Month: January 2023

I’m Already Off Schedule

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I’m already off schedule. (Go figure)

Am I surprised? Nah. I think the word is expected. I should’ve expected to get bumped off my own schedule. It was only a matter of time. So what happened? Well, the goal is to have the ARC of A Royal Pairing in Perish done in time for its February 17th date. Of course, that date is arbitrary (no one is banging down my door asking for it) so I can push it back if need be. But stiiillllllll. I wanted to keep to my schedule. And no, it’s not Yellowstone this time. It’s the actual writing.

I’d just finished going through In The Moment During, and can’t decide if I’m missing the last chapter/a bonus chapter/something. So, I started writing it…which led to outlining In The Moment After which NEEDS TO HAPPEN, but I’d designated this time (officially the start of this week) to focusing on A Royal Pairing in Perish since it’s releasing right around the corner. I still need to:

  • Implement final edits
  • Work on backmatter (info at the end of book)
  • Finish up my Reader Magnet (part of backmatter)
  • Set up pre-order for In The Moment During (part of back matter)

Things. There are so many things to be done. And this is just the writing part. Not to mention any kind of advertising for any of the series/learning to do Facebook ads which I’M STILL GOING TO LEARN.

All I need is more time. Anywhere we can buy that? (Please let me know if you know).

…Maybe I will push the ARC date back to 2.24. That would be a solid month prior to the book’s actual release, and again, no one is holding me to it. I’m holding myself to these deadlines, but I also don’t want to rush and provide a subpar product. That simply won’t do either.

There. I feel better having talked it out. Thank you guys – you’re the best! 😊

Other than writing-stuff, life is good. Appa is still acting weird. He’s had a few accidents in the house, and is now starting to shake like he’s got Parkinson’s. I have no idea what’s going on with him, but hopefully it corrects itself. Or the drugs we’re buying him corrects it. Something has to give.

Batman is doing well. He’s working on his own stuff and it seems to be making him happy. Which makes me happy.

Alright…seems to be everything I’ve got. Recap: I’m:

  • Already behind schedule
  • Will update schedule
  • Still going to crush this year

At the end of the day, I’m still going to write you stories. Top priority. Feel safe and loved knowing that.

Second newsletter goes out on Monday (still need to write that…) and then I’m back here next Wednesday. Have a lovely, lovely day, guys.

Make that week.

Actually, make it month.

Ah, screw it. Life.

Have a lovely, lovely life, guys.

😊

~LC

It’s All Perspective, Right?

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Here we are, half way through the first month of the year. Ready for Christmas yet?

I’m kidding and not kidding because it’ll be here tomorrow and I like planning for things in advance. I kind of have to with what I’ve got going this year.

I have my four books I’ll be releasing—one in March, June, September, and December. I have these release dates memorized (if you receive my newsletter, you probably do too. If not, there’s a handy link on the website, so check out that bad-boy.) This entire time I was operating on the March/June/September/December timeframe even though I planned on providing ARCS for each.

ARCs! Advanced Reader Copies! That’s right!! That means March/June/September/December just became February/May/September/November. The kicker? I haven’t even written the one for November, which I plan to make available for Beta in August. We’re half way through January and I don’t even have a panster outline for this one. Thank God it’s the last novella so it shouldn’t take me too long. Let’s not even get started on the final TCATC book due in March 2024 which I still haven’t written.

Still. Haven’t. Written.

At all. Any of it. Not outline. NOTHING.

Yes, a huge part of me is internally freaking out (and always will) but I’ve listened to that part for too long. Not no more. I’m just going to turn up my Bob Marley and focus on what needs to get done instead of worrying about it. It’s all perspective, right?

 But enough about writing.

YELLOWSTONE.

Batman and I have been binging it for—*thinks to myself*—two weeks now? We just finished season four, and before we get into the fifth season, we’re tackling 1883 and then 1923. Because clearly, we think we don’t have day jobs, doggies to love, or side hustles to be hustled. All that exists is binging Yellowstone and its spinoffs, which I’m fine with. It’s very refreshing to escape my own reality (and the ones I come up with) to go into someone else’s.

And yes, Rip is hot in a way. I guess. Still not *quite* my type, but I see what you guys see. And I definitely see what my mom saw years ago in Kevin Costner.

That’s all for today. I’m either off:

  1. Doing something writing-related.
  2. Watching 1883
  3. Playing with Appa and/or Regis
  4. Possibly all four because I’m a multitasking motherfucker

I could also use a nap at some point. Maybe one day.

Until next week 😊

~LC

Check Those Details

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Last week was…interesting.

Mostly due to the exorbitant amounts of slobber, and the unintentional slip-n-slide we had going in the kitchen. But I like to think that kept us on our toes. And maybe…in some weird way…mopping the tile floor as well? No? Guess I still have to do that, then.

Appa went to the neurologist on Wednesday. According to the doctor, he didn’t see signs that pointed to anything “nefarious” (actually used the word nefarious) so I’m taking that as a win. He’s still having trouble closing his mouth, but we’re giving him anti-inflammatory medicine to combat that, so he doesn’t continue through life as a slack-jaw motherfuker. It seems to be getting a little better, but he’s still follows me around like a canine Darth Vadar, reminding me of his medical issues. At least he’s not one with the dark-side, unless you count his flatulence, which kills us all daily.

Our washing machine is still broken. The attendant came out—tried to schedule the legit same time as Appa’s appointment, so that was fun—and when he finally did arrive, he wasn’t able to fix it. He was missing a part and it would have to be this week. So…we still have giant piles of absolutely everything needing to be cleaned since, again, I made the intelligent, executive decision to put it all off until the last moment last weekend. This is the kind of CEO brain working behind writing and selling books, guys. MUAHAHA. Welcome to the funny farm, bitches.

That brings us to the writing updates—and the mistake I made because I didn’t check the details. (Guys—check the details. Just do it. It may take only a moment but it’s worth it. Trust me.) So, what didn’t I check the details on and basically, created a huge clusterfuck for myself? It was my last scheduled advertising for In The Moment Before—a paid, promotional newsletter that went out on Sunday. How did I screw it up? Well…without getting too into it, there are two basic ways to sell books:

  1. Through Amazon ONLY. You enroll in KU (Kindle Unlimited) which is a program that readers pay to be a part of, and they get every book in the program. Kind of like signing up for a streaming service.
  2. Through Amazon AND OTHER RETAILERS. This is called going “wide.” Readers are able to buy through Amazon (but must pay) and they can also buy through other retailers as well like Barnes & Noble, Apple, Google Play, ect.

Because I want absolutely anyone able to read my stuff (and I don’t believe in putting all my eggs in one basket) I’m a WIDE author. However, someone forgot to check her details and the promo listed In The Moment Before available as being in KU (it’s not.) Why is this such a big deal/goof up:

  1. I paid $115. You have to spend money to make money, right? (If you find a way around this, please tell me)
  2. All readers in KU who went looking for ITMB probably got pissed that it’s actually 2.99
  3. All WIDE readers saw it was in KU and probably didn’t think about it again.

This is what we call an *epic fail*. But we also call it—and repeat after me—a learning experience. Check those details. They could be really frigging important.

I also discovered that my scheduled blog posts aren’t posting as should be (hence the last two weeks they’ve gone up in the afternoon when I discovered they never posted in the morning). I contacted their help service who advised my website theme/appearance has been retired. Of course it has. Now that I’m working on my website and got it to the way I like. Of course.

All I can say is I’m tired, but at least these are champagne problems. Everyone is still here, healthy, and happy. That’s literally the only thing that matters.

I have another promotion running this Friday (the 13th – MUAHAHAHA!) for Escape from Harrizel, and you best believe me I’m checking the details. Last month I featured my BTT series and put it on sale. This month I’m focusing on promoting Arizal Wars, so…let’s see how this goes.

One last thing…it dawned on me that this is my tenth year of publishing. Yeah. I officially published Escape from Harrizel in 2013…a whole decade ago. Clearly, I’ve barely made any progress, but I wouldn’t change a thing. This is my journey, and I may be taking the real business steps a decade later, but I’m doing it. And I’m proud of myself for not quitting. And I’m proud of you too.

Okay, that’s all I got. I hope you have a fabulous week and weekend. First official 2023 Newsletter is going out on Sunday to the VIPers 😊

~ LC

Only Mildly Panicking

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We started off the New Year with Appa acting weird. He’s fine…except he can’t fully shut his mouth, which makes it harder for him to eat and drink, which makes for many, many puddles of drool throughout the house. Now, he is my son, and I will do whatever I need to, to take care of him, but I was not expecting my Direwolf to transform into a big, slobbering foamy factory overnight.

*shudders*

We have an appointment with the neurologist tomorrow, so hopefully, we should know more. Our main vet was confused by his test results, and other than advising he was suffering from Slack Jaw, she wasn’t sure. Hence, the visit with the neurologist tomorrow. I’m a little more concerned because Appa already suffers from seizures. So, something funky and messed up is going on inside his brain. Figures. He is part of this family.

Also—our washing machine stopped working. Yeah! We waited until the last day of our three-day weekend to start on the laundry, so almost as inconvenient as when it stopped working when we had Covid (and thought we were cleaning our gross clothes…). Batman is outside tinkering with things and twisting knobs, so I really have no idea how this is going to go. And most of my clothes are in the heaping piles on our bedroom, so this week will be interesting.

Writing-wise, I’m only mildly panicking. I’m still writing the Reader Magnet for A Royal Pairing in Perish, and I need to have it to the editor by January 13th in time for her to do her thing, get it back to me, and allow me to implement the changes, all before it goes live on February 17th, which is when the ARC of ARPIP releases. So, yeah. Still writing it, but hopefully I’ll finish it in time by next Friday.

*panicked breathing*

I also need to implement the final edits for A Royal Pairing in Perish IN ADDITION TO finishing up the latest draft of In The Moment During, so I can get that to Beta Readers by February also. Seriously, can I stretch the month of January please? THERE’S NOT ENOUGH TIME.

Or maybe I haven’t discovered that I’m a magical time Lorddess and can control this?

*thinks*

Hmm.

Also! Executive decision made: whilst updating my website to be more user-friendly, I thought about when I’d be revealing the names of future books. I kind of held out on revealing that info for…I don’t know why. Stupid, nonsensical reasons, I suppose. Does it really matter when? Do you care? Maybe if there’s some reason for the build-up, it’d make sense, right? Yeah, I thought so too. Which is why you’re getting the name for the remaining series. Call it a happy 2023 gift?

The Coyote And The Claw

A Royal Pairing in Perish – Book 1

A Return of Ghosts – Book 2

A Battle of Champions – Book 3

The Coyote And The Claw Companion Series

In The Moment Before – Novella 1

In The Moment During – Novella 2

In The Moment After – Novella 3

See? I feel better already. Know you all know and I don’t have to feel pressured with some kind of big reveal. It’s exciting—sure—but so is this post. And again, now you all know. You’re welcome 😊

Alright, that’s all I’ve got for you this week (and it’s enough) but I hope to dazzle you next week some more. Please cross your fingers for me and Batman in our upcoming battles.

We need it.

~ LC