February 2026

This is my birth month. Another year older. But not necessarily wiser.

I’ve been re-reading a mystery series that I just love. She hasn’t come out with a new book in that series in a while and her one website/blog has gone inactive. I hope she hasn’t stopped writing. I love the series and would love to see more.

Some writing did get done. I’m trying to slip back into my routine and get at least one book done by April. But social media is just so dang distracting. After I do my emails I just surf on in to FB and IG. I got 4 emails to look at, 2 are for book stuff, 1 for misc, and 1 is personal. Can take up a lot of time just on that, then I have 3 FB pages which I don’t even really update. I have hard enough time trying to stay current with IG. I think a lot of authors struggle with keeping up with social media. There are only so many hours in the day. We have daily activities/chores that we have to do. And a lot of authors still work a day job as well. I still think a brain to print interface needs to be invented, speech to print ain’t fast enough and can usually cause a lot of word errors.

We’ve been having some warm days, up in the 60’s. The cats are loving it of course. They’re being frisky. The males are chasing the females who are irritated with all that. Not time yet as far as they’re concerned. But you know males have only one thing on their minds when they think spring is here.

I signed up for two in-person events this spring. Author Expo in the Nixa Library is happening April 25 and Triple Treasures Marketplace in Hardenville, MO is May 9th. The TTMP is confirmed but I haven’t heard back from the Expo yet. But we have a while yet. I also signed up for the writer’s conference in June to save a place but I may not go as that one depends on several factors. More about them when it gets closer to time.

Dragon’s Heart has only sold a few copies and no one has rated it yet. I don’t know if that’s because it’s new or because people don’t think it’s worth a rating. My muse just wanted me to get it out of my head. It was taking up valuable real estate. It had been in my head a long time, sitting there like a stone. Other stories were bouncing off of it. I was having a hard time concentrating on other stories long enough to write. Some stories are like that. I promised myself that I would publish whatever I wrote, even if I considered them a ‘dud’. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure as they say. Each book still gets a going through for editing but no one’s perfect.

I got to feed the cats soon and I have to open a new bag. So I’ll catch you on the flip side. Stay tuned for the next installment.

February 20, 2026 0

December 2025

Well, December is here. I’ve been a little depressed this last week so I didn’t write here as I normally would during the first week of the month. Seasonal Disorder has been a bummer for me. I hate that it gets dark so early. Normally I would be writing but my muse has been absenteeing. She’s been ignoring the story voices. That’s rare thing for her, yet she’s been doing it for the last month. However the voices don’t like to be ignored and I am getting restless. Come the new year I’m going to sit down and we are all going to have a chat.

It’s been colder here this month, below 40. Couple of times there’s been ice in the water pans. I’ve been putting out a bit more food for the ferals. We keep an extra bag of dry in case we can’t get out right away. Most of the older cats hunt but the younger ones, I’m not sure about. I’ve never seen them with anything. The squirrels and birds are fast around here and the older ones rarely catch them either but I have seen them with rabbits and field mice from the field behind our lot. A few of the young ferals sit on my parent’s back porch and watch the bird feeders, such intensity. Some even twitch.

I read and reviewed the two book club books I was behind on. However I still have to read the last book. I still don’t have any gumption for doing anything right now. But I’ll get that last book read and reviewed before the end of month. As I said Seasonal Disorder is kicking my butt. I’llget over it though. I usually do once the holidays are over and the new year has begun. Something about starting fresh jolts those blues away.

I’m organizing my goals for next year. I have plans, things I want to get done. Whether my muse cooperates is another thing.

Gotta go. Catch you on the flip side. Stay tuned for the next installment.

December 12, 2025 0

September 2025

Greetings!

September is here meaning Hootin An Hollarin. The craft fair starts the third Thursday of the month at 530 p.m. with music and pageantry that night and full on fair Friday and Saturday. There will be demonstrations and games as well as the craft displays. I have the same booth as I’ve had since I’ve started doing the fair. It’s convenient to both food and the necessity(porta potty). I have pubbed two books since the last fair so perhaps I may get a sale or two from that. There will also be keychains and bookmarks I’ve done. Hopefully we will have a good turnout.

One of our female ferals had a litter of kittens under my trailer where a pipe is closed in with insulation. I think that she was there when she had went into labor and decided to keep them there, at least until she can scout a better location near by. 5 little shrimps. They’ve been there for about two weeks now, maybe longer as I wouldn’t have noticed them except that they cried that day. Looks to be 3 tabbies and 2 greys as far as I can tell. I’ll try to snag a pic of them when mama leaves.

New month, new book club book. This one is a paranormal romance I think so it shouldn’t be too much of a struggle for me to read as I like that kind of book.

I’ve been following a youtube channel guy who’s renovating a house in the middle of a forest overseas and a woman in the UK who bought a rundown house at auction to renovate. So I haven’t really been writing or reading much. My muse is just not in a hurry right now since I’ve finished writing that book. I think the intensity it pushed tired it out. But I plan to get two novellas done before the end of the year.

This one’s gonna be short. The ferals are waiting for their lunch outside in the shade between my door and where the food bin is. Stay tuned for the next installment.

September 1, 2025 0

August 2025

Already 8 months into this year. Time seems to be going both fast and slow. The months seem to be coming fast but during the month it seems slow.

Been reading more than writing. My muse is being somewhat quiet this month which is nice in a way after the way she was, however I need her to get into gear and get this WIP done so I have something new for Hootin An Hollarin. But my muse is fickle, and other muses can hop in and take over. As I said last month herding plot bunnies is hard; those hind legs really pack a oomp when they hit, and they can be vicious and tenacious. The quiet ones get overwhelmed if I don’t keep at it. Sometimes even if I do.

Started on the book club book for this month. I just can’t seem to get into it though. I’ll get it read & reviewed but it ain’t gonna be easy. It might just be because I’ve been reading cozy mysteries and this definitely ain’t. It’s a suspense. Which I normally like. However I just can’t relate to this book. I don’t know.

The ferals have been lying in the shade all passed out this last week since the heat index has been around 105* on the ‘cool’ days and the humidity has been around 85%. There’s plenty of water. Even the kittens have been napping. Our weather lady said it will be cooler this coming week and we may even have some rain. We’ll all have some relief. Still haven’t named any of the kittens. Only 7 of them show up consistently.

Breaktime is over and I have to go outside and check the water pans before I do anything else. AS I said there’ plenty of water but I like to keep them full as possible. Stay tuned for the next installment.

August 1, 2025 0

July 2025

July is here. Over half the year is gone already. The summer heat has started, and it’s been alternating with rain or blazing sun. With all the rain we’re getting, I think August and September may be ‘dry’ months. I just hope September is fairly cool for Hootin An Hollarin. I don’t want to cook while I attend my booth.

As my last post said, I finished my WIP Dragon’s Heart. My Mary-Sue muse was harsh. She wouldn’t do more than a page a day and wouldn’t let me work on any of the other WIPs. Almost OCD. But it’s done. Not my greatest work, but then forced work never is.

Novella 3 of the Elemental Voice Companion series is moving along. I hope to get it out by September. Book 5 of EV and Novella 4 of EVC will be next on the agenda after. Unless my muse switches up. Which, you never know, they might. I want to get the Elemental Voice series done, though. I have over 15 books out and not one series finished. My muse is fickle, and other muses hop in and take over. Herding plot bunnies is hard; those hind legs really pack a oomp when they hit, and they can be vicious and tenacious.

Already read this month’s book club book and did the review last month. So that’s done, and I’ve been reading cozy mysteries. Some of them are okay, but a few are not my cup of tea. They sound interesting, yet they don’t go the way I like. Quick, easy reads, though.

The ferals have been lounging in the shade, watching the kittens run around. None of the kittens let me get near them yet. They’re still wild. The mamas rub up against me when I feed them. Hurry up, they’re no doubt saying. Haven’t named the kittens yet. Not really anyway. I’ve been calling them little grey or orangy. But no real names.

My clock says it’s lunch time for me. The ferals already had their lunch. Stay tuned for the next installment.

July 1, 2025 0

June 2025

Halfway through the year already, and I haven’t published a book yet. I’m still working on my WIP. I have two more books I want to get out, but I can’t work on them until I get this thing done. My muse is being so fickle about it. She won’t let me work on anything else til I get this done. It’s irritating me. But my muse wants this written now. It was at the bottom of my queue, but she shoved it in front and said, ‘Do this’. Like I don’t have thousands of books to write in my queue.

Anyway, Summer’s here officially now. Mornings we do a little bit outside, then have lunch and sit in a/c for a few hours after. Evenings we go outside for a while as well, once the sun has moved a bit. The ferals are haunting the shade, and the little babies aren’t so little anymore. They’re growing a little bit and playing around with mamas keeping an eye on ’em. There are three water bowls for them near the feeding boards and a metal container full of rainwater that they like to use, so they’ve got plenty of water. All the kittens have started to eat the dry cat food so I’ve increased the amount a bit in the three main feedings. Before I go in at night I put a little out. I figure that mamas need a little extra. 🙂

Did last month’s book club book. It was actually good. At first I thought it was going to be a retelling of David and Goliath but it wasn’t. It did have giants and battles but most of it was a coming of age tale of a slave who became a champion of his people. Slayer of Nephilim by Daniel Moots. This month’s a romance and one I normally wouldn’t read as it’s not paranormal. We’ll see how it goes.

My in-person TTMP event last month was okay. I didn’t sell much. Of course I didn’t have anything new. Hootin An Hollarin is up next in September and then another TTMP event in October. I’m hoping to have new books for both.

I didn’t do a cover last month. I’ll see about doing it this month. I need to build up my covers. They keep me on track with what I’m writing. If I have the cover I have to do the book.

Time to feed the ferals their last main feeding. Stay tune for the next installment.

June 1, 2025 0

May 2025

Almost half way through the year. April indeed was wet but the flowers have already bloomed and some have come and gone.

We’ve been sitting outside on the porch in the evenings for a bit and doing odd ‘projects’ here and there before dark. Now that it doesn’t get dark until after 8p.m. The ferals have been hanging around napping while we sit on the porch and some of the females seem to have had their kittens. Now that it’s warm the cats don’t eat as much. There’s leftovers after they go through and I’ve cut down to 3 feedings a day.

Time to start reading the next book club book. The other members read mine and gave me fair reviews. I can’t afford an editor and I usually go for a proofreader but sometimes even they miss things. However I think I didn’t have either for Bone, just spellchecker. So I agree about the grammar errors. When I read a book if I get immersed in it I don’t even see the typos.

I have not finished my main WIP. My muse is adding things in, fleshing out some more. It’s gonna be published this month one way or another. I have two novellas I want to get out by September. This WIP is a little different than my other books. Probably why my muse is being so fickle with it.

I have an in-person event this first Saturday of the month at Hardenville, MO. Triple Treasures Market Place. I also signed up for Hootin An Hollarin at Gainesville, MO in the third week of September. These are probably the only 2 I will be going to as funds are short. Unless I get a lot of sales this month. And I do mean a lot. 🙂

I have picked a cover to do this month. The cover for book 3 of the Bone Whisperer series. That is if I can. Money isn’t a sure thing right now.

The clock says it’s lunchtime and so does my stomach. Stay tune for the next installment.

May 1, 2025 0

Last of May

This month is almost gone. Another week and it’s a new month.

I’m almost finished with Emergent, a book in the Time-Lost series. I hope to get it done before June but it may be a little into the month when I do finish. Then I have to wait 30 days before I can publish it as an ebook/book on Kindle. I’m also moving along on book 2 of Bone Whisperer. Book 1 of OF Curses and Gods is coming along too. IF nothing else Vella helps me write more on a timeline than just winging it.

Speaking of Vella my bonus was not so good for April. Of course I didn’t have a lot of reads nor it seems a lot of reader participation so I’m hoping I get more this month. But as I said before whatever I get is gravy. I’m getting paid as I write so that’s a good thing. Am I disappointed? Yes, but at least I’ve gotten something.

Two weeks and I’ll be at Between The Pages Writer’s Conference in Springfield, MO. Can’t wait.

Hopefully I’ll get my new glasses this week. They said two weeks and Tuesday the 28th will be 2 weeks. My normal pair broke. I’m wearin’ an old pair right now. I’d be nearly blind without them. I can read without glasses but anything past my nose starts to blur. I can’t even see the chart on the wall, much less that big E without glasses. The frame is pretty but it was hard for me to tell if they really looked good on me since I can’t SEE. Mom liked them so I guess they will do.

I’m gonna have ta see about a new author photo. Can you believe my old one is over 20 years old? And with new glasses coming I think I should do a new one. I may get one at the BTP conference.

Have you read A Playground of Bones yet? It is a mix of paranormal murder mystery and paranormal women’s fiction. She is not a 20 something nor is she in her 60’s but she is an woman in her late 30’s, early 40’s with some life experience behind her. I added a bit of local history to the mix of folklore I used for this book. If you’re looking for your next read, try out my book, A Playground of Bones.

Still running the naming contest for book 5 of Elemental Voice series. My Muse is as I said being fickle and only giving me bits and pieces right now. Which is going in the book bible. I am looking for inspiration into their personalities through names. Are they pompous, pretentious, practical or precocious? My muse is givin’ me some vague ideas right now. I’d like to flesh them out a bit. If you got a good name for a vampire matriarch, her vampire PA, her vampire head of security, a human villain, or a morally grey vampire assassin give it a try. You may win a signed book or a signed bookplate whichever you choose as well as being mentioned in the author notes. So put your email and the name(s) in a comment if you think of one.

Stay tuned for the next installment.