S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 68

Some News About Me and Website Email Sign-ups

First, I have some bad news, and you can see more details of what’s been going on with me this week over on Instagram. So head on over there, if you want the longer version.

The short version is that I broke my left leg (both the fibula and the tibia), and I broke the pinky toe of my right foot. It was a bad spill on a slippery piece of slate at the bottom of our deck stairs. A freak accident. Much love goes out to my town’s police and rescue squad who got me onto a stretcher, took care of my kids, and to the hospital lickety-split. I had to have surgery on my leg and my foot, and that’s done now too.

So I’m going to be out of commission for the next few weeks. I’ll do some updates here and there when I can, and I hope to schedule a few posts when I’m not in a lot of pain.

THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING is all uploaded and ready to go on each of the sites, so no worries there. I just need to press one button on Amazon to publish the paperback.

I had hoped to give you extra content related to the book, but that will have to wait. Maybe I’ll do it in May as a little belated celebration.

Email Sign-Ups Have Been Fixed

So, it seems that the sign-up form on my website was broken for a little while. I have no idea how long it WAS broken, though. Maybe back in early February? It was signing those people up for the list but not sending the opt-in emails nor the welcome email. So if you signed up for email updates, and didn’t get the welcome email with the link to download the Nogiku Series Guidebook, I apologize. Please email me using the Contact Form, and your email address that you signed up with, and I will send you the link as soon as I can. I’m checking email a few times per day while I’m laid up, so my response time shouldn’t be too long.

The post Some News About Me and Website Email Sign-ups appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Sunday Update – March 17, 2019

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.

Monday started out rough. Everyone was tired and grumpy from the time change. I got my somewhat annual mammogram and ultrasound and came home from that grumpy too. So I walked on the treadmill and got on with my day. I tried to rally but by dinner time the whole house was a mess. We all went to bed early.

Tuesday I felt much better. Sleep can really do a lot for a person! I wanted to walk outside but it was too cold and windy so I walked on the treadmill and watched The Expanse. I ate an early brunch, showered, and went to get my credit card I had left at the restaurant last week. Then I worked on the paperbacks for the Miso Cozy books all afternoon. By the time I was done with dinner, Amazon had approved them all and I was able to order my proofs. I was able to knit in the evening.

Wednesday was off again for me. The cleaning ladies came and I walked on the treadmill in the morning after getting some ad work done. I got onto the treadmill too late though and didn’t get as much walking in as I like. After, I got the paperback for THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING into KDP Print. Then I lost my motivation and ended up going to bed for a nap. I eventually got up, showered, and got to work but my timing was off all day and I forgot to have my afternoon tea. Then I got work done before, during, and after tennis. My husband was out of town so I had to do the usual without him.

By Thursday, I really felt like I needed a vacation. I felt jet lagged and out of sorts. I did manage to get THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING totally done, though. I entered all of my proofreading notes in and finalized the manuscript. Then I uploaded the final files to all the stores. I went to pottery and got a lot done there because it was the last class of the session. I painted one bowl and then trimmed 4 bowls. I made one into a potential yarn bowl! Let’s hope it makes it out of the kiln in one piece. I rushed home after, ate quickly, and then went out for a walk! It was 60°F outside so I couldn’t pass it up. The rest of the evening went down hill. I was so tired I couldn’t stay awake to get work done. Then I couldn’t find the field where my daughter was supposed to play softball! And I left my phone at home! Argh! More like I left my brain at home. I needed a glass of wine after that one.

Friday was so nice! The temperature outside was in the 70s and the air felt fresh. I got the kids off to school, updated the blog, and then went out to get groceries early at 10am. When I got back, I had lunch and watched The Expanse, then I showered and did some work until the kids came home. In the late afternoon, I took my oldest to get her ears pierced! And then my youngest played outside all evening! It was great! My husband made it home from his business trip, we had Japanese curry for dinner, and then we got caught up on Sumo. Oh! And I got my mammogram results! Everything is normal! Phew!

Saturday was a working rest day for me. I slept in and had a late brunch after sitting on the couch and reading in the morning. I also started watching a course on Google Analytics which I hope to get back to this week. Then I walked on the treadmill because despite it being beautiful and 74 degrees the day before, it was cold and windy outside. In the afternoon, I bought some Udemy courses for me and the kids and got them set up to have fun with those. My oldest is learning how to draw characters, and my youngest is learning painting skills and how to sew! In the evening, we watched Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan. The kids thought it was kind of boring, but I loved watching it again.

Sunday brought more relaxation. I slept in again and didn’t fast. I had 3 square meals! Which I almost never eat now. No worries. It’s back to intermittent fasting tomorrow, as I really like doing it during the week. It makes my days so much easier. I walked on the treadmill again and got out my sewing machine for my youngest to learn about sewing. I can’t find my seam ripper, though. I have no idea where it went! And my reverse stitch isn’t working, so I might take apart the sewing machine and see if I can fix it. In the afternoon, I made a few last edits to FIRST FLYGHT (some typos caught by my ARC team) and did the work on the backend of Amazon to link up the new Miso Cozy paperbacks with the ebooks. I’ll have to ask Amazon to link them up on the frontend this week. Almost all of the paperbacks were approved but Book 3, and I still have no idea why they kicked back Book 3. I made it exactly the same as the others. I just resubmitted it without changing it. I also returned emails to my cover designer and spoke to my good friend and fast reader, Lola, about FIRST FLYGHT which she just read and reviewed! The review is up on Goodreads, if that’s your thing. This evening I plan to work on setting up my blog posts for the week and working on SFR Station.

What else happened this week?

I enjoyed a chocolate taiyaki on Monday. It was needed.

Look who’s back! We saw our local fox out and about in the middle of the afternoon. I wonder if she has kits nearby. She spent some time in both our front and back yards!

It was so nice on Thursday that even the turtles were out on the log!!

Doing paperbacks for KDP Print requires a whole lot of patience, but then the proofs arrive! I was so happy to get the proofs of the entire series!

Here I am, enjoying the nice outdoor weather!

I trimmed all four of those bowls and I cut into one to make it a yarn bowl. I’m hoping this design will survive the kiln! Then I painted this wave bowl. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!

And finally, behold! My favorite way to eat sprouts! On a bagel with cream cheese. Yum.

I hope you all have an awesome week!

The post Sunday Update – March 17, 2019 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Building A New House Is Tough Business – An Excerpt From THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING

When last we left Mei and Yasahiro in THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE RETURNS A FAVOR, they were looking for land to build a new house on. This was a dream of theirs, to show the town that Chikata was coming back and would be a great place to build and have a family.

So naturally, in THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING, we get a chance to see how the building process is going for them… and it’s not going well. At all. If you’ve never heard of stigmatized properties in Japan, here’s a crash course on them from Tofugu.com. When strange events start happening on Mei’s property, she’s tasked with solving that mystery as well.

Here’s a nice juicy excerpt from THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING!

“What happened this time?” I asked, trying to fold my arms over my chest and failing because Mari was strapped there. I stuffed my hands into my fleece pockets instead.

“Mrs. Suga.” Imai, the foreman, acknowledged me with a bow. “Some scaffolding collapsed and knocked Daiki Wada off a ladder. He fell right on his shoulder and fractured it.”

“Did you check the scaffolding before working?” I looked at the house to determine where the accident occurred. It must have happened inside the structure because I couldn’t see anything different from where I was.

Imai sighed. “We did check it, but we must have missed this one spot where the ground was uneven.”

“Hmmm. Well, it sounds like an accident…?” The lift in my voice was unintended. I wanted this to just be an accident, but it was looking less and less likely.

Imai shifted his eyes down. A bad sign. “Well, whether it’s an accident or not, my team has walked off the job, and they won’t be returning until we get some answers about the land.”

I huffed, and Mari blinked her eyes at me. “The land,” I grumbled under my breath.

“Whether it’s stigmatized or not. Now, I’ve worked on plenty of job sites in my career where contractors have been injured. It happens. Sometimes it happens three times in one week. Other times, we may have nothing bad happen at all. And normally, I would brush this off. But Wada insists that you’re to blame. I’m so sorry.” He bowed, covering up his unease about speaking so plainly. “So he’s riled up the other men on the site and spoiled the lot of them. Again, I apologize.”

While Imai was bent over in deference, I glanced at Goro. He sighed and stowed away his notebook.

“If I figure out what’s going on with the land or whatever,” — I waved my hand in a circle, not caring how informal I sounded — “will you hire a new crew and return to finish the job? I really want my house. I have fought… so hard…”

And then the tears came. Ugh. I hated how they made me look. Like some weak, sniveling woman who couldn’t control herself.

But both men were not embarrassed, thankfully. Goro did the decent thing and set his hand on my shoulder to steady me.

“We’ll figure it out,” Goro said, reassuring me. “And I’m sure Mr. Imai will find the right crew to be here and build your house. Isn’t that right, Mr. Imai?”

Goro raised his shoulders and asserted his dominance, something I hadn’t seen him do in quite some time. In his police uniform, he always looked like he had command of the situation, but now, with him staring down at Imai, his intimidating nature shone through.

“Of course. We want to build this house.” He stood up straight. “The manufacturer assures me that this is a point of pride for them, to have one of their houses in this town, owned by a famous chef and his wife. We will get it done. This is only a small hiccup.”

I bristled at the ‘and his wife’ comment as if I was a nobody, just someone’s accessory. But it was not time to educate this man on the finer points of independent women. If Yasahiro’s fame would carry us through this mess, then so be it.

“I’ll get your answers, and I’ll get them soon,” I assured him.

As soon as possible.

Want to purchase THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING?

This book is available for pre-order on Amazon, Apple Books, Nook, Kobo, and Google Play! View the cover, blurb, and purchase THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING via my website…

Check out THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING now!

The post Building A New House Is Tough Business – An Excerpt From THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Teaser Tuesday – New Parents

It’s Teaser Tuesday for THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING!

When we last saw Mei in MATSURI AND MURDER, she was pregnant, so of course, she has a new baby in THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING. I remember being a new mother pretty vividly, even though it was over 12 years ago! That sense of wonder, looking at your own child, and frustration at not knowing why they’re crying never fades. Though there are lots of periods of childhood I have forgotten about, the baby years are still crisp in my mind, like that month when my oldest cried every night for three or four hours before bedtime. Yikes. This is why I’m completely gray at 43.

When it came time to give Mei a baby, I knew she would look at her child like a mystery. She would try to figure out why her baby girl did the things she did, and if she couldn’t figure it out, she would make the best of it. Mei and Yasahiro are tired in this book, tired and stretched thin. But they tackle parenthood like the fighters they are! All the while running their restaurant, tea shop, helping Mei’s mother, building a new house, and solving a murder mystery! Phew! I’m exhausted just typing that!

Anybody else out there had/have a baby who loved white noise? My oldest used to sleep with the hair dryer on. Lol. Yeah. We got one with a “cool” feature, turned that on, and ran it all night long. Ah, memories.

Want to purchase THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING?

This book is available for pre-order on Amazon, Apple Books, Nook, Kobo, and Google Play! View the cover, blurb, and purchase THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING via my website…

Check out THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING now!

The post Teaser Tuesday – New Parents appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Sunday Update – March 10, 2019

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.

Monday started off with a lot of snow. We woke up to 8” of the white stuff and no school. So we took care of the snow in the morning and spent the day doing normal work. My husband stayed home too.

Tuesday, we were back to work and school. I walked on the treadmill in the morning after grocery deliveries came. Then I worked most of the day on the last of the first round of copy edits on Daydreamer 5! Yay! In the evening I relaxed and got some knitting done.

Wednesday was just a bad day all around. I don’t know what happened, but I just lost steam and couldn’t move forward on any of my projects. Then I accidentally left my phone at home when I took the girls to tennis. My brain was missing and I was tired and irritable. I ended the evening on the couch with my favorite blanket, a drink, and some ice cream.

Thursday I woke up with a sinus headache that didn’t go away so the day wasn’t any better than the previous day. I did go to pottery and enjoyed my time there. I threw 4 large bowls which I’m looking forward to trimming, and I trimmed one other one. Then I worked some in the evening on both my final proofread of Daydreamer 5 and my blog.

Friday was a mixed bag of a day. The kids went to school in the morning and my husband stayed home. I walked on the treadmill, showered, dressed, worked and packed for a weekend trip away for skiing. Once again, I would not be skiing but instead WORKING, of course. I wished I had finished my work before we left but it just didn’t happen. In the late afternoon, we left before rush hour and made it to the resort in about an hour and twenty minutes. We had dinner and took the kids to the indoor water park. Then I realized I didn’t have my credit card! The last place I used it was on my bad day, Wednesday, to pick up dinner for everyone. I called the restaurant, and yep, they had my card. But, OF COURSE, they aren’t open Sunday or Monday. Sigh. I’m going to have to drive over there on Tuesday to get it.

Saturday, we were on vacation! Kind of. My family went skiing while I stayed in the room and worked. Lol. Honestly, I don’t ski. And if I tried and hurt myself, the whole family would suffer so I don’t do it. I was nervous on Saturday. I had an hour long takeover in the Reverse Harem Reader group where I showed off my upcoming book, FIRST FLYGHT. I was nervous about it, but the whole thing turned out great! I plan to give ARCs of FIRST FLYGHT to my ARC team this Monday. In the evening, we had dinner together and played games in the Arcade. I played my new favorite coin game and won lots of cards. Then, someone I had given an ARC of FIRST FLYGHT to read during the takeover party only a few hours before finished reading it and left a 5-star review! A great way to end my day.

Today, Sunday, we meant to sleep in, but the time change threw us for a loop. I slept horribly and then woke up at 9AM, which was really 8AM, and I wasn’t rested at all. We went to breakfast, packed up to leave, put everything in the car, and then my husband, oldest daughter, and I all read poolside while the youngest, who was a fish in a previous life, swam for an hour. Then we left, had Panera on the way home, and arrived home around 2PM. I unpacked and got right in bed for a nap, then spent the rest of the day and evening working… which is where I am right now.

You know, I said to my oldest daughter this past week that I am working 3 full-time jobs. I’m a Mom and all that entails with getting kids to school, to sports, and homework and home care and cooking and EVERYTHING. Then I’m an author brainstorming stories, writing books, editing them, publishing them. Then I’m also a marketing and advertising executive, running this blog, figuring out all the ads, and trying to find an audience for my work. IT IS A LOT OF WORK, PEOPLE. You see how much I do every week. This is why I’m getting to the point where I don’t want to do any of the advertising. I need to drop a job here or I’m going to burn out. I just want to write and have this blog. Ugh. I think I need a sign from above about what to do.

What else happened this week?

I baked a really loved boule bread on Monday.

So much snow. I’m glad most of it is melting now.

Sometimes bad days need ice cream.

Here are my favorite bowls that I brought home from class on Thursday.

My station got pretty dirty at pottery on Thursday.

I enjoyed a nice big breakfast twice this weekend! Obviously, I didn’t fast while I was away, so this was a treat.

And finally, I used my coin game skills to win all the character cards for everyone in the Willy Wonka game AND the Golden Ticket which netted me over 1000 tickets from the arcade at the resort. SCORE!

I hope you have an awesome week!

The post Sunday Update – March 10, 2019 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

The 10,000 Yen Note

It’s time to learn more about Japan!

When I sent off the second draft of THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING to readers, I got it back from them with a few Japanese specific questions I thought would be fun to answer! So over the next few weeks, I’ll have some specific Japan-related posts that address items from this book!

In THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING, Mei and Yasahiro are talking about buying a security system for their new property, and Mei says,

“But that doesn’t stop the actual accidents that are happening on the property. So, it’ll cost us a few ten-thousand yen, but I’d like to buy a remote, wireless security system with several cameras so we can observe the property when we’re not there — for when we get electricity on the property.”

My reader remarked, “Why 10,000 yen? Is that a normal denomination?”

Yes it is! Let’s break down the bills of Japan.

The Bills of Japan

In the United States, our most commonly used bill is the $20 bill (next to the $1 bill). This is mostly because it’s what banks stock in their ATMs and getting anything other than twenties is a treat. I can’t remember the last time I got anything other than a twenty from an ATM! I usually have to go into the bank and use a teller if I want something smaller. In Manhattan, there are now more sophisticated and well-stocked ATMs where you can get $5 bills but that’s not the norm.

In Japan, 10,000 yen bills are the most popular bills along with 1000 yen bills. So, basically $100 and $10. The 2000 yen bill ($20 equivalent) is super rare and was only issued in the year 2000. In fact, it’s so rare that people think they’re fake! Check out this post I saw on FB. Plenty of people commented that it was real and the guy was lucky to get it.

This post from Japan Visitor has a ton of information on both the bills and coins of Japan. Here is what is on the 10,000 yen and 1,000 yen notes…

The Japanese unit of currency is the Yen or en represented by the symbol ¥ and the code JPY.

Bank notes in circulation in Japan are in denominations of 10,000, 5,000, 2,000 (rarely seen) and 1,000 yen. Japanese bank notes and coins are issued by the Bank of Japan in Tokyo.

The 10,000 yen note has a portrait of Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835-1901), the Meiji Period scholar on the front and the reverse has an illustration of the famous Phoenix from Byodo-in Temple in Uji, near Kyoto, which also features on the 10 yen coin…

The latest 1,000 yen note (Series E) issued in 2004 has Noguchi Hideyo (1876-1928), the bacteriologist on the front and an image of Mt Fuji, Lake Motosu and cherry blossoms on the reverse. The previous series of notes issued from 1984-2004 had the novelist Soseki Natsume (1867-1916) on the front and two Red-crowned cranes on the reverse.

A Cash Society

Japan is mostly a cash society, and people there use cash every day. So 10,000 yen can go pretty fast when you’re paying for things like groceries and dinner out. Almost no one uses a credit or debit card for everyday purchases unless it’s a big ticket item. Plenty of places in Japan are cash-only, giving you no choice but to use bills. If you’re traveling to Japan, the ATM is the first thing you should hit once you pass through Immigration.

When I was last in Japan, I pulled 80,000 yen out of the ATM on my second to last day there. I did the calculation wrong and thought I was getting out $80 when I was really getting out $800! Oof! I freaked out because I didn’t want to have to worry about exchanging all of that back into US dollars. Would you believe I spent all of it but US$120? Between souvenirs, train tickets, duty-free goods, and food, it was all gone pretty quickly. Bills were flying out of my wallet like crazy. I did end up exchanging money at the airport too. They gave me US$20 bills, of course.

The Japanese think very naturally in this denomination. Cash wedding gifts are given in odd numbers of 10,000 yen bills (preferably brand new). Deposits on apartments are done in multiples of 10,000 yen. In THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE, Chiyo gave Mei a gift of 60,000 yen in 10,000 yen notes. And convenience stores won’t bat an eye at giving change for 10,000 yen, even if you just want an onigiri and a bottle of green tea.

The 10,000 yen note is the bill of choice for sure!

So now that I’ve told you about the 10,000 yen bill in Japan and the $20 bill in the US, I want to know about the popular bill in your home country! What about Euros or Pounds? Please chime in and let me know!

The post The 10,000 Yen Note appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Teaser Tuesday – The Witch Returns

It’s Teaser Tuesday for THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING! I’ve decided to try out a new teaser image size for my website and Pinterest. I hope you like them! I have 4 teasers to get us through to the launch of the book, so let’s get started!

As some of you may remember from THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE RETURNS A FAVOR, Mei had to live with the rampant rumors of being the town witch while she was battling with Kohei Watanabe. Of course, being Mei, she didn’t necessarily dismiss the rumors, but added on to them instead. And in true small town fashion, everyone still remembers the rumors, even if Kohei is no longer Mei’s antagonist.

Poor Mei. All she’s trying to do is build her new house! But it’s not that easy when Kohei’s buddies are on the construction crew.

Maybe she should use those witch powers to teach some bullies a good lesson, huh?

Want to purchase THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING?

This book is available for pre-order on Amazon, Apple Books, Nook, Kobo, and Google Play! View the cover, blurb, and purchase THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING via my website…

Check out THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING now!

The post Teaser Tuesday – The Witch Returns appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Sunday Update – March 3, 2019

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.

Monday we were back on track! It was a super windy day, so even though the temperature outside was bearable, the wind was not. I got some work done in the morning, walked on the treadmill and watched Outlander, stretched and ate. Then I got more work done uploading my Miso Cozy books to Amazon with the new covers. I laid down to take a nap in the afternoon and woke up with a start. I’m not sure. Probably due to the wind. In the evening, I finished uploading all the new covers to the SFR Station website and then got some knitting done.

Tuesday was busy busy busy again. In the morning, I was so tired I thought about going back to bed. I even DID get back in bed for a bit but didn’t fall back to sleep. I worked on updating the Miso Cozy covers on most of the stores, then walked and watched Outlander. In the afternoon, I worked on the SFR Station website then got to work on the Daydreamer 5 edits. After dinner, I went back to work, made the cover reveal blog post for Wednesday and sent the preorders to all the stores for Daydreamer 5.

Wednesday was business as usual. Got the kids off to school, cleaning ladies came, and I watched Outlander while walking on the treadmill. I also revealed the covers for the Miso Cozy Mysteries series! Then I worked on going over notes from one of my readers for Daydreamer 5 and incorporating her suggestions. I edited a few chapters but not as many as I wanted to.

Thursday started off busy and kept going. I left the house at 9am to run errands before pottery. Then I was at pottery class until 12:45. While I was there, I painted a bowl, dipped four others in glaze, trimmed another bowl and threw one more. Next week I promised that I would only make pottery! After, I ate my first meal of the day and showered then got to work on editing. I took a small break to lie down then handled dinner and homework with the kids. We watched TV together, and after they were in bed, I got back to work. I went to bed late.

Friday started off with some more snow. I swept up most of it because it was very powdery and then got the kids off to school. I posted about the pre-order for Daydreamer 5! Woo! Then I got my hair cut and went to Panera to get some work done. In the afternoon, I was just so tired. I had wanted to walk on the treadmill but I couldn’t muster the energy. My husband had arrived home late the night before and I didn’t go to sleep until after midnight then I got up at 6. I think I only got about 5 hours of sleep. So I spent the evening on the couch getting edits done and hanging out with the family.

Saturday, I continued to get a lot of stuff done. I cooked up my Thursday meals for the month in the morning, ate an early lunch, and then got on the treadmill. I walked for over an hour and finished off the first season of Outlander. Afterward, I baked bread and then helped my oldest daughter bake Irish soda bread. Moving myself to my bedroom, I got to work on editing 5 chapters of Daydreamer 5, and I got most of it done. After dinner, we watched the Khan Star Trek Original Series episode in preparation for watching the movie, and then I finished up my editing work.

Sunday was a busy day. I spent the morning reading some blog posts (I have fallen way behind this week and I hope to do some catching up tomorrow) and getting both my daughters’ Girl Scouts sashes ready for an event in the afternoon. I walked on the treadmill and watched The Expanse, then stretched and ate. In the afternoon, we went to World Thinking Day which was hosted by the Girl Scouts. All the local troops set up tables about different countries around the world and offered information about each of them including take home sheets and food. Afterward, we went out to dinner as a family and made it home early so I could edit more chapters and write up this post!

What else happened this week?

I’m growing micro greens at home using a subscription kit from Hamama. I really love having sprouts readily available for sandwiches and salads. This is a good way to get fresh greens even in the winter.

When I’m waiting or between tasks, there’s always knitting!

I’m sick of snow and there’s more coming.

I saw this one at Panera. Yes, it was a stereotypical older white man pounding away on it with white-out by his side.

I painted one of my better bowls, and I hope it comes out of the kiln looking pretty!

Unfortunately, this yarn bowl I made broke coming out of the kiln.

I like to make lunches for a month’s worth of Thursdays. Thursdays I fast all the way through pottery and don’t eat until close to 1pm. So it’s nice to have a meal ready for me quickly when I get home. This is black lentils and jasmine rice cooked with coconut oil, half a sweet potato, baked tofu, and steamed kale. I usually heat it up and dress it. Yum!

And finally, today’s World Thinking Day activities!

I hope to visit blogs this week once I’m caught up with copy editing. Have a great week everyone!

The post Sunday Update – March 3, 2019 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING Is Available For Pre-order!

I didn’t think I was going to make this deadline! Kobo, of all places, held onto the file for two days before publishing it, the longest of any of the online retailers. But it’s here! And it’s available for pre-order on your favorite store.

I hope you enjoy this next installment of the Miso Cozy Mysteries! Mei has a lot to figure out in this book, and she needs to follow her dreams. I really loved writing this one, so I hope you love reading it.

Starting next Tuesday, I’ll be posting some teasers each week for THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING, and I hope to write some posts for the blog too about things I’ve mentioned in this book. There’s plenty more to learn about Japan every day!

Here are the details!

Tragedy strikes Chikata again!

When Noriko Kubo, a local small business coach, is found dead in her back garden, Mei feels the pull of a good mystery and the desire to solve another case, especially at the behest of her best friend. With several suspects that need to be questioned or followed, she has all the skills to help out and the imagination to piece together the clues.

But time is not on her side and neither is good luck. Her baby is crying for hours every night, her husband’s restaurant is so popular he’s never around, and her new house is in jeopardy of never being built. Mei doesn’t have the energy to help with a murder investigation… or does she?

Soon, everyone is depending on her for everything, and Mei feels lost and unsure of her own future. She loves her family and her tea shop, but she’s never really found her calling unless she’s helping to solve a murder case. That’s not a legitimate career for her, though, is it? Can Mei juggle her busy life, secure her place in society, and still help find Noriko’s killer?

With her head in the clouds and a taste for solving crime, you don’t want to miss Mei in The Daydreamer Detective Finds Her Calling, the intensely delicious fifth course to the Miso Cozy series of cozy mystery novels.

Pre-order THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING on…
Amazon Apple Books Nook Kobo Google Play
Publishing March 29, 2019!

So, stick around because there’s lots of great content coming up soon! Have a great weekend everyone!

The post THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING Is Available For Pre-order! appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

March 2019 Goals

February was so short! I know it only has 28 days, but for once, it didn’t drag on and on. Such a tiny, strange month.

What Happened With February’s Goals?

Get all my tax information together. Done and sent off to the accountant. It took about two days of work to get it done, but I streamlined my process and I hope to set aside a day in June to do the first half of the year this year and all years going forward.

Build the new SFR Station website. This is a complicated topic BUT the site is built and running well. I had A LOT of work to do, but I got the majority of it done. Not only did I handle the site design but I also handled all of the legal stuff on the backend, the backups, the stuff that makes the site work. I installed a content framework so I could get the site to do things I can’t do in JUST WordPress. I went through all the books and redirected any of them that weren’t available anymore (more than 70 books), and I dowloaded over 300 covers at larger sizes for the website. Now, I still have plenty of work to do, unfortunately.

Edit Daydreamer 5. Done. Second draft is done and I’m already moving on to copy edits.

Work on removing honorifics from Daydreamer Series. Done. I did this, had the entire series proofread, made changes, re-compiled all of the ebooks, re-published them all with the new covers and had a cover reveal.

Start Bookbub Ads. I did not do this. Did you see all the other stuff I did? I just didn’t have the time.

Intermittent fasting, knitting, walking/stairs, stretching, pottery, and reading. My intermittent fasting got easier this month, and I’m fasting more on Thursdays now than I have previously. I did some reading and some audiobooks. Walking and stretching has gone well. Pottery is good. And I even got some knitting done!

A Look Back At February

Business Goals For March

Continue working on the SFR Station website. I have to update each individual book page and it should take me most of the month. I tasked my pal Lola to go through and make Books2Read links for all the available books on the site and now I have that in a spreadsheet. I just need to open every page, edit the text, add the Books2Read link, make sure the book is linked to the author, add an excerpt slug, and the new cover, then publish and move to the next one. It’s mindless work and I can do it while listening to podcasts or audiobooks.

Start Bookbub Ads. I plan to advertise all my Book 1s on Bookbub in the coming months. In Marc, I’ll start with REMOVED and THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE, hopefully.

Copy edit and publish THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING. I’ve already begun on this. I want it done by March 11th and off to my proofreader so I can have it on all the vendors 10 days head of launch. I also want to get this out to my ARC team as soon as possible.

Finish the paperbacks for the whole Miso Cozy Mysteries series. I ran into a hiccup with making the new covers for this series, and now that I know how to fix it, I would like to finish up this task.

Make teasers for THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING and edit all the old teasers for the whole Miso Cozy series. I need some teasers for this month! So this weekend I have to do this. Plus the old teasers have the old cover font so I need to switch those over, save and reupload.

Start writing Flyght 3. After I’m done with THE DAYDREAMER DETECTIVE FINDS HER CALLING, I’d like to move onto writing again. I hope to have a manuscript started before the end of the month.

Personal Goals For March

Plan and execute a Harry Potter birthday party for my oldest. Pinterest here I come! I’d like to make the plans for this party by March 10th, buy all the supplies, and then get my oldest daughter working on anything crafty. The party is March 31st.

It’s mammogram time. I’m scheduled and ready to go. It’s been 2.5 years since my last one and I’m not looking forward to it since I need tons of extra tests. I’ve put it off long enough. Time to go back.

Get a new doctor. I can’t stand my old doctor. So I’m going over there and getting my medical records and I’m moving on. I need vaccinations and blood work done. I have also put this off for far too long. Time to go.

Intermittent fasting, knitting, walking/stairs, stretching, pottery, and reading. All of the usual stuff!

Have a great March!

The post March 2019 Goals appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.