editing

It’s Been a While

Hello everyone!

I know I’ve been gone for too long. When deciding to take the break, I never imagined time would slip so quickly past me and leave me wondering where it went. It has just flown by for a variety of reasons and now, I’m trying to get back into the swing of things.

First off, I had an amazing seasonal job for November and December. Management was awesome, coworkers were just great, and it was a fun environment. There were a lot of us seasonals and they definitely want some of us back, but they had no room to add any of us to their store’s roster. That sucked, but I continued on enjoying the job for as long as I could.

Then came January. My birth month. After Christmas, which I always find stressful, I didn’t want to deal with getting older and feeling further behind in life. I was left to find another, most likely part-time, job during the slowest hiring period of the year. January went by and February without hearing anything back or seeing any “good” job postings.

But then March appeared. Interviews were aplenty and was told by one potential employer I was overqualified for what she wanted. That felt great to hear after feeling worthless. I was offered two jobs though and was getting ready to do my first shift when non-essential businesses were shut down.

Covid-19 had officially reared its ugly head and continues to keep many Canadians confined indoors and away from work. On this note, I would like to say I hope everyone out there is safe and healthy and finding ways to keep afloat emotionally despite this pandemic. If you or others you know have it, I hope you recover quickly and are self-isolating safely. I’m glad world leaders are taking it seriously and are continuing to do what they can to eliminate its risk to all of us. It’s on all of us to do our part and support those who work in healthcare or other essential business fields by practising proper hygiene and limiting our trips outside.

Despite the negativity coming with Covid-19, I have decided to use this time to return to things I thought were best left forgotten or explored. I applied to a local college for Pre-Health and hope to do well in it to pursue nursing. Helping others is something I’ve always wanted to do and I try to put others before me most of the time. (That can be viewed as a negative habit and it can be so I’m working on moderating it). I’m excited for where this journey will take me!

Since being cooped up, I’ve also been working on my book and finally have it set up as an e-book on amazon! It is available to pre-order through this link https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B086VQFNGT?ref_=pe_1724030_132998070 and if you want to check it out, I encourage it! It will be fully available on April 17th, 2020! Still gotta work on a decent profile pic and bio for the author part, so I appreciate any tips you guys can give me!

In conclusion (that sounds so formal), I think that sums up the big things that have happened since I signed off in October. Please reach out to me on twitter @KEMwriting or in the comments below and let me know how you’re doing!

Stay safe and healthy!

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Very Short Stories, Week 17

This past week has been amazing! It started off on a rocky foot, but I’ve managed to take the punches and bounce back.

My book is being edited again. No more excuses. I’m making the time and it’s moving fairly quickly since I’m eager to see it completed!

From the looks of things, I will probably self-publish, but I need to do some further research on it. I’ve had amazing alpha/beta readers, and Grammarly has helped me fix any other mistakes left unnoticed. Once it’s done, I’ll probably get them to do another read and hope it’s as polished as my hands could make it!

The Very Short Stories I’m writing, to me, have started to change since I use them as a sort of warm before I edit my novel. I’ve also allowed myself to play more than I normally do.

Plus, I’ve started adding my main character from my book, Vivian, to some of them to tempt. (Though who knows if that’s what it’s doing.) Those tidbits are more her past and backbone for her story. Thus, you get to see the antagonist, Dr Embridge, too.

Anyways, here they are! Hope you enjoy!

 

August 6th

Kisses burn

With passion’s flame

Spreading

Spreading

like #Wildfire

to her core

now fire herself

She threatens to consume

Him

and his body

Satisfy a woman’s needs

might cool

the heat

but embers catch

alight again

the Pattern repeats

until they’re One

in Lust’s hold

 

August 7th

Vivian’s eyes shifted colours, betraying her #emotions. The deep blues of the ocean formed in her gaze and she wept. Her sister, Ravenna, stared like an unmoving stone statue at her, cold.

Embridge’s voice called her attention, Deal with her, please.

Vivian’s world went black.

 

August 8th

The ocean spray reached for her white robes and dampened her hair before the early sun. The water kissed her pale feet, tugging at the fringe of her outfit. She heard it whisper, Join us….

But she couldn’t. The wet wilderness would #evaporate if she failed her task.

 

August 9th

Morning #glory grew beside the stone cottage. It climbed it, surrounded it like it had caged those inside. Flowers bloomed on its vines, dark violets and sapphires.

The young woman let out a calming breath and approached the only visible part of a door. Her knock rang out.

 

August 10th

Her body curved, dipped, and dived. Its subtle #peaks tempted him in every way. He grazed across her soft skin with the tip of his tongue until he reached the junction between her thighs. Tasting her sweet nectar, he groaned with need. Her moans encouraged him further.

 

August 11th

The walls were a bold #vermillion and screamed of hunger. Mind you, that could be the blood stains, he mused as he sat. As usual, he didn’t have to say a word for the waiter to bring him his meal. Thankful for the privacy, he pulled a thin blade from his pocket.

Gentle as a butterfly’s wing, he cut a sharp line an inch long in his human’s wrist. He used the crystal goblet he’d been given to collect it and licked the wound closed when he was done. Fangs appeared where his canines should be as he sipped the warmth of the blood.

 

August 12th

She wears a #shell to protect her thin skin. It’s lined with shelves filled with words collected through the day. At night, she sheds the second skin, dissects her collection. The sentences run on the treadmill of her mind until they are broken into every hurtful meaning.

Time is My Enemy

Last week, I mentioned I was really excited to start editing/revising my book again. And I was. Honest.

However, I didn’t touch it. Not even once.

Instead my time was consumed by starting a freelance transcription job and a paper route. I was anxious about the flyers being delivered, and waited until they showed up on both Tuesday and Wednesday. For no real reason.

Wednesday night, I started delivering the flyers and my husband helped me after I had started. Thankfully he did, because there was no way I was getting it done on my own! As I type this, my feet still hurt and I think I did something to a nerve in my right leg ’cause it ‘shivers’ randomly.

Needless to say, I have quit the paper route.

My time needs to be focused on my book more than anything else, and it is tough to do that when I’m stressing out about other things. Plus, the route was something I wanted to do by myself, but the size of it makes that impossible which means I’d always need Andrew’s help. That isn’t fair to him.

The transcription job is a different beast. It is something I choose to do on my own time, but I wanted to see how feasible it is. Now, even with a wonky left ear (lately), I’ve managed to transcribe pretty well, and my metrics (which focus on accuracy, formatting, and commitment) are very good for the time being.

What sucks is how time consuming it is to do a short audio clip. Decent audio quality doesn’t take too long until you factor in the speakers and whether they are formulating clear sentences or not.

Still, everything I’m transcribing seems to be interesting and I’m learning in a way I did not expect. I’ll keep going at it, but…

My husband has made it pretty clear that my time should be spent on my book, and transcribing takes a second place to it. Which was super nice to hear.

Sometimes, I mess up my priorities based on what I think he wants me to be doing. I don’t want to disappoint him, but I do need to put myself and what’s best for me first from time to time.

Anyways, moral of this story is… I WILL be editing my book this week or so help me, I’m gonna lose my freakin’ mind!

Take care of yourselves, everyone!

 

Apologies

Hello! It’s been a while since I did a post. A lot longer than it should have been if I am honest. Shit happens though.

After spending most of April sick with various things, I’ve struggled to get back on top of things. My energy has been an all time low, and my moods have been wonky to boot, too. It wasn’t helped by the continually rainy weather, and the lack of time the day seems to hold. My growing to-do list was the final straw on this camel’s back.

So….

Today, Andrew and I cleaned the house from top to bottom. Fur covered everything as did dust, and dirty paw/foot prints, too. I guess that’s what happens when you drop the ball on cleaning, and your husband has no idea how to do it without you.

It got done though!

The slump I’ve been in is slowly dissipating, and getting the house all sorted was exactly what I needed to get back on top. However, I wouldn’t have been able to do it this weekend if my sister hadn’t helped me start working out again. Doing yoga every day, and holding each other accountable, has been the cherry on top. I’m sore from it, but progress is pain!

Tomorrow, we’ll be doing a few other things in the backyard in time for true spring/summer to arrive! Putting up some solar lights for ambience (and functionality so our dogs don’t get sprayed by skunks), and prepping the veggie garden. We’ll empty some of the pots of the old plants from last year since pick up of yard work stuff is this week.

The big thing I’m excited about though, is this Tuesday! My reader is done double checking my new sections of my book, and I can start editing/revising it again! YAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!

Full disclosure, she finished it last weekend, but multiple appointments for my mom, husband, and myself kept me from getting started on it. (Plus the aforementioned slump). But I’m starting it this week and I can’t wait!

Tonight, I’m treating myself to a girls’ night in with my mom, a friend, and my future sister-in-law! I might even have a true drink! Who knows?!

Anyways, I’m feeling more energetic, happy, and just in general better so hopefully I’ll be posting more!

Take care of yourselves!