A Huge Mental Shift, More Books in Your Future
Sep 19, 2024 3:36 pm
Hey there!
Well I've been working at my new job for just over two weeks now, and while things haven't settled quite yet, they are moving in that direction. Temperatures have plummeted suddenly, leaving us with cold, crisp mornings and mild days. At this point, we just have to keep an eye out for sick animals and sick kids with the severe weather change. Our newborn is growing wildly fast, and is proving to be the biggest of our seven children so far. Not quite two months old and he's already filling out the 3-6 month clothes!
Our kids are awaiting winter with bated breath, even though we've told them the snow is still awhile away, they are dreaming of building their snow houses and sledding down the small hill in our backyard. I'm honestly impressed with how they have handled all the changes in our family as of late, but I'm extremely grateful for it. They have been very willing to help with the goats and chickens while we navigated tending to and milking Ginger, not to mention dealing with the milk.
Mac (our new calf) is growing insanely fast, and I think the most surprising thing about him is that he acts like a dog. He loves to rub up on me and stick his head between my legs and run around me all excitedly. This was fun a few weeks ago, now that he's getting bigger it's less so. I still weigh more than him, but that might not last much longer. The first thing I noticed? His horns are getting a bit too big. Have you ever had a calf with growing horns butt your leg? Ouch. It was time to disbud him. If you don't know what that means, you are essentially searing the horn buds to prevent them from growing. It's not the most pleasant experience for anyone, but it keeps us, and the growing calf, safe.
Don't worry, it only took three grown men to hold him in place. It was quick and easy, and he forgot about it in less than a minute. Now as he butts my leg there's no risk of me getting bludgeoned by his horns! I'd say that's a win. You can barely see it if you look close, but they are just little circles on his head. Once the hair grows back they'll be hidden.
And here is is impatiently waiting for his bottle while I take pics of his head.
My Progress This Week
The biggest update that I have for this week is that I've turned a corner.
A very strange corner, if I'm being honest.
What's that corner, you may ask? Well, I've realized that until now, I've not been overly serious about publishing, about getting stories to you. Write them? Sure I can do that. Publish them? I've been flippant about the whole thing. The corner I've turned is that I want to commit to a new published book every sixth months for the next 5-10 years. So I went against my pantsing heart and did the unthinkable.
I planned out deadlines. (Don't worry, I screamed in terror at it too)
What you can expect is that you'll bet getting more books from me, more quickly. So, on that note, I've already started editing Demon Blooded (book two of the hidden heritage series) all while writing Dwarf Blooded (book three.) I'm more than 3/4 of the way through writing it, which I'm thrilled about.
And lastly, I've decided to put together a box of goodies for those of you who love signed books! Now, rather than just the signed book, you get a few other fun things alongside it. As a reminder, you can get Dragon Blooded today in ebook, paperback and a signed paperback edition. Just check out the shop/signed book sections of my site, www.dankenner.com.
New Episodes of The Casual Author!
In this episode, I give an update about our homestead regarding our various chicken operations, such as moving them to and from pastures. I discuss the various ways we use our six gallons of milk a day. In author updates, I discuss my upcoming book, Dragon Blooded, and my decision around publishing to my direct store early before it's available on retailers.
With Andrew, we dive into his decisions around publishing his debut novel with a small time publisher, and why that didn't go to his expectations. We discuss his decision to go indie and pull back rights with his publisher so that he can republish his debut independently. He talks about his books and autism representation, as well as the ins and outs of indie publishing that he didn't realize existed until he was confronted by them.
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In this episode, I give an update about our homestead regarding our calf and disbudding experience, dealing with copious amount of manure and composting it as best as possible, as well as shifting chickens around. I talk about how Dragon Blooded is now available direct from my direct sale website at www.dankennerbooks.com and how flexible indie publishing can be.
With L.G., we talk about her debut novel and her method of publishing that existed more in the 'hands on' space and how she didn't have the time or the resources to support that model. We discuss her difficult decision to adjust her publishing schedule and strategy and get support from a publisher, which is going very well for her.
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And Now for the Free Book!
Another Interesting Book to Check Out!
warm regards,
Dan
