On the look back...

...I am weird. And that's perfectly fine. It's my wheelhouse. But I start to question my quirks when I put Fibonacci in my last book of my Urban Paranormal. Because, guys, it made sense at the time. Still does, to be honest. And, well, *avoids eye contact*, his butterfly pattern. 😶

And I feel froggy about it because I've read plenty of books with extraneous material that made my retina ache. I was looking for psychological thrillers, eBooks, at the two libraries I belong. I started a series by a well-known author. And book 2 is about plantations. In depth. With historical names being bandied about. And reenactments. I struggled, people. I only kept with it since it had a paranormal bent. Honestly? I skipped over a lot of the places I didn't find relevant. I liked the first in the series. Not a fan of the second. 

Do writers feel as though they must add all that depth? Or are they like me and stumble down a rabbit hole, make friends, and find oxygen again with a multitude of wacky ideas???

My most recent research finds me G'ing flash methods of cameras. Flash. Methods. Of. Cameras. 🙄

I've looked up expensive cars and their specs. Insects that glow. Foliage. How long to build a certain structure. Ethnic foods. And so many other things to add a little more reality to the scene(s).

The flash method doesn't even NEED to be a part of the story, but I need to understand how it works. 

To sum up...what I'm telling myself is that I'm panning for gold and only giving you the good parts. None of that silt bullshit.

Don't ask me how many tabs I have on my OneNote Notebook for my fourth book. 🫢

 

Back to the mythological party

I will never not take a moment when I read about mother/sons turning to mother/husbands. Like my wee brain simply cannot accept the words in front of me. Gods procreating with clouds and making centaurs. Like...just the schematics alone. The mind boggles.

But what I do enjoy is looking up obscure mythological names and finding interesting stories. And the funniest thing to me? As soon as I "G" one of these names, the first thing to usually pop is a car or electronic device. We have used the hell out of these guys' names.

Today...I'm touring Tartarus. 

👀

It's been everything I hoped for. And more. So. Much. More. 😑

Going to bip back to my book 4. It'll be the longest in the series, thus far. I'm at 68,868 words. I'll need at least 10,000 more words. 

That's me and my Mythological Monday. 

Simba

Today would have been Simba's 15th birthday.

And that's all I have to say about that. 😭

When characters take over. Yeah. I said it.

I am at the mercy of my characters. You would think it would be the other way around. And it is...to an extent. But when they get a hold of the story? *sigh* 

Significant things happen.

I purposely set out for book 4 of my PT series to be about the Gorgons, medusa and her ilk. But it seems my characters had another idea entirely. Not only are we delving more into LA's story but also trying to figure out who would want to kidnap a certain deity's daughter. For leverage, of course. 

I branched off into creating two characters that could have existed in mythology but weren't written about. 

Fiery characters. Both damaged by their father. Each seeking to prove and find a way for themselves. 

Easier said than done.

Medusa, Riley, and Drew will have to wait for book 5 now. Because once the characters are adamant about something, I listen. Sometimes it's reasonable, and sometimes they want to throw a trope in that doesn't even fit. 

Assholes.

But the work continues. I think I'm near 60,000 words on book 4. Going to have to change the working title.

Because of course I am. 🙄😑 

Oklahoma weather

Supposed to be ugly today. Ramping up around three or four in the afternoon. And it's something we Okies sense. You can smell it in the wind. See it in the sky. 

There were tornado warnings when my kids were small. If they were at daycare, they went into a closet. If they were home, I'd put them in the bathtub with a mattress over them (when needed). Not suffocating my kids here. 😄

And let me tell you, I had the only four year-old that could point out our county on a map. They were saying meteorologists name before they formed whole sentences.

Serious business.

And now? Only have two in the state. Middle child is hyper aware of storms, especially since she now has to kids of her own. She downloaded a weather app on her phone. Has a weather radio. 

But the real question is: Does she actually use these? 🤔

I don't believe so.

Yesterday, there were tornadoes south of her, but in the same county. I sent a screenshot of the radar and explicitly said: these are south of you. Conveying assurance, or so I thought.

Apparently, her weather radio goes off, and I get the squinty-eye. 😑 It's a family thing, and it's hilarious. Anyway, I receive that. And a picture of her weather radio, because of course I did. 

I send another screenshot and reiterate..."It's bad. But it's all to the south of you."

MC: So we are good?

Me: For now. If it keeps tracking the same way. You can check your radar app and push the play button and it will show you what direction it's going.

MC: I rather you tell me lol Your weather eyes are better than mine lol

Are they??? LMAO

"Weather eyes" 🙄

This. Child.

Who is thirty, by the way.

So I will, once again, be the meteorological Mama. 

Patience

Patience is a virtue. But it's not one of mine.

Waiting makes my ADHD brain twitchy. 

I'm batting zero, for however many I sent to agents, for Plot Twist. Horrid sentence grammatically. Too tired to fix this morning.

Thanks, Murphy.

It's one of the many reasons I indie publish. I'm in control of the entire timeframe. 

I'm in control of...everything.

Well, and responsible for it, too.

Querying, while necessary if you want to trad publish, exhausts me. The doing. The waiting. The...rejections. 😣

But I can't make myself pull and indie publish this series. I'll reevaluate in early June. I won't let my work languish about.

This morning? I wavered between The Gordons, Book 4 of the series, or continuing on a contemporary romance I started. 

So. What is Crystal doing? 

Well, hellllllllllllllloooooo Medusa. 🐍🪮

Would you change anything?

It's a common question. People are curious if you'd go back and change anything in your history.

I've thought about it.

I wouldn't.

I would keep half a century of trauma so that I may have the life I have now.

Does my life suck on the daily?

Physically? YES. Mentally? On most occasions.

But I wouldn't change my children. Or my grandchildren. Or my wife.

These are fixed points for me. 

Professionally? If it wouldn't affect my personal life?

Sometimes, I envy, yes I said it, those who published in the mid-2000's. I believe my works were published 2005-2009. Then...well, life.

House fire. Break-up. New job.

I couldn't get on my feet because I couldn't find the bastards.

Let's simply say, I wish I could have kept my foot in the door.

The "book of my heart"...what everyone calls the first book you write...was written long hand in several spiral notebooks. 

I didn't use ANY dialogue tags.

I was greener than Kermit.

Twenty years later, I can write a book in a month and a half. Design the cover. Have it published in two months. Have it in my hot little hands a week or so after that.

Because I accumulated knowledge when I wasn't publishing. Conferences and conventions. Book signings and author talks.

I crave information.

And what I tell everyone I've ever spoken to during an appearance: take what you can use, and leave the rest.

Because it's overwhelming. 

Which part, Crystal?

ALL. OF. IT.

😬

Now?

Blessed to work on my craft six days a week. Able to breathe and let things come to me. Instead of grabbing the flow with outstretched, tired hands, I'm now riding those waves and letting them take me where they will.

Regrets?

You already know...