Am I allowed to be late two months in a row? Well, here I am, late. but… here I am! And here’s the news!

Living

Once again I’m catching up after the month ends. October was… interesting. I am about to begin a different day job. I ended the old one somewhat abruptly although not without much thought. “Poor Fit” got to be the elephant in the room and I finally exited. A very close friend came to visit immediately (pre-scheduled) and we had a super good week together. Since then it’s been Recoup and Reconnoiter. Two day jobs have surfaced and I will be back to that grind by next week. My bank account is beginning to smile in anticipation.

Family—my major reason for returning to the Dallas area—is doing well as we reconnect and remember each other. Not all positive, of course—it’s family after all.  But better than being apart, I think. And it’s being this close that gives opportunity to work out the kinks, to remember the hurts, forgive the injustices (is mine the only family like this?) and generally move toward maturity.

Writing

Officially, the last chapter of UpStairs is written. The rewrite will likely be slow due to numerous plot holes and things that didn’t turn out like somebody thought they should at the beginning (remember all those kidnappings?). As much as I like these characters I’m not looking to write a third installment of their lives. I think this novel will actually complete the first novel, a better ending than it had on its own. This ending is somewhat happy, a little bittersweet but overall satisfying. And of course, there is room for a third if this crew of characters won’t leave me alone.

There are more stories demanding attention, as always. The most interesting ones to me are the ‘Tina’ stories.  Tina Inherits the House (And almost gets murdered!) is the first, already revised. There is one missing that I’m outlining, maybe make it a NaNoRemMo… I should know that one…. Project.  A third one already written, Tina Falls for a Vampire (and almost gets bitten!) is written but needs work. They are fun, short and sweet.

Future

Still in the future is finding an agent for this mess, someone who can and will make sense of the thirty-plus starts and half-finished projects. It’s a nice mix of sci-fi, fantasy, romance and thrillers, as well as several crossovers. Any takers? Bring a good story editor (the grammar and spelling are already superb! 😉 )

I’m fairly serious about all that. I’d like another pair of experienced eyes to lay out a ‘do this one next’ kind of plan.

I’m studying marketing, specifically “boutique marketing” as a plan to sell myself /my books. I think I get the concept, and now I’m in the process of adapting it to my own ‘product’. I see lots of experts on Instagram selling packages to do this and its very tempting. But then again, it’s Instagram. Of course it’s tempting! They’re selling it! I have to remind myself that they are doing it to make money, not to be helpful.

Again, if you have tips, I’m all ears! If I was already rich enough, I would immediately hire it done! But at this rate of selling books… do it myself is pretty much the only option. One book that has been an excellent resource is “Worth Every Penny”.  Look it up. It’s worth looking up!

That’s all for now. When the day jobs get rolling—there will be more than one!—I will add to this. In the meantime…

Keep Writing!

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