S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 29

What My Days Look Like

Yesterday, on Instagram, I shared to my Stories pictures of what my typical day looks like, so I thought I'd share them here too. Except you get an explanation of everything that happened, instead of just pictures. As you can see below, being an author is more like just being a normal human being with lots of family stuff thrown in. Let's get to the photos!

Weekdays, my alarm goes off at 6:28am. I need to be up to get the kids up for school, help with their breakfasts and lunches, and make sure they're out the door on time. Lulu now sleeps on the couch at night, so I come out to give her belly rubs before I let her out.

I then empty the dishwasher right away. I made a habit of doing this in the summer, and it's good to have it out of the way for the rest of the day.

Then comes some tea time and then work time before we go out on our walk. Long walks with Lulu happen Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. She gets shorter walks on the other days plus doggy daycare where they walk her too.

The neighborhood was pretty and the weather was warm!

After a long walk, I come home, do core work, weights, and stretch.

Gotta finish cleaning up the kitchen!

Then shower and get dressed.

Get some work done.

Eat my first meal of the day.

Get some more work done with Lulu by my side.

Time for an afternoon walk.

The afternoon stretch is where I get the most work done, and I still have time to be with Lulu.

Dinner and sumo!! Or dinner with some TV. My husband and I do this every night. The kids eat on their own with dinner or while doing homework.

My daughter had softball try-outs, so we were off to the field for those.

Then it was back home to the couch for some relaxing, reading, and TV. Lulu finally settled into her spot late.

Bedtime! I think I fell asleep around 10:45pm.

And that's what my Thursdays look like! I hope to do this again next month, and I'll choose a Monday or Wednesday instead since those days look different than Tuesdays or Thursdays.

The post What My Days Look Like appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Sunday Update – November 14, 2021

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

We're already halfway through November! What? I wish time would slow down a little.

This week was not too bad. We did the usual routine and most of us got to bed on time or early most nights. We're trying something new with Lulu and letting her sleep out on the couch at night. The first few nights went well, but the mornings sucked because she was at our door at 5am. That's too early. I'm a 6:30-7:30am riser. 5:00am is criminal. So we put a gate up in the hallway before our door and she can't get close. After that, everything was better. Until last night when she just wouldn't settle for the evening. She barked and got me out of bed 3 times. The third time, I picked her up and put her in her crate. Lol. Sorry, dog! Hoping for better tonight.

I've also been woken up several times by my youngest daughter because of stomach troubles. I don't know what that's about, but I'm tired of losing sleep over it, so I think we'll be off to the doctor soon.

We have some fun good news! Last weekend we went to see beach houses down the shore, and then we found one we liked and bid on it. Our bid was accepted!! It's a great house with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and it's only 1.5 blocks from the beach! So you'll be hearing a lot about it and our times there over the next few years, if all goes well. We still need to do an inspection and all that jazz, so anything could happen. But I plan to be there a lot in the spring and summer, renovating and making it a second home for our family. I can't wait to share it with you all!

I also got a new car. Lol. It feels like everything is coming up roses around here, but in actuality, we ordered the car 4-5 months ago, and I just didn't say anything because it was delayed several times. I have become a member of the Tesla family! We bought a Model Y and I already love it. I grew up in a Ford family. My mom worked for Ford for 25 years, so I got a family discount, and I always bought Ford cars. This is a giant departure for me. But I did my research over the past 2-3 years and I knew what I wanted. We saved up and now the car is mine! Photo below.

In writing news, I made it to the midpoint of Skylar's Book 2! This is called A FORTUNATE ACCIDENT, and it will show off some of Skylar's work on Rio. But I got to the halfway part and I realized that I had chosen the wrong hero to focus on for this book. Sigh. It requires me going back and fixing things I had already written, but I think the whole series will be better for it. This is one of the problems with being a pantser, but it's really the only way I can write, so I just have to make do.

I also finished up all the AI-generated audio chapters for SILENT FLYGHT, so I hope to have that up for sale this week. Just need to put together the intro and outro files, export all the chapters to the right bitrate and then upload them.

First up, Lulu. All snuggled in or sleeping. (She's sleeping right on my hip right now as I type this up.)

Making good progress but I'll be spending today and tomorrow fixing the manuscript that I broke.

I did a 90-min Peloton ride yesterday morning, and even though it was hard and I was tired after, it did not wreck my entire day like the 45-min Power Zone Max ride that I did on Monday. THAT was the hardest ride I have ever done. Hands down.

A little home improvement project. My husband installed this one. Originally, there were just a few hooks here, but they were coming out of the wall constantly. So we got this Herman Miller beauty and my husband managed to screw it into the studs. Now our coats won't constantly fall on the floor.

Sending out props to my neighborhood people who are getting Pelotons. Go forth and be healthy!

I've been watching some of the panels and talks from the 20Booksto50k conference.

Getting some reading done while I can.

My neighborhood is looking very pretty!

And finally, my new car! This is a Tesla Model Y, and so I have decided to call it Yoshi. We'll be selling my car within the next week or two. Just waiting on some paperwork to arrive so we can do that. I can't wait to plug it in! NO MORE GAS. It's amazing.

That's it for this week! Stay safe and healthy, everyone.

The post Sunday Update – November 14, 2021 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Book Chat #73 – Books By Tracy Deonn, T. Taylor, Veronica Scott, Carol Van Natta, Tochi Onyebuchi, and H. Y. Hanna

I haven't had a book chat since August! There has been reading, but there's been so much other stuff going on that compiling my thoughts and putting them on the blog is the hard part.

Just a word of warning from here on out: if I read a book the whole way through and I don't enjoy it, I'm gonna say so. I promise to keep it professional. I still will not be reviewing books that I DNF.

Okay, here we go!

LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn (ebook)

This was a knitting book club pick. We all love Arthurian legend books, and so we went hunting for something that would fit the bill. This one had tons of hype, lots of reviews, AND a POC author and main character. We bought it up immediately. Unfortunately, none of us enjoyed this book. It was definitely well written but way too long. Kobo clocks this book in at around 160,000 words which is about 80,000 words too long in my opinion. The plot and characters meandered all over the place, and many details and critical points are never explained. Bree's best friend appears and disappears, fights with her, and then magically accepts everything at the end. WHY? Not sure. The love interest also appears and disappears, and the two had no chemistry. The main character, Bree, decided to act like she knew what she was doing all the time, so we, the readers, were continually left in the dark about what was going on. Then an info-dump would happen to get us back up to speed. Sigh. It's too bad this one did not work out for us. It had a lot going for it, but ultimately, it did not deliver.

7 FIGURE FICTION by T. Taylor (ebook)

This book was so good, y'all! I learned so much about universal fantasies, and it helped me better understand why books get so popular and what makes them tick. It also helped me narrow down the universal fantasies that I put in my own books, and what I would be interested in using in the future. This really unlocked a few key craft elements for me and I recommend it to anyone who's writing fiction.

PETS IN SPACE 6 by Various Authors (ebook)

I have read two stories from this so far. If I read any more, I will put them in another Book Chat.

I really enjoyed STAR CRUISE: TIME LOOP by Veronica Scott. There's this Star Trek: The Next Generation episode where the crew gets stuck in a time loop and they need to get out, and this STAR CRUISE: TIME LOOP reminded me of that. But Veronica put her own twist on the concept and kept me guessing the whole time. I really loved that there was a repeated sentence at the beginning of every loop so I always knew what was going on. The romance was fantastic too, and I was really rooting for the couple by the end. Once I got about two time loops into the story, I was hooked and I couldn't put it down.

I also really loved ESCAPE FROM NOVA NINE by Carol Van Natta. I love Carol's books so I had a feeling I would love this one too. The prison they were in was very dark and dangerous. I definitely felt the tension from the beginning. And I loved the two main characters and their different backgrounds. Their connection was strong and believable, built on trust and truth. And the griffins! So many griffins!! The pace of the story kept moving at all times, and I was never bored. This was another story that I couldn't put down!

WAR GIRLS by Tochi Onyebuchi (audiobook)

This was a book that I picked up in a Bookbub deal and then added on the audiobook. The audiobook was so great. The narrator's voice was just perfect for this story. Her accent and delivery were so wonderful to listen to. When I saw this book for the first time, I was all OOOOOH! Future Nigeria? Girls at war? Sisters? Yes! But unfortunately, this book also did not deliver on its promise to me. The first half of the book was engaging, fast-paced, and action-packed. There was so much going on, and it was all interesting and cool. Cool tech, a blood feud, a rich culture, a bit of a mystery — all good. And then, the mid-point came and the plot just fell apart. The story kept jumping from one scene to another without really moving the characters in a believable direction. Then something would blow up, and the action would shift. Plot points were set aside, and the subject matter plummeted into dark territory. I get that it's WAR, but I wasn't expecting it to not resolve anything by the end. Here's something that all authors should consider: RESOLVE SOMETHING BEFORE THE END. I get that you want to leave the door open for the next book, but please don't leave the reader with nothing. In the first act, set an intention and a major arc that will finish IN THIS BOOK. Tell the story, finish the arc, and then open the door for the next book in the denouement. Really. Do this and you'll have your readers eating out of the palm of your hand. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, please read some book on plot structure. Anything by James Scott Bell is good.) I should have also realized before I purchased it that there was no romantic subplot which would have lightened the load and maybe provided a happily ever after. Live and learn. I will read blurbs more carefully before buying the future. I listened to the last third of this book on 2.5x speed just to find out what happened.

THE MOUSSE WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR by H. Y. Hanna (audiobook)

It'll come as no surprise that I enjoyed this little tale! I've enjoyed all of H. Y.'s Oxford Tearoom Mysteries, and now I should probably move on to one of her other series too. This one was a little shorter than all her other books in the series, but it still had a good mystery that kept me guessing until the end. What I really want is for Gemma and Devlin to get married and have lots of happy babies together. And maybe give Gemma a break from murders. Poor girl seems to get messed up in them often enough.

The post Book Chat #73 – Books By Tracy Deonn, T. Taylor, Veronica Scott, Carol Van Natta, Tochi Onyebuchi, and H. Y. Hanna appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

A Galaxy of Bargain Science Fiction Romances – Promotion

When I heard the PETS IN SPACE 6 crew was putting together this awesome promotion, I couldn't resist submitting my own books! There are so many books on this promotion from so many authors I know and love, plus plenty of books from fellow PETS IN SPACE 6 authors. There are over 50 books here to choose from! Stop on by and take a look…

Check out the Sci-fi Romance Sale!

The post A Galaxy of Bargain Science Fiction Romances – Promotion appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Sunday Update – November 7, 2021

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

What a week! It feels like every week around here is crazy, but I think this last week was a little less crazy than the previous one, thankfully.

First off, I need to congratulate myself on publishing another book. This year saw 4 books by me published, and that's amazing considering I was thinking of quitting. (But what else is new, right?) I published THE RISE OF SHIROI NAMI and AN UNEXPECTED DEBT, and then AN UNFORGIVING DESERT is in the SUMMON THE STARS anthology, and SURI'S SURE THING is in PETS IN SPACE 6. I know many authors who publish a book a month, so this may not seem like a lot, but to me, it is. I'm aiming to publish 3 books next year (maybe 4 again) because this is a sustainable pace for me, if I don't overwork myself.

Last Sunday was Halloween and the last day my kids are allowed to stay out past 9pm until the spring. Lol. I have had it with the late nights. I find I'm in a much better mood if I can turn out the lights before 10:30 (10pm is ideal), so my kid being out until midnight was really making me cranky and giving me chronic head congestion from lack of sleep. I'm glad that's all over for a while!

Most of this week went as planned. Monday was a chill day even though we were all sleep deprived.

Tuesday was Election Day, so the kids had a half day. I got groceries and our CSA veggies and fruit and lamented that we're almost at the end of CSA season.

Wednesday was cleaning ladies day plus I had to pick up cheesecakes from a fundraiser and get them to the people who bought them.

My kids had Thursday and Friday off of school for a statewide teachers' conference. Thursday was a chill day at home. Nothing too much happened.

Friday was a super busy day. We got in the car early in the morning, dropped Lulu off at daycare, and then drove down the shore to Cape May to look at houses! No, we're not moving. But we are looking for an investment property/summer home. We met up with our real estate agent down there and saw 6-7 houses, all in a row, from 11am to 1:30pm. Whew! It was quite the tour of town and we got to see all the neighborhoods down there. We did find a house and property that we really like that's only two blocks from the bayside beach, so we'll see what happens when we bid on it. As usual with all real estate, I don't get my hopes up until closing. But I'm already thinking about watching home improvement videos on YouTube and wondering how it will all impact my writing schedule next year if I'm also renovating a house. We shall see! We didn't get home until close to 6pm (with Lulu). But it was a good day and we saw a lot.

Saturday!! Saturday was a big day! Because my youngest daughter who is 11 got her first round of the COVID vaccine! I'm so happy for her. She was so excited and the experience was great. She barely felt it and today she's fine. We'll see how she feels in the evening since it hasn't been 24 hours yet. Fingers crossed she has no side effects.

Today, my husband is off fishing so I will be walking Lulu, catching up on a Peloton ride, and getting work done that I didn't do on Friday because we were gone all day. Usually I don't work on Sundays but I have to make an exception this week. It's all right. I'm excited to write later!

Yay! AN UNEXPECTED DEBT on my Kindle!

I took a chance on these potato chips and they are tasty! Maybe a bit too salty but that stops me from eating too many, so win-win.

Lulu loves to be in bed! And she despises The Coat.

But still, I get her to walk outside with it on.

I had my 450th ride on Peloton this week!

My tradition is to always eat an apple on the way home from picking up the CSA veggies and fruit.

Will this martini help me write a scene between Skylar and Takemo? Let's see…

I made roasted pumpkin seeds after the kids carved their pumpkins on Halloween Eve. I ate them all within a few days.

I made gluten free apple crisp and it's so good! Yay! I'm so glad I was able to make this happen so my husband can have some as well.

Scenes from our trip down the shore. The first two photos were taken on the bayside beach not far from the first house we saw. Then we came upon this pencil drawing in one of the houses we looked at. On the way home, I treated myself to a Choco Taco to celebrate the launch of AN UNEXPECTED DEBT. And yes, Jon Bon Jovi now has a rest area named after him, complete with his music playing constantly.

And finally, I steamed a bunch of vegetables for freezing including this cool Romanesco cauliflower we got from the CSA. I love these things. They're so interesting to look at.

Have a great week everyone! Stay safe and healthy.

The post Sunday Update – November 7, 2021 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

AN UNEXPECTED DEBT, Book 1 of the Amagi Series, Is Now Available!

I have a new release for you today! AN UNEXPECTED DEBT, the first book of the Amagi Series, is now available!

I can hardly believe we're really here, that I have actually started the spin-off series to the Flyght Series. I'll admit that, for a while, I didn't think I'd actually pull this off. Skylar is a deep and complex character with some childhood trauma and a whole lot of attitude. She's difficult to write, difficult to suss out. It was a tough time writing this book, but I am super proud of the way it turned out.

AN UNEXPECTED DEBT sets up a sweeping multi-book story arc with lots of intrigue and mystery, perfect for those of you who love my big series. It was hard to pin down exactly what Skylar's story is, but eventually, through the process of discovery writing, I figured it out. She has a lot of adventure in front of her! But each individual book will have a different story to tell, of course. I think you'll enjoy it.

I really hope you enjoy AN UNEXPECTED DEBT…

Hijacked dreams and a high-stakes gamble. Can a young woman secure suitors while trying to soar among the stars?

Skylar Kawabata has her future mapped out. Frustrated by years of misuse from her family, she’s got her Class Three pilot license firmly in hand and plans to take over her mother’s interstellar shipping business. But when she discovers it’s been sold right out from under her to a handsome but infuriating man, the outraged ex-heiress vows to make him pay.

Already struggling to feel worthy enough to attract top-notch men to build her relationship network, Skylar’s fight for her inheritance turns into a heart-stopping power play. But she’s up against long odds from a love-match setup with an old crush, an impulsive bet with the man controlling her legacy, and one of her many dads becoming a dangerous threat…

Can Skylar navigate to the destiny she desires, or will she get knocked off-course?

AN UNEXPECTED DEBT is the first book in The Amagi science fiction romance series. If you like mouthy heroines, an array of delicious men, and amazing world-building, then you’ll adore S. J. Pajonas’s action-packed adventure.

Purchase An Unexpected Debt!

Have a great weekend reading, everyone!

The post AN UNEXPECTED DEBT, Book 1 of the Amagi Series, Is Now Available! appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

The Astrology of AN UNEXPECTED DEBT

Continuing with my Character Astrology Series, this time we'll be diving into one of Skylar's other romantic prospects in the Amagi Series. If you haven't purchased AN UNEXPECTED DEBT, what are you waiting for? Go purchase it right now!

For AN UNEXPECTED DEBT, I had to match up two characters with astrology: Skylar and Saif. Skylar Kawabata is someone you know from the Flyght Series and from AN UNFORGIVING DESERT and Saif Bhaat is an old flame, returned to Skylar's life from her youth. How do the stars relate to these two characters?

Skylar Kawabata

I'm going to cheat a little here and link to the Astrology post I did on Skylar for AN UNFORGIVING DESERT because it has a ton of detail in there about her. But basically, her Sun Sign is in Aries, her Moon is in Pisces, and her Rising Sign is in Leo.

Saif Bhaat

Though Skylar met Kalvin Vidal in AN UNFORGIVING DESERT, he is noticeably absent in this book as he deals with some family issues. So Skylar has Marcelo, her matchmaker, set her up on a date for a charity dinner and auction.

Enter Saif Bhaat, a calm, cool, witty, and energetic Gemini. Yes, Saif Bhaat is a Gemini, through and through, complete with twin personalities, though we see most of only one personality for most of this book.

Saif comes from a family jewelry empire and it looks good on him. He's clever, quick witted, and always brimming with new ideas. Especially when it comes to dealing with Skylar and all the attention she seems to garner. He loves to communicate in both words and actions, and sometimes his love of the grand gesture leaves Skylar wondering what happened to him until he shows up on her doorstep with a glorious gift. He has definite opinions on what he wants and what he values, and he's a great conversationalist who can speak on almost any subject.

Unfortunately, Saif can be somewhat superficial and he hates it when Skylar makes all the decisions. He wants to be a part of the process at all times. Where his positive twin personality is safe and secure, his negative twin side can be petty and superficial. Thankfully, the negative twin doesn't come out to play much.

When it comes to love, Saif is lively and energetic, in and out of the bedroom. He loves to make Skylar laugh or feel loved. He delights in finding new gifts to bring to her and new topics to talk about. Skylar needs to keep a tight hold on him, though, because when he feels left out or bored, he makes stupid decisions (you'll have to wait for Book 2 for that!)

Saif's Moon Sign is in Aries, like Skylar's Sun Sign. This Moon Sign makes him optimistic and open to change, but it also heightens his impulsive and opinionated nature. He tends to sulk when things don't go his way, and he struggles against permanent situations, even if it's something he wants. But the Aries Moon means he's intellectual and persuasive, both things that will serve Skylar well on her journey.

Saif's Rising Sign is Taurus, and that is one doozy of a combination. Taurus calms down the Gemini proclivity towards talkativeness, but it heightens all of Gemini's loves of esthetics, love, and beauty. Being Taurus-Rising means that Saif does work very hard and he's opinionated to a fault. He covets his possessions, including Skylar, and he has to approve of the other men in Skylar's network or there will be problems.

All in all, Saif is a fun and complicated character, and he's been a lot of fun to write! Now that you know more about him, I hope you enjoy reading AN UNEXPECTED DEBT!

Hijacked dreams and a high-stakes gamble. Can a young woman secure suitors while trying to soar among the stars?

Skylar Kawabata has her future mapped out. Frustrated by years of misuse from her family, she’s got her Class Three pilot license firmly in hand and plans to take over her mother’s interstellar shipping business. But when she discovers it’s been sold right out from under her to a handsome but infuriating man, the outraged ex-heiress vows to make him pay.

Already struggling to feel worthy enough to attract top-notch men to build her relationship network, Skylar’s fight for her inheritance turns into a heart-stopping power play. But she’s up against long odds from a love-match setup with an old crush, an impulsive bet with the man controlling her legacy, and one of her many dads becoming a dangerous threat…

Can Skylar navigate to the destiny she desires, or will she get knocked off-course?

AN UNEXPECTED DEBT is the first book in The Amagi science fiction romance series. If you like mouthy heroines, an array of delicious men, and amazing world-building, then you’ll adore S. J. Pajonas’s action-packed adventure.

Purchase An Unexpected Debt!

The post The Astrology of AN UNEXPECTED DEBT appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

November 2021 Goals

Wow. It's NOVEMBER. Like, almost the end of the year? How did that happen? I have no idea.

What happened with October's Goals

Make significant progress on Skylar's Book 2. I have done this! Yay! I'm writing a steady 1000 words per day on this book, sometimes more. And now I'm almost at the 50% mark. I hope to have it done soon.

Make the audiobook for SILENT FLYGHT. I'm about 50% done with this. I ran out of time this month with all of my other tasks, and so this did not get as much attention as it should have.

Keep up with the Fall Power Zone Challenge. Oof. This has been hard. I've been doing it, but it's been hard.

Finish the Hikoboshi paperbacks. Done!

Continue with my courses. I finished my Instagram Reels course. So now I just need to work on the other courses.

Reading and knitting. Reading happened. Knitting, not as much.

November Goals

Finish Skylar's Book 2. If I keep going at the pace I'm writing, I should finish this book this month. Which is great, because I'm ready to start on the last Hikoboshi book soon!

Finish the audiobook for SILENT FLYGHT. I want this done before Thanksgiving, and now that my other long-term project is done, I should have the time.

Start editing the Nogiku Series… again. It's my intention to edit the Nogiku Series and make it more palatable to people who don't know any Japanese. I've already done this once. I need to do it again. And I need to edit out some scenes too. I plan to make this whole series free in 2022, so this needs to be done.

Keep up with the Fall Power Zone Challenge. Just two more weeks!

Start the Nogiku Series paperbacks. These are still up for sale on KDP Print. As I make them available on Ingram Spark, I will delist from KDP Print so I can be done with them. (It's a long story, but according to what investigating I've done, I believe KDP Print has been stealing my earnings from me, so I want to be done with them.) I will make the switch for each book as I finish editing them.

Continue with my courses. I have another Instagram course to get through.

Reading and knitting. The usual.

That's it! Have a great month everyone!

The post November 2021 Goals appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Sunday Update – October 31, 2021

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Another crazy week around here, but I think things are going to calm down a little bit from here on out.

The combination of lack of sleep and my kids being up too late, plus normal physical exhaustion, made me go to bed early on Monday. I turned out the lights before 10pm and slept all the way through to the alarm, which means I got about 8 hours of sleep! I woke up on Tuesday feeling like I could do ANYTHING. Lol. It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do for you.

The rest of the week sped by. I had no idea what day it was by the time Thursday rolled around. Was it Wednesday? Was it Friday? No clue. Our usual routines have been off and the kids had final weeks of marching band and field hockey, so there were scheduling issues. Sigh. I actually miss the time they were home in the pandemic. Life was a lot less hectic, even if we were worried about getting sick.

I've been writing a steady 800-1200 words per day, every day but Sundays. I'm now at almost 30,000 words on Skylar's Book 2. When I'm done writing this book, I will be writing the last book of the Hikoboshi Series, and then I'll be writing the next Kimura Sisters book.

I'm trying this new thing where I write slow and steady and leave myself time during the day to do other things, like edit other books, do social media, or just relax, or all of the above. This should give me 2-3 books per year to publish, and that's going to be it. I realized recently I have been doing a million-dollar hustle for pocket change. Why, Stephanie? WHY? Ugh. No. That's ridiculous. If I'm not going to make a salary at this, then there's no reason to be working 10 to 12 hour days, EVERY DAY. I'm done with that. 2022 is going to focus more on me than my writing.

In exercise news, I just finished a super hard week of the Fall Power Zone Pack Challenge. I was absolutely wrecked from my 60-min class yesterday. Tired and HUNGRY! Lol. And tomorrow, I do my 450th ride!! 450!! I can hardly believe it. I'm close to 500! I love my Peloton bike fiercely. I'm in the best shape of my life.

Lulu thinks that 7am is the perfect time to play!

I got up off the couch to investigate something Lulu was barking at, so I threw the blanket behind me and it landed on the floor. When I came back, she was already camped out on it. Lol.

Lulu camped out at my feet one evening while I was getting some last minute work done.

I think she loves me!

I've been reading through the stories in Pets in Space 6. I definitely have my favorites! And I'll talk about those in an upcoming book chat. All the stories so far are well-written and imaginative, but several really kept me engaged.

Got some writing in while the kids carved their pumpkins.

I treated myself to some ice cream, which I haven't done in a while. This flavor is delicious!

Cheers!

Getting in my rides!

You may have missed my Reel on Instagram on Five Reasons I Give Up On A Book!

And finally, I took this picture after I finished recording the last chapters of CRASH LAND ON KURAI for Instagram Video. They are now scheduled out, Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday, for the next two weeks, and the final chapters will be up on November 11. I'm so glad that task is done! It'll free up a lot of time for me.

Have a great week everyone! Stay safe and healthy.

The post Sunday Update – October 31, 2021 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

FIRST FLYGHT Is Now Free! Download This Slow-Burn Romance Today!

I'm excited to let you know that FIRST FLYGHT is now free! I have made it free in every place I possibly can so that you can start this series for free just like most of my other backlist series. If you haven't read this one yet, now is the perfect time for you to pick it up and get reading. If this book is not available for free in your country (totally possible with Amazon) then please download it from me Direct. You can click on the purple Direct button on the FIRST FLYGHT page and get it right away!

Her future is brighter than the stars. But one betrayal will change everything…

Vivian Kawabata can't wait to claim her privileged destiny. But when the heir to the family agricultural empire finds her bank account empty while shopping for expensive shoes, she’s horrified to discover that her own brother has financially stabbed her in the back. To stand a chance of restoring her rightful place in the universe, the honest and rule-following Vivian may have to break a few intergalactic laws.

After securing an old ship from her aunt, Vivian takes on two new roles: a sexy heiress collecting eligible husbands and a hard-nosed captain rebuilding a lost fortune by any means necessary. Completely out of her depth, she'd be sunk without the help of a relationship broker, a handsome ex-boyfriend, a hacker with a heart of gold, and the other potential partners she meets along the way. With a business that runs the razor’s edge between trade and smuggling, can the former high-society socialite get the money she needs or will her brazen ambition lead to a deadly crash landing?

FIRST FLYGHT is the first book in the Flyght Series of sci-fi reverse harem romance. If you like action-packed space operas and a universe full of twists, then you’ll love S. J. Pajonas’s interstellar adventure.

Note: This is a slow-burn romance series and the series must be read in order!

Download FIRST FLYGHT today!

I plan to leave this free for the foreseeable future. Please let your friends and family know so they can enjoy it too! Thank you!

The post FIRST FLYGHT Is Now Free! Download This Slow-Burn Romance Today! appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.