Newsletter is (hopefully) out for the New Year/Happy New Year's Eve

Hi.

Happy New Year's Eve to you all.

I just approved the January newsletter. It should be going out any minute.  I've been sorting through paperwork and doing important stuff, but I decided to take a break to have a little fun before I lost my mind.

Above is a picture of me from a couple of years ago.  I put it in just to see if the picture ad function worked for me.  I've lost a lot of weight since then (and of course gained some back).

Okay.  Enough loafing.  Back to the paperwork.  UGH.

Happy New Year!

Normal?

Tempus fugit.

Time flies.  Whether or not you are having fun.

Fortunately, this week is a good one.  I have the week off and have been doing stuff around the house and WRITING and doing other business stuff and WRITING SOME MORE.

The Celia book is coming together.  WHEW!  I love that rush when you know EXACTLY what you're trying to accomplish and it starts to come together.

Pages are flowing. YIPPEE!

And now I am off to do more of the other business stuff and then get back to writing.

Wish me good luck.

Oh, and folks, the hack affected my newsletter list.  If you haven't received the newsletter, my guru has put up a new link on the website:  http://ctadamsauthor.com where you can re-sign up.  I'm still trying to work out the link here.

Best.

Cie

Holly Happydays

Wishing you all happiness.

My brother is doing better.  This is wonderful.  My son is doing well.  This is wonderful too.

I am writing.  A lot.  And it is going well.

In fact, I got a call last night that lifted my spirits considerably.  ALL YOUR WISHES has been on the shelves for a while.  I've caught some crap from a couple of readers who are very angry that I killed one of the main characters.  Had a long, heartfelt letter from a reader who swears she will never read my books again because of it.

I have to say, it's been hard.  Between one thing and another, I've even considered finishing this contract and then throwing the towel in altogether.

But then I decided that I would do a novella for my Mom for her birthday.  She's wanted me to write a mystery since I started.  So I did.  For her.  And I started having fun writing again.  (THANKS MOM!)

And last night my friend Pam calls.  I had given her a copy of ALL YOUR WISHES because she and I were together on the vacation to Treasure Island that I used for research purposes for the book.  I thought she might like seeing how that turned out.  I wasn't even sure if she'd ever find time to read it because BUSY LADY.  But I wanted to give it to her just the same.  (Besides, most of my friends and family don't read paranormal.  They love me enough to have picked up a couple of the books, but they have been very disappointed that I don't write what they love to read).

WELL, she called me and SHE LOVED IT.  She said she thinks it's the best book I've written.  She can't put it down.  And she gave me crap about the loss of sleep involved.

And I needed to hear it.  Badly.  Because I'm writing the next one and the echoing silence with regard to my newsletter and the book has shaken my confidence.

AND so, today, I've written seven pages so far.  I'm taking a break to post this, then I'm back at it.

Thanks to the readers.

THANK YOU PAM!

Cie

It's a Mystery

Hi Guys.

Okay, here's the thing.

I have always loved reading mysteries.

So I wrote one for my mother for her birthday.  It was a novella.

And writing it was like falling off of a log.  No worldbuilding.  Regular reality, just add a dead body.

Holy crap.

So I'm working on the book for the contract, and it's going well enough. And I will do more if they want them because I do love the characters, and I do love paranormal.

But I'm going to do mystery novellas direct to Kindle for $.99 too.  Because I can.  And they're fun.  And I really hope people will buy them.

I figure to do one per quarter for the first three quarters of the year--and an omnibus for Christmas.

It will be secondary to the contracted novels.  And they will be novellas--around 30,000 words.

And another joy of the whole thing.  I HAVE LOTS OF THEM mostly finished that just need wrapped up, edited and polished.  WOOT.

And playing with Photoshop to do the covers has been fun too.

But today, for now, I am off and running, back to put Celia Graves in jeopardy and then make her fight her way out of it.  I am SO mean to my characters.

Cie

HACKED OFF

Hi!

I'm hacked off because I was one of the millions/billions of Yahoo users who was hacked.  I started my yahoo email account when Yahoo was brand new.  I've done all of my personal stuff through it since.  I'm now having to migrate all those years of contacts, emails, etc. or delete them and lose the archived information.

I AM TICKED.

This is so not what I needed.  I have other things to do with my time.  It's going to take a major effort AND I will be risking virus infection by going there because my computer at work got infected while there.

GEEZ.

SO TICKED.

But I'm determined to look on the bright side.  At least I will get a fresh start.

But I will never understand why some people get their jollies by hurting total strangers that they're never going to even meet.  What's the fricking point?

Cie

Unhappy Reader

Well, I received the first email from a reader unhappy at the death in the book. 

I am sorry that she was so upset.  The character's death didn't make me happy either. 

I am flattered that the character meant so much to her. 

I am sorry if she will no longer read my books.  That is up to her.

Cie

LAUNCH DAY! MAY IT TAKE OFF LIKE A ROCKET

ALL YOUR WISHES IS OUT!!! WOOT! 

VERY EXCITED.

BUY THE BOOK!

Cie

The thing about characters is . . .

Okay, first off, on the 100 day thing.  I have no idea where I'm at.  But I've been making progress, and I am happier than I've been in a while overall.  Still ups and downs, but at least I don't feel as if I'm stuck any more.

NOW about the writing. . .

I've been doing it.  Eight pages a day average.  Four on each project.  Both are going well.  Both now require a bit of research, which I am about to do.

The thing is, I had to write this HUGE disclaimer at the front of the cozy mystery.  It is set in a small town.  I live in a small town.  They are NOT the same small town.  There is NOT A SINGLE PERSON in this book that is a reflection of any actual real person I know.  Seriously.  NOT     ONE.  I have to say that loudly and repeatedly because I have found that, for some reason, people I know locally want this to be a salacious Peyton Place kind of book that actually mimics reality so that they can try to figure out "who is who".  Nobody is.  For one thing I DON'T WANT/NEED TO GET MY ASS SUED.  For another, most of you guys are really pretty boring.  Seriously.  Get over it.

So, anyway, the characters who ARE in the book are the people who have announced themselves to me.  And as is frequently the case in my imagination, they sprang forth fully formed and they don't give a fat rat's ass whether I like certain things about them.  This is a sample "conversation" in my head with the main character:

ME:  Um, look, I'm not a lesbian.  This is going to make it really REALLY hard for me to write you believably.  Can I maybe. . .

MEGAN:  Tough shit.  I am.  Deal with it.

ME:  But . . .

MEGAN:  No buts.  I am.  You're a writer.  Use your imagination.  Ask people if you're afraid you've gotten it wrong.  But love is love. You've loved people.  I know you have.  Deal.

ME:  But she's BLIND.  I mean, can I at least . . .

MEGAN:  Yes, Beth is blind.  It's harder on her than it is you, believe me.  If she can handle it, you can write about it. 

AND THIS, my friends, is why my imagination always wins.  Because it is filled with hard-asses who are not afraid to stand up for me.  And yes, I know, it does make me sound crazy.  But apparently the characters in my imagination DO NOT CARE if they drive me crazy.  They figure I'm already halfway there.  I'm a writer.

Cie

Crisis of Confidence

I am not perfect.

I will never be perfect.

I try.

I fail.

I try again.

I screw up.

Sometimes, at about this point, I get discouraged and think, maybe I should pack it in.  Seriously, is it time to give up.

Then I get my back up.  Or somebody says something mean and bitchy and I REALLY get my back up.  So I try again.

And holy crapola, I SUCCEED!  WOOT, WOOT, I ROCK.  I'm AWESOME.  I'm so glad I didn't quit.

And then it's on to the next thing.  I feel I've learned.  I've grown.  How hard can it be?

And I fail.

This is life.  Progress is not measured in a directly rising angle.  It's more of a slow up and down climb through the foothills to the mountains, and eventually a vertical climb up to the summit. 

I get tired.  I get discouraged. 

But I'm still climbing.

So far anyway.

And we're off (but you knew that).

Okay, I am not sure how many days I'm in to the program, but I figure I'm just continually trying to change and grow, so it won't matter so much.


I have done my exercises.  I have been taking my vitamins and the Rx.  I have been writing every day.  I sent the first part of the mss off to an editor friend for comments.  I contacted a thriller author to see if he'd be willing and have time to give me a quote a month or so from now.  I have done the newsletter up and got three chapters ready to attach in hopes that the audience will be salivating for the new Celia Graves novel that comes out in a month. 


I have done the motivational and spiritual work that I need to, and ordered the programs and learning materials I need.  I have been working on the household stuff, but have not made as much progress on the repairs as I had hoped -- but will work on improving that as well.


So, all in all, I'm doing well.  I'm feeling better physically and emotionally. 


With regard to the thriller, because I'm thinking of self-pubbing it (my publisher is Fantasy/Sci Fi/UF specialist) (and although if the agent thinks otherwise, I may change my mind) if I do I think I'm going to have a section in the back for FSBB (fun stuff in the back of the book) which will have fun stuff like the drawings I do for the floor plans of buildings, a photo I've taken of the water tower with all of the vultures on it (one day there were 126 of them!  When you consider these birds are BIG -- say 2 ft tallish that's a LOT of birds/feathers/poop); a copy of the bag packed the way I have the heroine doing it to prove that YES it CAN be done.  (She fits a LOT of stuff in that bag.  LOL).  I may change my mind about it, I do change my mind a lot, but it sounds like a fun thing and it would give readers a little insight into the little things I do to try to make sure that the book is relatively accurate.  Not perfectly accurate, but relatively.  (I have not ever been a spy, ergo, I am making some of this up from the seat of my pants--but I have done the research.)


Okay, I have to go.  Writing a reminder to the newsletter guru as it didn't go out yesterday.  I believe she was out planting trees.


Cie

GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS.  :)

Okay, I'm not sure what day it is.  I could do the math, but that would require counting back and looking at the first post and the heck with that.  Whatever the heck day it is, it is a good one. 

I have been writing.  It is going well.  I switched from first person to third so that I can add a POV character because the main character cannot be in two places at once.  (This is not a sci/fi or fantasy book, it's a thriller).  This has meant going through and changing about fifty to sixty pages.  But it is worth it.  And I am finally, FINALLY feeling like a writer again.  Cutting out a lot of passive voice, which is what I fall into when I'm tired.  If you ever read passive voice in my books, know that it is in there because I was too exhausted to actually see what I was doing.

Today is the first day of a 5 day weekend for me.  This is awesomeness personified.  And I am already kicking butt getting things done.  So I get 10 major attagirl points. 

I have been doing a lot of affirmative stuff. 

About a year and half to two years ago (yikes) I found a bunch of tape programs in a drawer that were self-help, affirmative, GO FOR IT stuff that was HUGELY helpful to me, and moved me toward being happier and reaching my goals, gave me energy, etc.  But they were TAPE programs.  This is an issue.  It is HARD to find cassette recorders that work.  Mine died.  Two more that I bought on Amazon died.  And now some of the tapes were wearing thin.  (Can't say as I blame them.  Seriously, it's 2016.  I got these in appx. 1992-1995ish.  These babies may not have gotten a lot of use (if any) before the past couple of years, but they're OLD.  SO, after an attempt that was not entirely successful at getting another tape player, I went onto Amazon as one of my 100 day things and found a couple of the programs that worked best for me on CD, on sale, as cheaply as I would've been able to get another cassette player.  Now I know CD's are on their way out too, but I have several things with CD players in them and an old Sony CD player.  So I should be set for a while.  :)

So I am back in business on that.

I had used a particular prayer book daily for a long time.  It fell apart.  This is a sign that it was useful.  SO, as one of my 100 day things I went online and found a store that (fingers crossed) I THINK has the right booklet, and have sent off for it in the mail.  :)

I have not been doing as well on the exercise front.  I have to get onto that.  But having some time off means I can catch up on housework, and some of the "schtoof" that I've been too behind on so that I use the time to try to keep my life on track rather than making progress to getting the life I want. 

I'm still battling some depression, but it's receding as I get control and take action about the things that were bothering me the most.  I'm trying to remember to take my vitamins, etc. regularly.  Sleep schedule is still totally screwed, but that's part of the whole stress and no exercise package.  Seriously, when I exercise I'm less stressed, sleep better, feel better and accomplish more.  But somehow getting myself to do it regularly is HARD.  Stupid, but true, and not just for me I think.

I am now off to do more.  Be well.  Be happy.  Buy books.

Cie

Sorry about the rant the other day.  Sometimes I just get grumpy.  I suspect the same is true of everyone. 

AND NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS!   A couple of the advance reviews of ALL YOUR WISHES are in and they're GOOD!  Really good. 

We will now pause for Cie to do the happy dance.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.


Cie

OKAY, I didn't really intend for this to turn into a rant, but there you go.  Read further at your own risk.

Days 7 and 8.

Okay, I'm a week into this and already I'm finding myself having sporadic results.  Life gets busy.  I get tired.  Whatever.  It is, however, Saturday again, and hopefully I can accomplish some of the stuff that I didn't get done during the week.  Of course this means that the weekend is hectic and I'm still tired when Monday rolls around.  But stuff doesn't do itself.  None of it. 

I enjoy being single.  I like not having people second-guess what I plan to do and when I want to do it.  I like making my own decisions.  I LOVE not having somebody say (as every guy I dated did) about the writing "You can do that any time.  You don't need to do it now.  Sit down, relax, spend a little time with me." 

Now, don't get me wrong, I liked, even loved the guys.  But you CAN'T do it any time.  There are deadlines, and energy issues and they said it EVERY SINGLE TIME I'd try to write.  They'd come to the house when I said "please don't.  I'm hitting up against a deadline and really have to work on this all weekend," to check on me, "see how it's going" "how you're doing."  Some of them made it clear they thought I wasn't writing at all, I was sneaking off to be with some other guy.

[For the record.  I don't cheat.  If we're in a monogamous relationship and I'm not happy with you, I'll either work on it with you or dump your sorry ass.  I     DON'T     CHEAT.  I don't like being cheated on--so I figure the guy I'm with wouldn't either.] 

I don't like not being taken seriously.  I don't like having people not LISTEN or believe me.  I TRULY don't like having a guy be jealous of my career.  And make no mistake folks, the writing is the career.  The day job is just a paycheck.  I'm good at it.  I work hard at it.  But it is NOT my career.

SO, since I repeatedly had so much trouble with the men I dated not getting it--and me--I felt I had to make a choice.  And I chose me.  And while I would love to have somebody in my life who got it, and me, and who thinks I'm just plain wonderful and don't need to change -- I'd really, really, rather be alone than have someone who doesn't.

So I'm alone.  And I'm okay with it 99.8% of the time.  When the .2% hits I treat it like a migraine, take something for the pain and sleep it off. 

BUT (You just knew there was a but, didn't you,) when you are alone, you are ALONE.  There is no back up.  If you fall and dislocate both hips, you're going to be dragging your injured body across the floor to let the EMT's in so that they don't have to break something that you'll have to try to fix later, while injured. 

If things need to be done, you either do it yourself, or you have to pay somebody (or if you're really lucky your friends will look at it and say.  "Oh for the love of . . . here, let me help.")

I'm strong.  I'm capable.  But I get freaking TIRED people.  REALLY REALLY TIRED.  And when I get tired I get cranky. 

But shit still doesn't do itself.  I've tried to teach Lucky the Wonder Dog to scrub the floors.  She isn't interested.

Which reminds me.  She rolled in the dust again, so I need to give her a bath.  Add that onto the list for today.

So, what have I done the past few days.  Stuff. 

I've been trying to get exercise (probably managed it 3 or 4 days out of 7). 

I've been cooking and cleaning and doing laundry (which doesn't sound like much, but takes time). 

I HAVE WRITTEN EVERY SINGLE DAY!! (Granted, some of it was crap.  But I did it.  And that's a big deal). 

I've been saying my prayers and taking care of my spiritual life.

I got the LLC back in good standing with the Secretary of State. 

I did some educational videos.

I paid bills.

Sometime this weekend I need to go through the backlog of paperwork and start on some home repairs.  I've got research to do for the writing.  I've got WRITING to do for the writing.  I also need to back up my computers because they're starting to act out.

NOTE TO THE WORLD--I have been hit by lightning.  When I get stressed out I fry clocks.  I can't wear a watch.  And my electronics go weird.  I have been stressed.  Weirdness has ensued.

I realize most people don't believe this.  They don't have to.  Or they can educate themselves by looking up the afteraffects of being hit by lightning.  Apparently the crap I experience isn't uncommon for lightning strike survivors.  Whatever. 

My personal all time record is going through 11 clocks in 3 months. That's wall clocks, table clocks, the whole schlmiel.  It gets pretty expensive.  It is also why I carry a cheap "dumb phone" rather than a smartphone.  There is no point getting something expensive, programming it, and having it die within a couple of months so that I have to do the whole thing over again.  Besides, I am a Luddite.  I use my phone as a PHONE.

Now, I don't know if anybody is going to read this.  In fact, I might be happier if they didn't.  But I have decided to be honest, and this is about as honest as it gets for today.

Days 5 and 6.

Okay, Day 5 I did diddly squat.  I was tired, cranky, and needed clean clothes for work.  I ran nine bazillion errands (okay, maybe it only FELT like nine bazillion, but it really did FEEL that way) and I only managed to write a couple of paragraphs because it was a transition scene and I was having one of THOSE days where it all looks like crap and the temptation is to hit the delete key and just dump it all.  (To quote my son when he used to live at home "PUT YOUR HANDS UP!  STEP AWAY FROM THE KEYBOARD!")

Today has just been crazy busy thus far--so I'm not expecting to make much progress on anything today either.  But somehow or other I'm going to get things back on track by tomorrow.

Best.

Cie

Day 4 -- I walked to work today.  It was sprinkling, which made it less fun than it could have been, but I made it on time and am glad of it. 

I didn't accomplish as much as I wanted over the weekend.  I mostly rested and prayed, both of which were needed to help me get my head on straight. 

I have precisely one minute before I have to be at work, so I will say Goodbye.  I'll let you know tomorrow what I accomplished today and my hopes for tomorrow.

Cie

Day 3 --

1.  Went for two long walks for exercise. :)
2.  Wrote and checked emails with regard to writing.
3.  Came up with a possible solution to a financial issue.  Am planning to do some laundry (which is ordinary, but have to get it done for the week), and scrub all floors.  (UGH).  As to repairs, I think I will work on the deck that is partially built.

Anybody else?

Cie

OKAY, for those of you wondering about yesterday's post. 

I have decided to start a 100 day challenge.  The theory behind it is that if you do 1 thing every day, even a small thing, in 100 days you will have made major progress towards your goals and developed habits that will move you forward in life.

I have a lot of goals.  I also have had the feeling of late that my life has been running me (ragged) rather than me running my life.  SO, changes need to be made.  BIG changes.  And little steps can lead to big changes if done CONSISTENTLY.  SO, 100 day challenge -- starting yesterday, with an end date of November 27, 2016 with a check up to see how I've done.  The areas I am working in are:  Health/Weight; Writing;  Household/Finances.

Now folks, I'm going to be honest here.  This is my blog.  And I've had all sorts of people tell me that you shouldn't put information out there to the online community, you're just asking for trouble, and prospective employers will read it and . . . blah, blah, blah. All of that is ABSOLUTELY TRUE.  But, I want to be honest about moving forward, and I want to have some support for it.  So I'm going to trust you all, which means sometimes admitting things I'm not too happy about.  Like I weigh more than I should.  I have occasional financial embarrassments (and if you never have, WOW, I'm impressed--because at one point or another almost everyone I've ever known has and hey, even the government and candidates are admitting that the middle class is sinking fast).  SO, I'm going to be honest, and hope for the best.  And I'm going to ignore the ads and TRY to ignore the trolls.

Day 2 -
1.  Exercised;
2.  Wrote; Did a lesson in online course;
3.  Tried to contact EdFinancial about status.  Found out the student loans are ALMOST paid for.  That doesn't help me this month, but I may be able to get it paid off with the October book checks which would be a help each and every month.  WOOT.

It's raining (YAY we so needed it) so that precludes some of the outdoor work I was thinking of.  So today I want to scrub the floors and take out the torn up tile on the back porch and prep to put the new tile in.

And I need to figure out what I'm going to do to drum up a little extra cash since the car repairs, while necessary, have left me a bit on the short side until payday.

How/what did you all do?

DAY 1of 100 days.

Health - exercised
Writing - got newsletter out and requested followers to join in; did a quickie drawing to include for the contest in the newsletter
Home/House - Will have to do it tonight because I ran out of time this morning.


Cie

Life Being Lifish

Life is very good. BUT it can be very "lifish".  By that I mean, weird, annoying and often frustrating things will happen, and usually in bunches.

The car window motor will go out with the window in the down position.
Then it will rain for the first time in weeks before you can get to the mechanic.
Then, after you have slapped together some covering with duct tape, cardboard and plastic a stray cat who is afraid of the thunderstorm will break through it, sleep in your vehicle, and mark the front passenger seat quite thoroughly.  (And won't it be FUN trying to get him out in the morning when you're late for work!)

That sort of thing.

Life, my friends, has been lifish.  I am very glad to say that I seem to have recovered from the pneumonia.  I am behind on absolutely everything.  But I am, at least mostly, well.

I am grateful.

Being very sick sucketh.

But life continues to be lifish.  Ergo, I have no idea when I'll get caught up on everything.

But I will continue to try.  Because that's what you do.  And I will laugh when I can, in an effort to keep sane.

And I will write.  Because I love it, and because (gratefully) the publisher seems to think that it's worth paying me for, and the readers continue to buy (THANK YOU GUYS!).

But I will be behind for a while yet.  And I am sorry.  But I lost a lot of time being sick.

Cie

GOOD NEWS

Blood Song is on sale for Kindle for $2.99.   WOOT!

http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Song-Singer-Novels-Book-ebook/dp/B003JTHZAC/

It has been too long!

Life has been lifish.  But you know it has been too long when you wind up having to change passwords to everything because you have been out of the loop so long you can't even remember them.

Also, I do not like sites that require me to list all of the people I know on them and send them contact emails etc.  Damn it, if they want to join, they know how.  Don't nag.  But one particular site won't even let me check my account unless I reveal all of that info, or uncheck everybody, and now it doesn't even let me uncheck easily.  UGH!

SO, despite the fact that it would be a useful site for job hunting in Denver, I won't use it.

I take privacy seriously.

I am happy, excited, and think things in my life are starting to move in the right direction again.

I am also seriously tired of all the dental problems that come from my clenching my jaw and grinding my teeth until they break.

But I'll get them fixed.  It's happening slowly, but it is happening.

And in the meantime, everybody be happy, be good.  I'll try to do better, but I'm in the midst of working the day job and on three or four different writing projects:

A)  Copyedits of next Celia Graves novel
B)  Second book in the Fae series
C)  Short story collection (currently in with the editor -- but I've got some more editing of my own to do also)
D)  Project novel for the writing class I was taking online to upgrade my skills.

Which leads to the direction I've decided I want this post to go.  Growth.

Writing, and life, requires growth and learning.  Change is a part of life.  If you accept it, and use your personal drive and free will to choose a direction, and take action, you will feel more in control (no one is ever in total control.  That is an illusion that will make you absolutely nuts.  Life will always throw you curve balls.  But like an ace batter, you have to be able to adjust and hit them out of the park).

If you keep working, learning, it keeps the mind limber.  It also makes your writing better.

And the good thing -- it's almost inevitable.  The more you write, the better you get.  And, if you're doing the job right, you have to do research for every book as well, so you're learning that stuff too.  Psychology, travel, what have you.  I think my favorite odd combination of things I had to study for a book was when I had to study royal weddings, wedding planning, and the drug tunnels between Mexico and the US for the same book.

This Celia novel I had to look up corporate jets--prices, flight ranges, air speed, and calculate the travel times between various destinations.  For novels with vampires you always have to be aware of sunrise and sunset times; for werewolves, lunar cycles are a biggie.  Mysteries (including the paranormal ones in said vampire or werewolf books) require knowledge of various weapons, police procedure, CSI techniques, and so much more.

Faking it is a recipe for disaster, too.  Much better to invest the time.

I am a better writer than I was when I started out.  I will be a better writer a year from now than I am now.  (Assuming I'm still alive.)  It's important.  But the good news is -- even while you're honing your craft, the STORY is still so important that, barring disastrous mistakes that make you want to throw a book across the room, it's going to carry you if you've reached the level of professionalism where you have a professional editor to help you keep said errors from occurring.  THANK GOD FOR EDITORS.  Really.  And I don't care how far you've come in your career, and how good you've become as a writer, you need them.  Because there's always time pressure.  And also, because, duh, you're HUMAN.  And it is really hard to remember stuff.  Particularly when there gets to be a lot of it.

Like for example, say um, wow, five books ago we visited Freddie the Vampire Slayer at his house in Middlesex England (We did do that, right?)  No, wait, didn't we change his name to Eddie and move him to London?  And what color was the couch?  The carpet?  How tall was he?  Wasn't he a chain smoker?  I seem to remember he was--he figured he'd die from his job way before cancer had a chance to do him in.  Do I want him to quit?  Be grumpy about it?

The use of a series "bible" is awesome at helping with some of this (the name, the location), but you're not going to have all of those details.  And it matters.  And while it is lovely and good to occasionally to go back and read your old stuff, ("Wow, this wasn't half bad." or "Oh shit, I DID that?" are either encouraging or instructive.) it is impossible when you get to the level of having written twenty books to re-read everything regularly and still have time to write.  Oh, I still keep one of each very handy and refer back--and I'm blessed with a good enough memory to know approximately where in which book to find what I need.  But it's HARD WORK.

And that is one of the big things about growth.  It's hard.  It is way more comfortable to sit around binge watching your favorite show of the moment (for me at the moment it is PERSON OF INTEREST) eating Cheetos than it is to actually get the work done.  But it doesn't GET THE WORK DONE.  You get rewards.  You HAVE to occasionally rest and refill the well.  But ultimately, the only thing that gets the work done is WORK.  Which I am now off to do.

Comments are welcome.  Spam isn't.  Lord only knows when I'll get back to the blog though.  It could be right away, or it could be months.  Write your comment and take your chances.  Like roulette.

My suggestion -- Rouge.