Jennifer Apodaca's Blog, page 190

Happy Friday!

Yesterday I gave up trying to write book 3 in the Plus One Chronicles while waiting for edits on book 2. It’s just not possible because the edits on book 2 can change the beginning of book 3 significantly.  I should have the edits today (I hope!!!)  so that wasn’t a big deal.  Except that I suddenly remembered why I started writing.

It keeps me from cleaning.

See I *used* to be a clean freak. There I admit it. But for me, writing trumps cleaning, and characters take up so much space in my brain that I don’t have any room left to fret about stupid cleaning.  Yesterday, however, I got the urge to clean. So much so that I brought in a big ladder, carefully placed it on the landing and crawled up on the ledge over the front door to clean it.

I was fine. This is actually super easy.  It sounds more dangerous that it is.

Wizard, however, FREAKED THE HECK OUT. Boy he was pissed. I mean…ticked off at me.  His comment was, “How do you think I’d feel coming home to find you laying at the bottom of the stair,s flopping like a fish?”

That image baffled me.  ”A fish?”

“A dying fish” he amended.

“But I’m fine.” Which was obvious as I was standing right there. Perfectly fine.

But Wizard wouldn’t let it go. “Damn it, what if you fell? And I wasn’t here?”

I’m thinking, Here to do what? Catch me? But I kept my mouth shut and gave him a glass of wine.  And I made him homemade fried chicken tenders which I never, ever make anymore because they are a pain to make and bad for us. He finally stopped lecturing me. Probably because his mouth was full, but still, a victory for me.

I also did laundry, ran errands, cleaned bathrooms, washed some floors, had a guy out to measure kitchen counter tops for granite, filled some forms for my publisher, did my expenses…this not writing stuff is exhausting! So then I set up my files  to start Cowboy Marine (just a working title) for book 2 in my Once A Marine Series written under my Apodaca name.

I’m hopefully going to be working on revisions this weekend. What are you doing?

Blogging Question

I’m not doing a worthy guy today. I have a serious question: What, if anything, would you guys like to talk about here? We can continue with the casual chatting and promo as I have been. Or I can do fewer blogs, but have them more craft and business focused. Or maybe the blog just run it’s course?  Or do you have other things you’d like to see?

Thanks!

 

Weekend Roundup

Aside from sinuses, it was a nice weekend. Wizard and I went out in the hot tub yesterday and enjoyed the warmer weather.

Saturday I found a picture of a 3 year old German shepherd at our animal shelter  Then I linked to the video and fell in love. So I went out in the garage (Wizard’s workshop) and said, “You have to see this.” He immediately put down his tools and stared walking in the house. Feeling guilty, I warned, “It’s a trick. just so you know.”

Now he was even more intrigued and watched the video. He loved the dog but starting muttering about tricky witches and sweating, then he escaped to the garage.

So I texted him: ”Good thing the shelter closes at 4 today.”

He texted back, “Shut up.”

I texted, “You shut up. I can hear you wanting the dog from inside the house.”  Then I sent another text, “We can’t have a dog, just so you know.”

Being a master wordsmith (NOT) he texted back, “Again shut up.”

Then he came in to make popcorn,  so I pointed out,  ”I don’t have time for a dog anyway.”

Standing at the microwave he said, “Sure you do…damn it!”

I laughed.  ”I could get you to the shelter without breaking a sweat.”

Wizard shot me a desperate look. “If we go to that shelter, you know we’ll get the dog”

“I know.”  So I let him off the hook but we both talked about that dog all the weekend. It’s really, really not the time. Really. Seriously. Not the time for a dog.

So changing the subject, here’s the second bathroom after getting new counters, sinks and lights:

It’s hard to see from the pics, but the mirrors have beveling around the edges that make them look finished. Overall, we’re happy.  (I’m standing way back in the corner of the tub trying to get this shot while keeping me out of the mirrors–I looked ridiculous! )

So how was your weekend?

Happy Friday!

What just happened? How id today Friday? Sigh…okay last day of The Baby Bargain blog tour and the stop is Crystal’s Random Thoughts  Stop by and enter for a chance to win a $50.00 gift card. And if you want to catch up on ones you’ve missed, look on my home page here

Yesterday I wasn’t feeling great (just sinus that make me slightly queasy paired with a little insomnia), and by two o’clock I gave up working, sat on my butt and read for a little while. I probably need to step back a bit. Today will be better!

Wednesday I saw Biker Witch (my sister). I bought her coffee and begged for her forgiveness for being the absent sister.  But the truth is she always forgives me. No matter what I do, I’m forgiven.  She’s super cool that way. But then she tortured me by telling me funny stories about her volunteer job working with rescue dogs. It’s torture because I’m jealous!  Although picturing her in a battle with a Chihauhau determined to get out of a kennel while Biker Witch is trying to get another dog out was priceless. I may have splurted coffee. In fact, I was laughing so hard, I’m not sure who won–Biker Witch or the Chihauhau. I think it was a draw,  but they will battle it out again next week

Tonight we’re meeting our son’s for dinner to celebrate a birthday. This weekend, I’m going to do a little cleaning.

What are you doing this weekend?

Very quickly, my thoughts are with all those affected by ...

Very quickly, my thoughts are with all those affected by the tragedy in Boston.  I’m sure we all carry sadness and anger this week.  And now we’ll move on.

So…BLB (my youngest son) was right. A couple weeks ago, we were texting and I said, “My book is due on 4/15, I’m not going to make it.”

BLB texted right back, “Yes you will. You just need MORE COFFEE!!”

And…I made it. I’m not saying the book is good, in fact I’m playing the game, Can This Book Be Saved in my head, but I got it in. Which means BLB was right And I’ll know when I see the revision letter if the book is salvageable.

In the meantime, my Entangled editor and I were talking about the possibility of my getting in the second book early.  I will do it if that’s what they want, though I may have to shift around my last book in The Plus One Chronicles. It will all work out as long as I drink enough coffee, according to BLB.

Right now, I’ve been trying to catch up on 100s of emails, promo, etc. And BTW I accidentally deleted a chunk of emails so if I haven’t replied to you, resend.

So we’re not getting the mirrors we ordered installed until Friday. I promise I’ll get pictures after that.

Today I’m hoping to see Biker Witch! I’m not even sure if she still claiming me as her sister. I’ll probably have to grovel and buy her coffee to get back in her good graces.

Now let’s move onto Wednesday Worthy! I just bought a new pick of a very familiar candidate:

 

What do you think? Is he worthy?

Weekend Roundup

Today the stop for The Baby Blog Tour is Vi3Babe  Stop by and enter for a chance to win a $50.00 gift card.

First, I’m sorry for not replying to comments on Friday’s blog. It was a crazy busy getting the granite in but all went well.  Then Saturday all the plumbing was done. Wizard then did all the touching up the walls, painting and installing towel racks etc.  Now we’re just waiting for the mirrors. Once that’s done, I’ll share pics.

So Saturday, our handyman plumber was here, and he and Wizard are going back and forth by my computer where I work. Normally this is fine and I can tune it out.

Except Saturday I was rewriting a sex scene that’s been giving me major trouble. This scene is out of my comfort zone (umm, you’ll have to wait for POSSESSION, I’m so not telling you why its out of my comfort zone!) So there I was, struggling with this scene while then handyman and Wizard are zipping back and forth in full view of my computer monitor.  I found myself shrinking the screen every time I heard them approaching.  Needless to say it was slowing my progress. Finally, I got smart, switched to my laptop and blocked out all the men and noise in my house and nailed (haha!!) the scene. I think…we’ll see what my editor says.

So my plan is to finish editor the book and send it today, then I’ll begin apologizing to everyone I know for ignoring them to get the book done.  And after that…I ‘ll start the next book.

Oh and we’re deciding this week if we want to go ahead and do the kitchen counters.

How was your weekend?

Happy Friday!

Today is Bathroom Granite Day! I can’t believe we’re finally doing this.  But as I write this blog on Thursday night I’m deep into POSSESSION revisions and pretty tired, worried, stressed…so all is normal here

But to prove I’m not the only crazy one, here’s what I deal with on a day basis.

Oldest son, CPA Boy,  sent out an email arranging his own birthday at a restaurant . I’m rather impressed with that because it means both me and Fiancee Girl are of the hook in planning! Yay!   Wizard and I agree to the plans. Then I sent a group email back.  ”All I need is a birthday list that does not include me buying you a house, paying for your wedding or honeymoon.”

In my deadline and remodel insanity I forgot that not only is my family crazy, we have completely corrupted Finance Girl. She’s a lovely young woman, graduated college young, super smart and talented…but alas even she can be corrupted by our brand of crazy.

So Fiancee Girl emails right back to all of us, “CPA boy says he wants a new baby brother for his birthday because BLB is too big to boss around now.  He’s requesting that you get to work on that now.”

Picture my mouth hanging open. CPA boy tries to embarrass me with stuff like this, but Fiancee Girl? Yeah..I might be a little impressed.

Then Wizard jumps in with “Witch and I will grant this gift, look for Witch to be four months along at your wedding. And then Wizard went onto to torture Fiancee Girl, who is tiny, about how he will lift and spin her at the wedding, saying, “Behold my new daughter!” (Told you, they are all insane).

I send my own email. WHY IS EVERYONE TRYING TO MAKE ME FAT? Then I remember I have to a book due in like ten minutes and got back to work , totally ignoring the crazy people.

My email dings again. It’s oldest son, CPA boy who started all this madness. “Hey Mom, did Dad (Wizard) and Fiancee Girl work out their Baby Bargain yet? Get it, Mom? Baby Bargain? It’s a book , maybe you’ve read it?”

I cannot make this stuff up. My family is nuts.  And they make me laugh every day.

What are you doing this weekend? Something fun I hope!

Wednesday Worthy!

Today’s The Baby Bargain Blog Tour stop is Page Flippers. Stop by and enter for a chance to win a $50.00 gift card!

So, The Baby Bargain has been out about four weeks now.  When I originally singed with  Entangled Publisher I was cautious and a bit unsure. But now, after three solid weeks in their top ten (the first week out the sales were just building) , I am thrilled with the publisher. I’m very pleased with the editing process (I’m sure mistakes got through–digital is like that for many reasons) but their editing at all the stages including revision, copy edit and proofreading was as rigorous as any I’ve ever been through. My editor not only edits, but answers every question I have and cares as much as I do about the book. So far, I love this publisher  All they work me hard, that’s something I respect (when I’m not griping, LOL).

Then there’s my beloved THE PROPOSITION. It did pretty well for the first of three books in a series. I decided to take a risk and offer it to a reviewer known to be brutally honest.  She read it last night and contacted me today to let me know she really liked it. This, for me was a huge personal validation. The review will be up on her site next week, and I’ll link it then. But you guys have been with me through all this so I just wanted to share.

Now  for our Wednesday Hunk, I went to iStock to use up some credits I had leftover there. It’s a small picture, but what do you think?

Is he hunk worthy?

Weekend Roundup

The Baby Bargain Blog Tour stop today is Ex Libris. Stop over and enter for a chance to win the $50.00 gift card!

I now have a rough draft of POSSESSION! This is the absolute roughest drafter I’ve ever written.  I need to fill out one scene then I’ll read through it and see if there’s hope for the book.  I’m crossing my fingers. I’m trying to streamline my process into something a little faster. There’s no way to make it easier, writing is always hard. But getting a draft down gives me something solid to work with and then I can agonize over the finer details, descriptions, word choices and finessing plot lines. The hardest task is always setting up and executing emotional scenes.  I really want to get POSSESSION to the editor next week and let her take a crack at it. I think I’ll be able to do an even more powerful revision with her input. But it has to be in good enough shape for her to get a solid feel in order for her to  give me constructive feedback. So we’ll see.

On Saturday, we got the lights in the bathroom. They look exactly as we hoped, we’re so happy! We have a great handy man that is doing the electrical and plumbing for the bathrooms as we need it. Wizard could do this but he’s busy enough patching, painting, etc.  He’s done the lion’s share of pulling all this together too. Weirdly he gets mad when I say that. He always says, “We’re a team.” And that’s true. I’ve done everything he asked, including getting a quote on mirrors that is going to save us $270.00 so I’m not entirely useless. But he really has done most of it while I write.

Here’s a picture of the granite I think we’re putting in the two upstairs bathrooms. This piece is broken, but the slab will be a full piece with no seams. Then they’ll cut out the sinks and faucets once they line them up.

 

 

The granite color is petty bold, but I’m tired of so much white. In the kitchen we have something softer in mind. But we’re going to see how they do in the bathrooms before we make a final decision on the kitchen.

So how was your weekend?

Happy Friday!

The Baby Bargain Blog stop today is The Romance Junkies  I hope you’ll stop by and enter the contest for the $50.00 gift card!

Yesterday was Wizard’s birthday. BLB was out. He studied and I wrote so it worked out perfectly. Then BLB and I (mostly I!) made Wizard’s strawberry cheesecake and the three of us wen tot dinner. The other two boys couldn’t make it out, but we saw them on Sunday so it all worked out well.

Oh! The lights we ordered for the bathrooms came. Love them! Since we had to order them from a picture I wasn’t sure. I’m getting excited to get it all done.

I’m about 50 pages from the end of my draft of POSSESSION.  I know the ending, it’s a couple scenes between where I am and the end I’m still figuring out. Then I need to rewrite and polish it–all before April 15th. That’s impossible, but I’m going to do my best

So what are your weekend plans?