30 April 2011

I keep telling myself I need something to do, something new to work on. Flipside has been put to bed, I have nothing left to do with it other than some half-hearted promotion (because I suck at it) here and there, so it’s time to start something new.

I pulled up the file of something I started before flipside popped into my brain and demanded to be put first. What I had amounts to only about 5 single spaced pages, and in reading it, I kept thinking, “Hey, this is pretty good!” But then I got to where I stopped and I realized I have no idea where I was going with it. Not a clue.

So I decided to mull it over, letting it percolate in the back of my brain while I distracted myself with other things.

Porn.

BMW F650 GS -- contender #1

More precisely, motorcycle porn.

I’ve spent the last week looking at pictures of bikes, reading about bikes, surfing different online for a for peoples’ opinions about bikes. I even dragged the Spouse Thingy to look at a bike, and was bummed to discover a bike I had really only had in my peripheral vision was no longer being shipped to the U.S. As soon as I couldn’t have it, I kinda wanted it.

But.

Suzuki V-Strom 650 -- contender #2

What I’m really looking for is a spiffy bike with upright seating and anti-lock brakes. The MP3 sits in the garage mostly unridden, other than obligatory trips to keep it in operating condition, and while the Gladius is absolutely beautiful, its forward position is killing my back and shoulder. So I want to trade the MP3 in (easier than selling it because of the loan on it) and then sell the Gladius (because I won it outright, I’ll get more than trading it in) and get something that will (theoretically) work until I need to move to a ride with 3 fixed wheels.

I’ve narrowed it down to two bikes. And let me tell you, I can waste an incredible amount of time poking around online looking for information on just those two bikes. I can waste other peoples’ time by picking their brains about them. I even managed to waste someone else’s afternoon by getting her to test ride one of the bikes because her friend owns one and was willing.

Still, in all that information vacuuming, I still haven’t figured out where the story I was working on was headed.

Clearly, I need to look at more porn.

24 April 2011

Sweet. The new file has been uploaded to Amazon, and is live. So it's safe to get a copy of The Flipside of Here for your Kindle...

I thought I'd have the proof for the print copy today, but apparently UPS does not honor overnight delivery on Saturdays. Boogerheads.

22 April 2011

Ooops...hold off on buying "Flipside" for the Kindle. In a fit of insomnia last night I plopped down with my iPad and flipped through it page by page and found a huge formatting error towards the end. It's glaring enough to jar a reader right out of the story.

I've fixed it, but I can't upload the new file to Amazon just yet...though it's already for sale, my desktop with them (the place I upload and manage my books) still shows it in progress, and until that changes to "Available" I can't change anything.

On the bright side, as totally frustrating as getting this book laid out has been, I learned a hell of a lot, owing much to the writers who hang in the Writer's Cffe at Kindleboards, especially Jeff, who totally saved my asterisk on this.

I should have the proof for the print copy in hand tomorrow. If it looks good, I'll approve it, and then just wait for it to pop up in the online bookstores.

21 April 2011

What have I been doing the last couple of weeks? Getting this done, laid out, and ready for print:



I worked on the final layout over the last few days, which was problematic enough that the Spouse Thingy hid in another room lest he be destroyed in the vortex of my overwhelming frustrations. Once I finally got a clean PDF to send off to the printer I started in on the layout for the Kindle version, thinking it would be a piece of cake because, hey, I've done it dozens of times.

But, once I was done, what should have looked like this:



Looked like this:



Rather than fight the damn thing--I really didn't have the patience for it--I popped off a post in the Writer's Cafe at Kindleboards, and nearly immediately had an offer from Jeff to help. I sent him my file, and in less than 5 minutes he had a clean copy for me.

So...yay!

Uploaded it all to Amazon last night, expecting it to be 3-4 days, but it's already available for sale. So if you have a Kindle and you've read the first 4 books...thrill me. It's only $2.99 on the Kindle and will be $4.99 elsewhere (once I get around to uploading it to other stores) and $15.95 in print.

I have to admit, after finishing this book, I would really like to re-write Charybdis. I know I could do it so much better now and still maintain the guts of the story... Ethically, maybe not the greatest impulse I've ever had.

But...onto the next thing. I understand erotic is selling very well on the Kindle, so maybe... ;)

---

Back cover copy:

In the blink of an eye, Kris Stevens Gallery Stone finds herself sitting on a park bench with her long dead ex-husband. Neither is sure why she's there; Ron knows she's not dead and knows she's at a crossroads--decide to live or decide to die--but what he doesn't know is why she wanted him there with her.

While she struggles with what her ultimate decision will be, Ron shows her his vision of Heaven, tempting her to stay. But before she gives him an answer, he wants to explore their long-dead marriage, from the weeks before she meets 15 year old Chip to its end in Ron's office in the agency, and in the telling of their tale hopes she'll remember why she loved him, and why she loves him still.

The Flipside of Here is the fifth novel in K.A. Thompson's Charybdis series, and answers questions left lingering, from how 16 year old Chip became entangled in the agency in the first place to Ron's reasons for ending his life in a bloody mess inside a toilet stall. A love story that extends beyond there here and now...and the choices that follow us forever.

7 April 2011

Every writer will relate, and quite possibly LOL for real...




Oh, and totally cool...the Boy's new tattoo:



Makes me want my next one now...

4 April 2010

Ever have a stellar idea that makes you sit upright and say out loud, "I totally need to do that!" but then fifteen  minutes later you can't remember what the hell it was?

That was my weekend. It happened three or four times while I was working.

You'd think I would learn to take notes...