Oops! I got so involved in work yesterday, I almost forgot to set up this post. My bad. Here in the good ol’ USA, it’s Thanksgiving week. The James Gang is gathering on Thursday at Uncle Fix-It’s house. The SiL’s family is included and we’re all bringing our “specialties.” In my case, it’s pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and hot yeast rolls. Only is brining the relish tray and her version of Crack Dip. It’s pretty darn yummy. One of the nephews-in-law on Aunt Hooey’s* side is doing the turkey. It could be interesting. Jake will stay home. He will be a sad puppy but too many people in too crowded a space.
I’m not gonna mention sports except how ’bout that TCU vs. Baylor game?!? That there was some good college football. If you follow college ball, hope your team won. Mine didn’t.
Writing. Boy howdy, I’ve ben on FIRE! I finished polishing and publishing UNDER THE ASSASSIN’S MOON. Now all seven of the Moonstruck Wolf books are live on lots of on-line stores. If you want to see where a digital copy is available for $2.99, click on the title. Yes, this book is a “republish” but there’ve been substantion changes and additions to all the books.
In other writing news, we authors are weird. It’s just part of our make-up–and I don’t mean eyeliner tutorials on TikTok. Sometimes, the oddest thing will get us wrapped around the axel and there we sit, spinning wheels. There was one line (an epitaph) in the prologue of CROSSFIRE that has bothered me since I wrote it. It’s been so long since I just sat and read this MS due to getting the rights-returned books revised and back into the wild, that I decided to take a few days to just read and fill in some blanks I’d left, while rearranging all the various snippets and scenes to get them in some semblance of the right timeline order. So, yesterday, I started with the prologue. And I hit that line. And I started spinning wheels. You’d think I was living in Buffalo, New York and drining a two-wheel-rear-drive vehicle. I played with words. I hit Theasarus Dot Com. I even thumbed through a physical theasarus. And then I found the way. I fixed it. And when I hit Chapter 1, I started writing. Oh, I was still reading, but I was fixing and adding and writing tons of new words. Like almost 2K worth. Holy Hot Wheels, Batman. So now I’m excited and once I return from my Wallyworld trip, I’ll get back to CROSSFIRE.
See, I’ve been out of…alignment, for lack of a better word. Too bad I try to make my living as a wordsmith. 🤣 Getting the rights to those four books is/was a good thing over the long haul but I had to stop progress on two different projects to fix them. Personally, I think all four are humming along on all eight cylinders now but that’s just me. I hope readers who’ve already read the old version will take a chance on the new and enjoy it even more.
Okay, all automtive allusions aside, the thing is, I got out of my own way yesterday. I fixed the words that bugged me. I looked at the notes where I left off on a chapter (reminding me of where I thought I was going once I got back to the darn thing) and BAM! Now I feel like Emeril. But no food analogies. Promise. Anyway, I have a sense of purpose and it seems I am back in the groove with CROSSFIRE. I hopt to have 50K by the end of the month–I’m almost halfway there and if I can write as much every day as I did today, I should reach that goal. Then, with lucky, I’ll get it edited, polished, formatted, Only will get the cover done, and it’ll be ready in time for a New Year’s celebration if not Christmas. 🤞🏼 That’s the goal.
Uhm…not much else went on last week or over the weekend. Except there’s a certain amount of excitement in getting back into routine. Wallyworld and groceries today, followed by writing. Laundry tomorrow, writing during and after. Cooking and writing on Wednesday. Writing on Thursday while uncook stuff prepared on Wednesday bakes Thursday morning. Family time. Collapse in bed from all those people and writing on Friday. I don’t do Black Friday.
So, that’s my plan for the week, Yay for routine stuffs! What about y’all? Does routine help or put you off? And holiday plans?
*Aunt Hooey picked that name out herself when Stormy was born. For Only, the grandmothers were “Mamsie” on LG’s side and “Granny Gooch” on mine. Don’t ask. I don’t know why either.
Silver James 
I hope you have an awesome Turkey Day! Yay for getting back into the writing groove! You rock. And the changes you made to all your rights-reversion books have turned awesome books into AMAZING books. Anyone who read them before and don’t read them again now is losing out. Have a great rest of the week. :hugs:
I’d love a routine, but alas, it is not in the cards right now. Like I told Hubs last night, my only plan is to make it from clocking in to clocking out without messing anything up really bad or having anyone else mess me up. On the upside, I am not bored. When I was writing, the routine of writing at night and doing other writerly things during the day worked for me. I miss that.
No holiday plans. I only get Thursday off. And if I want, I can work Saturday to make up hours. We’ll see. Hubs is making the turkey like he always does. I might make a cake. We’ll see.
🤗 Thank you for your praise. The thing about you? If the books sucked, you wouldn’t hesitate to tell me. LOLOL Due to that honesty, I know you aren’t just blowing smoke up my skirt with your appreciation. I don’t miss working outside the house but I have missed being in my writing happy place. In fact, I zipped out almost 500 words before even looking at email, etc. and going to Wallyworld. I am a happy bunny.
Yay for Hubs. Rumor has it he makes the BEST turkey! Hope your week stays cool and I don’t mean weatherwise. Hang in there!
WOOT!! On the writing progress. I should be at the airport heading for Vegas, but I was not feeling up to the trip. So my plans are to use my traveling stuff and head to San Diego the end of May. Fell in love when I went to my first RWA conference in 2016, even went back in 2019 and did La Jolla and sat on the balcony and watched all the ships come in and out of Coronado. Want to do the zoo and balboa park this time.
So, working on Christmas decorating at the Nest this week.
You mentioned nicknames my dad side was Grandpa and Grandma Geno. My mom Bran Bum- noone know where I came up with that, but thst is how she was introduced to everyone and that is what was on her casket spray. She was my everythingand I wear her wedding band on my middle finger of my right hand😊 It was Grandpa Gregory when he came back later in our lives.
Im sure Jake will get some leftover turkey😉😉.
Laterz
My brother (7 years older so he got to name Mother’s parents) came out with Ganda and Gong Gong. Ganda eventually morphed into Granddad but my grandmother was Gong Gong until the day she died. I still have to stop and thing what her real name was. I got smart and picked my own. Jammie is easy to say and remember and fits my real initials. 🤣
I enjoyed San Diego. I “tripped” over to Coronado for a couple of hours and hung around the Hotel del Coronado and took pictures of it and the beach. I was sorry I didn’t have time to hit the zoo. Enjoy your trip!