The last revision

 

I remember English teachers passing out a printed piece of paper with a skeleton slumped forward at their desk, and it simply stated "final revision" at the bottom. You know, like an old-school meme.

As I continue my writing journey, I can tell I've improved. FFS. I hope so. And when I received my rights back to books I wrote twenty years ago, I knew they'd need an edit, even though they were edited by a professional editor at the time.

I was not wrong.

That's not the issue. More than happy to tweak and whatnot. 

My problem, because I'm almost done with book 5, and I'm twitchy as shit...is that I want to go back and edit the first three books in a paranormal romance I wrote about a decade ago. It's a five-piece series, and I've written 3. The others are safe, ?, in my head. I know what's going to happen. I simply haven't had the oomph to deal with them. Because my ADHD brain is going batshit over my Plot Twist series. So, there's that.

This is the hardest part for me. Whenever I'm near the end of a book, I'll immediately start looking for that next hit of dopamine. Did I start on book 6? BAHAHAHAHAHA

Fuck yes, I did. Am I eyeballing old works to edit? Ditto.

But...lucky for me, I didn't sleep worth shit last night. Who forgot their nocturnal medicinal cocktail? Yeah. This heifer. It was a rough one. 

I've decided today is about making reels. Plot Twist series reels. 

Let's hope my creativity is awake.

Another "back in my day..." post

Roughly a millennia ago, everybody blogged. Either on Blogspot or WordPress. I forgot the other big one at the time. 

But when you ask the writing business pros about it, they are not enthused. 

Totally beside the meme...William Shatner turns 95 today.

Y'all know I purchased a weekly reminder calendar for social posts. It's now more of a suggestion than an obligation. 😬

On the other hand, I did it again. "The Gordons" is at 61,161 words. I'm thrilled. I also badly wanted to type that out because all day yesterday I was thinking six one one six one. Made me happy.

Anyway, today I caught myself listening to dialogue for book 6, "The Rabbit God." Yep. There's a "The" in it. Looked back at my book cover to make sure, in case you're wondering how I function on the daily.

And...I MADE THE ONENOTE NOTEBOOK for book 6! 🥳🎉

Y'all. That's like foreplay, I swear. 

Shiny new slate to impose my will on. Okay. Try to impose my will on. *glances around*

shhhhhhhh

For those about to write...

...I salute you! 🫶

It was a lovely holiday weekend. Except Saturday morning when I turned on the kitchen faucet, and the POS sprayer handle flew off and hurtled toward me and my then-soaked ass. 

I wrote a lot Friday, and I actually did some voice to text notes about "The Gordons." I knew Saturday and Sunday with middle child and two granddaughters would not be writing days.

Took up some type of Mah-Jongg on my phone. Damn addictive. Different tiles and whatnot. Then, when I've done well, it says "good job" or "excellent job". Sounds like the male voice in Mortal Kombat that says "finish him!"

Not gonna lie. I love that shit.

But, this morning, after breakfast, I like to ease into my day. I open up the app, and it's a sign from the universe!

A lot of my tiles are Greek mythology figures. Some of my favorite fictional people. Hermes, Athena, not YOU Zeus, Demeter, and I don't like you either, Poseidon.

But I rather loved it.

And as I cruised my socials this morning, I realized I have a lot of work to do today all across the Interweb. Because, damn it, these books DO NOT market themselves. Which is my least favorite part of all of it. piffle

We'll see where the day takes me. "The Gordons" is at 57,117 words. At least 12,000 more. 

Plus, I have to socialize on the big 4 or 5 platforms. 

Yeah. This happened this morning.

I used to love to go grocery shopping. See different stores. Look at regional things. Yada. But since the body collapse, I do pick-ups. And since Sam's was a complete butthole yesterday and didn't have my patties in for this weekend, I had to do another pick up at WM today. Even though I was just there yesterday.

On the weekly, I oftentimes get the same associate. She lives with her sister and like four cats, and they do rescue, and she's a fucking delight. Love her.

Had her yesterday. Had her again this morning.

I asked her to put the items in the backseat because there wasn't a lot.

Cool.

She's putting my five small bags of groceries in, and then, as she starts to close the door, she said, "Hey! I saw your 'Encyclopedia of Serial Killers' book. My sister would love that."

Because me, being me, cleaned out my fucking storage MONTHS AGO, and all my stored books are in the floorboard of my back seat.

Including the lovely aforementioned title. 

I smiled and explained I'm an author.

Then she said she and her sister were raised in the nineties, and her mom watched all those true crime shows. 

And I'm simply happy she didn't call a hotline.

At the end of the month...

 ...this shit is happening:

Romance Book Festival Author Spotlight

We’re excited to introduce another incredible author joining us for the 3rd Annual Romance Book Festival!

Meet Crystal Inman

Crystal will be joining us on Saturday, July 25 from 6-9 PM at Guthrie Brewing Company in historic downtown Guthrie, Oklahoma!

Featured Book: The Portrait

A cursed portrait.
A man who’s more dream than memory.
And a love strong enough to defy the darkness.

When Sophie tumbles into a painted prison, she never expects to find Dylan, a handsome, tragic man bound by an ancient curse. Their connection is instant, undeniable... and forbidden.

But the harder they fight for each other, the stronger the darkness pushes back. Will love be enough to break the curse, or will the shadows claim them both?

If you love:
 Cursed love stories
 Gothic romance
 Fantasy with a touch of mystery
 Star-crossed lovers
 Magic, danger, and unforgettable romance

...this one belongs on your TBR!

Will you be meeting Crystal at the festival? Let us know in the comments!

July 25, 2026
 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
 Guthrie Brewing Company
 30+ romance authors, vendors, books, prizes, and more!

Come see me!

As my business card reads, "Feral but friendly."

😁

Being social

Ack. I did it.

Posted on my FB Author Page. Threads. Insta. TikTok. 

I need a nap now. 😆

Didn't post Monday and Tuesday because I didn't have it in me. 

Officially throwing out "The Morrigan" preorder link. I've loaded the pertinents to Amazon for both eBook and paperback. Do I loathe using Amazon? 

Yes. With my entire being. 

But, for now, it is what it is. They print for me with minimal issues and in bulk. 

I always buy my own ISBNs now so I may sell my books online elsewhere. 

Broke down and made a cover for my April 2027 release, "Rabbit God."

Different, but I really do love it. 

That's all I can ask.

Left "The Gordons" in a pickle and need to help them out. But, for some reason, I'm all about doing anything but.

Shame. Shame on me.

All the shame.

And yet...still ambivalent.

While I realize I don't even need to have this finished yet, I would like to blow right through it. Sit down and type 5000-7000 words a day, which is what I did with the first four books. Literally a month and a half and done.

Am I asking too much of myself?

Aren't I always?

I have both mental and physical issues that make life a challenge. But when I work on writing, it pushes all that bullshit back.

I feel productive with a purpose and focus. 

Simply...makes me feel great. 

And I need more of THAT going on over here.

Maybe. But don't kill my vibe.

😂😌

ahem

Can't seem to help myself. 

Nearly died yesterday unpacking the boxes, putting books in my plastic totes, and packing the boxes with labels.

And if that weren't enough, my short ass decided I DID need to make the book cover for book 6 in my Plot Twist series. 

It's called "Rabbit God" and will be out April 2027. The cover is definitely a bit different, but I love it (for now).

46,313 words on "The Gordons." And I'm sort of in panic mode (my default) before I realize how much more I have to write. Plotting out three places across the globe wore my ass out. And I'm still out of country, by the way.

Plenty of room to wrap up and then make a trail for book 6.

Thought there were lots of things I wanted to watch on streaming. That did not turn out to be true. But July should be interesting. Here's hoping.

Got my new planner in. It's like freakin' Christmas! And my new quad-color pens, of course. Need to transfer info from one to the other.

And while I made myself a weekly calendar for socials, let's be honest. If I'm wore out, things are not going to be socialed. Period. 

I've made reels, mind you. PLENTY of reels. But I'm in that release limbo right now, and it's annoying me. Of course, that will be nearly every month so I should suck it up. But not until I properly bitch about it. It's a process.