I am supposed to be working on my last big round of edits. I’ve managed to get the first half done and was just starting on the second half on Friday when I got a rather distressing text from BG saying that she needs to talk to me about something really important, that she is probably going to be in trouble and I’m most likely going to get a call from the school. This from the girl that is obsessiveness about following rules and doing the right thing. Both her and MC are straight A students and just NEVER get into any trouble. The most I’ve had to do is yell at them for pestering each other. To say I was stunned is a massive understatement.
Category: General Update
*Sigh* Again, Muse?!
Between working on my edits and dealing with both myself and MC being sick, the last several days have been… fun. The whole not feeling great thing had me taking meds that wouldn’t let me sleep. As is so typical for me, my brain simply would NOT shut up in that situation. So, sitting there at 3 or 4 am wanting desperately to sleep, my crazy Muse pops her head up and points out that BG’s point costume this year (a romantic length for the first time ever instead of a stiff, flat tutu design) would make a stunning cake.
Back to Crazy
As has been the pattern since I started my book project, everything is hitting all at once again. I got my final round of edits back from my editor the night before a family outing to celebrate MC’s birthday (not on the actual day). I still have the actual day to work on, which means making a batch of Death By Chocolate, again, along with fixing a massive pile of chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. That pretty much wipes out any time I’d have to work on edits that day. I also have MC’s appointment to get stitches out and his post-surgery check up later in the week along with a couple of other appointments.
So, I’m over the moon excited about getting my edits back, but beyond frustrated that I’m going to have very little time to actually sit down and work on them this week. I WILL make time to work on them though because this pushes me really close to being ready to work on the cover design and being done. I’m so close!
I’m trying really hard to stay focused on those things and not the fact that this is birthday #17 for MC. When the hell did that happen?! Or the fact that I’ll be adding another year to my age only a week later. But hey! Great birthday present, though!
Cold Restart
My house is back to quiet today. Hubby almost always takes the time between Christmas and New Year’s Day off, but not quite the same days as the kids are on their winter break. He normally goes back to work a day or two before the kids so I get a gradual return to normal. This year, they all went back the same day and it is a bit of a shock.
2018 Book Totals & A Look Back
I didn’t set any reading goals for 2018. Not really. If anything, I wanted to cut back on the amount of books I read because I wanted to make sure I did other things besides just read. Based on my total numbers for the year, I think I did just that.
Happy New Year!!
Crazy Teen Dating Drama
Sorry! No photo today. I have been offline lately because EVERYONE is off and home for the holidays. Hubby AND the kids. But, I had fully intended to post the other day asking for advice on a teen dating issue with BG. Before I could, the whole situation snowballed and I’m left with a giant what-the-ever-loving-fuck! situation.
Happy Winter
Today is the first day of winter and the day that my kids normally exchange their gifts to each other. This is something they have been doing for years, but this year may be interesting as MC had another surgery this morning and may not feel up to it when he gets home. I hated having to schedule it for today, but we needed to get him in as early on his break from school as possible so that he could, hopefully, be back to normal, or as close to it as possible, when he goes back to school after the first of the year. Thankfully, the snow in the pic above is from last month and we don’t have any of that on the ground right now. Anytime after Hubby and MC get home would be fine, though.
What a way to welcome in Winter.
Edits & Revisions Round 1 Done!
I just hit send on my first round of revisions back to my editor! Now I’m back in sit and wait mode for round 2.
Christmas Program Week
This weekend kicked off Christmas Program week for BG at dance, starting with ballet. It is crowded and sometimes not easy to see because of that, but I love these programs. They are smaller and more intimate than the huge end of year recital. This year was even more interesting as BG had her boyfriend show up which made her a bit of a nervous wreck. We spent nearly the entire program, BG and I, making eye contact and faces at each other. Me, mostly to help her relax and have fun. There were a couple of times where the expression on her face was priceless as she was trying so damn hard not to laugh. It was perfect and she was beautiful as always.
Still Frozen
I’m well past the 24 hour mark and my Amazon account is still frozen. I was told 24 to 48 hours so I have to stay patient, but I am so not. After a long discussion with Hubby, we decided to just not take the risk and canceled anything that was tied to that account. It was a pain in the ass, but we got it done. I’ve also taken the added precaution to remove that email from any other accounts on the off chance it wasn’t just Amazon. I will never understand some people’s need to be assholes.
Don’t Wanna!
I apparently can’t get my head into my book today even though I KNOW I should be finishing up on my edits. Instead, I’m finding way too many distractions in music. Apparently I’m grooving instead of writing today. These are just a few in the current rotation.
Book Editing – Revisions Part 1.5
I just finished up the final edits from my editor for this round. I still have another full read through I need to do to make sure all my changes work and that I didn’t break anything. I’m still feeling a little iffy at the moment because this ended up being such a choppy, broken up process with some rather big time gaps between when I was able to sit down and work that I’m not sure it all works like I think it should. At one point, I started second guessing the way I was writing certain things (more of a stylistic thing than anything), even going so far as to change how I was doing it, only to realize I was being stupid and had to go back and fix it.
There were so many parts moved around, added and removed that I’m worried I missed something and broke something in the timeline (a huge peeve of mine is to have those kinds of things messed up even if it is a tiny little element). That is one of my biggest reasons for the additional read through, but I’m worried that I’ve looked at this so much that I’ll still miss something. It is a little frustrating because I was so incredibly conscious of this as I was writing originally, I KNOW I didn’t miss anything. Now, I’m just not sure. Hopefully my read through will make me feel better about it.
Hubby is on standby ready to do yet another read for me. Can I just say how crazy awesome he is that he is willing to do this for me even though he kinda hates to read? I’m even more grateful because he is most likely going to be the only one putting eyes on this besides me before it goes back to my editor this time since my other beta reader is in no position to be able to read again with her still unable to return to her home after the fires. It makes me nervous, but I have to work with what I have.
Once I do finish and Hubby has added his dime to the mix, it goes back for another round, so I’ve still got lots of work ahead, but I’m almost over this bump.
Furry Chair Thief & Revisions Update
The kids are FINALLY back to school today after an extended Thanksgiving break thanks to a couple of snow days. Yay, right? Nope. They still get out early because that is what was already scheduled. Don’t get me wrong. I love having my kids home. It was especially nice because Hubby worked from home as well. The problem is that Hubby worked from home as well.
Frosty Leaf
Today is decorating day. Normally that means both inside and out, but we got the out done early because they were predicting crappy weather. It is kinda funny how insane my kids are about this tradition. They have been talking about it for weeks and bounced off the walls when they got up this morning. So much so, you would have thought it was actually Christmas morning instead. Time to get my sparkle on!
Happy Thanksgiving
Today I will sit down with my family and enjoy a meal I spent hours working on. It isn’t something I begrudge because it is one of the ways I get to show how much I care about them. We are all healthy. We are all safe. We are all happy and loved. For that, I am grateful for so many cannot say the same. I am also incredibly grateful to know that my good friend and her family are also safe after having been evacuated from their home because of the fires in California. They still have a home and a job to get back to. They are some of the more fortunate ones. They may not be as happy or feel as safe today because their lives are still turned upside down, but they are safe. They are healthy. They are still here and the world is a better place because of that. So today I am grateful for so many things but it is with the heaviness of knowing that so many others aren’t so fortunate today.
Revisions, Illness, Worry And The Start Of The Holidays
It has been one hell of a week and it doesn’t look to be stopping soon.
Continue reading “Revisions, Illness, Worry And The Start Of The Holidays”
Hanging In There
My maple is hanging in there, still full of leaves and color, with the core still being pretty green. I’m expecting that to change rapidly over the next few days with the crazy cold heading our way. One of the things I love about this tree is the range of colors we get from it throughout the season. Bright, vivid reds, deeper burgundies, oranges, all set against the darker looking branches and the central green (at least for a chunk of the time until we hit complete color). Maples are one of my top favorites for that very reason.
I didn’t get a chance to work on my revisions yesterday, but I spent close to 9 hours working on Monday and only got through the first two chapters. I’m not even completely certain I’m done with those. It isn’t flowing like it did when I sat down the first time to write. Or even when I did my first round of my own edits before sending it off. I’m still hoping that changes some when I get a little deeper into it, but I’m not expecting it to be easy. I still have a lot of work ahead of me, but I’m slowly chipping away at it. Progress, that is what’s important.
Book Editing – Revisions Part 1
I had a nearly three hour call with my editor last week. It was majorly productive, but it left me at a point where I have a LOT of work ahead of me. I’m grateful because I know that this process will make this better when it is all said and done, but… it is still a lot. It’s a little ridiculous how not prepared for that I was. I KNOW on every level that this isn’t an easy process just from what I’ve read about it from authors I read, but it still came as a surprise just how much work I have left to do.
Aftermath
Today is insane. I had a nearly 3 hour call with my editor (notes on that to come). Now I have to deal with the aftermath of having a haunted garage for Halloween and still wanting to put the cars in after it is all over (and that is only a small portion of what I still have to pack up). Having spent 2 days going in and out, then up and down on a ladder, my body is trying to revolt, but I still have to get everything packed up. So… I’m off to get busy. Then crash.
Book Editing – Round One
I am almost always an emotional person first. My initial reactions to things come from an emotional point rather than a logical one. I am also very logical, but that isn’t usually the basis for my reactions unless whatever situation is in play isn’t an emotional one for me. So, having my initial reaction to the first round of feedback I got from my editor be very emotional should have been expected. It still kinda wasn’t and, for a little bit, I felt a wave of not so great things.
