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It’s been hot this week, and is going to get stupid hot for a few days next week. This means that I’m doing more things in the early morning so I can be inside during the heat of the day.
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Because summer is finally really here, we’ve started the watering routine. It takes three to four hours to water everything. We have a drip hose system for part of it, sprinklers, as well as some hand watering that we do. Basically, it’s set the hose up, let it run, switch to the other hose, let it run, and so on. We’ve gotten it down to a good system. It still takes time.
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One of the things I’ve been more focused on is smoking meats that can be served cold, like summer sausage and roast beef (top or bottom round). Last week, I cured pork belly, which is the cut I use for bacon. On Friday, I smoked it. This morning, we cooked up the ends. Yum.
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Currently, I’m curing pork loin, which is the cut used for what is commonly called Canadian Bacon. That isn’t smoked but cooked on the grill. I’ll be able to slice it and eat it cold.
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So here’s a picture of Bobby, my grill, when he’s in his “smoke” phase, getting warmed up for a cook.
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On the writing side of things, I’m close to finishing up “Death by Brisket,” the first of the Las Chicas de Carne novels.
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I’ve been having some issues with the writing. It took me a while to figure out that I’d allowed the marketing troll into the writing office. I haven’t done that in such a long time! But I was too focused on what I was going to do after I finished the novel, as opposed to paying attention to actually, you know, finishing the novel.
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What does that look like for me? I’m glad you asked!
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I sometimes write the blurb for a book before I write it, or while I’m in the middle of writing it. The blurb, in a way, acts as kind of an outline for me. Then, as I’m writing, I’ll either make sure that the book matches the blurb, or I’ll rewrite the blurb as I’m going along. It makes sense in my head.
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This time, I went a bit further. The main character mentions the Las Chicas de Carne logo a couple of times. But I didn’t know what exactly that looked like.
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So I hired a designer on Fiverr and got myself a logo that I LOVE. And I may have also then gone ahead and played one morning, coming up with the cover. And I started planning out a potential Kickstarter campaign for the launch of the novel, doing it the first week of October to be part of the Kickstarter Witchtober marketing. And…
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You can see where my energy was going. Not to the writing, but to the things that would happen afterward.
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Once I figured out that this was an actual problem, I pulled myself back and got refocused on the writing.
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And guess what? Suddenly, the writing was easy again! I found my thoughts sliding off a couple of times that first day and had to pull myself back again. But it was very obvious to me that I’d gotten myself messed up.
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Fingers crossed, I’ll finish the novel in the next week or so. Don’t know what the novel after that is. Possibly the next Hell Hound book. Possibly the next Portal Keepers book. Or possibly something else wild and crazy. I may start a new science fiction series, since I always like having one of those humming in the background.
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I won’t be starting the fantasy mystery. I really want to take my time doing all the world building for that, which means I keep coming up with various lines and settings and magic and situations and writing those down in a file on my phone. Maybe I’ll start that after I finish the next novel. Maybe not.
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Anyway, I figured I’d show you the logo that I got. And I’m still thinking about doing stickers using it...
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A cozy fantasy tale about ice, fire, love, and snow cones!
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When El the Ice Elf asks Mara the fire elemental to marry her, she expects an immediate YES!
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However, a distinct maybe hangs between them.
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Not due to a lack of love, but a lack of tradition.
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The Elves have oodles of ceremonies to choose from.
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As a fire elemental, Mara is singular. She doesn’t know any other fire elementals. She has no true kin. She does want to get married…but the ceremony has to have meaning for both of them.
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El vows to go with Mara to the ends of the world to find rites for Mara to call her own.
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Follow this unlikely couple as they defined themselves, their rituals, and their love in the cozy fantasy sequel to The Ice Elf & The Snow Cone.
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To celebrate the release of the second book in the follow-on series, (First in the Field) the first book of the first series is on sale for just $0.99!
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Also on sale for the month of July!
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Available for the month of July for only $5.99!
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A different kind of ugly duckling story.
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Follow the coming-of-age story of Christina as she goes from thinking of herself as a regular human along her path of discovery as a changeling trolling.
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A new-adult, urban fantasy trilogy through a skewed Seattle and Christina's encounters with outrageous and whimsical characters.
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Includes the following novels:
The Changeling Troll
The Princess Troll
The Fairy-Bridge Troll
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