Hitting the Bigtime

Well, today I did my first radio interview ever, at Page Readers on blogtalkradio. I was interviewed by a fabulous lady named Nanci Arvisu, who did a fantastic job of helping me not sound like Ozzy Osbournes dumber brother.

Unfortunately I did manage to say "uh" about fifty thousand times, and the terror is pretty apparent in my voice through much of the interview. Nevertheless, I managed to get through the show without humiliating myself, and only grew a couple of ulcers in the exercise. I call that an astonishing success.

This writing business is turning out to be quite the adventure. Next thing you know, they're going to want me to go out there and meet real  people and stuff...in person. Oh well, I'll just take it in baby steps. Yeah, baby steps.

What's Going On?

Friday, I woke up about seven AM and then I took a five hour nap from 2 PM till 7 PM. Then I went out to have a writer's night out, and came back about 1 AM. I went to bed about 1:30 AM and slept twenty four hours till 2 AM Sunday Morning. I then got sleepy and went to bed around 2 PM Sunday and slept twelve more hours till 2 AM Monday morning.

I have been asleep more than 41 hours of the past 72. That's ridiculous.I think I may have had a bad headache on Saturday, as I vaguely remember waking up with one and going right back to sleep, but that's it. Anyways, I have certainly been getting my sleep.

I need to get that straightened out, because Rowan goes back to school this week, and I'll have Sheridan home all day. I need to take this opportunity to go do some things with the boy. Especially since I've wasted the entire weekend. I'll watch it this week and if this  continues I'll go get checked out.

On the writing front, I'm toying with an idea for self publishing some short stories. Just to test that market and get some figures for comparison. I've been approaching writing and promotion as a bit of a science lately and collecting data. I've still got more to collect, and then I'll be interested to see where it takes me.

A Star is Born

Here we have Sheridan singing at his graduation, and performing an unwitting Dean Martin impression.
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I went for a writers night out with Cherri Galbiati on Friday night. We had our usual good time discussing writing and where the field was headed.
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Then I came home and slept for over twenty four hours. Yep, you read that right. Over twenty four hours. I have no idea why, other than a vague memory of waking up with a headache and going back to sleep. Then waking up and seeing it was only thirty minutes after I had gone to bed...or...a whole lot longer than that. Talk about disorienting. Saturday simply never happened for me. I went to bed Friday night and woke up on Sunday. Weird.
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And now I'm still sleepy, at noon on Sunday. Ugh. I need to at least stay up till Karla gets back from the birthday party she is taking Sheridan too. So, I'm up till late afternoon at least. Then I need a good nights sleep, (only one night this time) so I can be coherent for my blog radio interview tomorrow.
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This should be interesting.

Argiope Update

I'm somewhere over forty thousand words into Argiope, but I'm currently stalled. I seem to have written myself into a corner and I'm going to have to devote some serious braincycles into figuring out how I'm going to go forward.
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I insist on my stories adhering to their own internal logic, as I think the failure to do that ruins more books and movies...at least for me. So, I'm going to have to either figure out how to go forward, or go back and rewrite the last four thousand words or so. It's just a matter of devoting the time and thought into making the right decision.
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And time and thought are currently at a premium. With me focusing so much on learning about internet advertising, marketing, and such...I'm having a hard time shifting the mental gears to get back into the story mode. I also have one blog radio interview scheduled, and another one that I need to get scheduled. I'll be on Page Readers Blogtalk Radio at noon on Monday, May 31st. Be sure and listen to me make a complete disaster of it.
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Oh well, on a happier note, Karla is back home. It's nice to have her safe and sound back among us, and the kids are glad to see her, too. And just in time too...I just bought an animal trap to capture the wildlife that is having wild brawls in our attic, and I needed somebody to crawl up there and set the trap.

Research

I've been experimenting with internet ads the last couple of days. It's been pretty interesting and I definitely have a lot to learn. What I've done so far has driven up traffic to my Ways of Khrem site significantly. I'm going to have to sort through and track back where the different traffic is coming from, to get a better idea of which ads are generating the traffic.
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I'm also going to have to figure out how to have increased traffic result in better sales. That will probably depend more on the site than it does the ads. At the moment, the site boasts a brand new link to my author's page at Pill Hill Press where a sample of the book can be read, and a link to Amazon.com where the book can be purchased. Now that they have my cover up, I can use my amazon associates to make a link with a button and graphic.  I'm constantly evaluating and changing the site, to make it better.
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 I'm also starting to realize this is a marathon, and not a sprint.

Insomnia

Lovely. Just lovely.
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I get the kids into bed on time, the house is in decent shape, and I got a little grocery shopping done thanks to my friend Cherri coming over and watching the kids so I could go get them stuff for their school lunches.
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Then I went to bed and couldn't sleep a wink. I layed there for hours, grainy eyed and frustrated, before getting back up so I could start packing lunches. This is just silly...but it's silliness I'm going to be paying for in a big way later today. Sigh.
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Maybe it's because of all the excitement of getting my new sink. Yeah, that's it. I've become a totally domestic male...patheticus domesticus hystericus...and I go into excited tizzy's over new household appliances. Sigh. Any minute, the ghost of Charles Bronson is going to show up and demand I turn in my "man card."
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I just won't think about it and settle for focusing on getting the kids out the door.
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Boy, am I tired.

The New Hotness

Behold! The new sink is installed!
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It holds water! It runs water! IT DOESN'T GIVE ME A SHOWER EVERY TIME I USE IT!!!!
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I am happy.
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Now to get fix the floors and get rid of the varmints living in our attic.

Day 2

Well, it's the second day of just me and the kids...and so far nothing has burnt down, exploded, imploded, or slid off into the Gulf of Mexico. I call that a win.
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The house is beginning to look a little worse for wear, despite my best efforts, but I have help arriving today in the form of Heather...our weekly housecleaner. So that will buy me time. I also have the new sink being installed today, so I need to get the kitchen ready for that.
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Not much time for writing with all this going on, but I have done a little work on my webpage at http://thewaysofkhrem.blogspot.com/  . It's still rough and needs to have the text on each side balanced better. I'll be replacing some of it with an Amazon.com button soon. It's a work in progress.
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Ah well, I have a whole lot to do and only a little time to do it. So that's it till later today.

Update

Karla's father has regained consciousness, and is propped up and talking in the hospital. That is very good news, although he will be there for quite some time.
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On the other front, I have just about finished my first day with the kids alone, and things aren't too bad. I think the change in their routine has slightly affected them, as they appear to be more energetic this afternoon. But so far the damage to my sanity has been limited, and my gray hairs have not multiplied unduly. In a little bit I shall throw them in bed, and myself as well. Tomorrow is going to come early.
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And that reminds me. Tomorrow I get my new sink installed! Hooray for a shiny new sink, faucet, and garbage disposal! Now Nate doesn't have to get soaked by the errant spray of a broken faucet every time he rinses something off! Of course, now that we've screwed up and actually fixed something around here, it's going to make all the other stuff that needs repairs really stand out. Like my linoleum. Ugh.
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Oh well. One project at a time. I got my new sink, and life is good :)