Daily Journal

The Journal, Thursday, February 22

Hey Folks, I probably shouldn’t post anything today. Prepare for a slight rant. So, any former PC users out there who now use Apple computers? I’m in the midst of enduring the umpteenth (this year) “update” from Microsoft. Like all their other updates since the inception of Windows 10, this one is mandatory. I’m not good with that. I’m not good with being told some faceless company wants to update MY property and there’s nothing I can do about it. I guess I just don’t care for suppositories. I don’t like people who do things to me that I don’t … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, February 21

Hey Folks, Well, a day of writing today I hope. Feeling a bit better I think, and not so much domestic stuff on my plate today. Just checking the PO later. I have a book coming in (grin). I’ll also have to spend some time with the kitten today. With the weather we’ve been having (extended rain and now ice cold) she hasn’t gotten to go outside much, and she is definitely a love-it-outside kind of a girl. She has that nice fur coat, but I’ve yet to find any gloves that will fit her, so I worry about her … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, February 20

Hey Folks, After an intentional day off yesterday, I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things today. I started the day by finishing the copyedit of Mona’s memoir. She hasn’t come up with a title yet. When she does, and when it’s published, I’ll announce it here. Today I’ll write a bit of fiction. By the end of the day, I should know whether I’m in the mood to continue with The Age Exchange or move on to something else and save The Age Exchange for later. I won’t just toss it out completely. *** As one item in … Read more

The Journal, Monday, February 19

Hey Folks, There’s a lot of good stuff in “Of Interest” today, and this is a long post. Steel yourself. Well, my buddy and I got back a day early from camping. Actually, as rain clouds closed in, we climbed a hill, took a look at the horizon in all directions, and decided the better part of valor at the moment was retreat. (grin) So we hobbled back down to the campsite, packed up and hauled a… Um, I mean, departed the area. Sure enough, all the way back heavy rainclouds followed the Gila, west to east, off to our … Read more

The Journal, Friday, February 16

Hey Folks, My apology in advance for the long post. I promise, it’s worthwhile. After I signed off yesterday I listened to a few more videos from the “Writing Thrillers” workshop. Good stuff. Today I’ll probably finish the workshop, then work on some new book pages for StoneThread Publishing. Eventually, each major book we publish will have its own page. The pages for the novels and short story collections (or most of them) are finished. I only need to add a few of those and then code a new page for each nonfiction book. But back to the workshop for … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, February 15

Hey Folks, I realized today, I’ve been writing fiction over the past few days. Not a lot, relatively speaking, but as I read over my previous novel, I’ve added to it. A lot. I finished my journey over the novel this morning and it’s much better for it. That’s because I never allowed the conscious mind to intervene. I added 3895 words to it (that is now reflected in the fiction totals below), but I also realized a few things that will be important for at least the first sequel. (grin) I call this effort a revision. It was something … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, February 14

Hey Folks, Happy St. Valentine’s Day! Well, I’m learning a lot about writing thrillers from reading Jack Higgins and Lee Child. But I’m all about cutting learning curves (mine and other’s) so this morning I also signed up for Dean’s “Writing Thrillers” online workshop. It’s a classic workshop, meaning no homework, but it’s also half-price at only $150. Six weeks of instruction, and I’ll get through it in a week or so. Probably I’ll work on that whenever I need a break from prepping my latest novel for publication or working on the StoneThread Publishing website. Another good thing about … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, February 13

Hey Folks, Not sure what’s going on in my head currently. I have to slow down, I know that much. Probably today I’ll try to finish getting StoneThread Publishing up to par, and then do the necessary things to publish my previous novel. I gave up on the notion of reading it to my wife. We’re both too tired in the evenings for that sort of thing. When I do return to writing, well, I’m kind of losing interest in my WIP, The Age Exchange. Not really, but sort of. The thing is, I’m itching to write a true thriller. … Read more

The Journal, Monday, February 12

Hey Folks, My excellent first reader, Kenneth Flowers (krf1952@gmail.com) got my 28th novel back to me via email yesterday with his feedback. I’m such a fortunate guy. He said he looks forward to the sequels, which served to remind me I wanted to write some sequels, that Keeper of the Promise was only the origin novel for a series. (grin) So there’s that. At the moment I’m deep in an SF novel, and then I hope to take a shot at writing a thriller. But sequels. Yes. I spent most of yesterday working on the StoneThread Publishing website and reading … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, February 10

Hey Folks, Wow. You know I recommend using Draft2Digital as one of your ebook distributors. Part of the reason is the smooth user interface on their website. Another (big) reason is that they are teamed with Books2Read to provide a Universal Link for your book. Ostensibly, this means you can post that Universal Link on your website, Facebook or wherever. When would-be readers click the link, it shows them all the stores where your book is available. They they can click on the link for their favorite store to buy your book. All well and good, mostly. Purely by accident, … Read more