Edinburgh (The Book) is RELEASED to the PUBLISHER!!!

     Woot!!  It is there, and I am happy.   It ended up being right at 83,000 words, and 338 pages in a 5x8 book. I didn't want to make it a 6x9 because it would have been 240 pages and that's just not a good-sized book for charging what they charge. I only get to pretend I have some control over it.  When you write a book and upload it to the publisher they basically give you options as to what they are going to charge for the printing of it, and that's based on the page count. This book will cost them, the publisher about $5.62 for each book they print. They have to charge that, plus the postage if I want to buy my own copies, but they do add a bit for their trouble. I could, if I had the capital to do so, buy 10,000 books, and become an instant "Best Selling Author" but I don't think that's the right or fair thing to go. I don't have the $60,000 some odd to spare, so it's not going to happen.

    That being said, I wrote a really nasty, hard-hitting, former-husband-bashing book that did actually sell more than 10,000 copies, so when they send me the proof of that, I will start adding the tag "Best Selling Author" on all of my books and advertising. Sad that it took a nasty poop book to make that happen, but it did, and that's just how the cookies crumble, folks.  I took the book out of print about two years ago; it was just not worth the emails going back and forth trying to explain myself to readers who had a particular dislike for some of the things I said. It didn't matter that it was MY experience, and I said so very clearly, that they wanted to argue. I took the book out of print. It was just about done anyway.

    EDINBURGH is done!!  I'm not going to say that it's the end all of books, not by a long shot. It was just a lot of fun to write. It took me 11 days to write it. That's a record I don't think I'll try to outdo. I like that I did it so fast, but it didn't leave a lot of room for creativity. I had to think on the fly, and I did a pretty good job, I think. It was certainly enjoyable to do; otherwise, I would not have put myself through it. I had to redo the cover from a 6x9 to a 5x8 today. That takes a minute. I use Canva in case you're wondering.

    I just think it's soooo cool that you can write a book, edit said book, format it, and upload it to be published for NOTHING. FREE...it's 100% free when you know what you're doing. I could still make it better by adding more fancy designs. I'm really going to have to look into that. Each chapter heading could be really awesome. You can play around with page numbers and all sorts of things that make books really neat. I don't know how to do the front pages yet. I won't go back and change the ones I've done, but I'll look into the others in the future. I don't use the whole Roman numeral thing in the front; I could. I may. You just never know.  I set the price at $16.00 but I know they'll end up charging $18.00 probably.

    PINBALL is next. I've written about six chapters of it so far. I don't know why I didn't just crank that one out, but Edinburgh was in my head banging on my brain asking to be written...so I wrote it. Fun times!!  If you really know me, you'll recognize a lot of my own personality and storyline in the main character. Elyenor Leigh Fletcher could very well be me, but she wasn't married, didn't have kids, and she lived in Texas...boo!!  I thought I would give it a shake-up, and I did. I added my three good friends with their permission, and they seem to think living in Texas isn't so bad; not when you're only a fictional character. 

    Hope you LOVE IT.  It will be on sale next Monday the 11th. I will go over the galley when they send it to me on Thursday, to be sure it doesn't need to be changed. I know there will be a mistake or two. I'm not going to worry about it. It may end up being my signature now that I know Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did it, and Erle Stanley Gardner did it too. Woot!! Great writers.

    

Health Kick Restart. Here we go!

     Now, because I have the book behind me for the most part, and I'm about to be employed by someone, I've decided to get back on the health kick bandwagon to see if I can lose a few pounds, shape up, and feel better. Here we go.

    I sort of started last week with the copious water drinking again, and the walking. Then the index decided to go back into the 105 range; making it too hard to walk even in the evenings.  I had to wait until 10 p.m. to do any good walking and then you can only do a mile or so. I could have woken up at 5:00 a.m. too, but that sort of thing is rare for me....my body refuses to listen to my brain at that hour.

    Today, however, because I can, I decided to eat only good things. I do this to myself from time to time. I don't 100% go crazy with it; it's not safe to do that. I did that once and lost a gallbladder. Not kidding. Gonny no dae that again. Today, I cracked open an acorn squash, dug out the seeds, and set them to the side. I added butter and spices to the squash and I baked it. It will be ready in a few minutes. I took the seeds, added half an apple, some pineapple juice, two slices of pineapple, some vitamins, milk, and protein...and then blended it. Done. Breakfast in a cup.

    I have a 10-minute workout session that I do, and I'll do that. Then I'll lift weights for 5 minutes and box for 10 minutes later on. I may walk if I can find the best time to do it. It's 90 out there right now, and with the sun bearing down on me it's uncomfortable. I have to wait until about 8:00 to see it settling. I can wait. I'm good at that.  

    Dinner will be chicken and rice. I also have...you guessed it....copious amounts of water with lemon and lime. When I go back to the store today I'll pick up some natural ginger root and add it to the water. I could do the drops I guess. I may do that. I want the fat to be burned away as well as the hydration. A good dose of lemon, lime, ginger, and mint can make a good belly fat reducer. I threw out my mint, it was nasty. I had it hidden in the fridge for too long. Can't do that in the future. 

    The day will be spent reading through the novel "Edinburgh" to make sure all the spacing is good, and that I don't have a bunch of misspellings. Then, again, because I can, I'll do the 10-minute workout. I do doga every day -  you know, yoga with dogs. It's only to stretch my back really, but Ginger likes it. She feels like she's helped me with all my daily routines. Right now, you can see it, but she's sitting in my lap while I type. She is just so useful. Very very useful.

Photo Credit: Me.   Ginger dog.

Edinburgh (The Book) DONE!! (Except)

 It's OVER for the most part.  I always do that, I write that it's over when it's just ended. There is such a huge difference. It has ended in that I am no longer writing the book It is done, but it is not FINISHED because I now have to go through it to add this or that. When you add this or that, you also have to consider removing this or that. You find mistakes, you overlook mistakes, and you set it all aside for a day or so before going back over the pages to see if there are those mistakes you were looking for.

    I am not going to add another chapter. I am going to only check to be sure that the ones I've written are complete. I'll run through them quickly for spacing, then begin editing them using the best-case scenarios I can. I don't care about grammar because when I write a book, especially a novel, there will be a license for not using proper grammar. Some of the characters speak like me...yeah, not all that proper.

    So, the book is done in that I've just finished. I won't give away anything, but I will need to go back and add a couple of descriptions of clothing, or hats, something to make the chapter pop. That's what the next tweak is. I go back over it, find room for descriptive words and I fluff it, stuff it, brand it, make it pretty, make it lively, and change the word count all at the same time.  I'll end up with 82,000 words I'm sure. I typically try to get 86,000, but we're good.

    I won't format the book until I'm dang sure that it's about finished. I have a cover already made, so I'll need to see if it's crafted to the right size. If I need another 2000 words you can bet I'd rather write them than go back and change the cover! It's a mess trying to do that over and over again. I can dang well better come up with words than try and manipulate a book spine. Nope. Not fighting that dog. 

    Tonight I'll go through it for spacing. Tomorrow, Sunday, I'll go over it for misspelled words, any words that I need to add to the dictionary or words that could be spelled one way or another. I'll try to add a few quirks to Arran's accent. He's Scottish, I haven't been paying much attention to his voice. I need to go back over everything he says and add a bit of brogue to it. That'll be fun. I won't go all Gaelic on anyone, but I will use colloquial terms such as using "no goin' there" for "not going to go there" and that sort of thing. Elyn describes a garbage disposal to Arran at one point, and his eyebrows lift to think of what could happen if he made a mistake in the kitchen after drinking a bit.  

Good times.  I'll catch you in a couple of days after I've gone over it. The book took less time to write than any other full-sized book I've ever written. I started it around 1:00 p.m. on 8/22/2023 and finished it around 2:00 p.m. on 9/2/2023 so that's what, 11 days and an hour? Not bad. I don't think I'll do that again -- it was just something I was doing between jobs. 

Tying the Knot!!  (Guess where that idiom came from, folks.)

Photo Credit: TheKnot.com 

Edinburgh (The Book) 80% GOING GOING....

 OMG....I am literally on the last few chapters, there are maybe 4 left. I may have to make it 5 but one will be smaller, as it is just one of those tie-up-the-loose-ends sort of chapters. I'm working on the end, making sure I have all the people where I need and want them.  I have the flat being remodeled, the dog meets a new friend, there is so much to think about with the wedding...what? THE WHAT?

    Oh, yes, well, it is a romance novel. There is love involved. Sometimes when there is love there is marriage, and you know...that baby carriage. (Spoiler alert, where a baby is born during the book, it isn't Elyn.  She's 42 and that would be a bit scary for both her and her Bohemian lover.) Someone has a baby though. She's a little girl, and I named her Aurora; there was a reason for that.

    With the book being titled "Edinburgh," I wanted the reader to understand that the main character in the book is the city of Edinburgh. I haven't gone over yet how one is to properly pronounce the word, but I will do that, I promise. I'm thinking of adding it either tomorrow when I write 3 of the last chapters, or on Saturday, the day I finish the book. I will read through it online on Sunday and Monday. I will make changes, add things, take things out, revamp, fluff, and stuff, and I'll approve it for publication either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. 

    All in all the book took 12 days to write. I began on the 22nd and I will finish on the 2nd. I don't think I'll finish tomorrow. I may have been able to, but Jeannie is coming over tomorrow night and we'll be too busy for me to write. I have to be alone when I write. I can discuss things with people, but I have to be alone when I do the actual writing. Dogs can be in the room, even cats. I had a gecko in my room for a little of the writing, but no humans. If one comes into the room I immediately stop my typing and converse with it...them.

    So, today I have 68,000 words more or less. Tomorrow I'll add 10,000+, which will put me at 78,000, and on Saturday I'll top the thing off with another 3000 words. That will be 81,000 total, but that is before I go through it to tweak it. I tend to add a paragraph or two, remove one or two, add another, and this goes on for a minute or so before I say to myself "Enough!" I do that. I could tweak it for weeks if I had to; or wanted to. I don't so I won't.  I'll end up with around 83,000 words and I'll be a happy camper. It will be a 6x9 book, so it's about the same size as "Of Kilted Pleasure" with about as much fun and lovemaking - - maybe more if I'm honest. 

    I'll be sure to send copies of the book to some rather important people in the city of Edinburgh so they know it's out there and maybe I can use it as a catalyst for them to invite me to the city to promote the book -- my dream. I'll then stay a few years to write more books; invest more time, words, and money into my adopted land, and who knows, maybe I'll die and be buried behind a few cobbled stones or in a seldom used close; another crazy but plausible dream of mine.  LOL

    Hope you enjoy the book when it's available. At this rate, it should be around the 10th of September or so. I have to approve it first, which is what I will do once I send it off on Wednesday the 6th.  They take a day or so to send the file back to me as a download, and I take a day or so to go through it and say yes or no. If I approve it, it will show up IMMEDIATELY for purchase. That's fun. That is so much fun to go onto Amazon and see your books are up for sale!! I don't care if anyone actually buys them, but they are there!! That makes me smile.

Photo Credit: unknown

Edinburgh (The Book) Last Leg.

 I am now 66% done with the book. You can look at it a couple of ways. I have written 20 of the probable 30 chapters, and I have also written about 56,000 of the 84,000 words. I don't think I'll hit 86,000, but if I do I'll still probably finish by Sunday.

I have 10 chapters to write and will be doing that over the next 5 days. This is Tuesday. Tomorrow on Wednesday I have 2 or possibly 3 to write, and then 2 or 3 on Thursday, and the same on Friday. I will pick up whatever slack is needed over the weekend so that by Sunday night, the 3rd, I'll have finished the book. I started on the 22nd, so that will be an 11-day writing spree - unless I'm miscalculating and it could be 12. Whatever, it was (is) fun and I'm probably never going to it again. I thought writing "Of Kilted Pleasure" in a month was something, and it was. I hadn't done it before. I think I'll let this be my shortest period of time because it's really hard to focus and make yourself be creative when you're under a heavy self-imposed deadline. In reality, there is no deadline...I'm just being weird.

    I'll take Monday to read it, go through it to see if I have all the spacing correct, and see if I have any red or blue lines in the manuscript that need to be addressed. I'll check the sizes and the fonts. I'll see if it looks good enough to format, and then I'll format it on Tuesday, so I'll know how to redesign the cover. I made the cover but by absolute mistake boo-boo time, I made it a 5x8 book, when it needed to be a 6x9 book. I decided that the murder books would be 5x8 and the romances would be 6x9. I don't know why. I can change that anything I choose, but I decided it, so there you go.

    The 5x8 is my favorite size of book to read if I'm going to read one, but I use my Kindle now so I really don't care what size a book is. I will eventually have all of my books on eBook format and I'll have them produced by Ingram Spark to sell on Amazon for something like $8.00 or so. I hope I can do it for even less. I want to. It's not really up to me. It depends on the size of the file I think; I could be completely blowing smoke; but I think I have little choice. I know I have little choice in the print books. That much I do actually know. If I can charge less on the eBooks I really will do that. I like buying $4.99 books for my Kindle. I think it's really awesome. 

    The novels don't have pictures so they don't cost as much as books that do have photos in them. However, my new Blog Book 2 has a bunch of photos and they're only charging $18 for it, so maybe they don't charge that much for those that have B/W photos. I made all the photos Black and White for that book. The original Blog Book has colored photos. I think it's slightly higher. I don't remember. I just want to write. I don't keep up with the costs. I want them all to be affordable. That's my goal.

    So, tomorrow I write about Nikki meeting Emilio, their whirlwind romance, and/or decisions they will make about their future. I'll write about Elyn's past, her childhood haunts and wishes; which will include her friend, Robyn, as she and Robyn grew up together. I'll talk about those who seem to be rooted and those who seem to have either cut their roots or allowed them to become unearthed. This is the reality and truth for some and it certainly is for me as a real person, so it will be reflected in the life of my character Elyn, who often takes on my personal traits.  

    After she decides to move forward I'll show her creating a new life for herself in Scotland where she'll use the Foreign Exchange market to substantially create a needed nest egg for herself, and she'll be in a position to be the anchor that her new lover Arran needs and deserves to have as well. He'll appreciate it, and there will be an entire chapter devoted to appreciation of oneself and of the ones they love. Such a cool thing.

    A few chapters later she'll find the answers to some questions that bothered her as a young adult, but that can be buried and safely locked away without hurting anyone in the process; which is often what happens when secrets creep to the surface. Family can be really really good and it can be really really sad too; she learns this. We all know this to be true; nothing is tidy and nothing is expected to be. We are humans living with humans, and we all create our own havoc along the way. Sometimes it's best to keep things locked up and other times it's best to set it free.

    In the end, we'll see that love wins. Isn't that the way all good romance books should end? I think so. 

Photo Credit: Unknown

Edinburgh (The Book) Revamped. ALREADY!!

     So, I wrote these really cool sex scenes for the book, and as I read them back to myself today I realized that I didn't really want my book to be that smutty. Sorry. I didn't want to use words that were associated with raw or lustful sex, because I wanted the characters to show that they had feelings and emotional attachments, and then there was this whole over-the-top dom/sub thing that was getting out of hand really, so I nipped it in the bud. Yes, you can do that when you're the author. 

    I remember years ago I bought the novel "A Star is Born" and I read it, but when I did my eyes were just sweating from some of the things they said! I really had no idea that the publishers were even allowed to print that sort of thing. I literally took a black Sharpie and censored my own purchased copy. I didn't want it in the house with those words. Well, I sort of felt the same way after I wrote the steamy scene in "Of Kilted Pleasure" too. I left one rather erotic scene in it; but I did take out at least one before sending it to the printer. I'm a prude I guess; that, or I'm just not into smut.

    The girls and I will write out erotica stories and little tales for a good Pyrate Nite, but we don't read them out loud if a man is present. It's a rule. I decided that for the purposes of my book, the Pyrate Nite the ladies plan will be more about the planning, and the things they like to do rather than the things they like to say. I don't drink, so when I add wine or beer (or anything stronger) to the characters in my books I really have to think about it; I don't get drunk, so I don't want them to. I know that sounds incredibly restrictive as an author doesn't it?

    I may have someone get tipsy and show that they are feeling good, but I think it's important to mention the loss of control as well; or the fact that consuming alcohol can make a person do or say stupid things; things they may regret when the affects of the drinks wear off. Part of me wishes I wasn't this way, but the other part says it's a good way to be, so I just go with it. I know right from wrong. I don't have to question whether or not it's a good thing to write or have my characters participate in. I decided to tone it down. 

    I'm at 56%, having only changed things today, and making a few tweaks here and there. I'll pick it up tomorrow and get more done. I have to start on the new adventures of Nikki Doukas tomorrow. She'll be a rather prominent character and when she and her new beau do drink; they will not be irresponsible. All of the characters have a drink now and then; no one is opposed to being social, It's just that I won't have a falling-down drunk character in one of my books unless I show him or her being in need of help; and then they get that help. Someone else can write otherwise I suppose. I'm going to write what I'm going to write. 

    That's all for today. I wanted to say that I didn't do much in the way of writing, but I did do a bit in the way of formatting and reorganizing. I had a bear of a time with these random square symbols that just decided to show up in my document. I had to Google how to remove them, and after 3 videos I finally found the solution. Dang!! Seriously...dang!! I had somehow added a weird border that had to be removed. If that ever happens to you, you'll know the frustration. 

Geez!

Photo Credit: Unknown

Edinburgh (The Book) HALF WAY THERE!!

         Technically, if I aim to write 86,000 words for the romance novel, I am over 50% completed. I have just under 48,000 words written so that's closer to 55% finished. Woot!! I could say that I'm making a dent in it, but I feel as if the halfway mark is real and I'm on the way out of the novel at this point. I have so much more to write too. I have the Pyrate Night, I have to write about Nikki's departure from her roost near Austin to come live in Elyn's neck of the woods. In doing that I'll introduce Emilo, Nikki's lover, and I'll need to throw in at least one good recipe. I'm thinking biscuits and gravy, and it will be something Elyn makes for her bedfellow Arran. He'll like that; he's into new things...he's into food. 

    Thus far, Elyn has been in Edinburgh for about a month or so. Christmas is coming, and that's when she and Arran find out some of the vast differences between family in America and family in Britain. She's able to set herself free and experience life as she sees fit, but he's tied with a bit of compulsory tradition which he can't shake or let go of long enough to really enjoy the holidays.  He wishes he could; perhaps Elyn will be his lighthouse. This could lead to more metaphors and innuendo, so I'm not going to say too much, but there may be more than the stockings being hung by the chimney, and it may be more than visions of something sweet dancing. Do you believe in Santa Claus? It may make a difference. 

    Tomorrow marks the full week of writing this particular book. I began writing on Tuesday 8/22 after doing the cover on 8/21. At this rate, I should be finished by next Sunday. If I am, I will use Labor Day to read through the manuscript to make changes and find mistakes. I'll then set it up to be sent off. That's when Ingram sends it back to me for review and approval. I will have another shot at changing it and making corrections. I'll try to do all the things necessary before I format it. I hate making corrections that could change the interior layout. It can be a real hassle. 

    We'll see how it goes - - today was all about romance..well, sex, but there was romance in there too. If you think writing about two people being intimate is easy, you should just sit yourself down and try doing it. It is not that cut and dry. There are means, ways, methods, personalities, sounds, sights...there are too many things to include, that's for sure. I took to reading some excerpts from books online just so I could get a feel of where to start and how to finish the event(s) without understating the purpose of the scene, and without over-communicating. The characters deserve a bit of privacy in most cases.

    That's about it. I'll not write another sex scene for another 4 chapters. That will or should be about Tuesday. We'll see how it all works out. This book will have 5 or 6 good steamy scenes in it; some real, some imaginary. It's a good book and one that while you can't take it to work with you, could be gifted to someone you think about cooking with or someone you think could use a little tinsel hanging  -- too much? OK...bye!!

Photo Credit: Ellis Tuesday

Edinburgh (The Book) Literally Blowing Through it.

    This is the most fun a girl can have, let me just say that.  I'm past the 1/3 point of the book, and I think I started on Monday. I'll need to go look.  Yes, I made the cover for the book first on the 21st, which is a little odd, but that's OK. I'm a little odd too.  I made the cover first, and now I'm on the 13th chapter; 4 days later.  I started writing the book on August 22, which is a great day to do anything. The 22nd of any month is my favorite day.  I was born November 22, my best friend was born June 22, my son was born March 22, and my daddy was born April 22. My nephew was born on August 22, and that's the day I met Jeannie (my best friend).  Robin and Maurice Gibb were born December 22, so I gave Faith (my dog) the same birthday since she was born near that day.  I like the 22nd.  It's a great day.

    So, here I am, in my office, sitting at the desk typing. I have decided that two chapters a day is a good amount, but tomorrow being Saturday, and then again on Sunday, I could see myself cranking out 3 or even 4 chapters each day. I assume there will be about 30 chapters. I assume there will be about 86,000 words. There will need to be about that many words because I've already made the dang cover and I don't want to have to do that again. Depending on the thickness, and the page count, you have to adjust the spine width. It's good the way it is. I need to go see if I made it a 5x8 or a 6x9. It's a romance book, so I should have done the 6x9. Goodness, now I'm second-guessing myself. 

    After checking, I found that I did make it a 5x8 book, so that's going to be changed. I want the romance novels to be 6x9 and the murder books to be 5x8. I know, it's the craziest thing, but I like that. My Blog Books are also 6x9; it seems to be a favored size these days. Speaking of the Blog Books, I had to redo the cover on the 2nd book because I made a boo-boo and created it with a PRO or paid cover photo. Oops!! I changed it, and it's available now on Amazon. That only took 2 weeks to get the cover correct. Geez Louise, it wasn't easy. When I got it in the mail I didn't like the thickness of it, so I changed the size of the font and the spacing. It went from 262 pages to 317. OK, enough about that, this blog is about the new book.

    One of the best things about writing a romance novel is writing the sex scenes. No, really, it's hilarious fun. You get to be so free and say what you want to say. You can create character flaws, you can be a real jerk about it. You can be humble, and easy-going, or you can rip the wallpaper off the wall in a heated moment. It's all up to you, you're the author!! To get me going on what it is I want to say I typically read other works from authors I think go way overboard with the wording so I can do exactly what they did, but pull out before I completely make a mess of things. OMG...did I just say that? Geez...again, yeah, no. Sorry!! LOL

    I sort of do a food-porn thing at one point; making innuendo and using double-speak to make a few points; it's fun. I re-read it and laughed myself silly over what just came out of my keyboard. I can be so blunt sometimes. Other times I can be so sweet and forgiving; even affectionate. I love writing. It really really is the best job out there. I hope I can sell enough books to make it a full-time gig - - oh wait, maybe I should put a lot more sex in the book...yeah, that's the ticket. I'm good. I'll just write and be myself and see what happens.  It's good now. I don't want it to be someone someone reads to use as an example of someone going too far. 

    There will be at least two more sex scenes in the book. One will be real, and one will be a reflection of what happened in the character's life before she moved to Scotland. Oh, and there will be excerpts from writings that are steamy because the ladies have a Pyrate Night in the book; that requires erotic reading, drinking, fun games, and no men allowed...thems the rules!! Just the gals, swinging from a pole, smoking cigars, and trying to outdo each other using their favorite weapons...a pen or a keyboard. Actually, in the book it's going to be only pens. They have to write it out - - there's something about writing it out that makes it so much more personal. I think so anyway.

    That's it for today. I'll write more on Sunday to say I'm 1/2 way through the book. I think I will be. Let's see, I'm at 30,450 words now, that's 35%. With 7,500 words tomorrow, and the same on Sunday, that will be roughly 45,000 so yeah, that will be over 1/2 way there. Boom!  I love it. I love it. The real character of the book, the star character, is the City of Edinburgh. I'll describe her, talk about how she has existed, how seductive she can be, and how strong of a fortress she has been for so many centuries. She is my long-lost hope -- I will end up living there at least 1/2 the year after I write enough and sell enough books to afford it. She is not cheap!! Nope, she is one expensive and high-maintenance lady.

Photo Credit: Unknown

Edinburgh (The Book) Five Chapters In So Far.

 This one will be short and sweet, but even if it's not short, it should be sweet. I can say that much.   I believe in being as nice as possible, so here's just another example of that.

    I'm writing a novel that I haven't ever thought about writing really; it's a present-time romance novel, but I have to include murder and mayhem, it would be mine if I didn't. I won't say I love murder and mayhem, but I do think the commercials are funny.  That only makes sense if you're into insurance. I write novels, and today I'm writing a novel about a woman who has been through the wringer and I do mean through it. She's seen so much in her 42 years that she feels the need to run away from it all, leaving behind her life, her friends, her family, and her cat - - she isn't leaving her dog, the dog died a year ago, so she's moving forward from that too. The cat she'll leave with a good friend, and no worries, he's not all that affectionate anyway.

    She's a lot like me in so many ways, but then again, she's completely not like me in that she will see through to the end some of the things I hope to see through to the end. She will achieve what I am striving to achieve. She will be far more promiscuous as well. I could only dream about such things - - and yes, I do dream about such things. She does these things. She gets out there and grabs that man by the scruff of his collar, turns him around, and makes him an offer he chooses to accept. No one forces him, and no one judges either of them. They are where they are when they are, and they do what people do in fantasy romance books.  Reality is never so easy, is it?

    Well, today I wrote about 7500 words and I added those to my 6000+ words from yesterday, so I'm at 13,800 I think, something like that.  The entire book will be 86,000+ give or take, so I'm 16% done! Wow! I love that. I'm two days in and I'm at 16%. With this rate I can be at 32% in two more days, 48% by the weekend, and who knows, I could complete this book by Labor Day weekend. Woot! Wouldn't that be hilarious? I mean seriously, I may actually try to make that happen just to be able to say I did it. I want it to be good too, of course. I do like the way it's shaping up. It was beginning to bore me at one point, but I mixed up a little canoodling and there you go, instant betterment. (again, another insurance term)

    So, yeah, short and sweet, just like I  promised.  Elyn is thinking about thinking, and she's coming to grips with some of the more challenging issues from the stale-ended career path she thought would be world-changing. Teachers often go into the profession with wide eyes and hopes to make a difference, only to find out that the harder more accepted reality for educators is to shut up and do whatever they're told to do. It's a hard lesson for sure, and one I'm so very happy I never have to deal with again. Where do you think I got the material for most of the book? Right out of my own personal journals! Elyn will be the me I was, the me I am, and the me I want to someday maybe be. I can't say I really want to manhandle a man anytime soon, but I may not be opposed to a few of the concepts I create for the woman.

Oh my! 

    

Photo Credit: BeardSorcery.com 

Edinburgh (The Book) Progress.

 When I set my mind to do something, I decide to do it, and I do it. It's not rocket science. I couldn't do rocket science even if I set my mind to do so. That's not supposed to sound as complex as it did. I am not a Math person, and I'm pretty certain there is Math involved with both rockets and science. I am a wordsmith. I write. I mull words, I create them, I put them together, and I often times misuse them. If I had to live without words I would not be living. This much I know.

    So the book I'm writing now is titled "Edinburgh" and it is a romance novel. It is a current or present-time book, not a period, or a back-in-the-day type book. Nope, it is taking place in real-time, but I don't think I'll say "2023" as it will be moot sometime down the road. I think there could be events that take place that make (or allow) people think it's 2023 or so. I did say "post-Pandemic" at one point; so that's at least after 2021-2022.  We'll go with that.

    I have set a goal to write the book in a very very short amount of time. I won't say a week or two weeks, but I think I'm going to write the book really quickly. I am not going to make too much of a fuss about it. I'm not going to redo or overthink it. I'm really just writing it and watching it develop. This isn't one of those books where I do a great deal of research and then make up things to fit the narrative. Nope, this is going to be a talk-and-type sort of book. I'll literally make up stories, thoughts, discussions, and such as I go throughout the day. I'll pretend in my head and then put it on paper. I'll carry on conversations with myself and pretend to be every character; that should give the neighbors something to watch.

    I've written 6500 words in about 3 or 4 hours. Today was the first day of writing, and although I thought I would be starting at the beginning and then going through the book in chronological order basically, that's not what happened. I wrote out Chapters One and Two only to realize they are longer and more detailed than what I would want to read if I were reading the book. You see, the first chapters should grab the reader, and keep them hooked for a while; then you put in the long drawn out boring tedious stuff. That's my theory anyway. It works for me. That's my style, we'll say that...yeah, that's me.

    OK, so Elyn, the main character, will be fashioned a lot from my own personal experiences, but she'll have so many experiences I only wished I had, or dreamed I had, or fantasized that I had. She'll be the me inside my head. She'll do what I wish I could do with or without people watching. She and I are equally bold, but she'll get away with more than I think I would. After all, in Elyn's world Jude is the creator of the results of her actions. In Jude's world, it's not the same; believe me. (am I really speaking in 3rd person right now?) If I did what I will have Elyn do, I could expect a completely different outcome. People like bold people; they live through them; Elyn is certainly bold.

    Right now, as I've written two chapters, I only have about 80,000 words to go. If I keep up this pace, writing about 6500 words every day, it will only take me 13 days to write the book. I can do that. I can do more. I can possibly take the entire day to write 15,000-18,000 words and then I'd be way way way ahead of schedule, but there is no real schedule. The thing that is driving me to do this book so quickly is that I may be deployed soon and I won't have the time to finish it the way I wanted to. By deployed I'm not talking about a military deployment; I am a claims adjuster. We get deployed to write estimates for damages. I'm an auto desk worker.

    If I am deployed soon I will work 6 or 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. giving me only a few hours to write. I mean, I would actually write during that time, but I should also get up and move about; exercise, eat, and walk the dogs. (spoiler: I will walk the dogs and eat throughout the day. I work from home)  I'll get the book written soon, and then because I can, I'll format it and upload it with the new handy-dandy book cover I made yesterday. BAM...soon, very soon, the romantic quirkier-than-quirky novel "EDINBURGH" will be published and on sale through Amazon. 

    Since I'm writing the book on a whim, it may or may not be written to the liking of anyone whatsoever, but I know I like it, and as I've said before, I write to write. I don't write to sell. If it happens to sell I'll be happy. I'll use it as a means to ask the Scottish government to give me a creative Visa so I can invest time and money into my adopted land; it's a win-win.   You and I both know that some people will love the book; you can't help but please some when you write and try to be pleasing. I don't try to please anyone other than myself because I don't expect anyone to like what I produce. My answer is usually if you don't like it don't read it, and if you think you can do better, please do.

    Right now, in the two chapters I've written, Elyn has been suspended from teaching because a student's parent isn't happy that Elyn writes about violence; but she is a Creative Writing teacher, and there's the fact that most novels that sell are about sex and/or violence...just sayin'.  Teachers aren't necessarily paid well, so some of them supplement their careers in different ways, which include ghostwriting or simply writing. Elyn Fletcher is a writer first, and a teacher second. That also resonates with me. I think the book will be therapeutic for me because I'm still somewhat upset and discombobulated about all the years and times I was a teacher when I was dismissed, fired, suspended, and/or terminated for stupid and odd reasons. It happened to me seven times, and all seven times I took it to hearing and won. Elyn has a similar fate.

    I'll not harp on the whole teacher-bashing, but I do get my licks in. The book is about going to Edinburgh, uncovering history in her own past, and finding an old murder coverup that she wants to write about because it's not only closer to her family than she had ever been led to know, and it's bloody interesting!!  You'll have to read it to find out, but Elyn takes the trip seriously enough to remain; which again, makes sense to me. If I could do it today, I'd be there. Maybe "Edinburgh" will be my ticket to living just outside of the real Edinburgh. I don't want to live inside it really, I don't like tourists, and where Elyn also has the same propensity,  she doesn't let it stop her from helping those who mistake her for a local; in fact, that bit makes her smile.

Photo Credit: Pixaby.com