windy but beautiful

It's a lovely weekend. I took a long bike ride this morning before it got too warm and sunny and now I'm witting outside in the shade with a cup of tea and my laptop. The wind picked up and is a bit blustery and blowing, but since there's barely a wisp of cloud in the sky and the sun is bright and strong, it is a lovely day. On the plus side, the wind keeps the mosquitoes away!

oh right, remember this?

I have a few new followers here I think and it has been some time since I mentioned this free read by me, so I thought I'd make a mention of it again.

It is short and very sweet.

The Littlest Razzle-Dazzle
Roscoe's heart is broken, but that only means he is ready to meet his new best friend.
https://www.wattpad.com/user/TrayEllis

paperwork paperwork paperwork

I feel like I'm drowning in paperwork at the moment. Some of it has to do with writing, but most of it has to do with all the other things that happen in life. Get your car inspected, pay bills, grocery lists, job related things that pile on. So much paperwork!

I started to get through the list tonight, but the more I do, the more I remember that I need to do!

Hiding under the covers until the weekend isn't too bad, right?

NineStar and The True Love Curse

I had my fairy-tale story "The True Love Curse" accepted at NineStar! *jumps with joy*

https://ninestarpress.com/

I am really excited about this story. It's the sort of tale that really works well with my writing style and I have a lot of love for how I changed up the fairy-tale elements.

I'm sure I'll be talking about the process and the upcoming publication as things move along.

link to a post

Susan Saxx has a beach read book out and she's written it up on the Decadent Divas blog -- here's the link: https://thedecadentdivas.blogspot.ca/?zx=3b46ee86c4eeba03

Her part is a little bit lower, so scroll down a bit.

And if you keep scrolling, there's a very nice entry about the journey on improving your writing and finding your way in submissions and publishing. It was a great reminder that this is a journey and I can improve every time!

in between project doldrums

So I'm in between projects at the moment and I need to start something new. I was scrolling through some of the publishing places looking for wanted submission inspirations and am going to let that gel.

I've got a short Christmas-themed story that doesn't currently have a home and am contemplating putting it up at smashwords. My story "In Anger Blooming" that is there has done well (it is free, so why not give it a read?) and it might be nice to have a second story over there.

It is a bit weird to be free-floating without a specific story that I am currently crafting, but also somewhat good.

Oh, and I came across this for any other author out there that might have interest:

Vinspire Publishing is opening up a one day submission opportunity to writers without agents to submit your story to them.

http://www.vinspirepublishing.com/submissions

It looks like they want family-friendly young adult, but go and check out their page and see if it works for you!

tasks done, off to have some fun

I've got my writing tasks done for the morning and now I can go romp and play. I think tacos are in my future!

for tonight I format

I've been working diligently on two stories this month and tonight I move forward with the final phase: formatting. Everybody has slightly different requirements for what they want stories to look like, so this is always an exercise in following directions. When it is all done, I'm generally pleased to see how tidy my stories look.

skipping tonight's mosquito feast

I'm skipping my evening walk and staying inside tonight. The mosquitoes will have to go hungry.

The nice thing about reading is that most stories don't focus on mosquitoes, and even if they do, when you put the book down, you haven't actually been bitten.

all the mosquitoes love me; I hate them

I really, really dislike mosquitoes. I went for a walk this evening and they were out with a vengeance. I came home with 10 bites on my legs and several other near misses where I swatted them before they could jab me. Other nights have not been this bad, but the hot weather, humidity, late summer, high rainfall, etc. have conspired to create perfect conditions for the fiends.

I love to go for walks, and I had been waiting until evening so it wouldn't be so hot and directly under the glare of the sun, but now I've got the little monsters to contend with, I may have to give up walking for a bit. At least until conditions aren't quite so perfect to breed them.

And now I'm itchy....

working for the weekend

I have a little chant in my head: one more day, one more day.

I'm ready for the weekend to start, that is for sure!

I don't get much writing done during the week, so weekends are important. I have two short stories that need editing this weekend, so I'm looking forward to starting that part of the process.

mugi miso

How is it nobody ever mentioned to me there was a mugi (barely) variety of miso? I've tried white miso and red miso and liked both, but this mugi miso is incredible. It has all the umami. It is strong and vibrant and delicious. With all the recommendations these days to eat probiotic food, I think I found the one for me! (Kimchi, I still love you, too.)

looking into the future

I got some good writing done this evening. About 1500 words on a sci-fi concept I've been mulling over. I am slowly working on more sci-fi ideas, which is a challenge. Looking into the future is a bizarre task to set for oneself, but it is one of the most distinct traits of humans. We constantly look into the future and plan for it, which makes our desire for sci-fi stories mean something more -- not only do we want to look into the future ourselves, but we want to know others' visions of the future as well.

Tomorrow will start the regular week. I hope everyone is ready to go and has a productive week with no bad surprises!

throwing up some links for Blue Collar

I'm throwing up some links to material for Blue Collar, A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology. It released at a busy time for me and I definitely made sure to post about my story, Full of the Wild Life, but didn't have as much up for the other stories by the other talented authors in the collection.

So, the main link to find the other links: http://delilahscollections.com/
A quick scroll down the page will net some great blog posts from the authors. The giveaways are closed now, but it is still a solid way to become familiar with the authors and the stories available in the anthology!

Here are some direct links to a few of them;

http://delilahscollections.com/2017/06/27/jennifer-kacey-the-boss-giveaway/

http://delilahscollections.com/2017/06/25/elle-james-playing-with-fire/

http://delilahscollections.com/2017/06/11/delilah-devlin-bountiful-lust-from-blue-collar-contest/


And at Delilah's other blog, there were also a few specific blog posts by authors, giving insight to their work and efforts:

http://www.delilahdevlin.com/blog/2017/06/15/n-j-walters-second-chance-at-love/

http://www.delilahdevlin.com/blog/2017/06/11/love-bounty-hunters-excerpt-and-another-chance-to-win/

http://www.delilahdevlin.com/blog/2017/06/13/blue-collar-a-boys-behaving-badly-anthology-is-here-contest/

So if you are winding up your Sunday afternoon and need something to occupy your time, this is a great start! Happy link-hopping!

this morning's nature walk

I went for a nice long walk this morning, first to a coffee shop for a cappuccino and a croissant and then for a long walk to burn off the cappuccino and croissant. Here's a photo of the woods, lovely not-so dark and not-so deep:

Friday evening and I'm editing

Ah, Friday. The work week is over and my writing work-weekend is beginning!

I don't usually stay up late on regular nights to edit because once I get going I don't want to quit and staying up too late means I'll be cranky in the morning, but on a weekend night, staying up late is fair game!

working on a new story

Writers can only pat themselves on the back for finishing a story for a little while, then we're off on another tangent and thinking up more characters and storylines. Even with Pyresnakes only a week old, I'm already hard at work on some other ideas. One of them has an element of horror to it, which is a different direction than I usually write. It's been a way to stretch myself and see how far I'm willing to go into those scary places. And I am starting to wonder if I should be writing at night. Alone.

Excuse me, I need to go check that the door actually is locked....

Happy 4th!

Happy Independence Day everyone! As the day is winding down, I've been very grateful for a lovely long weekend, catching up on some sleep, eating at some cookouts, visiting family, and watching some fireworks and celebrations.

And I noticed that Pyresnakes is still on the very first page of Dreamspinner when I check on it: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/
So I'm excited about that! I know it won't last. Other authors are releasing their own fabulous stories and time marches on. But for today, there is a great deal to celebrate!

a top ten list on Aphs Book club

Today I've got a top ten list up at Alpha Book Club with a guest blog spot about Pyresnakes. I get into some thoughts about genre. And there's also a giveaway to enter -- you could win $15 to Dreamspinner -- that could be several books if you shop right!

Go here for my guest post: https://alphabookclub.org/2017/06/14/pyresnakes-tray-ellis-guest-post/

happy party weekend, with a few thoughts

With the 4th of July this coming Tuesday, this weekend has definitely been the one where everyone is having their cookouts and blowing off their (sometimes illegal) fireworks. Please be safe out there -- while they are fun, fireworks are dangerous too.

Also, remember the poor pets in others' homes. Dogs and cats have sensitive hearing and can be really upset by the loud booms. As it starts to get late into the evening, maybe save the rest of the fireworks for another (earlier) time, so everyone can get some rest.

May your cookouts be safe and delicious!