Birthdays, Breaks and Busy Work!
Nov 02, 2023 3:00 pm
Hey there!
The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind! I saved the last two weeks of my paternity leave for one of the busiest times of year: Fall cleanup and winter preparation. It's amazing what things need to get done before everything turns into an icecap. Along with all of that work, we have two kid birthdays at the end of October. I'll never complain about cake. 🎂
Coincidentally, my self control with the stuff is practically nil. Not even a sick stomach can keep me away from my wife's home made cake.
What is your favorite baked good/treat? Not that I need any ideas but--maybe there's something you've found that's to die for.
Given the work that I've been doing outside, I spend most of my time (when I'm not authoring) hanging with the kids and working together with them to clean things up. We've had a blast together as we combine our efforts to get active and get things in tip top shape. I've also been really enjoying the cooler fall weather. There's nothing like the crisp smell of fresh air as the leaves start to color and fall. Here's a mesmerizing shot of the full moon with the fallen leaves. Yes, this was late at night if you can believe it.
My Progress This Week
Just when you think you're done with edits, they come back to nip you in the behind once again! A couple weeks ago, I thought I had finished that last bit of edits for the Cybercity Trilogy. Turns out it needed just a bit more polishing. (All the better to ensure you have the best reading experience!) So this week we're diving back into edits on all three books. Crossing fingers this will be the last of it.
Demonblooded is moving along at a slightly slower pace than expected, but it's moving, which is all that I can ask for. I'm just a couple thousand words short of 40K now and realizing I'm past 1/3 of the target for the book. Now that it's November, I need to take advantage of some good NaNoWriMo action.
Do you NaNoWriMo? (i.e. National Novel Writing Month)
In all honesty, I don't really take it all that seriously. I mean, I'm an author, writing needs to be a part of my normal life, I shouldn't wait until a specific month to kick myself into high gear. But I think it's great that this month is great for people! I'll just keep my normal pace and track it for the sake of the system--just because! (🤷)
New Episodes of The Casual Author!
Whether you are a casual author, like me, or someone looking for a more serious author career, there are certain foundations that anyone should put in place to build a community. Join Z.S. Diamanti and me as we discuss the essentials for building an author career and community.
OR
Filling your creative well is extremely important to keep making progress as an author. For Neal, playing Dungeons and Dragons is the perfect source for this. Join Neal and me as we discuss his lifelong experience with DnD and how it enhances his writing experience.
Full Moon and Book Box Opportunity
On YouTube, I recently made a video walking through a bit of a book haul that I got. Book collections make me absolutely giddy (feel free to give me a funny look, but I know you like collecting books too) so it made me positively childlike to secure some classic fantasy books and new releases as well.
I'm also excited to say that I invested in a new book box that is available right now! An author friend of mine, Mackenzie Friel, is doing a cool book box for the launch of her upcoming book, Fantasy & Futurism. I've already grabbed mine, but you might want to get yours too!
And Now for the Free Books of the week!
warm regards,
Dan
