Finished Reading “Redshirts” and Questioning…things

So… Alien Desires isn’t doing so well. Ghostly Protector did better last year, but not by much. Making me wonder why I publish my books at all. But I continue writing, except…

I am at a crossroad in The Alien’s Change of Heart. I knew what I wanted to do with a certain character at the beginning of writing it, but now I don’t know if it’s the right choice or not.

This is why I don’t plot. I can’t even stick with what I have in my mind. Imagine if it were on paper??

I know I could just write it one way and see if that works. If it doesn’t, try writing it the other way. Right? But my mind is still thinking about which way to go first.

I need to tell it to shut up and just start writing. And I need to stop making other excuses, too. I now have a deadline to finish this book. Although, I’m beginning to doubt it’s reachable.

I will be in Columbia, SC on March 28^th for a book signing. No other details are known at this time. Just the city and date. It would be so nice if The Alien’s Change of Heart were available then. But that means I need to finish the book NOW.

Nothing like adding stress to the mix, huh? Especially when Alien Desires tanked. I will certainly not end book 2 with any kind of unresolved issues, just in case it’s the last of that series.

Which is sad. I had such high hopes… Might have helped if I marketed it better, but when your newsletter subscribers don’t even purchase it, makes me wonder if that would have helped.

Oh well… At least I’m still writing. Sort of. Hahahahaha.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 22

Dates read: September 7-13, 2025
Title: Redshirts
Year of publication: 2012
Author: John Scalzi
Genre: Sci-fi comedy
Series: N/A
# of Pages: 302
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, with the chance to serve on Away Missions alongside the starship’s famous senior officers.
    Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to realize that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces; (2) the ship’s senior officers always survive these confrontations; and (3) sadly, at least one low-ranking crew member is invariably killed.
    Unsurprisingly, the savvier crew members belowdecks avoid Away Missions at all costs. Then Andrew stumbles on information that transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.
Recommend: Yes!
My thoughts: What a fun book! I loved it. Not at all heavy on the sci-fi. If you’ve ever watched “Star Trek” (especially the original series), you will get this. Sort of like how Galaxy Quest riffed on the series. Almost. It’s funny and totally whacky!

Just an FYI about Alien Desires. Yes, it’s listed as sci-fi romance. Or alien romance (if that genre is available at the vendor). But it’s as much sci-fi as “Mork & Mindy” (or even “My Favorite Martian”) was sci-fi. I just don’t know how to market that. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

 

Finished Reading “Don’t Back Down” and Fun at Dragon Con

Dragon Con was great this year! One of the best I’ve attended (been going since 2010). I think because the weather was soooooo much cooler than other years, it made a huge difference. People didn’t congregate in the air-conditioned areas. They would venture outside more! Plus, I think there were soooooo many awesome guests (of which their panels were against each other, because of course they do that), that the lines weren’t too long a half-hour before the panel that you could still get inside. I really enjoyed seeing the guests from “Evil,” “Bones,” “Back to the Future,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Star Trek Voyager,” Star Trek TNG,” and the Arrowverse (John Barrowman!!). Next year is Dragon Con’s 40^th event and I’m kind of sad that I won’t be going. We have a 28-day cruise out of San Francisco, which we’ll fly to on 9/9. If we went to Dragon Con, we wouldn’t get back until 9/8. That just isn’t enough time to get ready.

Yeah, yeah, you feel sooooo sorry for me, right? Hahahahahaha.  

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 21

Dates read: August 26 – September 6, 2025
Title: Don’t Back Down
Year of publication: 2023
Author: Sharon Sala
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Jubilee, Kentucky #1
# of Pages: 257
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Free from B&N
Blurb from Goodreads: Army veteran Cameron Pope arrives back in Jubilee, Kentucky, for the first time in years. He barely has time to catch his breath when he becomes embroiled in a race of life or death for his little niece and a deadly hunt for the human traffickers who are destroying the peace of his mountain town. When he's reunited with Rusty Caldwell—a woman from his past who he's never stopped thinking about—he wants to believe they can finally be together. But Cameron is shocked to find out that Rusty belongs to one of the rich families in Jubilee—the same rich folks who scorn the rural families living on the surrounding mountainside, in spite of knowing nothing about them. With their community in the crosshairs, Cameron and Rusty will have to find a way to end the feuding and take down the human trafficking ring if they're to have a chance at happiness.
Recommend: No
My thoughts: I struggled to get through this. And it seemed to go on and on and on. I kind of expected better from her. She’s not a newby author. Then again, maybe she writes all her books this way. If so…Ugh. I won’t be getting another.

I was with Daughter when she got David Boreanaz’s autograph (which was just before we got our pictures taken with the cast of “Bones”), and she wore her Penguins cap and I wore my Penguins shirt. He saw them and just shook his head. She said, we purposely wore them for the photo later. He said, “I may just turn my back to the camera.” He didn’t, but he DID remember us at the photo shoot! Yay!

Happy Reading!

Stacy