Challenges

Told you I was sick, right? 

Ya girl has pneumonia. 🎉

I don't believe I've ever had this particular illness. I don't believe I ever want to have it again.

Currently trying to cough up one, or both, of my lungs.

Puts a wrench into those wonderful plans I made. 😑

I am, however, doing what I can.

Going to be honest here. I don't "get" Instagram. I have a hard time posting on it, and it drives me batshit. Thought I created a carousel reel in Canva. Tried to post it on there. HA! Silly Crystal. Then I opened up Adobe photo or video something or other and created one. 

The learning curve on that one was steep. 😒

It was a PROCESS.

First, created the pictures I wanted on Canva. Then uploaded those pictures, added music, and edited a reel. 

What did I tell you about dipping toes into unknown waters? That shit happens on the daily.

But now?

I'll be making one for each of my books. Hopefully speed up the process a bit.

Also, need to edit older books and create new book covers. Format. So on and so forth. 

Not going to hop ALL over that right now as I'm not sleeping the best (at all).

Challenges?

Oh. Plenty.

*shrug*

Just keep at it with whatever you have on hand. Little steps are still steps. It's all progress.

I'm excited for the end result.

And even MORE excited when this absolute shitshow leaves my body.

Well well well. What have we here?

If you have granddaughters that watch "The Nightmare before Christmas", you'll know this is Oogie Boogie with his introduction. 

LeeLee, oldest granddaughter, would sit in my office chair and wait for me to come out of the bathroom JUST to swivel in said chair and say these words. I would crack up every time.

But. What HAVE we here?

Oh. This author typing around 5000 words yesterday on "Out of the Shadows." 🥳

When you write multiples, there are many things you need to do.

1. Keep the pace. Can't let any of the books fall behind in sense of urgency. Solved a problem? Create another. Immediately.

2. Character arcs. If you're not arcing, I'm not reading. Characters pull me in, followed by premise. If I'm not cheering or hissing, why bother?

3. Consistency. Oh, I'm awful at this, sometimes. I DO blame my ADHD for this one. Sometimes I forget eye or hair color, especially with multiple characters. Descriptions I've used. That's why I use OneNote and often copy pictures that resemble my characters.

4. If you introduced it in book one, you better explain it by the end. Loose ends are bullshit. This is also another one I struggle with, occasionally.

5. Closing. All. The. Doors. Unless you've decided for a spin-off of some sort. Readers need closure. I need closure.

Sure I've mentioned it before, but I used to write chronologically. Since the house fire of 2006, I write whatever scene pops for me. Sometimes, it is straight up linear. But never the whole book.

I wrote down "tie-ins" that I needed to cover before wrapping this big bad book up. There are 17.

😬 

Is this awful? Not even close. I have about half of the book to write to finish. And a lot of these items happen in the last half of the book. But it's a daunting list when you're eyeballing it daily. 

What we have is me finally immersing myself back into the story and not playing with all the shiny new things, like my older books which need revising. 

I'm back in the game. 🥳

Preemptive something

What should I be doing RIGHT NOW?

Working on "Canary": Out of the Shadows".

What AM I doing?

heh 😬

I'm under the weather. Sound like a seal barking when I try to talk. It's awesome. Lungs and throat are little bitches.

But I also know that I need to incorporate the elements I listed on OOS into said story. Cool beans. The coolest of beans. Hippest beans around.

I'm...not feeling it.

Hoping that changes. sigh

I have most of the day to do this!

But I digress.

This is about FOOD. ALL THE DAMN FOOD.

When I am in a writing flow/tear/manic stage, I will eat everything but the kitchen sink. It's like I'm expending energy, LOTS of mental energy, and my body demands to be compensated.

I'm not out here saluting the sun like Denise Austin or kicking the shit out of my back-up people doing Tae-Bo. (I see you, Billy.) I'm not roller-skating, hoola-hooping, or jump roping. 

I'm sitting at my damn desk with my little engine that could trying to break the sound barrier.

But man. I need snacks. I've gone in the kitchen, found absolutely nothing (thank you hindsight and foresight) and settled for eating things I don't even want. Because I require sustenance.

I'm not sure what part of my weirdness this comes from, and I don't have the time or wherewithal at this juncture to examine self. 

I'm sick, remember?

But damn it! I picked up a box of jalapeno poppers, potato skins, and taquitos this morning.

Carbs and grease. 

I couldn't be more excited.

Ate my healthy breakfast, and now we wait.

For:

inspiration

all the words

a storm that knocks out all electronics (checks the sky)

SOMETHING

And when my wee brain is shriveled up like a snail that found sodium, I'm going to reward that cerebellum with one, or all, of the above. 🥳

On a completely unrelated note, I hate hair on my neck. I've only now figured out that when I put up a ponytail/bun, I can make sure the end of it is facing north, not south. 

"Special" doesn't even begin to cover it.

Writing in Oklahoma, hopefully, sans hair on neck. 😄

EDIT: Forget mentioning the Sun Chips. It's a little after noon. They gone.

Out and about

I've three, possibly four, more book appearances this year. I usually cut off after August because nearly all the bdays, both babies and gbabies, occur in the latter part of the year. All my babies born in October. Three of my four granddaughters in September. Anniversary in October. 

It's...a lot.

But when opportunities arise, I'd be foolish not to jump on them.

Foolish, I'm not.

I will, possibly, be at the 2025 Authors Festival in Lawton from 8-11, October 11th. TBD

I will be at the Spicy Book Festival in Waukomis from 2-6, October 18th.

I will be at Social Capital in OKC 5-9, November 1st.

I will be at the 2025 Oklahoma Authors Showcase in Sulphur 10:30-1:30, November 15th.

I absolutely love meeting new authors and readers. It's one of the best parts of this experience. 

If you can, stop by and see me at one of these locations.

I'd love to meet you!

The boring stuff

I spent four hours or so, yesterday, writing up new blurbs for most of my books. This comes from finally having my rights back to earlier works. 

With that comes: editing, new book covers, and repackaging as a whole. 

Boring as shit.

I enjoy making the new covers and asking opinions from other authors and readers. I love a new perspective. Did I enjoy literally shaking my brain like a maraca yesterday to try and come up with new and catchy descriptions for a dozen or so books?

That's a hearty HELL NO!

Is it done? Indeedt. 

What exciting business is on the agenda today?

1. Worked on book covers. Made progress.

2. Editing "Warrior and the Sparrow" and placing chapter breaks where needed. 

3. Start editing either "What He Wants" or "One Enchanted Evening" or "The Portrait" or...

😑😑😑 

It is...tedious.

My ADHD brain is rattling the cages to do something exciting! Write new scenes. Look up absolutely atrocious things on Google. (I can't remember precisely what I Googled on Friday, but it should have put me on a Watch List. 🤭)

I was on a roll.

All this to say, it's part of it. It can't all be fun and games and finishing books and Googling things that would make a sadist pale.

Nope.

Sometimes, it's sitting down and doing what needs to be done, even if it feels about the same as bamboo shoots under our finger nails.

I want these old, new, stories polished and fresh. Ready to impress. 

If that means I'm sitting at my desk at the ass crack of dawn with red eyes, an attitude, and clothes that should have been burned a decade ago, SO BE IT.  😌

Back to it.

😶

I'm using my planner.

Um...let's say I found another 2025 planner on my book shelves. A pristine planner with a really awesome cover. 😒 That no pen has ever touched. 

You know, in September of said year. 😐

NO ONE needs to make me crazy, folks. I'm more than well-equipped to do it, myself.

Who can deny the siren's song of new planners and notebooks? They beckon to me with gorgeous covers and promises of keeping my life together. And me? I fold like a house of cards, thanks. 😊

I need them all.

*ahem*

Want them all.

I have notebooks that I treasure so much that I've never written in them. Because I love the cover. Or how the pages are formatted inside. Or...any number of minutiae that somehow put me off using these notebooks. There is actually one I want to keep exactly as it is because it inspired a book I want to write.

I love them.

What does my Wish List on Amazon consist of? 

Usually notebooks. 

My wife is completely unamused. 😑

But words are my jam, and I need places to put them. Or...not. Whatever the notebook tells me to do. 

😶😂

But! The light at the end of my ADHD tunnel is this: I USED my big (8 1/2 by 11) planner this year. I wrote down bdays, appts, and notes to myself. I was kind of, almost, really reaching for some organization.

Ironically, I mostly love organization. It points and laughs at me.

And how does it make me feel?

Um, weird, quite honestly. I like it, but it's out of my realm, if that makes sense. 

Like...oh! Look at Future Me. Wrote down appts and dates of things I needed to do.

Present Me: Oh. Holy shit. THIS is how it works...🤔

It's a process, folks.

And for the record, I've already bought my 2026 Planner. 

🥳🎉

Resolutions? Nah...goals.

I suck at resolutions. So I decided to try "goals". I make a list of about 7 or so every year and post by my desk, in my office.

Funny thing being, I have ADHD combined, and I have visual-related issues. In other words, I often ignore things in plain sight due to executive dysfunction and working memory. Or, once it's been there for a bit, I'll gloss right over it. Like I can't even see it.

I posted 7 goals for 2025, CONVINCED it was going to be my year.

This.

Did.

Not.

Happen.

Not remotely. Not semi-remotely. Just...no.

Had a massive bout of depression. Hadn't been that bad in years. Rough start. Lost my precious Simba in May. Still absolutely gutted. 

I didn't want to do anything. And honestly? I didn't have the energy or wherewithal to even BEGIN.

Little me. Lost at sea. 

Turned on to a new medication for depression. 😊 It's a bit different, but it's helping. Also, trying a new mood stabilizer. 

And guess what? My life is overflowing with wonderful things. (My body is still unholy as fuck-all...thanks Fibro. 😒)

I finished "Dream Walker" which I started like a bat out of hell and then let sit for months. I put a new cover on a short story and published that. I usually do three conferences: February and two in August.

This year? I have two more in October and two in November. 

And the best got damn news I've had in a minute?

A previous publisher gave me back ALL MY RIGHTS to those earlier books. I think there's around ten, plus six or so short stories. 💃💃💃

Suddenly, I'm like...holy SHIT! I hit three of the seven goals.

3 OF 7! 💖

(in less than a month)

All my rambling summed up to say: If you're struggling, find help. Do not be quiet. Do not suffer. Depression is a right whore, and I tried so many medications hoping to help with it. They did not. Current med is.

Manifest what you desire. Write that shit down. Believe in it. Believe in yourself. 

No two roads are the same, but there ARE roads. 

And, do what you are meant to be doing. If you can't do it full-time, then squeeze it in when you're able. It'll feed your soul. 💗