Friday, March 30, 2018
GRL, Part 2...
I received an email a few days ago that supporting author slots have become available at the conference, so it's now official--I'm a supporting author.
The question is: What titles do I prep for print and how many do I get of each?
Realistically, as a relatively unknown author in this genre, I'm probably not going to sell a whole lot of books, but I have to have some. The advice I was given was to do a pre-order thing via the conference Facebook group and see what kind of interest there is... I might. I might not.
Remember when I talked about swag awhile back?
While it's mostly been confirmed for me by others that swag really doesn't equal sales, you have to have something for people to walk away with. Along with the book question above, I have to decide what kind of swag to spend my hard-earned royalties on.
I want pens for sure. I'm going to self-print business cards with my book covers on them, maybe twenty or thirty of each book with website/social media info on the back. I might get some sort of banner as a visual draw. And then I'm thinking some inexpensive bar coasters that look like a "welcome to city name" sign. My series takes place in the small fictional town of Ten Rigs, Texas, so it seems fitting. I already have the design in mind...I just have to find the image.
I also bought my plane ticket, so I have accommodations, travel, con registration all taken care of... I have five months to figure out the rest. And to get that next book written. Time to get busy. Well, busier. :0)
Have a great weekend. I sure will!! All about that on Monday.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Let the thermostat wars begin...
Finally, it's officially spring here in Texas.
While spring doesn't bring terribly warm temperature in general, it does bring wind and rain.
Along with the rain comes...humidity.
Unless it's really hot, humidity doesn't bother me all that much.
Unfortunately, DH and DD have a much lower tolerance for humidity and, so, between now and June when the heat really starts to ramp up, the thermostat wars will wage.
They'll kick on the AC to remove the humidity from the house and I'll kick it down once I start freezing. They don't realize that it really doesn't take much to reduce the moisture levels right now, but they kick the temperature down too many degrees and the AC runs and runs and runs and then my teeth are chattering.
*sigh*
Monday, March 26, 2018
Working from home...
I work from home each Tuesday and Thursday. For as long as I've been doing that, I've worked from Sonshine's old room/DH's home office because there's a nice desktop and two monitors which, I confess, I'm spoiled for now--especially when doing the day job. It's just so much easier with two monitors. I can have browsers and applications open and I don't have to flip back and forth between windows and applications to do things like reconcile bank accounts. I have my bookkeeping software open on one side, the electronic bank statement on the other. Easy peasy.
All I had in my writers room was the laptop and working on much of anything but writing on that single screen was a challenge.
The issue with me working on that PC in DH's office is that if DH wanted to work from home on a Tuesday or Thursday or come the weekend when I have things that just need a desktop and two monitors to work on--like a chapter contest--well, two bodies, one PC... You see the challenge.
So the plan has been to get a second desktop and a second pair of monitors for me and, though it's taken a while--money's been tight, it finally came to pass. I am now able to work from my own office with my big windows and all my stuff and with two huge monitors. DH can do his thing on the weekends and I can do mine.
Another benefit of this is that I'm generally cold-natured and my office is way on the other side of the house from the AC unit, also on the west side and getting afternoon sun, with enough AC venting to keep me comfy but not freezing. :0)
I spent the weekend getting the new PC loaded up and setup with software and browser links to all the stuff I access on a daily basis and tomorrow, I'll be sitting pretty.
I also had to buy yet another dog bed... The dog is where I am. In DH's office, she sprawls across Sonshine's former bed, now her bed, that functions as a guest bed when we have visitors. My office has no such amenities, and sleeping on the laminate floor has to be her choice. I also ordered a window perch for the cat, because, yeah, I'm a sucker for my critters and I like having them around.
Friday, March 23, 2018
Hockey IS just a game...
Every now and again, tragedy strikes closer to home for most people than school shootings across the country or weather disasters across the globe.
My mom called me the other day to share some tragic news about a dear friend's family. And that's on top of news a week or so earlier about a member of our own family.
I don't know exactly how either one of these two people feel about their losses. I can imagine, but I haven't been in their shoes. I've been close, with the death of my dad. For one situation, though, I can imagine all too well.
The point is, of course, that for all my lamenting about hockey, my prattling about writing, and my gushing about whatever, those things are all unimportant in the grand scheme of things. It's the people in our lives that matter.
Hug your significant other, your children, your siblings, your friends. Tell them how you feel about them any chance you get, because you just never know when they're going to leave this world or when you might.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
My Playoff hopes and dreams are fixin' to be dashed...
Last night was the STARS six loss in a row--their longest loss streak this season.
Why now, boys? Why now, when every point counts??
Granted, they haven't been mathematically eliminated as of yet, but you know they're feeling the pressure pretty heavily right now.
On a brighter note, their next few games are here at home, and they have a great home record. Unfortunately, they'll be playing one of the best teams in the league.
Please send out all your winning vibes and good wishes to the Dallas Stars for Friday's game.
Thanks and keep your fingers crossed--can't hurt, right?
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