I don’t know about all of you, but it felt like the past week lasted about a month. It wasn’t that things were insanely busy without sufficient time to do everything either. It was just a very weird week. I did get some lovely graphics this week from the designer who is doing the covers for the second and third books in the Medusa trilogy, of the new series logo. I love them, and I can’t wait to share them with you, but that will happen a little later…when I have release date

We’re midway through the month, and about midway through the winter season now, aren’t we? That point where, especially for those who don’t enjoy the season, it feels like time is standing still. I actually love winter and haven’t had nearly enough snow to suit me yet, but it does feel like this month has lasted an eternity. On top of that, I feel like I haven’t made enough progress on my writing goals for the month either. The good news there is when I was figuring out time

It is finally actually not just feeling like winter, but looking like it, too. We had a bit of snow last week, though not nearly as much as the weather-guessers told us to expect, and it is snowing again today as I write this…with more in the forecast for us this week. When I got up this morning, there were footprints in the fresh snow from the neighborhood cats, but those have since been covered up by big, fat, fluffy snowflakes to the tune of a couple inches of snow. Our lo

No, I’m not talking about books (quite yet). We’re at the start of February this week, which means Valentine’s Day is coming up, the one holiday devoted to romance. I know some people don’t like it, but I’m a romance write and reader, so it’s one of my favorite holidays. One of the complaints I hear about it is that it’s so commercial. Sure, cards and presents are nice, but it doesn’t have to mean spending too much money on a gift at the last minute. It can mean doing somethi

We’re closing in on the end of the month this week, so I’m looking at the writing goals I set for myself to make sure I’m off to a good start toward the year’s goals. So far, so good, I think. I should be able to wrap up my January goals this week, as long as I have some success with cover art. I have looked at so many premade book covers in the last four weeks, it’s hard to keep track at this point, but I am determined to find the covers I need for the second and third Medus

It feels like a tea day today, and I’ve only had one cup instead of my usual two or three. It was clear and sunny earlier after some morning snow flurries, but now there are dark clouds blowing in. I’ve also knocked out all of the non-writing tasks on today’s to-do list, so tea would be a nice reward while I work on the writing things that are left on the list. The last load of laundry is in the dryer, dishes are clean, and dinner foods for today and a good portion of the wee

I talk a lot about my plans. I like to have my goals plotted out and broken down so I know how to get to the end-point. My 2021 writing goals in their broad form fill an entire sheet of paper, printed and posted on my bulletin board, and broken down by month, almost 3 pages (to be fair the third page is mostly because one of the projects on my writing goals list for 2021 involves publishing dates that will start in 2022). I post a new goal sheet on the bulletin board beside m

Happy New Year, everyone! I don’t know about you, but 2020 seemed like the longest year ever. I’m looking ahead to the new year, as I think most others are. New years are always full of possibility, aren’t they? This time, it feels even more so to me. It took me a while to work out my 2021 writing goals, trying to make them achievable, but not too easy. I think I’ve settled on a good list, but I guess I’ll find out as we get further into the year. That said, I think I have a

I think most of us are ready for the new year after the year we’ve had. We are here, anyway. 2020 was a difficult year, particularly for those who have been sick or had someone close to them sick from this wretched virus. Even for those who have stayed healthy, there have been challenges–kids learning from home, people working from home, businesses affected by shutdowns… It’s a long list, and I doubt anyone is unaffected in some way by the events of this year, coronavirus and

The month of December is full of holidays and religious observances. I missed wishing people a lovely Hanukkah, and I’m sorry for that. This week kicks off with the Winter Solstice or Yule, followed by Christmas and then Kwanzaa. I hope that no matter what holiday you celebrate that it’s safe and wonderful, in spite of the weirdness and horror that has been 2020. Our holidays here the last few years have been small events since the people we celebrated with has left this worl

There is snow in our forecast this week, and I really hope the weather guessers are right for a change. We had an unexpected snow on Wednesday, but it didn’t last even a couple of hours. It sure was pretty coming down, though. Since I’ve been working from home, the desk I work from for the day-job faces windows (which is nice, since at the office, we’re nowhere near a window), so being able to see outside all day is a lovely bonus. The snow on Wednesday started as just a few

We all need a little something positive to look forward to this year, don’t we? For readers, we always have new books on the horizon (though I know earlier in the year, and even now for some, it was hard to focus on even reading, as much as we enjoy it). For some, it’s holidays, even as different as they are this year. Right now, I am looking forward to live music in a few weeks. We’ve had a tradition for a long time of seeing Trans-Siberian Orchestra late in the year, and of

It will be December in two days. 2020 has been a truly unprecedented year, in so many ways. For many, it’s been extra-challenging, and for some just different. I’ll be honest and say I’m looking forward to 2021 and a shiny new year. I often look forward to the new year, for lots of reasons, but this year, it seems like saying goodbye to 2020 will feel really good. I am working on my writing goals for 2021, so that is giving me additional motivation to be ready: I have big pla

It’s been a crazy sort of year, hasn’t it? Thanksgiving is just a few days away here in the U.S., and it’s normal for me to think about the things, people and events from the previous eleven months that I’m thankful for. This year, it seems like the list is short, but filled out with really important things. Some years, it’s small things we find to be grateful for, and other years, there are big things along the way. A few people I know have big things they’re thankful for, a

I’m not actually complaining with that blog title, just making an observation. We have two more days of insane-busy at the day-job to start the week, and then it will settle for a week or two, until after Thanksgiving. My teammates and I are discussing taking a day or two off once we get through mid-week (mostly because all four of us still have PTO we have to use before the end of the year), and then I have my annual almost-vacation that starts the day before Thanksgiving-mo

I know, some of you are saying, no, it’s too early! But this is on my goal list for this month, to work on them. I’ll fine-tune and finalize them next month, but I need to at least have a starting point. My goals list for this year went to hell early in the year, but I think that happened to a lot of people this year. I had intended to have Medusa stories back out in the world, not just my Common Elements Romance Project story. That won’t happen now until next year unfortunat

It’s the beginning of November, and here in the U.S., that means Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away. It’s nice to have a day to be thankful for everything that’s happened in the past year, but I feel like we should be grateful all the time. I try to be, anyway. There is almost always something I can be thankful for, even in a really crappy week, like a mug full of my favorite tea or hot chocolate. ( Depositphotos.com ) I’ve noticed in recent years that a lot of people, at

( Depositphotos.com ) It’s the last day of my extra-long weekend, and it looks more like fall here now, with most of the trees showing colors other than green, finally! Though there are some trees that seem to have skipped the color change and gone right to drop-all-the-leaves. Halloween is less than a week away, and my biggest excitement for it is that it is also a blue moon this year. I’m just hoping the weather is nice enough to see it, maybe set up the telescope in the ba

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to get through the next two days of crazy-busy at the day-job, and then I have a five day weekend. I’ve started working on my to-do list for the weekend already. At the moment, it’s just a couple of specifics and some vague, over-these-days-this-needs-to-happen. My plan is to get the specifics out of the way first, like the oil change on my car, dropping my ballot at the county elections office, a little more headston

It’s grey and dreary here, and we’re expecting rain later. It looks like fall, with leaves in the neighborhood starting to change colors (or in some cases, just fall off of their trees, like my neighbor’s). I’m looking forward to more color on the trees in the next week or two, though the temps have stayed pretty nice. Today, I have plans to throw some veggies in the oven to roast while I do some household chores to get us through the week, plus get through at least another c