The Cantina Staring Back At You From The Abyss

Morning, Cantina and happy Friday!


As of an hour or so ago, my Wizard of Oz Etsy collection is LAUNCHED!!! Wow, that was a lot of work during what ended up being a busy week also filled with tech difficulties (because of course the internet had to glitch the day I was trying to get the listings put together) but it got done and the collection is now in the world. I love how all the items look together and am proud of it no matter how it does. <3

In pet news, part of the busy this week was because both dogs had their annual vet appointment, one on Tuesday, the other on Wednesday. Both of them have been declared healthy and gotten their required shots, but because of Covid the vet requires owners to wait in their cars instead of being able to go in the building with their pets.

Da beagle handled this fine. We call his vet his "Irish girlfriend" because she's originally from Ireland and she's his favoritest vet EVAH. Da lab pup however, was a total drama dog. The exam rooms at our vet's office all have a door that opens directly to the outside (which works quite well given the current situation) and each door has a window in it, so we could see that da lab pup was standing on her hind legs scratching at the door while the vet and assistant got things ready. *eyeroll* I think she was just unhappy about being separated from us rather than being stressed, though, because when she's truly stressed she emits a skunky smell, and she didn't smell skunky when she was brought back out to the car. And we took her for a nice long walk at a park afterward so she was happy again. That park has farm animals, and she also did better around them than when she was younger. (Her neck used to stretch out and she'd growl at the sheep, but this time she was able to just walk past and be okay. Maturity!)

Now on to do some writing things.

CobraMisfit said:

Evening, gang.

Whut up?

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Hey Cantina!

Sorry I've been MIA for a while. I've been dealing with stuff. I got a promotion at work, my hours changed, and depression has been a real bear, plus a few other things. I haven't been writing, either, which I know is a sin but...I don't have any excuses. Just in my own head and by myself, I guess.

I've been making ice cream, at least. In fact, I'm making ice cream for a friend tonight, for her birthday. Strawberry-sour cream, blueberry cheesecake, and white chocolate-wild raspberry.

I'm trying to get back into some kind of positive cycle. Or rhythm. Anything. Getting out of funks is hard. But, I'm still here, so there's that.

I hope everybody is doing well.

Our vet is doing the same thing. The parking lot has posts with numbered signs, so you park in '4' and the vet tech knows which spot to bring your furfriend back to Re-release day! Disappointing sales, but I shouldn't expect much for a book that's been out for five years. Ah well. Maybe it will pick up with the new book releasing in October. We'll see. Or Amazon may just be lagging... again.I also put a book on KU for the first time, but have NO page reads at all after a week. Is that weird? No idea.Back to editing. I'm 85% through the second draft. I can see the finish line!Oh, I started recording videos of me reading the first chapters of my books! I'm hoping to put a new one out each week. If anyone wants to watch, comment, like, subscribe, any of that, here is my YOUTUBE CHANNEL linky!!!

Also, can everyone else see all my book covers? I'm only seeing five of them for some reason. There should be more!

TedTheewen said:

I haven't been writing, either, which I know is a sin

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No, it's not. Life happens. We all have ups and downs and sometimes both ups and downs make it so writing gets put on the back burner. There's nothing wrong with that. Self care comes first.





Er... Do you all have any opinions on if there's such a thing as an excerpt being too rough to submit to a crit group? My group doesn't have rules about this, but one of our newer members has submitted two excerpts in the past two weeks that were so rough it's basically what some might call a "zero draft" where you're just word barfing onto the page to get the story out. The first excerpt wasn't too bad other than the main character's name changing to a second name five times and some other technical issues. But this second excerpt from the same story is so rough I don't even know how she's wanting the group to help and I absolutely crawled through reading it due to having to stop and comment on both technical and story issues. It even had one character mentioned at the end who seems to be a major antagonist and who the characters seem to know, but who wasn't mentioned in any shape or form before that point (but the characters were talking about him as if he had been.)

I feel like a lot of this is stuff she could fix herself if she'd give herself time. We don't have any rules that you *have* to submit at the designated times, and she'd gone for weeks without submitting anything when she first joined anyway, so it's not that she thinks that. (She's also yet to give anyone else any form of feedback on their work.) I'm half considering privately messaging our leader and discussing if there should be a new rule that while your excerpts don't have to be perfect, please at least edit them once or twice before submitting. But I'm asking here first since a lot of you have been in crit groups longer than I have and whose crit groups have also been around longer than mine. (We only just formed this year and are learning as we go along.) Are my standards too high on this or does anyone's group(s) have rules about such things?



@GD I see all your covers and they are purty as usual.

Thanks EFB! I started having issues with too much html for the sig so I changed it to one image, which is my website banner. Easier that way, anyhow.

For reading groups, we've had a few entries like that. If it's so rough it's hard to read, this is our usual feedback. "We love helping you and you have great creativity. However, if you work on getting the grammar and consistency right before you submit, it means we can concentrate on refining it to a polish rather than spend our time fixing the really rough parts. It means you get much more value out of our feedback."

Tedtheewen, do NOT feel bad for not feeling creative. This year has been unbelievably stressful for everyone, even if we are soldiering on. It drains us in ways we can't see, a low-key burden we're all carrying on our shoulders. This is a global pandemic, not a vacation. Creativity takes spoons, and many of us have a limited supply to begin with.

EFB, your underperforming peer sounds nervous, neurodivergent, or possibly "touched." You might want to give her time to catch up with the group or realize on her own that she isn't passionate enough to produce consistent work. In the meantime, if anyone can draw her into real discussion to ask her gently and teasingly about the issue, that'd be my preference if I were in her shoes.

If you have the charm to pull it off without making her feel put on the spot, a simple, "Hey, meathead, do a little polishing, would ya?" works well. If she's dismissive out of hand, I'd call it lazy and talk to the leader. If she says "Polishing?" then you know she's an extreme newb who needs guidance.

greendragon said:

Thanks EFB! I started having issues with too much html for the sig so I changed it to one image, which is my website banner. Easier that way, anyhow.

For reading groups, we've had a few entries like that. If it's so rough it's hard to read, this is our usual feedback. "We love helping you and you have great creativity. However, if you work on getting the grammar and consistency right before you submit, it means we can concentrate on refining it to a polish rather than spend our time fixing the really rough parts. It means you get much more value out of our feedback."

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Love the banner!

That's a very tactful way to put it.

Niniva said:

EFB, your underperforming peer sounds nervous, neurodivergent, or possibly "touched." You might want to give her time to catch up with the group or realize on her own that she isn't passionate enough to produce consistent work. In the meantime, if anyone can draw her into real discussion to ask her gently and teasingly about the issue, that'd be my preference if I were in her shoes.

If you have the charm to pull it off without making her feel put on the spot, a simple, "Hey, meathead, do a little polishing, would ya?" works well. If she's dismissive out of hand, I'd call it lazy and talk to the leader. If she says "Polishing?" then you know she's an extreme newb who needs guidance.

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Nervous and a little scatterbrained is probably the most accurate. She's young and in college (thus the scatterbrain) and said during last night's meeting that she's new to getting feedback on stuff. While the writing may be lacking right now she's clearly researched this story thoroughly (it's a retelling of Robin Hood). Nobody addressed the roughness of it (didn't gloss over the problems, they just didn't specifically mention how rough it was) and it's not that the others in the group don't have high standards themselves because their stories are really quite well done so far, so maybe it's just me. Hopefully, as she's given guidance the writing side will improve. Or she may reach a point where she realizes on her own that trying to do a crit group while in college when she has so little writing experience may not have been the best idea.

And no, I'm not charming enough to call anyone "meathead". XD XD XD We are discussing going from meeting every two weeks to every three weeks since we have one teacher and two college students, though, and all three are feeling pretty swamped with school stuff starting back, so everybody getting some breathing room may help a lot. Even though I personally don't feel swamped, the more I think about it the more a little breathing room appeals to me, too. It would give me time to get ahead a bit instead of only keeping up.

...EFB, I have my new author goodies that walks people through the "getting ready for copy edits" phase, which I've needed to turn into a new author brochure for years. I'd be glad to finish it up and share with you so you can share with her. Offer it to the whole group but make sure you emphasize how it gets new authors on the right track for moving from drafts to manuscripts. It cuts years of floundering out of the process.

Religion0 said:

Howdy, Cobra. What's new on your front? Anything shifting on the Shifter books?

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Heya' Rel! Not much happening on my end. Had some damage to our deck thanks to a storm and have been dealing with insurance adjusters ghosting us. Nothing more than inconvenience, but when it comes to that kind of stuff, I give companies very little wiggle room, so I've been a dog on a bone with them the last few weeks. We'll see what happens tomorrow when the engineers are out here to do estimates.

The Shifter books are done for now. I have a second trilogy outlined with synopses, but my publisher has transitioned to almost all Romance. Sent them the details on a couple series I have in the works and they liked it, but since it was outside the new perimeter, they passed. Which is totally fine. I was kinda' an outside with UF in a PR publisher anyway. Gotta do what's right for the company and all, which I totally respect. Maybe the new series will find a home elsewhere. And if the rights to Marcus revert back to me someday, I might consider self-publishing the new stuff. Plenty of good options out there, so we'll see where Fate takes thigs.

E.F.B. said:

As of an hour or so ago, my Wizard of Oz Etsy collection is LAUNCHED!!!

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Whaaaaaaaaaa?!

TO TEH ETSYZ!

E.F.B. said:

No, it's not. Life happens. We all have ups and downs and sometimes both ups and downs make it so writing gets put on the back burner. There's nothing wrong with that. Self care comes first.

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This.

E.F.B. said:

And no, I'm not charming enough to call anyone "meathead".

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You might be surprised to find you are. Someone once told me my mom could call someone a b**** to their face with a smile and they'd walk away feeling like a million bucks. Guess it's all in the delivery!

Things are pretty great in the Cobra Dojo these days. Just watching CmiF grow into an impressive little human and enjoying being on full-telework, so able to spend some of these formative years at home with her and CMF. Work is work, but I'm extremely thankful to have maintained employment. Had a few friends put on furlough or cut, so I count my blessings. Writing is slow, but slow is still forward momentum, right? The new series is fun, though.


Anyway, afternoon gang.

Whut up?

Things have been busy here. Rosa has a UTI, so hopefully a good course of antibiotics will help with her potty training. I feel bad that I didn't test for that before maybe giving her up, someone here even told me to, but hey.
Helped my Mom move, she's gone down the street and three stories up, and she has a lot of heavy furniture. My muscles hate me, but my back seemed okay afterwards, so that's a win.
Started on something called "meta-cognitive group therapy" which isn't impressing me. It might be great for some people, but it seems like something I've already realized for myself (and isn't working for me), and also kind of like it's just sweeping all the dust under the rug. Still gonna stay for the whole course. Even if they're god awful people who keep switching around which day of the week it's held without sending out a head's up, you have to go find that information yourself.
Started an internship to get approved for something called "flex job" which is part time work for full-time pay for handicapped people. I'm both relieved by and ashamed of this. First day was yesterday and everyone there was nice.
Newest development on housing is renting a room for 3-6 months for the duration on the internship and then getting something more permanent after I've gotten the flex job approval and can get out of this damned city.

I just finished the latest draft of my newest WIP and need a few good beta readers!


It's not yet been grammar edited (though I write pretty clean), so I'm not looking for detailed grammar feedback yet. I'm still in the 'do the character arcs work? How's the action in this scene? Does the ending piss you off?' stage.


Taming of the Few is Urban Fantasy, book 1 of a trilogy, set in mostly modern day. Clocks in at 104,544 words.


Six people from around the world travel to Ireland to be part of the PHAE, Protectorate for unHidden Assistance and Education, an organization formed to help those who have developed unusual powers after the magnetic pole shift finally completed.


PM me if interested!

Thank you, guys! I appreciate the kindness. I wish I could get some ice cream to you.

I need to figure out a way to improve the padding on my computer desk chair. I have to stand up every few minutes because my backside gets so sore. Hopefully this weekend I'll get to a local sewing supply place to get some padding to play around with.

I'm going to try to get back to editing my novel tonight. I wanted it done by August but that came and went. I'm still playing with it and plugging away here and there.

And I really like the banner!

And I subscribed to the YouTube channel.

I hope everybody is doing well tonight.

Backside or back? I always need good back support in my chairs, and sufficient space for my ample behind. Otherwise I'm miserable within a hal fhour.

Sequel Sisyphus is almost done! It's been a slog, this year. But fun enough, in its own way. It needs one more round of correction and then it's off. Woohoo!

Oooh Secret Santa Sisyphus soon! Woohoo again.

Oh, darn, I'll need a prompt...

E.F.B. said:

As of an hour or so ago, my Wizard of Oz Etsy collection is LAUNCHED!!!

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I was wondering how one'd express that theme with just thread and hook (since flying monkeys are a nightmare to crochet, I'm thinking) but nicely done! I particularly liked your yellow brick road pattern.

TedTheewen said:

I'm trying to get back into some kind of positive cycle. Or rhythm. Anything. Getting out of funks is hard. But, I'm still here, so there's that.

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Funks are hard to shake indeed.

Religion0 said:

Newest development on housing is renting a room for 3-6 months for the duration on the internship and then getting something more permanent after I've gotten the flex job approval and can get out of this damned city.

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Rooting for you, Rel.

greendragon said:

Backside or back? I always need good back support in my chairs, and sufficient space for my ample behind. Otherwise I'm miserable within a hal fhour.

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My posterior portion, which takes the most weight, sadly. I have to get up about every 20 minutes to move around or I'm in serious pain. This chair isn't meant for sitting too long. But I can work with it. I think of it, like most things in my life, as a sort of canvas. I'm going to hit the local sewing shops soon to see what kind of padding they have available. People are always recovering their chairs and other furniture so I'm sure they've got something I can grab.

How does red wine mixed berry cheesecake ice cream sound? I've done red wine reductions before but something tells me I should give it another go.

If you just need a better cushion, there are places that make custom cushions, for reupholstering or for, say, boat or RVs. Some just sell the foam. (I have a friend who started working from home and needed a better chair cushion - a local place sold her the foam (cut the edges to match the shape of her chair, and it fit into a pillowcase for actual use).
Or office supply places sell cushions (but those are pricier).
And, my standby (I need more height to rise easily) is department store patio furniture cushions. They sell just the cushions, they are thick and sturdy, and, this time of year, they're on sale (end of season).

Niniva said:

...EFB, I have my new author goodies that walks people through the "getting ready for copy edits" phase, which I've needed to turn into a new author brochure for years. I'd be glad to finish it up and share with you so you can share with her. Offer it to the whole group but make sure you emphasize how it gets new authors on the right track for moving from drafts to manuscripts. It cuts years of floundering out of the process.

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Sounds like it could be helpful. Thanks!

Friendly Frog said:

Oooh Secret Santa Sisyphus soon! Woohoo again.

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Wow, that sure does sneak up quickly every year! I'm honestly debating if I'll be able to do it this year now that I've got a crit group to think about. I WANT to do Sisyphus, but the story I'm getting critted is long enough that it's kind of important that I stay on schedule with that lest it take longer than it already will for the group to work through it. *is conflicted*

I was wondering how one'd express that theme with just thread and hook (since flying monkeys are a nightmare to crochet, I'm thinking) but nicely done! I particularly liked your yellow brick road pattern.

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Thanks! I actually did consider doing something flying monkey related and made serious strides toward attempting fingerless gloves, but yeah. Some things are hard to interpret with yarn or jewelry.

Not sure I even have the right email in my sig anymore... I need to do some updating on my media presence.

Anyone interested in the new author material, feel free to email me: [email protected]

I'll send a few files that explain why their work is not ready for edits.

Driftin' through for no earthly reason... don't mind me...

Work has been exceptionally worklike. We're still impossibly understaffed, and people keep taking vacation (though we've had someone out for a positive COVID test... asymptomatic, and we all wear masks and distance in the large warehouse, but still...), and I'm increasingly burned out, somewhere between utterly apathetic and actively willing machinery to explode via psychic energy to break the monotony.

And the weather's turned autumnal, drizzly and gray and drizzly again. Haven't even gotten any decent thunder out of it, which sucks. If it's going to be gray and dismal, at least we can have thunder, dang it.

Today was one of the least exciting b-days I've had. Considering buying myself a new game on GOG just to liven things up, but I'm just feeling slumpy and nothing quite scratches the itch. (Though I did see they had a few of my old favorites from Apogee, particularly Monster Bash... I'd probably suck at it now, but danged that was a fun one.) I have games I haven't finished, but they haven't appealed lately either.

Did order myself a new computer chair, that should be here next week. That's what passes as thrilling.

And I did finish the Solstice story. Not entirely happy with it, but it's done.

Hi, gang.

As far as chair padding, consider yoga mats inside a quilted cover. I had to make something similar for my Mr's dialysis chair. A velcro strap around the top helps hold it onto the chair without sliding down.

Grim anniversary for me, a family loss I am still processing. And worries about other family members.

But work is going well so far, I am still writing, and I just learned one of my fiber art books got juried into a big art show. Waiting on news of another show entry, plus getting my stuff together for two large grant applications.

I have to rebuild my Etsy shop this weekend, since I have a major free promo opportunity.

Brightdreamer said:

Driftin' through for no earthly reason... don't mind me...

Work has been exceptionally worklike. We're still impossibly understaffed, and people keep taking vacation (though we've had someone out for a positive COVID test... asymptomatic, and we all wear masks and distance in the large warehouse, but still...), and I'm increasingly burned out, somewhere between utterly apathetic and actively willing machinery to explode via psychic energy to break the monotony.

And the weather's turned autumnal, drizzly and gray and drizzly again. Haven't even gotten any decent thunder out of it, which sucks. If it's going to be gray and dismal, at least we can have thunder, dang it.

Today was one of the least exciting b-days I've had. Considering buying myself a new game on GOG just to liven things up, but I'm just feeling slumpy and nothing quite scratches the itch. (Though I did see they had a few of my old favorites from Apogee, particularly Monster Bash... I'd probably suck at it now, but danged that was a fun one.) I have games I haven't finished, but they haven't appealed lately either.

Did order myself a new computer chair, that should be here next week. That's what passes as thrilling.

And I did finish the Solstice story. Not entirely happy with it, but it's done.

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Happy Birthday! I like wind and thunderstorms too, except when my power or cable goes out. Summer's coming back for a week anyway, all next week.

I do hate when summer ends, but I love the fall. This year though, not so much. I'll feel better if we vote this idiot out and maybe get some decent science support to defeat this virus.

I'm still sad about losing my dog and much as I'm glad I still have my other dog, it's just not the same.

The COVID relief has been a big help for me. A lot of my business has been slow with some dentists and outpatient surgery centers being on reduced work schedules. But the relief package let self-employed people file for unemployment. My savings is still about equal to my debt, but I have money to pay the bills.

Anyway, I'm rambling so I'll stop here.

Good wishes for everyone in these trying times.

Filigree said:

Hi, gang.

As far as chair padding, consider yoga mats inside a quilted cover. I had to make something similar for my Mr's dialysis chair. A velcro strap around the top helps hold it onto the chair without sliding down.

Grim anniversary for me, a family loss I am still processing. And worries about other family members.

But work is going well so far, I am still writing, and I just learned one of my fiber art books got juried into a big art show. Waiting on news of another show entry, plus getting my stuff together for two large grant applications.

I have to rebuild my Etsy shop this weekend, since I have a major free promo opportunity.

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Hope your other family members are okay. Hugs on that anniversary.

How exciting about your art show entry and good luck with the other one.

Good morning, folks! Congrats on the fiber art book, Filigree! That's wonderful!

I'm excited because TWO of my fellow author group artists have work up for pre-order for the first time. One with her first novel, the other with her first published short story (she's written several novels but still editing). They are both really talented authors and I'm so thrilled for them. I've got them both in my newsletter going out at the end of the month.

BTW, if anyone has work coming out or on sale, I'd be happy to include them in my newsletter! I've got about 5700 subscribers who love historical fantasy and some time travel.

*waves*

Sorry I haven't been here in a couple of weeks. Kinda the same old same old. Work. Home. Work. Home. Weekend- walk the dog, do some freelance work, grocery shop, etc.

No writing since the Syssyphus. :/ Really debating on joining this year. Have had NO urge for creation on anything. But, with work, not having an area of my own, and other stuff, it's probably for the best. I'd get upset too easily with being interrupted and such to get anything good done.

Finishing up an edit for a client, easy peasy as I've edited this collection before. The author has made some changes and i've seen a big improvement. There's just some minor touchups to do before publication.
Next up is a series bible for my writing boss. She's going to add more short stories to the universe and needs some people/place/thing guides for 2 series. That will take at least the next 2 months. (note I'm basically only working on freelance stuff on the weekend.)

Sputnik is getting so big! He's of a size to get fixed, so this week I need to make an appt for him and for George (FIL's dog) to get that taken care of.

Otherwise things are going okay.
Hugs for everyone