Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 23

So Much Revealed in a Few Drawers

I started doing a little clean up on my office. I didn't feel like it, but I remembered the experts saying just do 15 minutes, so I thought, okay, I can do fifteen minutes. I started by going through my desk drawers.

There are eight of them. I made it through...well, let's call it 5.5 because I'm not happy with the job I did on the sixth drawer.

Discoveries were made.

I didn't realize I had a ton of Christmas postage stamps. Hmm.

Wow. All the pens. So many pens. And markers. And highlighters. Oh, look, more pens. And erasable pens. And midliners. Pencils, too. So many colored pencils. Disposable fountain pens. They even still work.

And then I hit the paper. There were letter size notepads with the perforated pages in every color they make. I'd forgotten about those, but I used to make all my book notes on those and I color coded them by paper color. It's been a long, long time since I used notepads.

Because I switched to steno pads. Which I also found. Two were blank, but four of them were filled with notes and different color Post-it flags because I color coded each project. I didn't look, but I'm assuming they're for ideas/books/series I've started, but never finished. At some point, I need to scan those into PDF and file those electronically so I can toss the books.

I also found two Junque Journals still in their wrappers. This was one of my brilliant ideas that didn't pan out. I was going to use stickers to label a journal for each series and put my notes there. It would be awesome! I was sure of it!

The only problem was these journals were created more for artists or for scrapbooking. I made notes, but it was hard to read what I wrote and I would have needed to use Sharpies or something in order to read it. This idea withered quickly.

Really, the spiral notebooks with the perforated pages are my current favorites for writing notes. I bought a couple of Poppin notebooks which had awesome paper quality and lots of pages, but they stopped making that notebook. I'm using Erin Condren now. That paper is nice and thick, almost too thick, but I've become a paper snob.

And then I hit the index cards. So many index cards. But I was positive--positive--that this time they would work for me and I wouldn't hate every minute of trying to plot with them. Spoiler alert: I did hate every minute of the index cards. It's why I have a drawer full of them.

What's sort of interesting going through the drawers was the revelation of how my note taking process continues to...not really change since it still involves jotting down thoughts on paper, but that the paper I like to use for this keeps changing. Notepads to steno pads to notebooks. I just wish I could ditch the little slips of paper. When I cleaned off the top of my desk, more than 50% of the mess was Post-it notes and mini notepad pages with book notes.

Catch All

This blog post is going to be a little bit of this and a little bit of that because none of these ideas is worthy of a full post all on their own.

My regular planner company did decide to release a dated version for 2024, so now I will have three planners for next year and need to figure out something to do with them. I know there are authors who track multiple things in multiple places, but this is how things slip through the cracks for me. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do gratitude in one and haul the B6 with me in my tote bag.While I was searching for new planners, I watched a lot of videos and saw that people used tweezers to put down small stickers instead of their fingers. Gah! Why didn't I think of that? I bought craft tweezers during Prime Days and will no longer have to deal with stickers that are askew and in the wrong place.Speaking of the B6 size notebooks, holy cow what a convenient size! I ordered it by accident back in April, and while this book is too thick and heavy to haul around, something with fewer pages wouldn't have the same issues. If you're curious about paper sizes, or like me, can never remember them, this website has a visual guide I found helpful.I primed a little too much during Prime Days, but I actually had a strategy--I was only allowed to order things from my wish list. Unfortunately for me, a lot of things from my wish list went on sale for good prices. (I put them in my wish list to watch prices.) I also did that no rush shipping option on most of the items because the only thing I wanted immediately were my craft tweezers and now I can use the digital dollars Amazon bribed me with to pick up some more books in the urban fantasy series I started.Characters have shown up and are talking to me and they are not the characters who are next up in the Paladin League series. I'm not sure how I feel about this since I'm not actually writing in this ramp up to the release of Wicked Persuasion , so I'm not sure it matters, but when it's time to get to work again, then it matters.I did set up the kanban board with all the Post-it notes for the next Paladin League book, so as soon as it's go time, the wall is ready.
I learned a new trick for Notion that I wished I'd known earlier. I can create new work spaces for myself and didn't need everything piled into one work space. The clutter on the left side of the screen was making me crazy.

Best Practices Versus Nope

I mentioned that my office is a complete disaster zone. It is. This is literally the worst it's ever been.

So I decided that this time when I got to work on it, I would follow the guidance of the experts. There must be videos on YouTube or blog posts out there somewhere explaining what the best way is to forever organize a space is, right?

On a Saturday, after all the errands were run, I set out to find the best way to organize this mess.

The one thing most organizing experts seemed to agree on was to empty everything out of the space. Everything out of the space? Everything out of the space!

They must be joking.

It would take half the day just to move everything out. As for going through it before moving it back in? That would take me weeks because I would get bored and wander off to do other things.

No, I need a different plan of attack.

Right now, I'm kind of thinking if I could get rid of my old computers and laptops, that would clear out space--especially my huge iMac. I simply need to work my way to the corner where the box is stored, get the iMac out, run the wipe on the hard drive (or destroy the hard drive), and then get the label for pick up from Apple.

The laptops might be easier. Destroy the hard drive and bring them over to Best Buy. I looked up the recycling information on their website, and if IIRC I can bring in three electronic items a day. It might take a couple of trips because I have old Kindles, old cords, old printers, and some other assorted electronics, but it isn't too horrible because I got rid of my old computers before I left Minneapolis to move to Atlanta.

With the old computer equipment and electronics gone, then I guess I'd move on to...drawers? It's a plan I'm still mulling over.

Cover Reveal: Wicked Suspicion

If you subscribe to my newsletter, you had the cover reveal in June. (You can subscribe on my website HERE, if you're interested.) Now it's time for the cover reveal everywhere else. Ta da! Wicked Suspicion!

The hero is Case "Lurch" Lundquist. He started hanging around in Wicked Obsession, began talking in Wicked Intention, and when he found out there was going to be a second arc of books, demanded his own story.

Of course, to this point, he hasn't been particularly helpful about what his story actually is. Characters.

I've been working on (and struggling with) a blurb for this book and I don't have much yet. Lurch and his heroine, however, have been providing all kinds of information about their pasts and about their relationship. Not the kind of stuff I need to write a blurb, but it will help when it's time to write the book.

I'm not sure this blurb is going to stick because I'm still fiddling with it. (I'm also writing this blog post early because I don't want to be distracted down the stretch for Wicked Persuasion.) What I have at this moment is:

Special Forces Sgt. Case “Lurch” Lundquist has his handsfull. He’s undercover as a gunrunner and trying to avoid the rebels who arehunting him. But when his team’s op endangers the life of an American, he stepsin to protect her.

Nyx Templeton can take care of herself—usually—but this isbeyond her abilities. She’s not trusting some wannabe mercenary, though. Untilshe recognizes him from a picture she saw. He’s her brother’s best friend. Shekeeps quiet, knowing he’s Special Forces and that one wrong word could endangerhis life and his mission.

Case is determined to remain focused, but Nyx is the mostdistracting woman he’s ever met. He loses the struggle when she asks him tocash in her V-card. Not just yes, but hell, yes!

But in the high-stakes world of arms dealing, every edgecounts. When Nyx becomes a pawn to use against him, Case will do whatever ittakes to keep the woman he loves safe.

                                                                           ~~~

Indulge in a protective Special Forces hero and a heroinewho knows how to take care of herself, but can admit when she’s in over herhead. This romantic suspense story features an experienced hero/inexperiencedheroine who is keeping her identity as his best friend’s little sister a secret.

Lurch meets her in the epilogue of Wicked Persuasion and so will you if you read the book.

Repairing Time

A long time ago, when I lived in Minnesota, I bought a Scooby Doo clock and I loved it so much! It wasn't a middle of the house clock, but it was perfect for my bathroom and I kept it there forever.

Then it broke after I moved to Georgia and I thought it was all over. Until someone told me I can replace the clock part with a kit.

My eyes lit up!

Scooby!

I went to Michaels, bought a clock kit, brought it home, and did nothing with it. For years. Literally for years. Then on Friday evening, I decided it was time to fix it. I took out my clock and the kit and sat down at the table.

It took me a minute (and the instructions from the new clock kit) to figure out how to separate the old clock from the Scooby part, but I did it without breaking anything. Then I went to attach the new clock. 

And discovered I'd bought the wrong size. Like the post was double the length I needed.

Disappointment! I hopped on Amazon and started searching. I found the correct size, ordered it, and it arrived on Saturday. The post was the correct size, although the rubber washer had to be skipped. I nearly forgot the hook to hang the clock, but caught that in the instructions at the last minute.

Everything worked when I put in the battery.

There was just a couple of minor problems. The hands were too long and kept catching on the flowers. Reusing the old hands wasn't an option because they didn't fit the new mechanism and wouldn't lock into place.

I fixed it by using the new hands and snipping them off with a pliers.

Then there was the ticking noise the second hand made with every movement. Like that wasn't going to drive me insane in about a day and a half. This kit gave the option of no second hand, so I removed it, and used the silver stud instead. It holds the hands in place and is now completely quiet.

The picture above was taken before I removed the second hand.

Scooby is back! I'm excited!

The Planner Blues

I am a daily planner person. I've tried weekly planners, but they just don't work for me at all. Not with the way my brain works. I tried for years to make a weekly work. Years. I thought there was something wrong with me. I figured if I couldn't get a weekly to work, a daily would just be more failure, yet I took to the daily as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

I found the planner that works best for me, too. Oh, the planner company frustrated me from time to time, and I tried to switch in 2022 to a different daily planner. I hated it, and moved back to old faithful in March.

Now, I might be switching planners again for 2024. Maybe.

You see, old faithful is talking about only selling undated planners. UNDATED DAILY PLANNERS FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR!

You're thinking, well, just date each page the day you use it. No biggie.

Agreed. The daily pages aren't a big deal. It's having to date each monthly spread on top of having to date each individual day. Stickers are out. I tried stickers in a quarterly planner (yes, I've tried quarterly, too) and it caused a bulge where the date went. A year of dates all in the same location? Ugh! I checked into stamps, but all the date stamps I found (the self-inking kind) are geared for businesses and have ugly fonts.

So if they go undated, I need a new planner for 2024. I have one I'm testing as a potential replacement. Overall, it's similar enough to old faithful that I should be able to adapt to it, but...

I went looking for other options. My criteria wasn't lengthy. I wanted a dated daily planner with the entire year in one book. Spiral was preferred, but case-bound is okay. I'd also prefer nice paper. Bonus points for Saturday and Sunday each having their own page.

It was remarkably difficult to find planners to even look at! Some of them I ruled out simply because I knew the layout would make me insane. I don't want to write in my own times. Grr. I want as much done for me as possible so I can just write in the personal stuff. The idea is to make this as frictionless as possible, people!

So my friends, in addition to the test planner, I have two other planners I ordered for 2024. One of them is small and I can carry it in my tote bag with me. We'll see how that works, having dual planners. The other one will be my 2024 official planner if old faithful goes undated. I'll have to spend more money to buy stamps to add the things it doesn't have, but I'm not doing the stickers again like I did in 2022.

If old faithful does put out a dated daily, that will be my official 2024 planner and I'll use the one I've already bought as a gratitude journal. I've been meaning to do that.

I hate that I'm in this position again. I haven't had to waste money testing out planners in a while, but old faithful hasn't been very faithful the past few years. I thought I could live with their vagaries. I was wrong because undated is a deal breaker for me.

Office AKA The Disaster Zone

I am very obsessive about my house remaining clean and uncluttered. The only place I've regularly failed at maintaining order is my office. This is a Grade A Disaster Zone.

(Picture at left is shortly after the desk system was installed. Pre-disaster zone.)

This makes me so unhappy. It makes me cranky. It's inspired me to buy a lot of storage bins, but I haven't had time to do much about it.

Today, though, I had a few spare minutes and I decided to tackle on of my stackers. (Okay, official name is stackable tray.) I have one that's loaded with paper and I was confident I could get rid of a lot of what was stuffed in there. I was right. But I also found some magical things that I forgotten existed.

Notes I'd made for Finn and Zo (Wicked Intention) and a timeline for Ryder and Langley (Wicked Obsession). I found notes for the next book in the Jarved Nine series (which I never wrote) and notes for the next book in the Blood Feud Series (which I haven't written yet) and notes for the next book in the Light Warriors series (which I'll never write unless I get my rights back).

I also found notes of the research variety that must have been for a story idea? I just can't figure out which story. I'll look at them more closely, see if I can have a flash of inspiration on which book, and hopefully scan them into the correct folder.

There were also assorted Post-it notes attached to bigger pieces of papers with scraps of ideas on them. All that will get sorted through, too, and maybe used somewhere some day.

One more mystery to solve. I have a page to a knitting pattern in there. I have no idea which pattern. Every line appears to be crossed off which would suggest I'm done with the item I was knitting, so why did I keep this? There are a couple of sentences scribbled on it that don't make sense--could that be why?

Update on Wicked Persuasion

I'm writing this post on June 25th. I have a break in writing at the moment. I just finished the second round of edits on Wicked Persuasion and emailed them back to my editor.

All systems are still go for the August 8th release date.

Round 2 of revisions is the hardest round. This is the one where I really get into the weeds. There was also a sort of major issue toward the end of book. It was a plot point that didn't work, I tried to fix it in round 1 of revisions, but my editor said it still didn't work.

I came up with ideas on how to shore it up and make it strong enough to work. And then after correcting everything else, I did a read through and realized she was right. It didn't work and it didn't matter how much shoring up I did, it was never going to work.

I needed Plan B.

It took some percolation, but I came up with an answer and I've spent the past few days implementing it. Luckily, it was toward the end of the book because there were tentacles reaching out every direction. Now, I wait for round 3 of revisions and hope my editor thinks this new way of handling things worked. If not, it's back to the drawing board.

Fingers crossed!

Happy Independence Day!

For my American friends

Trash Day Adventure

For once, this story isn't about my trash!

It stormed on trash day. I mean like really, really, really stormed. There was wind. There was pouring rain. There was water flowing down the street like a river.

We put our trash can on the boulevard, so ours stayed put. A neighbor up the street wasn't as lucky. As I'm sitting at my desk, working, I catch motion from the corner of my eye and look over. There's a garbage can rolling down the street.

Part of it was the wind propelling it, but mostly (I think) it was the water and the fact the cans are on wheels. It was moving at a fast clip, too.

It made it to the storm sewer between my house and our neighbor to the east. The water turned to go down and took the can into the curb. And there it sat.

When there was a break in the weather, we hurried up and brought our can and recycle box into the garage so we wouldn't have to worry about them blowing away. It's a good thing we did, because moments later, the storm started up again and a neighbor on the cross street had their can blown over and pushed toward the corner.

As I'm writing this, it's the evening of the next day after the storm. The second can that was blown over was picked up yesterday and put away immediately upon that person realizing it was their can. However, the can that was pushed toward the storm sewer between my house and the one next door is still sitting there.

More than 24 hours later, it is still sitting there!

I'm like, do they not think, wow, my can is missing and there's a can down the street. I bet that's mine? I mean, I would do that and then I would go get it.

I'm going to try to keep watch and record how long it takes to be retrieved.

ETA: It took 2 days for the neighbors to get their can