still no pumpkins.

It's on the to-do list today, along with 50 other things.

So, Happy Halloween!

And if you have free time and want to see what I've been doing off the site:

Off The Moon is part of a book cover contest that ends today. If you go to http://www.classicromancerevival.com and click on "classic cover contest" you'll find it.

I have a 500 word flash fiction piece included as part of a Halloween celebration today with several other authors:
http://lindsaysromantics.blogspot.com

And my book blog tour schedule is up at Elucidate Publishing (which belongs to me, although I didn't design/create the site - my incredible business partner did that):
http://www.elucidatepublishing.net/events.html

Updates for the tour will be on my site blog, and I'll try to put them here, too.
http://lkhunsaker.blogspot.com
It will also feature interviews relating to Off The Moon, the first by Vicki Blankenship who let me use her song lyrics for the music epilogue. She's also president of IndieGrrl.com and founder of Indie Music for Life, helping cancer victims.

Now back to writing blog content for the 15 different blogs hosting my tour! I have two done.

Hm, I might want to get my newsletter out, also.

 

Maybe not officially. I haven't gone in for diagnosis.

My son was up in time to get ready for school this morning, but instead of getting ready for school, he was busy leaning over the toilet.

I went to the library book club Monday night, barely able to finally control my cough just enough to go sit within a group of people, and when someone sneezed, I nearly jumped to my feet and ran out. Yep, paranoid.

But see, I still have a touch of congestion from the cold I caught two weeks ago. I wasn't over my 4 week tonsilitis well enough by that point and so a cold that should be a minor thing brought back my fever spikes. So, I've rarely been out. I'm a bit wary of being around people. Everyone's sick. The flu is all over the place here (whether or not it's THE flu is a moot point since the flu is the flu). I hear from friends online that they've had it for a week when generally they have a flu for two days.

Ah, I generally keep a two day flu for 2-3 weeks. I'd even considered a flu shot since my immune system is pretty crashed by now, but I figure it'll just give it to me as I've heard so many others say. No thanks. If I'm going to get it anyway, I'd rather not go get a needle stuck in my arm to get it. Anyway, I've been careful: hand-washing, carrying sanitizer, eating oranges and apples and taking vitamins, shucking off and washing my clothes after being out.. and now it's in my house.

I'm still behind. Hey! I have a release date! November 27th! Now let's hope I can finish edits and redo the cover and get it turned in on time so I can actually hold that date and have books available then. I'm pushing it already. Twenty pages of edits left, and since my "final edit" that was supposed to be just watching for typos and such became a bigger edit with additions, I really have to go through again for the actual final edit and read-through. All 162,000 words. But I'm happier with it after this edit. I got some really great advice from a couple of really great people (both on this site and both will be thanked in the novel) and ... I stopped restricting myself so much on the word count. I was trying hard to keep it under 150,000 words to help it be an easier sell, but too much was left out -- too much of my "artsy thoughts stuff" for lack of a better thing to call it. So yes, I've added about 10,000 words during this "final edit" .

So that's where I've been. Editing (sometimes playing with one small paragraph for a good five minutes before it's just right). Creating the cover. Making the trailer that still needs to be finished. Doing some minor promo. Trying to keep up with Facebook and Myspace enough friends don't think I've fallen off the earth, as maybe some of you here do unless you're also there. Still have to do bookmarks and if I can do it this week, I can take advantage of a discount I'd like to use. Also..

I hired CRR to arrange a book tour for me for next month. So far, there are 13 blogs lined up and I have to have different content for all 13. How many do I have yet? Uhh.. (crickets chirping here)

Anyone want to help interview? I can interview myself (as well as interviewing my characters) but I already know things about me. What should I ask myself? What do readers want to know about my book that I can write blog posts about? I do have a few notes taken on ideas.

And, I must be crazy but of course I'm doing Nanowrimo again. I'll try not to feel too bad if I don't make 50, especially since I only have a very bare idea of what I'm going to write. Always before, I knew the story and the characters very well before November 1st. It was a matter of getting it down, filling it in. I kind of have an idea where it starts and where it ends, but I barely even know my characters yet. That's a scary thought. I never novel that way. This could be interesting. Or it could be a disaster. And I shouldn't be starting a new project with so many already on the burner waiting for me. I'd even considered "cheating" and working on one already in progress, but that's not the point of Nanowrimo and I have a guilt complex that would badger me if I did. I'm thinking this one will be a novella, though, and pretty much complete after 50,000 words. Maybe fewer.

Guess I better get the business stuff for the household done, also. Especially since my stomach is a tad touchy this morning and my deadlines are coming up fast. Maybe it's only paranoia, though. I can only hope.
 

I owe lots of return emails and such, so in case anyone checks in here ... I'm still here, kind of.

4 weeks of tonsilitis/fever/exhaustion
1 trip to the ER from an antibiotic reaction
+ a chest cold setting in on the verge of recovery from above
= WAY far behind

I'm trying to work through it, finish editing for next month's release -- I hope I can still pull it off next month, creating the book trailer, revamping the cover, trying to find back cover review blurbs from "names" in the writing and music business (looking unlikely at this point), getting pre-publish reviews (also looking unlikely, *sigh*), lining up permission for my prologue lyrics (got that!), lining up interviews for promo for related fields as the story line...

In between was my son's first Homecoming dance, and the parade and the football game (actually felt good that night, down with the cold the next day). Tonight a band concert I'm hoping I won't cough through. No one is invited over right now since housework is kinda barely getting done just enough.

Anyway, I have managed to start a short story for the Writer's Digest contest deadline Dec 1. And I have a thought about my Nano novel, which I probably shouldn't even attempt next month. I will, anyway. Whether or not I think I can get to 50. And apparently, I get to have about 13 visitors overnight sometime in December. Hmm...

As Arnold would say, "I'll be back."