Finished Reading “Pain in the Neck” and Frustrations

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