Making Hay & Turning Flax Into Gold

Yesterday’s big ticket item on my Green Acres To Do List was to get the winter hay delivered and stored in the Old Barn.

Tom Connolly arrived on time as promised, and the earth was hard enough to allow him to drive all the way down to the barn,

before Bandit and Smokey reached the front gate from out back.

In no time at all I had the hay stacked – done and dusted.

Leaving the Two Toms time to shoot a little old man bullshit. Grand craic.

I’m not lying, my body is still feeling all twenty of those hay bales.

After following that up with a quick run to Wallmart to collect this week’s veggies and fruits for Claire and Honey, Lisa and I then went to lunch up in Loveland,

where after listening to my proposed writing plans going forward, over some delicious veggie burgers and locally brewed beer (mine a sumptuous non-alcohol), Lisa insisted that I replace my loyal but rapidly declining All-In-One Desktop so I am not faced with any excuses once I pull the trigger on my next novel start date.

So, as soon as we returned home, we did a little research on top of the line A-I-O computers,

and decided on switching from the HP models I have been relying on in the past to the Dell 27 inch. Given my recent eye episode, the larger screen and eye comfort aspect was a big selling point.

Turns out, it will be delivered today. Modern technology is a wonderful thing.

Unfortunately, that means I have to start to clean my office TODAY before I can set it up. Lisa knows how to negotiate.

I fucking hate cleaning.

But part of the process will be removing any existing legal files and converting the home office solely to a 100% writer’s den. That means my legal treatises will switched out to Claire and Honey’s bookshelf in the New Barn and some of my literary collection now displayed in my home office.

This will be the first computer devoted purely to my writing. Ever. Out with the Old . . . .

We also negotiated a sancrosanct writing schedule.

I’ll use my early morning hours to blog and perform on-line daily marketing for TCS, and then I’ll have until noon every day to work on the next novel. Factoring in a break for feeding C&H, the Beagle Brothers and my rounds, and some Green Acres chores thrown in, that should give me a solid 3 to 4 hours a day to write without disturbance. After that it’s whatever she wants. I’m hoping she wants a lot of TV and Hot Tubs, with an occassional lunch date thrown in for good measure. She’ll also need to take time each day to read what I’ve written.

I know, who am I kidding?! The Fucking Honey Do List. Only hope its true to its title.

So, that’s the plan. I’m hoping I can get everything together – set-up and transfer of all of the files from old to new computer – and a solid cleaning and sorting of everything over this next week. I’m dreading the clear out and clean up of the office but needs must. A deal is a deal. Lawyers only break deals when they are paid to do so.

Part of the deal is that I also have to clean the rest of the basement by the end of next weekend. Fuck me!

Then I have a little updating on my research to do, to get up to speed and fluency on the planned novel’s subject matter. I’ll also have to become comfortable with the new Windows 11 software.

I’m planning on a Grishamesqe legal thriller with a topical and cool twist. The story is floating around in the field but I’m confident I can draw it down when the time comes.

It’s a one-off palate cleanser before I start tackling the next Claire related series starring the younger generation of Casa Claire’s motley crew.

But it has a really cool character that keeps dancing around my head, like Robin Williams, whom I hope entices the fantasy/sci-fi followers to come along for this ride.

Let’s hope I remember how to ride the bike. Fingers crossed, or at least typing.

So, if everything holds to plan, I’m shooting for a Halloween start date on the next novel. Samhain start. Celtic New Year.

The only way I can ensure doing anything is by publicly committing to do so. So, there it is. Gauntlet thrown.

And without the mental distraction of legal work, and deadlines, and all of the other bullshit associated with that life, my brain and body should be able to withstand the daily, purely creative writing schedule.

Now I have to see if I can round up my inner circle of readers before Halloween. Trick or treat!

I’m excited. I’ll be more excited when I type that first word/sentence. And I’ll be ecstatic when I type the last one.

So, wish me luck.

Now, it’s another Sunday for you fine, five readers, so smear that bagel, slurp that cuppa, and put your feet up. I’m sure there’s a football game you can watch. God’s rules, not mine.

Also, a favor. If you have read any one or all of the books in The Claire Saga and have not yet posted a review, I am begging that you take a moment over the next few months to do so. If you don’t have the time to write a nice review, just give me the star rating and call it a day. 5 is a wonderful number. And hit each of the book’s Amazon pages if you can. It’s a numbers game.

You see, there is never a guaranty that a publisher will publish your next novel, so an uptick in the Amazon algorythms is always a good way to show them you are still relevant and marketable. Especially old bastards like me.

“What have you done for me lately?” Mindset.

If you haven’t yet taken the plunge into the magical world of Claire the Mule and her mystical motely crew, now would be the perfect time. Again, a publisher’s perception is key.

Thanks in advance.

And no matter what else we get up to, let us make today a great one.