Saturday, December 13, 2014

Ho-Ho-Ho!
     It's been a busy week. I've been working on The Falls: County Fair, the 18th in The Falls small town mystery series, every day in the morning and in the afternoons I've been editing The Falls: Cupid's Arrow, 7th in the series, getting it ready for publishing as a paperback in CreateSpace. What I do when I edit and change over is I have up two document on the screen. The Word doc of The Falls: Cupid's Arrow, which I edit and clean up, and the template that I will use to transfer the book to CreateSpace. I edit a few chapters in Word, then copy them onto the template, careful to avoid any formatting errors (I use the special paste when I place in the template, not the normal paste in order to ensure that). Then I change the font to Callibri and clean it up. I usually do nine to twelve chapters from the Word doc each day placing three or four of them into each chapter in the template with *** separating them. Anymore at one time and I lose focus.
     I went to my ENT doctor for my fourth post-op visit this last Thursday. He cleaned out my sinuses again and this time he extracted a piece of bone fragment. It still hurts some. Made an appointment to see my dentist to get my front tooth either ground down and capped or extracted with an implant. Good grief! Falling apart, huh?
     Then there's Christmas decoration duties. Put up the nine foot tree, and the outside wreaths (on every downstair window and door), and wrapped the back palm tree in garland as well as placing the other decorations we have accumulated over the years. Now we're on to the inside. Garland on the stair bannisters, the two cresh sets (nativity scenes) go up today as well as a small decorated tree in every room in the house. Colts and Seahawks stockings are up as well...chuckles. Hope they bring good luck for our teams. We are NFL fanatics.
     Got to get to work on the cover for The Falls: Cupid's Arrow (changing over from the Kindle cover to a CreateSpace one) and making a myecovermaker.com cover for the newest Falls book, County Fair. It has been chilly here in Tradition (Port St Lucie) the past few mornings for our 7 AM walks. In the forties. Chilly for Florida anyway. The Christmas Cactuses hanging in the trees aren't amused by the cold. But the other hanging plants and potted plants don't seem to mind.
     Time to get to work. May your day be filled with small pleasures and may the dragons watch over you all...

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Back!
     Well, like in the scary movie, we're back. After spending the last week or so in Carlsbad, California, we're home. Thanksgiving was a good one, with our son Chris, his wife Cheryl, our granddaughter Chelsea and Carolyn's sister's family. Chris' family is always so supportive and wonderful to us. We used to have Thanksgiving with them every year when both families were in New Mexico, but since coming to Florida, we have been spending Thanksgiving with our son Patrick (in North Port, other side of Florida). They went on a last minute cruise this year and we headed off to Carlsbad (near San Diego). It was great.
     Now we're home and we've spent the day getting things back into our pattern, like setting up computers we hide away, watering plants, picking up packages and mail. doing laundry, getting a few things at the neighborhood Publix, etc. I bought a MacBook Pro 13" laptop online in CA...($250 off for Black Friday...although technically bought on Saturday). That's the best I've ever seen off on it, got it at Best Buy. I've been watching them for about a year now. Wanted a compatible computer to go with my iMac during all the long thunderstorm season here in Florida.This way I can write during the lightning strikes. The iMac had to be plugged in daring the storms means the danger of losing everything. I can use the external hard drive and passport I have with the laptop as well. Just downloaded Word onto it and ordered a wireless mouse. (Yes, I'm addicted to mice...not a fan of the finger swoop and tap.)
     The order of three The Falls: Fourth of July author books came in and I wrote the next chapter of The Falls: County Fair this morning. Spent a couple of hours getting my MacBook Pro set up with favorites, etc. and emailed myself the latest County Fair document and downloaded it onto the MacBook Pro.
     I'm really enjoying the two new wooden storage units under the stand up desk. They are very close to the same wood grain as the credenza and storage unit on the near wall, even though in the picture they look a good deal lighter.
     If I missed any messages, birthdays or whatever over the last week, my sincere apologies. The white board on The Falls: County Fair is beginning to fill up. I'm about 70 pages (about half) into the book. I have included the white board as of this morning and the standup desk storage units as I said I would.
     I hope you all have a wonderful day! Great to go away, but I'm a home boy, I'm afraid. Chuckles. Tomorrow I return to the ENT doctor. Whoop, whoop! Cleaning out my sinuses and finding out where we go from here. May the dragons watch over you all...



Thursday, November 20, 2014

Fourth of July...
     No, I'm not chronologically challenged. The title of the entry refers to the book, The Falls: Fourth of July, the 6th in The Falls small town mystery series. The first proof is edited (by me and my patient and wonderful wife Carolyn) and the corrections to the text and the cover submitted on CreateSpace. The book has been reviewed and I have ordered the second proof. If that comes back looking good, then within a week or ten days, I will submit Fourth of July to be published on CreateSpace, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, etc. 
     The cover needed some major revisions. The black type against the dark blue background of the cover didn't work. Very hard to see. So I opted for white and Carolyn seconded the opinion. I also changed the cover picture, the background from white to black (night sky) and added a firework. All in all a much better cover. Sometimes, you just need to see the cover on a paperback, compared to seeing it on screen as you are creating it on CreateSpace, to know it needs a little something. That was the way this time around for this book.
     The Falls: County Fair is coming along well. On page 55 of probably 140-150 pages in Word format. That will translate to about 325-350 pages in the CreateSpace template. That's what most of The Falls series is running at the present time. The first Falls novel, In the Dead of Winter, went over 500 pages and I had to do a few things to economize space. That's one thing to think about when working on your ebooks to convert them over to paperback. In the Kindle edition, it can be as long as you want, size doesn't come into question, but in the paperback version number of pages, distance between lines, font size, and margins (all four sides) start to make a difference.
     Finished putting together the new wooden cabinets for beneath the stand-up/sit-down desk. They are dark wood, like the two shelving units next to the desk and look pretty good! Next edition of the blog I will include a picture. Also had to get a new 'garage refrigerator' yesterday. You know how when you get a new fridge you place the old one out in the garage for food that overflows from the inside one? Well we had just barely gotten used to having the convenience of having one when it died. So we got a basic fridge at Sears yesterday and it will be delivered soon. 
     Getting close to Thanksgiving. All the folks in The Falls are gearing up for the celebration! They are inviting anyone over who'd like to come to an old-fashioned country Thanksgiving! The 13th volume of The Falls series is The Falls: Thanksgiving, case you didn't know. If you haven't read it...it's just waiting for you at the Kindle Store, $2.99!
     May the dragons watch over you...and roast your turkey just perfect! Have a great Thanksgiving!

Friday, November 14, 2014

FREE THIS WEEKEND!
     The Falls: In the Dead of Winter, Kindle Edition, the first volume of The Falls small town mystery series, will be FREE this weekend at the Kindle Store! Winter is rearing it's ugly head and it's a perfect time for In the Dead of Winter! The snow falls as the bodies pile up! Take advantage to get the story for your new Kindle, your phone or your computer via Kindle App. It's one small way I can say thank you for the readers who have bought the series over the years. Thank you all...and may the dragons watch over you. Return to The Falls!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Dead-Winter-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B008G4X28O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415971411&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+In+the+Dead+of+Winter

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Post Op...
     Post Op sort of sounds like a trendy new music group, doesn't it? This is the day after my 5, or was it six, related sinus procedures plus a biopsy, I'm feeling a little groggy (now, now, be kind...I'm usually semi-lucid) with painkillers but okay. Got to get on serious antibiotics, saline spray which really felt good (after a few moments go Ahhhh!) this morning and the latest oxy-whatever for pain along with Afrin sprays, etc. 
     The surgery was done at the Blue Water Surgery Center in West Port St. Lucie. (Love the name, huh? You can tell it's Florida!) It's very modern, yet warm, homey and beautiful. Cutting edge I would say. My doctor, Dr. Slack, my ENT doctor, was wonderful, as always and I even had an anesthesiologist with a sense of humor. Nurses were very pleasant and on the top of their game. All in all everything couldn't have been better. (Except it was a procedure...or operation...or a surgery...whatever you want to call it. The dragons weren't nervous...I was a tad...shhh!)) A week with not lifting over ten pounds, no nodding forward and the interior splints come out Monday the 17th, our youngest son's birthday. (His age is easy to remember, he's 30 years younger than me, to the month. His birthday is the 17th of November and mine the 25th).
     I've had pain for about six months now. Hoping this will deal with most of it. Bone spur is gone, sinus straightened and several other parts adjusted. The biopsy said that there is no reoccurrence of cancer on the side of my nose. The doctor took that off a year or two ago. Sounds like I'm falling apart, huh? Naw...I'm a tough old Scotsman. No worries. But my wife says I'm stubborn and don't want to let anyone do anything for me. Probably true. She's the smart one.
     The edited proof of the CreateSpace paperback of The Falls: Fourth of July, the 6th in the series, is almost ready to edit on CreateSpace (the cover as well) and then it will be ready to publish. Then I'll order 3 author copies (usually about half the price). I always start off with three copies to start with and buy more as needed.
     That reminds me, I'm entering three of The Falls books in a local Book It program. (In the Dead of Winter, Making a List, Checking it Twice and Coldblooded. The first two as paperbacks, the third as a Kindle book.) You can do either or hardcover if you have one.) If accepted, I will be part of a program at the Port St. Lucie Library Book It Day in February. I'll be able to have a table and sell/advertise the books. Never done that before, but as an artist in oils I used to exhibit at art shows on the green with a tent and setup twelve to fifteen times each spring/summer/fall back in Vermont. We'll see how that goes...if I'm chosen of course.
     Well, I missed writing yesterday...working on the eighteenth of The Falls series, The Falls: County Fair so I'm off to do my daily chapter. I'll edit this afternoon, painkillers allowing. May your day be filled with small pleasures and may the dragons watch over you...

Friday, November 7, 2014

SALE!
     The Falls: Coldblooded, the latest in The Falls small town mystery series, is on sale this weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 7-9 at the Kindle Store on Amazon.com for only $.99!!!! Don't miss the opportunity! Ruth Graham returns! There's a food truck invasion of the town square and robberies are popping up! Sylvia Jean finds herself in a precarious position in her chosen field of study at the University of Maine, and a foreshadowing of the next Falls novel, The Falls: County Fair. May the dragons watch over you...

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Coldblooded-small-town-mystery-ebook/dp/B00O6FTWWM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412675330&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+Coldblooded

Thursday, November 6, 2014

iAuthor...
     Just thought I'd pass this along. I have started an account at iAuthor.com. It advertises books and other things for free. It will take me awhile to get it arranged the way I want it, but it's begun so we'll see what happens. I am also putting my name in for a county library Book-It fair in February. More info to come on that! Advertising is not really my thing. I'm an old story-teller. But it seems that I have to do the other as well...nobody else will...chuckles. Have a great day and may the dragons watch over you...

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Poll Workers...
     Well, yesterday Carolyn and I worked at our local polling place. We were there from six o'clock in the morning until a little after 8:00 PM. Long day. Carolyn worked the EVID machine, the computer that finds voters in the polling area, checks on their right to vote in case they had voted early or by mail, etc. and then  gives them the "OK"to be given a ballot. I worked as the person checking the slips given out by the EVID machine and then handing out ballots in security shields while telling the voter where to go and what to do. Our team had two EVID operators, two people handing out ballots, a person trained to run the ICE voting machine (it take the ballot after it is filled out and submits the choices into the machine, then tabulates them and gets them ready to be sent in to election  headquarters after the polls close), an assistant clerk, a sheriff's department deputy and a clerk. We work pretty well together. We set up in Tradition (Florida)Town Hall. The ages range from eighteen all the way to almost seventy. {No there are no hanging chads.)
     The job is grueling and it was made more-so because we had a particular heavy turnout for a non-presidential election. We had a steady flow all day and had several long lines as we went along. Have to admit, the voters were particularly supportive and kind to us yesterday. Most voters usually are, in fact we usually see a number of friends as they come to vote, but we normally get some disgruntled ones. Even God, Mahatma Gandhi and St. Peter would get disgruntled ones...and that's a fact.
     I have to admit, it takes me a day to get back into rhythm again after a day at the polls. My back aches, I'm beat and I feel like an eighteen-wheeler ran over me. So aside from writing in this morning and editing this afternoon, I haven't done much. We did go to BJ's.
     Finished editing The Falls: Fourth of July, and tomorrow I'll work on the cover photo again. The story in The Falls: County Fair is beginning to come together. Bought a white board, about four by two feet, and have already laid out the story board. I have vertical columns dealing with a specific storyline, such as Jeremy and Sylvia Jean in college. I add a line or two about each scene after I write it so I can keep track of where it's going, what I need to remember and the distribution of scenes to different story lines. On the back of the white board I add notes to remind myself later on in the story. Unlike some authors, I let the story twist and turn as it will, I don't have an outline from start to finish...that's not the way my creativity works best. I feel the direction of the story, and at times, surprise myself with which what it's headed. It's kind of funny. I'm very organized in most ways, but not with a story line. I have a general idea where I'm going but I listen to my gut as I go along. (It's a lot more fun that way as well!)
     I hope you all got out and voted. I'm not really very political, and refused to be as a principal, but I do find some of the twists and turns of the world of politics fascinating at times. May the dragons watch over you and char the hind ends of any new or old legislator who doesn't work for and think about the people they represent all the time...

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Thanksmas or Christgiving...
     Okay, the kids are thoroughly gorged with candy and on a sugar high and the Halloween decorations and trimmings haven't been taken down yet and yet there it is! Ads for Christmas, Christmas decorations and the stores all decked out in holiday cheer! I hate the way holidays now run into each other. When I was a kid there was a reasonable time to get over and savor one holiday before moving onto another. It felt like a holiday, not a fast moving vision of some sort. Now, the greed and competition of stores, websites and the pursuit of the almighty dollar pushes everything together in a mash of holiday themes and overwhelms our senses. Can you tell I'm not a fan?
     Okay...okay...I'll back off my post-Halloween rant. Had lots of ghosties and ghoulies last night as always. We're too far from grandkids to see them on Halloween night but we enjoy all the other kids (from less than a year to over forty) who came to our door with an open bag and a "Trick or Treat!" My wife is the official greeter. I simply hang back and peek. Funny, all those years as a school principal I was always the welcoming one,with a big smile and a warm hug or handshake but at home, I'm much more private...always have been.
     I'm working on editing the first printed proof for The Falls: Fourth of July from CreateSpace. Almost three fourths of the way through and I am still amazed that I like my own stories. Chuckles. I have to remember to edit sometimes, rather than just get caught up in the story and read quickly on. Should be done in a couple of days, then turn it over to Carolyn to read as well. I need to change the cover. Add a fireworks to the picture and change the print to white from black. The cover is a very dark blue and the black doesn't show up well. This will be the first time that any of The Falls paperback books will have any color print than black. We'll see how it goes.
     I'm working on the eighteenth The Falls small town mystery series book, The Falls: County Fair. Just purchased a white board to keep track of story lines. I can do it with post-its and notes...but decided it was time for the storyboard approach. I'll keep track of each story line (I usually have at least three or four, maybe more) and I'm no spring chicken. I need help reminding self where to go next, what time it is for scenes, etc. I'm sure you all have your own methods.
     The stand up desk and I are simpatico. Haven't used a chair yet. You should try it. I feel better and I know my back does as well. Burn a few calories at the same time. Not bad and I like the two their approach...wasn't sure about that when I bought it.
     Went for my preop visit to my ENT doctor on Thursday. I had gone to my own doctor to get scheduled for an EKG, a chest X-ray and blood test...all the treats are now done. Surgery is November 10th. He's going to go into my left sinus and take out a bone spur and do some other things as well. Roto-router treatment I believe. Been hurting for a while now, it will be a relief to get it done. I will be back writing the next day...you can count on it...chuckles.
     It was actually down in the fifties for our walk this morning! Yeah! Florida's heat just gets to me at times. Tomorrow morning might be in the forties...a real treat! It will still be in the mid seventies during the middle of the day. Anyone willing to box up some cool Scottish weather, I'll trade a box of Florida warmth any day!
     On to Christmas...oops! Thanksgiving! Hmmm...maybe Thanksmas or Christgiving! May the dragon watch over you...

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The Fourth of July...
     Okay, so it's October 21st. But to me it's the Fourth of July. Just submitted the re-edited and templated manuscript/cover/etc. of The Falls: Fourth of July to CreateSpace. I should be able to order a proof tomorrow sometime. That will make the sixth The Falls book in print...paperback print not digital print. Not bad...
     It's been a hectic few days. We just got back from a trip to VT (sister) and CN (son) and were preparing to leave on a Disney 4 night cruise (from Port Canaveral, FL to Nassau, Castaway Cay and back) this last Sunday. But we received news that Carolyn's mom, Felicia, who has been in a wonderful medical/wellness facility in CA had passed away Saturday night. We cancelled the trip and Carolyn and I (mostly Carolyn) have spent the last few days on the phone with our kids, her sister and arraigning things to bring her mom from CA to VT where she will be buried next to her husband, Frank, Carolyn's dad. She'll be headed there for a few days. Her mom and dad were great people...they will always be loved and will be missed by the whole family.
     I have to stay home. I have several doctors' visits in the next few days for tests and prep appointments that can't be rescheduled or missed. I will have a little procedure to straighten my sinus and remove a bone spur that's been bothering me for some time now the second week in November. That will be good so I'm actually looking forward to it. (Don't remind me I said that the day after the surgery!)
     Back to writing. I'm busy writing the eighteenth in The Falls small town mystery series. No title yet...waiting for inspiration. I seem to have more and more fun with each book. I wondered if I would get tired of writing one series but it seems that I have fallen in love with the little town in Vermont and the lovable, colorful and sometimes unpredictable inhabitants. I can honestly say that I have never had 'writers' block'. I walk up to the sit down/stand up desk and simply start writing. I write a chapter a day, edit it right afterwards and then in the afternoon, I work on transposing the digital Kindle versions into CreateSpace worthy paperbacks. Carolyn reads the chapter from the day before and gives me feedback on our daily walks. It works for me. Everyone has their own process.
     So for now, may the dragons watch over you and don't forget to get the candy for all the spooks and goblins for Halloween!

Saturday, October 18, 2014

From Vermont to Connecticut and Back Again...
     Hey there! We've been gone for awhile...traveling up to Connecticut to see our wonderful son Craig and his lovely wife Debbie and then on to Vermont visiting with my sister, Ann McFarren and her husband Don. Ann is the most gifted oil painter I now. She also does great watercolors. We helped Ann and Don work Art in the Park up in Rutland ( we were the grunt help!)and got a chance to experience New England in the fall. Cool nights, foliage and breakfast at Sugar and Spice, the famous pancake house up on the mountain road. Had two great dinners with my sweet niece Sheri and her wonderful family and my wonderful cousin Judie.
     I arrived back home to find that the last The Falls small town mystery series book, The Falls: Coldblooded, that I had hurried to publish on Kindle before I left, needed a good edit. One of my writer friends, Kate Shannon, was kind enough to gently let me know. So since Wednesday, I have been busy editing and then republishing Coldblooded. It's now back on Amazon Kindle, absent a few dozen typos and glitches. Thanks Kate.
      At this point, The Falls: Making a List, Checking it Twice, the fifth volume of The Falls small town mystery series, is now in paperback at Barnes & Noble, CreateSpace, Amazon, etc. Just received three author copies in the mail. I always send for 3 author copies after okaying the last proof, just to have them on hand. I brought my sister copies of the first four books when we visited. Seems so nice to have the actual book in my hands. I am constantly amazed at the high quality of paper that CreateSpace utilizes.
     I'll be starting the 18th volume of The Falls series this morning. The plot has already been hinted at in the last book Coldblooded. But there are always several story lines running through the books. It is based on a town after all! Everybody needs to get into the act!
     We finally sold our house on North Padre Island just off Corpus Christi in Texas. Praise be! We had originally bought it as a retirement home because we couldn't afford any houses in Florida where our youngest grandkids live. Then the market in FL crashed and suddenly we could. That's when we bought in Tradition (Port St. Lucie). We have hung onto the house in Texas so we wouldn't be selling for a loss. One thing I do know...the taxes and insurance costs in Texas were astronomical! We won't miss those even though the house itself was beautiful and on a canal that went right into the Gulf. It had a dock and a double lot. I truly hope the new owners enjoy it.
     So, now I'm off to write, at my standup desk of course, and wish you all the best of Saturdays! May the dragons watch over you all...

Sunday, October 5, 2014

The Falls: Coldblooded...
JUST RELEASED! The Falls: Coldblooded, the seventeenth and latest in The Falls small town mystery series, is at the Kindle Store! Ruth Graham, rogue ex-FBI agent has returned. Fresh from murdering her former FBI supervisor, Rich Meadows, she travels north to hunt down Sergeant McNealy of the Vermont State Police and Sheriff Cash Green. At the same time, the food truck caravan invades The Falls and a rash of home and business robberies ensues! Alice Farmington Puddlington finds that a charming and handsome Irish writer has found his way into her heart! It's August, so return to The Falls, and follow Cash Green, Ericka Yamato, Horace Scofield, Doc Stone and Meg Monroe as they find out 'who dunit'! Grab a frosty lemonade and put your feet up! Return to The Falls!

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

And so it goes...
     I've been keeping my nose to the grindstone. Just sent for the second proof of The Falls: Making a List, Checking it Twice from CreateSpace. I edited it, lots of things to touch up this time, revised the cover and resubmitted it and ordered the second proof.
     I'm not sure if I ever wrote about the cover process. The covers I do now for the paperbacks are all drawn by me using a medium-fine width drawing pen and professional grade colored pencils. I cut the artwork out and place them, along with the appropriate logo, on a background. The backgrounds are 12" by 12" construction papers that I bought in a pack (about twenty-five colors with 4 sheets of each color in case I need a bigger background). I buy most of my stuff from Michael's by the way. Then I take several pictures of it with my Galaxy 4 phone (both longways and sideways) and upload them to my email. From there I place them on my desktop, rename them and then use them to download to the cover creator in CreateSpace. It's a bit cumbersome, but works for me at the moment.
     I am editing and placing The Falls: Fourth of July, Kindle version, into a template for CreateSpace, and I'm about two-thirds done. At the same time I'm nearly finished with The Falls: Coldblooded for Kindle. Should finish with two or three more chapters, then I'll go through and edit, then place it on Kindle. I haven't come up with a cover for it yet. I'm thinking just a handgun lying on it's side with a bullet next to it. Since the story is about the revenge of rogue FBI agent Ruth Graham, that would seem appropriate. I'm into simple. Less is more. You know the drill.
     The standing desk has not been lowered since I put it up to stand and type. I really like it this way and am getting quite comfortable with the position. And it's better for me. I find myself moving around slightly as I type, burning a calorie her and a calorie there. I've lost about 25 pounds, maybe more and have gone down a couple of pant sizes in the last few months. Carolyn has done really well, but that's her story to tell.
     Here's hoping that everyone is doing well and is ready for fall. I say that with a touch in cheek here in Florida. It's in the high 80's, high humidity and lots of rain to go along with lots of sun. May the dragons watch over you all...

Friday, September 19, 2014

Great Review!
     Many thanks to Kate Eileen Shannon for such a wonderful review of The Falls:Boneyard on her blog Rantin', Ravin' & Reading! It couldn't be more perfect. Kate has come to love the people in The Falls, and that's the main goal of the stories. The small town in the center of the Green Mountains of Vermont is the focus point of the mysteries. The community members are colorful, lovable, controversial and a bit over the top at times. They make the stories a good read. The mysteries that are solved are a way to show off each and every one of The Falls' citizens. Their good sides, their bad sides and mostly, their humanity.
     Thank you a million times over Kate for falling in love with The Falls and the community members as they grow and spread their wings! Here's the link! Read it and enjoy it! Here's hoping that you fall in love with The Falls as well! May the dragons watch over you...

http://kateeileenshannon.com/2014/09/19/falling-in-love-with-the-falls/

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Stand-Up/Sit-Down Desk...
     Well, I've been wring with the stand-up/sit-down desk for a few days now and I'm liking it better and better as the time goes by. The first day it felt a bit funny. That's to be expected...I've been sitting and writing for decades. But now, I really enjoy it, and it puts me in a better position to see the screen. I'm looking slightly down at the screen rather than looking slightly up at it. My neck feels much better. It took a little while to get used to the typing angle, but it feels quite normal now. I feel better standing. I haven't sat down once in the last few days while either writing or editing. It has huge casters on it so it's really easy to move and they lock tight so it doesn't move. I'm sold.
     The important thing with a stand-up/sit-down desk I think is finding one that fits you. I like having two different levels...one for the monitor, one for the keyboard. My desk is 60" wide, 24" deep on the first level, 12" deep on the second level. It fits my iMac like a glove. Lots of room to put all the papers I use as I'm writing. Even room for my files of names/places and my daily calendar where I put down the sites I advertise on, any Amazon sales dates, and when I order proofs, author copies, etc. The size is perfect.
     All in all, I'm very pleased. One additional word of advice, if you are thinking of getting one, look around carefully, you can find some deals. Also, either wear a really good pair of shoes or get a pad to cushion your feet.
     I've included a picture. It cranks up easily and quickly, the top moving a good two feet or more up and down. Happy hunting!
     




     Also, finished editing The Falls: Making a List, Checking it Twice. Carolyn is working on it. Working on putting The Falls: Fourth of July on the CreateSpace template and I approved the proof of The Falls: Mud Season and ordered 3 author's copies of it. It will be on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com soon!
     May the dragons watch over you...no matter if you write standing up or sitting down! 

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Betwixt and Between...
     Frankly, I never thought I'd use the phrase, betwixt and between, but it fits my condition at the moment. I'm sitting at the dining room table, although in a different seat, and staring over at the stairs. They are almost all done, with the exception of the last step and a few touchups. They are gorgeous. Bamboo as well as the upstairs flooring. Although the wood on the stairs is a smaller width than the flooring on the upstairs' floors. Today is the last day. Our contractor will finish off and we've already paid for it. He even threw in a kit to take care of the flooring, not that it needs much but will keep it looking lustrous. We are very pleased.
     Got the proof for The Falls: Making a List, Checking it Twice. I will probably edit the cover a bit. That's the nice thing about getting a proof from CreateSpace...you can look at it, feel it, and then make changes almost instantly online. Started proofing it yesterday afternoon, and got 75 pages into it. Got to get some sound canceling earphones. The noise from the stairs was hard to work through, even though I was outside in the summer room. (The summer room is a patio that we had a roof put over and enclosed in a screen. It is filled with plants and two white wicker lounge chairs and ottomans. My wife's favorite room.)
     It will be good to have the upstairs done and I can get back to using my sit down/stand up desk. I used it Saturday and Sunday for the first times and loved it. I stood up while I typed and it felt really good, although I did enjoy sitting down again afterwards. Lots of changes.
     So, on to waiting for the contractors to drive and to the next chapter in The Falls: Coldblooded! May your day be wonderful, filled with small pleasures and may the dragons watch over you...

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

And it Begins...
     Well, our contractors are here and beginning to tear up the carpeting on the stairs and upstairs. They'll be putting down tongue and groove Bamboo flooring from Lumber Liquidators. We've been preparing for this for a while now.
     On the book scene, I have finished proofing the 4th volume of The Falls small town mystery series (The Falls: Mud Season) and waiting for Carolyn to do her editing. I've also just sent for the first proof of the fifth volume in the series, The Falls: Making a List, Checking it Twice. It's funny as I proof the books I had visions of disliking them for some reason or other. But instead, I have really enjoyed rereading and editing them. They're actually pretty good! Chuckles and shakes my head. I think Making a List is one of the best Christmas stories I've ever read. 
     So now, here I am, down at the dining room table, surrounded by "stuff" from upstairs, writing this blog. The next few days should be interesting. When the floor is done and the new sit/stand desk is in, I'll take pictures so you can see what we're doing.
     For now, I'm on page 80 of The Falls: Coldblooded, and advertising The Falls: Boneyard almost everyday. I have to...I'm the only publicity I have. Soon as Carolyn's done editing, I'll edit the CreateSpace template for Mud Season and send it off for the second proof. Meanwhile, I'll start setting up the CreateSpace Template for Fourth of July and get started editing and transferring the text from the Kindle version to the template. For now, I'll leave you with the famous last words...Onward and Upward!
     May the dragons watch over you all...

Monday, August 18, 2014

The Proof is Ordered...
     The proof for The Falls: Mud season was ordered yesterday. It would have been ordered two days earlier, but I was changing cover pictures. I went from a drawing of a school bus with a girl standing in the back window to a sign that said School Bus Stop Ahead to one that read School Bus Turnaround Ahead. In Vermont, school buses often drive up winding mountain roads. There are a number of turn-ins that are made specifically for a long school bus to back into and then turn around and go back the way it came. It becomes financially expedient to do that rather than drive the whole road around or over the mountain. Some of those roads go on forever. Thus the sign.
     The cover will be gray (light and dark, just like Vermont clay-mud). I should get it in a few days and then take another few days to proof it. I'm already a quarter of the way through editing the word document for the fifth book in the series, The Falls: Making a List, Checking it Twice and placing it on the template with chapters for CreateSpace. For those of you who haven't used CreateSpace yet, it's all about creating a good template, which my good friend, Kate Shannon, helped me do. After that, it becomes a lot of cut and paste (but not the old paste, the special formatting paste that keeps the formatting and font of the original). I also use a separate editing Word document if there are formatting problems in the original. I transfer the original chapter(s) onto the editing document and use the special paste, which gets rid of the formatting problems, then I transfer to the CreateSpace template. Much better than trying to fix them. I'm not skillful enough to do that. But I figured out a way around it.
     Contractors should be here this week to put down the floors, and I'm still bringing things down from the upstairs to make the job easier for them. They will move my TV stand with Xbox 360, Xbox One, two Kinects, modem, flat screen and DirecTV box to one side along with all the wiring...put down flooring and then move the whole thing back without me having to take everything apart. (I made a diagram and labeled each wire, cable, etc. just in case...chuckles.) Can't wait to get my office space back with the new stand-up, sit-down desk. That should be in a week or two.
     Until then, the dining room table (which is heaped with other stuff from upstairs on top of, under it, on both sides and in back of it) is my office space. Amazingly enough, I can write there just as well. Chuckles. Who knew?
     Until the proof gets here and I go "proofing", may the dragons watch over you all...

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Limbo...
     Yes, I'm in limbo. Halfway between realities. Our contractor brought in all the flooring and cut a large piece out of the rug on the second floor loft to store it on the plywood flooring. We have a lot of the things you accumulate over the years from upstairs down in the living room, dining room, bedroom and garage, getting the rooms ready for the contractors to lay the flooring and only having to move large pieces of furniture. That means that my iMac is now sitting down on the dining room table and my writing pattern is a bit ragged. 
     My wife, Carolyn has left to go to CA to visit her sister which leaves me by myself in the shifted house. I just published the third book in The Falls small town mystery series at CreateSpace and am waiting for it to be out on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. I'm well on the way to setting up the fourth novel in the series on CreateSpace, and have just published the 16th in the series, The Falls: Boneyard, on Kindle. I'm writing the 17th in the series, The Falls: Coldblooded, and working on covers for both Kindle and CreateSpace (covers for Kindle I make through myecovermaker.com and CreateSpace has it's own cover creator that I use). Oh, did I mention that I woke up at four this morning, have already been to the gym, exercised using about 10 of the machines at LA Fitness, used the treadmill and the stationary bike? 
     Anyway, at the heart of it all, I'm in limbo. Good thing I have a strong work ethic, and am a pretty patterned guy. Through it all, I get done the things I need to do. Hmmm...I wonder if that "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" quote pertains to me? Nah, my name is George William. That's what my mom called me when I was in trouble anyway. I had a few kids use the "Georgie Porgie" thing, but that quickly stopped when I decked a kid much bigger than me when he smiled when he sing-songed it. The dragons reached out and bit the lad.
     So, thus limbo. Have you ever been in limbo? Is there a door or a window...or did you just finally ooze on out of it? Ah, well. Contractors had a job ahead of us and the rain had put them back a few days. They should be working on the floors next week. Once they are done, I should be at the stand-up, sit-down desk and be working my way into a new rhythm. That should be interesting all in itself. I'll let you know. That will establish a new pattern. Like I said, I'm a patterned guy.
     I'm getting better at the CreateSpace thing. I find that one proof, and both my wife and I going carefully through it with high liter and pencil, plus checking the second proof for the basics: format, cover, chapter headings, etc. is enough now. I think that varies from author to author. I edit the text several times before I get to the proof, so it should be relatively simple to finish it off from there.
     So for now, take care...enjoy the summer...and may the dragons watch over you...

Saturday, August 2, 2014

The Desk is Gone...
     Well, our contractor went with us to Lumber Liquidators on Wednesday and we bought the flooring for our upstairs and the stairway itself. Bamboo flooring...the middle grade...we couldn't afford the top of the line, cost all-out-doors kind. Chuckles. But still nice flooring. The tongue and groove kind so the floors are what they term floating (also 'click') and more comfortable to walk on. 
     I helped the contractor and his son and helper bring the boxes of flooring up where we placed them on a space where he had cut away the carpet and pad. Felt it the next day...chuckles. Where was that space you might ask? Why where my old twenty-year-old, sturdy and massively heavy L-shaped desk was sitting, off course. So, they took away the desk (at my request since I have the new standup-fit down desk). Not sure what they did with it...they might have given to someone (I hope) or trashed it (don't want to think about that). The floor will be put down in a week or two. The contractor wanted the flooring to sit there for at least a week. (Perhaps it needs a rest after being in the warehouse?)
     In the meantime I have labeled all the cords, cables and HDMI cables coming and going from the modem, TV, DirecTV box, Xbox 360, Xbox One, two Kinects, printer, two computers, and battery backed up surge protector. When they finally need to move the TV stand and all the stuff on it, I have this deathly fear i won't be able to figure out where every cable and cord goes to afterwards...even though I set it up in the first place. I also looked up the name of our modem system (from the internet and then to all the devices) and password to make sure i wouldn't lock myself out and the room would turn blue from frustration at my idiocy and ineptness. By the way, yes, I play video games. Have since they came out. Enjoy playing with my kids, grandkids and just by myself. I like role-playing games (does that surprise you?)
     So, I'm sitting at the iMac situated on the dining room table, which also holds a lot of stuff from upstairs already (dragon statues, swords, Chinese Geishas statues that are my wife's, etc). Yes, I collect swords. Have for decades. And dragons. Oh, and my new paperback books! It's a bit different, writing down here but will do for now. I have a desk journal/calendar that I use to enter things daily, such as the FB sites I advertise on, what we've done for exercise such as walking (6 days/week), swimming (3), and LA Fitness workouts (3) and things that have happened/will happen like doctor's appointment, etc.  I also have a list of characters on several sheets as well as a box of more in-depth information on characters. I also keep a set of 3x5 cards in front of me that I use to add new characters and to keep the page numbers and chapters of books I'm moving from Kindle to paperback template, etc.
     So, the flooring is here, just not installed, my wife is a little more than halfway through editing the proof for The Falls: Fall of the Fallen Apples, I just edited the cover photo for The Falls: Mud Season (volume 4) and have it ready for CreateSpace, since I'm about a third of the way through placing the Kindle version onto the CreateSpace template. Wrote another chapter of The Falls: Coldblooded this morning and I will edit more this afternoon. Still need to edit The Falls: Boneyard and get it on Kindle!
     So, until the next installment of this saga, I hope your Saturday is wonderful, filled with small pleasures and that the dragons watch over you always...

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Deep Inside a Raft of Manuscripts...
     That's where I am, truly. I find myself writing a new The Falls novel, editing the last one that hasn't been put on Kindle yet, advertising the next to last volume on FB pages every day, editing the fourth in the series and placing it on a template for CreateSpace and proofing the third in the series from a paperback proof received on Wednesday from CreateSpace. (Not to mention working on the first Dragon World story already on Kindle, placing it on a template for CreateSpace.) Did I forget anything? Probably.
     So, I feel like no matter which way I turn, I am surrounded by Kindle versions, draft versions, and CreateSpace templates. That's not a bad thing. I enjoy and am invigorated by the work. But at times I am overwhelmed. Please tell me that every writer feels the same way at times! Chuckles.
Place on top of that a lingering sinus infection, and waiting ( I feel like we're on hold) for our contractor to come and put in new flooring in the upstairs and stairway (we have already stripped most to the extraneous things out of the rooms) and you get the basic idea.
     But it's Sunday, a day of rest. Smiles...nah. I'll still be working. Writing the next chapter for The Falls: Coldblooded in the morning and finishing editing the proof of The Falls: Fall of the Rotten Apples this afternoon. Then I'll hand off the proof to my long-suffering, patient and caring wife who will add her two cents worth. She reads twice as fast as I do, and is probably smarter than I am. She reads more books in a week than I do in a month. So I depend on her to keep me "honest" in what I write. Thank you, Carolyn.
     I hope your day is a wonderful one. May it be filled with small pleasures and may the dragons watch over you...

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Onward...
     The first proof for the third book of The Falls small town mystery series, The Falls: Fall of the Rotten Apples, has been ordered and is on its way. Funny thing. After I had set up the interior, set the cover, markets and price I sent it in to be scanned by the CreateSpace quality control squad as usual. In just a few hours it came back stating that it wasn't approved. Guess what I had done? What's the most idiotic mistake you can think of in creating a book? Right. I had misspelled the title! I had written The Falls: Fall of the Rotten Aples. Cute, huh? Mortifying! Chuckles. Ah well, they caught it, I went in and changed it and then the proof was approved. Now, I should get the proof sometime in the next few days. Then we'll be doing a blitz-edit.
     I've already set up the template for the next book, The Falls: Mud Season, book 4 in the series and have transferred about 45 pages of the text from the Kindle volume to the template. As I go though the Kindle version, editing once again and changing the format of the earlier books to the font and format I'm using now, I save the Kindle version, which I will switch out, replacing the old Kindle version once the CreateSpace paperback is set. Sort of saves a step along the way. That way both paperback and kindle version are up to date and new.
     We are waiting for the contractor to contact us about doing the flooring upstairs. Our office in the loft looks a bit bare bones at this point, trying to get ready for moving everything. Ah well. It will be nice when its done. In the meantime, we try and survive the daily lightning storms and the heat and humidity. Anyone who tells you that Florida is paradise is not telling you the whole truth. Nice sunny weather most of the time, yes. Ocean wonderful, yes. Lots of nice communities, yes. But beware because it's the lightning capital of the world. Before we understood what it was like we lost two TVs, a DirecTV DVR, the motherboard out of our garage door opener, and had four wires burned out that connect to our AC unit. We now have a FLP surge protector on the meter, battery pickup surge protectors on all electronics and unplug computers during the storms. But, a warning, nothing can stop lightning from damaging your things. Nothing. If anyone tells you different just look at them and grin with a knowing look on your face. 'Cause all electricians will agree...nothing can stop lightning.
     I have had a sinus infection for about two and a half months and the antibiotics and other treatments don't seem able to touch it for long. (I'm thinking that might be Florida's fault as dwell...but since I have no proof...we'll let it be a 'wait and see' kind of thing.)
     Back to writing...and watching the radar for lightning storms. May the dragons watch over you...and stay away from the lightning...

Thursday, July 17, 2014

In the Middle of it all...
     Have you ever felt like there were a million things going on and you were in the very center of it all, trying to keep all the balls in the air? Well, that's a pretty good description of what I'm feeling like. 
     Right now I am editing book three in The Falls small town mystery series (The Falls: Fall of the Rotten Apples) and placing it in a template to publish on CreateSpace. I'm working on the new cover as well. I'm working on the last few chapters of my work in progress, the 16th book in The Falls small town mystery series, The Falls: Boneyard. I'm advertising the 15th book, The Falls: Brotherly Love on numerous FB pages each day, while awaiting three finished paperbacks from the recently published paperback that's the second book in the series, The Falls: Summer Nightmare, published through CreateSpace. In addition, I just revised, changed the font and edited Dragon World: Dragon Magic, the first volume of The Dragon World Series on Kindle. I have already started creating a template for the Dragon World series so that I can start the publishing process with them through CreateSpace. At the same time, I'm also busily watching Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. com to see when Summer Nightmare is released.
     Put all that together with the fact that I am going to be working my way down through both The Falls small town mystery series and the Dragon World Series one book at a time to publish on CreateSpace, and in the meantime working on creating the drawings and pictures to be used for all the covers, I'm beginning to feel like there isn't enough time in the day. I tend to be goal orientated and slightly anal at achieving goals, so I have to try and remember that I actually am retired and breathe.
     I'm not really complaining though. It gives me purpose and direction, which is good for me. Just wishing that it was all done and tied up with a big red bow, just because I hate not having my best work out there. Yup, perfectionist issues as well. But then, you probably knew that already, right?
    Yes, I started publishing on Kindle on a wing and a prayer, without help or guidance after spending almost two years trying to get an agent. At that point I was frustrated but determined. 24 books later, it has been quite a ride and I like to think that the stories themselves are good. But the formatting and overall packaging still needs work. That's what I'm about right now. With each Kindle book I turn into a paperback, I take the editing and update the Kindle version (placing the newly edited text, font, and cover on the old Kindle ebook to spruce it up as well).
     Anyway, the three copies of Summer Nightmare should get here today, and (crossing my fingers) if there are no all day thunderstorms, I should finish the paperback interior for Fall of the Rotten Apples template for CreateSpace. Then I can begin the publishing process on CreateSpace once again.
     Until the next time, may your day be successful, filled with small pleasures and may there be no thunderstorms. May the dragons watch over you...

Friday, July 11, 2014

Publishing in Process...
     Well, got the second proof back of The Falls: Summer Nightmare and read through the first 50 pages or so, after scanning each page for visual errors. Only found one mistake...I have Dr. Meg Monroe racing to the hospital early one morning to deal with a situation where a young boy named Pier accidentally shoots his grandfather with a homemade bow and arrow. I have about ten mentions of Pier and then on out of the blue a mention of his name being Pierce! I have no idea where that came from! Our minds do strange things to us at times. And, to be honest, I sometimes now lose the perfect word or two I wanted to use, but if I wait and move on for a minute, it will usually come right back.
     Anyway, I redid the template and the pdf of the template changing the name and resubmitted it to CreateSpace and then sent it for publishing, ordering 3 copies of the finished book to put on my bookshelf. I was asked to fill out a survey this time by CreateSpace and I did so. I found it to be fairly well done and what they wanted to know more than anything else was to find out what I liked and what they could do better. Quite refreshing actually. I was impressed. I finished it along with some very complimentary statements on my experience with the use of their website and sent it in. The only thing I would change, and I told them this, was I would make the covers a bit more flexible. I would like the ability to upload more than one picture for the cover and the ability to move the title and author boxes around on their templates. Other than that...I was quite pleased with the product, the presentation, the ease of use and the quality. I love the high quality paper they use in their books...much nicer than the mass media books. (It does cost though.)
     So, I'm waiting to see the book out on Amazon in a day or two and on Barnes and Noble and other book stores in 2-3 weeks. (They promise 5-6 weeks, but my first one was mush quicker than that.) It is a thrill to see the paperback version out there to buy. I know I probably won't sell a lot of them when the digital version costs only $2.99, but as my friend Kate told me, they are there for the avid fan or reader of the series to own and hold in their hands. They are also now available to people who don't own or use e-readers.
     Now, I'm already working on filling in the template for the third in the series, The Falls: Fall of the Rotten Apples. Truth be told, as I'm going through and editing one more time before cutting and pasting the chapters into the template, I realize that I really like the stories. Who knew? Chuckles. Well, I think all of us are too hard on our work and on our writing in general, always holding ourselves to a higher standard. But, I'm beginning to be a fan of my own work again. I used to be, until it began to become a job rather than just telling stories. Now, I'm getting back to enjoying the stories again because I've learned just enough about the editing, publishing, and advertising parts of the profession to get back to what really matters: the story.
     I'm two-thirds of the way done on The Falls: Boneyard (#16) and am advertising The Falls: Brotherly Love in FB pages at this point. Still waiting to use my stand up/sit down desk. Looking forward to the experience. Keep the faith...and believe in yourselves.
     May the dragons watch over you all... 

Saturday, July 5, 2014

The 5th of July...
     It always seems as though the day after a holiday, the 26th of December, the 2nd of January, the 5th of July for example, is so anticlimactic that it never gets paid attention to or noticed. I admit to having some sentimental feelings for those poor, unappreciated days. They are the left-overs, the never-will-bes, the forgotten dates of the calendar. From now on, I shall try and remember that all days are equal and to give a rousing good cheer and congratulations to each day as it dawns.
     That being said, I'm patiently waiting for the second proof of The Falls: Summer Nightmare to get here so I can do a quick check through and then place it on the CreateSpace "publish" list. As I wait, I'm on page 112 of the 16th Falls novel, The Falls: Boneyard and about to write the next chapter. It features bodies found in the landfill, famous young forensic pathologist/archeologist called in and a murder investigation for a girl presumed missing for twenty years. Stay tuned for more clues. I'm also editing Dragon World: Dragon Magic to be a more "user/reader friendly" Kindle book. The Dragon World books were written inWord Perfect back decades ago and cleaning them up and making them up-to-date had been a process. But the passion and pure action adventure that is still within those pages is worth saving. At least in my humble opinion. This will be my third or fourth rewrite.
     Speaking of the Dragon World Series, Dragon World: Dragon Magic, the first book of the series, is on sale for $.99 until Monday at 8:00 AM. I know, I should have waited until the rewrite was accomplished. Poor planning, but for $.99, it's a bargain in any format.
     Still waiting to get out upstairs flooring done. The contractors we use are wonderful and in high demand, so we are willing to wait. Good things come to...well you know the rest.
     I'm still finding FB pages to advertise on. Heaven knows how many there must be out there. I love writing, but the advertising, "pushing my wares" like an old fashioned street vendor in Elizabethan London gets old fast. I'm not the pushy type. Never have been. A leader, quick decision maker and go-getter, yes. Pushing my wares, not so much. Guess that's why I made a good school principal for so many years.
     Until the next chapter of this little blog (Whoever came up with that word! I feel like a toad with warts croaking out of a little lily pond when I call what I write a 'blog'!) I bid you a fond adieu. May the dragons watch over you...

http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-World-Magic-Book-ebook/dp/B00AVBEUZY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1404561413&sr=8-3&keywords=Dragon+World%3A+Dragon+Magic

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Tropical Depression #1...Arthur...
     The treasure coast of Florida has a unique summer season. Each day we wait for the afternoon showers and lightning storms. For those of you who don't already know, southern Florida is the lightning capitol of our country. We count the number of lightning strikes in an area by the hundreds rather than individually. Clearly, that does wonderful things for a writer who needs to get on his desktop to write. At this point, I use an iMac 27" screen with an external disk drive and an external hard drive that's about the size of a cigarette pack (called a Passport). I turn it off and disconnect the cord even though we have battery powered surge protectors upstairs and down. You scoff? Well, here's the compelling evidence that makes me do so. The first three years we lived here, we lost two TVs, a DirectTV DVR, the mother board in the garage door opener was fried and we had our AC knocked silly several times.
     We now have a Florida Light and Power surge protector on our meter, which helps to buffer any lightning strikes to appliances, battery powered surge protectors for all electronics and we turn things off (such as computers, TVs, DirectTV DVRs) during thunder and lighting storms. It's obvious to see that summer storms tend to hamper my writing. On a normal day I write in the morning and edit in the afternoon. I also use the computer to blog, twitter, to advertise on approximately 40 FB pages and to do the normal email, etc.
     By the way... just finished editing the template for Summer Nightmare (the second The Falls novel) on CreateSpace and submitted it. Within a few hours I will receive an email stating that the manuscript and cover have been accepted and then I can send for another proof (the second), I'll go through the book quickly, looking for obvious anomalies and errors and a few specific issues, then I will publish and send for several copies of the book at the author's price. Two down and a myriad of manuscripts to go...chuckles.
     So, Tropical Storm Arthur, (it's now been named officially...that means it is now longer a tropical depression, and has become a tropical storm) I can hear your thunder in the distance and see your wind and light rain as it comes and goes. Here's to letting me finish this blog, check the email and FB and sign off. Then, go ahead and rumble and roll. Thanks for the temporary reprieve. It is appreciated. 
     Here's hoping your afternoon, dear reader, is a wonderful one, filled with small pleasures and may the dragons watch over you...

Friday, June 27, 2014

The Falls: Brotherly Love
The Falls: Brotherly Love, the 15th volume of The Falls small town mystery series, is just out at the Kindle Store for $2.99! A body is found in Lake Pumpkinseed that starts a chain of events that reaches all the way out to Albuquerque, New Mexico! While CR Shanks, Newt and Remy drive out to the great southwest, Cash, Yamato, Horace and several of the Burman kids get involved with a wealthy entrepreneur that just bought the old Armstrong farm. Jeremy and Sylvia Jean get hired as student staff at the Folger Library on the University of Maine campus and help solve a troubling mystery as well. So, grab a cup of Earl Grey, put your feet up and return to The Falls!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Brotherly-Love-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B00LCAKCCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403901237&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+Brotherly+Love

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Brotherly-Love-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B00LCAKCCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403902021&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+Brotherly+Love

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Summer Nightmare Proof #1...
     It's easier, second time around. Believe me...it is. Referring to publishing a paperback of CreateSpace of course. What did you think I meant??? Just finished editing the first proof for The Falls: Summer Nightmare. Now my long suffering but wonderful wife Carolyn is working on it. The proof came through with the first 25 pages out, not adhered to the spine. Since it's just a proof, I wasn't too concerned, but I sent a message to the support group at CreateSpace. They promptly replied stating that they were sorry and would send me another proof if I wanted it. I told them no, that I didn't really want another proof, since I would editing the document in the CreateSpace publishing format within the next few days, and ordering a second proof. I told them I just wanted to inform them that it happened. They assured me that it doesn't happen often and that they have a 100% replacement policy. Since I had purchased a number of proofs and books for The Falls: In the Dead of Winter earlier that were all fine, that was enough, and I let it go.
     I really like the cover for Summer Nightmare. I know, I sound a bit conceited. But I was happy with everything, color, picture and everything else. I'd love to know what you think.
     Now, I'm still working on the 16th volume in The Falls series entitled, The Falls: Boneyard. I'm also nearly finished editing the 15th volume of The Falls small town series entitles The Falls: Brotherly Love. It will be available in the Kindle Store within a few days. It's the first of the books where a good deal of the action occurs outside of Vermont. Hint: Albuquerque plays a prominent role! Hope you all get a chance to read it soon!
     Still haven't been able to use the stand up desk yet. still waiting for our contractors to get to the flooring upstairs. They are wonderful and we understand why they're in such high demand. Looking forward to having the option of sitting or standing as I write. Does anyone else out there have one? Maybe I'll ask online and see.
     Until the next update, may the dragons watch over you all...


Friday, June 20, 2014

Update Time...and a Summer sale!
     I've got two things to pass on. First, The Falls: In the Dead of Winter, first volume of The Falls small town mystery series, is now available at Barnes & Noble and at other book stores. That took me by surprise! I was informed it would be 6-8 weeks after publishing on CreateSpace. A very pleasant surprise, I have to admit. I sat and stared at it for a few moments, simply drinking in the visual. Yes, it meant a lot to me.
     Second, volumes #8 and #9 of The Falls small town mystery series, The Falls: May Flowers and The Falls: Election, will be on sale this weekend, Saturday, June 21st and Sunday, June 22nd. They will each be 67% off, and cost only $.99 this weekend. (The sale actually runs from 8 AM Saturday to 8AM Monday.)
     Here's hoping that you have a wonderful, relaxing and enjoyable summer weekend! May the dragons watch over you...

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Flowers-small-town-mystery-ebook/dp/B00AQNC5M2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403289368&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+May+Flowers

http://www.amazon.com/The-Falls-Election-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B00BK5KVA8/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=02AT0BWZ68NDV946Z6PB

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

The Stand Up Desk...
     Well, almost a week ahead of schedule, my Stand Up Desk came (it's from the Stand Up Desk Store through Amazon.com online) in two boxes UPS. Five feet long, two surfaces, one 16" wide the other 12" wide. I spent most of the afternoon putting it together in the garage. Florida garages, in the summer, even open to allow any breeze that comes along, are what might be described as humid and warm. (Okay, they're sweltering and hot.)
     I must admit that the process went well although as usual when 'some assembly is required' the  tools they include for you to use are less than ideal. I substituted the little wrench about halfway through but the allen wrench was fine. The plans had no words, but were pretty easy to understand. I left out one very minor piece (it was hard to see on the plans), but the mechanism seems fine without it.
     I tried the crank assembly to raise and lower it several times and it works smoothly and quickly. The crank even comes off easily so that it's not visible unless you want to raise or lower the desk. The two level surfaces will work quite well and I am looking forward to using it. I will wait however, because we are getting flooring installed on the upstairs floor and the stairway. No sense carrying it up and then down and then back up again.
     It looks quite sleek and the large castors with locks on them enable me to move it around whenever I want. It's very stable and holds a couple of hundred pounds. So, to this point, I am very pleased. The proof will come when I start writing. It will be nice to be able to switch back and forth between sitting and standing while I work at the desk. Standing is much better for you, considering the calories expended when you stand and the easing of your back muscles and straightening out your spine that occurs when standing. But I'm sure I will want to sit at times as well. So this is the best of both worlds. So, we shall see. The great experiment continues.
     May the dragons watch over you (whether you are sitting or standing)...

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Volume Two...and the Stand Up Desk...
     Well, The Falls: Summer Nightmare, volume II in The Falls small town mystery series, is entered into CreateSpace, and the first proof has been ordered. I finished up the cover, decided on marketing rights and pricing yesterday and sent for the proof after basic site approval this morning. The price of the book will be around $16, $4 dollars less than the first. That figures. It's about a hundred and thirty-five pages smaller with the same distribution/marketing pattern. I wish I could sell them for less, but that's the lowest I'm allowed to sell it for, due to the costs that CreateSpace incurs in publishing them.
     I'm also in the process of packaging up, addressing and then mailing the copies of my first book, The Falls: In the Dead of Winter, to family and a friend or two. That gives me no end of pleasure, although it is a bit scary as well. I think a writer always worries that people aren't going to like their work. Occupational hazard, I believe. It's one thing to have a complete stranger not like what you write, quite another to have a family member or good friend feel the same way.
     I made a purchase. It's in transit. It's a sit/stand desk. I can sit at it like a regular desk, and when I want to, I can crank it up another foot or so and use it as a stand up desk, typing at my iMac while I stand. The more I read about the benefits of standing while writing, the more I wonder why this hasn't been the ''next big thing' a long time ago. Well now, there are all sorts of websites selling them. There are all sizes and kinds of stand up desks out there. Some are fixed at a certain height, others go up and down electrically by the push of a button, mine utilizes a small crank that then tucks out of the way. Any writers out there might want to check it out. Most of them are fairly expensive ($600-2000) but mine I bought on Amazon.com for about $400 and shipping (another $42). It has two levels, is five feet long and the shelves are 16" and 12* in depth (28"deep in total). It's on it's way UPS. I'll let you know how the experiment turns out. (But remember, I'm a stubborn Scotsman and will make it work no matter what problems arise!)
     So, now it's on to the second volume. I'll let you know how it goes. Until then, may your days be filled with small pleasures, may the writing Gods smile down upon you and may the dragons watch over you all...

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

The Falls: In the Dead of Winter, on Amazon...
     Well, my first paperback is now on Amazon. The Falls: In the Dead of Winter, first volume of The Falls small town mystery series, is now on Amazon.com as a paperback. In a few weeks it will be available through bookstores, including Barnes & Noble, and lots of other venues.
     I have to admit that it has me a bit speechless. The first time I saw it I just stared at it for a little while, all sorts of thoughts running through my head. There is a great deal of satisfaction the first time you accomplish something you have been working hard to achieve. A bit of pride and confirmation as well. It rather humbles one.
     Of course, I wish the price (hovering around $20) was a lot less, but the CreateSpace support staff assured me that between the length of the book (602 pages) and the fact that I chose to have it available on all the platforms they offered for sales, that price was the lowest they could produce the book for and offer it for sale in so many markets. I can get the book for around $8, so I will be sending some copies out to family and friends, along with a heartfelt letter explaining how I had reached that place in my writing.
     I should get my iMac back today from Best Buy and from a trip to the Apple repair center (which I seem to like calling the Apple Farm for want of a better name). Then I can get back to writing (the 16th Falls mystery is one-third through) and getting book two, The Falls: Summer Nightmare, ready for publishing on CreateSpace. I also need to justify the covers of the Kindle version and the paperback version of The Falls: In the Dead of Winter. I'll go with the paperback cover.
     You know, at times I really wish I had an agent, a publisher, a publicist, a team of people to create covers, edit and keep me appraised of what I should be doing to best publish and market my books. Then, at other times, I feel proud that I'm accomplishing what I am on my own, as a true independent author/publisher. I'm sure all writers go through that, don't they? 
     I leave with you only a few words of advice. Do what's right for you. Write what you want to write. Be true to yourself. Work hard and persevere. May the dragons watch over us all...


http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Dead-Winter-small-mystery/dp/1497365384/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402406896&sr=1-3&keywords=the+falls+in+the+dead+of+winter

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Summer Sale!
     Summer Sale! The 6th and 7th books in The Falls small town mystery series, The Falls: Fourth of July and The Falls: Cupid's Arrow, are each on sale at the Kindle store for $.99 this weekend, Saturday, June 7th and Sunday, June 8th! Sale ends 9:00 AM Monday morning!
     Come back to The Falls and join with Sheriff Cash Green, Deputies Ericka Yamato and Horace Scofield, along with Doc Stone and Meg Monroe searching for clues and finding out 'who dunit'! It's my humble and grateful way of saying thank you to my loyal readers and friends! 67% reduction on the price for this weekend only! Have a great start to summer!
 

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

I pushed the button...
     Well, I've gone and done it. I'm standing on the grass, looking down at the hole I've just climbed out of at this moment and filled in with fresh earth. Yesterday, I took a deep breath, and clicked on the "publish" icon at CreateSpace. I was immeciately greeted with a "Congratulations!" message and then asked if I wanted to purchase any copies. Surprisingly, the author's copies are the same price as the proofs, $8.07. So I promptly ordered three.
     I have ten proofs I ordered earlier to send to family members and friends. I thought the author copies would be slightly more, but it doesn't matter. There's little difference between a proof and an author's copy. I sat down day before yesterday and wrote a long one page letter to the family members and friends that I will be sending with the copy I'll be giving them. I found it to be rather difficult. I really haven't said much to my children or grandchildren about my books or my writing career. I guess, honestly, that I never said much to them about being a teacher and principal either. I think that comes from being a rather private person and not wanting to inflict my feelings, thoughts or ideas into or intrude into other people's lives. I always talked about their lives, or joked around or just gave them hugs and played with them.
     Hmmm, it sounds rather funny (unusual not ha-ha) when I put that thought down on paper. Anyway, I wanted them to know how much writing meant to me and that I truly appreciated how much them being in my life had meant to the fulfillment of my writing dreams. I tried to tell them about reinventing myself: becoming more knowledgeable in writing technology, computers, software, joining Twitter, having my own blog, LinkedIn, a Facebook author's page, and advertising on over 40 different FB sites. I gave them the addresses to all of the sites I maintain and told them I'd love to have each of them check the sites out.
     Tomorrow or the next day, I'll package the proofs in the US mails convenient paperback boxes, my wife ordered for me, sign the proofs, add a letter and ship them all out. You know, as parents we just try to deal with our kids and life and do what we feel is best, attempting to keep them safe and happy and try and let them know how much we love them. As you get older, and your kids are the ones who are busy with their families and business lives, it seems like a real role reversal. For the first time, I'm looking for some support, some approval from my kids and grandkids for something I'm doing rather than the other way around. Kinda' scary and a bit exciting at the same time.
     So, my computer is still not back from the Apple Farm and I'm going crazy because I don't want to write oin my old HP and then have to take that and adapt PC older Word to iMac newer Word. That seems to creat formatting issues and after the experience I had fitting my first manuscript into the template for CreateSpace, I'm not taking the chance. Converting to Kindle would be no problem. Our new AC unit will be installed tomorrow. Another process to go through, although our AC guys are first rate.
     I have to admit, I'm excited to see the new paperback The Falls: In the Dead of Winter advertised on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc. and I'll be watching. But as soon as the iMac comes back, I'll be entering the second book in the series, The Falls: Summer Nightmare, which I already had placed in the template for CreateSpace on my desktop, into CS and then working on the cover. I've already drawn that as well.
     Until the next time, I leave you one piece of advice: no matter where you are on the writing food chain, whether it be established, well known author, or unpublished neophyte working on your first manuscript...or wherever inbetween, BELIEVE and WORK HARD. That's all there is for a writer. A writer must write. A writer works through the problems, the doubt, the frustration and even through the joy and delight that surrounds our craft.
    The hole is filled in, long live the hole. May the dragons watch over you all... 

Saturday, May 31, 2014

I Fell Back into the Hole...But I can Get up...
     Okay...just as the end was in sight, I slipped off the earthen ramp and fell back into the hole. But no worries, apart from being frustrated and a bit chagrined, I'm okay. I had one of "those days". Teeth issues, AC went out, and my iMac went blank. Of course all my manuscripts, works in progress, covers, templates, etc. were on that iMac. Yes, I have a back up. I have an external hard drive, a Passport is what Apple calls it. Most of the information is there, but since I need an Apple computer to retrieve it, so it virtually just sits there and taunts me.
     I took the iMac to Best Buy where my friendly and always helpful Geek Squad assured me that it was repairable. It's some kind of graphic card. The kicker though, it has to be sent to an Apple repair service mecca shop in Kentucky. Two week turnaround. Luckily we had the total service plan and shouldn't cost more than the $100 for the Geek Squad's download. Yes, to be safe, I had them do a complete download of everything on the computer and then they sent it off. Now I keep getting little messages from the Geek Squad saying where my iMac is and what's going on, which I find surprisingly consolling.
     So, I got back the first 5 proofs, and have ordered anothyer 5. I will write in them and ship them off to our five kids, my wife's sister and my sister. I also have promised one of them to a dear friend. That at least I can deal with without the computer. When the second set of 5 proofs get here (they don't let you get more than 5 at a time) I will then complete the publishing process and the book will be out for sale. It goes on sale for $20.18. That's due to the length, 602 pages and me wanting my book for sale on all six markets they offer: Amazon.com, Amazon Europe, CreateSpace eStore, Bookstores and online retailers (like Barnes and Noble), libraries & academic institutions, and CreateSpace Direct.
     Apparently, the more distribution and merchandising markets, the more it costs. I don't imagine lots of people will buy it because of the cost, but it's there for the collector and fan of the series. It's also my first paperback, in my hand book, which at any amount is precious to me. The others should be less, since they are smaller in the amount of pages.
     I will brush myself off, get back up and accend the earthen ramp to get out of the hole. Then, with the first of the series published, I will move onto the second. It's already in template pdf form (on my iMac in Kentucky). I already have the front cover picture and will work on front covers for all the other books in the series (15 as of now, as soon as I publish The Falls: Brotherly Love and I'm a quarter of the way into The Falls: Boneyard, the sixteenth).
     In the meantime, I have two books, The Falls: Mud Season and The Falls: Making a List, Checking it Twice, numbers 3 &4 in the series, on sale this weekend for $.99 at the Kindle Store. That's what being an independent author/publisher/cover designer/publicist is all about, right? Many eggs in your basket. You just don't want to triup (or fall in a hole) and break some of them.
     Despite the pause, I will persevere. So should all of you. That's the only way it gets done. So, as I dust the dirt, small pebbles and odd piece of debris from my bruised but strongwilled body, I wish you a day filled with small pleasures...and may the dragons watch over us all...
    



Monday, May 26, 2014

And so it Continues...
     Just got back home from a trip up up north to MA where my wife and I were thrilled to watch our beautiful and talented granddaughter graduate from the Northeastern School of Law. Go Caitlyn Elizabeth! The trip was from Wednesday until Sunday and was a good family reunion. Very busy and lots of good food. Back to watching our caloric intake again.
     We came back to the AC not working. It was 99 degrees in the upstairs loft when we got here. So this morning, after our walk, the doors and windows are all wide open and every fan in the house is on. The last time we went away, our house was broken into and we were robbed. Honestly, we need to stop this kind of after trip behavior!!!! 
     Just ordered 5 proof copies of The Falls: In the Dead of Winter. I had already finished my second editing and proofing job just before we left and I'm okay with what it looks like at this point. Every book has a little glitch now days, so if I missed an error of two, so be it. You can go to the extremes when proofing. After awhile, you need to say enough and get it out there. When they get here, I'll order five more. Then I will go in and order a couple more so I have between 12-15 proofs at $8.07 rather than paying a good deal more, even at author's prices, to give away to family and friends. They have PROOF stamped across the back blank page...but that's no biggie. (This was something a good friend clued me in on...Thank you Kate!) Cost me $48.92 for five copies ($8.07 for the proof, $2.26 tax and $5.95 for shipping).
     I checked with CreateSpace Support about whether I should resubmit the book to Kindle which they offer as a service. They told me that I didn't need to. What I will do is resubmit the cover for the new paperback in my KDP bookshelf section (where I can go in and edit any part of my digital books) so they have the same look and then add the paperback onto it so when you pull up The Falls: In the Dead of Winter, it will show you both options.
     Okay...my writing loft is getting a bit steamy (it's 87 up here right now) so on to working on my next Chapter for The Falls: Boneyard. The 16th in The Falls small town mystery series. The hole is getting easier to climb out of...stay tuned for the final placement on sale. It will be available at Barnes and Noble, CreateSpace, Amazon, etc. I hope your day is cooler than mine and that the dragons watch over you all... 

Sunday, May 18, 2014

The Second Proof...
     Well, the proof got here Friday afternoon, the second proof that is. I've been editing it most of Saturday and Sunday. Only 150 pages to go in the 602 page volume of the first of The Falls small town mystery series, The Falls: In the Dead of Winter. (It's the largest...which often happens with first books.) My eyes are swimming at this point. You don't realize how intense reading to correct and catch errors is until you do it for a number of hours.
     The new cover is better. It's got larger, clearer type and a better font. The back cover has only a blurb on what the book is about (same blurb that I placed in Amazon Kindle Store for the ebook version) and my picture. Speaking of which...it's hard to find a pic I want to use for an author photo. I don't think I photograph particularly well and I guess I'm just old school, it embarrasses me to put it there. I know, I know...but I can't help the way I feel. 
     Anyway, the cover has the same color scheme as the first cover, but the back font is much more readable without the faint front cover picture in back of it. The back cover is now a solid color, although the space for the blurb is set up to have a curve to it. Not sure I like that, but it's better than before. The front fonts are bigger and the spine font is okay as well.
     You would think that with both my wife and I editing the first proof, after me editing the Word document several times before that, there would be no typos or errors. Wrong. I still have probably eight to ten things to correct so far.
     Funny thing. As I was editing this afternoon and happened to glance at the cover with my name on it, I had an odd thought. It hit me for a few seconds how much my mom and dad would have liked to have seen my first "real" book. You know, not the digital ones, although I have quite a few of those. But they never saw any of those. To them a book was pages and ink and a cover. It would have made them happy and proud, I think. Funny how things will creep up on you when you least expect them.
     I'll probably finish editing the proof tomorrow and then edit the docx and convert to pdf. Then, I'll go in and download the file to CreateSpace. I'll probably go in and check the cover one more time as well. Then I'll check through all the steps and figure out if I'm ready to publish.  I'm not sure. Probably order some author copies for the kids and grandkids and our two sisters if I am because the author copies cost less.
     Publishing is getting closer. I already have finished editing the second book, ready to place it in the template with chapter headings. The next big decision is whether to publish the new document of The Falls: In the Dead of Winter as a Kindle version, changing the Kindle version I have right now. Not sure what I want to do. I think I'll message the CreateSpace support team and ask them which way makes more sense. They have been super helpful up to this point.
     Anyway. I now have my head up out of the hole and and walking up the dirt ramp. I can see the horizon and I feel the impending publishing date on that horizon. Have to admit, it feels good. We'll see as the time goes by. But digging the hole, building the ramp and walking out of the hole is almost at an end. 'Course it will begin again as soon as I start transforming the second volume over to a paperback through CS. Next installment of the blog will talk about whether to publish a new Kindle version and how many copies I'll buy as author copies. 
     The dragons have always watched over me...and they'll always watch over you...you just have to keep believing...