Writing Again

More to celebrate coming soon. :D

It has been a while, a very LONG while, since I last posted on any blogs other than the occasional blurb on Facebook.  Last known post here was back in November.  Her we are at the end of April.

Bow before your feline overlords

Not a lot has happened during these five months.  Very little in fact beyond work and taking care of myself, my son, and our family.  Naturally, my three cats get the lion's share of the attention but then, they are our furry overlords and must be treated as such.  If either of them demand my attention, they'll get it in some form or another.  Naturally, it is never enough... to them.

But, as the title of this post says, I am writing again.  It has been too long.  A couple of years too long since I actually sat down and wrote.  I guess college burned me out that badly as far as writing.  Speech class alone was a LOT of writing, then there was English Comp and Lit to slog through.  Yeah, there was a lot of writing.

This story is not yet named, but it starts off rather sad.  Depressing if you ask me, and it wasn't easy to write.  It just came to me one day at work and I guess my general mood added to the overall idea of how to start this one off.  But, the fact of the matter is, I am back to writing.

So, to prove I am doing something, here's an excerpt:

(Warning: it is a bit long)

Slowly, Firiel looked up at Tish then a soft laugh bubbled its way up her sore throat.  “I keep telling you, Tish, there is no need to be so formal with us.”  Though the laugh started a coughing fit which curled the old cat up in pain, she still maintained a brighter outlook.  As best as she could, she waved off her mate when he tried to help her through the episode.  “No.  Vorn, I’ll be fine,” she finally gasped as she relaxed.

“Mom, please,” pleaded her son before the look all children have come to understand from their mothers appeared in the weather face.  “We love you.  Let us help you through this.”

“No, son.” She whispered, struggling to get just a few more minutes with her family.  “I’ll be fine.”  Then, with the last of her strength, she sat up and pointed towards a dusty old box sitting on a shelf beside a large soft cushion.  “Look in that box.  My rings.  Make sure Rhaina get the turquoise one, Minka.  That one is hers.  Yours is my bonding ring.”  She gave her daughter a weakened smile then gave her attention to her son.  “There is a gold band in there, that one is yours.  Tish, my pearl pendant is for you.  Use them to remember me by.”

No sooner had the last words left her lips then she lost any strength she had left.  Her body slumped back against the pillows and she lay there gasping for her last breath.  Vorn slipped his arms around her shoulder and listened to her heart work hard to keep beating slowing with each remaining beat.

“I… love… you…” she whispered softly into his ear with her final breath.  Her eyes closed then her body went still.  As if a switch went off, the color drained from her fur with the last rattling breath left her body.

Wracked by uncontrollable sobbing, Vorn held beloved wife tight in his arms while his children watched; unable to believe that their mother was gone.  “I’ll always love you, Firiel.  Always.”  He choked his words into her cheek fur, clinging to her lifeless body as if just holding on tight would bring her back.

Micah, Tish, and Minka watched, trying not to believe what their own senses told them.  Tears rolled down their cheeks in fresh rivers unchecked.  Only their father’s sobs could be heard in the quiet of the bower.  His grief knew no bounds.  Theirs was too fresh to accept but it was growing quickly within them.

I hope you enjoyed this.  Maybe more will be shared later.  For now, feel free to critique and comment.

Ciao for now!

Long Time No Post... Again

It has been an extremely long time since I last wrote an actual blog post.  Other than a few slices of what was happening in my life over on Facebook, I haven't touched my blogs in over a year.

Just to recap since the last post; my Aunt Pat died a year ago May.  It was a very sudden heart attack when she was getting out of the pool.  She was gone before reaching the hospital.

My last surviving grandparent, Grammy, passed away back in February.  Her death was expected.  She had been declining over the last couple of years since her operation to have a few melanoma tumors removed from her scalp.  She went in alert and ornery and came out a very different person.  We think she have had a mini stroke during the operation to bring about such a huge change.  At least mom and I got to see her one last time when we went down for Aunt Pat's funeral and she got to meet Colin and see how bright and vibrant he is.

I loved my grandmother, but she was the poster child for bipolar and I caught the brunt of some of her opinions and anger.  But, I am happy that she is no longer suffering and is probably driving my grandfather up a wall in Heaven right now.  I can just hear her yelling "Charles!" because of something he did.

When we went to my Aunt's funeral last year, we didn't tell Grammy that her oldest daughter had died.  That news would have killed her quickly.  But, she knew something wasn't right.  Something was out of place though an unexpected visit from her middle child and a granddaughter wasn't too out of the ordinary.  All we dared to tell her was that she would see Pat soon.  Which is true in a sense.  We didn't know how much longer we'd have with Grammy but we knew then it wasn't long.

As for myself, and my family, we're all in good health and improving it one day at a time.  For now, my diabetes is getting under control again and my doctor, wonderful lady, is concerned about my cholesterol so I have added a new pill to my daily regimen.  Yes, I am finally under doctor care again.  Which means, I should be getting myself back into a better routine and working to bring my blood sugar back down to where it should be.

She also added another pill to aid my metformin.  After three weeks of this, I am starting to feel more energized and less tired all day.  I still feel blah in general, especially when it comes to writing or even art in general.  I need to edit book one of Black Friday and finish writing book two.  My erotic anthology needs not just editing but stories written.  One is started and two others planned.  Test of Ascension is in serious need of editing and beta reading.   Any one willing to read this to help get the introduction fixed as well as ideas to fill in the gaps as well as smoothing it out, please, give me a note and I'll send a copy.

Best thing about me is I finally graduated from college.  I have an Associate degree in Business Administration.  Woo hoo!  Yes!!

hat tossing ceremony at graduation

Dave, for those who have seen the posts on Facebook, is doing great.  He had an abscess on the back of his lymphodema mass go septic and rupture in such a way, the mess looked like a crime scene.  He had to have the fire department come help the EMTs get him out of the bathroom where he discovered the problem when he went to do his usual wake up routine.  As serious as it was, when looking back, it is funny, but Dave was in the hospital just over a week and had surgery to clean out the abscess.  This was at the beginning of May.  Now, that fist sized hole is how about the size of my pinky and he can take a shower again.

Even better, he has lost just over 50 pounds, so we are all happy.  Yeah, he has the help of insulin injections right now, but the weight loss is a welcome thing.  Plus, he is watching his diet much better.  For now, the goal is to lose five pounds per month.

He is seeking a new doctor.  The one he went to see for the abscess did nothing except put him on insulin and refilled his prescriptions.  He didn't bother looking at it or anything.  Otherwise, there would not have been such a huge mess for me to clean.  It would have been drained safely there in the doctor's office or he could have been transported to the hospital instead of it rupturing at home where all kinds of germs and such can make things worse.  We are leaving Morton Clinic as doctor of choice.  We are needing a bariatric doctor here in Tulsa that takes SoonerCare for Dave.  Suggestions are more than welcome.

There may be more blog posts once I'm able to kick myself in the rump to actually do it.  Will there be another post soon?  I don't know.  But, let me just say this, this blog has seen 4 years as of the end of May.  My LiveJournal account, where my blogging began is now 12 years old.  My oldest art account, FurAffinity.net, is 10 years old now.  I haven't posted anything new on there is about a year.

So, you know, those who are still watching, I am here and still alive.  Still trying to figure things out while the muse is on vacation.  Until it is official, I am not depressed or overwhelmed with all I have sitting around begging for my attention.  I'm just tired.  Very, very, tired, and the sleep is clinging to me like a cozy blanket on a cold winter's day; all I want to do is sleep.

Have you gone without writing because of issues other than personal, working, or medical?

Week in Review

Lame title is lame.  I know.  Couldn't think of a better one.  Since this a week in review, you deserve to hear some of what happened to me this week.

Classes started up again on Monday.  Business Communications is this months topic.  So far, this is probably the one course that Rebekah Loper and The BNC wished I had a long time ago.  It isn't just about the different ways we communicate in a business setting, but make it legible, readable, and professional from the more casual co-worker to co-worker  messages to the more formal business to business communiques we see fluttering about the business world.

What this means we do a lot of editing practice, typing tests to get our speed up to the minimum of 45 WPM, which I'm doing fairly well with my average around 38 WPM currently, and working on proper grammar, sentence structure, and when and how to use a comma.  In other words, this is an advanced English class.

I LOVE it!

Now, this goes beyond English and all those crazy rules, we also go over basic etiquette in the office setting, and all that fun stuff.  To make it even better, my professor is an English Major, so he is up on all the writerly dos and don'ts we should know.  To help us, he has posted the various rules for punctuation, comma usage, and other need to know items that I honestly do need to keep in mind.  Much of it has already been printed off for easy use and the rest will be done very soon.

A month of this course and I should have it memorized, or at the very least close to it for use in my own writing.  This professor and my Comp I professor have done so much in helping me improve my own writing.  Both do understand that most of the shorthand we see running rampant on the internet now causes a lot of twitching.  *shudder*

Other than college, I have been working.  Wal-Mart is still where I can be found when I'm not at home or in class.  The days I do have classes, I work evenings until 11 p.m. then the rest, with the exception of one, I can work normal hours and have a full eight hour shift.  Part-time sucks, but it gets the bills paid.  We just won't have much to do extra until we can set aside some hobby funds for printing my art work and making small items for sale at a swap and shop in Pryor a dear friend of mine runs.

Finding time to work on small hobby stuff and writing is easy enough to do.  What is difficult is tearing myself away from distractions long enough to do them.  *flails*

By the end of this month, I should have everything back on track so that I can sit back and focus on plot and other things better than the worry of how to meet bills.  Of course, selling artwork and other things will help alleviate that, too.

That is my week in review.  Not much outside of school and work.  *shrug*

Now, honest opinion, please.  The hobby items I plan to sell along with my artwork are handmade soap and key chains.  I don't have the dexterity or feeling in my fingers to manage jewelry since they require intricate stitch work, but leather strips, large beads, and some key rings don't require a lot of either, just time and patience.  The soap is something I picked up via a kit I found on sale and I like it.  It's easy and not too messy.  Even if it did make a mess, the clean up is a breeze.

Think on those ideas.  I'll be researching different recipes for soap bases and the different types out there.

Happy New Year

More to celebrate coming soon. :D

So, the new year has begun and we are six days into it.  I could say I was busy as an excuse for not posting before now, but that wouldn’t be true.  Yes, I am working.  But not full-time.  As long as I’m in school, I’ll be working part-time hours just to have the extra study time.

In all honesty, I haven’t posted since November, maybe October.  Not because of work or seeking work,but because I have not felt like writing anything.  I barely managed to get through NaNoWriMo and most of that was due to the fact that I was doing a lot of writing in English Comp and my teacher was cheering me on in class as well as encouraging me to help others.  He’s an English major and thought I did well in my writing and better in my editing.

The primary reason for not writing or posting is simply stress over how I was going to meet bills and the huge amount of worry I was under.  Thankfully, I’m back with Wal-Mart as a cashier, now, so there’s income and they are doing well to give me my days off together when they can and as many hours as possible while working around my class schedule and Colin’s therapy day.

Between classes and work, finding time to write hasn’t been easy, but I do have time, just no weekends to go write-ins or much else.  Thankfully, the stress and worry about the bills, especially rent, is lifting.  All I need now is for tax time to roll around so I can use the refund to get my rent caught up again and the power bill current.  Then, maybe, I get the medical stuff took care of though I may do a fund-raiser type thing to help with that.  I've a few sites in mind which are reputable.

With the worst stress lowered, I feel like writing, but now I need to reacquaint myself with the characters and plots.  Which starts the whole process over again.  *flails*

So, I am setting myself a couple of goals for the year since I didn't sign up for #Writemotivation this month.

Holy Mackerel! That’s more than two goals!

1) Finish current edits on SoNL and get at least one round of beta/critiques done on the full manuscript.  stretch goal: two to three rounds of beta/critiques.

2) Finish editing on Test of Ascension and one round of beta/critique.  (18+ if interested in this one)  stretch goal: three rounds of beta/critique and submission to Smashwords or other site for publication under my net name.

3) Finish rough draft of Black Friday 2.  stretch goal: finish rough draft and one round of edits (not counting the spell and grammar check)

4) Finish edits/rewrite of Black Friday (book one).  stretch goal: finish edits/rewrite and submit for republication.

5) Lose 20 pounds and stick to some kind of exercise program.  stretch goal: Lose 50 pounds and stick to an exercise program.

6) Be more active in Colin and Adam’s lives.  stretch goal: Take the boys on a real vacation we will all enjoy.

7) Get all bills current or eliminated completely.  stretch goal: Have all bills gone, except for power, rent, cable, etc, etc, etc, by the end of July, or very close to gone by then.

8) Post more often even when depression sends me to bed more often than what I should.

We’ll see how well I keep to these throughout the year.

Very Surprising!

Holy Mackerel! That was fast!

For once, the speed of government surprised me.  I’m not kidding, what should have been a couple of days was a couple of hours!

What am I talking about, you ask?

I finally completed my application for the state insurance license.  The application was a pain in the neck to fill out and required a couple of phone calls to get all the information I needed to complete it.  On top of that, I needed some money to pay for the license itself.  *sigh*

Coming up with the money wasn’t easy.  I don’t like asking people, including family, for money.  Thankfully, my sister lent me the money.  Instead of paying off the last of my student loan (a small sum at the moment) she agreed to take care of this so I can get back on my feet and keep my apartment.  Once bills are caught up, she and others will be paid back.

So, back to today.  I spent about an hour filling in blanks and talking on the phone to get this application done.  It stated that it will be a couple of days before it’ll be looked over and approved/disapproved.  The email saying it was being processed arrived within the hour saying the same thing.

With that out of the way, I went through and caught up on my messages and read a few blog posts, even did my PCH entries (my retirement fund in the making  ) then vegged with the cats and did a puzzle to pass the time.  Normal stuff when not writing or drawing. (Inspiration usually comes while cuddling happy kitties or kids).

Low and behold, a couple of hours later while I’m checking email again while doing the dishes, the email arrived saying my app is approved and my license is on the way!  That came as a complete surprise because we all know how slow the government, state or federal, moves faster than the pace of a handicapped snail using a walker on a good day.  This makes for one happy unemployed mommy.

So, it is now official, I am an insurance agent.

Now, the training starts.  >.<  At least this old woman can learn new tricks with little prodding.

If anyone has noticed, I am behind on posts.  It was all explained in my previous post about why.  We weren’t gone all the time, so the excuse isn’t a good one, but it is the truth.  I have four posts to write, two for book reviews (one isn’t really a book, per se, but it is a good story), and two restaurant reviews.  One of the restaurant reviews is new, the other is for a place I go to often.  I’m sure all of you will enjoy both places and both books.

So, keep an eye on this site for the new reviews.

Alert the Media!

*flails wildly then faceplants on the floor*

One down, one to go! Time to celebrate the first win!

Those who have been keeping and rooting for me, you can finally cheer.  I passed the state exam for Life/Accident and Health products portion of the state licensing exam.  It almost wasn’t going to happen due to technical issues with the computer I was on.

Wasn’t anything I did.  Nope, not this time.  ;)  The computer was acting up before I got there.  They had to reboot it four times before I could take the test.  The crazy thing would freeze at the end of the sample test (I swear it’s to make sure people understand what country they’re in with all the America centric questions) and not let me continue.  The final reboot let me complete the practice and got me all the way through to the end and tallied my score.

Maybe I did threaten to bring a tech-god to fix the problem or IT was going to be there after I was done to upgrade and fix the problem, I don’t know, but it did work.

It’s done.  Finally done!  I won’t have to worry about it again unless the license lapses for any reason.  From here on out, it will be continuing education to keep me up to date on changes made in the insurance code and ethics courses to prove I won’t commit fraud or something to that matter.  That will only be 24 hours per year, so no worries.

Due to studying this week, and other things going on, I didn’t do any writing.  Not all was distractions with Facebook, I promise, though some were along that line.  There was review and extra studying on the sections I needed more focus, such as Medicare and Long-term Care policies.

This means I have nothing new to give on Black Friday 2 nor anything to report on my Camp Nano novel.  Both of those needed to be set aside for the purpose of passing the most pain in the neck test I have ever taken.  At least it did pay off and I can put some effort into both of the projects when I’m not working or training.

Which means I have this weekend free after the shopping is done and Monday between doctor appointments for Colin and Dave.

OW! Hot stuff!

That reminds me, keep Dave in your thoughts, he is starting down the road toward gastric surgery to help him get rid of his excess weight and the lymphedema lump on his inner thigh.  Monday, he consults with his doctor about which procedure he’ll recommend then starting the string of tests which have to be done before the operation date.  One way, or another, we will get this done; even if it means I have to pay for incredible insurance which will cover the surgery, tests, and post-op visits.

Thankfully, we already know, he won’t be down for more than a day or two and be on a protein shake diet for a few months.  But, it will end his diabetes almost immediately and start straightening out other weight related issues.  This also means that I’ll be forced to diet, too.  But this is a good thing.  I need to lose about half my body weight to be within the target range for my height and build.

Okay, I rambled too much.

I hope everyone had a safe and fun-filled 4th of July.

Do you have anything to celebrate this week?

#writemotivation Monday

Well, here we are at the end of May.  Where the time has gone, I don't know, but I wish it didn't go by so quickly.

This being the last Monday in May also makes this Memorial Day.  This is the day we've set aside to recognize all the service men and woman both past and present for all they've done for us to preserve not just our freedom, but also help other countries gain, or regain, their freedom.  I have several within my family who are serving now and a couple which have left the service honorably or retired.  So this makes this day, and other armed service recognition days special.

My grandfather, Charles Cullum, served in the army as one of their mechanical engineer types.  He helped keep their machines working right and efficiently.  He travelled the world during his tenure, seeing ports such as Japan, the Marshal islands, Australia, and others before retiring with honors.  The army wanted to keep him so badly that they offered him a job at one of their factories where he worked until his retirement.  He served during World War II and I am sure he had plenty of stories to tell.  Sadly, he thought women were not the types to enjoy his recounts or be interested, but he'd willingly tell my brother and uncles.

I so wanted to hear his war stories.  If I did, I'm sure I would have started writing sooner just to make a permanent record of his experiences.  I miss him very much.  Sadly, neither of my son will hear his stories.  He passed away when my oldest boy, Adam, was barely two years old.

I will always remember my Grandpop.  He was funny and had a bigger heart than he wanted to admit to having.

My brother proudly served two tours, driving the massive M1-A1 Abrams tank.  He LOVED it!  What he wanted to do the most was being one of the soldiers who guard the Unknown Soldiers' graves in DC.  He came so very close, he could taste it.  He would have brought a lot of honor to the entire family, even our Uncle Harold would be proud.  But, he did his best then left honorably after his second tour to go to school to become a mechanic.  I'm still proud of my brother.  Not because he's the only one I got.

As mentioned, my Uncle Harold is in the armed services, recently retired I believe as a Major of some sort.  Sadly, he doesn't communicate with my part of the family much even with my grandmother living down there in Waco, TX, near him.

Now, my oldest Nephew is a civil engineer for the Air Force.  I am amazed at how far he has come in life.  Not married, yet, but he's sweet on a girl from what I've heard.  I hope she's a strong and smart woman because she'll have this family to contend with and we don't kindly to slackers.  Just ask my brother's ex-wife.  Another of my nephews wanted to join, but due to medical reasons, he's not able to serve.  Sad, but he'll figure a way in through the civilian sector.

Now, we come to the current generation, my youngest nephew and my oldest boy.  Joshua can't due to his hearing loss, but Adam, he just might go for it.  It'll be worth the time to have the help with school and all the branches need someone who is very techno-savvy like him.  We'll see, but I hope he takes the advice me and mom gave him on his graduation from high school.  No matter what he decides to do, I'm proud of him.

In all branches of my family there are those who have gone into the service and done our country and family proud.  I could have joined the Army or Air Force, but at the time, so fresh out of high school and the last of the torture I had endured was done, I knew I wouldn't be a good fit.  Nor would I have been able to do what I wanted to do most, fight with the big boys on the front lines.  At the time, we ladies didn't have that right, but it was soon to come by then.  But, mostly, after all I had endured, I would not have survived basic training.  The first day I would have either passed out, withdrawn completely into a psycho asylum, or crawled down the drill sergeant's throat when the last of my reserves snapped.

They wanted me bad enough to keep calling.  The same three recruiters called weekly, one called daily, only to be shot down each time.  The aptitude tests we took in school must have shown them something they wanted to cultivate before getting to know me personally.  I did get to know them and even served them at work a few times.  All nice gentlemen and they answered my questions but the two who met me at work left understanding why I refused.  I guess they spoke with the third because the calls stopped eventually.

Do I regret not taking that chance?  Yes.  But I don't regret the two boys I have had since or the chances to do more with my natural skill set, which is drawing and writing.  Structure would have killed both quickly until the muse found her bullet proof jacket and iron underwear.  ;)  Instead, she prances through smacks me with a few ideas then prances off again on another long vacation.

Anyway.....  The goals!

Header image and thumbnail photograph by Hugh Lee and licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sahlgoode/

1) Get a job or at the very least attend five interviews for a job.

Several prospects, three interviews, one had a second interview.  Technically, I do have a job now, but I need to pass the State Exam for Life and Health Insurance.  Once I have that in hand, I am good to go.  Wish me luck on passing the test on the second try.

2) Edit/revise five chapters of Society of Night and Lies.

I am calling this one done.  I stopped at chapter 11 and have people beta reading it now.  I have feedback on part of chapter one.  He's being brutally honest, which I did request and he's offering suggestions on changes.  As soon as all the feedback is in, I'll go through and do those much needed changes.  Also curious about the critique on the first page I sent in during the donation drive.  Go here for more details -----> OK Tornado Donation Drive.

3) Write two chapters of Black Friday 2.

Still nothing done here, but this is what I'm going to work on this week when not studying or job searching.

4) Exercise twice a week.

Um... kind of.  Been a weird month where my time has been spent in the car or buried deep in applications.

Here's to hoping next month will turn out better!

March #writemotivation Roundup

Well, the month ended quietly with a beautiful day and a well cooked meal in my house.  My son was well behaved and ate everything we put on his plate.  On top of that, he loved his Easter gifts and new clothes.  That was all that went well during the month.

It had been a hectic month with long hours and tough days at work which took away a lot of my writing and revising time. Most nights I was too tired to even focus on my emails and other messages let alone try to figure out how to revise one chapter without losing too much of the content.  I did, however, manage to get some done.  Not a lot, but some.

Just a few days before Easter, I lost my job at Wal-Mart.  Which meant I needed to get a few things done before I could focus on anything.  But, I used the extra spare time working on SoNL.  I also spent some extra time with my son, too.  Something he really enjoyed.

So, for now, I am searching for a new job and getting things set up with unemployment and food stamps.  My big priority for now is figuring out what to do with my 401K money.  Other than using some to get this month's bills took care of, I need to invest the rest.  Thankfully, I do have a few good places to talk that over until I make a decision.

1) Finally do the edits and revisions to chapters 8 through 15 on SoNL.

I got to chapter 11 before the month ended.  Saturday saw nothing done due to a lot of shopping both for me, my boyfriend, and my son.  Sunday was spent paying attention to family and food instead of writing.  Family IS more important than any craft.  They are our first inspirations for doing what we do.  At least work was done on it.  Amazingly, I kept almost half of the content of the original chapter.  Chapter ten was so long, I decided to split it up into two chapters, so technically, I did get to chapter 11.

2) Try to come up with a good name for the book itself while I edit.

Sorry, no decent names have popped into my head, yet.  Past Through Shadows as the book name remains and still sounds lame and clunky.

3) Try to write at least one more chapter to Black Friday 2.

I didn't write a thing on this one.  I probably would have gotten some done over the weekend if I wasn't shopping.

4) Brain willing, come up with names for Black Friday 2.

I have a tentative idea for a name, but nothing I'm willing to note, yet.  So, no, incomplete again.  :(

5) Revise the beginning to Test of Ascension

Didn't even touch it.  >.<

6) Pre-write the ABC challenge posts.

I got to the letter M and I am so happy!  Half the alphabet to buffer.  I'll knock out the rest during this week between applications.  So... I guess I can cross this one off.  I got farther than I expected.

What a Day...

It has been a long day.  A good day to say the least, but a long one.  I had every intention of working on SoNL tonight when I got home.  But, it just wasn't meant to be.

I have the ideas to improve and raise the current word count.  Quite a few good ones to be exact.  But, after spending nearly an hour and half over at work, I am just a bit too tired to focus.  All I can really see in my head instead of the story are the many things I had put back on the shelf and the clean up I tried to do.

Being a sales floor associate, even temporary, isn't easy on a good day.  The morning return buggy is usually heaping so it has to be worked down before attempting to move it.  Plus, there's freight to work when it comes in.  To add to the normal stuff, I'm the only health and beauty aid (HBA) associate during the day until they get more people hired.  There is another, but she and the department manager are almost connected at the hip and they work together on resetting the modulars (displays and shelves), take breaks and lunches together, so there's no real teamwork except between them.

Thankfully, I don't mind working on my own, but I can only handle so much at a time.  Add onto this, I can be called up to the front line (registers) and made to run a register until the lines go down, or it's time for break/lunch/go home.

I could have stayed even longer tonight.  As I was taking everything to the back to be placed in the bins, I was asked if I could help out.  They didn't blame me for politely refusing since I was, by then, an hour over and needed to run.  More money, but they have a few rules which prevent us from getting too much overtime.  As it stands now, my one hour wiggle room is gone for the week.  I can still gather more over time, but I'll have to be careful.

When I got home, I watched a movie, Ella Enchanted, and had a few good laughs while I paid attention to the plot itself and the characters.  I do love this movie.  It plays upon the fantasy clichés in such a way, they fit beautifully and work very well.  I do need to find the book that goes with this movie.

I hope everyone has enjoyed your day.  While our jobs may be hectic, they are still worth keeping.  (Most of the time.  ;) )

Where's the Excerpt?

Sorry, no excerpts today.  I found myself suffering a nasty allergy attack today.  Without proper amounts of oxygen getting to my brain, I couldn’t think or focus enough to write anything or pick out a story to feature for the excerpt.  Maybe next week.

This could be a cold trying to sneak up on me and smack me in the head.  It won’t be around for long.  I have chicken for soup and chili to chase it away.  I do feel better now than I did earlier.  The meds kicked in.  As long as my symptoms respond to the Claritin, I’ll be fine.  I’m crossing my fingers for this one.  I can’t afford to be sick right now.

Now, I did manage to do some work today on my A to Z challenge posts.  Only five of them have been scheduled.  There would have been more, but I do need to do some research on each subject.  Unlike last year, none of these will be mostly opinion.  I have plenty of facts for each one, not to mention the extras which will be in the posts, too.

If I can get at least of the challenge posts scheduled, I’ll be good.  The rest I can finish through the month of April if it comes down to it.  As it is now, I’ll be working hard on getting them done before the 31st.  Along with those 26 posts, I do plan on getting some work done on SoNL andBlack Friday 2.  That’s a lot of writing to get done at one time.  Thankfully, getting one chapter written for Black Friday 2 is a if/when goal.  I need to get those chapters revised for SoNL first.  My goal of submitting SoNL had to be moved a couple of months due to the lack of work through December, January and February.  Pre-writing the April posts is also one I don’t have to get done, but I’m working on it anyway.

Have you got your April posts scheduled?  How many are complete?

Monday Post #writemotivation

Uhg!  When did the past week end?  Last I knew, it was Wednesday and I was trying to write my post for the week.  Either way, it got away from me.  You can guess the reasons; kid, work, life, you know what I mean.

I’m back to a more normal work shift which has Colin very happy.  I’m home for dinner, we get to have some play time together, and time to dance together for our exercise.  After a few weeks of coming home with barely enough time to eat before he’s in bed, I needed the catch up time with him.

As far as my writing goes, I’ve barely touched anything, but I do have a firm visual in mind for the cover of Black Friday 2 and a couple of name ideas for it, too.  Imagine a pair of eyes staring back at you with the outline of a human, or feline, face set against a very shadowy background.  Reflected in the eyes, or as a part of the background, two wolves, a fox, and a large cat are staring out toward a street, forest, or maybe some mountains they have to travel through.  I can see the eyes so clearly in my mind, it’s driving me nuts, but the background is still too vague to really start a sketch.

That cover idea does give me some ideas on what to do next in the story as they settle into their new winter home.  It is something, though not the progress I’m wanting.  No actual writing has been done, yet, on the book.

Speaking of writing, I have done more than just open the file onSONL during this last week.  I’ve reread the chapter and figured out what is going to be internalized and what will be spoken.  I’ve also jotted down an idea or two on what Jason’s reaction will be.  He’ll definitely have a few choice words to say once she fesses up.  Well, not completely, the need to keep secrets is strong in this one.

There’s also plenty of places that will need some more work, too, to see more of her thought process.  Even Mindy will get a bit more camera time with her reactions to Jason’s resentment toward her for her part in capturing him.  He is being an ass (pardon the language), so she needs to be more than a sweet and gentle lady with the training and background she has.  Things might get a bit rough to help him fall back to sleep after taking his medicine.  *cue evil grin*

Writemotivation Goal Check!

1) Finally do the edits and revisions to chapters 8 through 15 onSoNL.

No writing yet, but now I have a better idea on how to organize the thoughts in chapter 8 and noted down some ideas for previous chapters.

2) Try to come up with a good name for the book itself while I edit.

A good name is still elusive for SONL.  No progress here, yet.

3) Try to write at least one more chapter to Black Friday 2.

No writing here, either, but I have a better idea on what is going to happen during the winter besides Karina’s parents arriving with more therians.  I’ve got my main foci selected, but a couple of secondary foci may pop up in the ones yet to come.  How much time they’ll have at this old resort remains to be seen.  I need figure out what Karina needs to do other than gain the knowledge she needs then start plotting a way to First Home.  A new path will have to be made before anyone can get to or come from their sacred birth place.

4) Brain willing, come up with names for Black Friday 2.

A couple of ideas have come to mind.  I’ll post them ones I can refine them a bit further.

5) Revise the beginning to Test of Ascension

This one is a true maybe.  The others need to be accomplished before I can do this one.

6) Schedule posts for the A to Z Blog tour (last minute addition after the originals were added)

Progress here!  Until today, all I had was B wrote down.  I now have up to letter I as well as a few others such as L, M, R, and Z.  This one is tip, top, secret, but I can assure you, you’ll love it.  It is definitely all one theme, too.

Catch Up Day the Month in Review + #writemotivation Goals

I have been quiet for far too long.  Too many worries, too many hours at work, and not enough time given to revising and writing because I don’t want to look at my manuscripts.  I’m not just terrified of succeeding, I’m also a terrible procrastinator by sitting on Facebook way too much.  Most nights, that’s all I have the energy to do.

February has been a fun month (note the sarcasm there if you will).  It started off okay with me filling scripts and taking calls behind a nice, safe, counter, and just making people feel better.  Then, it happens.  I made one too many mistakes that could have hurt people.  End result, I was demoted; which put me into a bad funk.  Either way, things were not going to be good for me.

I was either going to be a sales associate stocking shelves and showing people around the store because they can’t, or won’t, read a sign, or end up on a front register where I will end up having a nervous breakdown because the vast majority of the customers have no idea what personal space is or how to keep out of my bubble.  If I can smell your breath and feel how hot it is, you are too damn close.  Too many want to lean in very close and talk in a normal voice or louder when asking a question about something that needs no privacy.  ”Where are the curtains?”

That everything that’s holy for a manager who not only knows me well but knows how well I work (we’ve worked together before).  I may be slow, but I get the job done and it looks professional and clean.  Instead of going to be a cash slave, he snatched me up and put me on the floor to help change modulars (displays), stocks shelves, and keep everything neat and clean on the shelves.  In Health and Beauty, you have to keep on top of the makeup department or it’ll turn into a nightmare fast.

Now, you can understand why I’ve been so quiet.  My work schedule changed, which has thrown off my routine.  I’m more tired in the evening due to the higher workload and mentally tired as well.  I am adjusting nicely and not quite so run down.  My days off are split, which makes adjusting harder, but still possible.  Thursdays I am on the run from noon until dinner time with therapy for my son, come home to cook, then I can sit down to relax and spend some time with the boy.  He comes first before all things.

Now that I have a shiny, new-er, computer that doesn’t bog down at the sight of YIM coming online, I can zoom through the email and other time-wasting activities to spend time working on my novels.  Speaking of working on novels, I’ve my goals to show off for #Writemotivation.

Yes, it is that time again.  At least now I have something to focus on and a very good reason to focus.

1) Revise chapter 8 of Society of Night and Lies and edit through chapter 15.

2) Consider names for book one of SoNL.

3) Try to work on Black Friday 2

4) Think of a name for Black Friday 2

I know, I’ve had these same four goals for the past two months.  In that time, I haven’t touched them at all.  I just explained why for this month, but I digress.  But, I will add one more goal to that list which will be more of a spare time thing.

5) Pre-write the Blogging from A to Z in April entries.  

I have a very good theme in mind and it is one I will enjoy writing about with examples to go with the terms used.  No, I won’t tell what it is, now.  You have to wait and see what I come up with.

Enjoy your month and the changes in my writing schedule once I get back to writing my posts again.