Winging it: have I really got time for this?

January 12^th. 2019

I’m up to my neck in muck and bullets as I write my pulp fiction thriller for Mark Dawson. It’s a bit of fun really; this is not the kind of thriller I would normally write, but I’m winging it and have reached 16000+ words on day 16, so I’m still on target. Looking at my daily word count over those last sixteen days, I see that I underachieved on eight of those days. Thank goodness I was able to make up for it by going over my target on the other eight. By focusing my mind on the daily target, I find myself taking advantage of those moments when I usually twiddle my thumbs in front of the TV and actually write. It’s just not me!

Another project that’s currently taking up some of my time is changing the book jacket for my political thriller, The Boy from Berlin. I’ve had a new jacket designed for it by Paul Casselle. It was the result of a small promotion I did for Paul, a subsequent free comp and the offer of a heavily discounted jacket design job. I asked him to re-design the jacket and I’m in the process of changing that on KDP.

And yet another project. This time it is a book jacket for my Romance, Past Imperfect. I’m using Christine Hammacott, a professional designer, and one of our Chindi members. We spent half an hour on the phone yesterday going over the changes I asked for. Christine had already provided eight jackets, six of which I sent to my boys and a couple of the Chindi writers. As a result of trying to explain by email what I wanted, we thought it best to chat in real time. As a result of that we have finalised a jacket. It will probably need minor adjustments. We’ll see. Most of those who plumped for ‘The White One’ may be surprised with the jacket I’ve chosen.

Now some of you who read my blog might wonder how I can find time for all this when I’m looking after Pat. Well, I have to squeeze it in, and it’s not as if I have to go out of the house to do this; I can always drop what I’m doing if Pat needs me. We’ve had two trips to the hospital this week for consultations with specialists, which has proved a bit tiring for Pat. She is managing to do a little more at home because the swelling in her leg is slowly going down, so psychologically she is in a better place. We are hoping Pat will start her chemo next week sometime once some final results have arrived from Southampton hospital.

I am seeing marginal improvements in my book sales on Amazon through my AMS ads. I still have a long way to go, but once I find some more time, I’ll set about tweaking my ads and maybe adding something. My BookBub ads are not doing well at all, but at least they have started moving.

The Chindi group are winding themselves up for a busy year, with lots in the pipeline. We are spreading further afield and have today welcomed an indie author from Australia. I won’t be able to give much time to the group because of my commitment to Pat, but I’ll be able to promote the Chindi events here and through Facebook.

It’s Pat’s birthday on Monday and we will be seeing our No. 2 son, Terry, our grand-daughter, Gemma and our No.3 Great-grandson, Orin. Should be bedlam! At least I don’t have to cook for them (Vegans and vegetarians!); we’re going out to lunch. Should be fun. Wish me luck!