Saturday Stitching: MSAL – October Design Done!

It took me longer than I’d planned to get this last square done, but it’s finally finished. I can’t wait to see what November is going to look like – December too. If December is the MSAL name, Changing Seasons and the date, I’m going to find something else to fill in the space. I just don’t see myself doing that. I didn’t do it on last year’s MSAL either.

Anyway, here is what the block looks like:

Here’s what the overall piece looks like now:

I’m still not sure what colors I’m going to use. I guess it’s going to depend on what flowers and such are used. It won’t be much longer before the next one is released.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Golden Knave Update: Vice’s Story is Done!!

Yep, I’ve finally finished the second draft of Vice’s story. It ended up being oonnly about 30,000 words, but that’s okay. I can now begin the end when both characters’ stories merge. I am a bit scared now because I’m completely rewriting the original ending. I just didn’t like it so, I’m changing it.

Wish me luck and lollipops with this part because I’m going to need it!! I plan for it to be at least 20,000 words too so I really need to think out the scenes and keep the ball rolling so you’ll want to read the my next book: Ebon Angel.

I’ll keep you posted on when the second draft is done and then, I’ll need to type it up and get it to Beta Readers. If you’d like to be a Beta Reader, let me know! The more, the merrier!!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Rare Edition of Crimson Knight – Get Yours NOW!

That’s right, the current edition of Crimson Knight, my first published fantasy novel is rare, and you really need to get yours right now.

Why?

Currently, Crimson Knight has formatting issues. The edition being released on Valentine’s Day will be the corrected version. This means the current edition will never be available from me or my publisher. It won’t exist except for those fortunate enough to have bought one. This will make it ideal for the book collector as well as the book fan.

You can get your copy on Amazon: Crimson Knight

Be sure to post a review as well as I could really use the feedback!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!

My Stuff Monday – Mimi, Queen of Fluff

I have shared pictures of my beloved Mimi in the past, but this post is about just her.

Until I got her, I hadn’t had a furry companion since my darling Lancelot had passed – almost four years prior. I had never felt ready for another one. I had raised Lance from barely weaned to five years, and he was a special needs cat. He’d also contracted FeLuke from a stray cat, and he passed away from complications from this disease. It’s basically AIDS for cats. I was heartbroken, but there was nothing that could be done for him. Even now, thinking about him makes me tear up.

I finally decided I’d been alone long enough shortly before my 50th birthday which was last year, and I decided I’d give myself a cat for a birthday present. I found a notice for a local cat shelter at the local PetSmart. Several cats from the shelter were on display there. I gave them a call, and the lady agreed to meet me when she was bringing more cats to the store.

I took my youngest son with me, and I met Mimi. She hadn’t been the first cat I’d seen, she’d come with the lady. She was friendly and enjoyed being petted. I took to her right away. Arrangements were made, money was paid, and she came home with me. I found out later the lady was a hoarder who was selling her cats whenever she needed the money, and the vet she had an arrangement with wasn’t a vet per se but a tech who did stuff on the side. Very shady.

Mimi is sterile, I hope. She doesn’t act like she’s ever been in heat, and I’ve had her for close to a year now. She was sick when I got her though I was told that was just allergies. Mimi does have breathing issues from time to time, but she loves to go outside; it seems to do her a world of good if she spends any time at all outside. She is supposed to have been 3 when I got her so she’s nearly 4 now. I wasn’t told her actual birth date so I’m saying she’s a February baby just because. 🙂

I was told she’s part Maine Coon and part Domestic Longhair with Tortoiseshell coloring, She does resemble a Maine Coon though she’s a bit on the small side – I think. My Lancelot was also half Maine Coon, but he was a short hair. He was as big as she is now. I will post pictures at a later date and maybe, one of you can tell me for sure. It’s not worth a trip to the vet just to make sure.

That’s it about my darling Mimi. I hope you enjoyed reading about her.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Happy New Year!

I’m getting a late start with this first post of the week and the new year. I stayed up late ringing in the new year with family and friends. It was mostly virtually, but it was still a lot of fun. We’re all hoping the new year is far better than the old despite the pandemic still raging.

I thought I’d start fresh by telling you about myself. I know there’s an About section on this blog, but I thought I’d just say a few words anyway.

I’m 50 years young, and I’m happy to have lived this long. I did a lot of not so smart things when I was younger though I never even thought about eating Tide Pods…. Takes a special sort of person to think that’s a good idea imho.

I am a writer. I write something every day whether it’s an entry in my journal, a list of things I need to get done, or adding to a creative project I’m working on. I currently have two novels in different stages of completion. I have two more projects needing small changes done to them. I have written short stories and poems, examples can be found on Wattpad, and I’ll link to them in a later post.

I have two grown sons and a grade school-age granddaughter. They are my inspiration. I also have a special gentleman friend I see when time allows. He works full time and lives in another city so it’s not as simple as just popping over to each other’s home for a visit. Still, it works for us, and we’re enjoying every moment of the time we do get to spend together.

I have several hobbies but mostly, I’m a fiber artist. I crochet, embroider, cross stitch, hand sew and just recently, make lace. I have learned the basics of Battenburg lace making, and I’m watching videos on Armenian lace making.

I love animals, but my chosen love is the cat. I have had cats all my life. I like dogs, even owned a couple, but I prefer cats. I’ve also owned turtles, lizards and guinea pigs in the past. I helped raise two pigs when I was a kid living in a children’s home too. That was fun. Animals in general are wonderful, imho.

So there you have it, a little bit about me. I am a pretty private person so you won’t hear much about my private life, I will always leave out names from now on because I want to keep my family safe. I’ve heard too many horror stories to just blurt things out with no regard for the consequences. It does help my boys have different last names than I do, but I still won’t say anything revealing without their permission. I hope everyone understands.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!! Who knows, we might find some shinies!

30 Days of NaNoWriMo – Day 11

My word count dropped again today – it was 3,214 when I was done. While this does bring my overall total up to 41,588, I’m not competely satisfied with the count. I wanted to do more.

This said, I have noted many times in this project where I can split chapters and beef them both up so the count is higher overall. There are some scenes I do want to add to once the main project is done. Since I’m projected to hit the event goal of 50,000 words in 3 more days – if my daily word count stays above 3,000 – I’ll have time to do a rework of the overall project.

I plan to split up chapters, beef up scenes and add scenes where needed, and I plan to make sure formatting is the same throughout the entire project. I’m having issues with Crimson Knight right now, and I plan to fix it before Christmas.

As you can see, writing involves more than just stringing words together. 🙂

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!

30 Days of NaNoWriMo – Days 9 & 10

Yes, I’m doing two days today instead of one. That’s because I was so busy yesterday I totally forgot to post about NaNoWriMo and my writing project. It had crossed my mind I could write two separate posts and try to pass one off as having been written, but I couldn’t. I am trying to build a rapport, one of trust and mutual respect with a flavoring of ideas and events we both enjoy. I can’t do that if I lie, and the time stamp would easily make a liar out of me. So, I’m merging the two posts into one…

Monday, 9 November

I wrote 3,550 words bringing my overall total on that day to 34,836. I’ve begun tweaking the formatting of the chaptters as I write too. I made the paragraph indentation too wide in the first 8 chapters using a one inch indent. I’m going to fix those chapters while continuing on with the standard half inch indent from now on.

There wasn’t a write-in scheduled for today by anyone so completed my writing for the day and began researching how to make a simple loom for when I start learning how to weave. I’ll also be able to use if for macrame I do believe. 🙂

Tuesday, 10 November

I wrote 3,538 words today bring my total for my project to 38,374. I made notes on where I want to add a scene and where I want to split the chapter into two separate chapters. It will help things to flow smoothly and no slow down too much. I’m not happy I didn’t write more, but there’s still time for the additions I have planned once I get the initial goal reached.

I missed today’s write-in because I was busy doing research on industry in the 1930s in New York. I like to have some reality woven into my stories. It gives them more depth, I think. Anyway, I was reading and taking notes, forgetting all about the write-in until it was over. There’s a replay, but the live show is more entertaining and helpful.

I did fix the formatting on the first two chapters – it was niggling at me to do so. I didn’t want to forget to do it and end up with a mess like I’m dealing with in regards to Crimson Knight.

That’s all for today folks, I’ll see you on the flipside so don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!!

30 Days of NaNoWriMo – Day 8

I didn’t do as well with today’s word count. Every word count is a chapter in my book by the way. At this point, I am developing the main part of the story. Today’s chapter isn’t one I’m completely happy with so, at the end of the event, I’ll be working on it until I am happy with it.

Today’s word count was 2,931. That brings my total word count to 31,286. This is the best year I’ve had since starting NaNoWriMo years ago! 🙂

I’ve been seeing people in the chats for the write-ins as well as the discord channel I host for my writing buddies talking about not”feeling it” about working on their projects. Some are very far behind, some not so far behind and some, burning out early.

I’ve been counseling not to stop writing; stop writing on your project. Just for today or just for a few minutes – whatever you need – just don’t stop writing. Writing every day needs to be a habit. It also doesn’t have to be project related. It could be a poem, song lyrics, a list of things you need to do – things of that nature. As long as you scribble something down every day, it’s a win-win situation.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and screwdriver!!!

30 Days of NaNoWriMo – Day 7 – End of Week One!!

I had such a great time with yesterday’s virtual write-in on YouTube hosted by staff of NaNoWriMo I had a great day writing today! 😀 I wrote 4, 366 words which has brought my grand total up to 28, 355 words!!! The total for the event, as I may have mentioned before, is 50,000 words. My own personal goal is 60,000 words. I’m a bit over halfway there with the first and almost halfway there with the second, Considering this is only the first week, I’m doing a magalicious job!!!

I may even have time to do the editing and cover art and publishing before the end of the year!! It would be beyond fabulous to have a book published in time for Christmas!

Wish me luck and lollipops I get to my goal soon! Good luck and lots of lollipops for those doing the event with me!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

30 Days of NaNoWriMo – Day 6

Today was a good day to write! I got 3,881 words written in a little over an hour. I only work on my novel for an hour a day to keep from stressing out. Stress is bad for a writer and can cause us to write nothing but junk that we’ll have to waste time deleting later. My total is now up to 23,989 🙂

At 3pm Central Time, NaNoWriMo is hosting a virtual write-in using YouTube and Facebook Watch. I’ll be on YouTube. I’ll post an update on my writer’s page on Facebook tomorrow. I’m only posting there on a weekly basis so I don’t get distracted. There will be virtual write-in events tomorrow and Sunday as well. 🙂 I look forward to them to join in the conversations and to see if I can get a new idea or two. 🙂

I hope those of you who are participating along with me are meeting your goals or, at the least, are still enjoying the event! Drop me a comment below and let me know!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!