theme parks because you cannot take I-4 through those areas without a traffic jam or six.)

We’re in a slightly higher area, with our power lines underground. We’ve got our supplies and everything that was outside has been put away or secured (with the exception of things that are coming in tomorrow.) We have water, and we’re filling containers with more. Groceries will be picked up in the morning, and then we’ll be in for the duration. We might board up the first floor windows and the screen door, but we’ll make the final call on that tomorrow. (Boarding up is… challenging when you have limited mobility and even fewer spoons. Our last time doing this was seven years ago, I think. I was a whole other person then.)

What is it with M-storms, huh? Matthew was the last time we boarded up, and here we go now with Milton!

There will be writing, but possibly not on the laptop. There will be reading. I’m not entirely certain there will be classwork, because internet and power may not be a thing. But we didn’t lose power or connectivity during Matthew. Everything crossed that this holds true again.

And now… we wait.

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

76396 / 120000 (63.66%)

Promotions

Kobo is doing a Free First in Series promotion for the entire month of October, so you can grab a copy of Hidden Things for free!


I’m going to be a part of Enchanted Realms, and this promotion runs for the entire month of October — sign up for newsletters, get free books and enter to win a $30 gift card!


Coming up on October 11th, I have Chains of Light available for free in So Queer To My Heart, a spicy queer romance event.


Finally, I’ll be participating in a Stuff Your Kindle event from October 18-20th. There are over 400 books that will be free or discounted for that weekend, and I’ll have Written in Water up for free!

Appearances

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, Florida

***

Maker Faire Orlando
November 9-10th
Orlando, Florida

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, Hurricane, Tales from the Arena, Waiting-for-the-other-shoe, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments
Ready…Set…Wait….

Ready…Set…Wait….

That’s the current mood on our house. Ready…set…wait…wait…wait… We’re almost entirely ready for Necronomicon. We just need to pack. But there’s a blob that’s soon to be named Helene in the Caribbean right now. She’s heading for the Gulf of Mexico at the moment, and she may ALSO be heading for Tampa this week.

Driving into what projections say might be a Category 2 hurricane doesn’t seem like my idea of a good time. Hence, the “wait” part of the program. Right now, IF she comes to Tampa or the area just north, it looks like it will be Thursday. But we will see, and then we will decide.

Welcome to Florida in the Fall.

If there is a convention and we attend, then we’ll have a great time. I have five panels — two on Friday night and three on Saturday.

  • Friday, 9PM — Guess the Spec Fic Author By Their Sex Scene (Mystery Science Sex Scene 3K)
  • Friday, 10PM — I Want to Verb Your Noun (the annual Writing Sex panel returns!)
  • Saturday, 10AM — Author Quarters 2 (Reading from something non-spicy)
  • Saturday, 5PM — Gardening vs. Building (Pantsing and Plotting)
  • Saturday, 8PM — Cosmic Construction (Worldbuilding)

In addition, I have a table in Author Alley. Remember that if you tell me you’re a newsletter subscriber or follow me on social media, you get discounts! In addition, I’ll be running a Necro sale — 25% off everything except digital items and book bundles.

If things end up being wet and squally and we stay home, then I’ll run a Necro sale on signed books through my website, and I’ll put things up on sale on Smashwords (easiest place to put up a coupon.)

So… ready…set…wait…wait…wait….

Work in Progress

Tales from the Arena: King of Swords
(Tales from the Arena, book 3)

68776 / 120000 (57.31%)

Promotions

This may very well be the last week where Counsel of the Wicked is on sale. There are only three books left in my SPFBO cohort, and mine is one of them. I’ve seen the other semi-finalists, and I’m really not sure I’ll be joining them, so I think I’ll be out shortly. If you want to grab it while it is still on sale, now is the time!


Coming up on October 11th, I have Chains of Light available for free in So Queer To My Heart, a spicy queer romance event. Link to the event page will be coming soon.


I’ll be participating in a Stuff Your Kindle event from October 18-20th. There are over 400 books that will be free or discounted for that weekend, and I’ll have Written in Water up for free!


I’m also going to be a part of Enchanted Realms, and this promotion runs for the entire month of October — sign up for newsletters, get free books and enter to win a $30 gift card!

Appearances

Necronomicon
September 27-29th, 2024
Tampa, Florida

***

Not So Spooky Hallowfest
October 6th, 2024
Deltona, Florida

***

Wizards, Witches and the Weird
October 27th, 2024
Daytona Beach, Florida

***

Maker Faire Orlando
November 9-10th
Orlando, Florida

Posted by EASchechter in 2024 plans, a-writers-life-is-never-dull, accountability, Best laid plans, Best planned lays, conventions, Hurricane, I really want some dull, Necronomicon, promotions, public displays of geekery, WIP, wordcount, Writer on the Go!, 0 comments

Here Comes the Rain Again…

Here comes the rain again. And the wind. And the pressure changes. Hurricane season in Florida is a pain in the sinuses. Right now, Idalia is a Tropical Storm, but by the time it makes landfall on Wednesday morning (I think that was the last projection), it will be a Cat 3 hurricane.

Now, this isn’t our first rodeo. We have our supplies. We have water, batteries and charcoal for the grill in case we have to cook outside. The porch is cleared, and all that’s left are a few things that need to be moved to the garage tonight after dinner. And we’re well inland and, like Obi Wan, we have the high ground. We’ll be good.

However, now that all the prep is done, the waiting starts…

In writing news, today is the last day of the Narratess August Indie Sale. Hidden Things is currently 99 cents, and there are over 300 other books to choose from.

There’s still also the Brave New Worlds giveaway, which ends Thursday, and where you can win a $20 gift card to the bookstore of your choice.

Writing is going slowly at the moment, mostly because my sinuses are yelling, “Danger, Will Robinson!” (I can’t remember starting to feel hurricane pressure two days before the actual storm before…)

The Sea Prince
(The Coral Throne, Book 1)

49416 / 120000 (41.18%)

Balance of Power
(Heir to the Firstborn, book 7)

15803 / 90000 (17.56%)

I still haven’t gotten permission to show the new House of Sable Locks cover, but I do have a tentative schedule for edits for The White Raven: Morrigan’s Heir, so the end of my year is going to be PACKED. Touch wood everything goes well with that and we’ll be able to keep to the 2023 release date.

That’s about all for me. Now, it’s just the waiting.

Catch you all next week!

Posted by EASchechter in 2023 plans, Balance of Power, forthcoming works, Hidden Things, Hurricane, progress, Sable Locks, The Sea Prince, The White Raven, upcoming books, upcoming work, Updatey things, WIP, wordcount, Written in Water, 0 comments

Recovery

It’s been a long week, and one that didn’t involve nearly as many words as I’d have liked.

Last Tuesday, we settled in for what promised to be two days of storm. Schools were cancelled for Wednesday, because Ian was bearing down on Tampa Bay. Now, we’re two hours from Tampa, and we were already starting to see the initial rains on Tuesday as we got home. The storm was MASSIVE.

You’ve probably seen the news at this point. We were extremely lucky — we didn’t flood. We didn’t even lose power. Yard cleanup took two days, and I have the roof guys coming next week to check and see if the roof made it through the winds. We were relatively unscathed.

But I also did next to no writing last week, because I had next to no focus, and very little sleep (hurricanes are LOUD!)

The White Raven: Morrigan’s Wrath

1316 / 90000 (1.46%)
***

The Sea Prince
(The Sea Prince, book 1)

38914 / 120000 (32.43%)

What I did do was work on incorporating edits into the Heir to the Firstborn books, and the first three are up. Wings of Air will go up later this week, and the preorders for Visions in Smoke and Children of Dreams will be up later this week as well.  I am not quite sure what the heck is going on with the paperbacks — they’re supposed to be available, but no one seems to have them yet.  I’m about ready to order them myself and list them on my website — I’ll have an exclusive!

Hrm…might not be the worst idea…

You all did know that I have a bookstore link on the website, didn’t you? The new books aren’t listed there yet — I don’t have any stock on hand, but copies are on the way.

The final chapter of John Zebedee and the Monstrous Town went live this morning, and next week, the first three chapters of John Zebedee Meets the Witch-Queen of the Elvenlands go live.  I’ll have that link next Monday, so watch for the blog next week. It’s a long one — it’ll run until January.

The box set for Rebel Mage drops tomorrow, too. I’ve been very lax in my marketing, so this has basically flown under the radar. It’s Amazon exclusive and on Kindle Unlimited.

Something to look forward to next week? The cover reveals for Visions in Smoke and Children of Dreams! In the meantime, check out Wings of Air, which should go live this week.

 

Posted by EASchechter in a-writers-life-is-never-dull, forthcoming works, Heir to the Firstborn, Hurricane, John Zebedee, presales, Rebel Mage, The Sea Prince, The White Raven, upcoming books, upcoming work, Visions in Smoke, why-the-writing-is-slow, Wings of Air, WIP, wordcount, 0 comments

Well, that was a non-event…

That, of course, being Isaias. I know it’s not going to be a non-event further up the East Coast, but usually it’s Florida that gets all the hurricanes. This time… well, I did say I wanted some dull. We got it. And this morning, after yoga, I swept the porch, moved all the plants back into place, and put the porch furniture back out.

But really, it was an “I shaved my legs cleaned the gutters for this?” kind of storm.

This year, it’s been interesting in a odd fashion. Storm season has been an afterthought for me. Usually, when storm season starts in June, I get all our storm supplies laid in so that we’re ready. I have a spreadsheet with expiration dates, and I rotate the supplies as needed.

This year, I was in the natural market on Friday, and I thought “I really should get a couple of loaves of shelf stable gluten free bread. And the emergency ice cream.”

That was the extent of my storm prep for the season. (And before you ask, emergency ice cream is a thing in our house. If the power goes out, eat the emergency ice cream FIRST.)

In talking with other area moms about storm prep (and the lack thereof — I’m not alone in this), I said the following: “My crisis management brain is currently occupied. All other crisises need to wait in line.”

From the reactions, this is apparently a deeply profound statement. But it’s true. I’m so focused on the pandemic and the crisis response to it (and Florida’s distinct LACK of crisis response to the pandemic) that the news that there was a Cat 1 hurricane heading for Florida? Please, don’t bother me with trivials! Oh, it weakened, and now it’s just a tropical storm? Turn off the sprinklers, we don’t need to water the lawn this weekend. Better barbecue tonight, it’s going to rain tomorrow.

Now, there was writing and writing prep this weekend.

Wings of Air
Heir to the Firstborn, Book 4

56448 / 120000 (47.04%)
***
John Zebedee and the Monstrous Town
0 / 30000 (0.00%)

Wait a minute, Liz! That wordcounter says zero! Yes, it does. That was the writing prep. I have the writing plan all ready, and I’m starting the synopsis for John Zebedee Meets the Witch Queen of Elfland.

The plan is to have EVERYTHING done by December. Which will make this the busiest writing year of my career — I’m hoping to finish 2020 by completing three novels, three novellas and one short story.

Last week was the busiest release week of my career — four releases in one day!

Under the Cape includes my short story Time for No Mercy.

Fools Rush In, Her Captive, and To Market are all reprints, and are all enrolled in Kindle Unlimited.  We’ll see how that works for the next 90 days. Then maybe I’ll go wide with them.

Not much else is going on here. We’re getting ready for school to start (we took the full remote option — refer to previous statement about Florida’s lack of crisis response.) And part of getting ready for school is a deep clean of Teen Boy’s room, something that we’re taking in small bites so as not to overwhelm him (or me!) Yesterday was the bookcase, today was the desk. Tomorrow is under the desk, and under the bed, and getting the menagerie of stuffies under some semblance of control. Curtains and bedding will be washed later this week, and everything vacuumed. At that point, I think it will be easier for him to manage, and to find things (there were several instances of “Oh, THERE that is! I was WONDERING where that went!” over the past two days.)

Hope things are boring your neck of the woods. In a good way, anyway.

Stay safe.

Posted by EASchechter in 2020 plans, accountability, Boosting the signal, deep thoughts, Happy Book Day, Heir to the Firstborn, Hurricane, I really want some dull, John Zebedee, new books, progress, publishing, Under the Cape, Wings of Air, WIP, wordcount, writing-mom, 0 comments

Dorian Go Home!

As you might have guessed from the title, yes, we’re in the midst of storm prep here in the Schechter house. Our storm boards are up. Our supplies are laid in. Medications are refilled. We have water. Tomorrow I make one more shopping run (I forgot to get coffee creamer. This is a necessity.) If I can get into Trader Joes, I’ll be stopping there, too.

We’re waiting to hear what the schools are doing next week. We’re waiting to see where Dorian will come ashore (psst, Dorian! South! Go south! I hear Mar-a-Lago is lovely!) We’re waiting to see how strong the storm is when it does come ashore.

We’re doing… an awful lot of waiting.

I’m still writing — it makes the waiting easier. I’ll keep on keeping on, and on Saturday, I’ll back up my laptop and put my external drive in the lockbox. We’re expecting to start seeing things happening on Sunday, and I’ll be posting every so often to Twitter.  But I won’t be posting here until it’s all over and done with. We’ll see how much work I get done.

See you on the flip side!

Posted by EASchechter in Blood Bound, Bones of Earth, Dorian, Hurricane, 0 comments