After a couple of really great days writing early in the week, I was much less productive yesterday and today. On Thursdays, I do my Tai Chi (taiji), which takes a couple of hours in the morning. Morning is my prime writing time, but I've been writing a lot outside of prime this week and I got some writing done yesterday but not as much as I'd hoped. Today my new friend Dorris invited me to a bridge game which pretty much shot the entire day (from about 8:00AM to 3:30 PM). I'm now at 33491 words for NaNoWriMo, which puts me just slightly ahead of schedule for average, but this weekend, Karen and I are going to Catalina (it's an island off the coast of California and we thought it would be fun to go before we get into full house mode) and then, next week, we go down to Carlsbad to celebrate Thanksgiving with my mother and family. I need to get cracking.

Speaking of bridge, today was a very strange day. I don't really know that I did anything especially wrong. I bid my hands, played decent defense, made the declarer plays that seemed to me to give me the best chance to make my contracts but it just didn't work. I don't think I made a successful finesse all day. We ended up tied for 5th out of 9--which is definitely not the kind of result I'm looking for. Because this is a no-points game, it is probably exactly the place to get that stuff out of my system.

I'm going to make I, PHILIBERT Q. WINSLOW by Michael Paulson the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. This is a strange, really darkly comic mystery. Winslow's beautiful assistant has been killed. The police suspect Winslow and he certainly had motive, opportunity and access. Even though he's the narrator, we have to wonder if he really killed her. Who better than a self-obsessed lawyer to commit the perfect crime? Only $3.99. Learn more, read the free excerpt or buy the book here: http://www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_06/i-philibert.html. (Available in HTML, Adobe PDF, eReader, Mobipocket/Kindle, Sony Reader, Microsoft Reader and ePub formats). Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

It's got a beautiful cover but once again, Bravenet image shower is not showing. So, check it out.

rob

People are strange. I have a Ph.D. in Economics and virtually all of our models relied on rational beings. Rational beings, for example, buy less of something when the price goes up (in general) because they can't afford as much and because other substitutes become more attractive (raise the price of wine and I'll buy more beer instead). These models actually work, which makes them better than a lot of the models used in social sciences, but they still don't represent a very good description of the way human beings operate.

I'm a case in point. For the past three years, I've signed up for something called "NaNoWriMo" which stands for National Novel Writing Month (or something like that). It's free to sign up and in return for signing up, you get access to a page where you can paste in your text and see how far you've come. Now, considering that virtually any word processor has a word count utility, this is not exactly the most unique service in the world.

Here's the thing, though. I've been blocked, unable to write and all of a sudden, over the past two days, I've written ten thousand words. That's a lot of writing for me. I'm up to 30K words, which means I'm essentially on track to finish my 50K words in November. If I do, I'll win the right to print out a little certificate from NaNoWriMo which no one will care about, I'll chuckle over and then throw away after a few weeks. Irrational.

Karen and I have been in the process of buying a house. Today, everything went through and we're proud owners of a Victorian on 7th street. In Long Beach, streets are numbered starting at the Ocean (actually, there is Ocean and Broadway and a couple of others before First) so 7th street means we're about a mile from the ocean. Tomorrow at 7:00, Karen has to be there to let the termite man in and the gas man (or woman...the bug guy is male but not so sure about the gas) turn off the gas so we don't blow the place up. The termite guy is going to tent the whole house and garage and poison everything. It isn't nice but termites are a problem.

I'm exhausted from writing and from nerves over buying a house that's more than we can afford (and about half as big as our house in Texas). Karen caught a cold, which she seems to do whenever she gets stressed. Oh, well.

I'm going to make IN THE FLESH by Paul Nelson the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. It looks like an easy case for attorney Paul Newton. He'll put his multiple-personality client on the stand, let her explain how she was abused by an unscrupulous psychologist, and collect a million dollars. But things get complicated. A tight legal thriller--only $3.99 (available in HTML, Adobe PDF, eReader, Mobipocket/Kindle, Microsoft Reader, Sony Reader and ePub formats). Here's the link: http://www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_09/in_the_flesh.html. Here's the cover:

Rob

I sort of buckled down today, working on my book. I've got an actual idea for a title (The Game of Houses--is that too dorky?), and I passed the 25K mark with 25227 words. The goal for November is to write 50K words. As today is the 17th, I'm behind schedule. As we've got Thanksgiving next week, not to mention a bridge tournament and a new house, I'm way behind. But I'm less behind than I was yesterday. I'll take that.

Karen and I should close on our house tomorrow. If all goes according to schedule, the termite man will come on Thursday and close it again...tenting it and poisoning it. It's gross but termites seem to be a big problem in California. The house is over 100 years old. I'd like it to stick around.

I didn't buy earthquake insurance. Am I crazy?

We went over to the new house to see how the furnace installation went. Some minor problems but it appears to work. The money, wired from Texas, is at the escrow company. We don't even have to go to the title company to sign forms the way I always have in the past. We just get a call and meet with the realtor to get our keys. Weird.

After the inspection, Karen and I walked to the post office (mailed Teel James Glenn proof copies of the paperback version of WEIRD TALES OF THE SKULLMASK), the library (returned 2 books, checked out 3) and the grocery store. Then back to more writing.

All in all, I feel pretty good about today. I hope to get a lot of writing done tomorrow as well.

I'm going to make MIDLIFE MURDER by Amy Eastlake the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. When middle-aged and overweight Heather Montag's husband dumps her, she vows revenge. But convincing the police she didn't mean it after he is murdered isn't easy. Heather is rejected by her friends and ends up living in a trailer park. But with new and different friends and a new appreciation for the world, Heather goes to work solving the murder. Only $3.99. Learn more, read the excerpt or buy the book here: http://www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_08/midlife_murder.html. (Available in HTML, Adobe PDF, eReader, Microsoft Reader, Mobipocket/Kindle, Sony Reader and ePub formats). Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

Rob

First thing this morning, I pulled the trigger on Forward, Shamble! by Joshua Calkins-Treworgy. This is the second in the 'Bob the Zombie' series (after Motor City Shambler). Bob is bac with lots of brain chewing, thoughts on unlife, and attempts to survive in an unfriendly world. Karen came up with another beautiful cover, so all is well in the world.

I had a pretty bad writing week last week, so today I buckled down and got some words written. I'm now up to 20565 words out of the 50K goal. Considering that today is the 16th, more than halfway through the month and I'm 5K words behind the halfway marker, this isn't great. But it's a good step up from where I was yesterday. Tomorrow we've got to do a walk-through inspection on the new house (to see if the new heater is installed properly, etc.) and I've got a zillion other things to get done, but I should be able to get some pages written.

I had some good and bad news today. First, I got a rejection from Silhouette Books for my prize-winning THE BILLIONAIRE'S PURCHASED PRINCESS. In the same mail delivery I got a nice 2nd prize certificate for the Lone Star Writing contest for the same book. Author Teel James Glenn (WEIRD TALES OF THE SKULLMASK) also tells me that one of his works by another publisher finaled in the contest formerly known as the Eppies. I hope this will bring more people to check out SKULLMASK).

I had a mystifying day at bridge. My partner and I were not communicating. She bid 4C in a major suit auction and meant it to be Ace-asking. We've never agreed to this. Over 1NT, she bid 4H which we'd agreed would be a Texas Transfer to Spades (she had Hearts). She didn't lead back my suit, letting them make a contract. And I lost track of my good spade, giving up an undeserved overtrick. Yet we still finished above 50%. (Only .3 points, but in non-charity games, it's hard to get many points). I need to relax and let it roll off my back.

I'm going to make FORWARD, SHAMBLE! by Joshua Calkins-Treworgy the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. Zombies are people, too...and have their own issues and needs. Check out how Bob copes with unlife. This book is priced at only $3.99--but it's on sale for a Buck for the next month. (Available in HTML, Adobe PDF, eReader, Mobipocket/Kindle, Microsoft Reader, Sony Reader and ePub). Here's the link: http://www.booksforabuck.com/sfpages/sf_09/forward_shamble.html. Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

Rob

On the house front, we've heard that our money has reached the escrow company, which means we're pretty much stuck buying a house. It's very scary. I suspect it'll be mid-December before we actually move in. Karen is actually thinking it'll be the end of the year. I hope it'll happen before then.

My partner (Dorris) and I managed to come in first in the bridge game yesterday, despite a couple of slams we bid that really weren't even close and a couple of misplays by me. I got to play 16 out of the 35 boards which has got to be an all-time high for me. What fun getting some cards for once, although I think it's probably better for my soul to play defense). I'm looking forward to the National Tournament in San Diego (maybe 100 miles down the coast from here). I've got one game scheduled with a friend of my mother's, and my Texas partner is coming for 3 days of play.

Today, Karen and I headed down to Orange County for the Orange County Romance Writers of America meeting. Karen headed off to the PAW (published author workshop) while I stayed and listened to a workshop on self-promotion. I don't like promotion. I don't like sticking myself out and saying how wonderful I am. Yet, I recognize that there a lot of successful authors who have fairly limited talent but who've made themselves successful through their promotional activities. I wish all of my authors were big promotors and I appreciate everything they do. When it comes to me, I think I'm happier promoting the line than promoting myself. At any rate, I had the chance to have lunch with Debra Holland, an Orange County RWA member who happens to be part of the Wild Card group (the RWA Golden Heart Finalists for 2005). I'm also a member of this group, so it was great to re-connect.

I'm way behind on my NaNoWriMo writing. I got a little done today. Since I wasn't writing, I decided to get some reviews done. So, I've posted reviews for IN THE STORMY SKY by David Drake (http://www.booksforabuck.com/sfpages/sf_09/stormy_red_sky.html), GOD OF CLOCKS by Alan Campbell (http://www.booksforabuck.com/sfpages/sf_09/god_of_clocks.html), THE CHRISTMAS SECRET by Donna VanLiere (http://www.booksforabuck.com/rompages/rom_2009/christmas_secret.html), and FINGER LICKIN' FIFTEEN by Janet Evanovich (http://www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_09/finger-lickin-fifteen.html). The Evanovich book was pretty much trashed by Publisher's Weekly. I didn't think it was the strongest in the series, but it wasn't the worst, either. I thought their trashing was an over-reaction. I'd love to hear any comments if anyone else has read these books.

I'm going to make OOLONG TEA AT 10:30 by Alice Reed the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. Marty Brighton wasn't looking forward to her ex-boyfriend's funeral. Still, she isn't sure how to feel when she discovers it's the wrong body in the box--and her ex's wife hadn't even noticed. Darkly funny and moody, it's an intriguing mystery. Only $3.99. (Available in HTML, Adobe PDF, eReader, Mobipocket/Kindle, Sony Reader, Microsoft Reader and ePub formats). Here's the cover:

Rob

Okay, life is strange. I don't get any insight awards for noticing that. Still, it is weird. On Thursdays, I start the day (well, I start the day checking my e-mail and hopefully writing a bit) but then I start by heading to my Tai Chi (taiji) class. Last week, I'd finally decided I was never going to get this form and that my brain must have gone too soggy. Today, I was far from a star, but I was sort of getting it. What changed? Nothing that I noticed. For whatever reason, the stars lined up differently, that's all.

Karen and I are buying our house. We had our inspection (which was scary), got a $10K estimate to rewire the place, and today I attempted to make a wire transfer to the escrow company. Today, I also got a couple of phishes saying they were unable to complete my wire transfer. I don't remember seeing this particular phish before, which really makes me wonder about life, the universe and all that.* (*yes, this is a Hitchhiker's reference). Starting this coming January, any of my authors visiting the Los Angeles, California area are welcome to stop by and visit. Beer is on me.

If you were waiting to get a better deal on WEIRD TALES OF THE SKULLMASK, you've waited too long. The $1.00 pricing has now expired. Tomorrow, however, I'll upload to our various distributors. I've already uploaded to Fictionwise, which tends to be a bit slow in adding it to their distribution rotation. Our next publication, FORWARD, SHAMBLE! by Joshua Calkins-Treworgy is almost ready. Karen has finished the cover and Joshua is doing his last few edits.

I also posted a couple of reviews--for DRAGONS OF THE HOURGLASS MAGE by Weis and Hickman (not bad although I had some problems with the central character) and WINGS OF WRATH which was really high potential but I found I didn't care enough about the characters. I'm behind on my reviews so I should be posting several more in the next couple of days...stay tuned.

I'm going to make OUT OF TOWN A FEW DAYS by Ed Lynskey the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. Lynskey is doing is part to bring hardboiled detective fiction back, with his sleuth, Frank Johnson. OUT OF TOWN takes Johnson through a variety of investigations and disasters. Only $2.99 (available in HTML, Adobe PDF, Mobipocket/Kindle, eReader, Sony Reader, Microsoft Reader and ePub). Here's the link: http://www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_04/out_town_days.html 

Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo).

Rob

I got going early this morning to play bridge with a nice lady who was a new partner for me. I think she thought she was going to get something special. Instead she got me. We came in seventh out of nine. Yuck. Then I rushed over to the Long Beach Sectional tournament where I played with my regular Monday partner. With one round to go we were at 48% which is not exactly earth-shattering. I don't know how we did on the last round. I do know that we played 24 boards and I got to be declarer on exactly one hand. Talk about not a lot of fun.

I'm way behind on my NaNoWriMo writing now. I didn't get anything done over the weekend or today.

Does anyone have experience with BooksByYou. They do those stories where you personalize names and pets etc. and then have a book printed. My book HALF A RANCH was bought by a company which did that kind of thing years ago and I made a few thousand bucks, but that company stopped taking orders (and stopped paying me--I think they stopped paying me before they stopped taking ordes). So, I'd appreciate feedback on this one if anyone has had business dealings with them.

Karen and I went out for pizza for date night. We'd talked about going out for a write-in but Karen got a call from Harlequin. They want synopses so they can give her a multi-book contract. I'm very much in favor of a multibook contract as we can use the money (and because Karen gets feeling really unworthwhile when she's not making money. I'm a book publisher...I'm used to not making any money).

THE AREA 51 OPTION by Michael Kechula is now available from Fictionwise. It's on sale for only $3.39 so check it out there.

I'm going to make SISTER GYPSY MOON by Karen Leabo the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. When she buys a weird house in Dallas, a woman is mistaken for a psychic...but strange things are happening and maybe magic really is going on. Or is there something even more sinister at work? Only $3.99. Learn more, read the excerpt or buy the book here: http://www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_03/sister_gypsy.html (HTML, Adobe PDF, eReader, Mobipocket/Kindle, Sony Reader, Microsoft Reader and ePub formats). Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

Rob

One of my favorite things to do is to stand up in front of a bunch of people and have them think I'm wonderful. Of course, this is not always easy. For one thing, finding a bunch of people who'll listen to me is sometimes a trick. Then there's the issue of whether they think I'm wonderful even if they do listen.

Today, Karen and I headed to Temecula (a city in the interior of California) to attend and speak at the Temecula Erle Stanley Gardner Writers Conference. Gardner wrote the Perry Mason mysteries, among other things. I was asked to speak for an hour on Publishing Trends and Self-Publishing. Obviously, as a publisher, I think a good publisher adds value and that self-publishing should generally be a last resort (exception--I think public speakers and other people who plan on hand-selling their books anyway might as well self-publish and keep all the money). Anyway, I wound myself up and went at it. I'm not sure they thought I was wonderful but they kept me busy with questions for half an hour after my slot was over (I was the last on the program so this didn't cause any problems).

I like people. I like being around people. I like talking to people and listening to people. But it's sort of a manic thing. When I finish, I crash. I'm completely zonked out now although I didn't do anything all day except sit in a car driving then talk to people for an hour and a half. I feel, though, like I just spent half an hour full-contact sparring.

Karen was also a speaker and gave a nice talk on putting mystery in your romance (and romance in your mystery). She's more of an introvert than I am, but always does a great job. She really works on her preparation while I tend more to talk to bullet points.

I'm going to make TORNADO BAIT by Amy Eastlake the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. When a trailer park manager tries to unstop a tenant's toilet and turns up a severed human hand, her life goes downhill in a hurry...especially when the police think she might be involved. Sassy and fun mystery. Only $3.99 (this is the first in the Texas Trailer Park Mystery Series featuring Tina Anderson). Available in HTML, Adobe PDF, eReader, Mobipocket, Microsoft Reader, Sony Reader and ePub formats.

Here's the cover (cover design by Karen Leabo):

Rob

With the $89.99 price on an eBookWise and $259 on KindleII and Nook, I'm used to ever-declining prices for appliances. After all, electronics keep getting cheaper, right? Karen and I decided to walk out and look for some of the stuff we're going to need for our new house. We're going to need a LOT of stuff. Like a refrigerator, a washing machine and drier, a dishwasher, a garbage disposal, a new bathroom sink, a new kitchen sink, a heater (okay, hopefully the current owner is putitng in the heater before we close but how motivated will he be? Not sure). It's amazing what a range of prices you can get on something like a, well, a range. Try from $349 to $5499 or so. Can you imagine paying that much for a stove? I mean, you could go out to Jack in the Box a thousand times for that. I'm pushing for the low-end. Karen is not so sure.

It's looking as if we're going to have a house. We go to inspect on Sunday, but we've gotten a number of reports from previous inspections and it appears as if the basics have been taken care of (new foundation, new heater, termite repair). We'll have some electrical issues to deal with, and the garage appears to have some issues, but nothing sounds show-stopping. Karen has stopped looking at real estate. It's as if a mental switch went off in her head and she's suddenly moved beyond. Good thing I didn't persuade her to get her real estate license.

Tonight, Karen and I went out to a neighborhood coffee place (the Royal Cup on 10th and Redondo) to catch up on our NaNoWriMo writing. It was a sort of write-in but there were only the two of us (there was another guy with a computer but he didn't look up so I assumed he was either deep in plot or not NaNo). I got a few pages written. Karen did even better.

I'm behind on reviews (again). I'm working on submissions. I submitted Weird Tales of the Skullmask to Fictionwise and bought another proof copy of Weird Tales (grrr...once again, I submitted a proof with ragged rather than right-justified margins adding delay and cost to the cycle. I hate this). Next week, I'll submit to all of the other distributors we use. Fictionwise, for some reason introduces a significant delay between submission and posting. The other distributors are near-real-time, so I don't post there until the $1.00 month is over.

I'm reading Finger Licking Fifteen by Janet Evanovich.

I'm going to make VEIL OF THE GODDESS by Rob Preece the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. When US soldiers find the True Cross buried beneath a bombed Iraqi mosque the countdown to the end times starts ticking. Sgt. Ivy Newland and Capt. Zack Herarra hope to head it off, but a powerful and secret organization will stop at nothing to bring about what they see as the promises of the second coming. Exciting secret-history thriller. Only $3.99. Learn more, read the excerpt or buy the book here: http://www.booksforabuck.com/mystery/mys_06/veil_goddess.html (HTML, Adobe PDF, eReader, Mobipocket/Kindle, Microsoft Reader, Sony Reader, and ePub formats). Here's the cover (cover design by Kat Baldwin):

rob

Karen and I went on our first house-hunting trip when we were out here in Southern California for Thanksgiving last fall. After that time, Karen made three separate house-hunting trips while we were still in Texas, and then, after we moved out here in late August, she's been pretty much in full-time house-hunting mode (she sold a book late last week, but she really hasn't had much time for writing because the house-hunting has consumed her). I've lost count of how many offers we've made...maybe 20. A couple of times, we got beat out by a thousand dollars or less. Once, the people who beat us out flipped the house and put it back on the market for 100K more than they'd paid for it...I sure hope they don't get it and lose their shirt. All the while, we've been living in a small one-bedroom apartment and paying $400 a month to keep our stuff in storage (they're in PODs we loaded when we moved out of TX).

So, when we made an offer on Monday, I didn't really get my hopes up. In fact, I told our agent, Maria, that I wanted to pull the offer if it looked like they were using it to negotiate with anyone else. Instead, miracle of miracles, they countered, accepting our price and just wanting to add disclosure. We've accepted their counter (subject to an inspection finding anything horrible), so it looks like we may actually get a house. With a lot of luck, we'll close around the 20th of this month.

I'm not holding my breath and I suspect we over-paid, but the house is cute...with a historic marker. It's on 7th street and one of the few remaining Victorians. There's a carriage house, a lot of dirt in the yard (a pretty big yard), and it's pretty far east which, in Long Beach, doesn't mean farther from the ocean. I'll post pictures later, assuming that the deal doesn't explode as so many others have.

I've written my review for DRAGONS OF THE HOURGLASS MAGE by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and will post it shortly here: www.booksforabuck.com/sfpages/sf_09/dragons-of-the-hourglass-mage.html. I also finished edits on FORWARD, SHAMBLE! by Joshua Calkins-Treworgy and forwarded it back to him for his corrections. I suspect we'll be able to publish in approximately one week. I've got to nag Karen for a cover.

I'm also making progress in NaNoWriMo. On day 3, I'm a bit over 5K words which puts me right on schedule. Considering that this is about as much again as I've written since moving to California months ago, it's a pretty big deal.

No bridge today. I played yesterday. Not very good. Only 47%. We were tied for 2nd in the 'C' group (the lowest number of master points) so we ended up with a bit over two fifths of a master point. Again, not too good although I've played plenty of times and gotten no points at all.

I'm going to make HUNGER by Rob Preece the www.BooksForABuck.com book of the day. Ewan hungers for that special magic that Tia Burns uniquely exudes, but she cannot remain true to herself and yeild to his allure. Still, when quasi-government hunters attempt to trap both of them, they must work together...no matter how painful it is for both of them. Very sexy. Only $3.99 (available in HTML, Adobe PDF, eReader, Mobipocket, Microsoft Reader and ePub formats). Here's the link: http://www.booksforabuck.com/rompages/rom_2008/hunger.html.

It's got a great cover but Bravenet is not cooperating.

Oh, here's a great offer: you can buy an eBookWise for only $89.95. If you've been thinking about buying an eBook reader device but you can't make yourself belly up the $259 for a Kindle or BN Nook, you might give eBookWise a chance. I've had mine for a couple of years now and use it religiously and this is a nice price reduction/sale. Check it out at www.ebookwise.com.

Rob