#ROW80 Round 1 2018 Goals

Here are are with a goals post. Dang, this year went by so fast. And we’re almost to 2018 already. Wut. is. this. insanity.

Ahem. Alrighty, goals for Round 1:

~2nd round edits on secret project (I am contemplating releasing it around my birthday in March. We will see how things go).
~Revisions on Fireborn
~Covenant words
~Survivor Sundays (Survivor my book, not the TV show)
~Poke at Fireborn cover?

Non-writing stuffs:

~Read 1 book a week
~Water 5x a week
~Print out test roll pics in darkroom
~Poetry, maybe?
~Housewalking 3x a week
~And everyone’s favorite, chocolate consumption reports

A bit ambitious, but we’ll see how it goes.

I really would like to get back to photography and poetry. I miss them both. I am also toying with doing a 365 day photography thing, but I am not going to declare that as a goal just yet. We’ll see how January goes.

Annnd that’s it for now!

 

#ROW80 Check-in July 17th

I have finally been able to sit down and do a proper ROW80 post since the round started. I have been busy finishing (and then revising) the short story for TDP. It is officially done. I do need to do some clean up and proofreading still.

Due to Real Life, our deadline has been changed to July 24th. So I have a bit of a breather. Hubby and I are leaving for our yearly week-long camping trip this afternoon. We are going to Metamora, MI, about an hour from where we live. He’s been there before but I haven’t so this should be fun. 🙂

So how have I been doing with my goals? Not too well. I think I will be able to settle in and get things moving after the camping trip is over. I’ve spent so much time packing, and we had a family birthday party last weekend, and I just haven’t been thinking about much except getting everything done…except my goals. Le sigh.

So here’s the rundown:

Short story – Finished. Needs another pass + proofreading. I hope to do some (or all) while on vacation.

Ever Touched – Wrote 1, 829 words.

Water – Two times this week. A bit short of my goal.

Exercise – Zero. Bad Erin, no cookie!

Covenant/8 mins a day – Nada. I hope to restart after vacation.

Pictures/Digital infrared – I am bringing three cameras on the trip with me, so there will be pictures!

Fireborn – I got it on my Kindle Fire, so if I have the time (and energy), I’ll try to start the read-through while on vacay.

Review books – Just posted 2 reviews. I have another book I am starting soon (and has a deadline) and 3 more in the hopper, and one coming in late July. I’m keeping up, but barely.

Author interviews – Started on #1, but haven’t finished yet. That one is due in August, and #2 is due in September.

Chocolate consumption: Hersey’s chocolate cake from my mother-in-law’s birthday, so good! WW ultimate chocolate sandwiches, WW caramels, WW Sundaes, Chips Ahoy Chocolate-chip/Oreo filling cookies.We have a package of Chips Ahoy White Fudge chocolate chip cookies that we’ll be trying at camping, and of course, s’mores!

#ROW80 Check-in 9/9/15

Happy birthday to my younger (and only) sister!

I’ve been doing mostly editing, but I did finish up the big project (on Labor Day, ironically enough), and while I’ve been working on copyediting the lovely KD Sarge’s next Turtleduck Press novel, Burning Bright (which so far is awesome, btw!), I have had a bit more time than I have had lately. I wrote bout 500 words on Fireborn, and have been happily noodling — or, uh, brainstorming ideas for When the Stars Fall, which my muse has insisted is BEFORE the Stars Fall. She feels this is very important.

So far, I’ve got a guardian angel in human form who doesn’t know it, frightening visions she believes are the result of mental illness, a rock star who’s about to die, and one rule: the angel and the rock star can’t fall in love. Also, they may have done this before in a past/parallel life before. Maybe.

So, um, that’s what’s been keeping me from going insane these days. Because life.

Here’s a little excerpt of Fireborn that I just wrote, so it may be rough:

“You…were a witness? How come you didn’t come forward?” Rick asked.

Another eye roll. “I didn’t want to be implicated…but then I started feeling guilty – ”

“Because you might be next,” I muttered.

“Yeah, that, too,” she said, glaring at me. She had a mean glare. She looked at Rick. “She would communicate with Tarot cards. And I saw…I saw her.”

Did I believe this? Could I believe this? Maybe she was mentally ill, or just twisted enough to compel us to dance on her strings. I gave Rick a questioning look, and he shrugged. So, I figured I was on my own until we could talk privately.

“You saw her? How does one see a ghost?” Mercy started to say something, but I stopped her by holding up my hand. “Of course you can see ghosts.”

“She’s around.” Mercy averted her gaze. “She won’t rest until she kills us all.” She gave me an assessing look. “Which is why I came here in the first place. Assuming you still want my help.”

Okaaay. “Yeah, of course. Rick?”

“Yeah, I’d like to hear what you have to say. Do you want another water?”

“Yes, please,” Mercy replied, taking her empty glass and placing it into Rick’s hand.

“Be right back. Try not to kill each other while I’m gone,” Rick said with a pleading look at me.

“We won’t,” I shot back. I gave Mercy an assessing look of my own. “Is this really for real, or you just having a joke at our expense?”

Mercy stood and tried to pet Love, who’d sat herself in front of me as my feline guard. She grudgingly allowed it. Briefly. “If you survive this, you’ll grow in power, and your child will be even more powerful.”

Chocolate consumption report: Not a lot. We did have Sanders Bumpy Cake for dessert on Labor Day though!

So that’s it from me for now. How are you all doing?

ROW80 Check-in 9/2/15 – Editing Zen

I’ve been so busy editing that I haven’t been able to do a proper check-in for awhile. But I’ve gotten a slight breather so here I is again!

I’ve done very little writing, under 500 on both Fireborn and Covenant. I’ve been working on trying to squeeze them in during my breaks (I use the pomodoro method). So far, that’s been going fairly well. I was starting to feel anxious about not writing, and a bit grumpy.

This month is going to be very busy, as I just accepted another editing job (smaller in scope and length, though) and I have a copyedit hitting my inbox from one of the TDP members that I volunteered to do back in July or June. Annnd edits will be coming back on Changeling 3 as well.

Needless to say, I’ve been a bit sleep-deprived (although it’s from disrupted sleep) and feeling a bit zonked. Today I had to get bloodwork done and when they asked my name and phone number, I gave them the wrong numbers and couldn’t physically pronounce my middle name. And then at dinner I said the wrong word which was very obviously wrong and it was a bit embarrassing. Other than that, I’ve been okay.

(None of this stuff effects my editing. I sort of get tunnel vision when I’m doing it, and I can focus pretty well despite what else is going on. One of my talents…or curses, depending on how you look at it).

Although I needed music desperately, instrumental only. That felt better.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. What have you been doing?

Oh! Chocolate consumption report: A lot of these shortbread with chocolate stripes cookies. They are so good! WW Sundaes, too, as per usual.

RSW Progress Report 8/24/15

I believe this is the second to last week of RSW, and I’m kind of sad because this has been so much fun!

How I did on last week’s goals:

I did pretty well, actually.

~Finish edit job DONE!
~Finish rough draft of Changeling 3 DONE and revised!
~Read and review short story for TDP member DONE!
~SOMETHING RELATED TO WRITING OR ACTUAL WRITING, no word count goals, just something! DONE! 997 words on Fireborn, came up with a plan for the end. Put together a plan* for the next 6 months or so of writing projects.

*I’m shifting my focus to shorter works, i.e. novellas, longish short stories, and shorter novels. I think I would gain more traction by having more things out there. Novels take me years to write and revise; novellas and shorter novels would take less time. (In theory, anyways 😉  )  So that is my plan. I gave myself rough deadlines for each thing (4 total to start with) plus 7 “floating” projects — projects I can pick up as alternates if I’m having issues or am not inspired to write a certain one when its time. I have no idea how this will go — it’s my first time setting actual deadlines of my own and not writing 130k novels. So, time will tell.

This week’s goals:

~Get to halfway or thereabouts on editing job
~WRITE something, anything! Can be small, as I don’t want to get behind on the editing

Editing will take up most of my time, so that’s why there are few goals. I work a day job, so I have to fit everything in and sometimes I get strapped for time!

A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised: FINALLY. I got words! And a plan!

The biggest challenge I faced this week (ie finding time to write, getting sick, having writer’s block, etc) Motivation and focus. Still having issues. 😦

Something I love about my WIP: That I’m on track again and am nearly done writing it (technically).

How did you do?

RSW Progress Report 8/17/15

I’m home!

And…trying desperately to get back into my normal routine.

How I did on last week’s goals:

I did okay. No actual writing, unfortunately, between camp prep and then at camp; I just didn’t feel up to it. I did manage a few things, though, which more or less made up for it. I also got hit with a paranormal romance idea that’s…very intriguing to my muse because it started off as fanfic…but I am not really a fanfic writer, and this has promise as an original work, one I may want to self-pub, so…yeah. Still working out details. Of course, I can’t really add it to my WIPs because I will go crazy, but I’m definitely making notes so I can tuck it away for later.

It may become book #1 of a series, one I’ve been planning for awhile…the worldbuilding intersects nicely and it may be doable…

Yeah. Anyhoo.

Here’s the actual rundown:

~Finish editing job and email the short story back to the writer (due 8/7) – DONE! I’m working on the final look edit as I type this.
~Start packing for vacation (!!) DONE! No kidding, Erin.
~500 words on Fireborn/rewritten portion min NOT DONE! But, I got the first half of it edited/revised and the second half I re-outlined. Stuck on one part, but am noodling.
~500 words min on Covenant NOT DONE.
~Review of Pas by SM Reine (!!!) DONE. Great book, great series.
On vacation:
~Take pictures on vacation, regular and infrared DONE and DONE! Once I get the infrared pics post-processed, I’ll put them up.
~Work on any project, any amount of words or outlining or whatever (usually I wait to see how I feel about being insanely productive or taking a break or doing just a bit. Every trip is different!) DONE with Fireborn and the new project.

This week’s goals:

~Finish edit job
~Finish rough draft of Changeling 3
~Read and review short story for TDP member
~SOMETHING RELATED TO WRITING OR ACTUAL WRITING, no word count goals, just something!

I’ve been feeling very out of sorts since coming home, and I want to ease into the swing and not pressure myself too much. I’ve been having vertigo attacks and that’s been scary, so…yeah. Just progress on something works.

A favorite line from my story OR a word or phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised: Freaking muse! I love her, but she’s crazy when she’s got a new story idea! She was sending me whole scenes and conversations! I dreamed about it! I am consumed by it.

The biggest challenge I faced this week (ie finding time to write, getting sick, having writer’s block, etc): Not succumbing to the urge to start a new project, even though it would have been easy. And fun. 🙂 (That’s how Covenant started).

Something I love about my WIP: What the hell, let’s talk about the new one. it started its life as Tell Me Your Secrets, but then morphed into a psychic thing, and thus, I changed the title to When the Stars Fall. The idea for the title came from a phase uttered by a character on one of the shows I watch, and it just stuck. It involves ley lines, soulmates, time travel, and clairvoyance believed to be mental illness. Pretty twisted, but should be fun. 🙂

How did you do on your goals?

#ROW80 Round 2 2015 Goals

Annnnnd it’s time to ROW again!

It’s been a busy few months for me, getting Grave Touched ready for release. I’m getting closer, and I’m getting excited about it. After working on it so long (almost three years!), it’s finally leaving the nest.

So, with GT’s release coming May 1st, here are my top goals for the next 30 days or so:

~Finish final edit and send to formatter
~Prep for KDP
~Start wrap around cover for print edition
~Create ARCs and secure reviewers

After release, here are my goals:

~Restart/continue Survivor on Sundays (would love to get through chapter 1, but any progress is good)
~Finish Fireborn
~Select next project (my muse wants something completely new…we’ll see)
~And if so, prep for that if prep is needed (sometimes yes, sometimes no)

I think that’s enough to keep me busy for awhile.

This blog is not dead.

:waves to everyone:

Hi. I thought I’d do an update, as it’s been a loooooonnnng time since I last posted.

What have I been up to? Well, I finished the second draft of Grave Touched, took a day off, and started the revision. I’m 158 pages (of 251) in.

The second half is a bit of a mess because I kept losing track of my characters. I’ve got two groups, one in one location and one in another. I kept finding the wrong characters in the wrong places! I also forgot a few so they seemed to just disappear. Not good. Bad, bad writer. No cookie.

This is really the first time I’ve dealt with such a large cast. I will get it right, I swear!

So it’s looking like I’m on track to make my Jan. 1st deadline. However, I had one person beta it within a week (yes, I’m that crazy!) and her feedback is helping me with all of my lovely typos and confusing spots. I have another one coming in two weeks, which should help, too. Both of these people are awesome for helping me out and wading through what is essentially a first draft (and I have never had anyone beta a first draft, so it’s been kind of scary).

As for future stuffs…first, I’ll be taking a break after I turn in Grave Touched. In June, it will have been THREE YEARS since I started Grave Touched. I feel like I need to move on, desperately. I have taken a few breaks here and there (and three months because of my eye in 2013) but for the most part, I’ve only worked on Grave Touched.

Per my Year of No Fear Manifesto, I’m supposed to be working on revisions. So that’s most likely what I’ll end up doing. I also have a few new ideas for novels (or novellas), one of which is making a series in the Reaper Girl universe. I currently have *counts them* 2 new ideas for new novels that are really gnawing on me so…I don’t know. I may try that whole write-two-things thing for the first time in forever.

I also have Fey Touched book 3 looming. It’s called Ever Touched and I’ve made some changes to it. My new protagonist is Brianna, and her love interest is [redacted]. I’ll give you a hint. They both have big secrets that they’d do anything to keep hidden. Fun times.

This month is NaNoWriMo, and I couldn’t really participate. I miss it tremendously. While I can’t write 50k in a month anymore, I still like to participate with a lower goal (usually 30k). The energy and excitement helps me stay focused and producing. I’ve promised myself that I will do NaNoWriMo next year, come hell or high water!

On the Turtleduck Press front, we have a new novel releasing December 1st called Even the Score. It’s KD Sarge’s latest, set in her amazing Dream verse. I copyedited the book so of course I got to read it and it is AMAZING.

As for my health, I’m doing much better. My back is almost 100% now thanks to physical therapy. My eye continues to be painful. I’ve been trying to chase down an answer, and nothing so far has panned out. I think it’s time for that second opinion.

The holidays are upon us! Looking forward to it. I started my Christmas shopping early this year so I’d be more prepared and it’ll give me more time in case I need it for Grave Touched. I’ve always loved holidays mostly for the family element. I love my family and love spending time with them. Love giving and receiving gifts. But most of all, I’m glad we’re all together. That’s what makes the holidays so magical.

So, no, this blog isn’t dead. I’ve been working nonstop on Grave Touched. I wanted to join in ROW80 Round 4, but I figured between the copyediting and finishing Grave Touched, I wouldn’t have a lot of free time. I’ll definitely join next year Round 1.

If I don’t make it back here before the holidays, have a great, beautiful, perfect, fun, special, and loving holiday season.

#ROW80 Round 3 Goals

Annnnnd here we are again with A Round of Words in 80 days. This will be my third round, and I find that ROW80 works well for me so I’m in.

This round will be a bit different for me as I’ve been doing a combination of editing and rewriting my WIP, Grave Touched. It’s technically a rewrite, but I am keeping some stuff and rewriting others, and adding new scenes. So it’s a bit difficult to track my progress using wordcounts only, as I’ve done for the past two rounds. So I’m going to try something else.

I will have two goals. The first one will be 10,000 rewritten words to cover the rewriting portion. And 50 to 100 pages edited to cover the editing. I can do either, or, or both, depending how things shake out. This is a bit of an experiment, so we’ll see how it goes.

And naturally, I will have stats as I have the past two rounds. I’ve got the chocolate ready. So here we go!

Almost there.

I’ve been hard at work on Fey Touched, revising and editing and getting things ready for its release on August 1st.  So much to do!  And there’s more coming!  But it’ll all be worth it to bring Fey Touched out of my little world into the real world.  I can’t wait for people to read it!  I’m very, very excited.

(Also, if anyone reading this is interested in getting a pre-publication copy for review, let me know!  I’m looking for people to give honest reviews.  The pre-publication copy will be available sometime in July).

I’ve also been working on Grave Touched, the sequel to Fey Touched.  I actually started it earlier this week but have since realized that I started in the wrong place.  Normally this wouldn’t be such a big deal (yet), but for me, I need to start strong or I get distracted.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it needs to excite me.  And I’ve been bombarded by my precious muse with all these ideas for Darklight, and well…I need to work on Grave Touched.  But Darklight keeps pulling me back.  It’s been a struggle.  But I will persevere.  Even if I have to write a few hundred words a week on Darklight just to keep my muse happy.

What’s really funny is that this time last year, and into October, I worked feverishly on the original version of Darklight.  And then I just…stopped.  I think I lost interest with it.  And then the idea for Fey Touched hit me hard and fast, and I was a goner.  But this new premise has me excited, so hopefully it will work better.  (Also, it’s now dark fantasy vs. horror.  Yeah, I don’t even know…)  All I can say is this: I blame Adam Lambert’s video for “Better Than I Know Myself.”  Glamberts, I’m sure you know what exactly inspired me.

I’m also on vacation next week from the day job, so I plan on doing some serious writing then.  It’s been a yearly tradition for the past few years to see how much I can write during that week.  So far, my record is 17,000 on Flamebound in 2008 with severe burstitis of the shoulder.  Yes, I am insane.

I’m technically participating in Camp NanoWriMo for June and August.  It’s been fun so far, even though I’ve only written 1,150 words.  *shify look*

I’m also working on a big life change, which I discussed a bit on the Turtleduck Press blog.  It’s a big step, and I’m not sure I’ll succeed, but I’m giving this a shot.

What else?  My third wedding anniversary is on the 27th, and it seems like forever since hubby and I said our I dos.  We’re stronger than ever, happy, and so much in love.  *sighs happily*  I wish everything else in life was this easy.

I’ll have a new feature on the blog soon called Spooky Sunday.  Since I’m a huge fan of all things creepy and scary, I thought it would be fun to talk about them.  Get ready to hear about ghosts, conspiracy theories, scary movies, myths, ESP…and anything else my twisted mind can come up with.  We’ll start with two Sundays a month and see how it goes.  It should be fun and maybe even a bit…scary.  *cackles and rubs hands together in glee*

So that’s what’s been happening in my crazy life.  Keep your eyeballs peeled for a giveaway or two of Fey Touched closer to release.