Category: The Blog

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Beating the Dog Days of Summer

If you go back over the years and look at my history, I never tend to do well over the summer.  The kids are up late, which means I can’t concentrate at night.  We’re up later, because the kids are up later, so I can’t get up early.  If I can’t get up early, I obviously can’t do Dark & Early writing!  So when do I write?  Lunch?  Not with my project load at the Evil Day Job right now.  (Twice in the past three days of work I’ve forgotten to even EAT lunch, let alone take time to write.)

So I have to get a plan of action done NOW.  Some kind of strategy to help me get my projects done instead of waiting (praying) for September.

The first thing I did today was print out June, July, and Aug calendars.  I penciled in all the projects I need to work on.  My releases and planned promo.  I organized my idea file (and yes, I got a new idea germinating.  Sigh.)  I prepared my wishlist of projects too — things I’d really like to work on but haven’t committed anywhere or to anyone yet.  All the various lists are recorded instead of cluttering up my head and distracting me.

I also joined a book club discussing 100 Days of Weight Loss to keep my diet progressing.  35.8 pounds lost since Jan and I don’t want to lose momentum!

I also committed to walking 12 miles in June.  Not a lot by any means, but I figured a challenge would help me get active again.  I seem to do EITHER eating or exercising…I can’t do both at the same time.

Let me rephrase that using Day 1 of the 100 day challenge.  In the past, I used to be unable to exercise and diet at the same time consistently, but today, I’m going to find a way to do both.  I’ve been dieting consistently since January, so I just need to set a small exercise goal that I know I can achieve.  Done!

My number one priority in June will be to finish the first draft of The Bloodgate Warrior.  Then I have two proposals I want to finish plotting, including synopses, and then choose one to begin drafting.  I’ll also have Vicki revisions this month (details will be announced as soon as I have dets in hand).  I’m preparing promo plans for Golden this August, including some FANTASTIC artwork that Soleil is creating.  I can’t wait to share it with you!

So, I’ll continue to eat right.  I’ll begin a modest exercise program.  And probably the most important thing, I need to get enough sleep so I can get up as many times D&E as possible.  (I totally overslept today and wasted a pot of coffee.)  I have to be in bed by 10 pm each night, if not earlier.  Sigh.  That’ll be the toughest thing on my list!

Do you lose momentum in the summer, and if so, how do you plan to combat it?

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Good Riddance to May

Not only did I turn another year older, but my sister’s town was devastated by a tornado and my laptop was busted.  Plus I’ve had a major project in progress at the Evil Day Job, which was running late, stressing me out.  My husband is unemployed for the second time this year, and the kids got out of school.

SHOOT ME NOW.

MayNoWriMo is a bust.

Yet, there’s several rays of sunshine in this May of gloom.  I finally finished the pyramid sacrifice scene in The Bloodgate Warrior!  It only too me all stinking month to finish the scene…Sigh.  However, it’s a killer scene, one I’m very pleased to finish.  Now I have the big showdown ahead.  I plan to continue getting up D&E as much as possible, because with summer activities driving me nuts, I won’t have time at night to write.

I also finished a major component of the EDJ project today.  Woot!  Still have a lot to do, but the part that was like an albatross around my neck is finally DONE.  I collapsed in a huge heap Friday after working late, spent the weekend like a slug watching movies and cross-stitching, and finished up the last of my tasks today as I promised.  Whew.

 

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Mythos, Joplin Update

I noticed quite a few hits to my blog from people looking to see if Mythos survived the tornado.  Damon, superstar waiter at Mythos (ask for him, he’s great), says on Facebook that the restaurant is fine.  South of Mythos…not so good.  George (the owner) was inside Wal-Mart when the storm hit, but he’s okay, just banged up a bit.

I’ve heard from Molly tonight — they’re all buckled down and braced for another round of weather.  Please pray that Joplin is spared any further damaging weather!

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Joplin Tornado

I’ve talked about my Beloved Sister too many times to count here.   Molly lives in the Joplin, MO, area which was devastated by a massive EF4 tornado last night, but she’s fine.  Everyone I personally know in Joplin — including George, the owner of Mythos (which I’ve also raved about several times!), and our favorite waiter, Damon — are also okay.  I don’t know about their homes but we’ve connected with them on Facebook.

We didn’t even know about the storm until my Dad called and said Joplin had been hit, but he’d already talked to Molly and she was okay.  He warned us to get home as quickly as possible because the storm was headed right for us.  We hit Walgreens quickly and before we could get home, the tornado sirens started.

If I’d known at the time how bad Joplin had been hit, I might have been even more worried.  The kids and dogs hung out in the basement while we tracked the storm on the news.  I saw the storm passing a good ten miles south of us, so I wasn’t too worried.

Then the pictures from Joplin started coming in….

Sobs.  It’s so hard to realize that we were just there Saturday.  We drove down Rangeline Road and passed that Wal-Mart that is now just a pile of rubble.  As far as I know, Mythos is still there, but the other side of Rangeline is a tangled mass of trashed cars and destroyed buildings.  Rangeline, a major commercial road, is completely impassible.

I’m just so thankful that everyone we know and love are safe, but it’s going to take a long, long time for the area to recover.  Molly’s office building is completely gone.  The major hospital in Joplin, evacuated.  The high school, gone.  Over 2000 buildings damaged or completely destroyed.  If you’d like to help, this local website has details.

Please keep Joplin in your thoughts and prayers!

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Slacker

Sorry for my blog silence this month.  I just haven’t had much mojo, in blogging or in writing.  I’m still trudging along in The Bloodgate Warrior, specifically, the pyramid sacrifice scene.  Sex scenes can be really sloooow going, so I’m trying to be patient with a couple hundred words a day.  The backup laptop can’t handle more than one thing open at a time — just not enough RAM.  At least I can’t play any games to distract me!

I’m expecting the repair on my main laptop to run about $250.  I hope to get it next week, but it might run into the first week of June.  I’m trying to be patient.

We had a tagging party for all the Carina Press releases.  We all went out to Amazon and “liked” and “tagged” as many releases as possible.  It was fun, and a great chance to see all the gorgeous covers.  Anybody want to do this for some other publisher?  If you’re a writer and have a book out, remind me in comments and we can exchange “tags!”

I’m turning another year older this weekend (assuming the rapture doesn’t happen!!) so what would you like to have me do on the blog to celebrate?  A free book?  A sneak peek of something?  If you have a burning secret desire for something, let me know.  We’re planning another trip to Mythos — the monsters’ present to me — and I’ve asked for pens, paper, notebooks, and books.  My very favorite things!  Point me to the stationary or office supplies aisle and I’m one happy camper!

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The Backup Laptop Saga

After spending the entire weekend cleaning, defragging, scanning, etc. I finally have my original writing laptop up and running.

Seriously, what a headache.  I’ve had constant Norton virus protection on this device, but it still managed to pick up a trojan somewhere between the kids hitting Webkinz and Disney.  I knew something bad was going on as soon as I took it back from the monsters.  It was just too slow.  Norton couldn’t/hadn’t found this virus, but thankfully McAfee Stinger nailed it.  I un-installed tons of games and old programs, but defrags and scans still took HOURS.  AdAware took almost 6 hours.  What the heck?!?

I did some googling and finally realized that Microsoft never cleans up after itself.  Duh, silly of me to think that Windows would clean up previous updates.  Plus, this laptop is using Vista, which no one liked.  Four years of Windows Updates and restore points were bogging the poor old thing down.  I ran a registry cleaner first, then cleaned out all those old updates, then deleted all but my last clean restore point.  Freeing well over 20 gig of space!

The laptop is running much better now.  Hopefully the next virus scan won’t take 6 hours, either.

Oh, and I managed 366 words on The Bloodgate Warrior.  New file, of course, since my last file didn’t get backed up.  Even if I lose it, it’s only a couple of hundred words and I was not real happy with that day’s work anyway.  May is half gone — I really need to step it up or I’ll never get anywhere close to meeting all my MayNoWriMo goals!

P.S. More monster woes.  Middle Monster broke her bed while stripping off her sheets for laundry day.  It was a cheap put-together platform bed I bought a couple of years ago off Wal-Mart, and it’s been through several moves.  She stepped on the platform in the wrong place and cracked the particle board base.  So we spent a couple of hours bunk-bed shopping yesterday too.  More unexpected expenses but at least it’ll free up some nice space in their room.  And no particle board — this one is made out of metal!  Hopefully it’s Middle proofed for at least a few years….

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MayNoWriMo Disasters

May has not been a nice month so far.  I’ve got a lot going on the personal front, which has a disastrous effect on my writing productivity.  Combine that with Evil Day Job stress…and…

Last night, Princess Monster stepped on my writing laptop and busted the screen (if not more).  With everything going on, I admit, I sobbed.  Yeah, it’s just a computer.  It was an accident.  I lost a couple of hundred words for the day, but I can get that back.  It’s just the point, you know?  Out of three computers she could have trashed, she had to bust my newest, dedicated writing device.

Of course I still have little Betsy, the adorable pink netbook, but she’s hard to write on for very long.  The keyboard is just too small.  Great for the car or for writing bursts when I don’t want to be distracted by computer games, etc.  but my hands are bad enough that I can’t deal with the tiny keyboard for long.

I have my oldest writing laptop, a 4 year old Toshiba with Windows Vista on it.  I’d given it to the kids and it’s loaded with games and God only knows what kind of crap they’ve picked up on the internet.  It’s slower than molasses.  But it does have Word and my hands fit on the keyboard better.  I’ve spent the day cleaning it up, deleting the games (sorry kids), running virus checks, defragging, etc.  Hopefully I’ll be back in commission tomorrow or Monday at the latest.

Maybe the break will do me some good mentally and I’ll be in a better mood by then too.  At least until I get the bill for fixing my laptop.

Ironically, this poor old Toshiba also bears some monster damage.  My dad bought it for my birthday four years ago.  I was sitting outside writing while the kids rode their bikes in the driveway.  I hadn’t even had it a month yet and Middle Monster ran into my chair and I spilled coffee all over the keyboard.  Replacing the keyboard was only $140 or so.  I have no idea how much the screen will cost.

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Red Sage Winners

I threw all the names into the magic hat and let the monsters draw out two names:

Hobbes_Kat and

Anna McLain

Congrats, winners!  Please drop me a note at joelysueburkhart AT gmail DOT com from the e-mail for which you’d like to receive the electronic gift certificate.  I’ll work with Heather to get your prize emailed to you.

Thanks everyone for participating!

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Guest Blogger Giveaway: Heather Massey

I Blame Ted Danson For My Erotic Sci-Fi Romance ONCE UPON A TIME IN SPACE

Quite a few years ago, I watched an interview with Ted Danson, the actor best known for his stint as Sam Malone on the 1982 sitcom Cheers. The interview was on some kind of celebrity-oriented show, possibly Entertainment Tonight (back in the day when it was helmed by Mary Hart and John Tesh). Anyway, this interview is when I first learned that the actor was also an environmental advocate.

At one point during the interview, Ted Danson remarked something along the lines of (and I’m paraphrasing here) “whenever we flush the toilet, it becomes somebody else’s problem.”

Well. Well. Talk about a massive guilt trip! I hopped right on that one, let me tell you. I don’t know if it was my upbringing or Ted Danson’s rebuking tone or the way he seemed to look right into the camera—right at me—but that moment was the first time I developed real insight regarding the monumental task of keeping Earth healthy.

Unfortunately, I was too naïve at the time to make a connection between my thoughts about his statement and my behavior—meaning that my behavior could change. But his words stayed with me, replaying in my mind even decades later. Naturally, this tended to occur most often when I had to use the toilet. Ugh! I kept agonizing over whatever harm I was causing the environment every time I had to pee or poop.

Eventually, I got wise about the fact that the only way to relieve my sense of unrelenting guilt was to start doing my part to help Earth. I began with easy things, like shutting off lights when leaving the room. Reusing items whenever I could. Keeping the water off while brushing my teeth. Recycling. Composting. I’m not as consistent as I could be, but I’m actively working on retraining myself and ditching maladaptive environmental habits.

Ted Danson’s words were so powerful that they had a particularly unexpected repercussion. When I decided to write my erotic sci-fi romance Once Upon a Time in Space (Red Sage Publishing), I channeled my experience with his message into the narrative. On one level, my book is about a hawt futuristic explorer who tangles with a sexy, ruthless space pirate during his quest to find a new world. But on another level, the story explores the consequences (albeit in a very fantastical way) of pollution allowed to continue unchecked on planet Earth.

Don’t get me wrong: my story is pure unabashed entertainment all the way. I intentionally avoided pulling a “Ted Danson” during the course of the story—no preaching allowed. But, given my encounter with his interview and its subsequent impact, I couldn’t help but speculate about the relationship between flushing toilets and a dying Earth. Are we really heading toward a time when we’ll be flushing our planet away for good? I shudder to think so.

Since writing the story, I’ve been working even harder on flushing away my harmful habits. In fact, as I write this, I’m awaiting delivery of a Fiskars 6201 18-Inch 5-Blade Momentum Push Reel Lawn Mower. Even though I’m hardly a lawn mower expert, I can’t wait to start using this baby. The exercise ain’t exactly gonna hurt me, either—take that, Ted Danson!

And now for a giveaway!  To help celebrate Earth Day, I’m giving away a $10.00 Red Sage gift certificate to one winner (because going digital with books is another way I’ve gone green, and I’d love for you to join me, even if it’s just for one book). To enter, leave a comment telling me one way you’ve gone green or plan to do so.

Bio:
Heather Massey is a lifelong fan of science fiction romance. She searches for sci-fi romance adventures aboard her blog, The Galaxy Express.

Heather’s debut erotic sci-fi romance novel, Once Upon a Time in Space (Red Sage Publishing), features the last living descendant of Christopher Columbus on a desperate quest to find a new world. Standing in his way is Raquel, the deadliest space pirate in the galaxy.

For more information, visit her Web site at www.heathermassey.com.

Story blurb:

In the sea of stars, an epic love story is about to begin…

Earth is dying. Nick Venture, the last living descendant of Christopher Columbus, embarks on a dangerous mission to find a new planet and save humanity. This places him on a collision course with Raquel Donovan, the deadliest space pirate in the galaxy.
Raquel lives for one purpose: revenge against a horrible demon from her past. When an attempt to hijack Nick’s starship backfires, Raquel becomes his protector in order to avoid capture by the tyrannical Space Defense Corps. Nick and Raquel are irresistibly drawn to one another despite the forbidden nature of their attraction. But the conflicted pirate’s deepest secret could tear the couple apart even as humanity’s time runs out….

Addition:  I’m going to match Heather’s giveaway!  So we’re offering TWO $10 Red Sage gift certificates!