Saturday Six for September 22nd

1. I received my first bad review on Amazon this week. I wallowed in my misery for a day, imagined myself eating a dozen cakes, and then started writing my next novella the next day.

2. My monthly writer's group meets today. A bunch of very short stories this time, but good ones. My own is a fantasy flash piece done backwards. I wasn't attempting to be artsy or anything. It's just that the beginning was the most climatic part, so I put it at the end.

3. My mom will be arriving on Tuesday this coming week and visiting for four days. She'll spoil my son and feed me cake. I'll be absent from the cyber world during those days, but at least you'll know I'll be stuffed to the gills with yummy sweets.

4. I finally got to watch Cabin in the Woods. It was amazing! I haven't loved a movie like that in a long time. I'd already read spoilers, so I wasn't surprised, but it didn't ruin my enjoyment of it. Joss Whedon is brilliant.

5. My new TV show this week was Revolution. I don't know. Interesting and yet it hasn't hooked me yet. I don't like the younger actors. Where does everyone find new and fashionable clothes in this world?! I'll keep watching, but it didn't suck me in like LOST did.

6. Thursday was picture day at my son's preschool. They were in need of a volunteer to help the photographer, so I offered a helping hand. It turned out to be a chaotic morning. My son's teacher was sick and so the regular routine was thrown to the winds. This immediately led the boy to a bad, bad mood which he refused to shake. I was the photographer's gopher, fetching kids and classes to come down for their photos, and I was also a substitute teacher with the boy clinging to my leg the entire time. The boy didn't smile for his pictures. He scowled. Do you remember those preschool stress dreams I had before the school year started? They came true.

Here's hoping the weekend is good for all of us!

Saturday Six for August 25th

1. What a busy week! My son started preschool and it went wonderfully. He walked in like he owned the school at orientation, and then was very eager to return the first official day of school. It just so happened to be my day as teacher's helper (it's a co-op school and so I have to do that once a month), and so I could be there with him his first day. I was pleased he wasn't clingy nor did he protest when I played with other children. I was so proud of him. Isn't he adorable?

2. I rewrote the ending to my steampunk short story and did a bit of tweaking. I submitted it to REAL GIRLS DON'T RUST yesterday. I love the title for that anthology!

3. I received two books in the mail that I won as prizes. The first is from Cherie Reich. I picked Break Out by Nina Croft. I also won Demon Hunting in Dixie by Lexi George in another giveaway. Kensington Publishing sent a bunch of swag with it too! I love free books.

4. Even though I didn't get a chance to attend my local writers' group meeting last Saturday, I critiqued the submissions for it. That took up a little more time than I expected, but I consider critiquing an excellent exercise in improving your craft.

5. FEARLESS has had over 1200 downloads now. It definitely helped that it went free on Amazon for the Kindle. It makes my stomach flutter when I hear how much people love it. I need to get writing and put something new out there for you wonderful readers!

6. No plans for this weekend. Maybe we'll get to the pool one last time before it closes for the season. Next week will be another busy week. I'll have another first: my first parents' meeting at school. Eek!

Have an awesome weekend!

Saturday Six for August 4th

1. I've been a bit paranoid recently with the scare of bloggers being sued over using other people's pictures on their sites. It's frightening to think that could happen. My new Saturday Six pic is my son's most recent painting. I love the color! My new "anthologies seeking submissions" pic (as seen yesterday) is a photo of my son. My Wicked Wednesday pic has always been my own creation. I've seen other bloggers doing the same thing. Seeing some personal photos has been fun, actually, but not in the mood of the paranoid moment.

2. Our new AC unit is up and running! Woo-hoo! Just in time for one of the hottest nights of the year last night. Is the unit whole? No. The guy still have to put in the kit for the furnace part, but I think we can live without heat for a bit. Heh.

3. I'm excited about the FEARLESS release week next week! Currently, all the sellers seem to have it up and for sale except for CreateSpace. I haven't had time yet to fix what I need to do on there. Hopefully I'll get to it this weekend.

4. Every year in November, I participate in NaNoWriMo. I love it! I plan to do it every year for the rest of my life. This year, though, I've considered using the month to catch up on the writing I missed in July. I'm way behind schedule. Of course, my muse will have none of that talk. A brand new shiny idea hit me hard the other day and came with an amazing first line. It's a superhero story and it made me laugh. If it sticks with me, I think that will be my NaNo story this year and my current project will have to wait that month.

5. Gen Con is coming up in two weeks. Before I had my son, I'd go every year and do a ton of writing seminars. This year, Brandon Sanderson is the author guest of honor. We can't afford to go four days this year, but we'll be going on the Sunday for Family Day. There will be stuff for the boy to do that day, and I can get a chance to visit with some of the writers. I even have new business cards to match my blog's banner.

6. No plans for the weekend except to pick up some groceries and catch up on my networking. Maybe I'll get a minute to write some more of my steampunk short story.

Have a good weekend!

Saturday Six for July 28th

1. I'm slowly loading FEARLESS up to the various ebook sellers. I'm so glad Cherie formatted them for me. Some of the stuff is confusing. I have to carefully read it through again and again to make sure I know what I'm doing and nothing is going to go wrong. I found Smashwords the easiest to work with. Amazon and B&N were equally as tedious, and I didn't like Kobo at all. It didn't have paranormal or paranormal romance listed as a genre. And what's with the sites calling urban fantasy "urban life?" I picture something completely different when I think urban life; more non-fiction than fiction.

2. I'm working my way slowly through CreateSpace. None of my documents were correct at first, but I worked through it with their system. It was helpful even if it took a while. I have to work on the cover-spine-backcover. It has to be one file. I might try to go through their do-it-yourself program and see what I can make. I'd very much like to have FEARLESS available in paperback. I'll eventually get there.

3. I've had a great response to my "What was your childhood monster?" blogfest. 36 people are signed up so far. I get ten times as many hits a day on that post than any other too. I think that's excellent for my first blogfest. Thank you, folks!

4. I haven't written my short story for this month yet. I started a steampunk story, but I don't think I'm going to be able to get back to it. I'm telling myself I need to write a sci-fi flash piece this weekend and try Daily Science Fiction again. Third time's a charm, right?

5. Nope. No air-conditioning yet.

6. I don't have any plans for the weekend other than to write that flash piece. Maybe we'll go to the library and/or have a picnic by the lake again. Any way to stay cool. I'll be happy to see July in my rearview mirror. It was a brutal month. August will bring an air-conditioning unit, FEARLESS, Gen Con, and preschool. Onward to August!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Saturday Six for July 14th

1. Today I have my monthly S.C.I.F.I. (South Central Indiana Fiction Interface) meeting. Even with this heat, I managed to get all the stories critiqued. I'll be happy to sit in the air-conditioned library for a few hours even if my story gets torn to shreds!

2. A big thank you to L.G. Keltner for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award and Tell Me About Yourself Award. Consider this Saturday Six post as getting to know me!

3. I finished my revisions for Fearless. Funny how I missed some of those spelling errors, and I really need to pay attention to my use of the passive voice while writing fight scenes. Onward to proofreading and formatting!

4. Still no air-conditioning. Blah.

5. My son held up a clear plastic lid in front of his face the other day. He said, "Look, Mommy! An invisible box!"

6. I'm finally catching up on True Blood. It's funny how ten years ago, my TV schedule would have included a few hours of shows for most nights a week. Now, for the summer, I have nothing I watch except True Blood. It feels weird, but I have better things to do with my free time these days like write!

Have a great weekend!

Saturday Six for July 7th

1. I've been without air-conditioning for a week. We might have it fixed on Sunday. Maybe. IF what the guy says is wrong with the unit is the only thing that's wrong. I can't think in the hot weather. I can't write. I'm barely tolerable. So no writing was done. It's incredibly frustrating. I'm so far behind where I want to be. Please excuse me that I didn't do much commenting or emailing this past week. Sitting at the computer drains me in the heat.

2. I haven't finished my steampunk short story. I'll have to pick something else to submit to my writer's group for critique this month. I might send in the first chapter of my newest project and get their opinion. Though I'm very nervous about doing so because I don't know if I'm living up to my standards writing from the male POV. Yes, perhaps I will send it in. The more nervous I am, the more it says I need to get it critiqued.

3. Don't forget I'll be interviewing M. Pepper Langlinais on Monday. She has a gift for all my awesome readers. Please join us!

4. We're having a garage sale with some friends today. We brought over a load of stuff to sell to their house and priced them. Then one friend dared to ask if we'd be selling any books. (Because everyone thinks our house has too many books! HA!) My husband and I looked at each other and laughed. Sorry, we're never selling any of our books.

5. Yesterday I took my son to McDonalds for the first time. The first time I've been in one in decades. (I kid you not!) I decided to go there because it's the only place in town with an indoor AIR-CONDITIONED playground. Not much of a playground, and it was more for older kids, but the boy had fun. He got nuggets, ice cream, and playtime in a nice cool place. We did spend an equal amount of time at the library before we went, so I think that makes up for me taking him there!

6. My husband, son, and I had a fun Fourth of July. We took the boy to his first parade. At first, he was put off by the crowd and wanted to go home. Yet the moment he got his first piece of candy, he was hooked! He loved the marching bands most of all. We all then napped, spent two hours at the pool, and met with friends in the evening for ice cream. Yum!

Saturday Six for June 23rd

1. I didn't get a chance for a Friday Five yesterday, so I added one and made it a Saturday Six. I had a good reason for it, though. Cherie Reich's Women of Foxwick is an awesome collection of fantasy short stories. You can read my review here.

2. I took the plunge. I made a Facebook fan page and opened a Twitter account. Twitter is a bit overwhelming. I managed to link it to my fan page, so that a Twitter update goes on there too. My Goodreads is linked to Twitter which then goes on to Facebook. I need to find a way to link my blog, LinkedIn, and Google+ to it now too. I'm getting dizzy just thinking about this! Anyway, yes. Please like my page on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

3. I haven't done much writing at all this week. I've done a lot of networking research and creation. We'll count that as productive.

4. I edited my short story for this month and sent it to The World's Greatest Fantasy Writing Contest. My critique partners and my writing group liked it. My group agreed I needed to tighten the tension at the end. So I pulled the laces tight and cut out a bunch of words. Ouch.

5. My son is becoming more clearly introverted. I'm not surprised since my husband and I are introverts, but I had hoped that our son would have it a little easier. When we go places with a lot of people, he'll tell me there's "too many people" and ask to go home. He doesn't like share space with other people either. He'll go to the emptiest spot at the library, park or pool. I know how he feels, but it's going to be rough. I've been reading up on raising an introverted child. I hope I can do right by him. I don't want to traumatize him with any social situation as I was as a child, but I don't want him to miss out. I want him to understand there's nothing wrong with being an introvert. We're cool people too.

6. No plans for the weekend. Maybe a stop at the library and a walk in the woods. Have a good weekend, folks!