Zombies and Taxes

Authors and taxes:

I was doing my taxes when I found to my surprise, a lot of what I bought on my own dollar and thinking that it would be lost forever, can come back to me as a tax break. I mean I know how businesses work, but I never once thought about the fact that my work as an author also makes me a business with the ability to claim computers, software, props for research, even trips taken, can all be considered expenses that the government will let you write off. It's something that I'll be using more this year as my book like expenses start to stack up.

Current Editing woes:

I've got chapter 1 and 2 buttoned up for beta review and I'm deep into the slogging through Chapter 3. I'm not getting through this as fast as I'd like. When I was working on the first book, I didn't have half as many other novel projects going on as I do now. I've had to split my limited time to three or more projects at once. I've been told to not worry so much about it, but I can't!

I'm setting myself a goal to have a chapter a week done with second draft.

Things that I love:

(Supper ADD random time GO!)

I love the sound of a sharp pen writing on a pad of paper, authors will describe things like "David could hear the cop take down his information, the officer's pen scratching over the note pad." I'm not sure if scratching is the right name for this amazing sound. And you can even go as far as to talk about how it sounds different for block writing vs. cursive.

And Hockey:

Thanks to a friend, I was able to get tickets to a Thunderbirds hockey game and he showed me the real fun of having club seats! Totally awesome and totally convinced the wife that we have to get season tickets. Now we just have to get the team be better. ;)

A moment of depression:

I had a moment of this over the last two weeks, where I learned a friend of mine's landlord not only sold her book but had become a New York bestseller.... Kill me. I found myself for the next two days doing nothing but obsessing over it. I looked up the book, looked up everything I could on the author. I EVEN in my hunt found and looked up her agent's info (and found reviews of the agent) It wasn't a moment I was proud of, I'll be honest. But after that I just kept working and I'm back to my happy-self. I woke up Sunday slipped out the door for my coffee shop feeling better about everything. I was off to talk with a co-writer about a web project...this brings me to my next topic....

The wide world of zombies:

I have to say that as of the last 6 months I have been beat over the head with Zombie stories, skits and images! I have to say I'm about done with the undead, it's a subject that just won't die! So what's a better idea than to start a story about ZOMBIES! Ok this may have not been the turn you would have taken, but here I am. My friend and I are co-authoring a web book called From Beer to Apocalypse. If you think about it, please tell everyone around you that is breathing (Zombie joke!) and has an internet connection. It's a story, and it's free! We are going to be posting a page a week (about 250 words). Feel free to give feedback and make comments as you read. I really want to make this as interactive a project as it can be.

Find it here: From Beer to Apocalypse

Current sales:

1 sale; 1 Prime borrowing. I call it a good month! :)

On a last note:

This weekend I had to say to say goodbye to a good friend of mine, I had known her for almost twenty years. I can't think of any time in my past where I have had to go through something like this. Gillian Kirkpatrick will live on through the family she has raised. Everyone of them are the most open, kind people that you'll ever meet.

God Speed, my friend.

Robert

Drive another shrimp to the barbie!

  

I hope everyone had a good Super Bowl weekend and not too many of you called in sick on Monday! :)  

New book:  

I can't remember everyone I've told so far but I've got another strong idea for a book! So far things are just kind of falling into place for it. I'm currently calling it "Oil and Water" This one won't have any Sci-Fi or Fantasy in it (So far, I leave the final product to be anything it damn well wants!) So it's going to be relationship/love story. I don't feel out of my element here, if anything I believe I can excel here with my research a thick stack of love stories piled about my desk (Yeah you can try and take a point off my man card but I'm sure your jobs have you doing things that would get you docked as well!) I can't help it I enjoy a good relationship story, and you'll find it in every type of genre out there.  This will also become my first book that I write, that won't have started as Nanowrimo idea, I'll need to make sure I keep my disciple up on this one.  

Corporate Policy: 

I've been working on it! But it's been going a little slower than I like! I've been helping with other's work and I've been wrapped up in advertising still for my first book. I just need to quit my day job so I can spend all my time doing this! :)  I'm going to try and push for an April finish to the rewrite. I'm currently starting Chapter 2 today! It's 7 chapters with most of them sitting at about 8K word count.  

Mobile patio: 

I was rolling down 405 other day when I looked over and I saw this: 

All I could think of was AWESOME! I totally want this trailer so bad that I had to talk myself down. I wanted to run the man off the road and trying to hitch it up to my wife's car (At the time mine was still in the shop getting a new rear bumper on it.) It's a portable deck party on wheels! I would totally strap down a few deck chairs and a gas girl and then just roll this bad boy all over Northwest. Yes folks, this has got to happen, and I mean like now.  

Vegas : 

Went to Vegas for my second time in 2 months, it was a bad ass time. The group that I go with is always a blast I don't get to see them enough. I also took the time to see "Love" the Beatles cirque Du Soleil.  It was a decision that I made like last second. I mean like I was sitting down as the lights went out! (Also, I learned I can go from my room to a seat in the theater in 15 minutes by foot!) I'm really glad that I went and if you head to Vegas anytime soon, you have to go. I say no more on it, go live the experience.  

Press Release: 

Looking over the press release again I kind of fell flat on my face...I made a bio, but I really didn't... put... anything in... About the book. Yeah talk about oops. In fact I was given the impression that some places might have even rejected it! So I think I got that fixed now. Shows you how new I am to all this still. I can't wait till I get to teach others how this works, there is so much to this you wouldn't even think about! Now that I'm looking around for where I want to post this I'm finding that most of the reputable places take a lot of money. I'm not sure how effective this whole project will be and at about $200 for a post on a book that only makes me about a buck each time someone clicks buy, just breaking even would be a gamble. When a lot of the sites said that you need to make a press release I didn't think it would cost this much money, in fact I'm trying to see where this isn't some kind of racket! You are spending money on the impression of someone reading what you post, not that they will. I wonder if there is a more affective way of going about this. So, while press release is done, I've not yet posted it anywhere other than my website. 

But I have learned that I'm going to need to have to ways other than email to talk with these press people. So I've picked up a business cell phone to keep my personal cell...personal and I think I'm going to plunge in a little, why not! I can't say I'll do it with my next book, but...ehh, will see. PRWeb has called me about getting this press release done I've just got to call them back. 

I came up with the most interesting idea to help promote the book though. I'm making post cards so that I can advertise my book with. I'll m going to hunt around and see if I can find a few coffee shops that would let me leave a small stack of them out for people to steal and use as coasters for their coffee  or prop up a table. You know, one of them things that when people clean out their purse/backpack, they wonder how they keep getting all this junk! 

Head Shots: 

Candice and I got together Saturday and well here some of the pictures that came out if it! It's good to have a few pictures that are a little more on the professional side, this was the winner even if the light was a bit bright.  

I'll try and post more of them in a gadget on my website soon.  

Current sales 

So far 0 bought, 1 borrowed (Amazon prime) for Feb!