Category Archives: Books
Kind of a Long Day
Had an extremely long appointment early this morning which meant that I got next to no sleep because my OCD brain kept waking me up, staggered home afterwards and tried to take a nap but knew that Ramón needed me to drive him to pick up his truck from the mechanic’s (turned out to be a broken wire attached to an important switch) so I couldn’t settle, Ramón finally came in and asked me to take him to pick up his truck, at which point he discovered that his GPS wouldn’t give him instructions on how to get to the South Side Ballroom so that he could see BABYMETAL (Japanese heavy metal band fronted by three female performers) tonight.
So we both headed home to see if we could print out a map (which was not helpful) or rig up a mount for his phone (didn’t really work), and I finally said I would drive him because I’m much more familiar with Downtown Dallas, he’s been looking forward to this concert for months, and I didn’t want him to get lost and frustrated, give up, and come home.
And yes, I know the Ballroom is right off the intersection of I-35E and I-30 so why did we go through downtown? Because this was at the height of rush hour and the North Dallas Toll Road was bad enough. I did not want to be screaming out the window at perfect strangers as I tried to merge onto I-30 whilst figuring out how the hell to get onto Lamar.
All of this is to say that I have had one hell of a day, I am exhausted, still need to go back downtown to pick up Ramón, and you will get Episode 9 of High Tide when I stop wanting to cry and punch things.
When It Rains, It Pours
High Tide Episode 8: A Little Sangria Won’t Hurt… is now available at Kindle Vella. Huzzah, huzzah.
Apparently Fate really, REALLY needed a good laugh this month, because we can now add Ramón’s truck to everything else that’s broken or cost us money since the beginning of August. It wouldn’t start last night, we tried jumping it this morning and that didn’t work, then I went out and got a new battery anyway (his was old and leaking and it did need replacing) and put that in. Still didn’t work.
That being said, he can get it to start by effectively hotwiring it so it’s not the starter motor, it’s not the battery, and the fact that he can start it suggests that it’s not the alternator. He’s currently trying to find a decent garage in the area where we can get it towed and have some pros take a look at it. The truck is 17 years old and this is the first time he’s ever had any real problems with it so on the one hand we can’t really blame the service it’s given us.
On the other hand, NOW? It decides to break down NOW? And none of our lottery tickets have come through. I need a drink.
But as of this morning I have all the bills paid, all the paperwork and receipts filed for the month, and I’m going to spend the afternoon working on ads and cranking out another couple of K on High Tide. That’s progress, right?
So, Yeah, It’s Monday
High Tide Episode 7: VivePharm is now available at Kindle Vella. You know the drill.
I had a panicked moment today. I thought I had my writer’s group meeting on Zoom tonight, which meant that I’d have to stop working at 7:00 PM and attend the meeting. Luckily we don’t have a story in the queue to be critiqued so I didn’t have to spend time on that but I am still editing the last few chapters of Crystal Blade before sending them off to Team Editorial Machete tonight and I didn’t have time to stop and attend a meeting…
…until I realized the meeting was tomorrow. Oops. And crisis averted.
Also, may I just say that having to plead with a medical insurance company to pre-approve an instance of non-elective surgery is bullshit? Luckily my doctor’s office is handling that and bless them for their tenacity, but it means I’m still waiting for them to receive my insurance company’s blessing before I can go ahead and have this gum issue fixed.
God, I want Medicaid For All.
On the plus side, the temps here are ever so slowly dropping and indeed it’s only two digits in my neighborhood at the moment, and that’s before 7:00 PM. I think that’s the first time this has happened since we had those three days of 90s temps. I just want to go back to non-hellish weather, is that so wrong?
Not Looking Forward To This Weekend
High Tide Episode 6: To Be Human … Or Not is now available at Kindle Vella. Go Forth and read.
So, Crystal Blade will be released on 8/29/23 at Amazon and you still have time to snap up a copy at 99¢ which is even cheaper than reading it on KU (yes, it will be on KU, never fear). The goal is to get the edited doc over to my editor and beta readers by Monday, get their edits input by Thursday, then give it a final polish and upload before the 7:00 PM CST deadline on Friday.
And the funny thing is, I thought this was the one that I’d have ready early. I had a whole month and a couple of days to get it ready for publication. I wouldn’t be rushing around like a headless chicken trying to get it polished, edited, formatted, and uploaded. I would have time.
Which must have amused Fate because that’s why I had my downstairs AC unit go out and a medical situation land on the same day. As a result the last two weeks or so have been filled with talking to AC techs, scrambling to get window units, getting various doctors’ appointments lined up and scheduling surgery (this is for the gum thing), all while it’s been hotter than Satan’s taint here. Frankly, the fact that I managed to get as much done with everything else that was going on astounds me.
But things are finally lined up and I’ll spend the weekend finishing up my round of edits before sending it out to Team Editorial Machete. Wish I could sleep next weekend but I’ll be prepping for release, tra la.
Back In the Saddle With Vella
High Tide Episode 5: Look Who’s Back is now available at Kindle Vella. The Olympic Cove gang are starting to approach the end game of Thetis and her mysterious companion, but Scott, Orrin, and Rian picked a very bad time to approach Poseidon (do not bother the God of the Seas when he’s trying to welcome a bunch of other deities, some of them not so friendly, to his home).
After I got the episode uploaded I decided to wash the bedding (at least we’ll be sweating into clean sheets), then go out and enjoy the last day of relative cool before Hell returns to the Clavicle of Texas. I picked up some stuff for a quilting project and stopped at the butchers for some proper bangers (mild pork sausages). Being an Englishman, Ramón is more than passing fond of bangers and mash with onion gravy, and since it’s stupidly simply to make (slice an onion very thin, brown it in butter, add it to a pan of brown gravy and let it simmer while you fry the bangers in the original frying pan, make up some mashed potatoes, and you’re done) I figured I’d do it tonight.
Frankly, I could use some comfort food myself at this point. I don’t like going to the doctor at the best of times, and tomorrow is for an actual treatment so, yeah, a little nervous. But better to get it done than ignore it and let things get worse, right?
Business Time
I don’t know if it’s the oncoming weather change that’s bringing back The Heat of Satan’s Taint or allergies or what, but all my joints feel like they’re full of ground glass and I was utterly exhausted by 8 PM.
As a result the head was not in a good place for storytelling so I fell back on book work. I updated my AMS ads, tweaked a couple of blurbs and came up with some new ad graphics for Crystal Shard.
I freely admit I don’t know why this style is so popular right now on social media but I’m seeing it everywhere. And since one needs to keep up with the trends I’ll be working on ads for all of the books in this style, including something similar for the Crystal Blade pre-order.
Now that I think about it, it’s an easy way for a reader to pick out their favorite romance tropes so that might be why it’s so popular. Also it’s fun to look at.
In other news I seem to have “Go All The Way” by the Raspberries on repeat in my head, I have an appointment for my initial gum treatment this Thursday morning (whee), and I have developed this craving for sushi and other Asian dishes. Ramón thinks it means I need more protein. He may have a point. In any case I obtained some California rolls for dinner tonight and I may have to make a stop at my favorite pho place sometime this week (yeah, I know, in this heat? But pho is worth it).
Writing Away
Today has been surprisingly productive—dunno how much of that is due to the significantly lower temps, the portable AC unit, or what, but I shan’t complain.
In fact, I should have a new ep of High Tide available on Vella by Wednesday, I’m hoping to have all of Crystal Blade edited and off to the Typo Team and my editor by the weekend, and I think I have a rough outline for To Love a Wild Swan, which is definitely going to be an enemies to lovers story (think Sam Reid in his most arrogant Lestat mode and Anna Taylor-Joy in Emma. format with added bloodthirstiness and you have my couple). The last book of the year will be Hurricane Warning which will wrap up my Olympic Cove series and bring my number of published novels (as opposed to novellas, novelettes, and short stories) up to a nice round twenty.
Granted, I am hesitant to mention any of this out loud because it seems that when I do that Something Happens™ that derails all of my plans. Guess I just have to keep my fingers crossed.
Waiting On a Call
High Tide Episode 4: Conclave of the Seas is now available at Kindle Vella. Go forth, read, and enjoy!
I’m sitting here reeling from yet another night of badly broken sleep and waiting for a call to find out the results of the gum biopsy I had two weeks ago (they weren’t in yet when I had my followup visit last Thursday and I’ve been playing phone tag with the oral surgeon every since). I’m hoping that the results are benign and I just need to confer with my dentist about possible solutions for replacing the cement in my crowns.
But I can’t be sure of that. So I’m sitting here trying to manage my anxiety and get some work done in the process. It doesn’t help that the Loudest Orange Cat in the World has decided that he wishes to glue himself to my side and comment loudly on everything. I tried closing the office door; he parked himself directly outside and started up with a mid-voice chorus of “Meow? Meow? Meow? Meow? Meow?” So he’s currently sprawled on the floor behind me while the Brown Girl has taken over the cat bed next to the bookcase.
As for writing, I’m editing Crystal Blade today because I can do that with relative competence in my current state, then I’ll get ready for my writer’s group Zoom meeting tonight. In the meantime here’s hoping that the oral surgeon calls back soon and lets me know what’s going on.
Side-Eyeing Trad Pub
High Tide Episode 3: Guess I’m Working, Then is now available at Kindle Vella. Go forth, read, and please leave a Thumbs Up because those are important for bonuses.
Recently I picked up a time travel murder mystery recommended by a colleague. It had a great cover, the concept sounded interesting, and I love good time travel stories anyway so this seemed like it would be right up my alley.
Until the first instance of head-hopping in a scene. That was followed by clunky, inauthentic dialogue between law enforcement professionals, motivation that had me side-eyeing the lead, and incorrect usage of British noble titles in direct address. At that point I quietly closed the book because life is too short to listen to my inner editor raging.
And this was a traditionally published novel by a major publishing house, the first in a series. That makes me feel a lot better about my own stuff. Yes, the occasional typo slips through despite my editing team’s best efforts, and sometimes I screw up a minor character’s name or plot details (and when these are pointed out to me I go back in and fix them). But at least my dialogue is on point, I keep the action moving, and if I use something specialized like noble titles I do the necessary research to make sure my usage is correct.
And I don’t head hop in a scene. Gah. Scene breaks exist for a reason.
I Really, Really Hate This Heat
And by rights I can’t complain—I work in central A/C and knock wood it’s been functioning. I don’t have it nearly as bad as everyone who works outside or who doesn’t have central A/C.
But it’s still oppressive as hell. This continuous high pressure isn’t doing my mood, my joints, or my sinuses any good, and I’m trying to get High Tide churned out when what I really want to do is hide in a dark room until all of this is over.
And that keeps getting yanked away. We were supposed to have temps in the 90s on Monday and Tuesday with some rain. The forecast is now back up to triple digits with no relief in sight until the middle of the month, if then (the only relief is that temps are supposed to top out at 100°F on 8/14, and that can easily change). So yeah, I’m not in the best of all possible moods.
It didn’t help that I went in for my follow-up with the oral surgeon (I had a gum biopsy done two weeks ago for some persistent gum irritation) and they still don’t have the report back from the pathologist. Neither the oral surgeon nor I think that this is anything serious—based on the placement of the gum irritation and my wacky immune system it’s far more likely that I’m having a reaction to the dental cement used to anchor the two crowns on those teeth—but it also means that I don’t know for sure. So that’s hovering at the back of my mind along with creeping dread of what our electrical bill will look like this month and other general financial concerns and yeah, not the most conducive environment for writing.
But I’m doing it anyway because that is my job and I need to keep my readers entertained. So Episode Three of High Tide will come out tomorrow on Vella, I’ll continue to edit Crystal Blade so that I can send it off to the editor, and I’ll keep glaring at the sun.
Nicola Cameron Writes 