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Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Happy 1st Birthday!

On this date last year, after weeks of struggling, I published Winter Sorcery, third book in the Seasons in Sansward Quarternary.

The characters of Winter Sorcery were the first ones that I envisioned when I first conceived the Sansward quartet.

Join Rolf and Catal as they escape Gitane Witches and troops from Overlord Summa's Watrani army.  Cheer for Niijai and Legeeta as they aid the two spies in their escape.

When the Gitane and the Watrani close a trap Niijai and Legeeta never expected, what will happen to them?

Available on Amazon.

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

What I'm Reading Now: Spindle by Gingell


Here's a book for you, an unexpected joy of a re-written Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.  Yes, I didn't expect that either.

When I look for books, I often skim the review. SPINDLE was both up and down.  With the mixed reviews, I almost didn't give it a chance. However, I loved 12 DAYS OF FAERY and WOLFSKIN, also by W.R. Gingell, so I continued on to this book. I won't give you a summary of the book;  you can head off to the link below for that. I want to persuade you to give this book a chance.

The first 10% percent of the book made me unhappy: a cursed princess confused by everything, a hero who is not heroic but definitely full of himself. Then into the story came Onepiece, a boy hiding by shapeshifting into a dog, and I lingered in the story, enjoying his charming interactions with Poly.

The pacing is quick, the dialogue amusing, the characters attractive even for their problematic behaviors. Without those three elements--and Onepiece--I would have abandoned this book as I have others.

By the 25% mark of the book I was extremely unhappy with our hero Luck ... and then something happened to help me realize his treatment of Poly was designed to ferret out the tangle of curse still clinging to her.

At 30%, I realized that Luck's absentminded thoughtlessness was designed to prod Poly toward recovering her absent memories and thought-less-ness caused by the curse.

Fortunately, as we rollick along to the midpoint, we have more charming characters as Poly recovers more and more of her self that was stolen when the curse descended on her, stealing memory and thus her life, Onepiece ventures more and more into adorable boy, and Luck reveals more and more that he is not ignoring Poly, he is ... well, he's an enchanter who's not interested in someone less than him in age ... and magic and cleverness.

By this time the threads of SPINDLE have me caught, and I can't put it down. And I didn't put it down until the end, an ending that I found very satisfying. (My Kindle was even down to 5% battery.)

If you need more than Love's Kiss that fizzes, then pass this up until you need enduring charm more than a flash-bang-thank you, ma'am. Those do have their place. SPINDLE, however, is a special that will survive a re-read.  I can tell that I will enjoy another, slower reading so I will catch everything I missed first time through. I will enjoy reading it  many, many more times.

SPINDLE is a magic of its own: a shocking surprise, a charming lure, an energetic twist to the expected, all with hints of danger if things go wrong.
Image result for w. r. gingell spindle
Here's a link:  not an affiliate link.

Friday, March 1, 2019

Tackling the Many-Headed Hydra: March's Recommendation

For Projects that are Monsters


Like Novels or Website Builds

This unassuming little booklet is absolutely GREAT when you have to tackle Project-based To-Do lists.

The left side is a check off.  On the right is a Gantt Chart to denote progress.


If you haven't met a Gantt Chart, it functions like a progress meter.  You can denote Started, In Progress, and Completed in 12 segments.  OR you can use the Gantt Chart as a monthly calendar.  (The developers even have little numbers to help the page function as a calendar--I prefer the Gantt Chart method.)

I like this method. I can set a project per 2-page spread then breakdown that project into its various segments and track each segment to completion.

I wish I had had this for the Great Website Rebuild last summer. That project had so many different segments that it was like fighting a many-headed hydra or herding cats (please see that commercial ;) or maybe the GWR was both hydra and cat related. It’s done!  I'm happy.).

This booklet would have made unnecessary all those sticky notes that kept getting lost under the normal daily undertakings.

Now I know to get this United Bee To-Do booklet for such multi-segmented hydra or cat-herding projects. I am well prepared for the future. And it serves just as well for my day-to-day smaller projects.

Thank you, developers at United Bees


While this links to Amazon, I am not affiliated nor do I receive money if you click this link.