Update Link: A King’s Command, Part 26

Not a lot to babble about since I just updated yesterday, but I will say my car is testing my patience, LOL. I typed Thursday’s update blog on Wednesday — and then Thursday morning, I went out to start my car and it was completely dead. It was raining the day before, and I left my lights on. It was so annoying, LOL. Luckily, my VP was super awesome and let me hold my meetings from home so I could still work and not take a day. My dad came up and took care of it, so I’m just relieved it wasn’t a more annoying situation.

I’ve edited two chapters this week, and I’ll be working on a third tomorrow so I’m meeting my goals in that respect. I also finished the large scale outline on Smoke & Mirrors. I’m waiting on my iPad to start filming videos for the channel. My old iPad is completely out of space, so I can’t even film in segments. I’ve been saving up for six months for this thing, so I’m just hoping Apple ships it soon. I’m enjoying working on AU — I don’t write them a lot because I usually feel more inspired by GH canon and there’s also other challenges I really want to dig into. I don’t know yet how long the project will be and I’m not setting a deadline for writing it. I think I’ll have a better sense of all of that after I get into it.

And in preparation to work on Smoke & Mirrors, I worked on the template for the Alternate Universe page. Like Alternate History, I’m working on streamlining how my stories are listed. Right now, they’re kind of scattered across a few pages. I want you to be able to go to one or two places and find everything. The AU page will be divided into genres and is in the early stage.s

See you tomorrow for another update of Ricochet!

Update Link: Ricochet, Chapter Thirteen

Happy Thursday! I’m having myself a pretty decent week for a change. I’ve finally managed to do a few chores around the house I’ve been putting off, and I always feel better when my space feels more organized.  There’s still a lot I need to get done, but I’m finally chipping away at the big to-do list.

I went to my first physical therapy appointment for my TMJ, and my therapist told me my neck muscles are messed up which might explain the whooshing in my ear. The TMJ is a factor as well because it’s like all my muscles in my head, neck, and shoulders are completely out of whack and so my body is just rebelling. She gave me a deep tissue massage and it hurt like a son of bitch today. I’m going to need to go there twice a week, so that should be interesting for my schedule. We’ll see how it goes.

I honestly haven’t had a chance to start editing yet this week, but I’m typing this on Wednesday night, and I have a few scenes in Chapter 20 left to edit that I’m going to try to finish tonight, so I can work on writing a brand-new Chapter 21 Thursday-Sat. That would take care of the three chapters a week goal I set myself.

I should see you guys tomorrow for Flash Fiction Friday!

Update Link: Ricochet, Chapter Twelve

ICYMI: A King’s Command, Part 25

I managed to get a morning Flash Fiction done on Sunday, so if you missed it, I’m linking to it now.

So far, the whooshing is actually improving thanks to the cycle of Prednisone. Unfortunately, the doctor put me on a cycle where I gradually reduce my dosage and honestly — I don’t want to, LOL, because every day I’m on this dosage, it gets better. Today was the first day I was able to teach without constantly feeling like I needed an earbud with white noise to block. Yesterday, I not only write the flash fiction, but I did everything I normally want to do a Sunday and STILL had time to read, relax, and take a bubble bath. I even edited a chapter of FMT!

Today, I stopped by Starbucks for a drink because there’s an outlet really close to my work. I’m really starting to feel better, and I’m hoping it’ll get just keep going up. I’m almost done with my remote cycles, we’re on spring break next week, and it’s looking more and more likely that I’m being asked back next year. I don’t have a contract yet, but hopefully by the end of next month, it’ll be a done deal.

I’m writing this update on a Monday afternoon, so I have a few things I need to do for class, then I’m going to finish editing FMT 20, and then relax for the evening. Thanks for all your support and patience 🙂

Update Link: A King’s Command – Part 25

Finally getting back here on a Sunday morning! There are three more parts, I think, after this, but I’m hoping to wrap it up next weekend. We’re probably going to have another Flash Fiction schedule change in April. The only reason I’ve been able to manage Friday night updates is because my district has us at home on remote half-days. Starting April 16, we’re back five full days a week. I’m not sure I’ll be up to Friday night updates at that point. I think we’ll be doing Saturday & Sunday morning updates for Flash Fiction, but we’ll see how it shakes out once I get back to work. It also depends on how the edit for Fool Me Twice goes. I’m hoping to have that first book entirely edited by that point.

I’m also working on an easier schedule for myself. Each book takes about six months, so I should probably be shooting for two books a year, not three. That’s probably where I went wrong last year. So I’ll be writing Smoke & Mirrors and then probably Mad World Book 4 for this year. We’ll see how it goes. It’s hard to measure anything by this year, you know? So many things are just not the way they normally would be. Schedules constantly changing, back to school, then remote, then on quarantine–the head space really isn’t there. So, I guess, in retrospect, the amount I was able to do isn’t that bad at all.

I played a lot with Smoke & Mirrors yesterday, so I’m really excited to start it it soon. It’s fun playing in an alternate universe and this is the first full-length AU novel I’ve attempted since Daughters back in 2006-2014.

Update Link: Ricochet, Chapter Eleven

Update Link: A King’s Command – Part 24

Happy Friday! This has been a crazy week! I feel like my job both made me super happy and very frustrated all at the same time, LOL. On Tuesday, my supervisor asked if I was interested in returning next year as a French teacher. Y’all know I’m not super wild about teaching French, but I have enjoyed it more than I thought I would. So I told him yes, of course. It’s not guaranteed and I don’t have a contract yet, but knowing they want me back if it can be worked out is a huge relief for next year. And then, literally, the next day, they announced that in the fourth marking period, they’re cutting Remote Fridays and bringing us back full day instruction with alternating cohorts. They originally told us if we were coming back on Fridays, all instruction would be cut to half day one sessions, so I spent a week planning to cut my curriculum in half  — ugh. Anyway 😛

I went back to the doctor on Thursday, and he’s so incredibly lovely and supportive. He said my TMJ has been worse — he can feel my jaw out of line and that’s making the ear problem so much worse. I’m starting physical therapy on Tuesday, and he agreed to give me a cycle of Prednisone so I can try to get a break from the whooshing. I’ve taken two doses, and I’m already feeling a difference. Even if it’s not a long term fix, it gives me hope that once the TMJ is back under control, I can look forward to this problem resolving.

I’ve been working on Discovery for Smoke & Mirrors, and I’m really excited to be playing in an alternate universe. It’s so much more relaxing and I planned out the large movements. I just need to put it in order. I’ll be working on it for Camp NanoWriMo. My hope is to have a decent first draft done by the summer and it’ll be out in the fall. But I’m not making any plans. I just want to have fun and get myself back to a healthy mind set.

I’ll see you guys back here in the morning for Fool Me Twice!

Update Link: Ricochet, Chapter Ten

Happy Thursday! I’m prepping this post on Wednesday, and looking forward to a relaxing couple of days. I have a doctor’s appointment on Thursday for my ear situation, so I’m taking the entire day off instead of rushing around, trying to get coverage, making arrangements — I have the sick time. I’m using it. Tomorrow, I’m going to work on some editing and grading in the morning before the appointment in the afternoon.

In other news, I’ve picked the project I’m going to work on next. It might not be one many of you guys are interested in because it’s Alternate Universe, but I really feel like I need a break from the show and it’s internal canon. I need something a bit — well, not lighter, but just outside of things. The project is Smoke and Mirrors, and here’s a synopsis below:

AU. Long ago, a woman scorned placed a curse on the women of the Soltini family. For generations, no woman birthed a son or lived long enough to see her daughters reach adulthood. Some have come close to breaking the curse, but all have failed.

For most of her life, Elizabeth Webber thought she and her cousins had finally escaped the family curse. Her sons were the first born to a Soltini woman in living memory. Cursed with the gift of empathy and healing, life has not been kind to Elizabeth. Devastated and heartbroken, she fled her family long ago.

She left behind cousins Robin Scorpio and Nadine Crowell, each cursed with powers of their own. Envious of Elizabeth’s gift for healing, aspiring doctor Robin could always tell the truth of the situation, but her pride and jealousy often blinded her to reality. Though she wanted peace between her cousins, Nadine’s power of reading memories too often overwhelmed her and she retreated.

The cousins have gone their separate ways until one day when the pentagram marking the curse appears on Elizabeth and Nadine’s palms. Why has the curse returned? Why has it spared Robin? Elizabeth has no choice but to return to Port Charles, to the cousins and family she fled, and the man that broke her heart.

If that sounds a bit familiar, it should. It’s a plot bunny I’ve been playing with off and on for a few years, and I’m just ready to give it a go. I’ve got some other news about how the work process is going to go but I need to work it out in my head a bit more before I finalize the plans. I’ll see you guys on Friday!

Update Link: Ricochet, Chapter Nine

Well, I’m glad I didn’t promise the Flash Fiction on Sunday because I’m typing this post on Sunday afternoon and literally every piece of me hurts. I wanted to get this post ready for Tuesday morning because I’m not sure how I’m going to feel on Monday.  I’m probably going to take a sick day because I just feel really sore, and I don’t think I’m up to eight hours in that terrible, windowless room with the chair and being stuck on the computer. This has been a very rough start to the beginning of the year, but I have hopes it’s turning around. I only have three more weeks of remote teaching before I’m back in the classroom, I’m fully vaccinated, and I’m going to the specialist for my ear stuff again on Thursday.

Taking care of some housekeeping — I’m leaning a particular way for the next project, but I want to play with it a bit more before I commit. I’m hoping to make a final decision by the end of the week so I can play in Discovery and be ready for Camp NaNoWriMo.

The other thing I want to cover is a release schedule. I’m going to be heavily revising my Production Schedule in the next week or so and I to get some feedback on how you like the updates. Do you want them all at once like I did for Mad World, Book 3, or scatter the updates over a few weeks or months?

Update Link: Ricochet, Chapter Eight

Update Link: A King’s Command – Part 23

If you missed my note on Tuesday about Sunday flash fiction — it’s being moved to Sunday mornings. I’m trying to stay away from my office Sunday-Wednesday so I can cut down on screen time. The last two weeks, I was relaxing and really didn’t want to to stop to come upstairs and write. It’ll be easier in the morning.

I’m not updating this Sunday because I’m getting my second vaccine shot tomorrow and the side effects of this second one are supposed to be crappy so I want to make sure I’ve got food and meals prepped for the week so I can (hopefully) go back to work on Monday. I already have to take a sick day on Thursday for my ENT specialist, so I really need to do my best to get to work. My mom said she actually ran a fever and had to take off two days, so, uh, that should be fun. We’ll see.

Anyway — you’ll get Chapter Eight of Ricochet tomorrow morning, so hopefully that’ll tide you over this week. We’ll start the new Flash Fic schedule next weekend.

Happy “Franco is Still Dead” Week!