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New Smith’s Monthly Issues
New Smith’s Monthly Issues Turned in Issues #31 and #32 and will turn in Issue #33, the June issue of Smith’s Monthly, when Kris finishes reading the novel I just wrote. So almost caught up to the dates on the magazine. ——- The Day Roamed out to our original store, now called the south store and helped out there for a time with a rush of customers. Kind of fun. Then headed to WMG offices to work on workshop stuff for a time. Then home to take a short nap and cook dinner. Then, after a little e-mail, I sat and read for a while. (Some of you wondered if…
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Novel Finished
Novel Finished Yup, finished the second novel of the month. Of course, the last one I started last month, but got this one done in ten days. ——- The Day I paid no attention to the day today, honestly. Got home from being out doing errands around 5:30 p.m. and I worked, off and on, until 4:30 a.m. on finishing the novel. Mostly on. I wrote about 7,100 total words and cut out about fifteen hundred total, which isn’t bad for me. Book came in just under 40,000 words. The Taft Ranch: A Thunder Mountain Novel will be in Smith’s Monthly #33. I will be turning in the issue to WMG,…
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Fun Workshop Poll Results
Fun Workshop Poll Results Thank you, everyone, for chiming in on what might interest you on the three workshops Kris and I were talking about. Very clear that the Expectations (writing on the rails) workshop and the Mystery workshop were the two big winners. More on that below.. ——- The Day Got out of bed late and missed one meeting and from that point on the afternoon seemed to be behind. So I did some work in our new bookstore and then headed home to take a nap. Kris cooked dinner, I did dishes and did e-mail and then went to reading a book I’ve been looking forward to reading.…
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Some New Workshop Ideas
New Workshop Ideas After meetings this afternoon, Kris and I headed over to the valley to do some shopping, have dinner and see a movie. On the way back we got talking about ideas for new workshops. See topic of the night below on a few of them. ——- The Day WMG Publishing meeting at 2 p.m. and then around 4 p.m. Kris and I headed for the valley. We live on the Oregon Coast, so at times we go into the Wallamette Valley to just get away. So we did some shopping, had diner and saw a movie. Got home around 12 p.m. and I did a little e-mail,…
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Wrote Too Much
Wrote Too Much Lost track of time while working on the novel and didn’t leave myself time to do a topic of the night. Ahh, well… maybe tomorrow. ——- The Day Tuesday, some errands, almost finished the template on my short story collections. Store at 6:30 and home by 7 to take a nap, then cook dinner. Then I worked until 11 p.m. doing online workshop assignments. Then I moved over to the writing compute and managed 1,300 words before heading to watch television around 12:30 a.m. I had a break in the middle of that somewhere to play with a cat. Then after watching too much television, I made…
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Cost and Benefit of a Cash Stream
Cost and Benefit of a Cash Stream Around here and with other writers and at WMG Publishing, decisions are constantly being made about the costs and the benefits of chasing a new cash stream. Thought I would just do a bit on the basics and then maybe come back some night with a full topic. So see below. ——- The Day Standard Monday with errands to do, then got to WMG office and worked on a cover for a collection I am going to be doing. Actually lots of collections, but worked on the cover template. Almost done. Then home to take a nap and cook dinner. Then in here…
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Goodbye Miss Thang
Miss Thang The very sick elderly cat we have been trying to get back to health for the last two months didn’t make it. More on all that below. ——- The Day Started the day off with a visit to the vet. Then back to WMG store for the writer’s meeting and lunch in the back area. It feels sort of strange, actually, to have a writer’s meeting in a store I own. In my first bookstore, both the science fiction club and the writer’s workshop met in my store every week. One on Tuesday, one on Thursday. That was in 1982-1984. Things go around and come around again in…
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Bookstore and Writing
Bookstore and Writing Worked in the afternoon in our new bookstore and wrote a bunch as well. ——- The Day Saturday so no real errands. Ended up in the new store working in the bookstore part of the new store for a few hours. Fantastic fun. Yeah, I know, paper books don’t sell anymore, but you need to tell that to all the people in the store today. (grin) Then I worked on workshop stuff, including the new Teams workshop. I’m having a blast doing that workshop and actually putting some things together myself. We have three people signed up for the teams workshop in July. Not even full at five…
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A Book I Read and A Challenge
A Book I Read and a Challenge I get some wonderful recommendations from readers of this blog about books I might be interested in. And the readers are often right. Thanks, folks!! One such recommendation was for a book titled Paperback Confidential: Crime Writers of the Paperback Era. Author is Brian Ritt. The book has only been out a few years and it had passed me by. So when it was recommended, I got it at once. I love history of writers. So a discussion on it below and some interesting things about how this kind of thing works for me sort of like what many of you say this…
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Day 1,000
Day 1,000 Now ain’t that a kick? 1,000 days of writing this blog without missing a day. 95 more days before it becomes three years of counting. Now that’s a streak. I’ve talked about the power of streaks, but going to do so again in the topic below. ——- The Day Got to the office around 2 p.m. and then went off and did errands, then walked with two other writers, getting back to the store around five. I worked until about 7 p.m. in the new store, then home to cook dinner. Then assignments, getting that done around 11 p.m. and taking a nap before going to watch some…