Hello Again.

See, I really AM starting to come here regularly. Honest.

Let's see. Today was a much better day. In part because I spent most of it asleep. (OOPS). Seriously, I'm on a new prescription, and it's making me very tired. I'm HOPING I'll get used to it in a few days.

Sent off the bags to the Vampire Lestat Ball charity auction. The proceeds are going to Habitat for Humanity for New Orleans.

Inkspot the infamous has joined me yet again. He is fascinated with the keyboard. Lots of edges to rub against AND it makes clicky noises. OOOOOOOOOh.

Lucky the Wonder Dog is gnawing on a bone at my feet. Ink is the only one of the cats who'll come in and play with her when I'm here, but I have caught the others sneaking in when they think I don't know.

I need to get back to my writing, but I honestly haven't felt well enough for a while. I'm getting better, so I think I'm going to give it a try tonight and tomorrow.

I'm hopeful again on the moving front. A miracle would be nice that got me there tomorrow, but I don't see it in the cards. Soon, I hope. Soon. This is my mantra.

Work has been quiet this week. The boss and his wife went on vacation. The rest of us got down to business and kept busy on old stuff, the kind of stuff you don't get to with the interruptions of new work coming in. [PARAGRAPH EDITED OUT]

I probably shouldn't post that in public. So I won't.

Well, I need to get food, and get to my writing. Wish me luck.


Cie

Stuff

Okay, this is a bummer blog, so if you don't want to be bummed, you probably should skip it.

Oh hell. I don't particularly want to be bummed either.

I think I'll just shut up and go to bed.

Maybe tomorrow will be better.


Cie

Updates

Okay, this is another quickie.

I've been applying like crazy for day jobs in Denver and it looks like MAAAAAYBE things are starting to come together. WOO HOO!!

Got the birthday package sent to my mum. She was a Halloween baby. I am periodically a Thanksgiving baby. (Since the holiday floats a bit, I'm not ALWAYS on the holiday, but frequently enough for it to count in my book.) The man I was absolutely nuts about in high school (and beyond for quite a while -- but I blew it badly enough that it's painful to even think about it) was a Christmas baby. The problem with that was, he wound up with "combined" presents and not having his day be special. Ouch!

Got another package sent off to my son. In it was Dublin Dr. Pepper (the special kind made with real cane sugar rather than the corn syrup. You can really taste the difference! But they only ship it out of Texas if you order online. It's available locally here. So I send him some periodically.) and a bunch of DVDs. I buy used from the video rental store. Does this make me a cheapskate? Probably. But I've never been burned that way, and the savings is significant.

Yeah, I guess I AM a cheapskate. So be it. I guess I spent too many years being broke to not watch it. Things are better now, but I still have times when I've overextended myself -- like right after I had to make a big payment to the IRS (with another one due VERY shortly UGH).

BUT I do not begrudge the IRS their money. Yes, I think they are unfair to the self-employed, but I LIKE having public roads, and bridges, and clean water, and Social Security and Medicaid available to those who need it. So I'm willing to pay for them.

UGH. Inkspot the infamous is making his presence known on the keyboard again.

I'd better go, or I'll wind up grumpy.

Toodles.

Getting Things Done

Okay, I'm going to try to post again. Wish me luck. Inkspot the infamous (my black kitty with extra toes) has decided that it's fun to lay on the keyboard when mom's typing. Oy!

Yesterday was BUSY. I'm pooped. But we did good work.

First, megacudos to Joan who got me information quickly so that I could send promo materials to Mile Hi Con in Denver in time for them to make it to the goodie table. LOOK FOR IT! And go to the con. It's a blast. In fact, I'm hoping to sneak in as a civilian, if I can figure out a way to manage the trip, not miss too much work, and have the critters taken care of. We'll see. I want to go SOOOO badly. And I need to get up to Denver anyway for a couple of interviews and to look at a house I've been talking to a real estate agent about. Keep your toes crossed. (Fingers are for typing---assuming the cat lets me.) Besides, I want to meet up with Jim and Shannon Butcher and a bunch of friends who are going to the con. AND I want to see my son.

ANYWAY -- we got all of the stuff done for the bags for the Vampire Lestat Ball in New Orleans. They will be mailed tomorrow after I get Cathy's signature on the books in the bags.

AND we saw the new covers on the new books -- They look great! :)

AND we sent off said promo materials to Mile Hi Con from San Angelo (because they wouldn't arrive on time from the small town I live in . . . don't get me started.);

AND we had a signing at the Waldenbooks in the Sunset Mall in San Angelo. (If you ever want signed copies, call them and see if you can work out getting them by mail. Not that I'm trying to sell books or anything. No, not me. That would be someone else, maybe my evil twin? LOL).

AND I bought props for the photo shoot for the other website I'm building for the mystery, speculative fiction I'm writing under a different pen name.

MORE TOO, too much more for me to even coherently discuss. I was so exhausted after all of it that I slept 4 more hours than I usually do! OY

Today I finished putting together the bags for Lestat (You should go, it sounds like it'll be a blast -- and Susie is wonderful. I can't, because I'm in the throes of the move/non-move stuff. But still.) I organized my 2008 tax receipts, I am looking into MySace Advertising, and trying to deal with the website stuff (Caliban, Caliban, wherefore art thou Caliban -- our website designer, who I'm actually quite worried about).

I'm also going to go onto some of the old websites and forums I used to visit. I'd fallen off of the map because of: time constraints, illness, tech problems, and depression.

ANYWAY, wish me luck getting all of that done. Oh, and the laundry, AND the housework, AND, you know, WRITING. ARGH.

Gotta go.

Cie

STUFF/WRITING/MORE STUFF

Greetings and salutations:

Let's see.

May have a job in Denver. May have a house in Denver. Not the house of my dreams, but a fixer upper that I can afford as I transition into my new life. SO, good things coming soon to a writer near you.

I don't have a lot of time so I'll have to make this fast.

First -- We have the new name coming out and are introducing it to the world.
Second -- We're looking into advertising on MySpace. I'll let you know how that works out.
Third -- We're donating baskets to the Ann Rice Vampire Lestat Ball (Still can't go. UGH).
Fourth -- Sending stuff to Mile Hi Con in Denver next week. I may go as a civilian, depending on my schedule. I need to go up to Denver anyway to look at said house and interview for said job. We shall see.
Fifth - the re-issue of the first four books with the SERIOUSLY COOL new covers is out. My nephew says that they were in the Kroger where he works, which means that THEY ARE IN THE SECONDARY MARKETS -- WOOT!
Sixth -- Contract negotiations are proceeding apace. Will keep you advised, but I'm excited.
Seventh -- First book of new series is going well. I'm very excited. The heroine thought she was full human, but when she got attacked by a vampire she wound up with her siren heritage coming to the fore. Now she has to deal with the results of the attack, the people who set her up, and. . . oh yeah, learn how to deal with her new powers. LOTSA fun. Particularly since she is SOOOO sarcastic in my head. I LIKE sarcastic people.

Crap, gotta run. Time's up. And I actually had more to say. UGH!

Cie

NEWS

Hi!

Well, I'm actually back within a week. Don't all keel over from the shock now.

Anyway, the asthma is still a pain, but I'm getting better . . . SLOWLY.

I'm still in Texas, but I think it's going to work out . . . SLOWLY.

Our website guru has had his life implode and has vanished. I am concerned about him personally, and frustrated professionally. But there you go.

Cathy is busy on the edits to the next Tony book. WOOT. I got the paranormal romance short story out for the Mammoth Book anthology (European). I like it. It came in a little bit under word count, but I was actually fairly happy with it. Funny, I had intended just to re-do a short story that I'd done up years ago, but I couldn't find it on the computer. So I thought, "well, I'll just do a quick re-write." Hah! Wound up with a completely different story altogether. But there you go. If I ever DO find the original version, I can re-use it with different names.

I'm in the process of writing a "nice little murder" mystery for my mom. I promised. And I'm trying to deliver. We'll see if I can get it published. I actually got my tax information off to my accountant (GASP/SHUDDER) ON TIME. This is a big thing folks. A BIG thing. Not only did I get that done, I ACTUALLY ORGANIZED ALL OF THE INFORMATION AND RECEIPTS FOR THIS YEAR TO DATE. In file folders. Named. Ordered alphabetically and everything.

I had disconnected the internet thinking I was moving. Since I haven't actually moved, I'm reconnecting it next week. I need it for job hunting, research and the like. It will also allow me to do little things like, oh, I dunno, BLOG, on a more regular basis.

We haven't heard back from the editor on the proposals. We are out of contract at this point. I'm hopeful, but would like to know what to be working on soon. I don't want to end up in a huge time crunch. At any rate, good things are happening. Maybe we'll hear next week.

Gotta run.

Later.

Cie

THEY'RE OUT

WOOT WHOO HOO!!!

The re-issue of the first four Sazi books with the new covers are out. They look GREAT! YOWZA. Cathy picked me up a set yesterday. I didn't get to see them myself because I'm still trying to rest and get well. Stupid bronchitis.

UGH.

Oh, and the Cubs folded. Again. Ah well, there's always next year.

Cie

Still Down for the Count

Ugh. Still fighting the bronchitis. Mostly gone thanks to heavy duty prescriptions, but the asthma aftermath KEEPS hanging on, as does the exhaustion. So, while I have a list of things to do that is several miles long, I am, in fact, resting. Yes, ME resting. I'm a little surprised myself. But I know that if I don't take care of this and RIGHT NOW, I will be fighting it for weeks upon weeks.

So, a couple of lines in the blog. A quick check of e-mails, then down again for the count.

Oh, and if you hear of any spectacularly good jobs with benefits in Denver, let me know. :)