The Old is New Again

So, I got my new computer and finally set it all up. I'm still getting used the keyboard and I hate the different style of mouse thingy. I'll get used to it. It's worth it to have a battery that lasts forever (in comparison) and no interruptions in internet from a wonky something or other. Yes, I'm a computer expert and know all the terms. The switch over gave me an opportunity to clear some things off my computer. Why did I have all those things sitting around on my desktop?

Hope you all got to see the eclipse last week. With your safety glasses, of course. It was really cool though I would put it in the same category of cool as Aurora borealis. I've only seen those once and it was unforgettable.

Without even a chance to get over the Game of Thrones finale, I have a dentist appointment this morning. So, I'll be getting around to blogs later today to return visits. I stop in on many blogs who have excellent content about writing, new releases, recipes, and sometimes are just amusing. I want to share them on Twitter or Facebook, but there are no share buttons to make it easy. If you have a blog, I  hope you'll make sure you have that simple add-on so your visitors can spread the word of your existence.

Watching my daughter full time has put me back on the writing schedule I used while I was still teaching. And I like it. I'm doing my writing at night again after having the entire day for my mind to figure out the next scene. I'm feeling younger and more efficient again and not only because I'm chasing an infant around who has learned to crawl before she's even 6 months old.

Also helping my writing is the complete lack of interesting TV. Thrones is over for the season and my other summer fun, Salvation, is almost done. I think the next thing I'm looking forward to is the second season of Stranger Things. The Defenders on Netflix was okay even though I'm not a fan of Iron Fist, the series or the actor. I am looking forward to The Punisher later this year.

I will not be posting next Monday on Labor Day. We'll probably be doing the family cookout and games thing.

Are you making plans for Labor Day weekend? See the eclipse? Did you watch The Defenders? Do you have share buttons on your blog?

This Day

I'm not going to link to any of the zillion articles about the solar eclipse since they are everywhere and have been for a while now. I hope you're protecting your eyes if you in the shadow of the moon today. It's a very cool thing to have happen. We'll only get to see a partial eclipse where I live, but it will still be neat.

I'm spending more and more time watching my granddaughter as the school year approaches and her parents get back to work. She's a bit of sunshine every day. She inherited her father's unfortunate cowlick on the very front and center of her head, but she also inherited his disposition. Meaning she is endlessly pleasant and smiling.

Being out and about with that dear child reminds me how easy it is to be kind. So many strangers smile and often speak to her. She adores all of them. When do we learn to not think the best of others? She doesn't care about their race, their religion, or their sexual preferences. Old, young or in between. Thin, beautiful, or not. Elliana Hope doesn't care. She loves people, and so should we all. I find myself with more patience with others just by being in the sunshiny presence of hers.

We've had so much rain, it's terrible. The wet area of my lawn is officially a swamp at a time of year when it is usually completely dry. I conceded defeat to the weeds among my flowers last week. Our area is about 10 inches above average rainfall this year.

I'm over a third of the way done with my next book. Would love to finish the first draft by the end of September. I bought a new computer, but I'm still using the old one until I get everything set up. I liked my old computer but the battery was shot. I was lucky if it lasted 20 minutes, and they no longer make the batteries for it though I could try a used one. And wow, computer batteries are really expensive.

The further along Game of Thrones goes this season, the more disappointed I am in the number of episodes. The writers claimed there wasn't enough story to make ten episodes like other seasons, but they're rushing through story so fast, I find it hard to believe they couldn't have found lots of juicy details to fill the time. I'm really enjoying the summer show, Salvation, more and more as it goes. I hope it gets a second season though I guess they could fail to stop the asteroid and all die this season.

Preseason football is underway. I seldom watch sports on TV, but I do enjoy football. And I love watching my son coach high school football. I will also get a lot of writing done while my husband commandeers the TV to watch hours and hours of the game. Don't just him, but my husband is a Raiders fan. And Penn State, of course.

Is your part of the word getting a rainy overload? Are you wishing for a little human kindness among the world's people? Have you ever priced a computer battery? Looking forward to football season? Who is your favorite team? Are you going to watch the eclipse?

The Normal

Our local chapter had an interesting meeting this past Saturday. As I mentioned before, my group, CPRW, won an award for being the top small chapter of RWA for 2017. After the business portion of the meeting, the handful of members who attended RWA's yearly conference gave a recap of the insights into the industry they gathered at the massive gathering of writers, editors, and agents. One of the interesting thing they shared was how smoothly our chapter runs compared to so many others. Each of our members had tales from other groups of how their chapters suffered from infighting and drama. Some groups are considering disbanding because of the dysfunction of their chapter. There is not one hint of that in our group. We won the 'less than 50 members' group award. And we all support and cheer for each other. There's no jealousy or ego-driven rifts in our little family. I would never have imagined other groups weren't like ours.

Tomorrow I'm taking my granddaughter to library for the first time. We're getting her library card and in three weeks we can sign her up for her first reading group. She'll be six months old so it's time. Not that we haven't already bought her dozens of books. Mostly, she wants to eat them at this time, but I'm sure she'd get over that.

"To me there is no picture so beautiful as smiling, bright-eyed, happy children; no music so sweet as their clear and ringing laughter."  P.T. Barnum

My publisher put together a Best of  Susan Kelley album for me. I mean an anthology of three of the first books in my space opera romance series. I'm excited to see how this does as it's something new for both of us. I'm really excited that I have enough series to make an anthology with only my work in. Though since this contains 3 full length novels, it's more like an omnibus.

Went with my daughter yesterday to use a great coupon we had for The Gap. Way too many people. Have I mentioned how glad I am that I don't have to do back-to-school shopping. I do miss searching for some cool office supplies. But I really don't need them. I buy a planner once per year and occasionally need more pens or pencils.

I've heard about Game of Thrones being the most pirated show in history but how about the leaks and hacking they have to battle all the time? I watched Les Miserables so I understand stealing because you're starving, but what is with the thieves in this world. I don't understand the mindset that it's okay to take something that belongs to someone else.

I'm looking for a new home for my other fantasy series that I received my rights back for after the small press closed. They had published the first book out of three but only for a few months. So I've narrowed down a few publishers who will look at a book that's been published before. There aren't many of them. Suggestions are appreciated if you know of any.

Are you doing any back-to-school shopping or only bemoaning the crowds like I am? Are you a fan of anthologies? Have you ever been part of a writing group that didn't get along? How old were you the first time you visited a library?

IWSG: August 2017 Style

The last Wednesday of the summer is upon us. Time for IWSG monthly posting. Thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh, this dedicated groups blogs once a month to help each and share our woes and successes. Find all the participating blogs here.

This optional question this month:
What are your pet peeves when reading/writing/editing?

There are certainly more than one. When reading it's difficult to take off my writerly/editing glasses. It really bothers me when I find so many of the things we're told to not do as writers. Adverbs everywhere. Info dumps. Starting with dream sequences. And yet, these authors have big traditional publishing contracts.

In the support side of this blog hop, I've had some frustrating days in the past few months. But I talked with some people like fellow writers, my publisher, and read a few articles. The hard truth is that all writers struggle at times. Even very successful writers struggle. Part of growing as a writer is learning to push through the struggles and keep on writing. Also knowing when to take a break and let your muse call you back to it when you're recharged. I also look at my writing as a job, and sometimes the job doesn't go as smoothly as you'd like but you still go to work. So I'm hard at work on the third book in my current series.

Game of Thrones really wowed us this last episode. Lots happened and the last scene was one of the best of the show. I'm liking Salvation so far though I don't know if it's getting good reviews. Killjoys is okay this year as their story expands into the greater universe. Zoo is one crazy thing after another with some weird things going on though the entire show is pretty weird.

Getting lots of cucumbers and tomatoes from my plants. My refrigerator is filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. It's a lot easier to eat healthy in the summer.

Do some pet peeves jump out at you? What summer shows are you really enjoying? Has summer sped by for you like it has for me? Do you grow your own veggies or otherwise enjoy them this time of year?