Still Chasing

Chasing Monsters will be dedicated to the memory of this man.

I should tell you now. CHASING MONSTERS is going to happen. I am currently going through it for maybe the...fifth time (?) before I hand it over to Heather Savage of Staccato Publishing for editing and formatting. I still need to get an ISBN code and a cover artist, so I can't be sure WHEN it's coming out.

Sorry it's taking so long...When you're self-published you have to think about COST$. It's your problem when you're self-published, and if you follow this blog at all, you'll know I've had a trying year or two.

But there is a strange advantage to the wait. I haven't actually looked at CHASING MONSTERS in over a year. Which means I can be objective. And I can see aaaaaaaallll the flaws. Thank GOD I didn't put it out as soon as the beta readers were finished with it!

Shout out and apologies to my fellow Staccato family member David Fingerman, the horror writer. (By the way, if you love unpredictable horror? Try "Two Degrees Closer to Hell. Brilliant and fresh. David Fingerman-Closer to Hell) I'm actually embarrassed that I gave him that last version. It must have been a tremendous CHORE for him to slog through, but he gave me the honesty I craved.

I remember taking a lot of his advice to heart, as it was great, but I felt he just didn't like so much of it. Well, NO WONDER!!

The original CHASING MONSTERS reads like a 'Young Adult', which is a genre for teens. NOT my intention. Apparently, I wrote like a goof for a year. I'm not saying YA is goofy, I'm saying I made my characters sound too light hearted and casual for a novel with so much sex and violence in it. Oh, and Noelle sounded a lot like some eighties valley girl. "Omicrap".  (Groan)

I'd like to put CHASING MONSTERS out by the end of the year, but I hate making promises. I can promise I'll try hard to get it done by Christmas. I'll let you know <3

Oh shit...There are dedications, acknowledgments and a back cover to write. Wish me luck!

Slave to the Furballs

It's NOT  a shrine. It's a recently started collection.

A good friend once told me that when he dies, he wants to be reincarnated as one of my cats. Of course I laughed. He's just as obsessed with his cats as I am. And every bit as much of a mush as me.

But Spartacus Jones has got me thinking...Am I a Cat-Mom? Or a Cat-Slave?

When we got Freya, we knew we were being manipulated. She made it very clear to us that she didn't want to be in that alcove with the other cats, and that she wanted to come with us. She purred, she nuzzled and gave us sad eyes when we almost left. She was a determined kitty, and she's had us both under her paw ever since.

She has her own favorite spots, her favorite foods, foods she WON'T eat--which must be replaced with something different, specific places to eat and specific cuddling preferences. She's like Hitgirl. She never plays.

I thought she was just a particularly smart and strange cat, and we were gullible because she was our first kitty.

Freya is also perfect. And this is her favoritespot.

Spartacus Jones isn't as smart as Freya, but I think I've underestimated him.  He was SUPPOSED to go to the Humane Society when we found him. Then he made a sneaky, adorable bid to stay that completely suckered us (Mostly me) into keeping him.

Now I wake up between 4:30 to 5:30 a.m. every morning. That's when Spartacus Jones swats lovingly at my nose until I get up and feed him the wet stuff. (Oh--and I alternate the flavors of the wet food--so their palates don't get bored.)  If I don't? He pokes at  Freya. Who, as I mentioned, never plays. Swats to the nose? Or constant hissing and growling from Hitcat? If I shut him outside the room? He cries like he's starving to death. There's dry food, Sweetie. Can't you just eat the fucking kibble?

He's decided he likes brushing. A lot. Every time I walk past the table, he jumps on it, and lounges suggestively. Brush me. Brush me! BRUSH ME MEOW!

Hi Babieeee!

I've decided all his demands on my time are for meditation purposes. When he demands that I brush him, I do it, and he rewards me with purrs and cute faces, and gives me  direction on where to brush him next. When he tries to lure me downstairs for his own prefered cuddle time, (That's his territory) I tell myself it's not so cold, and there's not that many spiders and capitulate. I mean, he's just so sweet. Plus I can get some laundry done, right?

When did this happen? How did I come to this? A weird woman (Okay, I was always weird--BUT) who baby-talks and caters to the whims of CATS? Sigh...I am a cat slave after all.

Here's a photo of our late boy, Sully. This is the face that destroyed the rule of 'no cats on the table'.I couldn't resist him. Sigh...

Miffed but in Denial

Yeah...I think that's how I feel. I should probably be more miffed, but I'm sure the denial helps with that.

It seems that a certain publishing titan is removing reviews based on the fact that the author 'knows' the review writer. Sounds silly, doesn't it?

I mean, isn't that the point of networking? To reach your readers, bloggers and other authors? Isn't that the reason we do blog tours and create author pages? To get people to buy our books, read them, and write reviews? Incidentally, here's a link to my author page: Donna Milward, Author

It's actually been going on for some time, but I've been reluctant to comment on it, because I don't want to bite the hand that feeds me.

It doesn't make any sense. Writers work hard to connect to people in order to entice them to buy our books. I am still a firm believer that if a reader likes an author as a person, they will like their work. So they like your page in order to connect back, and writers are being punished for it? Maybe we're supposed to wall ourselves off from humanity in order to write MORE?  Are they willing to do ALL our marketing for us? Most writers never even talk to all the people who follow them on social media. We're talking hundreds and sometimes thousands of people here!

I'm in denial, because I honestly believe this idea won't stand, and will soon be abandoned. If this titan uses algorithms to remove all reviews, then eventually there will be precious few reviews left for any author. And that's bad business. It's also about control, and that's a little scary. It's anti-community.

I think we should hold our ground. Write those reviews, and let our feelings about removed reviews be known. And you don't just have to review books on their site either. There's always blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads. Leave the titan in the darkness of Tartarus if it wants to be stubborn.

I'm going to go about my business as usual. I'm going to write, blog, and write reviews. I will support my fellow authors when I can, and talk to my readers. I'm miffed, but I'm hoping this will all blow over eventually.

Apologies to my Readers

Cover by: Anima Black

Dear Readers. I should be promoting this novella, but I'm sort of avoiding you. The reason is...I feel kind of bad.

Yes, 'Her True Name:Volume One' is available for purchase, but...There is an issue concerning formatting.

It started with a conversation between Sage and the Energy in the prologue. The original version has the Energy speaking  in a stunning Papyrus font, and that's what created the problem.

You see, Createspace doesn't accept any font other than Times New Roman. So it just ignored the font, and replaced it with Times New Roman. I've been trying to fix it since.

Yes, I am aware that I can 'embed' the font, but no, I'm not smart enough to do it. It may as well be math, because that's what it looks like to me..

You know what irritates me? In highschool I had a 92% average in computers. I had a decent grade in typing too. Flash forward a decade or so without using either, and here we are. Everything I learned in highschool computer class is utterly obsolete. I type with two fingers, and I require hands-on help to do the simplest task on my computer. I even needed help to start this blog years ago. Did you know I can't even take a screen shot? I have to pay Heather Savage to do my formatting, because I can't do that either.

I'm digressing. Anyway, my point is, I've made several attempts to fix the problem, but I think I'm making it worse. My novella looks like it was written by a hack. Okay, maybe not that bad, but that's what it feels like. If you'd read any of my stuff, you know I can write! Right?

My big fear is that readers will check out the first chapter of an otherwise decently written novella and say, "Oh for God's sake! This woman can't write! Look at the errors!" Ugh...I'm so sorry.

But I've learned many valuable lessons from my first messy stab at self-publishing. Painful ones that will stick with me a loooong time, so please bear with me. I've still got more books in me--Like Volume Two of this series, and 'Elaina's Fate', which bring me pleasure to compose. I'm hoping to get 'Chasing Monsters' out next, time and finances willing.

If you hang with me, I promise to give you villains to hate, characters to love, and adventures in mythology and reincarnation.

And someday, I will laaaaaugh at this. Thanks for reading <3

Dare to Publish TWICE!

Cover art by: Anima Black

Hey! Hope you all had a Happy Canada Day!

So...I did this thing since the last time I posted. I published 'Her True Name: Volume One'. Sorry I didn't tell everyone sooner, but I've been waiting for something ELSE to go wrong. (Thank you Heather Savage and Kathy Steinemann for your endless patience.) It didn't, so here we are...HER TRUE NAME: VOLUME ONE Finally!!

As you will notice, it's e-book only in the U.S. That's because it's only twenty-five thousand words. Hardly worth printing. Also, it's a series, and since I don't really know how many installments there will be, I can't expect readers to buy them all at an escalated print-out price. After all, it starts in ancient Egypt and ends this century.

The bad news, is that it's ONLY available through Amazon. The good news is that's because  I signed up for Kindle Unlimited. Think of it as Netflix for books. You pay one price, and you can read as many books as you like for the month! That means my other novels and any others signed up for KU. I also signed up to Amazon's terms because they'll take care of a lot of marketing and promotions for me. You know...The stuff I HATE doing? We'll see how this goes. Right now, I'm just really relieved things are going well. Oh, and if you don't want to sign up for Kindle Unlimited, my novella is still available to all. You might wish to wait until Amazon puts it on special.

CORRECTIONAL NOTE: Yes, this book is available in Canada through amazon.ca. Sorry, I should have mentioned that. I think it's international as well.

Would you like an excerpt? I hope you like it.

     Salvia swallowed her trepidation and forced herself to calm. She was never good at hiding her emotions, but she would have to learn if he was to come to her home every day. She picked at the folds of her garment, trying to present herself as tidy as possible. She wore white. Her jewelry marked her importance as lady of the house, with her hair up, bejeweled in gold scarabs. He would respect her importance.

     “Mistress?”

     Salvia stood straighter. “Yes?”

     Her servant lowered her eyes as she entered the room. “The scholar has arrived.”

     Salvia nodded. “Bring him to me.” Her stomach dropped the moment her maid turned her back. Why did her knees shake? What was wrong with her?

     Too quickly the servant returned with Theophrastus, and Salvia found herself gifted with amazement.

     His clothing was washed and white, no longer dusted with memories of his long journey and in good repair. His hands were clean and his head shaved. His demeanor suggested supplication she hadn’t expected.

     She caught her breath at the sight of him, remembering his naked torso glistening in the moonlight, how his song touched her now racing heart. It was unlike her to feel this way. It excited and mortified her.

     “Mistress Salvia,” He was smiling at her. She didn’t trust it. “I am pleased to be in your presence, and I look forward to teaching your children.” Awkward silence ensued, even after the servant excused herself from the room.  He sighed and tried again to elicit conversation. “You were only a child when I left for the city. Did you know it was I who delivered you? I was a few years younger than your age at the time.”

     “I am aware of that.” Salvia couldn’t bring herself to let her guard down. He was only being contrite because her husband hired him. His pleasantries were meaningless.

     Theophrastus dropped his gaze to the ground. “I must apologize,” he said, and Salvia felt her anger lifting. He was full of surprises today. “I should not have placed judgement on you. Femi told me of your generosity and kindness. As an educated man, I should know better than to form opinions based on appearances. I ask for forgiveness.” 

     The gods must be playing with her. Where did this sudden change of heart come from? Worse still she knew she would relent.

I'd also like to tell you Volume Two will take place in Uppsala, Sweden, in the time of the Funnel-beakers. I hope to have that one out next year, barring any other 'glitches'. Enjoy!

Dare to Publish

I finally got my own copies of 'Dare to Shine', and I'm SO PROUD. Oh, and check out the new dye job. I'll be putting the black back on the ends too.

Things are looking up around here. I'm still working pretty much full time. Hours are dwindling, as usual during summer, but for once I'm not panicking.

My troll has more work, and we're doing alright. He doesn't even need to leave the city for it either, much to our relief. It's business as usual, and things are pretty much normal.

Even the writing thing is going well. I'm proud to announce that both 'Thoeba' and 'Aphrodite's War' are now published under my own name via Createspace and Amazon. I have signed them both up for Kindle Unlimited, because there are some very distinct advantages for doing so both for myself and readers. Don't worry...if it turns out to be a bad thing, I can back out. But to me, it looks like a pretty fair shake.

Best of all? 'Her True Name: Volume One" is another step closer to making it to market.

Cover by: Anima Black

I've fixed the tax issue, which was more complicated than it needed to be, but at least it's over. The issue is now a formatting glitch. Unfortunately, it was my fault it happened, but I need help to fix it. That means dragging Heather Savage of Staccato Publishing away from important stuff to get it done. She's doing her best, but she's a very busy woman. Sorry Heather...And I'm sorry to my readers too. I'm hoping this will be the last time this will be so damned complicated. I'm hoping that after we fix this little problem, it will be a matter of a few quick clicks.

It is my hope that from there, we can finally find the time and money to put out 'Chasing Monsters'. I know I've been saying that for a couple of years now, but life got in the way. I'm hoping that this will finally be MY year to get my work out there. Wish me luck.

In the meantime, I implore you to get your own copy of "Dare to Shine." ONE HUNDRED percent of sales go to The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, and it's a cause I'm proud to be a part of.

While He Was Away

Cleaning out my bathroom.

I feel like a terrible wife.

My husband FINALLY got some work, and three weeks of it was out of town, hundreds of miles north. When I wasn't at work, I was all alone with the cats in the house. I was a good girl. Why am I a terrible wife? I'm getting to that.

If you know me, or even follow this blog a bit, you'll know that I've been working full time after my husband got laid off. I didn't really mind. I enjoy it, and I've dropped a couple of sizes. The bills are getting paid, including the mortgage.

While he was away, we kept in touch through e-mails, because cell service was dubious. I learned that the food wasn't great, and that he had to share a few bathrooms with the whole floor. He had to buy sandals, because the bathroom floor was always wet. Sleep? Forget it. It's constant daylight up there right now, and the curtains didn't help much. I KNEW I should have sent him with tin foil and maybe a sleep mask...Not that he'd wear one.

Before he left, I joked with my friends about whether or not I would actually experience 'loneliness'. I don't get enough alone time these days. Almost twenty years with the same man--you'd think I'd be pining for his embrace, longing for his touch...

I slept like solid stone. The first night, as I warily turned out the lights, (not really fond of the dark) and the tv, (or silence) and wondered how I would sleep, I dropped off. And woke more well rested than I had been in months, possibly years! Well, aside from the nightly cat fight, of course. I can't believe how well I slept! No snoring, no random muttering or arm waving, no cuddling that shuffled me to the edge of the bed, no pillow stealing, no heavy leg dropped on my person...I threw off the covers upon rising, threw them back over. Voila. The bed is made again. Slept. Like a stone, I tell you.

I got lots done. The first thing I did when I got home from the airport was clean the house. And yeah, it still looks pretty good, but I know the toast crumbs are coming. I know I'm not the first wife, nor will I be the last, to say that nothing gets done when hubby is home. Right? I finished most of my spring cleaning, mowed the lawn, weeded the garden and wrote to my heart's content. I kept occupied, not just to ward off feels of missing him, but because I had all the time in the world to do what I needed to get done. The power bill went down by fifteen dollars.

This is how the bathroom looks when it's clean and there's no stuff in it.

Turns out, it was as I suspected. I am an extrovert who appreciates her own company. I don't know what 'lonely' means. In fact, it felt like a little vacation. Does that make me a terrible wife? The fact that I didn't miss him as much as he missed me? That I could easily do it again?

Actually, the one thing I REALLY missed was his presence. I missed not being able to talk to him whenever I pleased. Often times I turned to read him what I'd just written, only to realize he wasn't there to listen or offer his opinion. Okay, that made me feel a little lost. Not to mention that's a lot of yard to tackle by oneself.

Times are tough these days, and if you find yourself home alone while your spouse is it work, here's what I know, and I hope you find it useful

DON'T mention your spouse's absence on social media---EVER. While your friends may be trustworthy, there's always a random chance some hackers, or even just someone who trolls can find you, and know when you're not home...or worse, when you ARE.

DON'T tell your neighbors. They all talk amongst themselves. Especially the renters next door. Let them wonder and be unsure. There's a DO on that, but I'll get to that later.

DON'T forget to lock all doors, even your shed doors.

DO tell your co-workers. Mine don't even know exactly where I live, but they know if I don't show up for work--there's a serious problem. My manager knows my address,

DO use an alarm system, if you have one. Although my alarm system is no longer connected to the server. (we cut it to save money) I sleep better knowing it will STILL beep LOUDLY in the event someone comes through that door while I dream.

DO tell the neighbors you trust. Mine are across the street. I trust them so much, they are family now, and they have keys to my house. They check in on me frequently, and they know my cats. My cats like them. (Thank you to the Raju family <3)

DO spend some extra time comforting and loving your pets. Mine, and many other pets, are smart enough to figure out that luggage means someone is leaving, but there's no way of telling them when that someone is coming back. I saw behavior in my furkids that I wish I could have fixed. Although Spartacus Jones is MY baby, Dan's prolonged absence had a disturbing effect on his appetite and attitude after two weeks.

Now that he's home, they've gone back to acknowledging him when they want food. All is back to normal. I'm off to work, but I know the troll will be the one to mow the lawn this time.

And it's really nice to know he'll be here when I get home. That actually cheers me a great deal.