Longest day of the year

We all know it's not the summer solstice. It's the fall back regimen. We gained an hour which will feel like four on a sleepy Sunday.

Me=every time.

One would think that would mean one would have an extra hour to do necessary things.

Except, my body won't be right for months. I'm going to bed at 6?

WTF?

Murphy still woke me at the usual time this morning. Unfortunately, that's now 5:51 am. You cannot explain time change to a feline.

I tried.

Am I going to be irrationally hungry?

Most likely.

Am I going to feel like every clock in the house is wrong?

Most likely.

Should I take this time to simmer? Probably. But, I won't.

Still worried about trigger finger surgery and what I will be able/won't be able to do during that time.

Which means I'm going to wring out every hour of this day like it's a wash cloth that pissed me off.

Because of course I am.

I hope this time change finds you comfy and relaxing. Enjoying that extra hour. 

Is it midnight? It feels like midnight. 🤔

Back to the business of writing

My next author event will be the Relax and Read Author Event on March 6th and 7th. It is sponsored by Le Visage Spa and Wellness in Norman, Oklahoma.

Many readers have expressed they are interested in more than romance, so I shall be taking my Plot Twist series, Canary series, Dream Walker, and romance, both erotic and contemporary.

I've expanded my search for book cons into Texas and about a four-five hour drive from my house. There are quite a few I'm interested in. And they're spread out over the year, which is lovely. I can't do a back-to-back anymore.

Honestly?

I'll be ready to see the back end of October. And I'm not one to rush the year, believe me. But this month has been hectic and frenetic, and I'd like a slower pace all around. 

Worried about the trigger finger surgery, though. 

It's one thing to take a break and another to be forced to.

And I'm completely the opposite of low-key.

I believe you know my alternate ego: chaos cow. 🐮

Okay!

Books to write and words to fondle.

Triggered

I believe I mentioned my trigger finger in a previous blog. Right middle finger. Went to see the hand doc today.

I'm scheduled to have surgery on November 9th.

With ALL the respect to Daniel Kaluuya and the "Get Out" experience. Damn good flick.

Thank you, ADHD.

Antyway, I'm getting a nerve cut, three stitches, and pain for months.

Doc was not a bullshitter. I appreciate that. 

He flat out said it would hurt for a great deal of time.

I inform the good doc that I'm a writer, and I type a shit-ton on my works.

He said to give it a week, but I'll probably still be typing through pain.

<<<<<see meme again

In other, my body is a shitshow news, I went to my rheumatologist, and this sweet soul sent a fuck load of blood tests and x-rays.

And guess what, my good brethren and sistren?

I looked at the blood tests. And even though my follow-up isn't until November 23rd, yours truly looks like she has lupus.

So.

Do I have fibro AND lupus? 

Do I need to change my diet?

Have I had lupus all along, and no one caught it?

Are my organs being fucked up as I type this?

Inquiring minds want to know.

My short ass is completely unamused.

Stay tuned...

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.

You had one job, Amazon...

...and you've failed spectacularly.

My spoiled ginger son, Murphy, has a certain flavor wet food for the AM and one for the PM. I try to order ahead of time so there is no lapse. Because, heavens forbid. 🙄

But, the change of season has Mr. Man eating two cans in the AM. I was not prepared!

I immediately hop on the 'zon because I guess it's an odd flavor to stock in the stores??? and order more.

great

Except...suddenly, they're changing delivery dates, and I do the math and am not happy.

FFS

It's a 24 pack of Fancy Feast. 

Too much to ask.

Now, I'm having to do an early morning pick up at a WM that is NOT the closest. 

Because...Murphy.

Chicken boy is practically under my office chair, as I type. Looking like the adorable heathen he is.

I'm having a wonderful case of executive dysfunction right now. 

That "task paralysis" part.

And I hate it, quite honestly. 

I swear, my brain likes playing chicken with itself.

Do I need to get on it?

Damn it, Spike!

I can relate.

There's got to be a manual override, right?

RIGHT???

Well, well, well...

...happy Thursday or whatever this is.

I try to blog at least every other day. Ya girl has been slacking.

So let's catch up, shall we?

Off to the doc today with GI issues. Bloating. Miserable. Burping. Nauseous. All the fun.

Ethan thinks it's a stomach ulcer (My second! 🥳) and started me on a pill I take four times a day. Cool beans. I'll conveniently fit that in with the three one-week pill planners I have for morning, mid, and evening.

I also have a trigger finger.

Okay. I've heard of trigger finger but never knew what it was. Months ago, I noticed my right middle finger would hitch and then pop back. I assumed it was from overuse. But nay, my good people, stupid finger won't slide into the stupid sheath so I'm stuck with a finger who has had better days.

Good/bad news?

Apparently it's an easy surgery!

Pardon me.

Fuck me.

WHAT???

Yep. Sure. Ethan explained how they go into the finger and clip the nerve, and I'm doing the squirm in my chair because it's a hell of a visual. 

I asked if they did anything with my wrist. He said no. Only the finger.

sigh

Not like I use these bastards to write books or anything. 

My face

So woot for that referral. 

FFS

I want to Google but I so don't.

Kinda like when I had my hip replacement. 

Give me the animated version!

In other, Crystal's body is fucked up, news, I received my handicap placard.

I'm still sitting with this. 

Back in the damn day, I was a work horse. A hoss. Give me the task, I'd bust through it.

From lifting heavy hydraulic arms to working sixty to seventy-two hour weeks to barely sleeping because the kids were in half-day school. 

I did that shit.

And I did it well.

Now, my body is a little bitch most times.

Chronic pain is bullshit. 

Surprise pain is bullshit.

The regular pain is bullshit.

Sharp.

Achy.

Stabby.

Throbbing.

Burning.

PAIN...is bullshit.

Hurts my legs to walk for too long. And for a woman who used to be on her feet in steel-toed shoes for twelve hours at a time, I'm trying to reconcile myself.

Does it help?

Fuck, yes.

I used the placard one day for a WM trip that was too small to have a pickup. Saved my blessed legs and back. Started hurting after I crawled back into my car AFTER the trip. Not too bad during. (I lean on carts.)

Do I feel ten kinds of horrible for having to use it?
Yeah.

Like I somehow need to suffer to prove my fucking disability. 

I suffer enough.

Now.

If the rest of me would calm the fuck down...

Release dates for 2027 titles

Progress.

I've actually made some.

How lovely.

Am I using this day, as I stated several blogs ago, for rest?

Sure am not.

Gotta take the better days when I have them.

Working on my erotic short story for an ASB Publishing anthology coming out for Christmas. Sorting Rabbit God out in my wee grey matter. Editing Macaria for a December release. The eBook will be a dollar cheaper on preorder than publishing date. 

And as I sent October goals to my PA, I actually looked at them.

I mean...really looked.

👀

JANUARY--WARRIOR AND THE SPARROW-ROMANTASY

FEBRUARY--THE GORDONS-PLOT TWIST BK 5

MARCH--FIRE GODDESS-ELEMENTAL GUARDIAN SERIES BK 1

APRIL--THE RABBIT GOD-PLOT TWIST BK 6

MAY--WATER GODDESS-ELEM GUAR BK2

JULY--WIND GODDESS-ELEM GUAR BK 3

AUGUST--GEORGE SAINT-PLOT TWIST BK7

SEPTEMBER--EARTH GODDESS ELEM GUAR BK 4

The Elemental Guardian series needs editing. It was heavily edited 20 years ago by a professional. I'll still comb through it with the fine tooth. The four books are the entire series.

Warrior and the Sparrow will also be edited. Same for it. But, you can always edit. Always.

Do I enjoy it?

Fuck no.

Does the book become better for it?

Always.

Looks like I've tracked off the end of the year. I'm not sure about that, yet.

We all know I have three gdaughter bdays in September. October is the kids' bdays. Then...hello holidays!

And I can flex release dates except for the first two titles of 2027 in my Plot Twist series. I'll make sure they are on time and in the best shape.

Gave myself a bit of time between "The Rabbit God" and "George Saint".

You just never KNOW what may be around the corner.

Do I want to start George now?

YES!

But I need to sit my ass down and think of the chronology. I can't go willy-nilly into it.

I really want to, though.

My chaotic nature is craving it.

Because LA Bennett thought she'd been through it. But wait until Mayor George Saint presents her a problem.

Nothing much can rattle our battle-tested LA.

But this will.

Ace

Ace is an overabundantly egocentric Yoruba deity. The third book in my Plot Twist series is his story. Because this man doesn't believe for one second that LA is there to help him. He assures her it's the other way around.

Between his highness and a kitchen renovation, LA is about to lose what's left of her sense of humor, her mind, and her so-called sanity. Juggling both takes a lot more out of our anti-heroine than she expected. Ace refuses to divulge anything that could help. 

Rhagus takes the lead as LA struggles with new revelations and old scars that never truly healed.

Ace is available now.

*Cue Mary Tyler Moore theme*

For you younglings, it has the line "We're going to make it after all."

I might.

After I slogged through yesterday and got a bit more sleep, I feel like I may be able to write a little today and be productive.

For some reason, the past four or five days have had me down, physically and mentally.

Maybe I'm on the upswing.

Please let me be on the upswing.

Maybe I've pressured myself too much.

Maybe that's my default.

Maybe...🙄

Let me be blunt

Fuck this day. It's not even 9:30 in the AM, and I'm pretty much done with it.

Murphy has decided I don't need any more than four hours of sleep at one time. He was up my ass this morning so many times, I finally decided to get up.

Went to open the blinds and stepped in his vomit. On my bare heel. It was nasty as fuck-all.

Huge headache.

Sinuses blaring.

Keep forgetting I have an appt at 1. Finally wrote a big "1" on my left hand to remind myself.

Had to "verify" my fucking identity on Kindle Direct, or they would shut all my shit down.

So, fuck them, too.

It was a got damn process.

Between two devices and zero patience.

Then, I go online to fill out a form for something I need, and it asks for an email I don't have and won't go to the next page, because I guess that shit is unacceptable. So fuck me.

Oh, and if I don't get the email, then everything is snail mail. 

Difficulty after difficulty.

Ya girl woke up with a sore body and no sense of humor. 

I'm at my limit at a salty 9:35 am.

It's got to get better, right???

Edit, edit, and edit some more

Editing is a never-ending event. You literally must call it when you've run out of time for publication. One of my favorite ways to edit now...having a voice read it back to me.

This also has its bullshit.

Grim ACED. Like the card. I twitch every time.

Character names are often slaughtered.

It likes to spell out some words if they're too short. Example: Nyx. It says N-Y-X every fucking time. 

Why, phantom voice?

Enunciates the "f" word like a dream. 

And I love how it phonetically tackles non-English words.

Also, these eyes don't always catch "here" when I meant "her".

It makes me question comma and period placement.

It's great and annoying all wrapped into one.

Today's fun-filled work day?

Editing "The Gordons", which is full of so much action that needs to be properly conveyed. Also, it needs to be fleshed out a bit.

Will I start on Rabbit God anytime soon?

🤫

Don't ruin the moment.

Do I have to?

Nothing will bring the petulant child out in me quicker than having to talk on the phone. Never mind we had the LONG cord when I was younger that you could stretch across three rooms to talk to your friends. No. Never mind that shit.

Never mind the fact I was on that phone for hours at some times.

We are friends no longer.

Ironic as my phone holds my life in its little rectangular self.

And, like many others, I use my phone all the time.

But not to actually speak to another person.

Received a letter and needed to make a call this morning.

I attempted to bypass this horrific necessity by visiting the website. Chatted with Mike. Nope. That man gave me a phone number I needed to call.

Really, Mike?

🤨

If there is a plus side, it was that Victoria, who answered the phone, helped immensely. 

But, with all my acronyms, sometimes it's fucking hard to actually tap in the number. Much less, have a conversation with reasonable acumen.

Sometimes I'll save up phone calls like I'm a squirrel hoarding acorns, and do the deeds one after the other. 

Purge them sequentially. 

Then exhale after the last, like I had a life-saving reprieve. 

Dramatic?

Probably.

Necessary?

Indubitably.

There are things, as I age, that I specifically will butt up against and refuse. If you don't need my weight at the doc's office, you're not getting it. If something is damaged in my grocery pick-up, it's being returned. 

Less patience. A little more understanding.

Could be worse.

Sunday assortment

Had Middle Child and the heathens up yesterday for the girls' bdays. One was 9-5. The other is 9-30. And the day we celebrated? Baby gbaby's bday...9-26.

You could wring my short ass out, at this point. 

I didn't count Wednesday or Saturday as writing days because I knew I couldn't pull it off. Too many things on my plates.

Friday was Costco, and you know I can't pick up writing after I've picked something else up first.

Some days, I truly cannot stand myself. 😂

And now, here we are on Sunday.

My first newsletter is being released today. I'm excited but nervous. We all know it's not my forte. 

And then the major decision is...what do I work on today? 🤔

Not even going to list all the possibilities.

I simply know I cannot let this day go to waste in an authorly way.

Didn't I specifically state, probably four or five posts, that Sunday was to be a day of rest? 

And now we know why Crystal can't have nice things or Sundays off.

My rice cakes have been debauched

I'm constantly and consistently looking for new keto food. Even an assortment of meat grows old. Found some Chocolate Caramel Protein Mini Rice Cakes on WM site. Had to be shipped, but that's just fine.

Normal people would look at the serving size: 16 little cakes, and be perfectly content to eat that and be done.

Not me.

They're good.

Really good.

I ate a four serving bag in two days.

Pretty sure I knocked myself out of ketosis.

And if THAT didn't do it...

These sons of bitches at Target did me in. 

Spent all day yesterday with middle child. Target. Sam's. Cheddar's (restaurant). 

Should have planned better.

Been craving something pumpkiny for a long minute.

I succumbed. 

Three bags of these. Not huge bags. Doesn't matter.

Serving size? 5, I think.

🤨

That's cute.

The devil's in the mini rice cakes. Little bit of sweet glaze on top, and I was cooked. 

Best thing for me to do is walk away. Instead...I walked toward. sigh

Even something as innocent as rice poofs thrown together can sidetrack you. 

It was a great detour, though.