They say if you get up earlier than normal, you don’t get as much done. Well, I’ve been transferring files because my hard drive is too full and so I’ve been getting a lot done. Though I’ve been up for 3 hours and haven’t even done my blog.
I did get other stuff done also. Is it lunch time yet?
Oh, yes, and next week is Release Day for Night of the Billionaire Wolf!!! Tuesday! May 26!
I used Daily Textures and Magnolia Textures to emphasize what I wanted to and exclude the rest. On the zinnia and hummingbird picture, I used the same texture both around the flowers as a background and another on top.
If I had my feeders away from the shrubs, then I could capture a creamy background instead. But the birds like the protection of the vegetation. We have shinned-tail hawks out here that would love to swoop down and have a nice meal too.
I have 3,000 words to go on Red Wolf to make 80,000 words, the minimum word count. Hope to get that today!
I’m on a NO chocolate, NO chips diet. I’ve been doing it for 4 days and feel so much better, lost 3 lbs right away. I don’t eat a lot of processed foods, so no sugar added that way. Yay!
Today, I found this article on sugar and how bad it can be for you. Brain fog? Okay, anything that messes with my writing can’t be good for me.
So I admit it! I HAD to go to the grocery store. I needed dishwasher soap, forgot to get it last time, so stocked up on more vegetables and–yes, of course, last chance to get my favorite Cadbury eggs. It’s nearly Easter. What can you expect?
If I don’t have long to live–who ever knows, right?–I want to have my favorite Easter treat before it’s too late.
They did have plexi-glass up to help protect the clerks at checkout. I’m so glad for that and hope it really helps.
I didn’t get very far on my writing yesterday, only 1,300. I did play one battle in Divinity–Original Sin 2. I had finished the first game, figured out how to make myself nearly invincible in that one and loved it, great ending, but then I had so many deadlines that I never got back to finish the 2nd game. Everything is different in that one, so I couldn’t use the same strategy. Darn it. But I’m at the last leg of the journey, I believe, so having fun relearning how to do all this stuff that I haven’t done in over a year. I need to finish it because it’s taking up a lot of storage on my computer that I don’t have–doesn’t that sound like a great excuse?
But first, I need to get to my writing. I’m kind of stuck or I would have had more done yesterday. Plus, I was editing, added new scenes which meant eliminating others, so I didn’t get as much word count.
I tried not to watch the news too late last night. It gave me nightmares the night before. The morning news is so unbelievable, I’m so angry about what’s going on, but I need to press on and do what I can to not help to cause the spread of the virus if I should get it and pray that everyone else can live through this…despite the dire predictions.
And I’m back to the new count of staying home. I did walk around the neighborhood this morning.
It turned out to be a beautiful day and a 2 1/2 mile walk on the way to vote and back. I took pictures of flowers, squirrels, a great blue heron, green herons, snowy egrets and a great egret, and turtles.
Snowy Egret & Great Blue Heron
More pictures later!
I managed to edit 9 more chapters, but still have 5 chapters and an epilogue to go, and little one will be here today in a half hour. At 5 am, I was spreading weed and feed granules. Yes, in the dark. In the light rain. It’s supposed to pour rain in a couple of hours, so I figured it was time to do it before my granddaughter gets here. I was pulling tons of weeds yesterday. You’d think I’d finally get a handle on it. But nope! And all my lilies and daylilies are appearing out of the ground. Soon, they will flower.
Off to edit a little bit before it’s too late and I can’t!
The bluebirds are mine, the rest is a composite of overlays.
I did it! I finished Wolf in Mind edits last night, turned them in, and I’m back to writing on Highland Wolf. I hope to finish it by Tuesday, before little one is back and then I’m working on the dreaded taxes and starting the new deadline book.
I want to garden! I want to put some plants in that will keep the weeds from being out of control. Once the shrubs and such are bigger, it will help. But I need more. I need a much lower maintenance yard that is beautiful without me putting a ton of effort into it. A dream garden that the birds and bees and butterflies love. I plan to put in some more azaleas, the kind that bloom three times a year, spring, summer and fall. And maybe some more boxwood.
But back to the business of writing. That needs to come first. And then taxes. Ugh. Oh, and autographing and sending off a ton of giveaway books.
Goldfinch looking me, or at the one-eyed monster, in the eye. I have to remember they don’t see me, but one big round eye staring at them.
I’m feeling better today, need to get more chicken and soup, and I’m no longer contagious. Yay! I finished Wolf in Need, so jumped on Highland Wolf, but still didn’t make even yesterday’s word count. So I need to do it today and try to whittle down some of the 11,000 words I’m behind also. I’m having to read the whole book through, so adding here and there and that doesn’t add as much word count as writing full scenes.
Have a wonderful day! I’ve got to get going on mine!!!
Got to run the trash out and finish edits on Wolf in Need this morning, but it’s done! Yay!!!!!!! At 32K it’s 12K over what I intended, but that’s okay. Readers like longer reads and I’m happy with it.
As soon as I do that, I’m going to send it to beta readers and get back to Highland Wolf! That is several thousand words behind on word count. I don’t want to even see how far behind I am on that. But I had to write this one for a November release, so no choice. Whew. No wonder I get so sick. Stress in addition to toddler germs. I’ll have to read it from the beginning because I don’t remember where I’m at on the story. But I’m looking forward to it. I’m a glutton for punishment. I had to look. I’m 13,000 words behind. That’s over a week’s worth of word count.
I had a reviewer for You Had Me at Wolf say the name on the blurb is wrong for the heroine in the book. Here’s the story: I wrote the book in three months and her name was Josie. I like Josie. She suited Josie. The editor said I had to many “ie” names in the book so I needed to change it. So I changed it to Nicole, but the blurb went out with Josie. End of story. I still remember her fondly as Josie. Nicole? Who is that?
Okay, off to get things done.
Hope you all are having a beautiful day, and remember, your name can be changed also with a stroke of a few keys on the keyboard. And then you will be gone. Replaced by some other name. No longer. You.
I love the colors of the blue jays and the bluebirds. The hawk has been back several times. I saw him flying by the other day in hunting mode, his whole body at an angle to the fence and wished I’d been able to capture him.
Still sick, but the sore throat seems to finally be not as severe. I still coughed all night and I’m hoping that tonight maybe I can sleep better. My daughter is taking little one to daycare tomorrow, which will really help because I won’t have to get up at 5 if I have yet another terrible night. I had to take care of her yesterday, and I was so sick, it was hard to keep up with her. She ended up coloring on my tile floor with her crayons. I was there the whole time, but I couldn’t see what she was up to beyond the coffee table. Luckily, it came off with vinegar spray. I just told her she only colors on papers and coloring books. She was really good and was eager to clean up her mess. She did it all by herself. I’m just glad she didn’t do it on the walls!
I managed to turn my written notes from several days into 1800 words for Wolf in Need. I’m off to try and write.
Usually when I see a butterball bird, it’s a baby. Goldfinches are usually thinner looking, which makes me think this is a baby. The mockingbird babies are huge compared to their overworked mommy and daddy who are constantly feeding them when they can feed themselves just fine. Cardinals are the same way as they sit on the feeders full of seeds and still open their beaks for mom or dad to feed them.
Managed 3,000 words on Highland Wolf and 1,000 on Wolf in Need yesterday. Cut back all the stuff I needed to cut back, I think. Can’t keep up with the weeds. Sometimes I think I should just let them take over since they are so happy here and stop fighting the inevitable. Live and let live. I’m sure my neighbors would be happy with that. Not.
Okay, off to write. Have a beautiful day wherever in the world you are!
