Saturday, December 14, 2019

New Release: Bad Wolf




**NEW RELEASE**
Bad Wolf, the 2nd book in the Starlight Bar series, is now available at:
Amazon  https://amzn.to/2sv89Eo 
KOBO  https://bit.ly/2LSEfkq 
Barnes and Noble  https://bit.ly/2sv8Ihu 
Apple  https://apple.co/2tdtnHm 

Mason’s mate falls into his lap and then disappears. Will he find her?

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Cooler Weather, Holidays, Bad Wolf, Stories and Other Ramblings

November is here and the weather is starting to get cooler. A cold front came through, and yesterday's highs were in the 40s. Today, the highs should get up into the 60s. Basically, we're on the weather roller coaster. It's cold for a day or two, and then the temperature rises up until the next cold front. Within days, I go from wearing sweaters and jeans to wearing t-shirts and shorts. Gotta love Texas weather. It's warmed up enough, that we opened the windows throughout the duplex. It's nice being able to air out the place, and the cats are having fun sitting in the windows, especially in the sunshine.

I never did find a fall wreath that I like or that didn't coast a ridiculous amount (in other words, way over my budget). Now, all the Christmas stuff is out in the stores. Thanksgiving isn't even here yet (in the USA).

I'm taking a few days off at Thanksgiving. I'll spend sometime with family. I'm cooking a simple Thanksgiving meal this year. Instead of a turkey, I'm making a chicken breast and gravy dish in the crock pot. It's simple but tasty. I've actually made a smaller version several times and it doesn't last. I'm also going to make a cornbread dressing, mashed potatoes, a green bean casserole, and rolls. Not sure about the desserts yet.



Bad Wolf can be pre-ordered from Amazon, KOBO,  Barnes and Noble, and Apple Books. It will go live on December 13, 2019.



Alpha Wolf is now for sale at Amazon, KOBO, Barnes and Noble, and Apple Books.



I'm working on book 3 which is Cooper's story. It will be released sometime in January 2020. I'm also plotting/outlining Moose's story (book 4). As of now, it is the last book I have planned for this series.

After I finish Moose's story, I'm going to take about a month to outline the rest of the stories for Brimstone Heat. Phoenix, Onyx, and Diablo will finally get their stories told.  I'm also going to complete the outline for the Undead series, and make a decision if there will be other books in that series or not.

I've procrastinated writing these stories. The biggest reason was there was no inspiration. I worked on outlines, only to find them flat when I read through them. I've printed out Lucifer and Reluctantly Undead and had them spiral bound. These are going to be part of my holiday reading. As I read, I'm going to make revisions and notes for the next books in the series. Both series have been left hanging for too long. I will remedy this problem in 2020, and hopefully I'll have a couple of new stories to throw in the mix too.



Saturday, September 28, 2019

Fall, Starlight Wolves, and Other Ramblings

We're almost a week into autumn (fall), at least according to the calendar. Here in Texas the trees are still green and we have day temperatures in the 90s. The good thing...it's finally raining. The rainy skies are making me think of fall. So ready for the cooler weather.

I've said it before, but fall and winter are my favorite times of the year...October through mid-February here in Texas.

And next week is October!
For the last few weeks, I've already been burning fall scented candles. I managed to catch them on sale and had the extra money to buy a few. It was a splurge, and probably something I shouldn't have done, but I did.

I want to get a fall wreath for the door, but I have found one that I like enough to buy. Maybe next weekend, I can go to one of the dollar stores and get creative. I've got Halloween lanterns to put out, but I need something else to go on porch table with them. Goal: $20 or less for the wreath and table decor. I'll keep you updated and post pictures on instagram.


Alpha Wolf is out of KU. I printed and spiral bound a copy of the draft. I'm going to read through it again for a couple of reasons.
First, I want to take some notes about the characters because I have a fourth book to outline for the series.
Second, I caught a couple of typos I want to fix before I release the book wide with Nook, KOBO, and Apple Books.
Third, I want to make sure this story flows into the second story. I wrote the outlines for books 1-3 back-to-back, but things sometimes deviate from the outlines.
And fourth, I've finished a draft of Bad Wolf (Mason and Carrie's story, book 2). Edits will start soon.  I'm not planning to release it in KU, but to go wide. I'm also looking into doing preorders.


Either today or tomorrow, I'm going to start writing the third book (Cooper's story), and sometime next week I'll start working on the outline for book 4 (Moose's story). Yes, he will find his mate, but keeping her safe will be a problem.

I'm planning to release the stories throughout the holidays and the new year. I will post release dates soon.

Monday, July 8, 2019

Random Thoughts: Downsizing, Writing, and Alpha Wolf

The year is half over.

WOW!

Where did the time go?

It amazes me how fast time seems to speed by, especially when you're busy.

For me, June flew by. I was busy planning to move, and then there was the packing (and cursing about the amount of junk we have), followed by the move itself, and the process of unpacking and figuring out were I'm going to put stuff. I gave away a lot of stuff before we actually moved. As we unpack, I'm realizing just how much stuff we have that hasn't been used in a long time, or multiples of things that I don't really need.

I want to downsize even more. Basically, I want to get to the point that I have only the stuff I'm actually using.

We're living in the duplex, but there are boxes everywhere. My office is about 75% ready. The other small bedroom has become the holding area for boxes. Once I get the rest of the storage shelving in place, I'll be able to unpack a number of the remaining boxes.

In other new...I'm working on Book 2 in the Starlight bar series. Some days, the writing has been slower than others, but I'm making progress. As soon as I hit the halfway mark, I will do a cover reveal.

This is the last month that Alpha Wolf will be in KU. At the end of the month, it will be pulled from KU, and released on the other vendor sites I normally publish on. It will still be available at Amazon to buy, it just won't be in the borrow program. If you have it borrowed, you should still be able to read it.



Places to follow me:
www.facebook.com/raynerachels


Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Random Thoughts: New Normal, Planners, Alpha Wolf, and Starlight Bar book 2

I've been in my new home for a week, and I still have boxes everywhere. My office looks like a "landing area" for boxes. I've managed to unpack about a third, but still have a lot to go through.  One of my bookshelves didn't survive the move. It was old and cheap, so I'm not surprised. I need to get a new bookshelf for my office. I'm thinking about a cubby shelf with fabric baskets. I even thought about stacking two of them.
My to buy list for the office has grown to two items.
     1) a desk chair
     2) a bookshelf

With the end of June looming just around the corner, I've been thinking about my quarter goals. I didn't accomplish very many of my second quarter goals. DH's job change and the move took center stage over everything else. It didn't help that this move was tougher both mentally and physically on me than other moves we've made.

But I've noticed a change. Now that I'm in the new place, I'm not as stress as I was living in the staff housing. Even my two kitties are acting a lot calmer.

I'm definitely working on a new normal for my life, my health, and my writing.

Part of that normal is my planner system. I've always used some type of planner or bullet journal. I'm not completely happy with the disc system I've been using. The sad part, is that I have the new 18 month calendars. I just need to figure out how to make it work for me at least for this quarter and then re-evaluate for the last quarter.

I am working on the Starlight Bar series book 2. The amount I get written this week will dictate my release schedule for it.

When I released Alpha Wolf, book 1, I put in in the K Unlimited program.  Toward the end of July, I will be taking it out of the borrow system and releasing through other platforms, including Apple Books.

Book 2 of the series will go into K Unlimited for three months when it is first released. After that, it will also be released on other platforms.



Thursday, June 20, 2019

What I'm Doing

I'm still unpacking boxes. I have a feeling I'll be doing this for a few more weeks. The second and third bedrooms are small. My bookshelves won't fit into the room that is to be my office, so they're in the room directly across from it. I also had to put the old dresser that I was using as a counter top and for storage in there too.

I'm hoping to have all the boxes that are still in my office unpacked by the end of next week. The sooner that I get it done, the sooner I can set up my writing space. I still need to go shopping for a new desk chair. My old one was in bad shape and didn't make the move.

I'm reading and editing the first chapter to the second book in the Starlight Bar series.

I'm waiting for various repair people to fix several issues in the rental. I really wish the problems had been fixed before DH and I moved in, but they weren't, and the management company acted like they had no clue about them. On the plus side, it's nice not hearing the howls and barks of the neighbor's dogs, or the neighbors fighting. The duplex we rented is separated from the other duplex by the  tandem garages.

I'm making simple meals. Over the past two months, I've put on twenty pounds. Some of it is due to stress eating, and some to the hormone changes I'm starting to deal with more and more. Yeah, my body is not as young as it used to be. Some days, my brain forgets this, but other days, my body makes it a mission to remind the rest of me.

I'm slowly finding my new normal, and I started back to writing today.

All is good.


Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Moving Sucks! But There is a Bright Side!!

Sorting through stuff. Trying to figure out what I should keep and what I should throw away (probably should have thrown it away months or years ago). And then there's the packing and living in a maze of boxes.

Moving sucks!

We finally moving out of the old staff housing. We're moving because the new company, who won the contract to run the center, came in and cut almost everyone's pay. In some cases, the pay cut was 30% or more. DH found another job .So now, we are moving.

As much as I hate the moving process, I'm glad we're leaving this place. It's never felt like home. The vibes have been off sense we moved here. Even my two fur babies have acted different. I didn't realize until a few days ago just how much of an effect this place had on me, or more specifically, my writing. Since moving here, I've written less. I'm not happy with this, or the fact, I haven't reach the goals I set for myself.

But there is a bright side to moving!

I'm looking to this move as a new beginning. I will be in a new home. I will be able to set up a new office space and new goals for my writing, blogging, and other social media. I want to start a newsletter. I want to get all the stories in my head onto paper and published for you to read.

I don't have release dates for any, though I have started writing book 2 in the Starlight Bar series.

The boxes aren't going to pack themselves, though I wish they would. LOL!

Have a great day!