Life gets its way

I wound up missing some work last week. I was kind of tethered to the toilet, and having one about a block from my desk just didn’t work.

That does not mean I was any kind of productive at home. When you don’t feel well, sometimes it just requires dealing with the issue and nothing else.

The weekend wasn’t much better, because I had real-world tasks to deal with. I spent an inordinate amount of time looking for my water key. It’s time to turn on the sprinklers, but I cannot find my key. I’ll have to wait until payday and buy a new one. We can use hoses and sprinklers in the meantime.

Writing wasn’t great, but it comes to about 2200 words. It’s not awful, but it’s my sum-total for a week.

It’s all coming out in chunks right now and separated by section breaks. (***) I don’t particularly like it that way and need to put some thought into it.

Some of the section breaks are a great way to move the story ahead. When you have three per chapter, it could be an indication of a problem.

When this happens, it’s usually caused by a combination of things. I have characters who need to wrap up a few things. All the secrets are out with the exception of the last big one. Bringing that last big secret to the table requires some actions of each character and they aren’t all in the same place at the same time.

This is also made difficult with needing a reasonable amount of time to pass. Like a month or more. Something great is supposed to happen, but it takes time to learn that it might not be so great. My normal thing is to use a section break.

I could write this with complete flow, meaning to follow each character until they can deliver their discovery to the rest, but it would read like crap. My readers would have the information, but have to suffer along for a few thousand words before the characters could compare notes and draw conclusions. (I’m not doing this.)

I could do some telling. This is kind of anathema these days, but can work under some circumstances.

There are a few ideas in play. I’ll probably wrap this with a few section breaks, a tiny bit of telling, and by staying in the head of the character who has the most at stake.

Then there are the “rewards.” I still believe each character has to get something out of the ordeal. This isn’t like dragon treasure or anything like that. Maybe Cody and Bai start making a life together. Maybe Jenny gains some of the experience she needs along her path to investigative journalism. I can weave some of this into the other pieces to make it flow better. I promise not to write a scene where Princess Leah hands out medals to signify all is well.

Do any of you ever have problems like this? How did you address them? Do you know where my friggin water key is?

New words and Asian pears

My pear is in full bloom. The whole thing is quite pretty right now. I got a couple of good snaps, but the honeybee pushed one over the top as new wallpaper. Not gonna lie, I had a hard time giving up those maple leaves, but it’s time.

All the Bradford pears in the neighborhood are also blooming, and they pollinate mine. I’ll be thinning pears before much longer.

I dedicated myself to Footsteps of Infinity today. Added 2000 new words, and actually like them. It’s been a chapter since the big discovery, and a lot of this is about assembling their documentary.

I know everything that has to happen to wrap this up, but it’s going to take a couple of weeks to get it all to flow right.

One part I enjoyed was listening to another segment of Night Bump Radio. I’m having fun with this, because in The Hat Series I have to keep it all about cryptids, supernatural things, and ghosts.

In this story, callers can talk about aliens, and that makes me happy. Today, I wove in a caller who says he got probed, lost a bunch of time, and has a suffering friend because of it all.

This led me to Havana Syndrome, which gives Cody a sound reference to clear up for readers. He’s my wannabe Foley artist. He also makes a reference to The Brown Note.

Of course, the caller is half a bubble off plumb. He has problems for ordering Bud Light in front of all his friends. Who could blame the poor guy. He lost time and got probed… maybe. The whole thing is gloriously stupid.

The original idea for Night Bump Radio is a real call-in show we used to listen to in my younger years. It was called something similar to Shore To Shore. If you know, you know. The guy was from Nevada and so am I.

i have a couple of things I need to do, but have a hunch I’ll be adding new words to this baby. I’m irresponsible like that.

I love it

I’ve been working on a bit of a secret project for a couple of months now. As that winds down, I really wanted to return to a couple of my long-suffering manuscripts.

This morning, I opened Tracks of Infinity and started reading. I just wanted a refresh on the characters, world, and plot.

I spent most of the day and read the whole thing, as far as it exists. I love this story.

Set in modern day Seattle, it involves an aging television news reporter who wants something more. Her adult son, gets involved along with his new girlfriend.

Together, they start down the path of discovering something amazing. I used mystery boxes for the first time, and love how the tale unfolds.

Cody, the son, makes for a great character. His mom nags him to settle on a business degree, or possibly a doctor of audiology. This is because Cody’s true passion is for sound. He dreams of becoming a professional Foley artist.

This has been so much fun to write, because I have to focus on sounds, and using realistic things to suggest something that might be unrealistic. I’ve written some interesting characters in my day, but Cody has been a challenge and a joy to create.

I mentioned a couple of things that might not age well, and probably should have gotten this to market sooner for better impact. They don’t hurt the story at all, and are factual. These are things like Taylor Swift’s concert being readable on the Richter Scale in Seattle, or the Turkish earthquake. If it really bugs me, I could probably find a more recent earthquake to insert. (It doesn’t bug me that much.)

I gave the girlfriend character a lot of personality, and like the cutesy moments with Cody. Rick, the cameraman is a lot of fun, too.

What I’m getting at here is even though I parked this for a few months, I still love the story and can’t wait to share it with everyone. I don’t have a ton of fans left these days, but those who give me a chance seem to love my stories.

Some of this is my fault. We’ve pulled in our horns around here, and I cut out a lot of promo. Sometimes the choice is promo or groceries.

For those of you who are still with me, I think you’re going to love Tracks of Infinity.

With any luck, I’ll make a huge dent in it before I have to return to work.

Welcome Sue Coletta

Sue and I have been friends for ages. She recently became one of our partners over at Story Empire. She also has a new book to tell us about.

I’ve read many of Sue’s books and enjoyed every one I tried. Make her feel welcome today. Don’t be afraid to use those sharing buttons so she gets maximum exposure.

***

Thank you for hosting me today, Craig! I appreciate your kind invite to help me share the news of my latest eco-thriller, Savage Mayhem. The first few chapters of Savage Mayhem take place in Alaska shortly after their previous mission to save orca from evil animal traffickers. Though each novel starts where the previous one left off, every book can stand alone. I write them that way, so readers don’t have to read eight novels to understand the ninth. Hope you enjoy it. ☺

Behind a typical Alaskan cabin, dark reds burned the horizon, embered like coals in a fire, hastened only by dark charcoal clouds. Stripes of salmon interspersed through deep purple bands that warned of turbulence.

Hints of amber kissed the treetops, limbs reaching for Father Sky to celebrate the birth of a new day, the chance to fix yesterday’s mistakes, the future full of possibilities. But darkness still cloaked the street. The in between time, as Shicheii called it, when the night yearned to reign longer.

From the passenger seat, I marveled at the riches of Mother Earth. “It’s so beautiful.” When I turned, I startled when Mr. Mayhem wasn’t beside me. “Running Bear?” My gaze zipped across the front seat. “This isn’t the Caddy.”

He smiled.

“Whose vehicle is this?”

He pointed at the unfamiliar house.

“Say something.”

Another smile.

“Why aren’t you talkin’ to me? Did something happen?” I twisted to peer into the backseat. “Where’s Shadow Wolf?”

His lips moved but no words escaped.

“What’s wrong with you?” A realization flooded my eyes with tears. “Is he dead?” I wailed. “Break it to me gently.” I hiked my knees to my chest and rocked, my heart shredded like meat through a grinder. “Oh, God, he’s dead. Isn’t he?”

Running Bear tapped my shoulder. He said something, but I was so hysterical I didn’t catch it.

“What?”

“He—”

Shaking my head, I fingered my right ear. Blood. What the hell?

He leaned closer, hot breath striking my left cheek. “He’s not dead.”

“Really? Then where is he?”

Again, he leaned forward. And I leaned back.

“What’s up with you?”

Closer and closer, he moved. “Ghost Dog—”

“What?”

The hand signals confused me. What’s wrong with him? I was this close to giving him a piece of my mind when my door flew open. Mr. Mayhem said something, but I didn’t catch it. “What?”

He smiled. I smiled back. Then all the blood registered, his chiseled torso and one cheek bathed in crimson.

“Are you alright?”

Nodding, he swayed an opened hand out the door.

“Say something.”

The hand rolled as if he wanted me to hurry, but I held firm.

“Tell me what’s goin’ on first.”

“Cat, please.” His lips formed the words, but no sound escaped.

Confusion rocked my senses. “Say that again.”

“Cat, please.”

“Why can’t I hear you?”

I swear he rolled his eyes, like this wasn’t news to him. When I parted my lips to question him again, he scooped me off the passenger seat, ushering me into the Caddy.

His lips mouthed, “I. Will. Explain. Later.” He jutted a stiff finger downward. “Now.” He motioned between us. “We.” Two fingers waved down the road. “Must. Leave.”

What’s with the hand signals?

Book description:

Amidst the wild and unforgiving landscapes of Yellowstone Park, join Mayhem, a fearless Apache warrior and champion of the Natural World, and his partner and protégé, Shawnee, as they race against the clock to protect an American Buffalo herd from the ruthless Killzme Corporation.

With a massive bounty on their heads and an army of killers on their trail, Mayhem and Shawnee must use all their cunning and survival skills to outsmart their enemies. They will risk it all to preserve the sacred lineage of the Innocent Ones.

There is no line Shawnee and Mayhem won’t cross.

Even murder.

As the danger intensifies and the clock winds down, will they be able to save the herd? Or will this be the mission that finally breaks them?

Preorder for 99c. Sale ends on release day, April 11, 2024.

 

Find all my books here. Join my newsletter here. Free monthly giveaways!

Time for vacation

I’ve been killing myself at work lately. I did fine by adding one day to the various holidays, but we’re in kind of a holiday drought in the US right now. I’m also in the position where I’ve maxed out my leave hours again. This led me to take an entire week off.

I intend to work on fiction, of course, but might take time to binge watch something. I haven’t looked for K-dramas in a long time. I like some of their supernatural offerings.

If this infernal rain ever stops, I might prune my Asian pear tree.

I’m trying not to make much of a plan, so it feels more like an actual vacation.

If things go according to the loose plan, I might even finish up Footsteps of Infinity while I’m off. No pressure, but that would be awesome. I probably should publish something this year.

I’m going to spend some time reading. I have so much to catch up on there, it’s overwhelming.

Do any of you ever get to the point of needing to burn vacation, or lose it? You probably have to be a long-term employee to get into this cycle, but it’s not bad once you reach it.

Goodbye Old Paint is getting some love

Teri posted her wonderful review today, and I want to share it far and wide. Some of the comments are making me very happy. Let’s drive Teri some traffic. She does so much for the author community.

Goodbye Old Paint (The Hat #7) by C.S. Boyack #bookreview #urbanfantasy #paranormal

I’ve become boring

Things have slowed down on the fiction front for me. I’ve hit a metaphorical wall on the weekends. It got so bad last weekend, that I counted on Jan Sikes to carry the load around here, and her post performed like gangbusters. Thank you all for supporting her.

Some of it involves work. There is simply too much to do inside of eight hours, and I’ve been pushing myself. That takes a toll on my brain. In a way it still counts as thousands of new words written, but isn’t nearly as entertaining as fiction.

Some of it is taxes. We owe again this year, but this time don’t have the money to pay them all. We covered the state, and put the federal on a credit card which we can now pay off for the next 20 years.

This caused me to update my W-4. We were already both declaring zero dependents. I will never understand how we can come up short by using the charts they provide. From now on, I’m taking extra cash from each paycheck to put aside for federal and state taxes. There could be a lot more beans around here in 2024.

I started a savings stash for things like cover art, but it isn’t even close to paying the taxes for us. I decided to keep my stash and add to it sporadically.

I’m also behind on reading. It seems like all of my friends published at once. I intend to read them, but have to shoehorn them all into the time I have. Maybe it’s payback. People used to tell me I publish so frequently they can’t keep up.

To keep this from becoming a total pity party, I took this picture for you.

There are only a small handful of them, but they’re peach blossoms. Looks like the old tree made it through another winter. I wonder if the tree looks back and thinks, “Looks like Boyack made it through another winter.”

I’m going to hit it hard for one more week, then I’m using some leave. My brain needs the rest, and maybe I can make some progress on one of my projects.

Think about looking at my sidebar. There are some cool books over there, and I have a credit card bill to cover. (That’s supposed to be funny.) Happy Easter, everyone.

A Beggar’s Bargain

Let’s all welcome Jan Sikes today. She has a new story to share with us. Jan is one of my Story Empire partners, a great author, and a good friend. Check out her newest, and don’t forget to use those sharing buttons. I know Jan has done it for most of you.

***

Thank you for generously offering to turn your blog over to me today, Craig. I deeply appreciate the opportunity to talk about my new book, A Beggar’s Bargain.

Anyone who knows me knows how important music is in my life. And I am drawn to unusual musical instruments. So, for this story, I gave my female protagonist a thumb piano to play. I don’t know if any of you have ever seen this instrument, but I comes in varying shapes and sizes. It is also known as a Kalimba and is believed to have originated in Africa thousands of years ago.

Here’s a short excerpt that shows Layken Martin’s surprise when he hears her playing.

The strains of a haunting melody drifted through the open front door, followed by a mournful harmonica.

He stepped out onto the porch.

Sara Beth sat on the porch swing, Cuddles at her side. On her lap, she held an odd-looking small wooden box with an array of metal keys on which she tapped out the melody.

Uncle Seymour sat on an overturned box, blowing on a harp.

Layken stood for a long minute in wonder. He’d never thought to ask Sara Beth if she played an instrument. And that reminded him about her fascination with the radio when she’d first stepped foot in his house.

As soon as he got the crop planted and watered in, he vowed to check it out and see if it still worked.

They stopped playing, and Layken clapped. “I had no idea you both played music.”

“Me and this old harp have been friends many a year.” Uncle Seymour tapped it against his pants leg.

“What is that you’re playing, Sara Beth?”

She cast a shy glance in his direction. “A thumb piano. My mother taught me to play.”

“Well, I’ll be. Never saw one of those before. It sounded awful pretty. Will you do another?”

***

Several years ago, my late husband and I owned a small music store, and I came home from work one day to find that he’d traded something for a thumb piano. I had more fun trying to play it. What about you? Have you ever seen this instrument? Let’s talk!

Book Blurb:

A shocking proposal that changes everything.

Desperate to honor his father’s dying wish, Layken Martin vows to do whatever it takes to save the family farm.

Once the Army discharges him following World War II, Layken returns to Missouri to find his legacy in shambles and in jeopardy. A foreclosure notice from the bank doubles the threat. He appeals to the local banker for more time—a chance to rebuild, plant, and harvest crops and time to heal far away from the noise of bombs and gunfire.

Only the banker firmly denies his request. Now what?

Then, the banker makes an alternative proposition—marry his unwanted daughter, Sara Beth, in exchange for a two-year extension. Out of options, money, and time, Layken agrees to the bargain.

Now, he has two years to make a living off the land while he shares his life with a stranger.

If he fails at either, he’ll lose it all.

UNIVERSAL PURCHASE LINK:

https://books2read.com/u/3nqqEo

BOOK TRAILER LINK: https://youtu.be/G6vMqD4SuQ4?si=aZG6RCZbFlhJfuxB

 

AUTHOR’S SOCIAL MEDIA:

UNIVERSAL LINK: https://linktr.ee/Rijanjks

OR INDIVIDUALLY

http://www.jansikes.com

https://www.twitter.com/jansikes3

http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJanSikesBooks

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jan-sikes

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00CS9K8DK (Author Page)

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7095856.Jan_Sikes

Date night

I spent a big chunk of my day working on fiction. No new words, but things like covers, edits, and first passes over my work.

This was filled with frequent breaks, which I find helpful when making an editing pass. If I get into the tale, I tend to just read instead of taking care of business.

I used the breaks to write a couple of things for Story Empire. I scheduled one, and am holding on to the other. Since I only appear there monthly, there is no rush and I could decide to add a few things to the holdback.

Since yesterday was payday, and the bills all went through, Old What’s Her Face and I decided to go out. We went back to Sid’s Garage. We’d gone there once before, and remembered it was amazing.

This is a place with gourmet burgers that have a country flair. I started off with a huge milkshake made with cinnamon whiskey. My wife remembered the appetizers and ordered both the candied bacon and flash fried deviled eggs.

New feature here is a bit of flair. A skinny girl brought out the bacon that hung vertically from a small chain. She fired up a blowtorch at the table and worked the bacon over. Honestly, it was wonderful.

The eggs were wonderful, too. We each ordered a burger. Mine came with more candied bacon and onion rings on top, a bit of onion jelly to round things up with.

I never knew it, but my burger was one of the flair items. It appeared in the form of a small wooden trunk. The server asked if we wanted pictures before she opened it up. My wife did. When she opened the trunk, barbecue smoke went everywhere, and the bun had been branded with the Sid’s Garage logo.

We had a great time, but maybe should stay away for a few months. Otherwise, I could be remembered as the old guy that ate that gigantic hamburger.

We shared an order of garlic Parmesan fries, and those were awesome, too. In fact, Old What’s Her Face brought those home with us.

Tomorrow is all about checking in with Mom, other family things, and I might start reading a new book.

One of those weeks

I started my week fairly productively. On Wednesday, I had to attend an all day presentation, and felt like crap. I skipped breakfast, and only had a handful of nuts mid-day and managed to get through it.

That night is when the chills and aches started. They were joined by a headache. I spent the next few days as close to the toilet as possible to put it delicately.

Today came with some improvement, but the bathroom is still my best friend.

I gave writing a try this morning, but didn’t accomplish much. They can’t all be great days, I suppose.

I’m kind of regretting passing up the annual flu shot. There is no respiratory component to this, and I have no proof it is the flu, but it seems pretty familiar.

I enjoy the dive into my own worlds, but it wasn’t very productive. I might give it a shot tomorrow, depending on what else the day brings me.

If you’re writing, I wish you all the productivity I can send. I didn’t use mine and you’re welcome to it.