Productive Day

I just might have found my favorite spot to write from. Today, my writing partner for The Circle of Ten series, penned under the name of JQBeron, and I spent about five hours hanging out at Panera Bread having a working lunch. It was a stress free environment where we were able to snag a private corner to spend some quality, uninterrupted time writing. 

Personally, I drank entirely too much unsweetened tea, probably a gallon or more, during the time we were there, but it was fresh and it was good. My sandwich choice of the day was the turkey avocado BLT with a side of chips. Then later, I savored the flavors of a cinnamon raisin bagel paired with a caramel latte. All of which were delicious. 

The staff were all friendly and didn't try to rush us out, like some places I've been to. Overall it was a very productive day. We were able to revamp the prologue and get through two chapters of edits and almost finished with the third chapter, as well. 

While we have enough written to cover a plethora of books, narrowing the material down to the first book of the series is proving to be a challenge, but a fun one. At one point today we were laughing so hard at one particular line that had been written, we were worried management might ask us to leave. But they didn't and we were glad because we've decided this just might have to be our weekly "work" spot from here on out. 

And to those of you who are following along with the Ackerman Security series, I'm even closer to finishing book two, Theirs to Have. I was able to pop out three more chapters today. I'm dying to see how it all turns out with the new twist I added a few days ago. 

Tears

"Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears."

~~Edgar Allan Poe~~

There is no doubt I have a sensitive soul today because tears are free flowing for the silliest of things. Let me give you one example... I'm paying Bubble Witch Saga 2 and have been stuck on level 156 for more than two weeks. I finally beat the level tonight and it was like someone turned on the faucet in my tear ducts. Then I'm talking with a friend who is also my editor and we're discussing how much time she gets to spend with her husband and children. Here we go again.... faucet time. While I'm sure part of it is that it has been entirely too long since I've seen my own child (miles and miles of distance between us); I also suppose I can contribute part of it to the fact that I've always been overly emotional about things. 

I've learned over the years that an idle mind is not a good thing for me. Which is probably why I'm the person who runs ten browsers at once with multiple tabs going on the majority of them; plus working on the writing of two different book series, at the same time; reading a book; and playing games, too. Oh and let's not forget watching WWE also. It keeps my mind occupied, for the most part. But there are times even doing all of that when I am twiddling my thumbs. NEVER a good thing to happen in my life. 

Curiosity has me wondering what you do to keep your mind busy or keep the doom and gloom out away from your emotions? 

Cowboy Search

WANTED

I'm searching for the perfect cowboy picture and/or model. The second installment of the Ackerman Security series is nearing completion. However, I'm in need of a bit of inspiration. One of the main characters in the second book, which will be titled Theirs to Have, might live in the city, but he's never lost his cowboy upbringing.

Who is your favorite cowboy? Whether it's a particular model or just a good pic, share them with me. I'd love to know what you think. 

Website! Website! Website! Headache! Headache! Headache!

Katorah Kenway's Website

Let me start out by announcing that I now have a website dedicated to my author side. I'm excited about it, even if it's only in the early stages. 

Next, let's talk about website building and services. For years, and I mean years, I've been a fan of GoDaddy for my website needs until I started to create the site for the other pen name I use along with a fabulous co-author. We've been working on that one for several months now and just can't quite get it the way we want, which is becoming a nightmare to me. I've spent countless hours trying to adjust one photo that just won't do what I want it to do. My head splits open just thinking about it, sometimes.

So when I went in search of the site to use for building Katorah's webpage, I decided to step away from GoDaddy to see what was available. 

Now, I heard good things about Webstarts.com, so I thought I'd give it a try. LOVE IT! The ease of creating the page was incredible. It put GoDaddy to shame. I, however, opted for the free site builder, for now, and the editing phase is still just that easy. I will however, go or the monthly fee based one, at some point, which will remove the "webstarts" from my URL name, which is now katorahkenway.webstarts.com

I really don't have an issue with having the "webstarts" in my tagline, it's just a way for them to get some advertising and I'm getting a free website out of it. My issue with the monthly fee is that they don't want to collect it monthly, they want it yearly. While it's reasonable in price, when you're working on a limited budget (new author here) you need things billed out in monthly installments instead of lump sums. 

The advantage of paying for the extra service is that they give you a certain number of advertising credits and get your name out there in search engines. Right now, I'm depending on you, my friends/fans, to help spread the word via FB, chats, blogs, etc. In which I am eternally grateful to you for doing so. With that being said, if you have something you want to share with others, let me know. I'll be glad to help with that. 

So, if you have any website building stories you'd like to tell us about, feel free to share. I'd love to hear them and I'm sure others would to. If you have suggestions or tips, those are also welcome. 

Friday's Fearless Firemen

With the August heat upon us, I thought we could all use some HOT eye candy! 

So without further ado I present you with Friday's Fearless Firemen.