tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78169464382829245052024-03-13T14:04:19.520-07:00Playing with WordsKaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-2680805144772320302021-09-14T08:15:00.002-07:002021-09-14T08:15:32.383-07:00Swordmaster Dasan Updates<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been writing. Yesterday I put down 12,000 words. Not in edits either, that’s all new content on Swordmaster Dasan 3. But listen, I need to talk to you all before you get too excited - </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-fc2b0da2-7fff-b2c3-7a7a-931e5a6970c1"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The new Swordmaster Dasan book is split into two parts. Together, they complete this section of Kyo and Loki’s story, but there’s enough time between the two parts that I want to format it like I did Duncan. Part One, then Part Two included in the same file. The problem is that a whole ton of people were super pissed off by that. I’m still not entirely sure whhhyyyy??? I charged for one book, gave two and was initially roasted in reviews for it, which perplexes me. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The thought of packaging them separately did occur to me, but that presents a small quality issue and I can’t have that. Part one could be it’s own story, as could part two, but there are character elements that make both better if read as one. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So that’s how that story is going to be delivered, just a heads up :)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the Playing with Tigers series, Loki is a secondary but very important character to the plot, and in that series there were a few comments made about him that I felt were worth exploring. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first was that Kura would always allow Loki, and only Loki, any time off that he requested because there had been an incident in the past where he challenged her for her job, won, became the first Headmaster in Sahrketh history, gave himself the week off, came back, then promptly resigned and took his previous job back before he shared any of the responsibility that came with the promotion. That week that he fought so hard for is now part one of this story. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The other comment was made by Loki himself in the second Playing with Tigers book, when he claimed that he alone was the reason why the Sahrketh were no longer welcome in Settra, which had previously been a sister nation. That’s now part two. Again, both parts will be packaged together as one overall story.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s about it for that book, although I have one more thing to say about the series before I call it quits for today. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The timeline for all stories that include Loki goes like this - </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Anything with ‘*’ at the end is available for free at Smashwords.com in multiple formats. I’ll include links but make sure your adult settings on the site are allowing you to view mature content. Also fair warning - I think those are the original documents and they may be a unedited, but the story is the same. More typos and amateur errors, but at least free lol.)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/167905" target="_blank">Swordmaster Dasan*</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/229956" target="_blank">Swordmaster Dasan 2 - Backbreaking*</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Swordmaster Dasan 3 - Part One: A Prince Among Men & Part Two: The Lion’s Crown (Publication date TBD)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Playing with Tigers </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Playing with Tigers 2</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/268842" target="_blank">Swordmaster Dasan - Yunan Holiday*</a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Manuscript - Title Pending (Publication date TBD)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Playing with Tigers 3 (Publication date TBD)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Swordmaster Dasan 4 (Publication date TBD) </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yeah I know I have him in a lot. What can I say? I like him. He’s a fun one because he’s so dynamic, but it meant starting off with this kinky dom named Localem in Playing with Tigers, then writing the prequel series explaining how he got to be so interested in BDSM. Now I’m working on three books with him at completely different stages of his life and honestly it’s a lot of fun. I get to work on him still finding himself in the early Swordmaster Dasan books, then work on him in his competent but very overconfident prime in the Playing with Tigers series, and I get to wrap it up with a book where you see him from two varying perspectives. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then we work our way into Playing with Tigers 3. Now, I know a lot of people that read the Swordmaster Dasan series have little or no interest in Playing with Tigers, and I get it. Those books are menage books and they’re fairly long, they’re not everyone’s cup of tea. But, the third Playing with Tigers book features more than a few situations with Loki and Kyo that cannot go unmentioned. I can’t simply write the last planned Swordmaster Dasan book without readers knowing what happened between them both in PWT3. I can recap in the fourth book, and intend to do so, but it wouldn’t be fair to not offer the option to experience it with the characters.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I’ve been thinking is that I’ll release a free story to let readers enjoy the portions of Playing with Tigers 3 that only have to do with Loki and Kyo. If I do it right, then it should have only very few spoilers for the end of the book these scenes are pulled from, and hopefully it will pack a similar punch to the full story. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It would make the Swordmaster Dasan book series look like this -</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Swordmaster Dasan*</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Swordmaster Dasan 2*</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Swordmaster Dasan 3 (Release TBD)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Swordmaster Dasan -Yunan Holiday* </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Swordmaster Dasan 3.5 <-this would be the new free accompanying story </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Swordmaster Dasan 4 (Release TBD)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know it’s all over the place. I appreciate the people that have followed me on Facebook and commented on my blog more than they could possibly know, for every review and comment of praise or even condemnation, Thank You. You took the time to look for me, and I hope I don’t let you down!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">S K Hart</span></p><br /></span>Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-70638064688052773992021-05-12T14:59:00.001-07:002021-05-12T14:59:42.890-07:00Updates<span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">With each passing day I feel more
and more like Duncan, except he had money and wasn’t constantly
interrupted by equally isolated children. Thankfully we were able to
get our vaccines started, but we aren’t going to be considered
fully vaccinated until 2 weeks after our second shot, which puts us
at mid-June </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">for immunity</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">.
</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Obviously, </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">I’ll
take it. I already have several hundred autofill water balloons
ready to go for anyone with a genuine vaccination card to come and
have it out with me and my tribe of feral Covid kids. </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">A
knee high plastic pool and more super soakers than any adult should
have collected will be waiting beside a barbecue of ludicrous
proportions for any friend who can provide a genuine vaccination card
signed in actual ink.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Depression can be a real bitch,
and although I definitely do not struggle as much as many of my close
friends, this last year was hard. I’ve employed every
self-preservation tactic I know of and still ran out of drive
constantly.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">I was writing a scene two </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">weeks</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">
ago and was struggling even though it’s a scene that I knew I
shouldn’t have any trouble with. In it, one character is sad about
something that happened to another character. If there was a way he
could argue about it, that’s like… 90% of what I write. But, I
couldn’t do it. I kept trying to make him angry, but the situation
definitely didn’t call for it. It would </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">ruin
the scene. The fact that it would have such a drastic effect on him
was the selling point of making the story go in that direction,</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">
so I stepped away after failing for hours. I eventually realized
that I’</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">d</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">
become so apathetic towards everything that I couldn’t even hit
sadness anymore. All I had left was rage.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">A </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">ton
of cardio and Covid- responsible socializing gave me a slight boost
and I was able to make it through that scene after another two
attempts, but that’s been the way my last year has gone. </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Having
to take three times as much work to accomplish the same task. </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">I’m
not unique: everyone is struggling right now. I’m just grateful I
was able to get a temporary burst of motivation to power me through,
and even then it was on my third attempt. I’m looking forward to
getting back to work over the summer when the kids are out of school
and don’t need me to stumble through the steps of long division or
factoring equations for them.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Math and I are old adversaries.
Not because the math is necessarily difficult for me, but because the
way I learn is sideways and hard for people to teach, which makes
regurgitating math instructions for others very difficult. Let’s
just say that I never wanted to grow up to be a teacher. My top
three choices were Writer, Comic Artist, and Millionaire (as a child
this was considered a job, walking around and being encumbered by how
wealthy one is.). For anyone who has seen the cover </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">of
Swordmaster Dasan Part 2 – That was my art. After worrying for
years it wouldn’t hold up to scrutiny, I no longer care if it does!
I get very stressed doing my own covers though, so we’ll stick
with the writing. That stresses me out too but I seem to be able to
enjoy it more.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">It’s just a matter of getting
both time to write and energy to do it simultaneously.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Updates for all of my current
projects:</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Playing with Tiger Series – I’m
surprised by how much I’ve been working on the third one. </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">T</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">he
only thing that surprises me more than the amount I’m working on
it, is the amount I’m enjoying it. Taking a hiatus from writing as
long as I did allowed me to look back on the book with fresh eyes. I
really do love those stories, it’s just hard to see that sometimes
through the many errors that made it to publication. I was a young
self-pub author with no money to invest in an editor, and the first
two books definitely show that. So, as I work on the third, I
occasionally go through a few chapters of the first and second books
and clean them up. There will eventually be a re-release of the
first two books, closely followed by the release of the third </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">and
final book for this story</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Swordmaster Dasan – Much like
the Playing with Tigers Series, this one is riddled with errors.
Unlike the Playing with Tigers Series, </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">each
installment is much smaller and easier to fix. As for new books,
there are some changes coming in the near future. The first two SMD
books take place before the PWT series begins </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">and
after some deliberation</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;"> I
am </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">planning to add</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">
another before the PWT series. </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">That
would be followed chronologically by</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">
a small free story that takes place during the events of PWT3 between
Loki and Kyo, and then the conclusion of their series w</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">ould</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">
take place after the PWT series reaches its end. Expect two and a
half more books for Loki and Kyo before they’re done. Once I have
the final draft of the last Playing with Tigers book, these can be
released.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">W</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">arren
& Iyren – This one takes place in the same setting as the PWT
and SMD series. It was written as the story of how two of the new
characters in the final PWT book meet, and turned into one of my most
loving couples. Also there’s some attempted murder, treason,
dubious consent, a handicapped tiger, one or more bombs, suspected
boar assassins and one very unimpressed Grandmaster Localem Arada.
This one’s done but can’t be released until PWT3 is ready, and it
needs a final edit and a cover, which is a whole different issue.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Luda – I am destined to just
never be satisfied with this book. It’s not like the others, maybe
that’s why. Duncan had a lot going on, Playing with Tigers has
about fifty different story lines inside of it, one of them was </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">even
</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">good enough to become its
own series, </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">a</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">nd
Tarro? Well he’s the sexiest clever mess I could conjure. Luda,
on the other hand is mentally healthy and tries to avoid terrible
mistakes. He has good habits and out of all my characters, he’s
probably the most wholesome. Apparently, I’m so cynical that I
can’t tell if I’m writing a kind and caring individual correctly.
I keep writing way more of the book than it needs, then cleaving
half off and trying again. I’ve probably t</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">hr</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">own
away more pages than there are in Duncan, which is saying something.
Hopefully I’ll have a serious talk with myself in the future
regarding my expectations, because I want Luda to succeed as a book,
but it can’t until I finish changing it and </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">finally
</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">publish it lol</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Duncan 2 – It’s hard to
follow an act like Calvin, especially when Calvin is still </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">present
in the story line and available to loudly critique whatever
catastrophe follows him</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">.
I </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">believe I’ve </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">FINALLY
succeeded</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">, but </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">the
draft is unorganized and</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">
needs work. I need to write the planned conclusion to the Cartwright
story line within Duncan’s books </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">as
well, since Duncan is going to ALWAYS be released as two books
packaged together if I can do it. I’ll throw an excerpt up
somewhere when I get a chance</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Cat & Crow 2 – There’s a
decent amo</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">unt of this book
written, especially now. I tend to write Tarro when I’m at the
very limit of my sanity, and doing virtual schooling for two children
</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">throughout Covid </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">seems
to have worked out well for this manuscript. </span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">We’ll
see how this one goes.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">That’s it for now. There are
more, but they aren’t worth mentioning until I have more of them
finished.</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Feel free to leave me a message here or message me
directly through goodreads!</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: 0.5in;">Happy Hunting</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">S. K. <3</span></span></div>
<p style="background: transparent; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br />
</p>Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-80160760965220250432020-06-11T04:35:00.000-07:002020-06-11T04:35:20.477-07:00What I've been working on<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">As the world keeps burning I find myself more often giving my kids the day off from their COVID-19 distance learning and claiming one of my computers for myself. It seems that everybody I know is at least as stressed as I am, and understandably so. Thankfully I have an outlet for that in my writing!</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-8c4102b2-7fff-50d6-214b-a7a2ecd9caa1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">I have one novel that I’ve been editing regularly after deciding that the beginning wasn’t good enough and rewriting it for I think the twenty-thousandth time. I’ve had the cover for over a year, which is at least twice as long as I’ve ever had a cover and not a finalized book to attach it to, and that bothers me. When did I reach the point where my excitement at sharing my stories turned to anxiety? Is that just part of maturing or did I actually let the fear of criticism turn me into a coward? More importantly, can I get that excitement back? We’ll find out I suppose haha</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Years ago, while discussing the werewolf/shifter genre of M/M writing, I commented to one of my friends that I haven’t found any that I particularly loved. I only even sort of liked a few and assumed that I simply dislike the subgenre, and to be honest I still have no idea why the usual shifter and were stories don’t appeal to me. They should, they have everything that I go to a book for but for some reason they just don’t draw me in. The problem here is me, not the books.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">In the end, he challenged me to write one. Another friend joined in and they laughed, knowing that I cannot refuse a direct challenge. It’s a flaw, I’m working on it. That’s actually how I started writing, now that I think of it. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">I wrote three books with wolf shifters. Well, I also wrote one that is complete but I can only really call half of a shifter story. So three and a half? ...I guess? </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">It’s fine. Point is, I’ve had these books for (Unfortunately) several years. They sit there in my documents folder, festering and pouting, waiting for me to pick them back up and give them the good fierce edits that they deserve and I honestly haven’t had the time or attention span to do that until recently. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Now, two of those books are not even remotely ready. I’m not sure I can even call them books, to be honest. When I write the first draft of a story it reads more like a fever dream. Creating a story only takes me a fifth of the time editing does because I can pour ideas out endlessly and I can write very quickly, but it’s sloppy. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">One of the stories is practically done. I could publish this year if I apply myself and nothing goes wrong in my life, but that’s the trick. For nothing to interfere. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The other has a shifter in it as one of the two main characters and his shiftyness is a plot point, but he’s with a Sahrketh man, who is technically a were… So it’s only half shifter? But the other half is a were? Unsure how to catagorize that one but that’s not the point. </span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">I’m currently working on a yet untitled story that stars Luda. He’s a flamboyant outcast that takes care of pets for a living, and has a crush on a human man that he suspects has never noticed him. This story is unlike my other books. Yes it has a few parts that I hope people will bite their nails over, but generally its mood is much lighter than what I feel is my norm. I tried something new, and will continue to try new angles and approaches but to be honest this was hard for me to maintain through an entire book. I’m more of a sarcastic, cynical person than a dreamer. Luda was more difficult for me to write than Calvin was. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The other book that I have a complete but very rough manuscript for is a sister story to the Playing with Tigers series. It’s the story of how two characters in PWT3 meet, because after writing one single scene between them in PWT3, I paused that project to focus on them for a little while. As with Luda, I tried something new and I struggled to make sure it was just right. I’m fairly confident that I succeeded with this one. The book has a lot of uncomfortable charm to it, and I hope it has as much draw as that single scene in Playing with Tigers 3 does. I quite literally wrote five pages with them and fell in love with them. I can’t wait to share them with everyone because I’m sure they’ll love them too. </span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Well, I’m off to make some tea and get started on my day of battling children and writing. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">I’ll post again soon!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">S. K. Hart</span></span></div>
Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-19755285355458787852020-05-18T21:41:00.000-07:002020-05-18T21:41:27.985-07:00I'm not dead!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hi everyone! I keep disappearing, and I am sorry for that! I’m making an effort to try harder. Although I haven’t published in forever, I have been writing, I simply end up hating everything once I finish and telling myself that it’s not good enough. I’m sure plenty of creators out there know what I’m talking about. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve also been involved with several other up and coming authors over the last few years, friends and acquaintances that wanted to write and needed encouragement, a push, some help or someone to show them the way. One or two of them just wanted praise, but they’re not part of my group anymore because I am not a compliment vending machine. Rather the opposite actually HA </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Long story short, even though I haven’t been publishing, I’ve been busy behind the scenes both with my own projects and other people’s, because it’s a lot less stressful when you help someone else publish a book than it is to publish your own. Between the constant issue of finding a cover and proofreaders, the fact that my books are pirated 75% more than they’re purchased (and that’s only the ones I know about lols) and the stress of waiting for the first review of a book, I needed a break. A long one. I’m still not entirely sure that I’m ready to publish anything again, but part of me craves it. I still stay up at night and slink away to lean over a laptop and get lost in a story, whether I’m describing the predatory look in Calvin’s eyes as he lays his eyes on Duncan again in Spannerdire or the spatter of blood on Kura’s face as she fights back to back with Kyo over a carpet of slain enemies. From Gerstan to the Whichway Expressway, Traichi and yet to be seen Kureshna - I am still there. It’s really just a matter of whether I’m ready to invite anyone else. I kept thinking it was time, but it wasn’t.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, then the world sort of stopped for awhile.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Covid did for America what Calvin had done for Duncan: It stopped everything and broke the world. That sudden halt is very jarring for several reasons that I’m sure I don’t have to explain. You’re in it too, or you have been. It’s necessary, and it’s hard. My concerns stretch from my father, who is a diabetic 70 year old with COPD (1000% dead if he catches this shit) to how bad my (only recently manageable, right before COVID) agoraphobia will become by the end of this. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I apologize for getting off track, this post isn’t about COVID19. My email is still being flooded by any business that has ever even heard of an email telling me what they’re doing for this pandemic, even if it’s some abstract company that was closed by the state two months ago. I don’t want to be them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My point is that it’s stressful, and stressful times are unfortunately when I write the best and the fastest. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Cat & the Crow was published within 2 months of me having the idea. It was also published while my oldest son (at the time 8) was having a poor reaction to a medication for anxiety. He became suicidal, and made an attempt at school. In order to have him weaned off as quickly as possible, he was placed in a mental hospital for two months. With my (at the time) newborn, I could not visit him myself. I wasn’t allowed to bring a child under two onto the children’s ward, and everyone that could watch my youngest so that I could go were only free during hours that visitation was off limits. When I did rarely get an opportunity to visit my boy, I saw and heard things from those children that will haunt me forever, and my son had to stay with them so that he could get better. He did, by the way~ Now he’s taller than me and is generally a super fun guy, spent two hours today drawing handsome squidward for a biology assignment about mutation. But he and I still remember what happened in there, and although we both agree even now that it necessary, it was harder than we could’ve imagined.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book was written at a ludicrous speed because I throw myself into creative outlets to channel my stress. I’ve been doing that again, although I am also quite happily dividing my time amongst many friends who are starting up their author career as well. I’m not sure what will come of it, but I realized that when I started having issues with anxiety, I started to publish blog posts and updates less often, then I stopped altogether. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I apologize for it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m back, although I’m not sure what will be published first or specifically when that will be. Maybe I’ll buckle down on that one that’s almost complete from last year. Sadly I hadn’t touched it since about this time in 2019, although I’m sure I have my notes on it. That one is the different one, starring someone who is well adjusted and generally a very happy person for a change. I know, it’s like I didn’t even write it. An adult engaged in a healthy relationship? I swear I haven’t lost my touch! It was just something new and I promise it has some of my typical terrible behavior! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maybe I’ll dust that off later today. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I mean, I have the cover, I’m really just being a coward at this point, right? There’s a worldwide plague and murder hornets and probably a god damned sharknado climbing up the coast with a rusty bucket of bullshit next, how the hell can the judgement of the internet regarding a book that I wrote possibly compete with that? </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Easily. *sigh* </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’ll see. In the meantime, I’m going to have myself an iced coffee and work on the forever awaited PWT3 because sometimes you want to write about a woman unceremoniously breaking someone’s nose for being a jerk and it’s that sort of Tuesday. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As usual anyone who wants to contact me can find me here or on facebook, goodreads also works if anyone wants to have a conversation with me. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wish me luck :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">S. K. Hart (Not dead.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div>
Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-86099761954335440662016-08-01T20:31:00.000-07:002016-08-01T20:31:49.198-07:00Is this because of what I did to Calvin?<div class="MsoNormal">
So, I haven’t been able to feel my arms for a few days. Since Wednesday, actually. It feels like they’ve gone to sleep, they’re
so numb that I went to do my hair and hit myself in the forehead, making me
even more uncoordinated than I normally am.
The most annoying part of that is how often you notice that you can’t
feel them. Every thirty seconds going,
“Oh, is my arm asleep?” in a goddamn loop. </div>
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Furthermore, when the numbness does fade, all I can feel is
this stinging ache that runs the length of them. I have arthritis in my hands, from writing actually, haha, and
this pain isn’t the same but it’s added to it.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Well, since I refuse to pay five hundred dollars to go to
the Emergency room and hear that I have ‘stress’ or ‘bone ghosts,’ (I am very
happy with the local ER, does it show?
They thought that I had stress when I had kidneystones, because stress
makes me piss blood, it runs in my family, we’re very talented.) I waited until
today to go to my doctor, and after bending and stretching me a few ways he
came to the conclusion that I very probably have a slipped disk in my neck
that’s putting pressure on my nerves for my arms. At a strange angle, no less, letting different halves of my two
arms go numb at the same time. I have
imaging later this week to confirm, but after he was done pressing on my head
and back, the pain he left in his wake makes me think that he was probably
right. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Which was a relief really, because once I told people about
my interesting problem they started guessing for me. I have heard that I have the Zika Virus, MS, BRAIN WORMS (looking
at you Seth.), blood clots, lyme disease, and I responded with the aforementioned
‘bone ghosts.’ Ha, technically I was
the closest without going over! He said
a slipped disk and I was ready to throw confetti. </div>
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<br /></div>
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But now I’m sitting here hours after my victory diagnosis,
groaning constantly from my necessary but painful bending, and all I can think
of is that I did this to a few of my characters. Kyo in his lower back, of course, but more specifically to
Calvin. The place in my neck is even
oddly the same. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Which leaves me in a tricky situation because now all I want
to do is write him, but my typo game has gotten much worse with this whole no
feeling/very awful feeling in my arms thing.
I feel like I should get him laid or something as an apology. Except that I like M/M and he’s homophobic
so he probably wouldn’t enjoy it.
Although that does also make it hotter for me if there’s a romantic chase
involved haha</div>
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<br /></div>
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Going to go chill with my bone ghosts and try to get some
feeling in my typing arms!</div>
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S. K. Hart</div>
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Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-88633526400541916702016-03-24T20:45:00.000-07:002016-03-24T20:45:33.288-07:00Misery in Mexico with Nicole Castle!<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t know if I’ve ever posted how I met my friend and
fellow author Nicole Castle, but here’s the short version. I liked Chance Assassin so that got us
talking, and she invited me to join her on a trip to Cancun, which is where I
met her for the very first time face to face.
We’ve been going on these trips ever since, every March. This year was my third invitation, and for
once I was looking forward to it. I get
anxious about traveling but oh my god, this year…</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
About a month ago I was hospitalized (kidneys hooray!), my
father’s health began failing so fast that we all realized he’ll be leaving us
sooner than we thought, my husband was having anxiety for the first time in his
life because of a poor work environment and my older son was being bullied at
school (Still is. Lawyers are the next
step). My mother in law decided to
surprise me with a sudden and unwanted bathroom renovation at this precise
moment, so I ended up busier than I’d ever been while both of our bathrooms
were torn apart. My younger son began
acting up because of the stress and my mother began to leak blood like a
sieve. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I needed a vacation but because everything here in New
England was held together with hope and stubbornness, I wasn’t sure that I
should go. It was my mother who
convinced me that I should. Whether or not she
was right, I’m undecided. I think… haha nope. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the story for the entertainment of others!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Misery in Los Cabos with Nicole Castle – </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The journey began when I was felt up by a Logan TSA agent
when the machine beeped on me for the very first time. Since Logan is one of those airports where
you do not fuck around, I usually end up making myself look suspicious because
I’m far too eager to do whatever they want.
Cooperate? FUCK YES I AM
COOPERATING SO HARD! I don a state of
mind where if I display anything but freakish excitement they’ll think I’m up
to some shit, so I make sure I am as enthusiastic as goddamn possible. Not only did I beep, I beeped on the upper
inside of my thigh. *Knowing smile and
slow nod* Yeaaah. A woman who sounded like Dr. Girlfriend from
Venture Brothers who smelled like peanuts and had the alluring qualities of a
treasure troll quickly approached and explained what she was planning to do:
slip her hands under the edge of my underwear and feel around, then feel my
butt and inside of my legs. How did I
react? I nodded and put my hands behind
my head and smiled at her, then invited her to go ahead. You know, I’ve never imagined an expression
like the one she gave me. She seemed
stunned when she asked if I was comfortable doing that right there in front of
everyone in the security line at 2am. I
think my response was something along the lines of it was her idea so I wasn’t
letting her back out now. So, to the
muffled chuckles of her coworkers, this poor woman groped me, and then had to
listen to me crack jokes about how if she wanted a cigarette after that I had a
spare for her. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bonus; the seventy-three year old woman behind me also
beeped and received the same treatment!
The smile she gave this employee was even creepier than mine. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After experiencing the sexy allure of being partially
stripped in public and groped by a woman half my height with a hygiene problem,
I was tired (satisfied?) enough to sleep through most of the ride to Houston,
which for anybody who’s never been, is a massive airport. Sadly, I run funny. Add to my funny run the fact that I hadn’t
eaten since 2am, had all of my possessions strapped to my back like I was
planning on camping for the next decade and have a habit of smoking nonstop
before getting on a plane. I knew I
would have to speed walk. If I dared to
run I feared I would drop dead. I
attracted a few stares as I marched to the closest sandwich shop like a mobile
hoarder and did the unthinkable: I grabbed a sandwich from a cooler and ate it
like it needed to die violently. All of
this while scurrying poorly towards my next gate. I saw the time, risked everything and ran, only to end up at the
correct gate, doubled over and having a Duncan moment. And my plane wasn’t there. It was running behind. I had this image in my head where we went to
board and just fell off of the end of that tunnel thing onto the pavement, and
I wasn’t proud of how hard I laughed at that.
I guess the hope for me to make it there on time had come true, but so
had the hope that maybe the plane would wait for me to get there if I got
lost. Forty minutes were spent catching
my breath, during which time I called Sasha to see how my little one was
treating her. He was being good, and
that upset me because he’s always terrible for me so I spent the remainder of
my wait grumbling to myself about how bad I am at being a parent. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bonus: was able to lose some faith in humanity! A woman who clearly had asthma was panting
as loud as me and when she went to check something at the desk a spring breaker
loudly and rudely asked her if she was sick, then spat that she can’t get sick
because it was her spring break. The
woman informed her that she was having an asthma attack brought on by stress,
since she was heading to Los Cabos to bury her brother. The young twit continued to try and
humiliate her, but was silenced by her friends before everyone else got
involved. <- this comes up again
later.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On my second solo plane ride of the day, I spent my time
talking to another person who was traveling from Boston, who – Are you ready
for this? Was a super tall and wiry
ginger who towards the end of our conversation shared a story that implied he
liked to roller skate. If you don’t
know why that had me internally rolling around giggling, let me know and I’ll
personally send you a copy of The Disassembled Life of Duncan Cole. Green eyes and if memory serves he was
eating candy to try and get his ears to pop.
Yeah, I refused to ask his name because I want to believe it was
Dan. He even looked similar to how I’d
imagined the character, ha! When
‘Probably not Dan but dear god that’s strange’ went to the airplane’s
bathroom/closet of turbulence terror, I got caught in a conversation with the young
man sitting near the window closest to me until we arrived in Mexico. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For anyone who has never gone to Mexico I love the way they
do Customs. They have you push a
button. If the light turns red, they’ll
check your bags and ask you questions to make sure you’re not dangerous. If it turns green? Well, you’re FREE TO GO!
It’s like they really can’t be bothered to give a shit if everyone is
smuggling something. My customs guy was
so busy commenting on my Captain America shirt that he actually asked me what
color I got because he wasn’t even pretending to pay attention to his national
security job thingy. I said green and
he bid me a good vacation. Sadly, I’m
honest, because this would’ve been a much better story if I’d gotten the red
light instead. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a harrowing drive to the resort (there may have been
bodies in our wake), I was told I’d need to wait fifteen minutes for them to
finish cleaning our room. That didn’t
sound unreasonable so I left my bag with them and went to have a smoke, and
thirty minutes later was informed that it was ready, but they could no longer
locate my bag. I found that hard to
believe since the fucker weighed more than it rightfully should and was so
overstuffed that the seams were strained to their absolute limit, screaming for
merciful death every time I zipped it.
The room had coffee rings on the table and a blue pill of unknown origin
under the edge of the bed when my bodybag and I finally arrived. It makes me wonder what the hell they had to
do in there. Were there bodies? Projectile vomit? They’d been in there when I arrived and took double the estimated
time to finish. They didn’t touch the
table or the floor, so what did they do exactly? I dropped my things on a chair, opened the door to the balcony to
wave some of the frigid air out into the wild to fend for itself, made myself
pretty and promptly fell into an exhausted nap so that I could time travel to
Nicole’s arrival. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*drum roll* Nicole
woke me up when she came in and I have never been so damn happy to see
anybody! Usually on these trips we have
a eating itinerary that makes me wonder how we are so thin, so I’d waited for
her to begin.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1<sup>st</sup> breakfast</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2<sup>nd</sup> breakfast</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elevensies</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brunch</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Luncheon</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Afternoon snack</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Afternoon tea (which usually doesn’t include teas, just more
food)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sunset mealtime</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dinner </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Supper</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dessert</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nightcap meal</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And whenever possible Midnight Snack.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is why I diet before going on vacation. I will work out and eat healthy because I
plan ahead. I only had four days to eat
like the damned, and the clock was ticking.
We were heading to the buffet when we spotted the pool bar. I asked her to get a plate of nachos while I
went for a burger, because Nicole is a vegetarian but thankfully doesn’t seem
to mind if I eat as many animals as I can find, because let’s face it, it’s not
happening. I love animals and the cuter
they are the more delicious they taste.
The burger was the size of my head: it was the first to die. She’d coyly saved about three nachos from
her own massacred plate to ask if I wanted any but I wasn’t feeling up to it
after eating that burger so fast that I probably should’ve worn a smock and
offered her an umbrella. Somehow she
was able to eat my cut of the nachos.
Like that person who will eat a whole pizza but leave the last slice,
you know, in case you wanted some. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We went to our first dinner function, which went by without
too much of a hitch. My throat and ears
were burning but I don’t fly often so I figured that it was from the plane and
brushed it off. At this point I’d been
awake for almost twenty four hours with only that pitiful nap to break it up,
so we went back to the room early, and that was where I stayed. Not by choice, but necessity. Nicole went to change only to discover that
WHOOPS they’d never delivered her checked bag to the room. She went to hunt it and by the time she got
back I had a problem. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My stomach is my worst enemy. It took me almost two years to realize that my bitchy whore of a
stomach was actually what was causing my anxiety because I have a rare side
effect of acid reflux disease. So rare
that my doctor was freakishly excited that I had it and he could catalogue it
from one of his own patients (the sadist).
When I have any issue with my stomach, it causes me to have panic
attacks. I’m not talking feeling antsy,
I’m talking IMPENDING DOOM HIDE UNDER A TABLE AND CRY LIKE A BITCH panic
attacks. I’m taking ambulance rides and
EKG panic attacks. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so began our sorry descent into what I will just bluntly
call Shit Madness. I could be coy, but
really there’s no point. Guess who
shouldn’t have eaten that sandwich at the airport? Or maybe it was the burger, I have no idea. I was sure I hadn’t come in contact with any
impure water, because Nicole taught me well when we met in Cancun. All I know is that I told Nicole I wasn’t
feeling well, and after the first fifteen or so trips to the bathroom that this
poor unfortunate woman had to share with me, the panic started. Within a few minutes I was sobbing and
weaving incoherent apologies for things and situations that I don’t even
remember. I might’ve apologized to her
because I like the color green, I have no idea. To make matters worse, she then tried to figure out how to
comfort me and when she awkwardly patted my head I snatched her hand and
dragged her into the bed with me like a vampire collecting a victim, then made
her spoon with me. Which worked out
great because that air conditioner was making both of us so cold that our noses
were running. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so it came to pass that Nicole Castle and I huddled for
warmth in Mexico watching Storage Wars and reruns of House. She made a joke that I’d finally gotten her
to sleep with me, I told her that she had to notify my children of my love if I
was found dead in the morning, she responded that she would CPR the shit out of
me, I countered that it wouldn’t be necessary as there was nothing left to help
her achieve that goal… Good times. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I really am the best traveling companion, I don’t know why
more people don’t take me places. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By morning I was so sick that I wanted to go home because
nothing is quite as scary as being sick in another country a half day away from
your children. Turned out that I was
too poor. When I called my husband he
was too poor too, and bitch that I am I laughed at him for it, like I wasn’t
equally as impoverished as he was.
Remembering that we had an eating schedule but recognizing that I wasn’t
going to take part in it, I made sure Nicole knew she should go to breakfast,
and she was kind enough to bring me back some toast. I ate in bed and covered myself hatefully in crumbs, glowering at
Bear Grylls from Man VS Wild because we watched an episode where he got
diarrhea and halfway through climbing a waterfall dropped his pants to let
loose. Mocking me, the smug jerk. Nicole slipped back in the bed with me (it
was too cold to sleep in separate beds and we needed all blankets with both
bodies to survive) and we had a moment where we both sort of looked at the shrapnel
from my obliterated toast and then at each other. I lazily shoved as many crumbs out as I could and tried to let
her sleep because she’d watched over me through the worst of my panic. She’d been prepared to CPR the fuck out of
me with the skills she’d picked up in sixth grade. We briefly contemplated switching beds but resigned ourselves to
nap in my breadcrumbs like a narcoleptic version of Hansel and Gretel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nicole stole more bread to feed me lunch and we decided to
try and get out of the room. I have no
idea why. We both dislike crowds and
noise, sand, the smell of tanning lotion, we didn’t want to swim in the ocean
where we were because the beach was a 45 degree angle into the largest waves
I’d seen in awhile and I burn stupidly fast.
She mentioned that she wanted a pina colada. My friend who guarded me from my demons through the night wanted
a drink, so goddamn it, she would have one!
Or… not. We went to the bar and
after 15 minutes of waiting, often as the only people there, the bartender
didn’t serve us. More than that, he
would stare at us for a few seconds, then busy himself with cleaning glasses,
only to serve the next people that came up to the bar. It took another employee asking him why we
hadn’t been served to get a answer why: he was only serving people who were at
one specific location on the thirty foot bar and we were about five feet to his
right. I was too sick to cause a scene,
but Nicole removed my chance to try because she said she wasn’t going to give
him the pleasure of making us conform.
Feeling like a rebellious American, I agreed and we went back to the
room, but I still wished I could’ve at least gotten her drunk as thanks. That way she could puke on me and we’d be
even. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By dinner I was convinced I was well enough to try and
eat. That plan backfired when I had to
weakly stumble back to the room again, retreating from the sustenance I needed
because I wagered I needed the facilities more. Much to my surprise she returned defeated as well, since they
weren’t letting anyone take bread back from dinner. I had to get up. So, pale
as hell and looking like death, I put on the warmest clothes I had and went to
dinner with her, where I was thwarted by the all Mexican buffet. It may sound like a Mexican buffet is common
in Mexico, but at the resorts we’d been to there was always a huge variety of
choices. Never had I been faced with so
many foods that could take my personal hell and make it worse. Nicole got me a bowl of chicken broth
because I was too goddamn dizzy to do that, and I had to spit my first sip back
in the bowl because they added so much spice even to that, that I couldn’t have
it. The waiters slowed and stared at me
when I grabbed three pieces of bread, dropped them on a napkin and choked them
down with water, because my face was likely one of murder. I didn’t want to risk missing my breakfast
if I didn’t feel better by then, so we quietly devised a plan to smuggle some
more bread. I was wearing a fitted
hoodie that hid very little, but with my hands in my pocket I was sure I could
conceal some bread. But what to use as
a distraction to get past the guard at the buffet? Nicole, our fearless writer of fearless assassins, pulled a
Vincent and filled a disposable cup with popcorn, then made a show of eating it
as we walked out so that even if they did stop her, they would never catch
me. That’s right, we stole free
bread. And we got away with it by
distracting the authorities with popcorn.
Thug life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My panic was only an occasional problem at this point, but
after panic attacks comes a brief few hours of depression. Giving in to anxiety makes me feel weak and
pathetic, and knowing that I’d ruined our vacation wasn’t helping. The only reason she and I go to Mexico and
Jamaica is to see each other, and I’d seen the toilet more than her and she’d
only seen me at my absolute worst. I
turned on the television and smiled a bit when she came to bed with me again,
because she didn’t have to do that. Not
many people would. But I appreciated
it. Somewhere around the two hundredth
ad for ‘Kilos Muertes’ she dozed off, so I turned the tv off, shimmied down the
bed and turned off the light, and I resolved not to wake her for any
reason. Then she stole all of the
blankets. Undeterred, I slithered lower
in the bed, where the blankets were tucked under the mattress and wouldn’t
move. By morning I was cuddling with
her feet, but I’d succeeded because she slept like the dead. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When asked if I wanted to take a shower I elected to refuse
general hygiene (unsure why) and grumble from bed, but I did agree that I
should probably eat something other than bread and joined her for
breakfast. That’s when I discovered
that I couldn’t breathe. She pointed
out that I was a smoker, but I hadn’t been smoking much, what with being
chained to the bathroom and bed. Not to
mention I’d been able to breathe two days before, so having such a sudden onset
of COPD seemed unlikely. I was gasping
for air like a fish out of water by the time we made it to the buffet and guess
what? Nobody would wait on us
again! We waited at least twenty
minutes in an uncrowded hall for someone to see if we wanted coffee, tea or
water, and nobody came. We could see
them waiting on everyone else, though.
I got myself a plate of honeydew melon and watermelon, then quietly
commented that I guess I wasn’t going to have any water with my breakfast since
the only fountain drinks available were juices that I wasn’t touching since
they could’ve been made with unfiltered water.
I wasn’t taking any more chances: Montezuma’s curse could go fuck itself. At that exact moment a manager happened to
be walking by the window next to us, which I hadn’t even realized was open, and
he popped his head inside of it and scared me half to death, checking to see if
he’d heard correctly. I gave him a
bewildered nod and within seconds a young man came to our table to pour us
water, shaking so badly that I felt like a jackass for saying anything at
all. Once I had fruit in me, I went for
an omelette, offered to give Nicole half of it and then proceeded to eat it all
anyway. Thankfully she didn’t seem to
care, as she’d foraged and found a plate of sweets that had her name on
them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At this point I could no longer lift my arms over my head I
was so weak, but I’d brought iron supplements with me because I’m anemic and on
occasion it helps. I warned Nicole that
they can and often do give me anxiety because they give me energy so fast that
it startles me, and we agreed I needed one.
It was worth the risk and she
was prepared to deal with my madness if necessary. The tv in our room was fucking with me, because no more than
fifteen minutes after starting on an episode of House it turned out that the
thing that was shutting down the character’s system was that he had too much
iron in his blood and it was causing organ failure. A sign that Nicole knows me well: I only gave her one scared
glance and without uttering a word to her about my thoughts she informed me
that I was fine and I needed to shut the fuck up. This was where I started to have a bit of fun, because that got
me laughing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’d been trying to stay away from cigarettes since I already
couldn’t breathe but my anxiety was getting bad again and I was pretty sure it
was withdrawals, so I went on the balcony to have one, and that was probably
the most fun we had the entire trip.
Sitting on a balcony and talking about our books. I told her about my new story idea and she
told me about one of hers, we bickered about the Chance Assassin series and
Duncan and I reminded her that I wanted Miko in print so that I could cuddle
with him after a fashion. We were
having enough fun that we somehow managed to ignore one of her friends knocking
on the door for what must’ve been fifteen straight minutes, only to then
receive a passive aggressive text about it later on. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then came the function that we were there for. I wasn’t feeling great but I was determined
to go even if I passed out, because the event we were supposed to attend was
important to her. We put on our
smashing eveningwear and heels while watching batman, then went upstairs, where
we both were exhausted by a long wait to go into the ballroom. To understand why this next part makes me so
irate, I need to explain that in Jamaica we attended an event where they brought
out four hundred steaming plates of shrimp and I learned I was extremely
allergic to it, because my throat closed up instantly and I had to run from the
ballroom and wait outside until the entire event was over. I’d had a mild allergy a few years back but
it had apparently gotten so bad that I couldn’t be around the steam from
it. Cold shrimp was fine, but I hadn’t
even known that the steam could do that to me.
I’ll give you three guesses what dinner was. Again. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, gasping for air I left her there again and went without
dinner for awhile. When my blood sugar
tanked so hard that my vision blurred I asked someone where I could go to get
food and they directed me to one of the restaurants that was inclusive for that
evening. I changed back into my Captain
America shirt, triple checked that the ‘do not disturb sign’ was on the door,
then went downstairs and had more fruit and bread since that was the only thing
that didn’t make my body want to expel my fucking bones. When I returned to the room the sign had
been taken and slid under the door, and housekeepers had done a turndown
service. Maids broke into our room to
leave us mints, which was a bit puzzling and entertaining, since I can only
imagine what they thought. There were
two beds but we’d only been sleeping in one, where all the blankets were
piled. My underwear and bikinis
happened to be the clothes that I’d knocked to the floor when getting my
eveningwear on and there were balled up tissues and empty water bottles
surrounding the bed. If we also
consider the wounded moaning I’d uttered on that first night, I think I now
understand why everyone that attends these events assumes we’re lovers. It probably didn’t help that as soon as she
got home, she had an itchy throat, running nose, fever and the inability to
breathe. Yeah, turned out that was a
virus. GO ME! I can only hope that everyone thinks we were making out because
the truth is so embarrassing and disgusting.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Remember that lady from my flight to Los Cabos? The one who was going to bury her
brother? She was sitting next to me on
the flight back to Chicago. I was able
to tell her that if it had come to it I would’ve had her back and I made
another friend out of it. Then came my
breathless gasping dash through O’Hare, which wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d
expected. I beeped again. This time the guy who was there saw me
chuckle and listened when I explained that on this trip the machines had been
out to get me, and he had me go in again but advised me to relax. I passed fine. He concluded that I was inadvertently so tense that I was
throwing the machine off. Thighs of
steel, evidently.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bonus: the flight attendants on both flights home also did
not wait on me, pissing off the people next to me in my row. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I went to Los Cabos weighing 124 pounds. I came home at 112. Four days.
Nicole says that nobody waited on me because I’ve become so thin that
they can’t see me anymore. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m not entirely sure how this post got so long, but I guess
I have some thoughts here. I mean,
going on a vacation with a friend where everything goes perfectly makes some
good memories, but not always good stories.
We’re writers, Nicole and me. We
like stories, and most of ours come from a shred of reality. Oddly this time I mirrored fiction, living a
scene that one of her characters experienced in CA3. Don’t think for a moment that I’d want to relive this trip, but
at the very least, I got a good story out of it. A friend that can take you at your best is still a friend, but a
friend that can take you at your hysterical pants-shitting worst? That’s one hell of a friend. Not that many people do this sort of thing
for me, so I guess what I’m saying is that I often jokingly tell Nicole that
she’s lucky we’re ‘bro’s.’ I never
really admit how lucky that makes me.
If it had been almost anybody else, I would’ve had an even worse
time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, Los Cabos can just fall into the ocean for all I
care. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> Work updates to follow after Easter ;) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
S. K. <3</div>
Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-24740812120482612992016-01-04T08:18:00.002-08:002016-01-04T08:18:53.023-08:00New year, new work!<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh hello, 2016. You
probably thought you had the jump on me, didn’t you? Well guess again! Because
of fireworks set off in a packed parking lot directly next to my house a bit
prematurely, I was wide awake and adrenaline packed when you reared your head! And this year? Oh, it’s on. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m sure many of my fans and readers have noticed, I haven’t
published lately. Since Duncan,
actually, which was at the end of May in 2014.
I can provide excuses, but they’re really just that, and as much as I’d
like to blame the insane amount of stress on my inability to finish my many
drafts, that has literally never stopped me before. As a matter of fact, it often used to make books come faster
because that was how I coped. For
example, the Cat & the Crow was written, from the first idea to published,
in a little more than two months. The
book coincided with the worst thing that I’d had to endure, so it seems that if
we look at my history, I am a very prolific author if I’m going crazy and need
to work some shit out on my own. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So let’s just be honest here, why haven’t I finished
anything? I think part of my problem is
that I worry people may be expecting another 777 page tome like Duncan, or a
short but emotional performance like the Cat & the Crow. And that’s stupid of me, because although
there are a few things that I prefer to write about, I will never write the
same book twice. Since I’ve never given
that impression I have no idea why I had this belief that everyone would expect
that of me, and now I feel like a fool for procrastinating so long lol</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have a lot of books in the works, and I often change my
mind regarding which one I want to finish.
Because I write on so many projects simultaneously, I now have enough
written on at least four of them that I could push myself to get them done, and
I feel like a coward for finding excuses to start on new ones instead of finish
any of the ones I have started, so this is what I have so far.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At long last, here’s an update on my writing – </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Swordmaster Dasan series is my most popular. I’d like to think because it’s good but the
fact that the first book is free probably helps since it lets people get a
sample of my crazy characters. Anybody
who had downloaded the original Swordmaster Dasan 2 from Smashwords also got a
teaser for their (at that time) next book, but that book was also the very
first that my beta readers gave me a red light on, because they wanted more to
happen before the series ended. That
final book is still here, still completed and will be changed as needed to fit
into the insane shitstorm that is my plot.
I now have at least one more book that will go between Swordmaster Dasan
two and the last book, here’s a breakdown of the beginning </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Swordmaster Dasan 3 – </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Loki hears that Kyo has taken a new student he risks
everything for a chance to go and investigate the relationship between his
sadistic Swordmaster and the seemingly perfect Prince Nikira. He’s unsurprised that Kyo disapproves of his
sudden and uninvited presence, but as the days pass, something starts to feel a
bit off. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s a breakdown of the first few chapters, I don’t want
to give much more away. Anyone who read
Playing with Tigers may recall a mention by Kura where Loki wanted time off
and, rather impressively, stole her job long enough to grant himself leave and
take a vacation. In the second Playing
with Tigers, he claims that he’s the reason that the Arketh hate them, and I
decided that this story really did need to make it into a book after all, so
there you have it</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Playing with Tigers 3-</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Keel and Kaji have been trying to recover from the events
that they’d suffered when Keel gets a worrisome letter from his sister, and
they reluctantly decide to head north to visit his family. Their journey coincides with the appointment
of a new Headmistress and the Sahrketh’s very first Headmaster at the Palace,
which leads them to the news that Kaji’s estranged sibling has been
incarcerated overseas. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s not an official blurb by any means, just a basic gist
of the very start. Worry not – there’s
plenty of everything that was in the first two, from sex to intrigue, Sahrketh
violence and Yunan humor. The first two
books are mostly done with heavy re-edits (I still missed some stuff, I’m
sure… Sorry! -_-) but I currently plan to make the first one free after I
implement updated documents, and possibly the second one as well. No point in writing the third book if
nobody’s read the first two, right? </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Duncan 2 – </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The surviving cast from the first book returns in its entirety
for another round of madness, starting with Duncan’s discovery that his former
house isn’t as vacant as he remembered and that he’s being brought up on
charges for the events that transpired in Crush. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had some trouble finding an appropriate villain for this
one because even in a fantasy setting, everyone would have a bone to pick with
Duncan, so for once my problem was that there were too many people who would
want to ruin his life. I think I picked
properly, and I’m very proud to say that I even found a way for a certain
someone to realistically refuse to be involved (as the involvement of a
murdering sociopath who can’t die is just taking the cheap way out) that works
so well I laugh and raise my cup of tea to my own cleverness. It’s not ready for human eyes yet, as my
opponent for Duncan does not give me the chills and that just won’t do. But it’s coming along splendidly. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Then there’s this –</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Untitled book for a certain villain.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSPkgtpgnIX3OUphuy5mRpBGEZM9GSz3SjBIuFv3rboiRpG48UL0aY870588t6_r-jKVN0kl8pwu-mwZHWon_yPmwFSa9EeRs2h84ThM2i6zXQVMS2zxQbx6-qJtwbw1B3pFEGBuAMTw/s1600/calvin+final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSPkgtpgnIX3OUphuy5mRpBGEZM9GSz3SjBIuFv3rboiRpG48UL0aY870588t6_r-jKVN0kl8pwu-mwZHWon_yPmwFSa9EeRs2h84ThM2i6zXQVMS2zxQbx6-qJtwbw1B3pFEGBuAMTw/s400/calvin+final.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Need I say more?
;) He’s a bitch to write but
damn, if he doesn’t end up making me proud at the end of the day. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This picture is actually FAN ART! Can you believe that?
That’s art from one of my amazing fans!
You can find her <a href="http://yeucherie.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">here</a>, and she takes commissions! I have dibbs on this pic though, ladies and
gentlemen! That’s actually going to be
the cover for his book, since I keep staring at it and smiling. Do not use that picture without my
permission or the permission of Cheri, please and thank you. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Annnnnd then there’s also this untitled book that I’ve been
working on that I’m not sure where to start with. It’s good? That seems
like a decent start, but as with all of my books, if I try to explain it I
sound as normal as Willy Wonka. (This
is NOT an official blurb!) Here, I’ll give it a try:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Swordmaster Iyren Caro is Sahrketh, which means that when
he’s really pissed off or his adrenaline spikes, he may start to show some
tiger attributes. Thankfully that
hasn’t happened yet, since Sahrketh men are known to take much longer after
they turn to calm down than their female counterparts. He’s offered a mating contract by a woman so
abrasive towards him that, should she spontaneously explode in his kitchen, he
would be more upset that he would need to mop than by her sudden demise. But she has gold and they both know how
badly he needs it if he ever wants to do more than break up bar fights and
scold the locals for traipsing over the border to cause trouble for their
longest standing enemies. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ranger Warren Elborough is Kyathe and has spent a few years
defending his community of wolf shifters from the barbaric and savage Sahrketh
that they unfortunately share a border with.
While trying to prove something to one of his friends he stumbles into
some trouble and ends up being abducted by slavers in the most embarrassingly
simple way he’d ever heard of. His
captors thankfully don’t realize that he’s Kyathe, but every chance he has to shift
and escape is thwarted until he finally comes to the realization that he’d have
more luck getting back home once he’s been sold. Only, the woman who buys him knows what he is, what that
means. To make matters worse, she’s
Sahrketh, and she clearly already has a plan for him.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
See what I did there?
I took two characters who can’t speak a language between them that are
trained to kill each other on sight and would both be eager to do so, and then
I rubbed my hands together, chuckled evilly and said, “Now touch him a little a
bit.” If you want to see how I
accomplished that, it’s super fun and it’ll be ready for beta readers in a few
months! :D I’m actually sort of proud of this one because the way that they
interact… NAILED IT! Not sure when it
will be completed but it’s the closest of the bunch that have been mentioned
and the draft only needs a few more chapters, some editing and ironing and then
it will be ready for betas. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think that’s about everything for this post! As always, I adore feedback from ‘loved it!’
to ‘It’s bad and you should feel bad!’ and I can be reached through goodreads
or on facebook </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Happy New Year!</div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">S. K. <3</span>Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-74491499985078399362015-10-15T05:22:00.000-07:002015-10-15T05:22:21.750-07:00Times Change<div class="MsoNormal">
So a little slice of life - </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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My mother was raised in a racist and homophobic environment,
because her parents were raised in a racist and homophobic environment and so
on and so forth. My husband’s mother
was raised in a similar setting, but add in a large dependency on
religion. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, I really believe that life won’t always give you what you
want, but occasionally it will give you what you need. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When my brother started dating men, my mother hadn’t been
informed of his orientation but some part of her must’ve always known. She jokingly said that he was at his
friend’s house enough that she wondered if he was gay. And he looked her dead in the eye and
nodded, then told her that he was. She
looked at me and asked if I was and I shrugged and told her I was
bisexual. To my mother’s credit, she
only freaked out for one night before she was able to shake everything she’d
ever been told and come to terms with that.
What I mean by that is that she was told at 9pm, and by breakfast the next
morning, she was smiling and hugging again.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few years after that, my brother told me about a guy at
his work who was very attractive but seemed straight and told me I should go
and take a look (because gay brothers are the freaking BEST wingmen
ever!). So I went in and met the man
who is now my husband. I brought him
home, my mom looked at him and her face got very pale, and only then did I
realize that the fact he was black might be an issue for her. And my dog, actually, who was so fascinated
at discovering a person who was an entirely different color that he shoved his
nose in the man’s crotch and tried to wear him as a hat for the first four
hours he was there… She pulled me
aside, made sure I knew that some people would have an issue, and despite her
own reservations, accepted my answer: that I didn’t want to live my life by
ignorant moron’s rules and if he was my somebody then I’d damn well have
him. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His mother actually asked him if he was planning to keep it
in the family, which is apparently some creepy phrasing for “Are you going to
marry a black woman?” instead of some gross demand he marry a relative, and he
flat out told her that wasn’t happening unless something changed because he
hadn’t found one yet that clicked with him in literally any way. She didn’t like me for awhile, haha. When we had our first child he came out
whiter than snow and because he has the shape of my husband’s eyes, he looked
sort of Asian. She immediately jumped
on that and suggested we should get a paternity test, not because she doubted
of course, but because other people might.
Mhm. She herself had told me
that her own children (who are the color of rich mahogany) all came out whiter
than me and got darker over the following weeks, but apparently when mine did
it was a freak occurrence in her head, I’m not sure. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As for her opinion of my brother marrying a man, there were
some very offensive comments and laughter at the time. I left their Christmas party one year
because a relative said something ridiculously homophobic, but I stopped at the door and turned around
with a smile on my face to inform him that the wine he was drinking was bought
with the proceeds of gay smut. The look
on his face was so gratifying that I’m smiling right now just remembering it. Twas a merry Christmas after all.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, it’s been years, we had another magical color changing
baby that looked one race and then turned into a bunch of others and our patience
and tolerance has finally paid off. His
mother has come to terms with the fact that I bred with her son, so even if he
isn’t in the picture, our children and myself by association still will
be. Forever. She told me earlier this week that out of all of her kids, it’s
me and Vicky (another woman of a different race who is planning to marry into
the family) that are always there for her and that she’s so happy to have us in
her life. To clarify, my husband and
his brother (Vicky’s fiancé), don’t give their mother the time of day. The reasons are vast and I’m not going to
get into them, but for years I’ve maintained the relationship with this woman
who initially and enthusiastically hated me, I answer the phone every time she calls and I help her
as much as I physically can (and often more, putting my own life on hold to
help her sort out her shit). Now the daughters she never wanted are better to her than her own kids and she seems to genuinely appreciate us. *shrug*</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Times change. My
mother was raised in a house full of ignorance and hate, and now she welcomes
me, her three sons of many colors and two biracial grandchildren into her home
with open arms, actually complains if she doesn’t get to see all of us on a
weekly basis. My mother in law, who
like my mother came from a long and miserable background, now carries a picture
of us in her wallet and proudly shows everyone her kids and grandkids. She’s actually gone to Vicky’s defense many
times, screaming that she’s Vicky’s mother when asked who she is and why she’s
getting involved, which can be entertaining because they always look at her and
at Vicky like maybe they don’t realize
that they’re different colors. She
happily and proudly encourages my work (knowing what it is, mind you) and asks
about my brother every time we talk. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The reason I bring this up now is because both of these
women have, within the last week, met or seen their very first transgender
person. My mother saw a woman in the
grocery store who was still going through her change, and not only smiled at her,
but struck up a conversation to ask how she got her hair to do what it was
doing. My mother in law had a long
discussion with the young man she met about his transition (To the young man
she met, if you’re reading this I’m sorry!
She means well but she’s curious and blunt. I facepalmed when she told me what she was asking him. The man was a damn saint for putting up with
it.) She later added him to her phone
so that they could go furniture shopping together. Then she called me to tell me about it, trying to explain to me
that it’s very difficult for trans people as if I hadn’t been trying to tell
her the same damn thing for the last 11 years, haha. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I thought that was worth sharing, because I’m really proud
of these two women for choosing acceptance and love, even though it was a long
and hard trip for both of them. Trust
me, there’s plenty of people in both families that haven’t, but maybe that’ll
change with time. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And if it doesn’t, then we can just have a multi-racial lgbt
parade stomp by their house.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
:D </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now I’m off to read a few books and work, although what I’ll
be working on, I can’t tell you. I have
too many books in progress. Updates as
they become available</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
S. <3</div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-7181005773097891422015-05-27T18:26:00.001-07:002015-05-27T18:26:47.037-07:00I'm gonna be thirty!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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It’s that time of the year again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As of June 3<sup>rd</sup>, I’ll be a year older.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why am I mentioning that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because, this year I’ll be 30.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s right, I successfully survived three
whole decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In your face,
haters!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Someone asked me how I’ve enjoyed the last decade and I
didn’t have a response ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
bothered me, and when I went home I couldn’t get that question out of my head-
it started to haunt me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did I have fun?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would I do it again?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I set out on a mission to figure that out,
and started by gathering some evidence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So here it is, the list of what I’ve done with myself for the last ten
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve written about 30 stories, turned 6 into novels and
published them (technically 7 but I unpublished my first shortly after I put it
up, like someone would see it and know I dared to share it.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did the covers for most of them when I had
the time, then hired Miss H. C. Fang when I didn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through my writing I’ve met 3 of my closest friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I left the country for the first time, taking a plane by my
lonesome to join one of those friends in Cancun, and we had enough fun that she
even invited me and my husband to join her in Jamaica the following year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which we did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, it was awesome even though he got drunk and walked into a
tree and I had an allergic reaction to a room full of steamed shrimp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notice she didn’t have an embarrassing story
in there, lol</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My longest friendship is approaching 22 years, and she and I
went on multiple excursions over the last 10.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She brought me to my very first steampunk convention despite my kicking
and screaming, and apparently I liked it because we went again this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We set another new tradition, where she and
I excuse ourselves, hand our children to our sulking husbands and ditch them
for a weekend to escape into New Hampshire’s wilderness every summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This typically results in bad drunken poetry
and sunburns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve embarked on a few family vacations, going away with the
people I need to get away from, and have actually started to enjoy them on
occasion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My husband now understands
that when I say I want to be in nature, I really mean that I want to be close
to nature without actually being surrounded by it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After six years of figuring out if we liked each other, my
husband and I officially got married under the cover of darkness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We picked the Friday following our decision
to do it, which oddly coincided with my brother and his husband’s
anniversary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which is great because I
constantly forget which year we’re on and can just call my brother and ask him,
since he was married exactly one year before I was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To the hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I discovered in my early twenties that our oldest son, who
just barely missed being born in the last ten years (he turns eleven in july)
had ADHD that could contend with mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I tried my hardest to help him and nothing seemed to work, possibly
because he learned that he could distract me quite easily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many a homework date has been derailed
because he starts me on a topic that I’m interested in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then when he was seven we decided to have
our second child, which turned out to be another boy, who is so sarcastic and
curmudgeony that I regret writing part of Duncan while I was pregnant with
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s been like this from birth,
mind you, greeting me with a smile and immediately scowling at his father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve lost a lot of people in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some died, some just stopped coming
around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the last ten years I’ve lost
2 to the boneyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because one happened
to be my grandmother, who was incredibly close to my son, I had to explain to
my child that she was never coming back, but at least she had kicked this
life’s ass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That she was gone, but she
left as a blackbelt at being alive and that we should be proud to have known
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other family members immediately
fucked this up and made him a hysterical mess, because some of them are just…
terrible lol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My oldest son had a bad reaction to medication that made him
suicidal when he was eight, and in order to wean him off of it as quickly as
possible he was institutionalized, so that they could supervise him and prevent
withdrawals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of writers say that
they write to stay sane and I’m no different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was in a children’s ward for eight weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrote an entire book in those eight weeks because I couldn’t
handle not seeing him around the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Believe it or not, this was a blessing in disguise because if not for
his two month stay in a mental health facility, we never would’ve learned that
he had Aspergers syndrome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He only has
a hint of it, enough that it went unnoticed for eight years, during which he
was seeing people for his ADHD that were trained to look for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our relationship has been so much better
once we realized that, because it explained why my older boy will follow me
around like a miniature business analyst, explaining to me how I can be more
efficient while notifying me that I have laugh lines on my face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My mother had two aneurisms in her brain and underwent brain
surgery to have them dealt with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was
told by her family that the best thing I could do for her was go away, but it’s
a great thing that I didn’t because I ended up running her house while I cared
for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The family that was telling me
I wouldn’t be able to take care of her only visited once, in a group, when she
still wasn’t ready to receive guests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She didn’t need too much help because I’m under the impression that my
mother might be a terminator, but with a much better complexion and a love for
children that doesn’t involve roasting them over a spit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I waited until exactly one month after her
surgery to make sure that she was going to be okay, then moved into our very
first house.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And this house is also just terrible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It suits our needs for now, but the person
who flipped it didn’t do a great job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The paint peeled off almost immediately after we purchased it, right
before the pipes all fell apart or started to spew rusty water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, fun discovery: there’s no insulation
in the walls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We live in New England.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It snows a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That hasn’t stopped me from transforming it into what I wanted,
but it still sucks that we paid for a POS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A side note – I have had to evict three separate and remarkably
aggressive homeless men from my garage, which looks impressive and cruel on
anyone’s resume.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In the last ten years I have quit smoking twice only to go
right back to it, became addicted to coffee and permanently damaged my stomach
by drinking too much of it for too long, and have failed to stop biting my
nails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In short – I really suck at
having bad habits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or maybe I’m really
great at it, because I have successfully demonstrated why they’re considered
bad habits, at the very least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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I have been caught on two separate occasions smoking outside
while dressed like batman, bat ears and everything, with goggles on over the
eyeholes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my defense, I don’t smoke
in my house and it was below freezing, so my batman hoodie covered the parts of
my face not necessary for the intake of carcinogens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, my husband was caught by the police for trying to
sneak to dunkin donuts in a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(travel
ban) snowstorm, claimed that he was only out to get milk, and on his second
attempt to sneak over there was greeted by the same police officer, who had
purchased him some milk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got to spend
that day making fun of him, reminding him that sneaking through a snowstorm
while being the darkest man on our street, wearing all black was unwise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was like a very bad game of I spy, where
you find the OMFG black spot against the entirely white background.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore, even if he’d made it there, the
dunkin donuts was only open for plows and police, who would immediately ask him
how the hell he got there anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leave
it to my husband to be trying to thwart the nicest, most caring cop in our
state so that he could get coffee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><- I decided to include this entertaining story because I had offered
this son of a bitch some coffee, and he laughed, then replied, “I hate your
coffee.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then proceeded to cackle as
I watched his quest crumble and fail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All in all, I’ve learned some things about myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Evidently, I rely on my twisted sense of
humor to function, I am attracted to a grumpy and simultaneously ridiculous
dork, and my kids could probably be rented out as weapons of mass destruction
because I really have no idea how to do this mom thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found out that I do need people, but that
there are some relationships that can only be labeled toxic, and sometimes the
right thing doesn’t feel right at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ve met so many interesting and amazing people, just about adopted a
few of them as family, and have removed the venomous half of my blood family
from my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So going back to the question at the beginning of this,
would I do it again?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, I would.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I’d tell myself this:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are many times where it feels like the world has
climbed up on your shoulders and the sheer weight of it makes every day hurt
more than the last.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a fact of
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, it doesn’t last forever, it
just tries to outlast you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is
the only thing I can really say about my first thirty years of being alive:
it’s worth it, so be a stubborn ass and when you start to break to pieces,
don’t be ashamed to let somebody else help you shoulder the weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if that doesn’t work, write like a
mother fucker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Happy birthday to me, and I guess to my dumb husband
too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He turns 30 a mere three days before
I do, the old bastard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s to some
more decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cheers everyone<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>;)</div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">S. K. Hart</span>Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-45206481758305914252015-01-30T14:09:00.002-08:002015-01-30T14:10:16.301-08:00The Cat & the Crow Update!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">I’m
happy to finally say that The Cat & the Crow is available in PRINT at
Amazon as of today! </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;">Buy it in print <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Cat-Crow-S-Hart/dp/1502806371/ref=tmm_pap_title_0" target="_blank">here!</a> </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">*disco
dancing* I feel so accomplished ;)</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The
rest of my work updates – </span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Currently
working on Duncan #2. No spoilers, so
that’s really all that I can say at this point. It exists with the original cast as it was at the end of part
2. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Depending
on the sales of my print edition of The Cat & the Crow, I might be doing a
print edition of Duncan as well. Would
love to know if anybody would even be interested in that, as the book is much
longer than the one I just formatted. I
find myself wondering if the amount of time it would take me would be
worthwhile.</span></div>
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</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I
have put some more work down on Playing with Tigers 3 and Swordmaster Dasan 3,
however these aren’t my top priority projects right now. I’m in the process of a heavy re-edit on the
original books for Playing with Tigers, and on the first Swordmaster
Dasan. </span></div>
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</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Someone
recently asked about a sequel to The Cat & the Crow. I do have a large portion of a sequel
written but I’m trying to take it one project at a time, so it’s on a back
burner for now. Tarro’s not done,
though. I left too many strings hanging
at the end of the first one to leave him alone, the poor guy.</span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Well, we survived the blizzard but there's another one on the way, so I will head off now to get work done just in case we lose power.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Happy Hunting </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">S. 'K.' Hart</span></span></div>
Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-80074663897191357622014-11-25T06:29:00.000-08:002014-11-25T06:29:22.196-08:00Back to work<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Well it’s been a fun month since my last blog post (or a
little over that, it seems?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Everyone will hopefully be pleased to hear that I survived
October not only intact, but feeling better than I have in about a year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main reason for this was the visit from
the extremely talented Nicole Castle, who flew out to stay with us, whooped my
ass at making blueberry pancakes, and got me out of my house often enough that
it didn’t seem so daunting to keep up with the habit.</div>
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<br /></div>
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We had a lot of fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Filled a bathtub with blood, saw some witches up in Salem, visited
Battleship Cove and I introduced her to the best chowder in the U.S., she
rekindled my love for socks and showed me a song that I’m now constantly using
for Calvin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, and she showed me a
much better way to make dirty Shirleys<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>:D</div>
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<br /></div>
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On a side note, her visit coincided with a once in a
lifetime embarrassing situation for my husband, who made a bet with a friend,
lost, and had to wear a costume of his friend’s choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is him here<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">, hating everybody with a smile on his face. </span>:) </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdyWmPl2_b17p5oTwP5f8tG_r3BkXNpLpNaf5gmRAoUdko_EinGs8Pk9oYXUbThLOKM0hefF5H01rmqKbvbdcUiwcEyFKS_6MeyjGf4J9tcCkuFEQhxrD1jk8XdGXqHrXwA-QJRSLAHc/s1600/mon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdyWmPl2_b17p5oTwP5f8tG_r3BkXNpLpNaf5gmRAoUdko_EinGs8Pk9oYXUbThLOKM0hefF5H01rmqKbvbdcUiwcEyFKS_6MeyjGf4J9tcCkuFEQhxrD1jk8XdGXqHrXwA-QJRSLAHc/s1600/mon.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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More than a few of my friends have notified him that he’s
been ‘added to the bank.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, he did
score us some extra candy, and you’d better believe that Nicole and I made him
work it too – we had as much candy as the kids because housewives started to
throw it at him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Personally, I think
the choice of costume was kind because I would’ve chosen Harley Quinn for him
and Nicole had mentioned a sexy Bo Peep costume.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep in mind it was under 50 degrees here on Halloween, and he
couldn’t wear anything but underwear under that bobsledding costume.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See kids?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Gambling is wrong hahaha</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I apologize for the delay in my blog update but I had a bet
of my own that I needed to win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which I
did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a video game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every one of my friends had been informed
that I would be elsewhere (Azeroth) until I’d sped through all available
content for the one game I can’t seem to permanently kick, and every single one
of my friends called me, concerned that I’d died while playing because they
didn’t see or hear from me after the night it came out lol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I was fantastic: my husband rearranged
the living room and had me playing on the TV, supplied me with takeout and
drinks and even took care of the kids so that I could kick some ass without
interruption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so immersed in
smashing orcs and hunting rares that when I was as finished as I could get with
the game for the time being, I felt incredibly refreshed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not everyone can enjoy a vacation at home,
but I did and I even reconnected with my old team, not that I don’t have all of
their contact info anyway, just felt nice to do something with them online
again since most of them live across the country or in a different country
altogether.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now I’m getting ready for Thanksgiving, making myself and my
family look decent, getting a dish together to bring to my mother’s house, and
baking a pie for my mother in law the racist bigot – a woman who has admitted
multiple times with enthusiasm that she wouldn’t want to see me if I don’t
bring her an apple pie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does she ask
about her grandchildren?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does she ask about her SON?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But, she asks about the pie, so I’m making a pie with the closest thing
to love that I can, which happens to be apathy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I put a little work down on Playing with Tigers 3 and
Swordmaster Dasan 3, but need to sort out a few things that would mess up
either of the timelines before I can finish them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, these books are not a top priority for me – The total
earnings of all four of the published books don’t even cover a week of very
light groceries and I truly want to rewrite them in the near future
anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cat & the Crow will have a print edition hopefully
available by Christmas, we will see how that goes.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Disassembled Life of Duncan Cole – </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite the many statements and suggestions that I should
split the book into two books, I will not be splitting Duncan at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s two books that need to be read together in order to get the full
story, two books packaged together because I wanted to cut the cost to the
reader and ensure a better overall reading experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There should be no mistake about the fact
that this was intentional on my part, because I was considering the readers who
have a tighter budget and the readers who would’ve reached the end of part one
and been unsatisfied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should mention
that if I had split the books, that the first chapter of part 2 would’ve been
tacked on the end of part 1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You would
meet Calvin, see what’s happened to Dan, realize that everything is falling
apart for Duncan, and been told to wait a few months for the next one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people would be okay with that, but I’m
not one of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve refused to
purchase sequels before on the grounds that the first book did not tell a
complete storyline and I will not be charged twice for one product – I won’t
charge twice for one either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>;) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As for future works regarding Duncan, I play around with
ideas for promotional short stories every now and then, but I’ve been too busy
working on the second Duncan book and a Calvin book to follow that, and they’ve
been too fun to move away from for very long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am off to go and murder my kitchen, cook some breakfast
and jump back in Spannerdire – I left a house on fire in there and really
should get around to dealing with that.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anybody looking to contact me can find me at goodreads.com
and as always I thank each and every reader who took the time out of their day
to review any of my books – Love the book or hate it, that’s the best feedback
in the world and I appreciate it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Happy Hunting<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>;)</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
S. K. Hart </div>
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Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-58772772259466604412014-10-03T12:17:00.000-07:002014-10-04T22:18:44.661-07:00October keeps trying to kill me, but not this year! *mad cackle*<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Once upon a time I would spend the entire year planning for
Halloween, spend months on my costume, write a short story for the season and
spend the 31<sup>st</sup> running through smalltown New England with a literal
herd of younger cousins, toilet papering a certain tree in my hometown as
tradition states and ending the night with a candy binge that threatened to
give me premature diabetes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sadly as time went by, stress intruded on my favorite night
of the year.</div>
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<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When my oldest son was six we couldn’t go out because he
took with the flu, so we also missed our family’s Halloween party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unperturbed, I put on a marathon of
goosebumps and purchased about $30 of candy, and we spent the night cuddled in
a blanket fort in our former apartment, wearing our costumes even if nobody
could see it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next year, my grandmother passed away in mid
October.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My family is extremely large –
the woman had twelve children, they all had children and every single surviving
one of them lived in the same town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Halloween was a big deal to her, but it wasn’t the same going to her
house and not seeing her in the corner of her living room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no homemade candy, there was no
mountain of toilet paper set aside or directions on how to avoid the police
while toilet papering the tree at the top of her street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My son had never dealt with death before she
died, but I don’t think it had hit him just how different it would be without
her until then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On our rounds from my
grandmother’s house through all of my aunts and uncles homes that littered the
town, I quite eagerly accepted what looked like a coffee, but that hot cup was
in fact warm vodka.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trying to preserve
my love for the season, I clicked my Styrofoam cup with my older cousin, took a
deep breath and carried on until we made it to the last aunt’s house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was probably the best year out of the
last 4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the beginning of October 2012, my son’s school insisted
that they couldn’t manage him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
thought at the time that he only had ADHD, but he clearly had some anxiety and
depression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not wanting my son to be
depressed at eight years old, I caved under the pressure of doctors and
teachers and allowed him to be put on an antidepressant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He attempted to kill himself at school a few
weeks later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In order to safely wean
him off of the drug that he was reacting poorly to, he was committed to a
mental health facility that didn’t allow parental visits aside from one hour of
the day and wouldn’t allow children under 5 on the ward at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> They discovered his Aspergers while he was there, so I suppose they helped, but </span>I hardly saw him because I had a 2 month old
boy at the time and nobody could watch him for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That October was spent with my 2 month old at home, worried for
my son and unable to do anything about it except have his father stop there on
his way home and share some dinner with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I wrote to him on Halloween, sat down with my infant, turned on a horror
movie and started to hate October a lot more.</div>
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<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last year upped the ante.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My uncle fell on the ice while playing hockey and while being checked
for a concussion, they discovered an AVM.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was born with a large knot of arteries in his brain, so many that it
looked like a baseball on the images they showed us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were surprised that he’d survived to 50 because typically
AVM’s rupture at a young age and once they do, you die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fifteen hours of surgery left him safe from
that, with only mild seizures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But,
it’s hereditary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few of my mother’s
siblings were checked and had minor issues, but you already know what’s coming,
don’t you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mother did not have an
AVM (thank you powers that be) but she did have 2 aneurisms that were ready to
burst and very likely kill her, and one was in a place where they wouldn’t be
able to go in through a vein.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
needed to operate on her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was living
with my mother at the time while saving for the house I’m sitting in, but one
of my aunts decided to come to the house to specifically tell me that the best
thing for my mother would be if I wasn’t part of her life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
On October 15<sup>th</sup> of last year,
four things happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After twelve
hours of surgery, my mother made it okay and unscathed aside from 51 staples
across her face and enough swelling that she insisted she looked like chunk
from the goonies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My family decided
that I didn’t look upset enough for them and started to make more statements
about how I was the world’s worst daughter, which led to them physically
circling me, in a hospital, blocking my husband, father and brother from coming
to my side, and screaming at me like the pack of wolves that they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Security was called to get them off of me,
and I was upset enough that I didn’t even get to see my mother because they
stood in front of her door and stared me down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Remember, there are TEN of them that are still alive, plus spouses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My best friend of the last 21 years had her
gorgeous baby boy, but<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>had some
complications and I couldn’t be there for her because I was dealing with the
brain stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And my brother in law (one
of them), who is 12 and severely autistic was physically assaulted at his
school by his own teacher’s aid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can I
get a, “WTF?!” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
I was wondering why my anxiety was getting so bad as soon as
the calendar said October, but after about 2 seconds of reflection, I remember
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far this month I only have
poison oak over most of my body, and we’ve been shocked to see a man walk out
of my garage after evidently sleeping there, although he was very polite when I
explained that he couldn’t stay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
day 3, and all things considered, that’s really not that bad compared to the
last few years lol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, October has become a very hard month for me, but this
year is going to be different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I fucking said so. I am
going to get my trick-or-treat on, although I’m undecided if I will TP that
goddamn tree or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My family infests
that area and about a year ago I realized that they’re all toxic for me and my
own little family to be around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
This year, my friend is celebrating her son’s first birthday
with a Halloween themed party, I have both of my healthy and happy kids with me
(they’re being ninjas and have been practice assassinating my husband all
week), for ONCE my husband has Halloween off and is willing to let me dress him
how I want so he’s going to be <a href="https://38.media.tumblr.com/4bb2a01594f18235b131933aa2d112d0/tumblr_mnm47hFC8D1qbhxtxo3_r1_500.png" target="_blank">Marvelous Chester</a>, and I will be seeing Miss
Nicole Castle for the second time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
thankfully she’ll be staying for Halloween because we can use my kids to get free candy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re going to watch Thankskilling because
she is the <a href="http://sahrkaan.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-turkey-apocolypse-of-2013.html" target="_blank">turkey overlord</a>, eat far too much sugar and irritate my husband to
the best of our ability, and when it’s all said and done and she has to go
home, it will be November, which is a fine month in my opinion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still trying to figure out what we should go as, though – costume
suggestions welcome </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
If I can get my feet under myself again, then I might write
a short story for the season, so wish me luck! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">S. <3</span>Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-5698673050070223282014-07-26T07:50:00.000-07:002014-07-26T07:50:26.902-07:00Ignore that eye twitch<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
So, a few years back, I was poking around in the self pub
business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had just published Playing
with Tigers 2 and Swordmaster Dasan, and during one of smashwords promotions
figured I should try and help out others in the same boat as me, picked up a
few books and got to reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
were a few that were pretty awesome, which should’ve been satisfying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I went to one author’s blog before I
reviewed and saw a comment that they’d made, calling the self pubs of the
erotica genre, “Pornmongers.”
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Look at that word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, when you look at Pornmongers, does that make you feel that it is a
term of respect, or mockery and possibly disgust?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went with the latter, and reading down this emotional vomit
session that this person had where they ranted that at least they weren’t one
of us, I thought that they might be in that lovely part of the publishing
process where they get frustrated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are a ton of them, I had been through quite a few of those already,
and taking a deep breath, left the politest comment that I was physically
capable of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I said that I enjoyed their short story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said that I would still be buying the
other ones (at the time two other shorts were for sale from this author which I
did purchase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With money.) and that they
had done an amazing job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I
recommended that they might want to refrain from talking ill about the
pornmongerers, since they don’t always read the same as they write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somebody might take offense, that I was
shocked to see it up on the blog that linked to their author profile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told her that people might not want to
purchase her books based on that. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What I did not say was that it was fucking stupid to do
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it is, lol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a mistake that too many authors
make, and lately there’s been a lot of authors making mistakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re people, I was trying to help her not
make that mistake.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I thought I had helped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am currently laying on my couch pretending to be dead when
people talk to me, laid up with kidney issues, a stomach bug and the worst time
of the month that I’ve had in about ten years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While clicking randomly on things, I remembered this and went to check
to see if she ever replied, because I never got a notification that she had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
OH SHE DID.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is
part of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I removed the stuff that
pertains to her work, because lol done with her and not sharing my fanbase with
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It took me a while to figure out what the hell you were on
about”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><- not a good way to address
a reader, just FYI.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I love porn and whores and pornmongering and
whoremongering.” <- sounds like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why not describe your love for kids by describing them as uterus
regurgitations or possibly parasitic disease sacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are a hundred ways to describe an erotica writer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was nooot a wise one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Also, look, I tried not to say this. I really
did. But you can’t really threaten someone with “People might not buy
your stuff” when I’ve opted in for my work to be free all month.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><- should’ve tried waaaay harder not to
say it because guess what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You just
did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t a threat.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was more that can’t be put up here because it pertains
to her work, which I’m not promoting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Know what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will not respond to
her on her blog, or link to it because I don’t want to give her the attention,
but I will rant my rotten little mouth off here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have a ten year old with ADHD and Aspergers syndrome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Raising him, I’ve had to adapt to understand
every side of everything, to take the numerous and amazingly insulting things
that he says and go, “Now, what does he mean by that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably this, he’s just (insert emotion here) and it’s coming
out all wonky again.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a friend
ask if a pair of jeans made her look fat when he was 6.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His uninvited response was that they looked
fine before she put them on, that he though she was making THEM look fat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><- explain that one to a friend lol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am an unbelievably understanding
person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That blog post?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must’ve read it a hundred times to make
sure that I was right to be insulted because I go through about 10 anger checks
to make sure that my feelings are the appropriate response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I didn’t, then my kid’s life would be
miserable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which means that if I was
insulted, then that shit was meant to be fucking insulting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She removed the post she was referring to, there’s no way to
be sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I remember being upset
after reading it, and not just a little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It did cost money at the time that I wrote that comment, and
that was intended to be a friendly suggestion from one self pub to
another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bought the other ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were great.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the thing, an author is a person just like their
readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s something that everyone
says “Obviously!” when they hear that, but really think about it for a
second.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spend a year taking an idea and
laboring over it, find a cover artist and struggle to get a cover that suits
your book, find proofreaders for content and editing, pay an editor if you can
afford it knowing that you won’t make that money back, read it, read it, read
it, read it until you don’t even know what you’re reading anymore, write the
blurb, send the cover back because it’s disastrously wrong, pay for it again,
read it again, more proofreaders, read it again, the blurb isn’t good enough so
rewrite it, read it, take out six chapters because they weren’t good enough and
write them again, now reread the whole thing again to make sure it still works,
back to proofreaders, read it….<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><-
repeat that for awhile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It can get overwhelming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Being an author isn’t for everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But, under no circumstances does that make it okay to refer to any other
writer with anything but respect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because all of that shit you’ve gone through that’s making you think the
world has climbed up on your shoulders to stomp you down?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’ve gone through it too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She didn’t know that I was an author when I posted that
comment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which brings me to my next
little twitching idea – she thought I was a reader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s even worse, lol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When addressing a reader, treat it like every pair of eyes in the world
is on you, judging you on your behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that
hard?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve had comments made that have hurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go and see how
many people I’ve offended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll
wait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a
friend who wanted to read Swordmaster Dasan even though I knew that she wasn’t
into that sort of story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave it to
her anyway and she told me that it made her sick and that I was
disgusting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which hurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, in a moment of bitter pouting, I wrote
in a blog post that anybody who could stomach the first one would probably like
the second, and that offended a reader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I will never make that mistake again, because that was poorly worded of
me and every time that I look at the review where they mention that, I feel
awful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made the mistake of thinking
that nobody was looking because I was hurt, but as an author, mom and wife, I
should’ve known better, and this author should’ve too. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I wish her luck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Her work is fantastic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hopefully, nobody who likes it will go to her blog lol</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bitchrant done, Kaeli OUT!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>*flips table and exits the building whilst chain smoking, looking for
something to kick*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-77963986028382456012014-07-02T06:15:00.000-07:002014-07-02T06:15:17.121-07:00On to something new!Well, Duncan has been out for a month, so it's time for me to get my ass in gear on a few other projects. The way that I work, due to rampant ADHD, is a bit odd. Whenever I get an idea, I will write a portion of it out, which oddly ends up always being about 30 pages. Honestly, one of them is 29 pages and one is 31, the rest all end at 30 because apparently that's all the energy I'll commit to a story that I don't know if I want to finish. Then I see if it's worth pursuing. The Cat & the Crow started as one of these story starters, although the story changed dramatically when I wrote it out. Duncan was also one of the short stories that I was debating, and the instant that I wrote the part with the bed where Duncan gets all awkward, I laughed and went, "That's a book." <br />
<br />
The only problem is that I happen to have about twenty of these little story beginnings that I wrote over the last year, figuring that I'd get to them when I was done with Duncan. Well, I'm done with Duncan (for now) and can't decide which new project to work on next. I have requests for a few of them, but haha, that's a problem too because having requests for three different stories means that I'd be spreading myself too thin and I would accomplish nothing. Not to mention, I plan on putting work down on the long-awaited Playing with Tigers 3 and Swordmaster Dasan 3 & 4 while I write on something new, which means that I can really only pick one at a time. <br />
<br />
Then there's the Duncan issue. I wrote so much for the book that I was going to package it as two books, had originally planned to package it as three books (the draft of the third is with me, safely unseen by human eyes other than my own) but I decided to put the first two together because the second one takes place a few hours after the first, and together they have such a lovely snowball effect. You start with someone whose day includes nothing more than being grumpy and smoking, and by the end of the book... haha. Yeah. The problem is that putting two books together makes for one very long book, and not everyone likes a long book. So I am undecided on when I'll get to it. I keep circling back around to it, we'll see.<br />
<br />
So, I am working on wolf shifters this morning, some hardcore bondage this afternoon and putting humpty dumpty back together this evening (that's Keel from PWT. I broke the poor guy haha, need some duct tape).<br />
<br />
Let's see where the day takes us from there lol<br />
<br />
S. <3<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-55936880503318011912014-06-20T10:14:00.001-07:002014-06-20T10:14:23.264-07:00Free book promo -The Disassembled Life of Duncan Cole will be free in the kindle store from Sunday 6/22 - Thursday 6/26. If you haven't had the chance to check it out, this will be the last time that it is available at no cost for the foreseeable future so please take advantage of the opportunity and enjoy!<br />
<br />
<br />
And a HUGE thanks to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review - I appreciate it more than you could possibly know. <br />
<br />
<br />
Happy hunting, everyone! Anyone looking to contact me can find me at <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21935882-the-disassembled-life-of-duncan-cole" target="_blank">Goodreads.com</a><br />
<br />
S. <3Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-35954229866474072602014-05-31T06:11:00.002-07:002014-05-31T06:11:53.518-07:00'Disassembled Life of Duncan Cole' is up at Amazon!<span id="freeTextContainer16974538925587134954">My newest book will be available at Amazon & the Kindle store later today! For anybody who hasn't seen my updates for it over the last year, this is the blurb:</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeTextContainer16974538925587134954">The Disassembled Life of Duncan Cole - </span><br />
<span id="freeTextContainer16974538925587134954">In which we meet
Duncan: professional nobody who presents himself to the public as a
scowling, smoking pile of contempt. Against his will, he meets Sam: a
less than professional coal miner who inspires the worst in men.
Together they take on one malicious train and a most insidious
re-animator, and along the way Duncan remembers a few things that he’d
previously forgotten.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span id="freeTextContainer16974538925587134954">I highly recommend it ;) </span><br />
<span id="freeTextContainer16974538925587134954"><br /></span>
<span id="freeTextContainer16974538925587134954"><br /></span>
<span id="freeTextContainer16974538925587134954">Going to go and pass out now- Happy reading everybody!</span><br />
<span id="freeTextContainer16974538925587134954">S. <3</span><br />
<br />
<span id="freeTextContainer16974538925587134954"> </span>Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-25069838174206357162014-04-15T21:10:00.000-07:002014-04-15T21:10:03.084-07:00Can't sleep - Clowns will eat me<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, I’m hauling ass getting this book ready, forgoing
sleep and becoming one of those socially inept recluses that you see hissing at
sunlight, lol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, it’s just about
done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last two chapters are giving
me trouble and I have one last round of editing to do…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>over about 400 pages of book lol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fear not – Everyone from my best friend to my husband and
even people who have only heard me describe this book are calling me constantly
to keep me focused when I run off to chase shiny things on a distraction
detour, which means that it’ll be done in no time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m rambling, time for one last cup of coffee before bed,
methinks.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Cover for the new book was done my Miss Fang again:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFV-WyU-bevnDemY78YWVoPIeNIRUEFf7i6xMTze5bfhtKM7el7kkrW0zXxBkFYGSuYvp9yoX0yLOVBID651dMk7kVY49WXJusaVWJBJa-DNiC9NlJGRdqifVmyqYOPWLO1_GjvlBZYk/s1600/Duncan+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFV-WyU-bevnDemY78YWVoPIeNIRUEFf7i6xMTze5bfhtKM7el7kkrW0zXxBkFYGSuYvp9yoX0yLOVBID651dMk7kVY49WXJusaVWJBJa-DNiC9NlJGRdqifVmyqYOPWLO1_GjvlBZYk/s1600/Duncan+1.jpg" height="640" width="392" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Advance copies are going out now to friends, proofreaders and people who ask super nice. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Again, anyone looking to contact me can leave a message here, or at Goodreads.com.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I should have a release date quite soon</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">S. <3 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-14065851122422106282014-01-29T08:10:00.000-08:002014-01-29T08:10:28.155-08:00Insert Creative Title for Post Here -<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Update on all of my current work -</div>
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SMD Series -</div>
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Swordmaster Dasan Part 2 is finally at Amazon, I apologize
for the wait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly I’m running into a
minor problem on one of the sites that I use regarding the distribution of SMD2
which is holding up what I wanted to do with it, namely offer that one for free
as well…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you for the reviews and
ratings, I’m glad that everyone is enjoying it! </div>
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<br /></div>
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Swordmaster Dasan Part 3</div>
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I wrote roughly three times as much on this as I did on the
first SMD, and after I took a break and went back to it I realized that I had;</div>
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a)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span>rambled </div>
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b)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span>not put enough sex in it to call it erotica, and finally </div>
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c)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span>written it like a two finger chimpanzee with serious attention
problems (possibly a sleep disorder as well).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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I’m debating the best course of action for book 3, because I
sort of want to use every opportunity in the Playing with Tigers timeline to
add Kyo, but then it gets aggravating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can’t say why, because that would spoil the books, but trust me, it’s
enough to make me pull my hair out and swear religiously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that I don’t tear my hair out and swear
every morning anyway until enough coffee has been consumed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Playing with Tigers –</div>
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I have done some work on the third book, and I know the
direction that I want to write in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
problem is that I haven’t had the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(see the new book at the bottom of the page.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Playing with Tigers books need to be packed with erotica,
adventure, tension and drama, and I’ve made the habit of writing them
moderately long, which means that they require my full attention when I’m
writing them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I haven’t had the chance
to do that yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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MY NEW BOOK –</div>
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Disassembled</div>
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In which we meet Duncan; professional nobody who presents
himself to the public as a scowling, smoky pile of contempt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Against his will, he meets Sam; a less than
professional coal miner who inspires the worst in men. Together they take
on one malicious train and a most insidious reanimator, and along the way
Duncan learns a few things that he’d previously forgotten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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That is not the official blurb, but it’s probably going to
be moderately close to that when I’m finished with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This book is large, by which I mean that
it’s the size of all of my previous works combined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, the two Playing with Tigers books and then The Cat &
the Crow, I think would be pretty close.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was writing last year, I was just writing on one new book because I
was having a hell of a time and I was having fun with the new setting and
challenges that Duncan brought with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I made the character a hot mess because I was bored, I think the book is
better for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m deciding if I’m done
with it or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that, I can give
a release date.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Wish me luck and coffee everyone, I will most certainly need
it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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S. K. Hart</div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">*For those that inquired, my mother came out of her
surgery like a champ and has recovered beautifully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank you for the well wishes!</span>Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-38609250457641133192013-09-24T17:10:00.001-07:002013-09-24T17:10:10.211-07:00Black ties, babies & Mohawks<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I know I haven’t posted in awhile now, my apologies for
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s been… interesting, lol.</div>
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<br /></div>
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For the first time in my life I find myself trying to
organize when I can shave my head to work around a black tie affair and I’m
seriously hoping that it doesn’t coincide with my friend’s firstborn and his
arrival, but you know it will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Long story short – My mother requires two brain surgeries
and one of them is going to require her to shave her head on the side so I will
be doing that with her, but my husband was also nominated for an award for his
newest program that means mandatory wife attendance at the event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They haven’t confirmed the dates of either
event yet, so I’m just screwed lol. I'll rock a Mohawk, but not in an event that can cost my husband his job and the president of his company will be meeting me there for the first time... I play with fire but I only want to burn my own hands, so that's going to be fun to try and work around.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The book is coming along well but has been on hold for a few
days because I knew something was wrong with the beginning, and at almost 400
pages in, I wanted to fix that before I made more work for myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Problem was discovered when one of my
friends claimed that she wanted one of the characters to die, by choking on a
bag of dicks if at all possible, or being run off of a cliff onto rusty
bayonets and teddy bears with machine guns in paw.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My reaction to that was to laugh myself into a table while I
choked on my coffee and promptly burned my fingers on my cigarette. </div>
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<br /></div>
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And she was totally right, so I’m fixing that as quickly as
possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As odd as it sounds I take
criticism better than praise, because then I know that people are being honest
with me lol – She was a bit over the top, the problem was only with about four
chapters but they’re early in the book and easy to remedy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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That’s all for now folks, I need to go and finish editing
that problem out of there so we can get back to rollerskates, door-guns, rock
candy and wrenches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Happy hunting ;)</div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">S. <3 </span>Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-70779977425776428372013-07-24T10:11:00.001-07:002013-07-24T10:11:13.981-07:00The Turkey Apocolypse of 2013I usually try to keep my blog related only to my work, but this one's too good NOT to share.<br />
<br />
So one of my friends has her 30th birthday this week, and I tend to be a rotten nasty horrible person by making every birthday as painful as possible. A good example; I gave my brother a single cupcake of normal size with 30 birthday candles jammed into it for his 30th. <br />
<br />
The resulting fire was dangerously hilarious -<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgxloAi9yoite4YSF9uHzfjou_X5Rb1zzq9fr-nrzN4LvKx12Yd3iiRppC0xG1e8575YRWT_Wf0QjtpxhYABVs7XsVjzERAK3dIXWhCSygSSb8HDVXtL_kzmTYJf0QNhoK-X4fBLiM7Y/s1600/14545_179227787079_4211279_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgxloAi9yoite4YSF9uHzfjou_X5Rb1zzq9fr-nrzN4LvKx12Yd3iiRppC0xG1e8575YRWT_Wf0QjtpxhYABVs7XsVjzERAK3dIXWhCSygSSb8HDVXtL_kzmTYJf0QNhoK-X4fBLiM7Y/s400/14545_179227787079_4211279_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
That's an actual image, I thought it was funny and when his eyebrows grew back, so did he.<br />
<br />
Then, for his wonderful husband's birthday, my friends and I assailed him with a pinata dragon. Many dorky references were made. The dragon was decapitated. I was gifted the head, which is named Dan (haha you'll get it eventually) and have him mounted in my car to warn other pinatas that I'm not playing around.<br />
<br />
<br />That picture will not be shared because I'm in it and look like a collection of sticks.<br />
<br />
So, when I was trying to think of what to put on a card for my friend who lives too far away to do such things to, I happened to open the door to let the dog out and had to slam it shut on invading turkey neck #1. <br />
<br />
I live in Massachusetts - we have wild turkeys and for anyone who doesn't know they're the type of birds that will kill you, then go to your funeral and murder everyone who loved you enough to show up. That's probably one of the reasons we made a holiday to specifically consume in large quantities. REVENGE. <br />
<br />
Well, our cat is very ballsy, apparently tried to snag one of a turkey's babies, decided to hide in the house, and now the birds are circling in a gang that I really wish I could get a decent picture of. They're camera shy, I guess, I don't know. <br />
<br />
Well - HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Your Card, dear;<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndgvwcgbCyHuESxWtwY2AuGPysEdwWD2PcQAOaeKRf3alkbYvy6XX9BChoK4hNgeDVteCD7a1UjBrzQLkF7WK0RPfkKLPWt4Ogvrk_z8spauD3JmvOh1JM_fSpgKh_hOwqkRceYRjfy4/s1600/BirthdayTurkeyInvasion2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndgvwcgbCyHuESxWtwY2AuGPysEdwWD2PcQAOaeKRf3alkbYvy6XX9BChoK4hNgeDVteCD7a1UjBrzQLkF7WK0RPfkKLPWt4Ogvrk_z8spauD3JmvOh1JM_fSpgKh_hOwqkRceYRjfy4/s640/BirthdayTurkeyInvasion2013.jpg" width="444" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
Kisses :)<br />
<br />
S. <3<br />
<br />
<br />Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-71363677628549259642013-07-05T23:13:00.001-07:002013-07-05T23:13:20.678-07:00Nine consecutive hours of sleep = IDDQD/GodlyAfter spending about three months working with only 4 hours of broken sleep, 9 hours in a row just feels like cheating, haha. Part one of Duncan has been finished (more or less), sent to proofreaders and returned with an overwhelming thumbs up and a few buckets of drool for part two, which I'll be working on all weekend. <br />
<br />
Funny thing - I can't think of an overall title, and nobody else apparently can either, haha.... oh what've I gotten myself into?<br />
<br />
On a completely different note, I have the cover for Duncan here. Sadly I cannot share until I think of a title for the book, because right now it's just an image and I don't want it stolen.<br />
<br />
But don't leave yet - I do have a sketch done by yours truly, which a very amazing young woman cleaned up and colored for me.<br />
<br />
Here's her cleaned up and very sexy Duncan:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSOWxu_8Neood0b3HLzIEju-mQL6vJEUCC58mkCks1iVEXywnXYxa5HIKPIX8npL60_mrn4pxp3FdZSiAi9bFt1kdmNlg3yJF1y2pCvzIov1-ab3tZboByYKvYHyxnnNXkjk8MBP0-BOE/s1600/duncan+finished+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSOWxu_8Neood0b3HLzIEju-mQL6vJEUCC58mkCks1iVEXywnXYxa5HIKPIX8npL60_mrn4pxp3FdZSiAi9bFt1kdmNlg3yJF1y2pCvzIov1-ab3tZboByYKvYHyxnnNXkjk8MBP0-BOE/s320/duncan+finished+copy.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
I just want to make it clear how much work she did here, haha. This was my original sketch. It looks like someone rubbed ashes onto an envelope by comparison. It wasn't just cleaned up, it was rebuilt lol<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGnup2qeT4wO92nm3nMbLdxnCYB0OzDu9Gpl3qdYJ9B0jWRJ9EUwNVMWWzxGD_mW7ue89mxR8cu0g98C4uJr3evm4gRtw6K6G7LBQcZWkqdd_4_P9w5QO5HSno_odet4NQdWrCsCh_zI/s1600/DuncanWrench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGnup2qeT4wO92nm3nMbLdxnCYB0OzDu9Gpl3qdYJ9B0jWRJ9EUwNVMWWzxGD_mW7ue89mxR8cu0g98C4uJr3evm4gRtw6K6G7LBQcZWkqdd_4_P9w5QO5HSno_odet4NQdWrCsCh_zI/s200/DuncanWrench.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
How's that for professionalism? <br />
<br />
I don't ever do this, but anyone looking for a great line artist/color;<br />
here's your chick -> <a href="http://crochetamommy.deviantart.com/">http://crochetamommy.deviantart.com/</a> Which is also an address where anyone who likes it could let her know, because she doesn't seem to believe me, despite the mad cackle/gigglefit that I described for her when she sent me that. I'll be sending her more of my drawings once I make them, and maybe doing comics because honestly... my life is a damn strip comic lol.<br />
<br />
Is it bad that I'm writing about an amputee with a prosthetic leg that he keeps having to put back together, while listening to a tetris theme remix? Hmm. <br />
<br />
I've been helping the hottest woman alive with her story when I'm not working on Duncan so no work has gotten done on anything else, reference last post for updates there. Between dying a 9 year old's head blue, rescuing a baby from the toilet (it got him by the ankle) and convincing my mother-in-law that the alleged man with telekenisis is probably not trying to breed an army to rid the city of minorities, I don't have time for much else. I really wish that those had been jokes. See why the comic would be super easy? *sigh*<br />
<br />
Anyway, off to work for me - As always I can be reached on Goodreads.com or here, and I thank you all for your continued support!<br />
<br />
S. <3<br />
<br />Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-54856422069660620532013-06-22T22:41:00.000-07:002013-06-22T22:41:24.222-07:00Coffee break!I've been meaning to update my blog for anyone looking for info on upcoming work, so here it is ;)<br />
<br />
My new book (title still pending) is coming along nicely. I usually publish very quickly, but I decided to try something different with this one. The two - possibly three - parts will probably be published at once, in a bundle. <br />
<br />
When I say parts, each one is a full length novel. So it's taking me some time. The overall length dwarfs every other work that I've released, it's a huge undertaking. The way that I set this one up is different than my other work because of the change in setting and character. Putting these two in a bed early would be a critical error, so it takes awhile to heat up, but the usual fun is still there. Actually, the more I look at it, the more crazy it gets, haha. The other reason for publishing them together, is that they take place a literal day after each other, so it seems smarter to go about it that way. It also allows me to add intermission chapters, which I'm sure will be fun to read because they show a different perspective of what's happening in the book. A glimpse of what's taking place across town. <br />
<br />
I have been putting down some work on the next Playing with Tigers, and I've been editing the first two in my spare time. They read like a slap in the face, so I'm fixing them. <br />
<br />
The same can be said for Swordmaster Dasan, because I really didn't intend to publish it when I wrote it, so the ending is leaving too many people angry with me. Sorry! I will remedy it and release a second edition, it was meant as a fun freebie, I will fix it! Same goes for the second one, I'm repairing some wording problems and redundancies as I go through them.<br />
<br />
Wolves are still set aside, but I have taken a quick read through on a few of them. The question is which one to finish first, haha.<br />
<br />
I have four novels mostly done for that project, and a few sort story ideas. When I finish the series that I've promised, then I'll move on to them. Three are in third person, one is in first. <br />
<br />
The first person one is actually pretty funny, I was skimming through it and laughing at my own jokes, like an imbecile. That quote on goodreads is from that unfinished novel. This one: “I'm no doormat. At worst, I'm a very attractive accent rug, because if
I get stained or damaged; someone is going to f---ing die.” I need to get around to that one eventually, I cackled when I read the part where my dreamy-eyed narrator very literally walks into a wall. <br />
<br />
And when I do eventually finish Swordmaster Dasan, I might carry on the series with the character who is going to debut in Playing with Tigers 3, because the level of kink actually spikes when he's in a room, and I rather enjoy the challenge. <br />
<br />That's all for today, anyone looking to contact me can find me on Goodreads or on this blog. Thank you for your support, everyone! :)<br />
<br />
S. <3<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-8753460410802368672013-05-18T22:38:00.001-07:002013-05-26T06:34:47.737-07:00I need to stop making these books so long...I have two things to say in this post. THREE - I lied.<br />
<br />
First thing - updates on upcoming publications.<br />
<br />
New book (title pending) -<br />
m/m - potential for dom/sub/switch scenarios - paranormal romance - off scene non-con and on scene r/p dub-con<br />
<br />
Kinkier than The Cat& the Crow, tamer than Swordmaster Dasan 2 (haha, well. Really that's a huge gap, isn't it?) <br />
<br />
I want to start by saying that this is Steampunk inspired. I will not say that in the description or in the book, or probably ever again after this. It seems that Steampunk books have a very specific set of rules and guidelines, and I don't want any usual Steampunk fans to build a train to run me down with for forgetting one lol. I like being alive, it agrees with me.<br />
<br />
Since I have a following of fans that may or may not want to stab/lynch/drown/strangle me for not releasing the next book in a series fast enough, <i>I have listened to you</i>. This book would already be published with a huge cliffhanger ending, so I'm writing the sequel right on to it. I'm nice. Sometimes. The book will be separated into two parts instead, so you'll get two books in one with a very short intermission as a bonus. Closure straight from me to you with hugs and kisses and sexy men hooray. <br />
<br />
Because of the MASSIVE shift in character from Tarro, I can't just toss my newest MC straight into a bed, so the first part of the book is mostly him getting to know and love his new man. Romance, some erotica, lots of lead-ins for the second part.<br />
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The second part, my inner pervert came out to play. My inner creep did too, thank you very much to the person who pissed me off. Therapeutic and fictional evil... So, the second part is an erotic romance with a paranormal plot. Because... Well, because. <br />
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Swordmaster Dasan Series -<br />
m/m - bondage - dom/dom struggle - non-con - dub-con - every time of con lol<br />
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These two. Well. I originally wrote the first one because I thought it would be nice to have a backstory for Loki, who even the MC in Playing with Tigers is overwhelmed by. A friend was extremely happy with the results, so I threw it out there for free, thinking that I was being kind and giving away decent m/m erotica. It seems that people enjoy the story but not my writing style. My apologies, the first one was written in full, in two weeks. I wasn't applying myself. The second one took me a bit longer, and anyone who can stomach the first one would probably enjoy the second. It's available on smashwords, free, and will remain there until it has a decent cover. <br />
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The third book was sent to proofreaders, and for the first time I got a red light on publication. They accused me of rushing it and cramming too much into one book, so I concede and now I'm breaking it up into two more books. I apologize for the wait. But quality control said no, so the wait goes on for a bit longer.<br />
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Playing with Tigers -<br />
f/m/m - erotica - you name it, it's in there or on it's way <br />
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I started writing the third book. *smile* I found the perfect plotline for it (finally) so all I have to do now is rewrite the first two. AGAIN.<br />
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It was my first book, and after losing all of my backup files of the original aside from an 80 page draft, I had to rewrite it. So when I finished, I was aggravated, felt nobody would probably really give a damn anyway and published it went. That was a mistake. I read it now and anyone who walks by and looks at my face when I do asks me if I'm sick. It reads like someone has taken the e-reader and started to club the reader over the head with it. Typos, spelling errors, redundancies... I am sooo incredibly sorry!<br />
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And the sequel; I changed the story because the only in depth feedback that I had received on the first, was that it had too much sex. Another mistake, toning it down, now I've been told that it's boring as hell. I'll just spike it back up. :)<br />
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So, I'm fixing them. Yeah that's right, I've got most of the first one redone right here. That way, I can stop trying to slam a closet door on that ugly skeleton. And guess what? I never made a damn thing off of it, so FREE it will become. Both of them. The third book, I don't know. It'll take a lot to write it, I might sadly have to charge for that one. Try to compensate for the coffee I drink when I write it, we'll see how Duncan does in sales when I toss him out there before I decide.<br />
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The Cat & the Crow potential sequel!<br />
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I am still thinking about this one. Theoretically, since Ryosho is not stupid so much as nasty and shallow, she would be smart enough to play along until they had no reason to keep her in Greywood, right? And they would want to relinquish her into the care of her closest family member. Which would happen to be her son-in-law, who even made a huge production over how he reaaaaallly loves her. So much that it hurts him, haha<br />
Also, I did leave myself plenty of strings hanging. Nerin knew quite a bit about him at the end of the book. I never said how, even though I had a story for that. And Tarro has a hell of a past. Would be a shame if certain people showed up again. Especially anyone who Tarro might actually want to see, who wouldn't do well with Nerin. Would be a pity. Why, he'd have to be clever all over again. Hmm.<br />
I'll think on it and get back to everyone.<br />
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Werewolves are in limbo. They can stay there for now, there are enough shifter stories that I don't think anyone would care about mine, lol<br />
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Second thing -<br />
The Cat & the Crow was stolen. The reason that this really pisses me off is that it's the only book that I actually charge for, because I know it's my best so far. Personally, I think Tarro was fucked enough. This almost had me flip a table and stop publishing. I don't make a ton of money, because I only charge what I think is fair, and someone thought that stealing my work and offering it for free on their site would be fine. It's not. My sales dropped by more than half on the exact day that this was done. That situation is handled, but I'm sure it will happen again. And I'll be pissed off again.<br />
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Oh. *chuckle* Everyone should be careful about bit-torrents. I hear that it's super easy to take a virus and put it in a copy of an e-book. Would be a shame if any thieves downloaded malicious software.<br />
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As always, anyone who cannot afford my book can contact me on goodreads. I'll mail it to you in whatever format you want, free of fucking charge, as I say whenever I remember. I like when people read my work, that's rather the point. But I do not like when people steal it. Especially when I offer most of it for free. That's currently my best published piece. I will share, if you ask. If you take it, I will immortalize you in history as a laughably incompetent villain in a gay erotic story, and I will dedicate it you along with the best attorneys that money can buy. <br />
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Third thing -<br />
I think it's funny that every time I get down on my writing, when I'm wondering if anyone even gives a damn, I get an email telling me that I have a review. And every time they make me smile, 1 or 5 stars, loved it or hated it. I don't just take good feedback with a smile, I enjoy when people read my book and feel the need to comment about it. <br />
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But the ones that like my book, those reviews can end a write-or-quit moment of doubt in an instant. Most people who read never review the book after. No way to know if you did good, not as a self-pub. I really appreciate every word of feedback that I get, I wanted to say that. :)<br />
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Thank you. I really do mean that. <br />
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;) Back to work for me.<br />
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S. <3<br />
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<br />Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-43335331775238285732013-05-07T12:22:00.000-07:002013-05-07T12:22:29.233-07:00Still alive. Mostly.Despite the flu's best attempt, I'm recovering and back on track with my work. I was too sick to eat, so I'm boney enough now that I look like some terrifying bobblehead-woman, and smoking has made my sick cough last longer than it should, but I'll manage. Scheduling has made it very hard for me to work when I want/need to, but I have found a solution! Laptop. Problem solved. <br />
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My next book, by which I mean my next <i>new</i> book, is coming along well. It's getting out of hand in length, but I found a way to make it manageable, I think. Haha, nothing like confidence, right? The first part is already about 20 pages longer than the Cat & the Crow was, so for anyone who read that, we're already looking at double the length. Closer to the size of Playing with Tigers. I know a lot of readers prefer a longer book, but there's still the challenge of holding attention throughout each novel. The longer it is, the more likely it is to drag in places. I will not tolerate becoming a drag. It's one of the things that will make me drop a book at any point in its story, because my ability to pay attention is incredibly fickle. <br />
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I can't give an estimate regarding the completion of this book, because I still feel that it's missing something. I can, however, give an educated guess about the other impending publications. <br />
Swordmaster Dasan 2 has been at Smashwords for a very long time, but has not been put up anywhere else. It needs a better cover, to be honest. A friend was working on that, but she also lives in Boston and recent events have stressed her out enough that I'm willing to wait a bit longer before I start to shove and harass her. Once that's done, it'll be put up on Amazon and shipped to B&N as a free book. <br />
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The third SMD book was completed and sent to proofreaders, but came back with many complaints, because they wanted me to break the content up over two books instead of one. So I am. They'll also probably remain free ebooks, because the entire series is a side note to Playing with Tigers. Charging for additional content is low, even for a gutter crawler like myself.<br />
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Playing with Tigers 1&2 will be rewritten and republished over this summer, and the third book is in the planning stage. That means that any requests for certain kinks to have a cameo appearance need to be made now, haha. I humor almost everything, but I will not write scat or snuff, so don't ask. Other than that, sure. Just let me know what floats your boat, or trust me to get crazy on my own. Please note that this is the only series I even take requests for, and only ones for specific fetishes or kinks. To respond to one inquiry that was sent to me - No. I will not alter my characters or the society that they're in. The reason that I like the Sahrketh society is because it is competitive and therefore fair. I made a<i> race</i> of people that compete for everything and apologize for nothing, not just a gender. It's not intended as a 'look how evil women are' statement. If you took it that way, then you need to ask yourself why, lol.<br />
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Werewolves are in limbo for the moment. Sorry. Well, sort of. There have been a flood of shifter erotica stories lately and I don't like the idea of being overlooked as white noise. They're on hold. All of them. <br />
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Duncan. Ha. Well, that's the new book, title pending. I haven't had this much fun with a setting in a long damn time. I only hope that readers will enjoy it too. More on him some other time, it's complicated lol.<br />
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If anyone sees the door-to-door fanatics that just left my property, please apologize to them on my behalf. I didn't mean to swear. In retrospect I realize that I had meant to inflict bodily harm. With my boney hands, or if they would wait a moment, with the bat that I keep for any sudden urge for baseball/fighting. If one more asshole comes here portraying what happened in Boston as a crime that was planned and paid for by the gay community, then I'll let them meet their fucking God. For realsies. There's a church, and only one church that's started this bullshit, and I shudder to think what may happen if they actually convert anyone. <br />
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That's all for me for today. Still alive, incredibly bitchy, and working my ass off. Cheers. ;)<br />
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S. <3<br />
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<br />Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7816946438282924505.post-22977140311477432172013-03-18T17:52:00.003-07:002013-03-18T17:52:41.900-07:00Victory & UpdatesSwordmaster Dasan is now available for free at Amazon, the second installment will be sitting at Smashwords until a friend of mine finishes the cover for that one. I poured plaster on her head and laughed at her misfortune, she owes me. For anyone looking for the second book, it's <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/229956" target="_blank">here</a> and it is as edited as I'm going to make it without charging for it. I've got the third one done, but I'm waiting on proofreaders to get back to me so, that'll have to wait for a bit. <br />
(If you have the adult filter on at smashwords, then the book won't show. Just reminding everyone.) <br />
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Please note - Swordmaster Dasan is a side series that goes with Playing with Tigers. I'm currently rewriting that series as well, and re-releasing it for free later this year. I feel that the copy that is out now is abysmally written, it was my first book and I learned from many mistakes I made in it haha<br />
The second one is getting ripped apart and rebuilt as well, so hang in there if you can't stand mistypes and misuses of apostrophes. I'm working on it lol<br />
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I have a few up and coming books in the works right now. I found a perfect way to do a steampunk story, so when I start tearing my hair out looking at Playing with Tigers, I have werewolves and coal power to keep my attention. <br />
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Anyone looking to contact me, just find me at Goodreads.com - I lurk on there when I go for my coffee breaks so it's the best way to locate me. I am very open to criticism, and I thank anyone who has left a review for me in the past (especially shiny nickel that was hilariously accurate and my brow knits with how true your statement was. I am FIXING that! lol) because feedback helps me improve and I have a very short list of people that work with me. <br />
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Back to work for me, I was just letting anyone looking for Swordmaster Dasan 2 & 3 know that technically one's there, and the other is on it's way as well. <br />
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Happy hunting everyone, expect a novel within the next two months along with the last story starring my demented sword-toting nuisances. <br />
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S. K. <3<br />
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*undecided on a second book for Tarro. <br />
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<br />Kaelihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06485310837529735602noreply@blogger.com2