Cherie Priest's Blog: It's awards season, so here comes the shameless self-promotion, page 26

I'm tired of driving 'til I see stars in my eyes

We weathered the storms last night just fine - and tonight we allegedly get a new round, right around the same time. Once again, I'm not too worked up about it. (Knock on wood.)

* * *

Today I've run all my errands, done all my laundry, and packed up all my stuff for the Gaslight Gathering. I fly out tomorrow morning, and I won't be back until Sunday night. I'm bringing my laptop along, for I've got lots of work to do; but I won't promise any updates here before next week.

If you wish to keep up with my adventures, you'll be better served to watch my Twitter feed or possibly my Facebook page.

Meanwhile, I'll be hanging in San Diego - probably getting my last pass of these Princess X rewrites underway in whatever downtime presents itself. I owe the revisions to the editor on the 16th of next month, and I plan to send them off sooner than that.

With a little luck, I might get both (a). that PX draft, and (b). a first draft of Chapelwood off my plate by the end of May. What? It could happen. (And it'll be really nice if it does.)

* * *

Anyway folks, that's all for now. I'm going to log off, make some supper, and settle in for some lazy time this evening. I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I've got a long day ahead of me tomorrow - plus a long (if awesome) weekend on the horizon. Lazy time is definitely called for.

Stay tuned ... and I'll catch you next week, if not sooner.

I think you only live to see the lights of town

It's been another tragic gap in blogging from yours truly over here, for which I do apologize. The weekend was busy, and I was distracted, and now I'm trying to catch up on everything - everywhere - before I leave for San Diego come Wednesday morning.

That's right, this weekend you can catch me at Gaslight Gathering! I'm very much looking forward to the event, and I hope to see some of you there. The usual rules apply: Come up and say hello, for there is a six-foot No Shyness Zone surrounding me; yes, I'm happy to sign anything you bring, whether or not you bought it at the event (but I reserve the right to veto any signing of body parts); no, you aren't bothering me, unless you catch me with a mouthful of food or in the bathroom.

I think that covers all the important stuff.

Right. Yes. Well, let's see.

Since my last post, I've done a crap-ton of laundry and housework, got my patio/retaining wall restoration approved by the historic zoning folks, done plenty of unrelated yardwork, gone shopping for last-minute-before-travel stuff, and taken Greyson to a local street fair - where he got to nom on a fruit juice popsicle.




Speaking of Greyson, he was supposed to get his summer haircut today but the groomers screwed the figurative pooch and lost his appointment reservation, so that's been moved back a week or two. It's annoying, but not that big of a deal. I'm sure he's relieved by the stay of furry execution, and anyway, it's supposed to be a little cooler next week.

Right now he's running around outside, barking at squirrels and guarding the bird feeders, but I need to log off and bring him in. We have some hella-nasty weather headed our way right now - tornado watches and severe thunderstorm warnings for the next few hours; I can see the dark clouds spilling over the ridges now, and the wind is starting to pick up...so it's only a matter of time.

I'm not too worried about it, though my neighborhood did get hit back in 2011 - whereupon a tornado destroyed several houses and brought down trees upon many others (including ours). But it's still a pretty rare thing, and I mean, well, I'm from the Gulf Coast. I'm respectful of storms, but not too paranoid about them. Everything will be fine.

So with that, I'm outta here for now...

I'll say I loved you years ago

Not much to report today, except for three impending baby purple finches! Their parents wigged out at me when I (ever-so-carefully) watered the flower basket, so I'm not sure what I'll do once the wee ones arrive. Probably I'll just paparazzi the heck out of them and feel bad for my poor dying flowers.

We'll see.



Here's today's progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 2769 (good)
Present total word count: 76,841



Things accomplished in fiction: Made it to the carnivorous storage vault, and figured out a killer - which was actually the smallest, most minor part of the mystery.

Next up: A confession, a search, and problem of space ghosts.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; chose a contractor for this hardscaping work in the back yard, yay!; took the pruners to HedgeHenge and got it under control before things get too wacky out there; weeded the bed where the roses grow along the sidewalk; gossiped with a neighbor.

Other: Still need to schedule the work for the yard, but we'll sort that out over the next few days. Tomorrow, I'll go down to the historic zoning office and make sure I'm not stepping on any toes; I'm reasonably confident that everything we have planned falls well within guidelines, but I'd rather be safe than yelled at and fined.

Bonus Other: It's less than a week until I fly out for the Gaslight Gathering in San Diego! I'm already mentally planning my packing and shenanigans - and wondering about the weather...

Night of the Living Other: [:: does the "I'm gonna have a patio" dance of glee ::]

Number of fiction words so far this year: 110,234

The winds of change consume the land

YOU GUYS. The Graphic Audio production of Boneshaker dropped today! And it is UTTERLY BADASS.

Now you may be asking yourself, "Is this an audio book?" NOT EXACTLY. It's more like a full-scale auditory production ASSAULT OF AWESOMENESS with all the literal bells and whistles - and you should ABSOLUTELY go check it out.

Click here to check out the press release, in all its glory...OR click the shiny graphic below to visit the listing, hear a sample, and see for yourself. Or hear for yourself. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.




* * *

Otherwise, today's been a mish-mash of errand-running and message-answering, without much else to remark it. Therefore, without further adieu I give you ... word metrics! Because it's better than nothing, eh?

Here's today's progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 1797 (acceptable)
Present total word count: 74,072



Things accomplished in fiction: Came perilously close to rehashing old times, but the Bad Old Days should probably stay back in the past.

Next up: Actually reach the storage area; go rifling through the files; maybe feed the room a secret or two, to see if it's hungry.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; returned a phone call; returned several emails of importance - including one interview; painted the trim on the rear garage entry door, and thereby banished a couple of carpenter bees; weed-whacked like hell across the spot where the garden used to be, and tackled the rest of the back yard, too; gave the husband a can of paint and a brush and set him to dealing with the front garage door trim because there are yet more damn bees over there and I am too short to reach all that stuff without a ladder.

Other: Minimal cat-disruption last night. She gave me one weird yowl from the foot of the bed around 2:00 a.m., then wandered away. Hey, I'll take it. The dog, on the other hand, started whining unhappily around 9:00 a.m. - and I'd bitch about that, except (a). he never wakes us up, like, EVER, and (b). it was 9:00 a.m., so I really needed to get up anyway. I still don't know what was bothering him. He didn't seem to need a potty run or anything...just...dog reasons, I guess.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 107,465

Lightning strikes maybe once, maybe twice

The second landscaping guy came by today, and now all I can do is sit back and wait for these two dudes to give me their assessment. Great is my patio-envy, but little is there to be done about it.

I'd planned to wrap up this blog post and see about some work out in that very same yard, for it is getting scraggly in all possible places ... never mind the giant rectangle where the patio will go - where we've neither weeded nor mowed so far this year, heh.

But the best laid plans, etc. etc. etc., for now it's pouring down rain. Even if it stops, I don't feel like working in the mud. So forget it, for today.

* * *

New strategy last night in the Cat Karaoke wars. This time, when she hopped up onto the nightstand to sing into my ear at 3:00 a.m., I pulled her into the bed, under the covers, and held her there. She wiggled and fussed for about fifteen seconds, then started snoring. No further cat-singing ensued.

I'm not saying this is a successful tactic, mind you; just because it worked once, that doesn't mean it'll work again. But a good snuggle is probably preferable to a pillow upside the head.



* * *

I love it when the cover art goes live on Amazon. It just makes everything feel so much more...official, you know? And also, in my experience, it makes people more likely to preorder books like oh, say, Maplecroft (if you were so inclined).

* * *

Here's recent progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 2250
Present total word count: 72,275



Things accomplished in fiction: Sent a very weird letter to a very nice girl, who wigged out about it; made plans to follow up on some of the details of that letter, while it's still possible to do so.

Next up: One more trip down to Storage Room Six.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; consultation with the landscaping guy; paid some bills.

Other: Nothing else to report at this time.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 105,668

You touched my hand, I played it cool

We've had a beautiful couple of days, I swear - sunny and in the seventies; and with the exception of a few spring storms here and there, it looks like we're over the long winter hump. I can't tell you how happy this makes me. I simply don't have the words.

What I do have is the unending parade of yardwork that needs doing. It's all small stuff for the moment, but unless I want it to work its way up to being a whole bunch of big stuff...well. It's like writing a book, sort of. A little bit every day...or everything all at once.

I've done it both ways. This way is better.
(For me. YMMV.)

* * *

Speaking of yardwork, the second landscaping guy will swing by tomorrow around 11:00. We'll get his opinion on matters, and see what the estimates look like, side by side.

I'm trying not to be too impatient about it all, but this weather makes me want to sit outside and work...and I would very much like a patio for that, please - before it gets too hot. Yes, I could hang out on the porch swing, but our front yard is un-fenced. And that means no canine company.

* * *

Speaking of canine company, Greyson is less thrilled about the shift in weather than I am. He's a woolly bastard, and he overheats easily; therefore, he has a groomer's appointment on the 28th for more than the usual bath/blowout nails/etc. Our boy's gonna be naked, and he's gonna be much happier for it. And also more ridiculous-looking, but so it goes.

The kitty would never stand for it. Then again, lately the kitty has been unwilling to stand for people sleeping through the night, either.

She's long had this weird quirk where she'd have to come to bed with us...lest she wake up alone, and roam the living quarters wailing her head off. It started around the time she achieved "senior" cat status, and the workaround has always been easy: Pick her happy-ass up, and put her in bed when you call it a night.

But lately, it hasn't been so easy. Even if we bring her to bed, there's a 50/50 chance she's going to SING YOU THE SONG OF HER PEOPLE for hours at a time, beginning around 4:00 a.m.

No, there's nothing wrong with her; the vet says she's the healthiest of all possible 15-year-old cats. (She's had bloodwork run and everything.) Yes, we've tried All The Tricks. No, I'm not looking for suggestions. I'm just venting.

Last night I finally got her to stop crying by chucking a pillow at her head.
I'd be a great parent, I bet.

* * *

Here's recent progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 2614 (not bad)
Present total word count: 70,025



Things accomplished in fiction: Finished a word from our sponsor Big Bad; heard from the opposition, in what's either a declaration of intent or a suicide note - it's hard to say.

Next up: Finish the note, and hand it off to its intended recipient - who isn't likely to receive it well.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; ran a crap-ton of errands this morning, mostly shopping for this, that, and the other; not much else, but in my defense that's kind of a lot.

Other: I'm pretty happy with the word count, especially considering that I was out of the house half the day. Something about lying in the den with the windows open and the sun warming my feet...it's good for productivity. I almost always write faster in the second half of a book than the first half anyway - it's something about the momentum of it all, I guess; but I'm not up to the big crazypants climax or anything, so I'm not rolling downhill quite yet. Still, having crested 70k feels pretty good, and it feels like the home stretch. Even though I know good and well it's not.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 103,418

Your loneliness says that you've sinned

Just the weekend word metrics tonight, folks. Not that anyone's likely to see them on a Sunday night, but I'm trying to get my momentum back up in full swing - and reporting progress is part of that momentum. So here goes.

Here's recent progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 2537
Present total word count: 67411



Things accomplished in fiction: Got some bad news that was entirely expected, but nonetheless shitty; learned of a plan that is likewise bad, but unsurprising; got our first POV glimpse of the Biggest Big Bad (as opposed to the junior version).

Next up: Finish the new Big Bad's commentary; return to Storage Room Six for a consultation. There's not much good left in the city, not many good places left, either. It's not perfect, but the good guys will take what they can get. They don't have a choice.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunts with dog; went to lunch with a couple of old friends and the husband; made plans for a visit with a different old friend; answered a bunch of email; fielded a couple of phone calls; did a couple loads of laundry; did some minor yardwork; did a bit of reading for the first time in far too long.

Other: My discipline is improving, and progress is being made. Sometimes it's hard to get into the swing of things, when hopping from project to project - but I need to make the most of this time, before I fly out for San Diego at the end of the month. Because after I get back, I need to dive back into the next round of edits on Princess X - which are due in the middle of May. And as I've learned the hard way, I just can't work on both at once.

Bride of Other: If you'll scroll just a smidge farther, you'll see that over the weekend I cracked 100k words (of fiction) for the year. I'd throw myself a little confetti party, except that it doesn't feel like enough. I wanted to hit an average of 1k a day, and so far that hasn't happened. Have I been a miserable slouch? No. But I can do better, and I damned well should. I pretty much need to, this year.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 100,804

Knuckle crack the bone, 21 to win

This morning, the first of two landscaping/hardscaping dudes came out to check the premises. He took some measurements, we went through some catalogs, and he'll get back to me with some estimates once he's run the numbers. I liked him just fine, and I think he's good at what he does; he was my first pick, after all...though my second pick was such a close second that it was almost a coin flip, anyway. (And we'll see what the other dude thinks about matters on Tuesday.)

Not gonna lie, I'm getting pretty excited about it - despite what's bound to be an exorbitant price tag. It's a lot of work, and a lot of materials, but the results are going to be amazing. I've had visions of patios and paver walkways dancing in my head all day.

Which reminds me, Monday I'll take some photos and shoot an email to the historic zoning people, just to cover all my bases.

* * *

I checked the flower baskets today when I went out to do my watering - whereupon I spotted one wee little nest, a tad bigger than my palm. No eggs yet, and the birds wigged out when they saw me messing with the basket. (No, I didn't water it.) They were apparently watching from the dogwood tree nearby.

I can hear them right now, chirping back and forth to one another on the porch. I trust that means they've forgiven me the small intrusion.

* * *

Here's today's progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 1236 (meh)
Present total word count: 64,874



Things accomplished in fiction: Read a sinister newspaper article over breakfast, and received an alarming phone call.

Next up: Courtroom results and fallout. (I know I said that yesterday, but I really mean it for tomorrow.)

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; replied to an email interview; met with the landscaping dude; cleaned the whole house even mopping the relevant floors; refilled all the bird feeders and watered all the new stuff except for the bird-occupied flower basket; started a load of laundry.

Other: Cleaning the whole house eats up a fair amount of brain CPU, thus the lower word count today. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 98,267

With one flat foot on the devil's wing

On Tuesday, I ran out of my prescription allergy stuff - and was told that I couldn't get the refill until yesterday, which is typical. I don't know what weird, bad magic it is, but for some reason my helpful nose-spray-goo (Flonase) is always used up a few days before the insurance company says I'm allowed to have any more. Well, this time it ran out at exactly the wrong time because OH LOOK, SPRING.

In short, my head pretty much exploded. I literally didn't sleep more than an hour straight all Tuesday night, and I was absolutely useless most of yesterday ... so, yeah. That's yesterday's excuse for not getting any writing done. Once my 'scrip was obtained and I could breathe again, all I wanted to do was sleep.

I tried to resist. I did practical, non-thinky things like laundry and yardwork. (Weeding, watering, etc.) But mostly I just lounged on the couch, moaning, blowing my nose, and pretending not to watch HGTV.

* * *

Tomorrow I have to be up a little early, in order to meet one of the fine gentleman who's coming over to see about our back yard. It's got some...issues, you see. And now's the time to start getting estimates regarding its repair in a few weeks.

Why a few weeks? These reasons: (1). my Big Spring Royalty Statement hasn't landed quite yet, and that will affect the final budget, (2). it's the busiest time of year for landscaping companies, and I don't expect anyone to be able to start work any sooner, and (3). I live in a historic district, and although landscaping isn't regulated by the zoning folks, structural issues like retaining walls/landings are - and sometimes it takes a week or two to get all the paperwork in order.

I'm not particularly worried about the zoning folks. They've been very easy to work with in the past, and I've doublechecked their historic guidelines (available as a PDF online, conveniently enough); nothing we plan should pose any conflict.

And what do we have planned? Depending on how far the budget stretches (and how that royalty check shapes up), we'd like to (1). repair/restore a concrete landing poured in 1930, for it is cracked/sinking/letting water under the house, (2). repair/restore (rebuild, essentially) a catastrophically failed retaining wall, (3). add a second retaining wall, with (4). a patio/walkway at its base [where the vegetable garden used to be].

Everything except the patio is a necessary fix that needs to happen sooner, rather than later. But dammit, I will have a place to sit outside with the dog and sip mimosas under a big umbrella get some work done in the fresh air.

Anyway. One dude is coming over tomorrow to give us an estimate. Next week, I'm getting a second quote for good measure. Like a civilized grown-up, I am.

* * *

I think last year's purple finches have returned to the front porch! That's the good news. The bad news is, I think they've picked a flower basket for their nest ... rather than the nook in the eaves. Naturally, they picked the flower basket that's hardest for me to reach. - not that it will prevent me from playing bird paparazzi again, once the eggs hatch and there are FLUFFY BABY BIRDS TO OGLE. Gently. When their parents are away.

And I guess I'll have to water the basket very, very carefully. And rarely. If at all.
[:: sigh ::]

* * *

Here's today's progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 1979
Present total word count: 63,638



Things accomplished in fiction: Poor little axe murderer. He's having a terrible day.

Next up: Courtroom results and fallout.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; replied to some emails; did some writer business; cooked lunch and made myself some tea; not much else, to be honest. I'm still dragging a little.

Other: I got nothin'.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 97,031

I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem

Signed, sealed, and mailed off the Amended Tax Return of the Damned this morning, so that's done. I hope. I don't mind paying taxes, to tell you the truth; I like having roads, fire fighters, cops, and so forth - and I am a grown-ass adult who understands that these things cost money. But I swear to God, there must be a better way to collect it.

Like I've said before, if you want an exercise in absolute counter-intuitive insanity, try paying taxes like a self-employed creative professional for a year or two. It'll give you ulcers.

And that's all I'll say about that.

* * *

Maplecroft is still 4-1/2 months away and my brain already cannot shut the hell up about it. Today I started cobbling together some guest post content, in hopes that I might score a spot with some of my blogging friends later on this summer. It was either that, or just start doodling "Maplecroft <3 4evah" on my Trapper Keeper.

Anyway, I'm starting to think about promo schwag - since we're going to drop this one a smidge early at DragonCon, and I'll be doing several events between now and the end of the year. It's useful to have such stuff on hand, to remind people of what's coming - or what's available, depending on my timing. So for starters, I'll print up the usual handbills, and I might even do what I did with Boneshaker back in the day: Offer up a pack of 10-20 to anyone willing to leave them in the coffeehouse/student association lounge/bookstore/etc. of your choice.

I mailed out dozens of such packets a few years ago, and it was kind of fun; people kept sending me pictures re: where they'd left their flyers. It felt like I was following my book around the world.

But aside from that? I'm not really sure. Maybe some temporary tattoos? WHO DOESN'T LOVE THOSE THINGS? I know I love those things, and my real tattoos aren't even jealous. We could work up something with an axe and some blood and the title...maybe. And what about those rubber wrist-band-thingies? They seem pretty popular. Buttons? Magnets?

I'm taking suggestions, folks.

I feel like there must be some awesome promotional gimmick out there for a love letter to Dracula as filtered through Lovecraft in a wholly fictionalized retelling of the Fall River axe murders. But I'll be honest, I'm drawing a blank.

* * *

Here's today's progress on my witchy art-deco horror novel about Lizzie Borden thirty years after her parents' deaths - now featuring ghosts and non-ghosts alike, anti-Catholic conspiracy nuts, supernatural political shenanigans, the mafia, and a Bonus! space-worshiping murder cult hiding behind the KKK:
Project: Chapelwood
Deadline: October 1, 2014
New words written: 2397
Present total word count: 61,659



Things accomplished in fiction: Returned to our sweet little axe murderer, who really is just trying to do the right thing; visited an old victim who's now the closest thing to a kindred spirit the poor fellow has in this world.

Next up: Some bad news. Probably a very bad experience.

Things accomplished in real life: Neighborhood jaunt with dog; wrapped up tax amendment paperwork; went to the post office and mailed it off; went to Walgreens to put in for a prescription refill; made some phone calls; answered some useful emails; started drafting guest blog posts for deployment later on.

Other: I feel like I'm forgetting something.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 95,052