First, I made a post on Thursday with a volunteer thing and a poll.  Feel free to go HERE and submit and vote.  I will mention that this is for 2 different October posts: The Friday Monster Maker and the Monday Windemere Monster Profile.  Still no idea what to do with Wednesdays there.  Now, let’s compartmentalize since nobody has complained yet.  Seriously, if you prefer these posts with just paragraphs and no divisions then let me know.

The Laptop

ROUND FREAKING 3!  Yes, my laptop is having trouble with the sound again.  This is after two speaker replacements and a total reinstall of Windows 10.  I’m refusing to send it in for repairs because this is ridiculous.  They’re calling later today to see what’s going on since the problem keeps disappearing.  Also, I found that if I press around the left hand side over the speaker, the issue goes away.  Honestly, I spent 3 years with a laptop that would randomly spit out its hard drive because of a stripped screw hole.  Guessing this kind of issue can be survived and handled.  Just so tired since this mess has cost me so much time over the summer.

Legends of Windemere: Path of the Traitors

I’ve gotten nearly everything set up and raring to go.  Just need a final piece and then I’ll publish and promote.  Kind of kicking myself lately because I’ve directed more attention to the December finale than Book 14.  Trying to remedy that with making September about Path of the Traitors.  Let’s be honest here.  I’ve routinely had issues with my release dates with this series.  Things break, files disappear at the final hour, life gets in the way, and all manner of disasters.  My personal favorite is still a tooth shattering an hour after I hit publish.  Actually, the whole mess with Life & Times of Ichabod Brooks and the first laptop collapse might need to take the top spot.  Just please know that I’m working as fast and hard as I can.

War of Nytefall: Loyalty

This was the big project that I was going to work on since I had the house to myself.  I was going to start it Wednesday with gusto.  Then life happened and I didn’t get to touch it until Friday for a bit.  I realized that to start a new project, I needed to be in the right mood to make sure I get it right.  Might post the first, unedited scene tomorrow afternoon if people are curious.  Clyde came out with a lot more confidence and calm than expected and a young Mab was a bit more caring.  Still deciding on if I want the Prologue to happen 50, 100, or 500 years before Chapter 1 when Clyde is freed from his prison.  Being vampires, all can work.  Leaning toward 50 to avoid it going for too long.  Don’t want Windemere to change a lot since he got buried.  Hoping to get more done this week if things go smoother.

The Son

Third grade started this week and with it came morning tension.  He wasn’t able to keep his food down, which caused a lot of messes.  School was fine and he seemed to relax as soon as he got on the bus, but home was left . . . icky.  This is a big reason I didn’t get into writing because I lost my mojo after cleaning everything, running errands, and trying to figure out a way to stop this.  Hopefully next week is easier now that it seems he can make it to lunch without getting hungry.  Once he wants to eat breakfast, he’ll get it.  For now, I’m not going to push.

It was also a busy martial arts week.  Early today, he got his first yellow stripe, which he has been excited about all week.  Took a while to make him understand that it was a stripe and not the belt.  He’s doing really good too considering he’s new and has a lot of trouble focusing at times.  By the way, asking him to demonstrate a take down is not a bright move when you’re on a wooden floor.  Celebrating the stripe with lunch at Sonic and then I have to be home for the computer call.

Next week, might be better here, but it will depend on homework too.  It seems it won’t be as bad as I heard since he’s special education.  My biggest worry is that homework and martial arts might conflict.  A lot will depend on when he comes home, I guess.

Life

Other things happened that required more attention than my writing.  I can’t go into them because they’re fairly private.  So, it’s hard to tell what’s going to happen in terms of my publishing and writing schedule.  Friends and family come first here, especially when the situation is rough.

Maybe I’ll just take things day by day in terms of everything.  I’ve been stressed for too long and it feels like I can only control so much.  My body is still trying to get used to the sleep apnea device, which makes it that I’m getting more oxygen as I sleep.  Better quality, but I’m still used to 4-5 hours, so I’m groggy at random intervals.  It’s slowly getting better though.  Even got a 7 hour night earlier in the week, which felt strange.  Not really sure how it’s helping with the stress because it still feels like I’m getting hit from all sides and every step is a mistake.

I need to get better at streamlining my mornings too.  Too much on the computer and then biking, which means I don’t get to writing until around 10:30-11.  This doesn’t really work out well when I’m trying to write 2 sections before the kid comes home at 3:30ish.  There’s a lunch break in there too.  War of Nytefall takes a little longer to get going than Legends of Windemere since it’s new and I’m feeling out the characters.  This might be the last project of 2017 to make sure it comes out right.  Still trying to figure out what to do about cover art for it too.  Funds are getting terrifyingly low since sales are still at bad summer levels.  I’ve heard from a lot of authors that things just aren’t moving, so I’m getting worried about the future again.  Been doing weekly job hunts online to see if anything is out there that could work, but not having much luck.  Nearly everything I find seems like it would only pay for gas, food, and after-school stuff for the kid to do homework at until one of us can get him.

New Fan Art from Kayla Matt: Legends of Windemere 1-10 Cast

Goals

1. Write more War of Nytefall: Loyalty
2. Help kid with homework
3. Bring car for oil change
4. Figure out how to streamline morning stuff
5. Work on October posts for Monster Maker and Windemere Monsters
6. Read more manga when no time for anything else
7. Ignore computer issues because I give up