-HEY!
Sooooo It is that time of year again. Thanksgiving, shopping, Christmas, shopping, New Years, more shopping. Cool. But you know what you need? You should take a break with a cup of rum filled eggnog and curl up in your favorite chair. For a moment or two, you could put down your phone... and read my newest Ice Era Chronicle. Right now I am looking for a few people to read advanced copies of Holiday Cup of Joe and join our read for review team. If you think you'd be interested, you should message me. I will send you a FREE digital copy and then you can write a review and tell me what you think! Of course, if you want to give a struggling author a dollar or two, that is very "holiday gift-giving" of you. Holiday Cup Of Joe comes out on December 1st and you can PRE-ORDER now! Here is a Blurb in case you missed it! Today is an important Ice Era Holiday! Instead of going to a party, Joe rushes to a cave-in. Everyone knows Snow-Everyone-Joe. He’s a feared member of the H.S.P.C. And on this day, Joe doesn’t want to be anyone special. When he saves a trapped doctor, Joe discovers the joy of being “Jack.” A no one. Just a friend. Heading to work, Mather carries the snowmen cookies for Sky Serum Holiday. Right as he thinks this celebration will be like all the others, in a flash, a blast rocks his world. As Mather accepts his death, a stranger saves him, altering his life forever. “Jack” and Mather are simply friends. What starts off as strangers, grows into more. Problem is, Joe isn’t who he says he is, and Mather isn’t in any hurry to change the slow and easy love building between them.
1 Comment
So we just got moved in...
The house is a lot of work, but it's bones are good and I can't beat the view. This is a picture from my deck. Now when I sit and write, this is all I see. I get to listen to the forest with the cars a long way off. To those of you who miss us, we miss you as well. If you didn't even notice we were gone, then that's cool too. And... If you're here to keep up with our writing, well, well, you are in the correct place, my friend! Right now, we are hard at work putting the finishing touches on "Holiday Cup Of Joe." This is a holiday Ice Era Chronicle that we have planned. I always thought Joe needed his own book. After that, we will be back on time. 3:05 a.m. will be the next work. I will admit that the internet here isn't the best, but we got a little something-something, so I will be here on my blog and on Facebook and Twitter. Plus we are now on Pintrest looking at ideas for re-designing the new house. All and all, we are here and I thank all of you who are sticking with us! As some of you know, we decided to move out of the state of Minnesota.
It's funny because I like almost everything about Minnesota. This was a nice place to live for the last 15 years. However, about a year ago, we came to the conclusion that the weather no longer worked for us. As a war vet, my injuries are exasperated by the cold. I think anyone old (or with arthritis) knows what I mean. Since we are not the rich snow birds with two houses (one in Arizona and one in Minnesota) it came down to the choice to move to a little warmer climate. Anyway, that's what we are up to. I tell you this because I know some of you are wondering why the next book isn't in your hand right now. I'm sorry that this change in where I sleep at night has slowed us down, but I promise, we are writing. So far we have finished Hands Of Clay (which is the throw back I told you about in the last post.) We also wrapped up a fun side novel called Holiday Cup Of Joe and 3:05 a.m. An Ice Era Chronicle is ready too. During the packing process for the house, we have written a couple off-the-rails books that fall after 3:05 a.m. The first one is called One Strong Gale and the second is called Sky's The Limit. As soon as I unpack, I plan to start on 4:05 a.m. I am hoping that this trek to a new place will fire up my creative juices. So we are moving forward!!! Thanks to all of you that are still sticking with me and the Ice Era Chronicles. I say the same thing over and over again, so much so that my better half wants to put tape over my mouth. I always say that “The seeds of my end are in my beginning.”
People always ask me how I can write a whole story. I have a few friends that often only write the beginning of their books, but then they don’t know where to take their stories. For me, a book starts out as a little idea. Maybe it’s a character that I think would be fun or even a job I’d like to explore. After I have my one little inkling, I tend to do something with my hands. I paint rooms. I fold laundry. I cook or wash dishes. Agatha Christie said “The best time to plan a book is while you're doing the dishes.” True that. I like to do things that are repetitive and it opens my mind to wander. The story grows from there, but I won’t even try to plot out an outline until I know the end. I have had books where I thought I knew how it was all going to wrap up and then about three chapters in, my characters stop talking to me. So, I don’t do that anymore. I simply go about my sweeping or scrubbing or car fixing, and think about how everything will finish up before I sit down with my computer and my better half. Once I know the end, only then do I plot the chapters one by one. When the outline is finished, the real typing begins. So far Monica and I have never disagreed with how a book will finish. But that might change in the future, I have the idea of how the series will end in 12:05 a.m. The last Ice Era Chronicle. Monica isn’t a fan. I have some time to convince her that I’m right. We will see if I’m successful. I saw another author talking about her kids on one of the social media platforms. After I read the post about writing sex and listening to My Little Pony, I realized how hard it must be for parents to write and look after little ones. Kids have a hard time understanding that you need silence to write. Silence isn’t children’s strong suits, unless you give them lots and lots of candy. That way their mouth is full! I don’t suggest that.
Anyway, I have the wonderful added bonus of having older kids while I write. I have two teenage daughters and they are amazing. My eldest gives me tips for better hashtags for Instagram and is always up for a lively debate on the way a character should die. My youngest helps out around the house when Monica and I are deep into marketing or editing. I am so blessed to have the kind of kids I do. They really are supportive of the writing with little to no judgments. Sure, I am still a mobile ATM some days and they often ask for a ride or a sleepover, but when I need them for something book related, they’re always there for me. I don’t know what it would be like if my kids were young, but as teens theses two are crazy helpful. I love their imagination. On a side note, Monica and I were editing a sex scene and we thought we were alone. We were sitting on the couch in our living room. Monica turns to me and says: “What’s another word for this part with the precum? I don’t like that you use the word ‘spot pools’ in this sentence.” From the kitchen my eldest calls out. “Maybe the precum drips, not pools?” Okay, I’ll admit 50 % of me wanted to tell her to wash her mouth out with soap… but she was right. It was a better word choice. I love that my kids roll with the fact that they have parents that write what we do. I wouldn’t trade them for the world. |
Our Ice Era Chronicles in Order:
All future dates are subject to change. Archives
February 2024
Categories |