Bird seed

So this morning, I stayed in bed late, reading a book on my phone and playing Words With Friends and reading Facebook and stuff. I got up and had breakfast and discovered the hall bathroom tub had hair and gunk in it....because it's not draining right. And hasn't been for a couple days, according to the teen boys who shower in there.

GIANT SIGH.

The plunger and plumber's snake didn't work.

So I had to get dressed! And go out in the wind and rain! Twice!

So much for lazy Sunday!

Then the drain clog stuff didn't work, either, but it must have eased it a little, because the plunger did work.

ANYWAY, the second time I was out at Ace Hardware, I got some nuts and berries bird seed that my wild bird visitors usually love, then came home and refilled my feeders, and threw a bunch of that and black sunflower seed out for the seven turkeys who were huddled in my front yard, waiting for a handout. And found a dead goldfinch by my front door. Not of starvation, because I've been refilling the thistle seed feeder, too. (I need to refill that, too. It's only half full, so only 8 birds can eat at a time instead of the 17 or so when it's full to the top)

And now I have four high school boys and one elementary school girl rampaging through my house with Nerf guns.

All of this an excuse as to why I'm not writing. I figured out the next to last chapter and part of the last one. Just a couple more pages of wrap up and the rough draft is DONE.

Must. Focus.

Right. Getting back to it.

(And don't forget Henri et Marcel are out now. Almost 40K words: 50-ish pages. $3.99 most places, but still half price for the ePub at Wild Rose Press)

Henri et Marcel: Release day!

They've been together for ten years. Then everything goes wrong.

Henri et Marcel: Châteaux and Shadows, #4

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Henri de Cantière has been surly since he returned from visiting his family at Versailles, but he doesn’t want to burden Marcel Fourbier, his longtime lover, with his problems. He can’t sleep and hurts all over at exactly the time when everything else seems to be falling apart. 

Marcel can barely keep up with his usual duties of running their household and creating beautiful furniture in the de Cantière factory when more burdens fall on his shoulders. His estranged Huguenot family condemns him to hell but wants his help, a stranger attacks him in a dark street, an arsonist tries to destroy the factory, and Henri’s beloved sister-in-law, who has been like a sister to Marcel, is weakening after being in labor for several days. 

Most of all, Marcel wants to find a cure for Henri, the man who holds his heart.

2017 goals

Time once again to think about the coming year. Yes, a lot of people do this on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, but, well, I did nothing much at all yesterday morning and most of the afternoon was shopping and cooking for my son, whose birthday is Jan 1st. And yes, that was an exciting New Year's Eve for me: lying on the couch, watching TV, having contractions every 12 minutes.

What are YOUR goals for this year?

Anyway, I prefer to think of them as Goals and not Resolutions.

1) Find a paying job. Full time would be best. I have some resumes out there, but haven't heard anything. Ah no, writing is not (yet) paying the bills.

2) Write more. 1000 words per day. Edit faster. Specifically:

• Historical: edit and submit Francoise (Chateaux and Shadows Book 6). Finish Dario (book 7) by ....April? Turn that in by summer. Assess the future of writing about 17th century France. I keep having these plot bunny ideas, but many would work in a different era.
• NA Contemporary: Finish Hot Rocks, Edit Big Chill and get edits/beta read from critique partners. I'm seriously thinking about self-publishing with these, especially because I'm not sure what genre they are. Or rather, I know they are buddy stories and concurrent romances, but I seem to confuse people when I talk about the book. So maybe the fault is with my message?
• Contemporary: edit/rewrite Harriet, adding to the conflict. Query agents. Write second  contemp book.

3) Volunteer with the library again. I've not been doing this since the summer. I need to find a time.

4) Find better ways to advertise my books. What I've been doing so far has not been effective.

5) Shove my oldest son through learning to drive and getting his license. Also lean on him to decide where to apply to college so we can visit places over the summer and do applications in the fall.

6) Walk more. I've slacked off lately. It's hard to get started most of the time, but I'm always glad I went when I'm done.

7) Declutter. One room at a time. One space at a time. I'll start with th pile of papers on my desk, the kids' toys, and my room.

8) Sew more. I have a partially-finished quilt for my daughter to finish and I haven't made a quilt for the Linus Project in over a year. And I have six tons of fabric.

9) and all of that leads to time management. I'm sure I'll think of something.

And, of course, I'd love for you to read my French historical novels. 

Henri et Marcel is coming in just a couple days!