Monday, Always Behind

Well, I’m awake, though I didn’t get the one damn thing I wanted to this weekend. I have a book hanging fire and waiting for feedback, but the amount of cooking that had to be done (mostly by the Princess, who was attending a couple different events this weekend that required culinary offerings) meant more than the usual cleaning, and I got a wild hare yesterday about making chile verde con cerdo from a Cook’s Illustrated recipe.

Consequently, I had no time to settle on the couch with some pleasurable reading, by far my favorite part of any weekend. Which means I’m going to take a couple hours this afternoon, turn off the wireless, and dive in.

But before that, I have the morning run and wordcount to get handled. I may not be able to play hooky with Wangsty Dracula today; HOOD needs some attention. The gala fête is about to begin, Marah’s got to get dressed, Giz needs to make some preparations, Bookman Trick needs a gentle goose to activate his long-dormant courage (well, he is brave, he just doesn’t think so) and, as a cowardly prince once said, there’s Guilder to frame for it.

I’m swamped.

The Valentine giveaway is still going strong! Once it ends there will be a private giveaway for newsletter subscribers. (If you haven’t signed up, here’s a link.) Plus I need to get the subscription stuff for the week ready.

*sigh* It was really tasty chile verde, but it’s set me far behind. At least it’s a Monday; I’m always behind on a Monday. Never could quite get the hang of them.

I wish you better luck, dear Reader. Onwards and upwards we go.

Jade (Pencil) Dog

I’m doing Inktober, though I’m not really following any prompts. Mostly I’m just drawing what I feel like drawing, with varying levels of success. Like piano, I’m not very good at it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy myself roundly.

I’ve been reading some marvelous threads on pre-conquest Mexica history (a lady on Mastodon; here’s her Patreon) and thinking a lot about how, when you died, you’d have to hope you were kind enough to your dogs because they would guard your spirit in the perilous underworld before you got to final rest.

It made me think of Odd Trundles and how he would look as a carved figurine, so I set out to draw it. It’s piglike, both because of the conventions of blocky carving and because, well, the snort-snuffles were porcine, gods forgive me. I even gave him a tail, since one of the great unfulfilled desires of his life was to have a big tail to knock things over with.

I still miss the little fellow. I even miss his snoring at night. But maybe after I cross into What Comes Next he’ll be there, snortwhistle-snuffling, to guide and protect my ankles once more.

Price for Acuity

My nose was out of commission for a couple days, thanks to the flu; this morning, however, I cleared it with a honk into a somewhat overstrained tissue and can finally smell again. It’s a bloody relief to have that primary sense fully back instead of only dimly usable when something like a dog’s excited digestive system emits a pungent dambreaker. (So to speak.)

Of course, now that it’s back, I’m sure the house will be full of unpleasant corners. But if that’s the price I pay for acuity, so be it.

I went to bed super early last night, just after my second Inktober drawing–I’m not following any prompts, I’m just doing whatever I feel like. The kids like bringing their own sketchpads into my office in the evening, and we listen to Forensic Files cases while sharpening pencils and sharing pens. They used to draw while I knitted, but now that I’m drawing too they’re extremely pleased. One couldn’t ask for a more supportive audience; I’m no good at visual arts but they gravely remind me that it’s having fun that matters.

Youth is wise, indeed.

I’m pretty sure it was the flu; I still ache all over. Not like I was beaten with a truncheon anymore, which is a relief, and the fever’s receded though it didn’t break in a gush of sweat and clarity as it usually does. But I’ll take it. I can probably even start jogging again, very gently and on the treadmill. I don’t care if my plantar fascia gets upset, I’ve got to move and get some of this itching out.

The October Valentine Test Giveaway is still going strong, and don’t forget you can get more entries by clicking in daily. So far the response has exceeded my wildest expectations, and I’m already thinking of what to give away next month. Maybe a Gallow & Ragged set, or a couple Kismet omnibuses. (Omnibi?) It depends on what I’ve the postage for.

I should also get the monthly newsletter out the door, as well. But first there’s the rest of my coffee to absorb, and a little bit of deep breathing before I hit the damn treadmill. It’s always something, and I can’t wait to write some more Wangsty Dracula Reboot. The only thing I’m not doing is making it an epistolary novel, because I frankly don’t have the patience. I love reading epistolary, but writing it is a whole different ballgame.

Good gods. How did we arrive at Thursday without me knowing? I suppose I’d best get started.

Over and out.

The Valentine Test Giveaway

Dante Valentine

The fever is still hanging around and I’m hacking into tissues like a consumptive heroine in a Victorian novel. Of course, this means I have all sorts of ideas that may or may not be good ones, so here we go:

I’m trying something new this month, dear Readers: a giveaway!

I’m testing a giveaway process for signed, personalized author’s copies. Since I don’t sell said copies, and since I don’t do signings anymore (except for the Powell’s Authorfest. which sadly I have to miss this year due to a punishing publication schedule), the copies are piling up. I only need a very few of them for my brag shelf and associated personal uses, so what to do with the rest?

Well, give them away, I guess.

So. From now until October 15, you can enter to win one of two (2) signed, personalized copies of the Dante Valentine UK omnibus. Winners will be chosen on the 18th. I’ll personalize and sign your copy, then send it anywhere in the world. Future giveaways might be restricted to the US or the US, UK, & Canada, depending on what kind of cash I have for postage that month. I may even do a dedicated giveaway page on the ol’ website, I’m not sure yet.

Time will tell if this is a great idea or a terrible one, but if it gets the boxes out of my garage and maybe makes a few Readers happy, I’m down with it.

I may even do giveaways of less-physical objects in the future, though probably not ARCs due to piracy concerns. But, for example, a manuscript critique or a free cover copy revise? That’s do-able.

Anyway, if you’re interested, scroll on down and enter. We’ll see how it goes.

Soundtrack Monday: Wondering Where the Lions Are

Taken

Just what do you play to get into the mood when you’re writing a were-wolverine? For me, it was Bruce Cockburn’s Wondering Where the Lions Are, which I played somewhat obsessively while writing Taken.

Longtime Readers will remember Taken‘s working title was Weasel Boy, since Zach (the hero-of-sorts) travels with his very small family of were-wolverines, doing odd jobs, until an upir attack introduces them to Sophie. It’s actually Eric, one of the cousins, who’s a Bruce Cockburn fan, and the song really has no relation to the book other than the mention of lions and the singer’s desire to melt into a beloved. It being Cockburn, of course, there’s also an undercurrent of social justice.

It being a Monday (and what a Monday, I’m down with the flu and shivering with fever while I type) I might as well give a two-fer; in the beginning of Taken, when Sophie and Lucy are getting ready for their night on the town, what should be playing but the Pretenders’ Brass in Pocket, that anthem of girls’ night out everywhere? You can probably even hear an echo of it in Lucy’s dialogue.

Enjoy! And I hope your Monday is better than mine–or at least, less feverish.

When They’re Not Serving

I’ve got a survey out to my serial subscribers, asking if they want to go to Season Three of HOOD when Season Two ends. Season Three is the payoff, but from what I can tell, plenty of people are getting bored with Season Two.

I don’t take it personally–serials, especially long-running ones, are difficult, and the long shoal in the middle of a trilogy’s Book 2 is an inescapable fact of life. But it does mean that I might be finishing Season Two and putting together a whole new serial.

It might even be The Highlands War, but don’t bet on it. I have several prospects, including Lightning Bound and the wangsty Dracula reboot I’ve been playing hooky with. I may just keep Wangsty Dracula for my own personal delectation, too. It’s nice to have some things just for oneself.

In other news, I spent the weekend getting a few things put together, like an upcoming test giveaway. I’ll be giving away two signed, personalized copies of the UK edition of Dante Valentine; I want to see if the giveaways will drive a couple other things and I don’t do signings anymore.1 Of course, it may be an idea I’ll quietly let die on the vine once the flu-fever recedes, because I’ve been running 99.9F or slightly above since last week.

I don’t mind fever so much–my body tends to cook itself at the slightest provocation–but the body aches have convinced me it’s flu, and I do mind those. I feel like I’ve been beaten with a truncheon. The only thing I’m missing is garish bruises, which I’m alternately grateful for the lack of and a little peeved that I’m not wearing a badge of honor for.

I know it doesn’t make sense. It’s still how I feel.

Anyway, I’ve a full list of things to get done today, including the finishing touches on the giveaway and some yoga, since I’m going mad at not being able to run. If it’s not plantar fasciitis it’s the damn fever; it’s always something. Getting older sucks, but there are good things too. Like being able to look at things, shrug, and set them aside when they’re not serving me.

In any case, it’s a Monday and I’d best be back at work. I hope your beginning-of-blessed-autumn is proceeding a little more smoothly than mine, dear Readers.

Over and out.

Deeper Levels

I just had to laugh. Dear gods, Astrology App, do you think I do anything else?

I have to say, the notifications from this particular app have made me break down laughing on a regular basis. It’s been sorely needed merriment, indeed.

Here’s to having a good weekend, my friends–and to giving as much access as you prefer, ever and always.