Castle in the Clouds

I've gone back and forth on linking my real identity with my alter-ego's.  The reasons aren't complicated.  I'm afraid that my self-published titles could someday hinder my chances of selling to a traditional publisher. I'm also afraid that the types of books I've published under the pseudonym would be problematic when I get around to shopping out my fantasy novels; I fear being pigeon-holed.   Okay, and if I'm being really honest, in the beginning I might have been afraid that the self-published book would get terrible reviews (paranoid much...yes), and those terrible reviews would further damage my future publishing chances. This fear has been lessened.  While not everyone has raved about the book, the response has been favorable.  Small in scale, but favorable.  As I write this post, Amazon shows 4.5 out of 5 stars; granted only five reviews account for this.  Yet, through Amazon's KDP program I've sold quite a few copies and gave away...

As quite a few of my previous posts have been about homework, it will probably come as no surprise that I haven't been working on Book #2.  I want to, though!  I'm really happy with the opening chapter, not because it's perfect and I won't end up changing a single thing - that never happens - but because it really does set up my heroine for her defining moment . As I usually tend to start my stories too early, I may need to scrap this chapter in the future, but for now it serves a purpose: it has given me direction. I know what needs to happen next! I love this feeling.  I'm excited to get back to the writing.  First, though, I need to get through the last couple weeks of the semester.   The only other distraction I'm worried about is the holiday season itself.  It's crazy how busy we are this time of year.  This weekend we're going to try to pick out our Christmas tree on Saturday morning before we need to leave for my side of the family'...

Used with permission.   See #7.  I'm not usually known for my "sticking-to-it-ness" .  In fact, I'm usually out of the game by day three or four because I forget I'm participating.  Yes, I'm that scatterbrained!  Let's just call it what it is - ADD - and move along. In an effort to keep myself on task with this fun little photo challenge, I'm going to try something new.  A daily calendar reminder.  Here's Day 1. Don't know if anyone else wants to play along, but if you do, let me know.  I want to follow your pictures!

I took next week off work, not so I could go on some fancy vacation, but to help me find the time to work on the last few major projects I need to complete before the end of December.  These projects don't fall in the home improvement or Christmas gifts categories.  Oh, no.  These projects are for school.  As the end of the semester winds ever closer, here's what I have left: Linguistics Class: Finish up the IPA translation of a recorded speech sample (this is 98% done, but I'm not confident in my translation abilities, which means I'll probably second guess myself a few dozen times before turning it in).  Write a 2000-word report of the interview process, which should include some scholarly references to help support my interpretation of the findings.  Compile the appendix and supporting documentation.  College Comp Class: Some reading (that's due by this Thursday) Refine my Teaching Statement.  Rework my Syllab...

Today we had our first real snow of the winter season. This, of course, meant that I forced my family to change out of their comfy clothes (sweatshirts and sweatpants) and into something a little more appropriate for a Christmas Card photo op. Boy, do they love me! I think the effort was well worth it, though.  Look how great our picture turned out! Stationery card View the entire collection of cards.

Don't tell my instructors, but I spent most of my weekend working on a photo book . I figured homework could wait until Monday Night Football.  While the guys are doing their thing (a.k.a. falling asleep in their chairs), I can work the homework I should have been focusing on Saturday and Sunday. Although, in my defense, this was a limited time offer!!