S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 52
April 16, 2020
What I’m Watching – Star Trek Picard, Westworld, and Parasite
We’ve moved onto new TV here, though I’m still watching Grace and Frankie on my own during lunch breaks. It’s nice to have something non-news to watch in the evenings. These shows provided some much-needed downtime from current events!
Star Trek Picard (On CBS All Access) was something I’ve been looking forward to for a while, but I was hesitant to add another streaming service to everything we already pay for. When CBS offered a month free, I decided to jump on it! We’re about half way through with this season now and I’m enjoying the plot and concept. It was a little saccharine in places, though. Especially Soji “falling for” this dashing Romulan secret agent. It was too predictable.
BUT now that we’re past that, the story is really flowing, and I’m wondering how all the pieces of the puzzle will fit together. I really love the cinematography and the special effects. The supporting cast is great too. The ship’s captain, Rios, is a breath of fresh air. Can’t wait to finish this season!
Westworld Season 3 (On HBO) is definitely proving to be some of the best storytelling of the series. The episodes are tight and well thought-out. I am so intrigued by this “real world” outside of the parks! And I can’t wait to see how the parks relate to this world where everything is determined for you ahead of time.
Evan Rachel Wood is just amazing. Her control over her character, Delores, is mind-boggling in its preciseness. I love all the characters but adding in Aaron Paul this season was a fantastic choice. The cities, sets, and special effects are all on-point. Each week, I look forward to watching! It’s the kind of sci-fi I love and it’s given me lots of ideas for my own work too.
Parasite (Rental from Hulu) (IMDB) was on my list for months to watch and then really shot up the queue once it won the Oscar for Best Picture. I love Korean films so I knew this was going to be good. And it was. The subtle humor, the commentary on class structure, the views of Seoul — there was a lot to enjoy in this film.
A few points got a little graphic, but they weren’t anything more than a Game of Thrones episode. My husband and I talked about it a lot the day after and plenty of the themes have stuck in my head since then. If you can watch this one, definitely do!
And I’m sure there will be much more TV and movies to come!
Tell me what you’re watching so I don’t run out of stuff in my queue!
Viber
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April 12, 2020
Sunday Update – April 12, 2020
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 week gone by and I’m not totally sure what we did. It was Spring Break here, and the kids didn’t have distance learning, so we just tried to keep them busy.
We had a few projects planned for the week including cleaning out my youngest kid’s room and going through all her clothes, cleaning out the art corner and making it into a plant growing area, and cleaning out my car. Yes, lots of cleaning. I got the kids involved, so it wasn’t just me doing all the cleaning.
My husband canceled his time off so he could save the vacation time for later in the year. We were supposed to go visit my parents in Charleston for the week, but we stayed home, of course. But this meant that he worked all week and I had to run interference on the kids. They were pretty great, though. I lost a lot of editing time, but I managed to sew some masks and get other stuff done.
I made some progress on STOLEN FLYGHT! I’m finally in the last act of the book where I have to add lots of details and tie in the pieces of the narrative that I lost along the way. I expect to be done with it by the end of the week and off to my first readers.
Let’s get to the photos…
I told my oldest kid it was time for her to start making her own breakfast every day so I taught her how to make eggs on the stove. This was her own breakfast!
I sewed masks for my cousin’s family. Then I drove them over to her place and got to see her for a little bit (from a safe distance). I missed her so much.
The park is still looking gorgeous. Check out that white heron in flight!
Lulu has been enjoying her down time.
We had some good cocktails this week.
Spent Friday evening talking with my knitting friends again. It was so nice! I miss them too.
We had some good food this week too. We ordered Thai food one night, and last night, I made chili and homemade bread! The chili was on a whim when we found a brick of Beyond Meat crumbles in the freezer. It turned out really tasty.
Have a great week everyone! Stay safe and stay home.
Viber
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April 10, 2020
Book Chat #54 – Tana French, H. Y. Hanna, Andrea Vaughan and William Vaughan, Colleen Hoover, and Rysa Walker
I haven’t been doing much reading via my Kindle lately. I wish there was more time to just sit and read, but there isn’t. Between helping my kids with school, doing my own writing/editing, and taking care of everyone, sitting and reading is a luxury. Thankfully, though, there have been plenty of audiobooks! I walk Lulu 3-4 miles every day, do dishes and cleaning, and sew masks, and I can listen to audiobooks during all of that! So let’s get to all the audiobooks I’ve listened to in the last month or so…
This book took me AGES to get through. I think her writing style is lovely, but I found the sheer amount of details about every. little. thing. to be hard to slog through, even at 2x speed. Though I was happy with the main mystery and its outcome in this book, she still left the background mystery unsolved. I’m not sure if that mystery is solved in later books, but it might be worth checking out. I’d need to set aside time to listen though. These are not easy listens, for sure.
FOUR PUDDINGS AND A FUNERAL by H. Y. Hanna
I was very happy to pick up this book in the Oxford Tea Room Mysteries after slogging through the previous mystery in my audiobook queue. I love the light and exciting story H. Y. Hanna crafted for this particular mystery. I did not guess the murderer ahead of time! And I thought the addition of some Russian characters was a great idea. All in all, another cracking addition to this series!
2ND GEN by Andrea Vaughan and William Vaughan
I picked up this book on a whim after getting a marketing email from Audible about it. (Good job, Audible!) It came recommended by the narrator, Luke Daniels, who I enjoy a whole lot. I’ve listened to a ton of his narrations. And I figured that a YA sci-fi book set on a generation ship was right up my alley. It was! I think the premise was unique enough to set this story apart from others I’ve read. I enjoyed trying to figure out the mysteries of this story. I didn’t necessarily enjoy the adults-keep-secrets-from-the-kids trope that I think is overused in a lot of YA books. Hell, I’ve even used it before! So I guess I’m not one to talk. Lol. It did not detract from the overall enjoyability of this story, though, and I feverishly listened all the way to the end. The story left off on a big reveal, and I hope the second book in the series will be out soon!
I’ve read other Colleen Hoover books before, but this was my first thriller/mystery from her. Man, this book was ADDICTIVE. I think I listened to it in just a few sittings. There is a lot of graphic sex in this book, so if you’re not into that, you might want to pass. I was RIVETED by Verity. I wanted to know what happened to the character, Verity, and why her family was struck by such devastating accidents. I did NOT see the twist coming. This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time!
I usually stay away from time travel books because of my poor short term memory. Time travel stories often rely on the reader picking up on details and discrepancies, which I have a hard time with, and then I get lost and confused. I also struggle with times and dates! Man, I was a horrible history student! Even though I love history. Anyway, despite all MY shortcomings, I still enjoyed TIMEBOUND and the story of Kate, her grandmother, and the time-traveling Chronos historians. Once I had a good grasp of the main threads of the story, I sailed right through the rest. This story was unpredictable and fun! And I can see why Rysa is such a knowledgable and talented author. I’ve been Facebook friends with her for years and I often enjoy her posts there. It was nice to read one of her fictional works. I picked this one up in a big sale Amazon was having since she also had an Amazon First Read. I am currently listening to the second book in the series, and I’m sure it’s as much of a winner as the first book.
And I had some re-listens as well…
NEMESIS GAMES and PERSEPOLIS RISING by James S. A. Corey
I thought I was going from Book 5 to Book 6 in this story, but it turns out I accidentally skipped a book in my re-listens of the Expanse series. Oops! I will go back and re-listen to BABYLON’S ASHES (Book 6) when I’m done with my current listen. It’s no big deal to me to skip around since this is my second time listening. I just love this series so much, re-listening is like talking to an old friend.
What have you been reading or listening to?
Viber
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April 7, 2020
Why I’m Discontinuing Paperbacks
I’m making a lot of changes over the next year so that I can continue to write and publish, and I can do it all without losing my sanity. Running your own business is hard work. Running your own creative business is even harder, in my opinion. Not only do I constantly have to be creative and write the books, I have to market and advertise them, audit my business and run the numbers, and handle stock.
When I decided last year that I would divide up my business, I also decided that from 2020 onward, I would focus on being 100% digital. Handling stock and paperbacks is not something I want to do anymore. And since I don’t do in-person signings or sell bulk to schools or businesses or go to conventions, paperbacks are not a huge part of my business. In fact, they are a very small part of it.
Here are a few reasons why I’m discontinuing paperbacks and going 100% digital…
It’s more eco-conscious. Let’s face it. Even if you love the smell of paperbacks and holding one in your hands, it’s a nightmare for the environment. Paper must be manufactured which is destructive to trees and water supplies. Then it must be shipped from China (Yes, most of the paper comes from China). Printing also has a carbon footprint. Then those books must be shipped again from the supplier to the store or to you. All of this is not good for the environment, and I no longer want to be a part of the process.
I will no longer have to rely on Amazon for my printing. Ever since Amazon switched my books from CreateSpace to Amazon KDP Print, it’s been a problem. Hell, I used to make $20-$40 a month on paperbacks when they were on CreateSpace. Now, I’m lucky if I sell ONE paperback a month or every other month. I strongly suspect I’m selling paperbacks, but I’m not being paid for them. I could switch over to IngramSpark for my paperbacks but…
I no longer want to spend the money and ISBNs on something that brings in so little profit. Switching all my books over to IngramSpark for printing will cost me a whole lot in fees and time. Even if I can find a way to decrease the fees (I could join an online organization that will give me a code to get by it, but that will also cost me a yearly fee), the time spent porting over all the books is just too much. I have A LOT of books, and my cozy mysteries will be a pain anyway once I switch them to my pen name. I decided to give IngramSpark a try for FIRST FLYGHT and see if I sold any of them. I’ve sold 4 since it went live in September. Also, I don’t want to spend my ISBNs on paperbacks anymore. They’re expensive, and I’d rather save them for ebooks.
I will no longer have to rely on a physical supply chain for one of my income streams. This quarantine business has highlighted just how badly traditional publishing relies on physical sales to get by. And with paper not coming from China, printing presses shut down, warehouses closed, trucks sitting idle, and bookstores shuttered, they are not selling books, and then they won’t be paying their authors. I would hate for my readers to buy a physical book from me and then not get it for weeks. Yes, I use print-on-demand but those places also fall afoul of supply chain issues. Yes, I may lose some readers, but I can tell you from experience and looking at my income spreadsheets, it’s like less than 1% of my income. I encourage everyone to read digitally!
By concentrating 100% on digital, I’ll be able to edit and publish my books in a streamlined fashion, leaving more time for either writing or my family or hobbies. I like that part the best! I’m all about streamlining and keeping my business lean.
As the year comes to a close, I will slowly be taking my paperbacks off sale. I will start with the Miso Cozy Mysteries when I port them over to my new pen name. Then I will discontinue the Hikoboshi paperbacks when I publish the last book in that series. Eventually, I’ll take the Nogiku paperbacks off sale, too. By the time this post goes live, I will have discontinued the paperback for FIRST FLYGHT.
I hope that all explains some of my thoughts on this subject! I’ll link back here when people have questions for me about why I don’t offer paperbacks anymore.
Viber
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April 5, 2020
Sunday Update – April 5, 2020
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.
Don’t even ask me what really happened this week because I HAVE NO CLUE. I spent most of the week asking “Is today Tuesday? Friday? What day is it?” Every day is blending into the next. If it weren’t for the structure of school-from-home, I wouldn’t have even known it was a weekday. Weekday? What’s that?
My week was mostly: morning walks with Lulu, helping with school work, editing STOLEN FLYGHT, making food, making masks and scrub caps, knitting, listening to audiobooks/podcasts, sleeping. Hmmm, that’s about it.
Every day has been both easy and a struggle. Life is definitely easier when I don’t have to go anywhere. But it’s also a struggle to stay focused. I’m sure many are feeling the same way, so this will be relatable. We’re definitely privileged enough to do this shelter-in-place, so for that, I’m grateful. It’s just fraying my sanity at the edges.
The other good thing that happened this week was that I saw all of my knitting buddies in a Zoom meeting on Friday! I hadn’t talked to many of these ladies in YEARS, and it was delightful. Really, a balm for the soul. We made it a standing thing, so I hope to tune in again this coming Friday.
Let’s get to the photos…
I’m spending time every day outdoors, and spring is coming to this part of the world! Lots of beautiful trees and plenty of wildlife.
Lulu continues to charm us.
My neighborhood is helping us stay strong.
I’ve been eating low-carb and that means I’m eating less Japanese, which is a bummer. So I improvised on this meal so I could have soba and tempura shrimp. I substituted half my soba noodles for zucchini noodles instead.
I’ve been enjoying tea lattes a lot. It’s the little things.
And finally, my knitting Zoom meeting! All of these ladies were a part of our Spiders Knitting Group in the 2000s. It was nice seeing them all again.
I hope you have a great week! Stay home and stay safe.
Viber
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April 2, 2020
Knitting FO – Corners, Edges, Stripes
It’s been a while (18 months) since I’ve had one of these posts! I remember when I used to knit something new every week, and now the knitting is much more scarce. But in this case, the long wait for the finished object (FO) is because the shawl was SO DARNED BIG. There were a lot of stitches on the needles, but I didn’t realize just how big this sucker was until I blocked it.
This behemoth is over 10 feet long/wide! It stretched from an ironing board, across my blocking board, to a chair during blocking. Sheesh!
I have to wrap it around my neck four times to get it to an acceptable length.
Regardless of this size of this monster, this was a pleasant knit. I worked on it in many places from airplanes to the pool to home. It stuck by me on the couch and came with me on vacations.
The pattern was easy to memorize. I didn’t have to follow along with it unless I was transitioning to a new part of the design.
If I decide to make this pattern again someday, my only change will be to make it smaller. Lol. And I could see doing that with smaller amounts of yarn in many colors. This design is very versatile and easy to adapt.
All in all, I’m really happy with the way this turned out! It’s very soft and comfortable, and I’m sure it’ll be a part of my winter warm-up wardrobe for years to come.
All the details about yarn and needles and more images are all on Ravelry.
View Corners, Edges, Stripes on Ravelry
I’ve cast on something new and it looks like it’ll also be a big one! Sigh. I just really love these big knits.
Viber
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April 1, 2020
April 2020 Goals
THANK THE HEAVENS MARCH IS OVER. With the quarantine and the start of social distancing, this month has felt three years long. April is not looking any better.
What Happened With March’s Goals?
Finish Flyght Book 6. Done! And ahead of my revised deadline. I’m so glad I finished it when I did because it was right before the start of distance learning for my kids.
Finish editing Flyght Book 5 and get it off to my proofreader and then to my ARC team. Also done! The ARC team has had this book and several have read it. I even uploaded the final version to the stores.
Close out my Move Rings every day on my Apple Watch. Done! Woo hoo!! I even closed my Exercise rings 18 times this month. More than half the days of March.
Make it through a Girl Scout camping trip. Done, and I’m happy it all went well. We had a relatively good time. The weather was decent. The food sucked. We made it home in one piece.
Start our bathroom remodel! Due to the coronavirus, this has been put off indefinitely. Sad to say. I really hope we can start this project in the summer.
Audiobooks, reading, and knitting. Done. Done. Done. I listened to a few audiobooks. I read on my Kindle. I even finished my knit I’ve been working on for 18 months!
Watch finish my Masterclass. No joy. Unfortunately, I just kept forgetting about this. I think I watched a few more sessions?
Goals For April
Finish second draft Flyght Book 6. I need to do my revisions and additions to this draft and send out to my first readers. I hope to get this to them by the 15th.
Setup the website for my pen name. I have the domain and now it’s time to set up the website for my upcoming pen name. I can get most of it set up and ready for when I get my branding done.
Close out my Move Rings every day on my Apple Watch. Let’s keep the streak going!
Keep my kids sane through this coronavirus isolation. We have Spring Break coming up next week. We were supposed to be in Charleston, but that’s not happening. Instead, we’ll be staying home like always. We’ll have to come up with activities and stuff to do!
Make more masks and scrub caps. I’ve been making scrub caps and fabric masks for healthcare workers, a few each week. I want to continue until I work through some of my stash!
Audiobooks, reading, and knitting. I’m starting a new knit! And I want to keep listening to audiobooks. I have a lot of them.
Watch finish my Masterclass. I plan to finish the Space Exploration Masterclass this month. Really.
Have a great April everyone! Stay home and stay safe!
Viber
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March 29, 2020
Sunday Update – March 29, 2020
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 week of social isolation! I had no idea what day it was most of the time. Seriously. On Thursday, I totally thought it was a Sunday.
Highlights from this week include plenty of sewing, finishing my current knit (!!!) which I had been working on for 18 months, a trip to Whole Foods, and another trip to the vet for Lulu.
The kids had a good week of distance learning. They’re getting the hang of it, and I think both of them like being home, though they miss their friends. There are not as many tests but there’s still plenty of learning, which I’m good with.
Lulu has been very sneezy lately. We call her Sneezy, like one of the Seven Dwarves. And she’s been doing this thing called Reverse Sneezing, too. I didn’t know what it was! I thought she was seizing because she seemed very distressed over it on our walk on Friday. So I got her a 2:30pm appointment at the vet for the same day. When I arrived at the vet, I called from the parking lot and they came and got her from the car. Then I gave them my credit card number over the phone for billing and my phone number, and the doctor called me back to discuss her condition. He gave her a round of antibiotics to make sure she doesn’t have a sinus infection and she’s on antihistamines now to hopefully curb all the sneezes and reverse sneezes.
My trip to Whole Foods was quite the production. I bought enough to get us through Easter, but when I got home, I had to wipe everything down before getting it into the house. My husband was stunned by all the food I got! But I really wanted fresh veggies. Anyway, I know that once Easter is over, he’ll be wondering where all the food is. Lol.
We also had a little scare this weekend as my mom, down in Charleston, was rushed to the hospital last night (Saturday night). Bad time to be having an episode in the middle of a global pandemic, but what can you do? She seems better today but they are doing tests to rule out a stroke. We hope she’s back home tomorrow. I wish I could be there to help my parents! I’ve been on the phone almost all day, which is why this post is late to go up.
In writing news, I start on my first round of edits on STOLEN FLYGHT tomorrow! I’m going to take it two chapters at a time and fix things as I go. I hope to have it off to first readers by mid-April. Publication of STOLEN FLYGHT is set for June 19th!
The park is showing signs of spring! Trees are blooming, people are boating (alone), and the turtles are back out on the log!
I’ve been sewing scrub caps and masks for my local hospital. My friend, Sue, is an ER nurse there so she picks up whatever I make and brings it to the hospital for her staff. I’m hoping to make more this week!
Lulu is as cute as ever.
They finally (FINALLY) closed off all the gym equipment in the park. Thankfully. People had been meeting there to do Boot Camp in the mornings. Now the police are in the park a lot, which I’m also happy for.
I baked more bread this week… because pandemic.
And finally, when Lulu was at her vet appointment, I sat in the car and bound off this knit I had been working on for EIGHTEEN MONTHS. I will be blocking it tonight and hopefully taking photos tomorrow!
Have a good week everyone! Stay home and stay safe.
Viber
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March 25, 2020
Stay At Home and Read – 45% Off Coupon
Hi everyone! I hope you’re all staying home (if you can) and staying healthy and sane. During these uncertain times, many readers are finding solace in reading, and I wanted to offer a 45% off coupon in my PayHip direct store.
This 45% off coupon is good for ANYTHING in my PayHip store including my box sets! There’s even a Miso Cozy Mysteries 6-Book Omnibus in there you can get 45% off of, and I only sell that omnibus elsewhere on Kobo currently.
So if you’ve been thinking about picking up some of my books, you should do it at a discount and buy direct.
Use the coupon code…
STAYATHOME2020
To save 45% of any ebook in my PayHip Store. You can even use the coupon code more than once! Offer expires May 1, 2020.
Check out all the books in my Direct PayHip Store
Take care everyone!
Viber
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March 22, 2020
Sunday Update – March 22, 2020
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.
Well, our first week of isolation is over and I think we did pretty good. The kids had distance learning school Wednesday through Friday. Each day they worked from 10 to 3, sometimes a little longer, sometimes a little shorter. The youngest had the most questions and needed the most help (thanks, long division), but otherwise, I was able to do my own work while they worked at their computers.
Our family tried to get out every day for walks or bike rides or whatever kind of exercise we could manage. The dog got lots of walks and people time. We cooked at home and ate well. I’m pleased with how it went! Let’s hope this coming week is just as productive.
Today was my oldest child’s 13th birthday! I am now the mom of a teenager. Wow. We baked a chocolate cake this morning and snickerdoodle cookies. Then we watched LITTLE WOMEN this afternoon with popcorn, got takeout for dinner from our favorite Italian restaurant, and then played UNO after. It was a great way!
This past week, I got lots of my own work done too! I finished writing Flyght 6! The series is now complete! Yay! I have lots of revisions to do on the last book, but it’s a good base. Really good. I’m happy with it. I also got proofreading remarks back on Flyght 5, and then I uploaded that to all the stores that had pre-orders.
What else happened this week? I’ll let the photos speak for this…
Enjoy some cute photos of Lulu!
My youngest daughter made a leprechaun trap for Science at school and St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a combination of Legos and those fun snap circuits.
We got a new lamp for the dining area! And my husband was home so he was able to install it!
I got some knitting and reading done. Always with Lulu by my side.
There were some new eats around here! I tried some keto cookies that were pretty good. Then I tried the Tofu Shirataki noodles in my leftover Japanese Curry. And finally we tried some spaghetti squash.
Plus, we ate outside on Thursday night and I got this beautiful Blood Orange Daiquiri from my husband.
The park was so empty on Saturday! Usually all of these spots are filled with parked cars.
Last weekend I spent hours taking apart my kids’ iPads, disinfecting them, replacing the screen protectors, and backing up and updating them.
And finally today we made this awesome vegan chocolate cake and some vegan snickerdoodle cookies as well. We celebrated the 13 year old’s birthday with a cake that had and 8 and a 5 candle on it because we couldn’t go out and buy a 3 candle to go with the 1 candle we have 8+5 is 13! So that’s the best we could do. The cake and the cookies turned out perfect! And they were super tasty too. Links below.
Nora Cook’s Best Vegan Chocolate Cake – This was really good, moist and fluffy. Would never know it was missing dairy or eggs. The added boiling water really made the difference. We didn’t have cake pans! (I had no idea we didn’t own them?) So we did one sheet 9×13″ pan.
The Simple Veganista’s Best Snickerdoodle Cookies – Guys, these were TO DIE FOR. And very easy. DO NOT SKIP THE CREAM OF TARTAR. It really makes these cookies. I put some of the dough in the fridge for baking later next week (rolled up in plastic wrap right).
Have a great week everyone!
Viber
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