Feel Good Friday on Saturday!

It was a very long week!

The good things:

1. Signing my contract and the amazing and wonderful things my editor says about my work!

2. Cursed Fate being up for presale! Official release date is August 4th!

3. That Man getting some much needed away time on his annual fishing trip with the guys. They go to one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen and have a blast. He'll be home later. I have missed him a lot.

4. Getting Jeep "ducked". Basically a rubber duckie given by another Jeep owner. It's fun. K4 and I had gone to the garage to pick up her Jeep and we were in tandem on the way home. A red Jeep was in front of us. When we got to the light, there was much hooting and hollering as the ladies in the red Jeep got out and ducked both K4 and me. It was fun. (K4 got ducked earlier this week, too, with a giant stuffed yellow duck) 

5. As much as I'd rather be working from home, being back in the office has been fine. It's nice to see coworkers and be able to talk to them instead of waiting on an email or a call back. 

6. Sleeping in this morning. Very nice and much needed. 

7. Writing time this morning!

8. The quiet of my house currently. The cats are watching the water dish. I don't know why. I just cleaned and filled it, but I guess they think it's going to do something? The dog is chewing on her star treat toy on the couch. It's nice.

9. Fun stuff coming up! 

That's all I have! 

Behave!

Back Home & Father's Day

I got home around 11-ish. Didn't get much writing done this morning, but that's typical for me on the last day of retreat. 

After unloading, I hit the grocery store. That Man wanted fried chicken for dinner. I went to the store and grabbed some of theirs, which is really good. Stuck it in the fridge until time for dinner. (Put it in the oven. Made mashed potatoes, gravy, and cole slaw) Did laundry. K3 and A came over for a while and we had a good time talking and hanging out with them. 

That Man talked to K5. She was on her way home from Harry Potter World and filled him in on all of her adventures, including holding a crocodile and riding in a pontoon boat. She's a hoot! 

My huge surprise when I got home was a contract for the book I sent Friday night. Awesome! I love this book so much and I'm so happy my editor was happy to receive it. I also got my galleys for Cursed Fate! Coming Soon! Yay! 

So it is Father's Day. I appreciate my husband so much. He's an awesome father even though our kids are grown. His interactions with our spawn always make me laugh. And they call him for advice and stuff all of the time. I love that. 

I also appreciate all of the dads in my life - my brother, brother's-in-laws, uncles, friends, nephews, nephews-in-laws. 

I miss my dad. It's been six Father's Day since he was here. Almost seven years since he's been gone. I miss him. A lot. He would get a kick out of his great grandkids and what his grandkids are up to these days. He was always so proud of them. That Man's dad has been gone around ten years? And he would also have loved to see what his grandkid and great grandkids are up to. 

This week is crazy! Next week is too! 

Behave!

Retreat! Winding Down!

 There are mere hours left! 

I haven't gotten anything done this morning yet. I was awakened by the smell of burning toast a few hours before I'd planned to get up. Ha! I stayed in bed a little while longer, but gave up and made my way to the common area. 

From there, I have proceeded to goof off. Though I did strip my bed, made sure my towels were where they are supposed to be, packed some stuff, ate a bagel, drank some coffee, blah blah blah.

Now I'm finally sitting down to get some work done before I head for home. It's been a super productive time for all of us. And nice to get to hang and talk. 

I am looking forward to getting home though. Considering we weren't home last weekend, I'm looking forward to just sitting on my porch. 

And that is all...

Behave!

Retreat! Last Night!

It's the last night of retreat! 

It's been an amazing time! It's been too long since I've been with these creative brains and awesome people. We have laughed, talked, brainstormed, argued a little (about dumb stuff), and supported each other. 

I made a pretty damned good dinner. Chicken stir fry with egg rolls. Of course, I made enough to feed all of us despite the fact that I was the only one eating it. Yes, I offered it around, but it appears I'm the only one with my tastes. Ha! I will take it home as leftovers for lunch this week. That's what we do here though. We all take care of our own meals. If you want to cook, you cook. If you want to make a frozen dinner, then do it. If you just want to snack, then go for it. The only meal we do together is the first night and that's nachos. We all bring an ingredient, but we all make our own. It works. 

There was napping today, which was beautiful. And rain. Also beautiful as we sat at the table on the porch listening to it. It's very quiet here. There was also brainstorming and a major good start on my new story. I'll get back to it in a few. 

Tomorrow is Father's Day. That Man is currently enjoying being home all by himself, which is something that rarely happens for him. I'll head home mid-morning and then will take care of dinner. 

I don't think I'll get to do another retreat until after the first of the year, but we'll see. There's a lot going on the rest of the year and a lot of expenses, so I won't know until we get closer. 

That is all. 

Behave! 

Retreat! Saturday!

It's the last full day of retreat!

This has been a pretty productive time. I finished my edits and sent them off. I figured out what I am doing with the next story and will start writing that in a few. 

Sleep has been good. The shower is decent. The weather has been good. Currently it's threatening rain, but that's okay. We've got an awesome screened in porch to sit on. Though it's supposed to get hot today. We'll see. I do predict a nap in my future. 

That's all I have for now...

Behave!

Retreat! Official Day One!

Good Morning!

I arrived early yesterday afternoon. Our hosts alerted us that the house was ready earlier than our expected arrival, so I buzzed out of the day job and was the first to arrive. Which is funny because I was sure I was going to be the last one here. 

It's the cutest little house near the lake and in the woods. The screened in porch is amazing with a huge table, cool seating, and two double doors to get into the house. The kitchen is tiny, but workable. The dining room seats the four of us and there's a fireplace in the living room. I chose the blue room for sleeping. It was comfy and the air conditioner kicks. 

I slept in, which I needed. Now we're in the living room with the fireplace going. Yeah, it's a little chilly out there at the moment. The talking has been non stop, despite the fact that we all have goals to meet. But we haven't seen each other since the last retreat, so that's to be expected.

I'd better get on it! More later...

Behave!

Off to Retreat!

So I went back to the office this week... The official return day is Monday, but since I'm off starting tomorrow after lunch and since I am covering for accounts receivable, I felt like I needed to get back this week. 

That's a mixed bag of feelings right there. I mean, it's nice to have the space and the organization, and to have that schedule. But it's also so very different. I've been home since last March, so I've gotten used to being able to do laundry, do little cleaning things, start dinner as soon as my work day is done and pet my puppy anytime I want. But I will adjust. I think I'm already adjusting okay. 

Tomorrow I head out to retreat with my writing pals! I haven't seen them since January, except for seeing one of them once or twice. We do talk everyday, so there's that. I need this retreat so very much! I am deep in edits for a book that I need to send to my editor asap, and I need to get my Sector Two groove on. And I need the time! The time to be an author and nothing else! 

Last weekend we went to a Jeep festival. We had an absolute blast! Trail rides, volunteering, hanging with Jeep people. It was so much fun. I took a women's only course and learned a whole lot about off roading and gained a lot of confidence. I did rocks, tires, mud, and huge hills. More than once! I also did trails other than that, and it was so much fun. Volunteering was fun. We met a lot of great people and even though we had no idea how to play poker, it was a blast. We also had a blast just hanging out with each other. We ate out, hung out at our hotel, and generally just had a really super nice time. It was nice to be away and be together. 

So I should be posting during retreat! And hopefully I will adjust to being back in the office and regain a new schedule for writing and posting so it's not so very long in between blogs! 

Behave! 

Whoa! That Was a Long Time!

Dang! Sorry about that! 

I can't even say I've been crazy busy. I think it's more of an apathy. But yeah, I was busy a bit, too. 

We went to The Wilds for the holiday weekend. It was miserable and rained almost the whole time. Though we were cozy in our camper and had our awning and a pop up rain cover that at least kept us from getting soaked. It was cold, too. Mr. B came to camp with us on Saturday. He had a blast even though he couldn't swim in the creek. He did a lot of fishing with Pappy and played games with his aunts and uncles. K3 brought a game that was a riot. We all played and had a great time. It was a good weekend, despite the rain. 

Other than that... things continue to run status quo around here. We have some stuff coming up that I'm really looking forward to. June is going to be an absolute blur, but that's okay. We need it. 

My new release didn't do so great out of the gate, but I continue to be hopeful. The free book ended up doing well and continues to, so I guess that's something. I'm in the middle of editing something I think will fit right in with the series. Once I get that off to my editor, I'll go back to writing the second book for the Sector series. I have some better ideas now, so at least there's that. 

And that's all I have!

Behave!

Release Day!

It's release day for The Shadow Guide! 

I didn't think this day would ever come! Yes, this book is a re-release. It was formerly called For the Love of Isaac. But when my rights reverted back to me, I talked to my publisher and they were more than happy to take a look at it. 

A new cover, updating, and another three rounds of edits and here it is again. Shiny and new!

You can also get Into the Fire for free through today! 

Both (and my other books) can be found on Amazon. Just search the title and my name! 

I'm excited to share these books with you! I hope you like them!

Behave!

Don't Forget!

 You can get Into the Fire for free until May 12th! 

And The Shadow Guide releases on May 12th (tomorrow)!

I hope you get both and that you love them!

Behave! 

 

Into the Fire – Victoria Smith – Free Digitally - May 8^th-12^th

In Olivia Sanders’ world, people like her don’t survive very long. Special abilities are a threat to the corrupt government. 

Olivia and those with similar abilities struggle to keep their secrets as new laws threaten them daily. Though hiding isn’t enough for Olivia. A healer and firestarter, she works with the resistance to ensure the safety of the people of her sector, toiling in an unforgiving world without freedom or hope with the goal that someday they will find
both.

Poisoned by someone she should never have trusted and betrayed by her godfather, the former governor, who is using disturbing methods to control the population and grow his army, Olivia is forced to seek help from Luke Jamison, the leader of the resistance. They join forces with his brother, Matt, and Jillian Derrick, a hard-as-nails woman leading a band of "undesirables" to safety.

As conditions in the sector deteriorate and the death toll climbs ever higher, Olivia and Luke, along with Jillian and Matt, cling to the miracle of found love while facing the horror of a future without each other.

https://www.amazon.com/Into-Fire-Victoria-Smith/dp/1682916332

RELEASE DAY!! May 12^th! The Shadow Guide; Challenging the Fates; Book One – Victoria Smith (This book was previously released as For the Love of Isaac)

When evil comes for Alaina, bringing with it a destiny she can’t deny, can love stand against the forces of darkness?

When Alaina inherits her grandmother’s house, she gets far more than just the eccentric woman’s massive knickknack collection. Desperate for help with the increased paranormal activity around her, she calls the one person she thinks can provide it—despite the memory of the night he rejected her.

Patrick doesn’t want to get involved with Alaina and her demonic inheritance. He’s lost enough to the demons already, and so has she. If he refuses, she could be murdered just like her grandmother. Just like his wife and child. And he can’t live with that either.

Together they must find a way to restore the balance of good and evil, while coming to terms with emotions neither of them thinks they want.

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Guide-Challenging-Fates-ebook/dp/B08TX52QQM/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Shadow+Guide+Victoria+Smith&qid=1620084664&s=books&sr=1-1

Thank you!

Behave!

Feel Good Friday on Saturday...

The first week of May is done. 

Time is so weird still... It's so hard to believe it's even May. Let alone that an entire week is gone. 

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. Still a very hard day for me. I miss my momma so much. It's been 6 years for Mom and 7 years for Dad. Sucks. 

So here's the list:

1. Seeing my grandboys. We got to play a little and talk and hang out. It was a quick visit, but my heart was full. Especially when little B came in and saw me. His face lit up and he ran to me. 

2. Living through the work week. It was a rough one. 

3. My flowerbeds growing and looking pretty decent.

4. Rain. I know that's unpopular. We had a crapton of it, too. Though, I am wishing for warmth and sunny skies today. 

5. The Shadow Guide releasing on the 12th! Watch for it! Into the Fire is going to be a free digital download starting TODAY!!! (Find it on Amazon!) That will last for a week. Hopefully if you decide to get it and you read it and like it, you'll think about leaving me a review on Amazon. That would be awesome and I would so appreciate it!

6. No idea what's going on tomorrow. I have made no plans. But at the same time, I haven't been asked what I want for dinner. So maybe everyone forgot or something. Whatever. 

7. Plans to hopefully see the old work crew soon. 

8. Camping coming up! I'm so looking forward to it! 

That's all! 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday - The Last Day of April

Holy Crap! April is done!

Such a quick and long month! 

This week:

1. Another "Celebration of Life" event for us today. The mother of a dear friend of ours. Well, most of the family are dear friends. She was 96 and she was a trooper. She fought her cancer until the very last day. The service was beautiful and so was the fellowship. 

2. We have gotten rid of the dirty ugly stumps left from ripping our the front shrubs. What a pain. And since we couldn't grind the stumps out, we put huge flower pots out there. They are screwed to the stumps and filled with rocks so they don't blow away and can't be stolen. The front of the house is looking pretty damned decent. We still have stuff to do, but it's coming along. 

3. Into the Fire is going to be free in two weeks. For about a week. And then The Shadow Guide releases. I did my first foray into real marketing so we will see how it turns out. I have some write ups to do for blogs, but you'll probably see that here, too. 

4. Seeing That Sister this weekend. It's been freaking forever! 

5. Camping is in less than a month! Whoo Hoo!

6. This wind is freaking insane! It's kind of scary, too! It's supposed to be done by 2am, but we'll see. 

That's all I have! 

Happy May! 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday

And here we are at Friday...

I know I haven't done a Feel Good in a while...

But here we go! 

1. Hello Fresh. It is so nice not to have to think about what to make for dinner three nights a week. Honesty, I think we would spend way more at the grocery store if we had to make the three meals on our own. But, at the same time, I would get it delivered every night if it felt cost effective. So there you go...

2. We had to go to a "celebration of life" for a former coworker today. Yeah, a freaking funeral. It sucked. He had leukemia and he died within a year of his diagnosis. He was a good guy and it was terribly sad to hear his mother say that it shouldn't be like this and hear the stories from his brothers, cousins, and friends.

3. The sunburns are peeling. My feet itch like crazy and my forehead is like four different colors. It's a small problem for sure. Ha!

4. I am writing every day. Yeah, most of those words don't make any sense, but there are still on the page. 

5. Camping coming up soon. I can't wait. I am so ready. 

That's all I have for now. It's a decent list for the week. I think?

Behave! 

Almost Through April...

Yeah, it's been two weeks. 

What can I say? There's just not a lot going on...

Though, That Man and I went to the beach. Just the two of us. 

This was the trip we had planned last year, but was cancelled because everyone was on lock down. There was a bit of a struggle to get the reservation carried over, but it was totally worth it. 

Our place was a tiny little 'cabana'. One room and bathroom. The kitchen was a decent size. There was a couch and this bed that came to my chest. I had to climb up using the ladder. It was comfy though. We had a loft deck where we could go up and watch the ocean, and a lower deck for if the wind was too much. Also, we could park our car right under the house, which was really nice, too. 

We were literally steps from the beach. It would take me about three minutes round trip to go back to our place to use the restroom while we were on the beach. We fished, talked, and walked the shoreline. We planned ahead for dinner and I put it in the oven on one of my bathroom trips so it would be ready when we were done for the day. 

Oh and sunburn! I sunscreened. Like a freak as usual. But my face got burnt. So did my knees and feet. That Man got a little red on his head. He used the same sunscreen I did and looked nowhere like the lobster I turned into. 

Anyway. It was an amazing getaway. Now we're back in the real world. Same old. Same old. We do have stuff upcoming. We'll see if they happen. Two things have already been cancelled. 

That is all! 

Behave! 

First Week of April...

April just jumped right in here...

We had Easter. We got to see some of the family. Not many. And yes, we were safe. And we had a blast. Way, way too much food though. I think I'm still full! Ha! 

I got to see my great niece for the first time in over a year. She is so freaking cute. She ran around picking up sticks and stepping over dogs. No fear and the dogs didn't even flinch. 

We did manage to see most of the grandkids Easter weekend. We missed only one because he was taking a nap. 

I did get my new cover. I will post it very soon. It's lovely and I'm excited about it. I already did my first round edits on the book.  

Looks like I'll be going back to the office within the next month or so. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. I've been home for over a year. It's going to be an absolute huge adjustment on so many levels. 

But the writing is going well. I am a bit lost in the story right now, but am working hard to get it back. 

That's all...

Behave! 

Mid Week

So it's Wednesday...

No more calls from Molly at Amazon, which is good. Though a friend of mine started getting them the day after me. She wasn't dumb like me though. She didn't hit "one" to dispute the charges. I just can't not though. I feel the need to rebel. 

This week has been pretty quiet. The weekend was also quiet. We needed that quiet weekend. We worked on the camper, did the shopping, dropped off the car for inspection & to have the emergency brake checked. I took naps. We made good food. And we cleaned the house. 

I have been writing a lot. I also got a draft of my new cover for the book coming out later this year. I am waiting for the final and hope it is awesome. I will share it as soon as I'm able. 

That's about it. We'll see what this weekend brings...

Behave!

Scam Callers...

Lordy! 

The past twenty-four hours have been horrible with scam callers on my personal phone! 

It's always the same call - Amazon saying that there's a charge of seven-hundred and something made in Dayton, Ohio and they need to know if I made the purchase. 

Like sixty-five thousand times. 

Okay. So I exaggerate, but it was a lot of calls. I put my phone on do not disturb last night and still got like three calls. It started again today right before lunch. 

I told them last night to remove my number and stop calling me. 

Ha! Obviously that didn't work. 

Today, I was told that the rep would need to access my computer or cell phone to remove the fraudulent charge. I said I don't think that's how it works and he assured me it was. I told him to stop calling me and that their calls were harassing. I also told him he should be ashamed of himself for trying to scam people. 

Seven minutes later, they called again. And then again in another seven minutes. 

I informed them that I was going to the police because of their calls and they'd better remove me from the list. This was after the guy wanted to know what kind of phone I had and tried to make me say that I had made the purchase, and condescendingly asked me if I'd shared my log in information with anyone. Again, I told them to remove my number and stop calling me and I might have said a few bad words. 

The last time they called, which blessedly has been a few hours ago, I asked the rep if he could see the number that was called. He confirmed he could. I told him to make sure he removed it from their system and to stop calling me. Except there was a lot of profanity involved and yelling. 

I've had it! There's no way to block the numbers because they are different every single time. You can hear people in the background saying the same thing the rep was saying to me to other people. 

I don't understand it. I am still angry about it. I mean, if it's really stopped. It could start up again at the same time it did last night. Then what do I do? It's not like I have enough information to actually file a harassment complaint. Though I do have a plan if it starts up again. 

Frustrating! 

But it is Friday, which is a good thing. 

That is all...

Behave! 

Well Then...

So it hasn't quite been a week. But close enough. 

K3 and A moved into their new place over the weekend. They hadn't seen it until they picked up their keys. Apparently the previous tenants trashed it and the rental company needed the extra time to get things spiffy. It's a cute little place. Two bedrooms, big bathroom, decent sized kitchen, with an eat in dining room. And with their own parking spaces. And not in the most terrible, worst part of the city possible. 

It's the same distance for us, but a much easier place to get to, if that makes sense. It does to us. 

We took a few loads over Friday night, and then Saturday morning we got the rest of their stuff with some help from friends. It didn't take long at all. In fact, we were home before lunch, and we didn't start until nearly ten am. 

K5 came then. We had a sleepover and a blast. She's so stinking funny. She did my hair, stole my socks, and talked our ears off. She helped make dinner and loved what we made. I wasn't sure she would, so I don't know if it was her active hand in preparing it or the fact that it was really very good. She loved the new spare room and the bed being so high off of the ground. (And the fact that K3's cat was still here and in the room) Mr. B came early Sunday morning. The kids were very happy to see each other. It's been since Christmas. We made pancakes, sausage, and had whipped cream. They were hysterical and had a blast together. 

Then we went to K2's for Baby C's (not a baby anymore-she's 6!) birthday. Having most of the kids together was awesome. (We were missing Baby B) They had a blast. They played with K2's baby bunnies, played in the yard, got dirty, and came up with many different things to do. And we got to see all of our grandkids and all of our kids on the same day, which was particularly awesome. We dropped K5 off at baton class and then headed to take Mr. B home. Then got a phone call from K5's mom that she was stuck in Maryland and could we pick up K5 from baton? Of course. We didn't stay as long at K1's to see Baby B as we wanted because we had to hurry back to be on time, but we still got hugs and crazy stories from him. He adores his pappy and talked his ear off. 

By the time we made dinner and K5 was picked up, we were exhausted. Who am I kidding? We were exhausted Friday night and it never went away. Ha! It still hasn't! 

Now it's Tuesday. Monday was rough. Real rough. Today was a bit better exhaustion wise, but still rough. I had to rescue K4 because she left her lights on and her battery died. I went in my comfy pants and tattered sweatshirt. Ha! 

I made a pretty kick ass dinner, That Man did dishes, I wrote a decent amount of words, and now I am ready for bed. Our weekend coming up is blessedly light as far as obligations. Thankfully. It seems like all we've done lately is run around like crazy people. Though I have a feeling we'll break ourselves doing things that need to be done around here. Ha!

That is all...

Behave! 

Here We Are...

We're at about a year since all of this shit got real...

This time yesterday a year ago, things were still going normal. I had breakfast with a friend, a writing meeting, and gathered with family. Then... just like that, life stopped being normal. 

But... it is what it is. We just do what we can do and make the best of it. 

We are making our summer plans without thought of restrictions though, so I guess that's something. I feel like I want to go and do everything we wanted to do last year and everything we talked about this year, but my vacation time tells me to shut up. Ha! 

Anyway. 

Not much is different from here. 

K3 & A have been here for a little over two weeks now. It's been absolutely good and fun. We make the single bathroom in our house for five adults work, and we make mealtimes work. I have no complaints. They are clean, respectful, and help out. 

They are moving into their new place this weekend. I'm excited for them. Especially after seeing the tiny kitchen they came from. Their new place will be like a palace for them. They both love to cook and have made fantastic meals in my tiny kitchen. Their old kitchen was 1/3 of the size of my tiny space. Their new kitchen is predicted to be four times the size of mine. So that's exciting.

Other than that... Same old. Same old. 

Behave!