Stephen Burckhardt's Blog: My Blog Ramblings, page 80

I tried to make plans ...

I think, "I tried to make plans ..." will have to be carved on my headstone one day. I always make great plans and about a week in, all hell breaks lose.I started back to my class and the first week went pretty well. Then the second week hit and I got sick. I ended up with pneumonia and I'm just now starting to get back to myself. I'm still fighting off stomach problems but I was able to go back to school even after being out for three weeks.I was surprised I was even allowed to go back and pick up where the class left off before Christmas. Luckily, my teacher is nice and kept up with me while I was out sick so I wouldn't fall too far behind. The first day I went back I had to make up tests I had missed. I was able to get a C on the tests. Not too bad for missing three weeks of a four weeks section.I have another test tomorrow and the big test comes February 3. This is the test I have to pass to move up in the class. If I do not pass this one, I have to start all over from the beginning. So you can imagine I will be spending most of my time studying and doing very little on the website and I will not be posting very much.Please try to bear with me while I finish up this class. Once it's done, I'll be free and can devote all of my time to writing. I promise I will come up with a special something for all of you on here as soon as this is over with if you keep following me through all of this. I'm thinking of writing a special side story just for you. It will not appear in any of the books and will only be available in the members only section on my webpage. I'll let you know for sure when I am closer to the end of my class,Thank you for sticking with me!

Working on the Cover Redesign

I think I'm down to the last few design options. I would love to hear opinions on these. I have got homework to do for my class that has started up again and I have to prep for my class I am teaching tomorrow. I have to give a unit test and I have never done that before so I need to get some prep work done before bed.This weekend I hope to get some more writing in. Wish me luck!

Part Three in the Works.

Part three, Into the West: Sharon Springs is finally in the works. I'm about two months behind but with any luck I can get caught back up here and get part four out quickly so I will be back on track for the year.I hope to start getting some content into the members only page on my website. One of the first things I want to load is a Christmas short for Sharon Springs. I feel I need to get part three done first as it will come between part three and four of the Into the West Saga Serials. So this gives me even more incentive to get my butt in high gear and get three written.I am considering a cover redesign with the third book to try to help improve sales. I have redesigned the cover for part two for now to show the redesign just because I do not have the photo ready for the cover of part three just yet. But it will give you an idea of where I am going with it. ALl of the covers would be alike with just the title, photo and back cover information changing.I would love to hear what you think of the redesign. For now, I'm going to get back to working on getting the book written.

Miracles Do Happen ...

Well, a miracle has happened, I have started working on book three of the Into the West Serial Saga. This weekend I have a few days off from my new job as an English teacher and I plan to make a hard push on the book. With any luck I actually could get the book finished in a marathon four day writing session. Fingers crossed!I want to get as much done as I can before the class I will be taking starts up again this next Monday.  After that gets back in session I"m going to be hard pressed for time. I will be in class from 8:30 - 12:30, rush home to teach from 2:00 - 3:00, then head back out to run errands when needed, find time for Honey-do's, writing, and quality time with P.R. and Shaggy. If I'm lucky I may have time to sleep once in awhile.I will do my best to keep up with the blogs to let you know how the book is coming along. But it is a safe bet they will be short and to the point. I want to get the next two books out as soon as possible. Let see how this works out! Think good thoughts!

Calling All Indie Authors ...

When you are starting out in this business it can be a real uphill battle to get your work noticed. Because of this I have come up with the idea of an Author Exchange page on my site. The idea behind this page is for indie authors to cross promote each other's work.It cost nothing to join this network. All you have to do is be willing to add a link to the HOmestead page of my website on your page and I will do the same for you as well. That is it! The more authors we can get to join this free program the more traffic it will be likely to generate for all of us. It's a free simple idea and while there is the chance that it won't do a lot for us, it most definitely won't hurt!To join, simply add a link to my page, www.stephen.burckhardt.com, on your site. Then send me an email at Stephen.Burckhardt@aol.com with a link to your page showing me you have done this. In the subject line of the email, list the name and genre you wish to be listed under.  That is it!Here's hoping we can all get more traffic to our sites.

Time for Escape

I feel as if I'm in shock. I never really believed there was a chance that Trump could end up being president of the United States. I am heartsick.Now more than every I feel the need to bury myself in my writing. The idea of becoming entrenched in a world of my own creating is much more appealing than watching the disaster that has happened to our nation.So now my world is the Kansas territory a few short years before it gained statehood. The lives of Elizabeth and Conner  MacBride will be my focus while I come to grips with what this election says about Americans and the state of our nation. God help us all.

After the Election

I am looking forward to this election being over. It has brought out the worst in a vast majority of people. Friendships have ended and families have divided. It is a reflection of the worst of humanity.I am looking forward to focusing on work and school. P.R. and I are planning several trips. We will be going to our first comic-con the first weekend in December, to see Cirque du Soleil the weekend before Christmas, and then the big trip, Venice for our anniversary, Christmas, and New Years,In the meantime, I will be back in my classes Monday through Friday from 8:30 - 1, then home to teach my online classes from 2-3, then go out again to run errands, then back home again to write. My days will be so much more full but the getaways will also be so much better.I am working on writing part three, Into the West: Sharon Springs. I really want to get this one finished and in editing because I have had a fantastic idea for part four, Into the West: Most Wanted. I can't wait to get to that part but I will have to set everything up in Sharon Springs first.I'm really looking forward to getting back to the work of writing and not focused so much on the marketing, web design, social media, etc. that you have to do as an indie author if you want to get your work noticed. The writing is where the passion is and after months of watching the worst come out in Americans near and far, I can use a little positive passion in my life!

Getting Into a Very Full Schedule

I taught my first class today. It was so much fun. My first student was a little girl. She was so smart and so cute. I had a lot of fun talking to her. I did make one mistake in class but I caught it and corrected myself. I went over time by a minute and a half but for my first class I think that was pretty good. Tomorrow I have two classes back to back. I teach the same material in both classes so it should be easier.I took a break after class and played with Shaggy. Poor guy gets shut in the living room when I'm teaching. He can run out on the patio and around the living room; he can hear me talking in the kitchen but he can't see or get to me. I try to make it up to him with a lot of treats and we we play fetch when I'm done. It helps me wind down after the class too. This is all new to me and I really want to do a good job so it's stressful. It's a good stress but still stress.Now, I'm working on book stuff for the rest of the night. I'm torn between working on the website some more or start writing book three. I'm not really in the right mindset for writing tonight. I think I'll start on that tomorrow and work on the website some more tonight. I almost have everything moved over from the old site. It will be nice to have it all rebuilt. One more thing I can check off my huge list of things to do.Tomorrow I have two classes to teach, errands to run, and start writing book three. This will be my last free weekend for a while. I plan to spend it with P.R. and Shaggy and try to really enjoy the time we have together. Starting next weekend I will have to teach on Sundays. I am really looking forward to finishing the class I'm taking. Things will be so much simpler when that is over.

Things are Never Easy

Just when I think things are going to go smoothly for a while, wham! Reality hits me in the face. I decided to pick up a part-time job to get a little extra money coming in so I can quit depleting my 401K. I have started teaching English as a second language to school children in China.I do the whole thing online in a one-on-one class. It should be fun. I'm really looking forward to my first class. I have had two classes scheduled but neither child showed up for the class. I have another class scheduled for tomorrow and I'm hoping I will finally get to teach. I only have to work 7.5 hours a week during their peak times for this program so that leaves me plenty of time for writing but it also gives me enough cash to cover everything I was paying for out of the 401K money and more.I'm also signed up for the class I need to finish taking. It starts again November 21. After my class starts, time will be a little more scarce.  I will get up at 6 am, go to my class, rush home to teach my English classes, then go back out to run errands if needed, and then have the evening to write. I will have to work 2.5 hours on Saturdays to fulfill my required peak hour time once my morning class starts but I only have four more months of my morning class then I'm done. I hope! I just hope my sanity holds out that long.I've been taking a private class on Saturdays with my former teacher to make sure I am where I need to be to pick up my class again. At least that can stop when the class starts again and I can just teach and write on Saturdays. With any luck I will have all day Sundays to just spend with P.R. and Shaggy.P.R. has been great about helping out around the house more as I have more things on my plate. Of course, P.R. would help out anytime I asked no matter how little or how much I have going on. P.R. is just great like that. I don't think I could have wished for a more supportive spouse if a genie created one for me. Which is great considering how much I will have to do in the coming months!I have been creating this new website. It's been a real trial trying to get this together. I had tried iPage but was very unhappy with their non-existent tech support. Then I just decided to buy the premium program here on Wix. I have had my website on here for years so I don't know why I didn't just buy the program here to begin with but in my defense when I searched for the best hosting sites iPage was at the top. I have no idea how they got listed so high.Now, I need to finish rebuilding my web page, start writing book three, work with Dianne to come up with cover art for three, and finish the audio for books one and two, while going to class and teaching a class and at some point spend time with the family. Yeah, that's not a lot. I think if I give up sleep I can handle it all. No problem!

New Website is Looking Good

I am feeling pretty good right now about the new website. I was a tad upset when I had to start over again after getting rid of iPage. But sometimes having a setback is a good thing.The new site is looking nice and I think it will be a vast improvement over my old one. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think. I hope to have it connected toStephenBurckhardt.comlater this week.November is going to be a very busy month for me. I will be starting my class again and with any luck I will be teaching classes too. I signed up to teach English as a second language (ESL) to kids in China. I have one more test to pass and when/if I do I will start teaching kids one-on-one online.This school only requires me to work 7.5 hours a week so it will leave me plenty of time to write once my class is over with in January. Another good thing about teaching this class is one week will pay enough so I can stop taking money out of my 401K to cover my student loans. Everything past that can go in our house/emergency fund.  The real trick will be keeping up with everything until the class I'm taking is over January. Lord, help me! More importantly, Lord, help P.R. live with me until February!