Darkspire Reaches Competition Winner

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The winner of my giveaway for Darkspire Reaches is Jennifer Lynn Dawson with this awesome comment.

‘This is by far one of the best cover artworks I’ve ever seen. It has such dimension and life! The colors are vivid, yet realistic, and the consumer can tell right at what type of book they’ll be reading if they buy it. The cover would grab my eye right away, the font is easy to read, and I want this book on my shelf… ‘

Thank you Jenn, a signed copy with a bookmark and postcard will be coming in your direction as soon as the post office opens this morning.

The Master of Hilarious Understatement.

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Quote from the master of understatement, Mark Twain. This just creases me up.

In the space of one hundred and seventy-six years the Lower Mississippi has shortened itself two hundred and forty-two miles. That is an average of a trifle over one mile and a third per year. Therefore, any calm person, who is not blind  or idiotic, can see that in the Old Oolitic Silurian Period, just a million years ago next November, the Lower Mississippi River was upwards of one million three hundred thousand miles long, and stuck out over the Gulf of Mexico like a fishing-rod. And by the same token any person can see that seven hundred and forty-two years from now the Lower Mississippi will be only a mile and three-quarters long, and Cairo and New Orleans will have joined their streets together, and be plodding comfortably along under a single mayor and a mutual board of aldermen.  There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.
  – Life on the Mississippi

Gown for the Grandbaby.

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I handed over the family baptism gown yesterday to Kid 2. I hope it can be brought up to snuff  by a specialty cleaner as it is a tad creamy in places. Not surprising as it is one hundred and seventy three years old. This gown was sewn by hand, with love, by the light of a candle for a first born child. It has been used for baptisms ever since and passed on down through the generations. I can’t even begin to guess at how many fonts it has appeared. It was worn by all three of my girls on their special day.

Yes, I know it will have to be retired to a museum at some point in the future when it just becomes too delicate to continue to use. Up until that time, I would like to see it used as intended by that very first mother. She decorated the lawn over-dress with hand-made lace. The exquisite work that went into this garment is a testament to love.

Shadow Over Avalon

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The cover for my next release in October has been finalized, excepting for the lettering. I am starting to get just a tad excited. Oh, what the hey, I am bouncing off the walls. I can’t wait for it to come out.

Yes, there will be snippets, once I have run these by my publisher for approval. Yes, there will be a cover reveal when it is finished. Yes, there will be continuity in the cover as it is the first in a series and yes, the publishers do have book 2 already.

What am I working on now? The sequel to Darkspire Reaches and a Science Fiction book. I want both of these finished by October at the latest. My crazy year is almost done, so I think this is a very real possibility. Three weddings in twelve months and a grandbaby? I am still gyrating.

There is also the new shiny I am picking at in the off moments. I know full well that this must not consume my writer time, so it is almost a hobby book. Oh dear, it is my second new shiny and I am also picking at that in the off moments. Just picture the idiot with a wide screen monitor who has three WIPs open at any given time. I wanted four but I found four was just a tad too cramped. Why? Because I can skip to another story if I dry up and manage a much greater word count per day than otherwise achievable. Hey, I have never claimed to be sane. Different, yes, but never sane.

Unpleasant day.

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I was up at dark o clock to the sound of a huge storm. Went to the weather network and yes, it was a lu lu coming our way. I figured I would lose power, so went down to make a pot of coffee whilst this was still a possibility. Must have my morning fix.

There was on heck of a crash outside and I just assumed it was a near strike. Anyhow, I went upstairs to snag my camera as the sky, although still darkish, was becoming really interesting. This is when I noticed I no longer had a patio table. My new patio table was lying in shards on my deck. Millions of shards. My husband had also been disturbed by the noise and now joined me, glumly surveying the ruins.

The VBC had already fled to his storm shelter at this point, but the power didn’t go down. Now that is a first.

I got to miss out going to the city with my daughter as the electricians were scheduled to return to fix something they overlooked. This meant my power was off and on repeatedly all day. Fine, I had some hand sewing to do and got on with it. I think it is done now, However, I still have to sweep up the glass shard mess as it has been wet to do so all darn day.

On the bright side, since there always is one, I see Canada will get a new future king. The duchess was safely delivered of a son. I find this amusing as politicians have bust guts to change the inheritance laws in case she had a girl. Good for her to catch them all wrong footed. I wonder if they will call the new prince, Arthur? Now that would be nice. And no, this has absolutely nothing to do with the very minor factoid that my next book out will feature King Arthur. Oh, I might have bitten my tongue. Grins.  

Crazy Times.

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So it starts. I had a phone call from my electrician first thing this morning and he was most apologetic for the hour, but he needn’t have been as I was up and about two hours before he called. He was scheduled to come wire in my generator on Monday, but now wanted to come tomorrow. One doesn’t mess with one’s contractor, and he is a good one. No, it is not very convenient, which I didn’t tell him, but I will work around it.

Late tomorrow night, Kid 1 arrives from Vancouver Island to stay with us for the wedding of Kid 3 on the 27th.  Fortunately, we have three vehicles, so she gets the use of her choice. I thought she was coming in just before the wedding and that I had more time. I was going to redecorate my guest room. I guess this isn’t going to happen.

Kid 3 wants me to go through the family pictures again to find a picture of her and her granddad for her slideshow at the wedding. Gulp. I don’t know that I have any that aren’t on slide and I don’t have a slide projector anymore.

Publishing stuff needs to be done, but my Publisher is being very nice about my busy time. All the same, I need to get stuff done. Not because I am being pressured in any way, but because I really want to participate and this is my choice.

Will my grandbaby stick to his/her due dates and arrive on September 7th? I doubt it from the appearance of that adorable child on his/her latest ultrasound picture. The mom to be cooked early and I think she might have inherited the same oven. In which case, this already well-developed baby might well put in an appearance with a very respectable weight at eight months. Time will tell.

Buying and who doesn’t.

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This was a writer related post, but it got me thinking back. Many years ago my late father had a soft furnishing company. It was top of the line, but even so, he offered considerable discounts, think cost price, to relatives. His nephew never stepped up. Not once. They lived in an outdated apartment with the drapes in rags and no, they were not poor. If you both earn and you don’t spend, you have the money. They never took up a cost price offer, not even for scatter cushions.

I guess a person can get out of the habit of spending if they live their whole life never improving anything. My cousin’s wife still had a twin tub washer long after these became dinosaurs. Darn, it even had a mangle on the top. Does anyone remember what a mangle was, even? I feel kinda sad for them really. They had no children by choice, so they had the opportunity to treat themselves, and yet didn’t. I fail to see the point of endless hours spent and dire jobs when there is no carrot in the offing. I expect my cousin’s wife’s relatives got a nice next egg on her demise, after he went, but what about them? Where was their payout for the years of work? Not comfort, not home ownership, not even nice vacations. So sad.

Coming back into full circle, I guess this is why I don’t spam family and friends. It is there and I will give a discount as allowed by my publishers, but I will not push it down your throat. Speaking of which, I do have some copies of Darkspire Reaches that I can give a 20% discount on if anyone is interested. Postage and Packing to the States is another $7.60 CAD on top, but not out of line with what Amazon charges for a single purchase. Oh, and then there is one copy earmarked for that special person who gives the most interesting comment on the cover. I will cover the cost of postage for this to anywhere in the world.