Brilliant idea

I was thinking, as I usually can't stop, that I need to put together a couple of book boxes for readers.

Mini problem? I have no idea what to put in or how to do so.

What do I do? I Google.

Y'all need to understand that I don't have a support system. I can't reach out to a fellow author and be like, "Hey! What's poppin'? I need to throw together a book box. Throw ya girl a bone."

No.

I don't have people like that. I DO have author friends, and I adore them. But I feel like I'm pestering them.

Not this chickie.

I go to VistaPrint first.

Don't do that unless you're willing to sell a kidney.

No, I'm not remotely kidding.

You must buy custom boxes in bulk, and those bitches are expensive.

I think I try two more sites.

One, the set-up is crazy expensive.

The other one? Minimum purchase was bullshit.

I decide, in what passes as wisdom, to put together my own stuff. I'll buy the boxes and things to go in them. So that is what yesterday looked like.

That...and living in this damn chair to finish my damn story.

Readers want bookmarks, stickers, and items tying into the book title.

Nothing gets me going like having another thing on my list that keeps me from doing what I really should be doing.

Purchased the boxes, tissue paper, and crinkly stuff. Ordered a few swag items. 

Always looking for that dopamine hit.

Think I'll put two boxes out for grabs around December. Then send them in the new year. 

Y'all crazy if you think I'm going to the post office in December.

No, homie. 

That is a recipe for disaster.

Speaking of disasters, I went to my rheumatologist for the first time the other day. He was lovely. Ordered a shit-ton of x-rays and blood tests. 

Isn't it the best when you get the results back sooner, but you don't have an appt with your guy until like nearly Thanksgiving? And your Google-happy self immediately starts diagnosing when you see a couple of your blood tests were "abnormal" or "high"?

It's like Christmas came early.

Courage feels me. 🙄

So that's in the wings. 
More later after the next appt.

But me?

No warm fuzzies.

Snacks

Some people need coffee to create. I need snacks.

I need something to feed myself while my brain produces the good stuff.

The longer I write in a day, the more depleted I feel.

Snacks are medicinal, at this point.

Yesterday, during my week long self-flagellation session, I ran out of energy. Like I literally couldn't think. I blame lack of snacks. Or...partly. 😇

I expected these little darlings to arrive yesterday.

I lay in wait.

Instead, I received the hideous "your item has been delayed" bullshit of the 'zonosphere.

Cranium collapse.

I don't want to dress and leave the house. All that extra is reserved for doc appts. 

What did Crystal do?

Ordered a delivery.

For this morning.

Before ten o'clock.

I was craving Fiddle Faddle, but Crunch 'n' Munch will have to do.

And now...we wait.

Chicken tonight

Once, a long long time ago, when Crystal was in high school, she had a project due that was basically taking a chicken bone, adding it to a poster board, and then drawing the rest of the chicken around it while giving information about the bone. You know...in the olden days.

I put it off, off, and off some more until it was the night before, and I somehow convinced my mom to cook chicken. I boiled that damn bone and stayed up until two in the morning finishing the fuckforsaken poster board with the drumstick.

I learned nothing.

Absolutely. Nothing.

Currently working on a deadline, and my short ass has decided to revisit old habits. I DO blame the ADHD in part. I also blame myself, because c'mon. 

To be fair, I haven't been feeling this particular story and being a mood writer, it simply hasn't spoken to me as much as my Plot Twist series.

But now?

I'm tying it to a chair and breaking out the bamboo shoots (old torture method--under the fingernails--for those who didn't read the scariest shit growing up).

We are at a must write stage. And I rarely, but rarely, get to this one.

Because I don't like it.

I don't get off on the thrill of writing at the last minute.

Oh ho!

Not at all.

I want shit done a month ahead of time and ready to go.

But tonight?

Guess I'm having chicken.

Reach out...but not too far

Looking for more possible book cons to attend. As previously stated, four hours is a stretch for me. But that's what I'm willing to drive. Hopefully find some cons in Texas that are approximately four hours or less.

I need you to know that I've purchased some gold stickers and will now be embossing (not embalming--that was the first word I thought of) my Inman Books. There will be a gold sticker in each with the "From the library of Inman Books" embossed on it and the logo in the middle. (Do NOT pinch, say, your middle finger, in said embosser.)

*squeal only canines can hear*

I love office toys.

Stickers were popular at SP26. My snarky ones were a big hit. You know you've found your people when they are picking through, grabbing several, and saying they relate. I wish I'd brought the other package.

Next time.

I'll come loaded for bear.

Speaking of...

What to take? How much to take? 

SmutPalooza was fairly simple. I took my Erotic Romance. Pretty straightforward. At least a dozen of each. Fit in my little wagon. All was well. Three books. One short story.

I took 14 titles to Book Me Romance in Ft. Smith this year. 

But producing several titles in a small period of time will leave you wondering where you want to go with your numbers and titles.

This is where I fail miserably.

Because I write so many different genres, it's hard to be certain of what to grab. 

I've narrowed it down to taking both first books in my Canary and Plot Twist series.

I'll offer those at a discount. 

Will probably bundle four or so Canary series together and sell as a set.

"Over Her Head" my contemporary romance.

One or two erotic romance.

One or two romantasy.

My psychological thriller.

I want to take at least eight titles, but that looks different depending on what time of year.

But I always look forward to the next.

Book Cons

These are the best places to meet and engage readers. I had a table at SmutPalooza 2026 yesterday. This was in Hennessey, Oklahoma, and it slapped.

If you're a reader: a little behind the scenes.

Authors are incredibly picky. Our tables must look just-so. We bring in boxes and wagons of tablecloths, goodies, and props. One author is threading tulle onto a large bar above her table. Another is setting up shelves for her wares. Almost everyone has a table runner or large banner they display behind them.

It's a production. For you. And we LOVE it!

If you're an author: a little behind the scenes.

If you're instructed it's a first come, first serve table selection, you arrive when the organizer gets there. Secure the table of your dreams. Bring tablecloths. Always post your prices on the table. Be generous with goodie bags and swag. Engage passers-by. 

Give them something unique. If you can afford it, give them something discounted.

If you're like me, with mobility issues, then take a cushion for your back/butt/wherever you need it. Situate your table where you can reach the important things without having to stand. 

Don't forget your meds or pills for your headache/allergies/body aches.

Be prepared to have your socials handy. I had a couple readers add me on Insta and TikTok while they were in front of me. 

Make sure you have enough business cards. I put mine in my goodie bags. 

Bring pens.

If you have one, bring a newsletter sign-up sheet.

Be appreciative. Be approachable. Be AMAZING!

I knew it!

Here my short little ass decided to upload "The Gordons" as a preorder. Cool beans.

That entails:

Bowker and assigning an ISBN to both the eBook and paperback.

Running the title through Kindle Create.

Uploading kpf to Kindle for eBook.

Uploading docx to Kindle for paperback.

Filling out all the keywords and categories and everything else they could think of

Designing the book flat for the title

Great.

But remember how I bitched about my crazy little self assigning like four different titles to "The Gordons"? Because I thought about making it my fourth book but then decided on fifth. 

Did I play in my iCloud for several minutes finding the right document?

Fuck yes, I did.

Only to turn around and do the same when it came to uploading the paperback.

FFS

My wee eyes are burning. And it's not even 11:30 am.

Sorry, Mike. It's the damn truth.

Still need to work on my holiday short story. 

Finish up my newsletter.

Start on the Rabbit God.

Encourage this shitshow of a body to produce some energy.

Adrenaline?

Um...a spark of something?

Lick a battery?

It's been FOUR days!

Time flies when life is beating that ass.

Don't even remember the weekend. Monday and Tuesday? Watched the Heathens. Middle child's daughters. Oh, but I love them. LeeLee and AJ.

The goings on:

Watching the heathens.

They’re playing with dolls.

LeeLee apparently has a baby in her family.

LeeLee’s baby: “take your butt home.”

LeeLee: “those were her first words!”

Mimi nearly needed an inhaler. I posted not a couple days earlier about not talking to me while I'm in a waiting room. It was perfect timing.

Ordered three or four books from Amazon.

Excited beyond measure about this one:

A Dictionary of Color Combinations

It will be a reference book, of course.

Also, The Book of Japanese Folklore.

Irish Fairy Tales and Folklore.

Oh, four.

The Well-Spoken Thesaurus.

I cannot wait to dive inside and learn more. My ADHD is having a little fiesta.

Tomorrow is writing, of course. I've taken a bit of time off for myself.

Time to get back to it.

Always.