#ROW80 Check-in June 4th

It’s #ROW80 time again!!

I’ve been busy working on my secret  project and promotional opportunities for Fey Touched’s free run in July. This week I am on vacation from work so I hope I can get some serious work done. But I have promised myself no stress!

The other thing is that I’ve had more TN pain, which screws with everything. I’m hoping this is temporary, but after three weeks of logging my pain, it’s looking like it might be permanent. 😦 I see my neuro in September, and he will probably up my dosage of the tegretol. Until then, I need to hang in there.

Here’s the rundown:

Fireborn – 8 pages in. Finished reading Holly Lisle’s Create a Plot Clinic and I plan on doing some of the exercises today. The first draft is 23k, and I want to expand it to around 60k. So I need more stuff!

Secret project – Up to 8,812 words now. Going well. I’ve already booked a cover artist and I have no title, no blurb, or any idea about a cover. I should probably get on that.

Covenant – Nada, although I did expand those 100 words to 443 words.

Water – Almost every day. I may have missed one.

FYFB class – Nada.

Promotion for Fey Touched – I set up three more free promos.

Guild Wars – I haven’t had a lot of time this week for it. I spent maybe an hour total. This week I’d like to do more.

Chocolate consumption report – Rolos, Sno Caps, ice cream Twix bars, chocolate cookies. Not a lot. Need to eat more!

#ROW80 Check-in 5/28/17

Happy Early Memorial Day everyone!

It’s that time again.:) I’ve been a bit scattered this past week. With no clear deadlines, I’ve been doing a little bit of everything. And giving my brain a break! Lots of Guild Wars! I have a new character I’m playing, a Necromancer/Ranger, which I think might be my favorite combination of professions.

Anyway, here’s the rundown:

Fireborn – I started the preliminary read-through/note-taking. I’m doing this right in the document. I also still need to run through Holly Lisle’s Create a Plot Clinic to help with expanding things.

Covenant – I handwrote about 100 words while at work (shh! Don’t tell my bosses). I still need to transcribe them and finish the scene.

Water – Every day but one.

FYFB class – Thought about it, but ultimately didn’t get to it yet.

Secret project – Up to 5k now. 😀

Promotion for Fey Touched – I’ve taken a break on this. I will be diving back into it very soon.

Chocolate consumption – Dark chocolate caramels (yum!), ice cream Twix bars (2), chocolate cookies. Wow, not a lot there. Must eat more!

How was your week? Did you enjoy any delicious goodies?

#ROW80 Check-in May 21st

Here we are with #ROw80 once again. This week’s been crazy busy for me. It’s been a bit of a blur.

The main thing I’ve been working on is promotions for Book 1 of my series, Fey Touched. I just put it into KDP Select and have my free days chosen. So I’ve been working like a madwoman trying to finding places to advertise. (If you’re willing to help with this, please let me know! You would have my undying gratitude.) I am hoping to pull in new readers to my series and hopefully sell more books!

Here is the rundown on the rest:

Secret project – up to 2,330 words so far! Yay!

Fireborn – I hope to look at this today.

Water – Missed one day, but nailed the rest!

Covenant – 626 words written today!

FYFB class – Nada again. It’s on my list, I swear.

I also started (or rather, restarted in a different format) my Fiction Friday series where I do quickie reviews of books I’ve read. Trying to branch out into other things that may appeal to readers. 🙂 I’ve done two so far. It’s looking like I will be posting every other Friday (to give me time to read. I’ve slowed down a lot lately). I hope this will be something fun and worthwhile.

Chocolate consumption report: chocolate zucchini bread (homemade, yum!), ice cream Twix bar, dark chocolate caramels, chocolate chip cookies, WW ultimate chocolate sandwich.

How did your week go?

#ROW80 Check-in May 17th

I am here, just busy. I’ve been working on getting reviews for Ever Touched, promoting, and trying to figure out what I want to do next.

I’ve been having severe eye pain again this week, and it has effected my productivity for sure.

I have a short story due to my editor on 6/1 that i still need to start.

Here’s the rundown:

Ever Touched – Released on 5/1 as planned! Yay! The print edition is also live as well.

Covenant – Will be on the back burner for now.

Fireborn – My next project. Probably a rewrite. I need to go through the entire manuscript and make notes and figure out what can stay and what can go. I am also going to run it through the “plotting through the middle” method and Holly Lisle’s Create Your Plot Clinic to see if I can come up with anything else that could help expand it. I’m looking at around 50k-60k (it is currently 23k now).

Water – Missed a few days this week, but the previous weeks right on!

FYFB class – Will try to get something done this week.

When She Sleeps – Going to plot this formally (I have a lot of it in my head right now!)

Secret Project – Remember this? I’ve resurrected this idea. I have a loose plot, and I will be working on it soon. Shooting for about 30k.

Chocolate consumption report – Chocolate ice cream sandwiches, chocolate fudge-covered cake, chocolate chip cookies, GF chocolate bars…wow. Not a lot. Must change that!

Would anyone be willing to review Ever Touched? :puppy eyes: Free copy + my eternal gratitude.

 

 

 

 

 

 

#ROW80 Check-in April 30th

It’s been awhile. I have been busy working on Ever Touched, which releases TOMORROW. ZOMG, it’s almost here!

I had an issue with Photoshop and my wrap cover for the print edition…it is finally resolved and a proof is on its way to me as I type this.

Yeah…

So here’s the rundown:

Ever Touched – Everything is done and ready for tomorrow, except for the print edition. Waiting on the proof.

Covenant – Nothing yet. Planning for after EvT’s release.

Fireborn – Will be a rewrite for sure. That’s all I know right now.

Water – Yes, for the most part.

FYFB class – Not yet, but it’s on my list!

I also have three two guest posts to write, so that’s happening. I wrote one last night.

Haven’t decided on whether I want to work on Fireborn or Covenant next. Covenant might go faster, since it’s drafting, but then again, parts of Fireborn are staying. So I don’t know. Will continue to ponder.

I also have two more books I am starting to plot, a rewrite of an old one called When She Sleeps and an older idea I’ve been dying to work on called Darkweaver. Stay tuned on those.

And it just dawned on me that this is my first check-in since posting my goals. Didn’t realize I was gone that long!

Chocolate consumption report: Ye Gods. Chocolate robin eggs (1 whole bag – but not at once!), hot chocolate, chocolate caramel thingies, chocolate ice cream brownie (Big Boy’s), chocolate donuts, chocolate-covered malted milk balls. I think that’s it.

#ROW80 Round 2 Goals

I’m a bit late posting my goals. I’ve been really busy with the edits on Ever Touched. I’m jumping in now!

I have fewer goals this go around to limit my stress level. I’ve been very stressed out in the past few months and need a break from it all.

So here are my goals:

~Publish Ever Touched on May 1st (on track to complete as of right now)
~Add 10k to Covenant
~Start formulating a plan for Fireborn (looks like a rewrite as of right now)
~Drink a glass of water 5x a week
~Start working on FYFB class once things settle down

And that’s it! No exercise-related goals yet because I seem to have reinjured my knee. 😦 Once that gets worked out, I may add an exercise-related goal to the mix.

I would also like to add in some mental downtime per week. I’m not making it an official goal, but we’ll see once Ever Touched is published. I had some of that with Guild Wars, but since I’ve been so busy with edits and such, I haven’t been able to play this week at all. So we will see on that as well.

And, as usual, the famous chocolate consumption report.

 

#ROW80 Final Check-in 3/19/17

I’ve decided to do my final check-in today because I have a really busy week coming up and I am bound to forget! So, without further adieu, here it is!

~Finish Ever Touched 2nd round edits ~DONE and turned in March 1st!
~Finalize Ever Touched cover art ~In progress. Cover created, just waiting on feedback.
~Start on a blurb ~DONE! Still more work needed, but it’s a start.
~After Ever Touched is finished, start Fireborn revision ~NOT DONE. Have been thinking about this, though. 
~Add 5k to Covenant (using 8 minute writing if possible) ~NOT DONE. Issues with sleep due to eczema and general stress has killed my energy. I did write 1,349 words on it a few days ago, though, and plan on continuing with it.
~Continue FYFB class (I’m so horribly behind now, it’s not even funny!) ~NOT DONE. Once things calm down, it’s the first thing on my priority list.
~Eat healthier/lose 5 pounds ~KINDA SORTA. Lost about 3 pounds total. Trying to eat healthier.
~Restart transferring Survivor Rewrite outline to Scrivener ~NOT DONE. Just plain ran out of time.
~Exercise: housewalking 3x per week ~DONE ONLY ONCE. Really need to get serious about this in the next round.
~Water – 1 glass 5 days per week ~DONE!
~Chocolate consumption reports of course! ~DONE!

So I won some and I lost some. Not a bad round considering all the health crap I had to deal with. I’m okay with it. 🙂

Final chocolate consumption report: Triple chocolate cake last night for my early birthday party, chocolate brownie topped with chocolate ice cream and hot fudge recently, chocolate pudding, hot chocolate. The chocolate is strong in this one. 😉

How did you do?

#ROW80 Check-in 3/5/17

Annnnnnnnd it’s ROW80 time again!

I skipped last week because I’d fallen behind on my proofreading, but never fear, I turned it in on time! I did notice that my main character’s eye color changed twice, so that needed to be fixed. She’s in both book 1 and book 2, but as a secondary character. Her original introduction was in book 1…which I wrote back in 2012. So, yeah, memory lapse. It was very subtle, but I didn’t want to break continuity.

So that’s off my plate. I get a bit of a breather until April 1st, when the copyedits hit my inbox.

Here’s the rundown of where I stand with everything else:

Water – Every day except one.

Weight – Ugh, gained 3 pounds. It may have been the paczki I’ve been eating. Maybe.

Cover for Ever Touched – Basically finished, except I need to still do the print cover, and I can’t do that until I have a blurb and page count.

FYFB class – Still on hold. I’d like to start it sometime this month if possible.

Guild Wars – Been logging lots of hours on it. It’s been fun and challenging.

Eczema/psoriasis – I backslid a bit on Thursday. Took my shower and upped the heat a bit as I didn’t want to be cold, and my hands got so itchy I couldn’t stand it. I slept with my ice pack in my hands the whole night. It worked, and they seem to be better. No more hot showers for me!

Exercise – Housewalked a bit yesterday, yay!

Fireborn revision/Covenant/Oubliette – Been doing some serious thinking about each. I’d like to get some work done on at least one of them before the end of the round. Question is, which one?

Chocolate consumption: Chocolate wafer bars, white fudged covered pretzels, chocolate mug cake, and….I think that’s it?

How are you doing this week?

 

 

#ROW80 Check-in 2/5/17

It’s Sunday, and you know what that means — ROW80! It’s also Superbowl Sunday, which I never participate in b/c I no get football at all, and the one time I went to a party, all I did was sit there and pretend to be interested when I was really confused. And I ate too much.

So, pass.

How am I doing on my goals?

Ever Touched – I am about 20 pages away from being done. However, this doesn’t count the climax I am rewriting and struggling with. My editor said there weren’t high enough stakes, which I completely agree with, so I’ve been dithering on how to raise the stakes yet keep the actions that are happening. So that’s a thing.

Oubliette -This is a 7-year-old novel that I began as a result of family drama, but isn’t about that at all. It’s actually more of a supernatural thriller, I guess. Both main characters intrigue me so much, and for some reason, it has been calling to me. I left it at 12k and have plot cards written up. I did more plotting this week and would like to write a bit on it soon (today maybe?).

Exercise – Nada, unless you count Walmart shopping and bathroom cleaning today.Been so tired lately.

Water – For the most part. I think I missed one day this week.

Eczema/psoriasis – Sleeping much, much better! No change in lesions since last check-in, and being in a hot grocery store stirred up the itching again. But I think overall I’m doing better.

FYFB class – Nothing until I finish Ever Touched.

Fireborn revision – Thinking about this. Not sure if I want to extend it or not, or how to fix it. I am considering running it through Holly Lisle’s How to Revise Your Novel work. Still need a better grasp on how to write mysteries.

Weight – Lost 1 pound!

Guild Wars – Still addicted, but have lowered my usage considerably (she says as she plans another run tonight during the Superbowl, lol).

Chocolate consumption: Hmmmm. Oreos, chocolate caramel thingies, mini-brownies (gluten free!), hot chocolate, 2 breakfast bars (gluten free). I think that’s it?

How are you doing with your goals?

#ROW80 Check-in 1/29/17

I’m back! I’ve been very busy and sleep deprived.

I finally saw the dermatologist who diagnosed it as both eczema and psoriasis. He gave me a super-strength steroid cream which is helping tremendously and an antihistamine to take at night for itching and sleep. And told me to moisturize constantly which I’ve been doing faithfully.

As a result, I have had 4 good nights of sleep! And my feet hardly itch during the day! My hands are still itchy at times (especially when exposed to heat) but not as much. The lesions (I HATE that word, but it is the actual terminology they use) look better, too. So I think *knocks cyber-wood* I may be on the mend!

Except that the dermatologist mentioned that this is a transition to what may be a worse condition. 😦 So I guess time will tell. Bu at least I am feeling better. I am grateful for that.

I’ve been busy with another editing job that came through, and I just turned that in a few days ago (early!). Ever Touched is 75% done. I had to rewrite a few scenes, and I know I’ll need to rewrite a few more. But so far it’s been fairly easy.

And…Guild Wars. OMG I have probably logged at least 6 hours this weekend. It has been a struggle to disengage myself and get my work done. I have to be vigilant. So I’ve been limiting my time. We’ll see if it works.

One of the members of the accountability group for the FYFB class said gaming is actually a very good destressor. And I agree with her, because where else can you legally kill people and monsters? That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

How is everything else going? :laughs:

FYFB class – Nothing, and I anticipate there won’t be until I finish Ever Touched. It is self=paced, so I am not losing anything by waiting. I am still meeting with the group each week though.

Exercise – Nope. Still adjusting. I have been trying to stand and stretch on a timer, however, like always. That’s my #1 goal once things calm down.

Fireborn revision – I’ve been doing some thinking about this and after discussing it with TDP, I may be expanding it a bit. I think overall the mystery is a bit rushed (trying to stay within 20k, which was what episode 1 was) and I have been researching how to write mysteries b/c I realized I have no idea how to properly do it. Several of my books have had mysteries in them, but they weren’t the primary storyline. So that’s happening.

Survivor outline – I am considering writing up plot cards instead of using Scrivener, primarily b/c they’d be portable, and I am considering working on Survivor on the fly. Or devouting Sundays to it again. Still pondering.

Weight – I honestly haven’t weighed myself in quite awhile so I really don’t know how I’m doing. I can tell you that my appetite has been less since I was sick recently, and hasn’t really fully returned. Which is great for weight loss, but it worrisome in the long term. So I will need to weigh myself and see where exactly I’m at.

Water – 5x a week for the most part. I may have missed one last week.

Ever Touched cover art – Stock art has been purchased and my #1 priority after I turn Ever Touched in is to work on the cover.

Chocolate consumption: Ultimate chocolate sandwiches, Oreos, chocolate/caramel cover pretzels, chocolate mini brownies, hot chocolate. I have a TON of gluten-free snacks that I got for Christmas that I am working my way through, and most of them aren’t chocolate. I’m sure I’ll get back to my chocolate-addicted ways soon. 😉