2016, Day 313 or #NaNoWriMo2016 Day 9: Leavin’ on a Jet Plane – Help!

 

nano-16-day-9-jet-plane

(Scroll to the bottom for details on a SALE!)

Okay – so that plane looks a little LOSTish and I have no desire to end up on a desert island with a smoke monster, a mysterious hatch, crazy Others, Benry, and Desmond.

BUT…

Matt and I talked the other night and it looks like I’m going to two new conferences next year! YAY! They’re the StoryMaster’s conferences in Toronto (May) and Houston (June). Both look fantastic and I hope to learn a lot.

My issue is transportation.

Clearly, driving to Toronto is out. It’s about a 16 hour drive. I’d thought to buy tickets out of St. Louis, Kansas City, or Tulsa, because they have much bigger airports, and I have family in all three who could likely help with transportation to and from if needed.
But then I looked at tickets out of my local regional airport. I can get a round trip to Toronto (and Houston, which isn’t quite as far) for about $400. That’s not much more than flights out of those other cities and MUCH closer to home.

Both directions have one layover, but with the same airline (or regional counterparts). However, there is with one airline and back is with another. Even when I choose the same airline for both sides of the trip (which wouldn’t work out time wise), I get this note on

Expedia:

Your flight is a combination of two one-way fares, each subject to its own rules and restrictions.

When I click more details I get this:

If one of your flights is changed or canceled, it will not automatically alter the other flight. Changes to the other flight may incur a charge.

Question 1: does that mean the leg to Toronto is a one way fare and the way back is a separate one? Or that my flight to Chicago and from Chicago are two separate one way fares combined to make one longer trip and if my flight to Chicago is delayed and I miss my connection, I have to pay out the nose (probably) to get on another flight? How does that work?

When I looked at buying a one way ticket, that note disappeared and the prices were (ballpark) half of what the round trip was. So I’m guessing it’s that the two directions aren’t connected rather than the two legs on the way there or back, if that makes sense.

Does anyone know for sure? Is there any other potential issue? I mean, presumably, it just might affect the time of day for my flights as it appears there’s multiple flights at different times.

Question 2: I’m still six months out from these trips, but these prices astound me. Do I buy them now, or will they be cheaper later?

Keep in mind, I’ve flown exactly once since 1998… :p

SALE!

All of the books in the Brides of Belles Montagnes series are on sale for .99!!!! If you’ve been waiting to pick them up, now is a GREAT time!

Hand-Me-Down Princess
Winning the Queen’s Heart
Protecting the Prince (long novella)
Prince from her Past

hmdp-free-series-sale-2

2016, Day 308 or #NaNoWriMo2016, Day 4: Choosing Names

Just a quick note. Hubs had the day off today so we went out to lunch and did a bit of shopping and then did some stuff with the kids then dropped them assorted places, went out for dinner, and birthday shopping, then walked the dogs and went for Andy’s Frozen Custard! Yum!

I also posted a request for names on Facebook. An adorable four-year-old showed up and needed a name. Over 100 of you responded. I’ve chosen a name but a couple of you will win an ecopy once this book releases. Plus I’m making the list in Excel so I can have a WHOLE LONG LIST of names next time I need one ;).

The name I’ve chosen is super special for many reasons. When we get closer to release date, I’m sure it’ll be told. I love the name. I love how the story behind the name relates to the title of the book to come. And so many other things that were already falling into place before this decision was made.

Only God…

But NaNo…

NaNo Yesterday Total Word Count: 3549
NaNo Daily Word Count: 0 (and unlikely to change)
NaNo Total Word Count: 6334/150000
Percent Done: 4.22%
Percent To Go: 95.78%

2016, Day 307 or #NaNoWriMo2016, Day 3: Finding Calendars

nano-2016-blog-covers

I almost went with “Finding Time” but I haven’t found much of that…

Today was a vet appointment for the new dog, plus a return trip when I forgot the paperwork the shelter gave us. And an appointment next week for a heartworm test because the shelter went by the word of the former owners that they’d been giving him medicine. Our vet wants a test to make sure. Plus a trip to the groomer tomorrow (but I won’t stick around for that obviously).

Then I spent quite some time looking for my calendars for Winning the Queen’s Heart and Discovering Home because there’s some overlap. I finally found them.

Kids are in bed. Time to write.

NaNo Yesterday Total Word Count: 2031
NaNo Daily Word Count: 351 (so far)
NaNo Total Word Count: 3136/150000
Percent Done: 2.09%
Percent To Go: 97.91%

2016, Day 306 or #NaNoWriMo2016, Day 2: Life Happens

nano2016-day-2

I’m really afraid that’s going to end up being my motto this month.

Last night, I spent several hours doing insane things (like pushups, crunches, and leg lifts) to keep my mind off Kid #1’s district band tryouts. She did well, but only 4 of 15ish tenor saxophones made it – and she was a freshman competing against much older kids. So not this year :(. They didn’t get home until 1130. Because of that and because she wasn’t feeling great, she slept in this morning then stayed home.

It’s always harder to write when people are home. Plus I took her to get her favorite food (even though we brought it home to eat). Then Kid #2 twisted her ankle during Trick or Treating and needed to go to the sports’ medicine clinic to have it looked at. Slight fracture of the growth plate in her right fibula. Brace and rest for the next couple weeks (and two hours of time today…)

I have a vet appointment for the new dog tomorrow (we had a naming meeting tonight, but The Yorkie Formerly Known As Prince remains TYFKAP for a few more days while we decide for sure – I was on board with Zeus, but I think I’m voting for Chewbacca now).

Time to get some words in before bedtime…

NaNo Daily Word Count: 161 (so far)
NaNo Total Word Count: 916/150000
Percent Done: 0.6%
Percent To Go: 99.4%

2016, Day 305 or #NaNoWriMo2016, Day 1 – Getting Started

Because my goal this month (and every NaNo) is to do a quick blog post every day, I’m doing one super quick before I officially start on NaNo.

nano2016-day-1

I was up until the wee hours last night finishing the Still-Untitled Christmas novella. Then took Kid #1 to school this morning. Went back to bed for a couple hours followed by an eye appointment with a semi-specialist. It’s the same doc kid #3 has spent a year in vision therapy with. Her reading speed and comprehension are Off. The. Charts. compared to last year.

My eye surgeon recommended I go see him because I have a bit of Gaze Nystagmus. This is unrelated to the PRK surgery I had in April, but it is why I’ve had the double vision issues. The inflammation from the surgery absolutely took significantly longer than most to heal, but it is healed. The Gaze Nystagmus means my eyes wobble just a teeny tiny bit. Enough to make everything just a smidge blurry – and help cause headaches.

For reference (kind of anyway), when cops suspect someone of being intoxicated they do the “follow my finger with your eyes only” thing. I would fail that because of this. They look for that telltale wobble.

Mine, however, isn’t the result of alcohol, but most likely because of the medication I take to (wait for it!) prevent headaches :p. Talk about counter productive. I have an appointment with my regular nurse practitioner next week to discuss the possibility of an alternative. If we find one, I’ll go see him a month or so later to follow-up because it’ll take a while to get out of my system.

But now… stats… then I’m headed to write…

NaNo Daily Word Count: 0
NaNo Total Word Count: 0
NaNo Goal Word Count: 150,000 (yes, I’m insane)
Percent Done: 0
Percent To Go: 100

Fall 2016: What I’m Working On Now

what-im-working-on-now-fall-2016

What am I working on now?

Well, the honest truth is not much of anything.

A couple days ago, I posted this post about why I’m taking some time off. Not too long. Just a few weeks, but I need some R&R. Or at least no writing/deadline stress.

I’m also entering my first competition season as a marching band mom. Our next four weekends have competitions anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours from home. Plus three family birthdays and… well, it’s time for a break.

I’m also going to watch a bunch of movies and/or episodes of things like Gilmore Girls. Read a bunch of books for fun. Make my story world bible. Read some craft books to become a better writer.

Things like that. And give my mind a break.

I will finish up the Christmas story in October and get it out when it’s done.

So what will I be writing when I do write?

  1. Christmas story in October
  2. Possibly fun thing just for fun
  3. Christopher Bayfield’s story for NaNoWriMo! (I already have the cover for it! YAY!)

I’m also updating my “What’s In The Works” post to reflect what’s coming next, further into the future. 😀

2016: Day 259 or Taking Some Time Off…Kind Of

taking-time-off

Sometimes real life throws curve balls. As writers, we try to anticipate that SOME curve balls will come our way and get ahead enough that when one comes, we’re all good.

But that doesn’t always happen.

So, life threw a monster curve at me this week (everyone’s fine, just life stuff), and I had to, unfortunately, back out of the Christmas boxed set I was supposed to be in (it’ll be fantastic anyway, and I’ll let you know the deets when I get them).

I’m taking the rest of this month to just recuperate a bit from the stress of travel, conference late nights, multiple deadlines, etc. I’m going to read books for fun (I’m currently reading the first book anyone’s ever asked me to ENDORSE!), read craft books, work on my story world bible, etc. So I’m not taking the time completely OFF – I’m not “staycationing” but not actively writing anything new.

At least the rest of this month.

In October, I’m going to finish the Christmas story and release it. I might write on a super fun thing that’s outside my normal genre (at it’s core? a human romance – but in space/on an alien planet). Then again, I might not. I’ll keep working on craft books and fun books and the story world bible.

And then in November comes National Novel Writing Month. And then I will write Christopher Bayfield’s story. He’s Duke Alexander of Ravenzrio’s twin brother and former teen heartthrob. My goal will be to release it around the first of the year.

This need for a break has been coming for a while. In the last 22 mos, I’ve released 11 novels and 5 novellas. Of those, all 5 novellas have been written from scratch, as were 3 of the novels. Six of the novels were more or less done (the first six), while two others required extensive edits. And even when taking a break unofficially because of schedules, etc., I’d still be pushing myself to get SOMETHING accomplished.

And I need a break. So I’m taking one. Not too long. I still hope to have my next book out by January, but before then…rest and recharge.

If only I actually was on that beach up there ;).

2016: Day 229 or Family Helping Family

If you follow my blog regularly, or just happened to see it on Facebook or wherever, you know I spent the last weekend of July at a family reunion in Louisiana. If you’ve followed the news at all the last few days, you probably know where this is going.

Family Helping Family

All of the biological relatives at the family reunion (though a couple had already left)

Glenda is the lovely lady who hosted our reunion. I think she’s technically my first cousin, once removed – she’s my dad’s first cousin. Their dads were brothers.

She has two adult children, both of whom live with her at the moment. They’re my second cousins.

Her daughter is Mandee. She’s become a dear friend over the years. We don’t talk as much as I’d like, and I’d never met her before that reunion, but nonetheless…

Allen… Well, Allen is a miracle. When he was born, his parents were told he had maybe a week to live.

Allen Mandee Glenda

Mandee, Allen, and Glenda last year (Mandee has blonde hair now ;))

That was somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty years ago.

Allen has spina bifida. He’s paralyzed from the waist down and reliant on his motorized wheelchair and a specially equipped van to get around, and others for pretty much everything he can’t do for himself. He has ongoing health problems because of all of that, but he’s an outgoing, energetic, upbeat person.

They live in the home next door to the church where the reunion (pictured above) was held.

So where am I going with this and what does it have to do with yesterday’s Giving Back post?

Saturday, we all started hearing that the Baton Rouge area was flooding. I saw pictures of the intersection half a mile or less from our hotel. Under water. Everything flooded.

Outside their home

Outside their home

And I heard that Glenda, Mandee, and Allen were unable to get out of their home because it caught them off-guard. They normally bug out early when they suspect something might happen (they’re only a couple hours from the coast after all and hello, hurricanes), but this time, no one was prepared. The water was on their road, and they couldn’t get out, but their house is on a little bit of a hill and had never been close to flooded before.

By Sunday morning, the water was in their house. Communication was spotty at best. They have AT&T and, thanks to the flooding, one of their “switching centers*” was down, and there was no service. Eventually, as the water in the house was at least knee high, a member of the “Cajun Navy” (here is another story about the Cajun Navy) showed up and were able to get them to another home much further above water, and miraculously still had power. One person had a Verizon phone with a bit of power, and they were able to make a quick call.

Allen in the boat - you can see his usual wheelchair in the water next to it

Allen in the boat – you can see his usual wheelchair in the water next to it

They were there for a period of time, along with a number of others. The Army came along in a truck and promised to be back after picking up a few others further down the road. They did, but were unable to get Allen (now long sans his usual wheelchair and in a regular one) into the truck. They would send a helicopter that would hopefully be able to get them out. (Another quick call on that Verizon phone before everyone else left.)

I still don’t have the details of how it all went down (and I admit I could be wrong/have misunderstood some of the details I just shared), but by the time I went to bed Sunday night, they’d been taken to a shelter in a nearby town.

Monday, word came the house was under water up to the eaves. They moved several times in an effort to get them to a location where Allen’s needs could be taken care of more easily. From what I’ve gathered, the “medical shelter” still leaves a lot to be desired. As I’m sure you can imagine, the number of people needing medical assistance after being in that water… Even minor cuts can become major issues in situations like this, and no one is immune.

But Allen’s blood work came back showing his kidneys are functioning normally. PRAISE GOD! I’m sure there’s still on-going concerns, and I know they would appreciate your prayers. Glenda and Allen are with her brother and sister-in-law in Texas now, while Mandee stays closer to home and starts to see what needs doing to rebuild.

I’ve seen estimates that 75% of the homes in their parish (aka: county) are a total loss, including up to 90% in their town of Denham Springs.

The Cajun Navy

The Cajun Navy

So again, what does this have to do with yesterday’s post?

They’ve lost EVERYTHING. From Allen’s wheelchair and the van to get them around to Mandee’s truck to clothes, furniture, electronics, you name it.

Another cousin, Donna (Glenda’s sister), runs a charity and has set up a way for people to give funds as they are able to. If you feel so led, here’s the direct link. You can also mail directly to the address at the bottom and note what the donation is for. All donations are tax deductible. If you’ve followed my blog (or Facebook page) long enough, or around Christmas, you’ve likely seen me share a toy story her husband, Randy, tells every year.

For August (yes, even though it’s already half over, all of August) and September (and maybe October), my “cause of the month” is my family. 12% of my US ebook sales (which is the VAST VAST majority of my sales) will go to Glenda, Mandee, and Allen to help them rebuild their lives.

In addition, if you give a minimum of $25 to this particular cause, I will gift you a Kindle copy of Discovering Home when it releases next month. Just shoot me an email at donations at candidpublications dot com (they MUST go to this address, set up solely for this purpose) – include your name, the email address you’d like Amazon to deliver the book to, whether it was online or mailed directly to Spirit and Truth Ministries, and the date of the donation. I’m not going to ask for a copy of the receipt, so this is an honor system, but I trust y’all won’t take advantage.

If you’ve also been displaced, I hope you understand why I’m helping my family specifically through this. However, if you have been and would like a bit of reading material to help pass the time and hopefully take your mind off things for even a little while, send me an email at the same address and I will gladly send e-copies of any one series already published to you (these will be done a bit differently than above). You are all in my heart and in my prayers continually.

 

Spirit and Truth Ministries
Randy and Donna Denton
PO Box 2635
Mission, TX 78573-0044

*Kudos to Verizon for stepping up where they could help

2016: Day 228 or Giving Back

Giving Back

Something I’ve been thinking about for a while is how to tithe on my company’s income. My husband and I tithe on our personal income, but what about my company?

For those who don’t quite understand, about two years ago, I started my own publishing company. That’s who officially publishes all of my books.

So what will it entail?

Basically, about 11-12% of my US income will got to a charity each month. Why not 10%? Because most of my income comes from the US but not QUITE all of it. I need to look at the data a bit more closely, but by adding a couple percent to the total US earnings will “make up” for not including the non-US income. Part of it is for ease of accounting, because the rest of it comes in in dribbles and drabs over a period of time and there’s no easy way to know ahead of time how much it’ll be because of fluctuations in currency exchange rates.

How will it work?

In August, I’ll sell books and have pages read through Kindle Unlimited. Around the 15th of September, I’ll find out the exact total of income. The payment will come through at the very end of October. Shortly thereafter, I’ll write a check or make an online payment for the appropriate amount of money.

What charities will I choose?

Well, it depends and will vary from month to month. The August and September (and maybe October) will be a cause very near to my heart. I’ll share about it tomorrow. If you’ve been following my Facebook profile, you can probably guess what it’ll have to do with.

Each month I’ll post on the front page (and possibly a blog post) what the charity/cause of the month is and why. They may seem odd sometimes – because the payments won’t be made for 60 days, and I want to coincide with when the money is most needed (so a Christmas charity will likely be an August.or September cause because of when the money comes in).

So while I hope you enjoy the books you buy, I hope you also know you’re supporting a good cause at the same time.

Watch this space for more details on what’s up this month and next!!

2016: Day 219 or Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Changes 2

SO MUCH going on around here these days…If you “follow” my Facebook profile, you’ve seen at least some of this – but the biggest thing is NEWS! 😉

  • Top: my family with Aunt Dot Bottom: Four generations - Aunt Dot, her two daughters, me, my children

    Top: Four generations – Aunt Dot, her two daughters, me, my children
    Bottom: my family with Aunt Dot

    Jonathan’s story – Discovering Home – FINALLY releases September 15! It’s available for the preorder price of 2.99!

  • We went to Louisiana for a semi-impromptu family reunion (thrown together in less than a month). About 50 people showed up, including several of my cousins who are avid fans – which is SO COOL!
  • One cousin brought a family Bible (sadly, not OUR family) from the mid-1700s. Printed in England. BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. It was INCREDIBLE!
  • I got to spend about 2 hours with my great-aunt. Dot is 90, but we were able to have her identify a few older pictures – including one of her mother that looks JUST LIKE my oldest daughter.
  • One of my cousins was talking books with the receptionist and she said she’d read my books! HOW COOL IS THAT?! The ONE DAY she didn’t have her Kindle with her! But she made me sign a notebook instead ;).

But the biggest news…

I quit my job.

Me with the lovely Annette - receptionist where Aunt Dot is staying

Me with the lovely Annette – receptionist where Aunt Dot is staying

Well, kind of. Officially, I’m taking the fall off and letting my boss know if/when I want to teach again, but the reality is, once you give up a class, it’s hard to get it back because they have lots of people willing to teach them.

Why?

To write full time.

There’s more to it than that, but that’s a HUGE part of it. And the reason why I can consider it at all is that my books are bringing in enough income that I CAN take the fall off.

So yeah. That’s HUGE.

My great-grandmother

My great-grandmother

And I reworked my production schedule for the next six months. If I can stick to it, I’ll have the second two books in the Serenity Landing Second Chances series out by early January and have some novellas coming for you too – Christmas, plus some secret fun ones :D. If I can get into the groove, I hope to be able to release a book every 2.5-3 mos tops. Or four months with a novella in between. Or maybe even more often than that ;).

So those are the changes coming around here. It’ll be two weeks (at least) before it really sets in. My kids go back next Thursday, but the college doesn’t start for another week and a half. Hubs will still be teaching a couple of classes, but I won’t be. And that’ll be odd. I’m going to have to figure out how to find a schedule that works for me. I tend to write best late at night and into the wee hours of the next morning, but that doesn’t work when you have to be up by 630 or even 730 or 8 to get kids to school or assorted other things.

And there we go. The news around here. What’s going on in your life?

1 3 4 5 6 7 54