Worth the money, an open book blog hop post

 

Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.

What is the best money you've ever spent in your writing endeavors? What's the worst?

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Up until recently, my work was traditionally published, so I didn't really spend money on the big things like editing, books covers, formatting, etc. All that was on the publisher. 

 So, I mostly spent money on infrastructure for events (tables, tents, banners, swag) and publicity. In that vein, the best thing I did was hiring an artist to make graphic versions of my characters that I could use for publicity. I've got more than my money's worth using them for social media posts, advertisting, etc. 

4 memes I made using the images by Charles C. Dowd

 

The worst/least useful was review services. They either didn't deliver, or what they delivered disappointed. And I felt skeezy for doing it, sort of shady.  

Logo from a useful YouTube channel about indie publishing

 

Now I'm working on my first indie projects, and editing is the best thing I'm spending money on. I have good critique partners, so I prepare a relatively clean manuscript, but a fresh pair of well-trained eyes at the end will catch all those little inconsistencies and unclear moments that you can no longer see because you're too close to the project. Definitely money well spent. 

I've also spent money on book covers, ISBNs, and software. So far, all of this feels worthwhile. My "sunk cost" will definitely be higher at the outset to produce indie books, but making all the decisions myslef has been exciting and I think I'll be happy at the end. We'll find out when I get there I guess :-)

So, on the indie end, I don't have any expenses I regret. I'm sure they will come, but they haven't found me quite yet.  

 How about you? If you write, what have you been spending your publishing dollars on? Any praise or regrets?  If you read, what kind of publishing things seem worth spending money on from your perspective? I'd love to hear from you in the comments. 

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COVID 2025: my third rodeo

Hey there strangers, how have you been? I guess it’s only been a week, but I feel like I’ve been down in the pit of COVID forever, you know? But now that I’m mostly out on the other side, I’m restless, but still not allowed to push myself, so you get a blog post since I’m back to being able to handle screentime. 

So, COVID. 

 How did it go this time? 

This was my third rodeo (the other two acquired in travel scenarios in 2022 and 2024) and my worst one for how I actually felt. I think I've kept with recommended boosters pretty well. My last shot was December 2024.

 I don’t know how I caught it. I work from home, so I don’t interact in close quarters with many people. I wasn’t traveling or spending time with anyone obviously ill, but I did go to a cooking class and go grocery shopping last weekend, so those are my best guesses.

Monday: Woke with a bit of a sore throat and stuffy head, but ignored it. After all, “stuffy head” is almost my natural state with seasonal and dust allergies and tired is sort of normal for me too, between being over 50, parenting young adults, and perimenopause. It’s everyone’s favorite game of “Am I sick, or is this just how life feels now?”

I went about a very busy day of work, taking the Kiddo’s bestie to a farewell breakfast (they're leaving for college), and taking the Kiddo out to the community college to get set up for next semester. I can only hope I didn’t actually infect anyone while I didn’t know I was ill.

Tuesday: Definitely didn’t feel good. 

Slumpy is the best descriptor I think. 

I still worked. Luckily my day job allows me to work from home and I could space out on my office sofa between meetings. I was having some weird gastro-intestinal feelings similar to how I felt before my gall bladder went bad, so I put in a call to my doctor and got a Wednesday appointment. Can’t say I put in my fullest 8 hours ever, but I muddled through. I was supposed to take the Kiddo to an open house at the college, but Sweetman took that over when it was clear how bad I actually felt. I took an antihistamine and went to bed at 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday: I already had the day off since I was supposed to help move the Kiddo’s bestie into their dorm. Sweetman took that duty over. It was clear I could NOT handle six hours of driving (there and back) and hauling boxes and the like. Sweetman suggested a COVID test because even though I had taken an antihistamine (which normally knocks me out like I’ve been punched by Mohammed Ali), I had a thrashy, restless night. 

And damnit, yes, COVID.

So, quick change of plans. Doctor’s visit moved to virtual, then cancelled all together and rescheduled for next week. They offered me Paxlovid, which I refused because so many folks I know who’ve taken it just end up getting sick twice, with a rebound case.

The day went by in a haze. I had a viscous headache that felt like a steel bolt had been driven through half my head, so mostly I laid around, moaned, and went back to sleep. Any kind of screen time spiked that pain, so I barely connected with the outer world at all.

Our family protocol for other illnesses has been to isolate, so I washed my hands really well and put on a mask whenever I had to venture out of the bedroom for dog care or sustenance seeking. It was all I could do to make myself consume Lipton’s chicken soup and some water.

Once Sweetman and the Kiddo were back, we packed him up and sent him to a hotel because I wasn’t so sick I couldn’t see to myself, and we wanted to prioritize keeping him from catching it–the sofa isn’t a great option for that tall man and we don’t have a guest room. He’d already been exposed, of course, sharing the bed with me during those first two nights, but so far he had no symptoms and was testing negative. Kiddo and I stayed home, acting like we lived in adjoining apartments and communicating only by text. Elder Kiddo (grown and flown) brought me some takeout which I ate more of than I would have anticipated being able to consume. Bedtime and antihistamines again.

Thursday: Set an alarm so I could ascertain whether I might be able to work or not. The answer was definitely “NO!” That searing headache was still there, and I’d had a horrid night of thrashing, acid reflux that led to vomiting. 

I called it, suffering through a few minutes screen exposure to let my manager know and put through my leave request. This was the worst day in terms of how I felt. I drifted in and out of consciousness, and took extra showers to try to open my head a little with steam.

Of course, because I was unable to get my brain to function, there were things to deal with. The kid was in a fender-bender accident on their way out to the college to register for classes. Now that I’m coherent again and have gotten the full story, I’m super proud of how well they handled that very stressful situation and still got out to the college and got registered. Poor Sweetman had to abandon his work early to trade cars with the kid and help handle the logistics. When they tried to talk to me about it, I couldn’t focus at all and wasn’t sure later if I hadn’t fever-dreamed the whole thing (yeah, the dreams have been WILD this whole time).

Sweetman swung by in the afternoon to drop off supplies and, masked up and gloved, helped clean up some of the detritus of my being sick for several days, taking out the garbage and bringing more supplies upstairs for me, handling one of the dog outings so I wouldn’t have to, then back to the hotel with him to keep him well if possible.

When my headache finally broke around supper time, I watched a movie (Ballerina, 2025). Great movie, but a bad idea and I went to bed with a returned headache that made it hard to sleep.

Friday: Woke with that same searing headache and called in sick once more. That pretty much finishes my sick leave for this year. I can be sick (and paid) for 12 more hours in 2025 (and it’s new that contractors like me even get sick leave at all–so there’s a small favor). Despite the headache, I fumbled through dog care in the morning (masked up for movement through the house), trying to leave the Kiddo free to get themselves out for an appointment.

After that, it was back to bed for me. Miraculously, after the next round of napping, my headache was gone. I was smart this time, though, and still stayed 80% offscreen all afternoon, only using my phone a little and that with the brightness turned as low as it could go. It was clear something had broken, because I was restless. I had the energy to feel restless. So I washed up and masked up again so I could do a couple of small things around the house like take my dirty dishes downstairs, and put on gloves so I could wash some of the dishes at low risk of infecting the Kiddo or Sweetman.

At 3:20, I got a text from my cover artist, asking me if our zoom meeting was still on (it had been scheduled for 3:00). After apologizing for ghosting her (who knows what day or time it is in COVID land…and staying off screen meant I wasn’t obsessing on my calendar like I usually do), we decided to still meet and I spent a lovely half hour looking at pictures from her trip to Iceland (SOOOOOO gorgeous–I definitely need to go there) and at sketches for the first of three covers she’s making for me.

I was energized by that–this whole process is so exciting! And the zoom meeting had NOT given me a headache (HURRAY!), so I spent my afternoon working on writing life things. No actual writing–my brain wasn’t that good yet--but administrative stuff like updating my submissions tracker, submitting a couple of stories, adding my “about the editor” page to the interior design of Not Too Late, and getting a wild hair about resurrecting a short story collection called Shadowhill that I had intended to bring out in 2020 as my first indie project, but dropped when the world went pear-shaped.

There’s a nice symmetry to resurrecting that sucker while recovering from the illness that killed the project in the first place, so I sent an email to the original cover designer, found my then-editor’s information, and went looking for files of what I had already done. It’s actually really close to done–already through edits and I’d done some layout, so if the cover artist is able to come back on board, I might be able to get the book out there pretty quickly. That’s exciting!

Looking for those things put me on some data maintenance, getting files moved over from the old laptop onto this new one and throwing away a bunch of old files that aren’t important anymore. I’m terrible about downloading things for one-time quick use and then letting them linger, taking up memory for decades. It was such a relief to be able to be back onscreen without pain, that I didn’t even mind the tedious tasks. They were probably about my speed, mentally speaking. 

It’s been a long time since I was a night owl. I generally turn in a pumpkin by 10:00 most nights. But after several days of forced inactivity and feeling joyful about being able to use screens without pain, I watched movies.

I like old movies all the time, but especially when I’m in recovery of one kind or another, so I decided on The Mutiny on the Bounty, 1935 because it had a young Clark Gable in it and I had never seen it. I’m going to need to read that book sometime, I think because it was fascinating! What is it with sea captains and obsession, huh?

Even though it was late when I finished the film, I didn’t feel able to sleep yet, and I was going to try a night without antihistamines to knock me out. So, I picked another film: How Green Was My Valley, 1941, with Maureen O’Hara. I’ve been a fan of Maureen’s my whole life, probably from the first time I watched The Quiet Man, 1952, with my mother when I was little. The glory of her red hair was absent from this black and white film, but she still shone like an angel and you could definitely see why Walter Pidgeon lost his heart to her.

It’s a very sentimental story, but has some very real human drama, centering around a large Welsh family of miners, or colliers as they called them, and narrated by the youngest son. It’s based on a novel by Richard Llewellyn by the same title which I have not read, but the plot bore a few striking similarities (with less sex) to Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence, which I have read. A little research tells me that the book was touted as autobiographical, but that’s a stretch as the author was English-born and had spent very little time in Wales at all.

After that I slept again.

Saturday: As I write this, it’s noon. I have only a little headache. Morning was a little rough–getting my bodily systems online–but I’m definitely doing better than I have all week. It’s already clear that I’ll be struggling with making myself take it slow for the next bit to avoid relapse.

I’m watching a silent movie this morning, Sunrise, 1927 because the description caught my eye: “A married farmer falls under the spell of a sophisticated woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.” Janet Gaynor who plays the wife, is the only actor in it that I think I might know, but I wonder if I’m mixing her up with Mitzi Gaynor, a more recent actress (I checked: they’re not related). George O’Brien, who plays our main character, is quite good.

Silent films are always kind of amazing. The acting style is entirely different when actors cannot use their voices to convey emotion and the photography is often startlingly beautiful. This one has some very cool effects like a ghostly image of the temptress character shown over the man when he’s struggling with his conscience and the animation of title cards. Fonts, carrying emotional weight since 1927, apparently. The way the words melt and slide off the screen when our temptress proposes drowning was very effective.

Wish me luck, y’all. For the next couple of days, I’m probably my own worst enemy and I’ve fought her before–that Samantha is stubborn and not entirely reasonable. But this Samantha will fight her to make sure I’m back on my feet for real as soon as possible.

Oh, and maybe go update your COVID shot, if that's an option for you. I know our government isn’t pushing vaccinations anymore because some insane guy thought it was a good idea to put an anti-vaxxer with a worm-eaten brain in charge of such things. But I enter myself as evidence: the virus is still out there. And it still sucks, even when it goes as well as it can.

Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner? An open book blog hop post

 

Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.

Are you a breakfast, lunch, or dinner person? What does your ideal meal look like?

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What can I say? I like to eat. I can be very happy with any of these meals. Or tea. Or a snack. Or one of those in-between meals like brunch or lupper. 

I do especially like to be taken out to breakfast because I struggle to make myself eat in the morning and really need to in order to keep my blood sugar on an even keel. Going out to breakfast feels like a treat, so it's not as hard to convince myself to do it. 

For all my meals, I'm looking for different things on different days. Sometimes, I want the homey comfort of something I've enjoyed again and again. Sometimes, I want novelty and am thrilled to try something I've never tried before. All meals are made better with good company and pleasant atmosphere, too. 

 I enjoy cooking, and one of the ways I stay interested in cooking is by making new things. Just this week for example, I tried out two new recipes. (and both were hits!) I also enjoy it when someone else takes on the labor and I get to just show up and eat.  

 The most important thing is that I eat on a regular schedule. You wouldn't like me when I'm hangry.  

image source

 How about you? Got a favorite meal? What are we having? 

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It's All on Me, It's Scary, and I think I love it, an IWSG post

 

      

Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking. If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. The awesome co-hosts for the August 6 posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Natalie Aguirre, Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen, and Olga Godim!

 August 6 question - What is the most unethical practice in the publishing industry? 

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I'm ignoring the optional question this month because I want to talk about my adventures in indie publishing so far. See, though I've considered myself a professional writer for ten years now, I'm a complete newbie in indie publishing. All my previous work was trad-published by small publishers. 

My decision not to indie publish up till now was not about snobbery, or even need for validation, but about time. I looked around, saw what all I'd need to handle, got overwhelmed and decided to try for traditional publishing first, so that someone else could handle my editing, layout, cover, etc. 

That experience has bruised and buoyed me in turns. Some of it has been fantastic, and some of it felt like it might be fatal. But that's the way of a life in the arts, methinks.  

But a lot has changed in the past ten years. 

My children are both legal adults now if not fully launched yet. I left teaching, that abusive spouse of a job, for something less soul-swallowing that pays better. 

So I have more time and (a little) more money. 

I've spent ten years learning from the wonderful community of writers, editors, and publishers that surrounds me.  So, I've probably gone from "You know nothing, John Snow" to knowing just enough to be a danger to myself and others. 

So my next project is a trio of short romance novels, all featuring GenX characters, and I've decided to go all indie with this one.  

image source

As of this writing, I'm in process on all three of them. I've contracted an editor and cover artist for all three and I'm working towards spring 2026 for their release, bringing the first of the three out as a birthday gift to myself.  

So far, I've spent about $200 on editing of the first book (I got a friends and family rate--she's worth more than she's charging), $400 on the first book cover, and $250 buying ISBNs. So, $850 so far, and I anticipate at least $700 to get each of the other two books this far. That's no small change, at least not at my income level, but I feel strongly about hiring editing and a cover artist to ensure the best quality book I can produce. 

My intention is to "go wide" by which I mean publish the book through Ingram so that I am not tied to any one particular bookseller like Amazon, Kobo, B&N, etc. Amazon and I are going through a long and protracted divorce because of some of their business practices, so while I do want to make my books available there, I don't want to be trapped into exclusivity with them. Working with Ingram makes my book accessible to libraries and bookstores as well, and that's a serious boon. 

Being in process on all three books at the same time is a little scary, but also pretty exciting, because there's always something I can make progress on. 

I'm finishing drafting the third book, while the second book is out for beta reading and waiting its turn on the editor's desk. Meanwhile, I'm working with the cover artist on the cover for the first book and figuring out all the formatting stuff. There's always something I can move forward on and that's pretty amazing given how much traditional publishing is a waiting game of one kind or another.  

image source

 

All this doesn't mean that I won't traditionally publish anymore. Several of the publishers I've worked with are people I would happily work with again and if a big five publisher wanted to give me a shot, I'd take it. But at the same time, doing this all myself feels like a level-up and I'm really energized. 

This feels like the right time of my life to become a hybrid author. I've got more time than I've had previously, enough money for the initial investment, a good base of knowledge about what's actually required (I'm sure there will still be surprises), contacts and a support network when I need advice, and a little footprint out there already from my traditionally published work that might help my visibility.  

I guess we'll find out a few months from now how and if the books sell and how I feel about it all on the other side of things, but it seems a risk worth taking.  

Next, I need to figure out audiobook versions, but I don't think I'm quite ready for that part yet. 

If you're writing with intentions to publish, or already publishing, what route is yours? Why? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!  

 

 

 

 

She works hard for the money, an open book blog hop post

 

Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.

Continuing on the topic of money what is the hardest thing you have done to earn money?

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Most of the hardest work I've done in my life, I did not get paid for: raising children, medical support, home renovation, clean up after a disaster, etc. Free labor for and with the people I love, paid only in love and appreciation, maybe with food. 

 To earn a living, I've only had a few kinds of jobs: teaching, writing, librarian, secretary/receptionist, DJ, and my current day job as a content strategist for a big financial company. (If you're asking "what's a content strategist" here's how my Dad explains it to the rest of the family: "she listens to the business people and lawyers and translates what they said into regular English people can understand." That's not a bad explanation, honestly.)

image source

 Out of all those, the hardest was teaching. Physically, emotionally, and psychically demanding. I survived for 27 years before I finally left that abusive spouse of a career I was staying with "for the children" and found something more tenable and sustainable to finish my working years. 

I don't want to rehash all my concerns about the way American school systems exploit and abuse their employees. I'm sure you've heard them all before. But I will say, it's great here on the other side of the classroom door. I loved teaching, and really felt like I made a difference in the world when I was doing it. But, I eventually had to choose myself before it killed me. 

 How about you? What's the hardest work you've had to do? 

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Money or Fame? An open book blog hop post

 

Welcome to Open Book Blog Hop. You can find us every Monday talking about the writing life. I hope you'll check out all the posts: you'll find the links at the bottom of this post.

What would you rather have: money or fame?

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Um. Money. That's not even a hard question for me. There's a lot I might accomplish given money, especially in copious amounts. Selfish things like taking time for travel and becoming a full time writer (no day job!). More generous things like paying off debts for people I love and Philanthropic things like giving scholarships and grants, supporting charities, endowing things, etc. 

 Fame looks to me like it comes with more trouble than delight. I don't need that kind of attention. I wouldn't know what to do with it, other than hope it would go away.  

 How about you? Do you want to be famous? How about rich? I'd love to hear your musings in the comments.  

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Bringing my Heroes Home

 It's official, y'all. With the release of the fifth and final novel, the menopausal superhero series is now complete!

 

This has been the work of a little more than ten years, and there's a lovely symmetry in that the first book came out in 2015, and the final in 2025. 

Origin story: This series started because I watched an X-men movie with my husband, and we were talking, as we often do, while we walked the dog afterwards. I was joking that the underlying message of X-men stories is always that hormones cause superpowers, and if that was the case, menopausal women should have the corner on that market!

image source

 

 He laughed and told me to write it down. So I did. 

And to my surprise, it was more than just a little joke--it was the opportunity to create a group of female characters finding community, purpose, and love while they deal with the changes wrought in the life by changes in their bodies. Metaphorical AF, right? 

The journey: Writing them was cathartic, joyful, and sometimes heartbreaking, bringing together my personal struggles and fears surrounding aging, friendship, and what perimenopause was doing to my body, my brain, and my life alongside my lifetime love of superhero stories. 

 

The shirt says "what doesn't kill you, mutates and tries again" 

I LOVE how I ended the series, and can't wait to share this with readers. 

The whole series is available direct from the publisher as an ebook bundle: 

buy here

 

You can also get it a book at a time from the Big River site, or request it from your favorite bookseller in paperback or hardback. 

The series in order:

 

 

Going Through the Change, where it all begins. Meet Helen, Jessica, Patricia, and Linda/Leonel and laugh and cry with them as they struggle with the sudden development of unusual abilities amid their busy lives, and find each other along the way. 

Part of what I wanted to explore is what a heroic life might look like for a woman with a grown-up life: a career, children, a household, a partner. Responsibilities. This book was the start of all of that.  

 

 

  

 

Friend or Foe, a novella, serves as a bridge story between the first and second novels, and a peek inside the mind of the mad scientist who caused all this trouble in the first place, Dr. Cindy Liu. 

This novella is also included in Agents of Change, which collects the novellas and short stories in a single volume.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Change of Life, the second novel in the series, all the characters are dealing with the aftermath of the events of book one: the affects on their relationships, families, jobs, and psyches. The plot centers around Patricia, the Lizard Woman of Springfield, and her quest for answers and vengeance. 

This book introduces Daniel Price, one of my favorite creepy villains. He's been body hopping for a hundred years in a a quest to extend his own life, with no regard to who gets hurt (or killed) along the way.  

 

 

  

 

 In Face the Change, our heroes come together to work for the Unusual Cases Unit of the mysterious Department run by the Director and learn about hero life in the spotlight. As they fight The Six, a mysterious group of psychic villains, they deepen their personal connections, finding strength in each other.  

An unexpected romance came into play in this one. I LOVE it when my characters surprise me. 

 

 

 

The Good Will Tour is another novella, which works pretty well as a stand alone if you want to try the series at low investment.  Jessica "Flygirl" Roark and Leonel (formerly Linda) "Fuerte" Álvarez set out to build community good will with a celebrity visit to the local hospital and end up needing to save the day when a desperate earthquake causing woman shows up demanding experimental treatment for her wife. 

This novella is also included in Agents of Change, which collects the novellas and short stories in a single volume.   

 

 

 

Just when our heroes thought they had things figured out, a mysterious power spike challenges their control of their abilities in Be the Change. 

I had a wonderful time expanding on Patricia's backstory in this one, introducing her mother, stepfather, and some information on her siblings and half-siblings. And Daniel Price is back because he was too good not to bring back. 

 

 

 

 

 

And here's the new girl in town: the series ender: Change for the Better. Readers will probably have noticed that Jessica "Flygirl" Roark has been…odd. Things escalate in this book and the menopausal superheroes have to scramble to save one of their own, while they face down enemies within and the return of Daniel Price and the shadowy mystery man, Bertrand Dietrich.  

I'm really proud of that final fight scene and that last chapter will hit you right in the feels. 

 

 

 

 

Through Thick & Thin is a collection of side-stories for the menopausal superheroes. It’s confession time in "Coming Out as Leonel." Join Patricia, the Lizard Woman, as she unravels the puzzle of Dr. Cindy Liu's disappearance in "The Right Thing," and then see her softer side (and her "better half," Suzie) in "Underestimated." Get ready for a wedding, and a heroic rescue, in "Flygirl's Second Chance."

These can be read separately of the novels, but I think you'll enjoy them more if you've already read at least books one and two. They're also all included in Agents of Change. 

 

 

 

 This anthology collects the novels and short stories into a single volume. 

• Friend or Foe
• The Good Will Tour
• "Coming out as Leonel" 
• "The Right Thing" 
• "Underestimated"
• "Flygirl's Second Chance"  

(this might be my favorite cover in the series, combining the silhouettes we used for the novels with the stripes or rays we used in the short work) 

 

 

 

I have some readings from all this work available on YouTube or in the Menopausal Superheroes slideshow on the "Read My Work" link in this website.  

And if that's not enough Menopausal Superheroes for you, you can also read another short story, "Intervention", exploring the background of Patricia and Cindy Liu in Theme-Thology: Mad Science or read a couple of free holiday stories I created for my newsletter subscribers: O Scaly Night (Patricia's version of Santa Claus is…violent) and (Flygirl's son gets to see her in action) Max's Mommy. 

If you find me or my publisher, Falstaff Books, at a convention or other in-person event, you can also get the very cool omnibus edition (second volume coming soon), and I hope to be able to share links for audiobooks in the near future.  

I'm working on a book tour this fall and winter to celebrate the completion of this series, so you may have a chance to come see me in your neck of the woods!  

Thanks to all of you who came along with me on this journey. Writing is great, but we need readers to make it worthwhile and I am so pleased that so many of you have connected to my characters and found escape and expression with me in these stories. 

May you find strength when you need it, joy in friendship, and love in one form or another.