Arrgh-ust

Keeping with the punny month titles... 

Yes, I'm about to cast off from summer break and re-enter the chummy waters of middle school. With overcrowded classes, raging hormones, and general shenanigans, I vow to keep these lily-livered scallywags from mutiny, even if I have to make them walk the plank! Every day is a whale of a tale.

Well, that was fun =D

Happy IWSG day. I'm so close to finishing my edits on LEFTY, my new murder mystery series, and now I have to get ready for school. I'm hoping this year will be less crazy than last as I have a curriculum all set up. A few new things, but should be less stressful and more time to devote to getting this thing done! 

Excited, but also anxious for the next phases:

• Querying - seek agents, write a fantastic blurb, prepare for rejections
• Get a Cover!
• work on POP TRAVEL #5 MAGNETRON while waiting to be rejected

Author life.

Hope you're doing well. I miss blog hops that connected us to other writers as a closer knit community. Those were good times! The world has changed, and will again.

Remember: When life gives you lemons...

Jewel Eye

Been feeling punny with the monthly titles... Happy Jewel-Eye!

Happy IWSG!

Sorry I'm late, I was preparing for company.

Oh, and a giant tree fell on my parents' house.

So, I've been dealing with a few things... My folks were not hurt, but they are older and do not need all the stress and troubles of dealing with the huge hole in their living room... I'll be heading down, once they have a plan. I just hope and pray they can handle the overwhelming decisions they have to make.

Summer is going well. My son and his gf are visiting from Texas for the holiday. We're having a great time--watching my youngest play baseball, seeing wildlife, sunning, watching a little soccer, and playing games. But of course I'm eating too much!

I'm also chugging away at my WIP. I'm happy with my word count, added 2 new chapters and a few characters, and just about ready to send it to readers. I'm anxious to hear how my first murder mystery is received. 

Keeping it short. Gotta get back to the family.

Hope you are staying cool in this nationwide heatwave!

June Bugs!

Bugs, bugs, ewwwww, bugs!

Welcome to my June IWSG report. Summer is here! I love the writing time, and I'm getting a lot done already! But I hate the bugs...

WARNING - THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET GROSS!

One of the reasons I didn't want to move back to Florida was the exorbitant amount of bugs! 

For fun, I made a list of frequent flyers (haha) and crawlers:

Ants - oh so many varieties and big biters

Beetles just creepy

Bees & Wasps - I leave them alone, they leave me alone, right? 

Butterflies - the prettiest bugs =) 

Loud Cicadas lend to the tropical vibe. 

Love Bugs - tons this year, all over my car!

Leggy Bugs - centipedes, millipedes, eww!

Hoppers & Crickets - typical, no harm. 

Dragonflies - which are actually my favorite, they're pretty cool

Then there are the smaller and most annoying creepies: Mosquitos, Flies, Gnats, and No-See-Ums... I do like spiders and lizards who eat lots of buggies. Yay!

Back in Ohio, we could tell the month by the bugs:

May Flies, June Bugs, July Fireflies (some prefer Lightning Bugs) ooo pretty!, August Horseflies, September Ladybugs & Stinkbugs, October Spiders -- Then we were free from bugs for a good six months, as it should be.

All in all, it's not that bad down here, as long as we stay inside and keep up with the monthly pest control. We also have to be careful on our nightly walks. We find that sliver of time just before dusk when the sun is still in the sky, but the temp and humidity are going down. Too soon and we run into clouds of gnats, too late and beware the mosquitos!

Oh, but wasn't this supposed to be a WRITING post? Well, you know I'm going to tie it all together. I've been in a book club and so far, only one of the books has wow'ed me. I don't know about you, but as a writer, I tend to judge published writers more harshly. I've always been a picky reader, but I know good writing, and I have some really awesome writer friends. So when I read sub-par books from published authors, it's very annoying! 

So here are some things that BUG me about my recent reads and book club:

• predictability - I've always been good at this, but when I know who's going to die and who dun it in the first chapter, it's pretty sad
• too many tropes - sleepwalking, fake amnesia, hidden items in the floorboard, bratty kids
• characters I can't root for - hardly any of the characters have any redeeming qualities anymore. if I was in the book, I'd shoot all of them, but then I'd feel bad about it (redeeming quality, haha)
• everyone sleeps around - seriously, no one has any fidelity? at all?
• slow starts - where's the initial incident/hook?
• repetition - how many times are you going to say you don't remember what happened that night?

It's hard to pick a book for a group of friends to agree on, and I'm usually outbid... But if they pick another book about writers, I'm done! Egadz!

Well, I've gone over my time, so I'll wrap it up with the only book I enjoyed so far: It's Not Her by Mary Kubica - great twists and surprises - hard to predict! Did not disappoint. I recommend it.

Would love to hear any recos from you!!

On my own, I also read Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. If you like sci-fi, this is a fantastic book - an amazing story, endearing characters, and brilliant imagination! (now a movie, of course. can't wait to see what they do with it)

Happy June! Happy Reading & Writing!

via GIPHY