It’s been a rough week. Well, two
weeks. And it all started with thinking I would easily publish Ghostly Protector.
Easily. Hah!
First, it was the delay from my
copy editor (who happens to be my daughter). I knew WHY she had delays, but
that didn’t make me feel any better. I had deadlines. Well, one deadline: July
16. That’s the day I leave for a book convention, and I really want to take new
books with me.
I ended up getting the edited copy
while we were on our vacation to see National Parks. But I wasn’t going to
publish it while I was on unsecure internets (hotels), so I waited until we
returned to my mother’s place. I got what I needed to get done and gave it to
my formatter (who happens to be Hubby).
I just needed the print version
done so I could order books. And I needed him to format it so I could give the
print cover template to my cover artist. His first attempt at formatting it
(and to be fair, he was using a computer that he never formatted on before—all that
equipment was back home) failed. Most of the italics didn’t come over. A second
try did succeed, but man, the waiting was torture!
I went to Ingram Spark and created
the template. Sent it to my cover artist. Sent a Facebook Message to her to
check her email.
Did I tell you my cover artist
lives near Dallas? A tornado had come through her area and took out the
internet tower. She had no access to the internet or her email.
By this time, I almost expected
this delay. I mean, if something could go wrong with this book, it was going to
go wrong.
We got home on May 28 (after a
frustrating flying experience). She got her internet back on May 31. However,
her email (which I have used NUMEROUS TIMES) went into my spam folder. SPAM!!
She’s in my freakin’ CONTACT LIST!! I didn’t see it until June 3 (after I saw
her post something on Facebook).
But I got it. That was what
mattered. I went back to Ingram Spark and entered the ISBN and imprint names
(just like I did with the other 8 paperbacks I have). Well… apparently, they
changed their system. I got error messages saying that the ISBN belongs to Mythical
Press and that I couldn’t select Mythical Press as my imprint and had to choose
another.
I am STILL trying to figure out
what the heck I’m going to do with Ingram Spark. But… I remembered I could print
books with Lulu Press. So I went over there and uploaded the book and cover.
And wouldn’t you believe it, they
didn’t like my Ingram Spark dimensions! So I had to send another template to my
cover artist and she was able to give me another cover. The books are ordered
and on their way, but… Yeah, but. Who knows what will happen next? I won’t
breathe easy until they're in my possession.
And if all that wasn’t bad enough,
I got the results of my last CT scan (taken May 31) on June 6.
Another spot. Another freakin’
spot! Will get another scan on July 1 to see what’s going on.
Oh, and on Saturday morning, I noticed the freezer door was open. I checked it. Everything in there was warm. Ugh!!! Hubby hadn't closed it completely when he got his ice cream bar on Friday night. There was sooooo much food in there. What a waste.
So yeah, I have frustrations out
the yin-yang. I’m thinking my planets or stars are not aligned favorably. I
sure hope they move soon!
Here’s what I read since my last
update:
Book 16
Dates read: May 31
– June 10, 2024
Title: Pain in the Neck
Year of publication: 2023
Author: Molly Burkhart
Genre: Paranormal
Series: Pain in the Neck Trilogy #1
# of Pages: 164
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Purchased from author
at a convention
Blurb from book: Madeline Rogers is happiest when she’s
invisible. She’s a quiet person with a quiet life—a job, her cat, and her
books. Unfortunately, now that everyone’s back in the office after the worst of
COVID has passed, someone is watching Linnie, turning her quiet life into a
loud nightmare.
The spiral gets steeper when she’s
waylaid on the street by a force that can only be supernatural and is rescued
by…her stalkers. In the age of COVID, never getting the disease makes her
irresistible to a specific group of people: vampires. The illness kills them
instantly, making most of humanity toxic.
Both her attacker and her stalkers
are vampires, the attacker older and more powerful by far. They all want her,
and they’ll do anything to win her over as their safe food source for the
foreseeable future. To keep her locked safely away from the plague of the
twenty-first century.
Linnie must walk a fine line between
her independence and her safety as the vampires circle her, drawn ever closer
by the purity of her blood. Will she choose a side, or is there a way for her
to be completely free.
Recommend: Maybe (we’ll see how I feel
after reading book 3)
My thoughts: This claims to be a vampire love story. There’s no love story
in book 1. But there is a “to be continued…” at the end. At least I bought all
three books at the convention. Still… while it’s an interesting premise, this
was a very slow start to the series and I’m wondering if it could have all been
in one book. Guess I’ll find out soon.
Hope you’re not melting this week. We’re supposed to get up
into the 90s by the end of this week, but I know a lot of people will have it
worse than we do. Welcome to summer, right?
Happy Reading!
Stacy
