Wow. I went over this post in my head for a while and now I’m coming up blank because of everything going on. One thing I’ve realized is that this driving my wife to and from work has really taken a toll on me. This is the last week I’m doing it, but I’m plain exhausted now. I can’t ease into my day by seeing everyone off, checking email, getting on the bike, and having myself ready by 10 AM. Now, it’s getting myself ready while wrangling everyone else, facing traffic, running errands, buy breakfast if I didn’t get to eat at home, and get back into the house AT 10 AM to finally get a shower. No wonder I’ve been moving slow. Part of me isn’t surprised though since there’s a pattern of bad stuff happening around me when I’m about to release a book or just released one. At least this is the worst of it . . . or so I thought.
Working off the plan that Legends of Windemere: Warlord of the Forgotten Age will be released next Saturday, I will have no time to enjoy the sensation of finishing such a long series. The following Monday is when I go in for a certain procedure that requires I be put under. Next Sunday will be spent preparing myself with various medications and a specific diet. I’ll get to enjoy things on that Tuesday, but it feels like it’ll be too late to get the full effect of publishing the book and getting all the promos out. Saturday is going to be really busy with me at my laptop and trying to keep everything else under control since my wife still won’t be driving very well.
I’d be lying if I said I was scared about this because I’ve never been put under for anything. My imagination is running wild since this is right on the heels of the last book of my series going live. Almost like the universe is planning something really mean. Fine, I’ll say it. Part of me wonders if this will result in me dying right after the last book is out because of some freak accident. Is it logical? No, but I’m not really thinking clearly on this thing. After feeling like I’ve been in a physical and mental grinder all year, this comes off as a nasty culmination.
This week saw only a little progress on other fronts. I managed to do a synopsis and a few casts for the next Ichabod Brooks collection. It’s gone up to 13 stories because a new one popped into my head. This will be a 2019 release because I need next year to focus on War of Nytefall, which my wife finally read and gave me edits for. A lot of sloppiness with spelling and grammar, but I hadn’t looked over it myself. She says the story and characters work while I’m still fighting doubt. I poured over the notes and characters first and added/deleted stuff as I went along. Yet, I can’t shake the feeling that I messed up somewhere. Maybe it’s been so long since I started a new ‘core’ series for Windemere that I’m confused. Bedlam and Ichabod aren’t at this scale in terms of multi-series world-building. This establishes the Dawn Fangs and reveals more about the Great Cataclysm, especially the aftermath. For example, Gaia will appear at times, but it isn’t as large as what people saw in Legends of Windemere.
Another option is that I’ve been fighting so many battles with no end in sight that I can’t muster enough confidence to be sure of myself. Even the idea of handing it off to beta readers fills me with dread because I keep seeing how vampires cause massive fights. It seems everyone has an idea of what they should and should not do, so all versions of the mythos gets torn apart. Not to mention these characters are darker and closer to anti-heroes than the champions, so I fear that people won’t be happy with me going in this direction. My wife seemed to have a problem with how Clyde and Mab would viciously argue and fight. They have no problem coming to blows since they are able to heal quickly, so there’s more brutality in their relationship. Then again, Mab is one of her old RPG characters, so it might be similar to how I’m still in trouble for cutting Nyx’s hair.
The immediate future sees me working more on Ichabod Brooks than touching anything else. I don’t want to try editing the new book until I get Warlord of the Forgotten Age out and get through that procedure. That will only give me a week before my son has his Holiday Break too, so maybe I shouldn’t try anything until January. Haven’t had any luck finding a new cover artist who would be willing to work on a series too. I’ve noticed that a series requires more original work than clipart/photoshop/whatever pictures. You need uniform in the covers, so taking a pre-existing picture can be a problem if there isn’t more of them. At least from what I can tell because I haven’t heard back from any of the artists I sent emails too. I won’t put this one out until March/April, which means I have time to gather my resources though.
Before I get to my goals, here is a big reminder:
Ask Me Anything Starts Tomorrow!
Now, you can post a question now and the whole thing will last a week. There are also sharing tabs for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, so I’d greatly appreciate any helping in spreading the word. I’ve already got 12 questions, but I’m hoping to get a lot more. Thanks for any help you can give on this. If it works out then it’ll be a fun thing to do as a hype builder in the future.
Goals of the week:
- Plan more of ‘The Longbow of Ichabod Brooks’.
- Try to get at least 2 days of biking.
- Bring wife to get cast off and try not to tease her too much about the smell.
- Pray that I don’t have to handle another violent tantrum.
- Hopefully release the long-awaited finale.
- Celebrate Hanukkah.
- Watch more Fairy Tail. Move on to Fullmetal Alchemist since I only have up to episode 72 of Fairy Tail and the upstairs TV lacks Internet access.
- Keep an eye out for a War of Nytefall cover artist.
Legends of Windemere 
Here is a hopping that your procedure goes well. I’m sure your doctor knows what they are doing, unless you found them on Craig’s list. Best wishes and a Christian prayer to you.
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The doctor is really good and explained everything perfectly. Honestly, it’s my own body and luck that I don’t trust. Still have a week before it happens, so I hope to get over the fear by then.
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Could apply the universal fear remover, VODKA
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Not allowed to eat or drink anything on the day of the procedure.
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I’m talking for the next week.
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Got it.
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Ha ha ha.
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Best of luck with everything, and may the procedure not to too horribly.
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Thanks. I’m told by everyone that this common thing is fine, but I’m just a paranoid person at times.
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Yeah, I know how that can be. I tend to be a bit on the paranoid side, as well.
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Especially with medical stuff. Feels like there’s always a level of unknown.
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You’ll be fine, Charles – I’ve been under full anaesthetic several times during my years, and I’m still here to pester everyone 😃
Why not postpone the new release and take the pressure off a bit?
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Good to hear. Hope I don’t snore at full volume. I really can’t postpone the release too. I’ve promised guest posts to some people for exact dates and the following weekend will be Christmas chaos.
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You go too deep to snore, Charles 💤💤💤
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That’s a thing? Even with sleep apnea? Damn. Love that for home.
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You’d need to have a live-in team of nurses and an anaesthetist – they’d all eat lots between your sleeps 😄
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Hmmmm. What about hitting myself in the head with a really large mallet?
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Recovery time would be extensive 😱
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I’ll save it to get out of jury duty then.
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😄😄😄
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Hang in there,Charles. The procedure will go well and you’ll wake up your old self! Worry not! Happy Weekend! Christine
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Enjoy your weekend too. Can I wake up a new self? Maybe more hair and less stress?
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Of course. Think really hard about that though! More hair cuts, more hair products, more “does it look good this way or that way” mirror time! Less stress is coming soon! You know! Christine
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That sounds like more money that I don’t have. 😭
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Wow, you have so much going on Charles. Your procedure is weighing on you, and I hope that goes well. Best wishes to you!
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Thanks. Hope the week helps me relax enough to take the event with more calm.
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Breathing really works. For those who know about mindfulness but don’t do it, just do a few breaths. I do this at school with children, and it calms them. Slow, deep breath in, then blow out like you’re blowing through a straw. Three of those and you’ll feel better. Best to you, Charles.
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I’ll give it a try.
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👍
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Happy Hanukkah, and good luck with both the book release and the surgery.
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Thanks.
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Keep chiping away at it. It all seems to get done eventually. I have medical stuff weighing on my mind too.
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I’m just hoping this is the last week of it going so slow. Then again, I’d only have one week of my old schedule before Holiday Break. I should just resign myself to limping along until January.
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Honestly, maybe you should. I’ve had a week of relative quiet and accomplished nothing. The medicine just makes me want to sleep. I regret the lost time, but maybe my body is trying to tell me something.
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It might just come to that. One week of nothing before the end of year storm. At most, I can do a little cover artist searching.
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That’s still productive.
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Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, right?
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I’m going to try.
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