Planning for Brain Fog

I found a note I had left for myself for my 2020 writing calendar. It said to plan for brain fog in January and February.

I'm going to assume I wrote that note when I wasn't feeling well because I don't want to plan for brain fog. I want to plan a way through or over or around it.

My writing skidded to a halt last winter because I wasn't healthy. That isn't something that should be a yearly occurrence. I realize that you can't plan to not catch a cold, but I shouldn't expect to be flattened by my allergies for months.

I've been chipping away at them all year, trying to keep on top of it. I found some helpful supplements, and have been trying to avoid trigger foods. One of which is sugar, and man that's my downfall. And this time of year makes it even worse with cookies and candy everywhere.

Part of the problem is the fatigue. It creeps up on you, stealing your initiative. Before you know it, you go from not wanting to spend the energy doing good things for yourself to not even having the energy to think about it. Getting out of the desk chair to take a walk in the sunshine becomes a monumental task.

I've had some long stretches of good energy this year. That makes you less complacent when you start to slide back into the allergy doldrums. When you know what a good place you can get to, you don't want to settle for just getting through the day.

The note was a good reminder. I need to watch myself more carefully because I have a lot of plans for 2020 and all of them require a healthy body.

Lethal Seasons for 99c and Book #13

First the fun part.

The first book of A Changed World series - Lethal Seasons - is 99c Now through April 23rd. To grab a copy Click Here.

Now the hard part. Book 13 is being a problem.

I didn't realize it was number thirteen until recently. Maybe that's why it is taking so long. That dreaded number - 13.

I think part of it is new characters that need more introducing. And although it is a world I already introduced, it is a different country and needs a lot of setting.

And this character is a bit odd. I've had him in my head for awhile, but I only figured out his special skill when I started writing the story over the winter. And I have learned a lot about him on the journey. I'm so close to the end, but I just can't see the perfect place to stop.

Another part of it is a bit of fatigue, I think. All last year I pushed myself to write every day. I managed to put out three books. And I was very proud of myself. But I can't seem to stick to that schedule this year. Life, health, relatives, pets...all important things, needed my attention.

So I am giving myself a pass on the year's goals. I had planned to publish this month but I'm still working on the rough draft. It's crazy to push out a badly written book just to reach a self-imposed deadline. It'll come out when it is done and polished and I am proud to put my name on it.

Whew. Now I need to get back to those relatives and cats...

That Genealogical Black Hole

It sucked me in again. I unraveled an especially tight knot and couldn't stop digging...sorry for the mixed metaphors. I think I found a crack in my genealogical brick wall. I'm still looking for some kind of corroboration to my theory, but I have high hopes.

I think I have figured out that brain fog makes me lean toward the research. To be honest, a lot of it is insanely tedious. Like plowing through pages of horrible handwritten lists of baptisms from the 1800's. In Latin. With creative spelling. And when my brain isn't firing on all burners, that's something I can do without thinking very hard. (Although it is very hard on the eyes.)

For some reason, I am especially susceptible to sinus infections in the winter. Maybe it's the dry air from the hot-air heat. And as I slowly sink into brain fog, that great time-sink of research drags me back in. I lose hours...sometimes whole days to skimming through newspapers from the 1880's or searching online for an image of a city a hundred years ago. Sigh.

So I'm a bit behind on the writing. And in consolation, I will leave you with a warning...

Don't leave your kitty in the sun too long...they melt.

Planning for 2019

I'm excited about starting a new year. I don't really believe in resolutions, but I do believe in goals. What's the difference? Intent.

In my mind, people set resolutions to try to change some sort of behavior. They resolve to lose weight, get fit, stop drinking, do their chores... Those are all good things, but a resolution feels more like a punishment. I must stop eating chocolate. Like that's ever going to happen.

Goals are something you aim for. A healthier lifestyle is a great goal, but it doesn't include giving up chocolate. My choice is for good quality chocolate in small doses that I can savor. So it's a change. A step in the right direction, but it isn't a punishment.

Staying healthy is a goal I have every year, so that's a given.

Sticking to my writing schedule is a fairly new goal, but one I hope to achieve this year. Even though I'm already a little behind because of a side project.

Now the harder one - learning new things about marketing. I've finally accepted the fact that marketing is required for one's business to succeed. However, I've also realized that my brain doesn't really work that way, so I need to figure out some habits or routines to make that work. I set up a schedule for 2019 and we'll see if sticking to it actually works. The industry is constantly changing, so I need to stay flexible.

I might even try poking around in social media again. The first time I did it, my attempts were luke warm and scattershot. I know I need a plan, so that will need to come before I start wildly posting cat photos across the internet again.

So that's my plan. We'll see how it goes.

Looking Back on a Wonderful Year

I don't think I knew it while I was in it, but this has been a pretty good year for me.

I took a look back on my calendar and was very surprised to see how much I've gotten done. Part of that is probably because I've been very healthy this year. You can't believe the difference in your energy level when you are healthy.

I released 4 books this year. That amazes me. I planned it, stuck to my schedule and got them out on time. And a lot of that happened because I stopped buzzing around the forums trying to figure out what I should be doing. I put my head down and got to work. And that turned out to be easier and more enjoyable than debating the next steps an author should take.

Lessons Learned, book 4 of A Changed World post-apocalyptic series came out in January. High Barrens, the first book of the Tales of Haroon fantasy series came out in March. Blood Relations, the third book of the Asher Blaine Mysteries series came out in August, and Desperate Measures, book 5 of A Changed World came out in December. I don't know if I will be as prolific next year, but I am sure going to try.

Through trial and error, I sort of got a handle on the art of marketing. Then in June, I got the golden ticket - a Bookbub. Books flew off the shelf for a week, then marched, then strolled and it slowly worked its way down to a number of sales much higher than all the previous months. I made a lot of money and that feels amazing, too.

I cracked 10,000 sales. Lethal Seasons has over 100 reviews. I took my books wide and starting selling them in new markets like Kobo, Google Play and Apple.

And I still managed to do a little traveling, visit with family, work in the garden and start on a family history that I've been thinking about.

In the fall, we started work on turning a shed into an office for me. It took a little longer than expected, but the outcome is fabulous. I have all my things in one place. There are big windows to let in natural light and a ton of storage space for all my odds and ends.

This has been a wonderful year, and I hope you've had a good one, too.

Here's hoping for a great 2019 for everyone!

Time for a Little Break

I've sent the first draft of A Changed World book 5 to my first reader. The working title right now is Desperate Measures. I think it's in pretty good shape, so there shouldn't be too much of a rewrite on it. Which means it is still on schedule for a December 13th release. I actually started planning out the promotions for a discount on Lethal Seasons (book 1) in the run up to the release. I might just be getting the hang of it all. (Fingers crossed!)

As mentioned in my last blog, I was creeping up on having sold 10,000 books this year. I passed that milestone this week. Woo hoo!

My new office is finished and I'm in the process of moving in. Another big Woo Hoo there! It's great to get all of my stuff in one place...but there is a lot of it. There will be sorting and purging for some time to come.

Next week I will have a house full of relatives and a busy schedule of visiting and playtime. Can't wait. But a week off always comes with it's own repercussions. I'm sure I will need a whole 'nother week to catch up with myself. So I might not be back to the blog for a couple weeks.

A Whole Lotta Books!

I was trying to work out the read-thru rate on one of my series when something occurred to me. Thanks to the Bookbub, I was going to break 10,000 sales very soon. For the year! Wow.

Let me put this in perspective. I started publishing in 2012 and I sold a whopping 33 books that year. It wasn't until 2016, when I finally had a few books under my belt, that I even broke 1,000. Last year I sold 1241 books. That includes ebooks, paperbacks and the occasional audiobook. A step up the ladder, but not by much.

Year to date for 2018, I am at 9866 books sold. That means I need 134 sales to hit 10,000. Last month I sold over 300 books so that is very doable. I am in shock. It totally snuck up on me. I was so immersed in sorting the numbers and resetting goals, that I didn't realize how much I had actually achieved.

This definitely calls for a dinner out.

Scatter-brained

Is it allergies, insomnia or something else all together?

This year as allergy season hit me, I am in the best shape I have been for years, and still I can't seem to get ahead of the occasional bout of brain-fog. Last year I forced myself to push through it and keep writing. That was a big mistake.

Most of what I wrote had to be thrown out or heavily rewritten. When I don't feel well, I default to feeding my characters and sending them to bed. And that doesn't make for a very interesting story.

So this year I am trying to be more careful. When I find myself dreading my allotted writing time, I'm trying to change it up. I do some yard work, plotting, marketing, or if it's really bad - read a book.

Reading is a type of research. When I finish a book, I reflect on how I liked the story and what I might do differently. If there are glaring errors, it helps me find them in my own work. And of course, it's fun and relaxing.

I built lots of oops-time into my schedule this year. That was a lesson I learned the hard way. Missing my personal deadlines stresses me out. So I added a little padding here and there and it's paying off. I'm less stressed and more on target.

And now it's time to get back to it.

Slow Going

I've been planning a big family reunion for over a year now. It finally happened last weekend. And relatives came in early to check out the lovely town I live in. So I had company for five days straight with a big party in the middle.

It was fabulous. I caught up with a lot of cousins and met new ones. Everyone had a great time. We all came together for a happy occasion and this started a tradition that I hope will continue. The next one, in 2019, is penciled in now.

However, the day after the last guest left I was a zombie. It took me two days to catch up on my sleep. Apparently, I spent a lot of time standing because my feet and legs felt like I'd run a marathon. And I pulled a muscle in my back trying to wrestle the compost pile into a more seemly shape. (Like anyone would notice?)

Needless to say, I didn't do much writing. But all the stress is gone now, so I plan to write harder. My deadlines are shot, but they are just there for me to aim for. It's more important to fix the book than to meet some arbitrary due date.

When I opened up the WIP yesterday it felt really good to get back into my routine. I feel like I've had a vacation. My mind is clear and my energy is good. Now I need to get back at it.

A New Look

I've cleaned up the blog a little because I will soon have the new website up and running.

I am still having a little technical kerfuffle with the website. It's done. It looks great - Thanks, Alex! BUT somehow I just haven't clicked the right boxes or pushed the right buttons because it isn't working. Soon...maybe.

That means the blog has reverted to its blogger address. So reset those bookmarks. Alicesabo.com will now go to the website (whenever the dang thing sorts itself out).

I've spent hours playing with Wizards - the setup kind, not the magical fun kind. There's a whole jargon that goes with this stuff that I have to keep looking up, and even when I find the definition, I'm not sure if it applies to me. Especially when the instructions are written for someone who probably knows what they're doing. And I most assuredly don't! Sigh.

I can't say it's been a learning curve because I haven't mastered anything.

I really do feel like a dinosaur today.

Winter Arrived

After a crazy warm winter, we had a dose of the arctic. Ouch.

Fruit trees have flowered a month early. Last night it went down to 16 degrees. Needless to say, we aren't getting any apricots this year. Luckily my cherry and apple trees hadn't flowered yet.

But that's just my little patch. I'm not a fruit farmer. Some of them have lost their entire crop for this year.

We get to go to the grocery store and pick out fruit that comes in from all over the world. I don't think it sinks in until you see the reports on the news about how devastating this can be. The county south of me is mostly apple orchards. The year we had the Easter freeze they lost them all. It was considered a natural disaster and they were able to apply for aid.

It's hard to understand in a time when food is readily available for most of us, how fragile farming is. Fruit trees won't rebloom. A crop wiped out by flood or tornado can't always be resown. We have become spoiled with ease of access. If one farm or orchard fails, we can get produce from another. Maybe.

By Sunday we will be back to short-sleeve weather. But the damage has already been done.

A Little Stressed Out

There's a lot going on right now and it has me feeling more than a little stressed.

The renovations on the house are coming along nicely but... I work at home. Power tools in the background are hard to block out. I'm used to being on my own with the three cats. Having a man or two banging around the house is a distraction. I'm torn between trying to ignore them and feeling guilty for not making them lunch. (My family feeds all guests.)

As a result, I'm not getting as much work done as I would like. I had planned to have the current WIP to my first reader by now. Not going to happen. That changes the schedules for everything else I've planned this year. Bummer.

The crazy spring weather has made things worse.

First, my allergies went on overload. I'm still tinkering with combinations of medication to get things under control. Brain fog, sinus headaches, eyes so itchy I've scratched them raw, congestion like concrete. So I have a swollen raccoon face and can't breathe. Ugh.

Second, warm weather means yard work. I've been working in the yard pretty regularly ripping out the honeysuckle and briars that are strangling everything else. And I only got a small patch of poison ivy on one arm so far... But I keep thinking that I am behind schedule because of May weather in February. I was all ready to start putting seed in when I remembered what month it was. Sheesh.

So today is catch up day. I need to review the marketing and redo my writing deadlines and, oh yeah, WRITE!

50 Reviews!

Lethal Seasons now has 50 reviews!

As the numbers started climbing, somehow 50 became an important milestone in my head. I check the number of reviews on my books from time to time and it always amazes me to see more rolling in.

The first milestone is 10. That is the number required by some of the better promotion sites. Passing that was a great relief. Passing twenty-five was astonishing. Now I'm up to 50 and wow!

A huge thank you to everyone who left a review. Whether it was just a couple words or a couple paragraphs. It all counts toward helping me reach more readers.

THANK YOU!

And a reminder that Lethal Seasons (and 9 other novels) is available in the boxed set Apocalyptic Fears III for only 99cents. That's a lot of reading for less than a buck!

Happy New Year to you all. 

Wishing you a peaceful, healthy and prosperous 

year ahead.

Facebook Clarification

I have 2 facebook pages. One is an author page under M. Alice Sabo/Alice Sabo Books, the other is my personal page under Alice Sabo.

I wasn't completely social media literate when I started things up. So I apologize for any confusion. The Facebook link on this blog will take you to my Author Page.

My personal page is where I keep track of my relatives. It is private. If you send me a friend request for that page, I won't approve it. I appreciate my fans, but that isn't the right place to interact with me.

And it probably wouldn't be of much interest to you seeing my cousins and siblings, nieces and nephews and various extended family members at parties and events.

A new website is in the works, designed by the wonderful Alex Storer. I hope to unveil it early next year. There will be more information about the books and what is in the works. I'll clean up this blog and make it just a blog again.

So my apologies if you have tried to friend me on my personal page. I wish there was a way to add a note when you refuse a friend request, because I want people to know that I have a reason and don't mean to be rude.

Thank you to anyone who has tried to contact me. I'm flattered. I love hearing from people who have read my books. Feel free to contact me through the blog for now.

And now it's back to writing!

Ten Years

Last month I celebrated being in the same place for 10 years.

Have I mentioned nomadic ancestors?

I moved out of my parents' house when I was eighteen to go to college. Since then I have bounced around the country, from one coast to the other. No one place really suited me until now. Some days I have John Denver crooning in my ear about "...Coming home to a place he'd never been before..." I finally understand that sentiment.

For a very long time, my limit at an address was about 3 years, often, a lot less. This little house is the most comfortable home I've had since my childhood. But it doesn't have anything to do with the house itself.

Asheville is a versatile, tolerant, funky place that serves all my various wants. I don't think I have managed to achieve that in my previous wanderings. When I started saving to buy a house, I had a plan of finding an anchor - a place I could store all my stuff while I traveled. It didn't occur to me to find a place where I was comfortable living.

I used to joke that I got all the gypsy genes from my Hungarian ancestors. I didn't know then about the nomadic nature of the original tribes, or how the Celts came through there on their way to Britain. So I might have a double dose of wanderer.

The years have flowed by with pleasant milestones. But the lack of trauma has made them less striking. So it always surprises me when I look at a calendar and realize another year is done.

Here's to another decade or two in my comfortable home.

I Voted!

I don't like to put political comment in my blog, but this election is a doozy.

Please vote!

Regardless of who you are voting for, I think it is essential that everyone go out and vote.

I voted early here in NC.

Fingers crossed for my choices!

Year in Review

2015 was good.

It started badly because I was sick for about a month. That made me late in my self-imposed deadlines, but they were only self-imposed.

I published Dark Deeds in February and Scattered Seeds in September.

Book 3 for A Changed World is outlined and I plan a fall release.

The first book in the new series, Transmutation, is in the first rewrite and will go to the 2nd reader in about a week. I plan to submit this story to Kindle Scout in the spring. You will be hearing more about this along the way.

As an experiment, I pulled Lethal Season and Scattered Seeds out of wide distribution and put them in the KDP Select program. Every month since has seen an increase in pages read. That translates into increased income for me, but more importantly, it is more people reading my books. I've sold 60 books and have almost 6,000 Pages-read for the year, not counting December (which looks very good so far!).

In comparison, I have some books in wide distribution in Smashwords and Draft2Digital. I have sold 1 book through Smashwords for the whole year. I loaded books into D2D in September and have had only 1 sale there so far.

My sales and reads might not seem remarkable, but they are an improvement over last year. I am getting a smidge more revenue and that's exciting. Not ready to quit the day job, yet, but it is a step on the way. As a new author it is so difficult to get found. KDP Select seems to be helping with that.

The garden gave me an excellent harvest. My new raised beds seem to be working well. There were a few fumbles and failures, but that is to be expected. The weather has been so warm in my part of the country that I am still harvesting goodies. I decided to try some fall veggies this year and they are thriving despite the excess rain and lack of sun.

All in all a good year for me. Looking forward to the challenges and victories of 2016.

Happy Holidays

The Change of Seasons

This is the first year I can say I felt the season changed. It was about a week ago. The humidity dropped overnight. We had clear blue skies and cooler temperatures the following day. I felt like someone had flipped a switch somewhere and we were now coasting down toward winter.

Trees are dropping leaves already. Nights are in the fifties now.

This summer was unusually hot in a very consistent manner. Every day was pushing 90. The vegetable garden needed watering almost every day. We didn't have a lot of rain.

I have heard that the El Nino will bring us either a mild winter or a brutal one. I guess it depends on how the weather systems travel once they hit the mountains.

August ennui has me ignoring the garden just when the weeds are creeping in. Everything needs attention, but I am in the middle of line edits on Scattered Seeds and that is taking all my time. In fact I should be working on it right now.

Computer Lunacy

I only have myself to blame. I didn't think before I hit the Upgrade button. And worst of all, I didn't do a backup first.

Sigh.

Microsoft sent me a nice little email saying I could upgrade to Windows 10. So I did. Without considering that it was going to change a bunch of things and maybe lose some stuff. It looked a little different, but I expected that. I didn't expect to lose my internet connection.

I work online. If I can't access the internet, I can't do my work. So I panicked.

After trying to connect umpteen times and failing I chose to downgrade back to Window 8.1. I assumed that would make things just like they were before.

Nope. Still no wifi.

I am not tech savvy. I know enough to get in trouble. And I did. I found something that offered to refresh the computer without affecting the files. Cool. I clicked on it.

Bad news. Still no wifi and on top of that I lost all sorts of software...like Word.

It kept telling me that I needed to plug in my Ethernet cable. This laptop never had one. In an attempt to appease the wifi gods, I dug though an assortment of wires and cables to get the right one. Then I took the laptop over to the router and plugged it in. Bingo. Wifi came back.

Great gusty sigh of relief.

Then I spent the morning reloading a ton of things that I use every day because I couldn't open any files. Ugh.

Needless to say - lesson learned.