Weekly Writing Intentions: August 12, 2023

Daily Diary, Day 1077:

This past week I did hit all my goals in terms of getting the novella ready for publication, so yesterday I uploaded the final version of Dandy and the Dognappers to all the retailers. It goes live August 25, but I do encourage people who plan to get it to go ahead and pre-order because this gives me a nice bump in rankings on that first day it is live. When I look back, seems I started writing Dandy and the Dognappers April 15, so the process took 4 months from start to finish.

Currently the number of pre-orders on Amazon is up to 200. I also spent some time reviewing the effects of various promotional activities I did on book sales (and newsletter sign-ups) in the first 6 months of 2023, and used that analysis to plan promotions for the rest of this month.

But this coming week is all about starting on Ddaera’s Embrace, the fifth book that will complete the Caelestis series. I started on Tides of Acerba at the beginning of June 2022, it was completed the end of April, so took 11 months from start to finish. I am hoping that In Ddaera’s Embrace won’t take as long, but if by some chance it does, then I am looking at what my primary writing activity is going to be until June of 2024.

I still hope to get at least another short story or novella out in my mystery series during this time, and I would like this next one to bring Annie back to the fore. I may be doing some polling about what other minor characters you would like me to have her working with!

The other writing activity I engaged in this week was to work to get ahead on historical tidbits, author corner, and recommendations posts. The purpose was to free up as much time for this coming week for me to concentrate on getting at least the preliminary outline for In Ddaera’s Embrace done. I am also hoping that this will also help me be more disciplined about putting these posts in a routine fashion.

As for exercise, I was successful again this week at slowing my walking down a bit, average 92 minutes, and I did walk all 7 days, but last evening I had to abandon my evening walk after 10 minutes because my right foot had started to hurt too much (this is the one where I had a broken toe, and the x-ray showed there were four other old breaks in that foot!)

However, a little advil last night and the pain subsided, and this morning I was able to get a 30-minute walk, plus usual cleaning, done. The wellness check I had scheduled for last week was rescheduled for this coming Monday, so we shall see if the doctor has any suggestions on why my blood sugar has suddenly become more difficult to control and I have been feeling a bit “off” in terms of my energy.

I know, this post about what I accomplished this past week and what I plan for next week may not sound as if I am feeling less energetic, but I haven’t had quite the pep I am used to having (smile.)

And that’s about all for my review of last week and my plans for next. Above is a photo of my one rose bush, which has put out lots of buds. I probably should water, but since it has successfully survived my neglect for over 30 years, I probably won't!