Wednesday, January 24, 2018

the ole days

When I was a kid and up until I was in my twenties, my story ideas were hand-written.

I would get out a pencil or pen and flip open a notebook and scribble the idea down. We had an old Remington typewriter but I rarely used it unless I could scrounge up some paper for it. Everything was scribbled down in fifty cent notebooks or scraps of paper I found when the idea hit me.

In my twenties, I bought a typewriter. But I still had the tendency to scribble.

I had a 40 gallon tote full of paper with my story ideas up until five years ago.

I got a computer in my thirties but didn't really transfer my stories on to computer until I got my latest computer.  I added some stories here and there but didn't get serious until five years ago.  I had transferred about half the tote by then and threw away my kid/teenager story scribbles--Most of which were stupid kid stuff.

That computer went belly up. The mother board fried, but luckily I had taken it in an had decided to get a new computer so everything was transferred to the 'new' computer before the mother board blew.

So here we are.

I'm down to just a milk crate of story ideas still to go.  The tote is used for other things now..

I put the new ideas in a journal(still hand-written).  I can't seem to break that habit.

And to tell the truth, I really don't want to. 

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Table set-up

This is how I set my table for signings.

The brown table cloth is for the earth and the skulls represent the bodies she finds. The books are set on easels and I got both business cards out on this table with candy centered between them. I also got a special agent badge.

I'm thinking about changing the table arrangement.

 But to What? 

I need something that reflects the earth element and something to do with murder--maybe I'll keep the skulls.. A new table covering maybe. .





I like my table arrangement but it does look busy, cluttered a bit. What do you think?

Should I just put my books and business cards out and nothing else? Minimalist.

Or should I decorate a bit?

And with what?

I guess I'm going shopping when I get my check.

Monday, January 15, 2018

Snow Day

This is what I woke up to three days in a row.

We're having our obligatory snow. Every year either in January or February we have either a snow or ice at least once.

It's still coming down. If it keeps going we might make a foot of snow. 











Wednesday, January 10, 2018

...and things

My Zombie short story/dribble is out.

The way I ended it gives your imagination a bit of room to picture what happened between the last two entries.  If it gets a good response I might make it into a book sometime in the future.

And maybe change the ending to make it into that book.  Otherwise it would just be a bit longer story. Death is a permanent ending.

I'm thinking about renewing my subscription to Writer's Digest. I had it for a year a couple of years ago then let it lapse. But I'd like to renew now.

During the write-in, I did a little over a thousand words so not too bad for me. If I can keep up that pace I can get these books done quickly.



Working on those next three books. Mortal Voice II, Deadly Flames, and Under the Dragon's Tail. Flames is in Chapt. 7, and Tail is in the next to last chapt unless something else rears its head while MVII is in Chapt. 2.  Hopefully they'll keep moving right along.

Meanwhile those story ideas/plot bunnies keep kicking me.

I probably have enough ideas to last into the next century. So far I've resisted them, just writing down the idea and keeping to my three stories. But those rear feet kick pretty hard.

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Write-In

These are the raffles we have at the Write-In.

There is even a Barnes and Noble gift card!

This is part of starting the year off right. I wrote three pages so far in one story and a paragraph in another. I hope to get a chapt. done today.

I'm writing this during lunch.

Writing is always fun.

I like that we have a write-in during Jano. Jano is Sleuth's Inks version of NaNo. Which means it's a contest to get 50,000 words in a month or a novel done in a month.

Those who follow my other blog know about this as I usually do the Write-In and Jano every year. This year I think I'll skip Jano since I am no longer a member of Sleuth's Ink.

 I think I'll be able to have three books out this year if I can swing the cost. One is already done, a second is two thirds done, and the other is a third done. I also have Toby's book so it may be four books this year if you count his picture book.

I also got the first chapt. of Mortal Voice II done. So maybe five?  :)

I got several books on my computer that I want to finish as well as a milk crate full of written story ideas. It's hard to stay on track when all these story ideas/bunnies attack me. There are so many of them! And they kick pretty hard! :)

Monday, January 1, 2018

New Year

A new year, A new palette.

I'm going to start off the new year right.  I had money in my pocket when the old year turned into the new. Hopefully that means this year will be prosperous.

I plan to get out at least two new books this year, one of which is already done. I'm working on three right now, two of which I'll be working on at the Write-In this Saturday.  One I think will be done by the end of the week if I keep at it. So two new books done before my birthday in February. 

Toby has a book soon to be coming out as well. Posts from his blog.


I don't know if I want to do Jano, but I will be going to the Write-In on Saturday. I've gone to it since I started going to the Writing groups. Even though I've slacked off the groups, I still plan to go. That's part of starting the year right.

Online College is also part of my new year starting right. I want to get a master's in forensic psychology or even a doctorate. Only thing I'm afraid of--well beside going back to school--is that my age will preclude me from getting a job in this field.

But I plan to start out with high hopes because the sky's the limit as they say.