What Do You Mean It’s Not Wednesday?

Posted on May 12, 2016 by AmyBeth Inverness
20160507_141422

First Saturdays of each month are free at the Denver Art Museum!

Well.

That escalated quickly.

Or rather, de-escalated.

Actually, it didn’t go anywhere at all.

Last week, my update was all about “I’m gonna do some planning blah blah blah…”

I thought I’d not only do more writing, but I’d also do a lot more promo. I did dive into some writing, feeling that horrible wrenching that comes when I haven’t been writing regularly. I have tried the “write (almost) every day” thing, and although it’s not necessarily bad advice, trying to keep that up 365 days a year leads to burnout.

Promo, however, is so much more difficult. I don’t want to inundate my friends with endless posts, but this week I’ve hardly shared any links or mentioned my stories at all. That has to change.

The one thing I did accomplish is to relaunch my Friday interviews. I gave them up months ago because I wanted to concentrate on getting a novel ready to query, which I did. However, I realized that the value I got for the work that goes into the interviews was definitely worth it. It is not only networking and good karma with other writers, it is an opportunity for my name to be seen by more and more readers. I have a list of local writers here in the Pikes Peak Region I’ll be interviewing over the summer.

I have a vague memory of Tuesday, thinking I should do a status-post for ROW80 for the Wednesday link-up. Then suddenly it was Thursday….

I have no idea how that happened.

I’m not saying it was aliens, but…

It was aliens.

Posted in ROW80, Writing | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Where Am I?

Posted on May 5, 2016 by AmyBeth Inverness
NASA has some great shareable images!

NASA has some great shareable images!

The force was not with me today. Three hours at the DMV, all because twenty-one years ago I changed not just my last name, but my first name when I got married. Apparently Colorado is freaked out that I went from being Amy Elizabeth to AmyBeth. But that’s a long, boring story and you can catch it on facebook or G+ if you’re curious.

Once Upon a Time I posted my updates every Wednesday, an interview every Friday, and a SciFi Question of the Day post some other time during the week. I cut back in order to concentrate on actual writing and submissions. I have a pair of SciFi Romance novels out on query, but the interest level hasn’t progressed beyond sending 30 pages when asked. The Cities of Luna are doing well and keeping me busy with a new story coming out with every full moon.

Six months ago we found out our home in Vermont was being sold out from under us. We moved to Colorado in April, and life is still rather chaotic.

I need to reevaluate where I put my energy. Yes, I need to bump up my publication status, either with more submissions of the novels I’ve finished, or submissions to various calls and markets. The interviews were time-consuming, but they were a fantastic way to connect not only with other authors, but interesting people in relevant fields, like Astronaut Clayton C. Anderson. My SciFi Question of the Day posts are very popular, and I need to take advantage of that.

So, this is a goals post for A Round of Words in 80 Days. For the rest of this round, I will make some realistic long and short-term goals regarding which works are worth developing and which should stay on the back burner. I need to decide which non-writing writing-related activities are worth putting energy into.

I will not set a goal of writing every day. I think I will say three days a week is good for easing back into the routine. Promo will be part of my goals as well. Like most writers, I hate promotion. I’d rather concentrate on actual writing. Alas, it’s part of the business. I should at least be mentioning something about my books on social media every day. Once a day, if it’s not repetitive stuff, is usually not enough to feel spammy. For this month, part of my goal is to research writing opportunities outside of writing whatever I want then looking for a place to sell it.

Speaking of rounds…

Can someone tell me when this one ends and the next one starts? Sometime in June or July?

COL 2016 04

 

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Current Works

Posted on April 10, 2016 by AmyBeth Inverness

20160302_145707

Big changes have come with our family’s move to Colorado Springs! I still haven’t fixed my tagline “…outcast of Colorado by temporary necessity…” because I feel like the wheels are still spinning.

In the coming months I’ll be updating not just the tagline, but the website overall. Most importantly, my published works page needs to be changed so that the most recent is always at the top.

In the meantime, here is a list of the works that I currently earn royalties on. My published works page also lists the anthologies I’m included in. (I was paid a lump sum up front for those.)

THOPC Cover 10The House on Paladin Court

Lillie Lane Book 1

Urban Fantasy

27,270 words

Martha, Jonah, and Grandpa Donald have lived in the old farmhouse on Paladin Court far longer than anyone can remember. Little do their neighbors know just how long they’ve lived there, or what is imprisoned in their basement.

The three paladins have taken vows of guardianship, chastity, and faith, and have held those vows for more than a thousand years. But as the centuries bring civilization closer to them, they find themselves needing to adapt in new and novel ways.

Whom should you gift this book to? Anyone who’s ever dressed up for a Renaissance Faire or worn home-made padded armor and boffed their friends over the head with a foam sword.

Amazon:   http://www.amazon.com/House-Paladin-Court-Lillie-Lane-ebook/dp/B01749TEDI/

Barnes & Noble:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-house-on-paladin-court-amybeth-inverness/1122861561?ean=2940152429312

Kobo:   https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-house-on-paladin-court

Omnilit:   NA

Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/587740

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27308653-the-house-on-paladin-court

 

 

Grands cover 09Grands

The Cities of Luna Book 1

August 2015

6,970 words

Sharing a birthday not only with each other but also with the founding of the lunar colonies themselves, Moriel and Kellan are resigned to being minor celebrities for the centennial celebrations. Their friendship, which has lasted a century, is sorely tested when old jealousies arise.

Whom should you gift this book to? Someone with the same birthday as you.

Amazon:   http://www.amazon.com/Grands-Cities-Luna-Book-1-ebook/dp/B014085ZW0/

Barnes & Noble:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grands-amybeth-inverness/1122593669?ean=2940150832404

Kobo:   https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/grands

Omnilit:   https://www.omnilit.com/product-grands-1872859-239.html

Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/569673

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26199581-grands

 

FaceplantingFaceplanting is Always an Option

The Cities of Luna Book 2

September 2015

8,870 words

MaggieJo could have hired a stranger to help her with her physical therapy after losing her legs in a construction accident, but instead she hires her half-sister who used to babysit her when they were kids. Unfortunately, Becca’s methods of support and encouragement include the reassurance that faceplanting is always an option, and MaggieJo realizes her recovery will not be as comfortable as she wished.

Whom should you gift this book to? Someone who has uttered the words “I double dog dare you!”

Amazon:   http://www.amazon.com/Faceplanting-Always-Option-Cities-Luna-ebook/dp/B0150PMH1Y/

Barnes & Noble:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/faceplanting-is-always-an-option-amybeth-inverness/1122713117?ean=2940151186018

Kobo:   https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/faceplanting-is-always-an-option

Omnilit:   https://www.omnilit.com/product-faceplantingisalwaysanoption-1885317-239.html

Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/575236

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26250913-faceplanting-is-always-an-option

 

 

Mordor 2 smallOne Does Not Simply Walk Into Mordor

The Cities of Luna Book 3

October 2015

9,850 words

Varun should know better than to trust any plan his big sister Usha concocts, but when the plot involves a beautiful girl he has a crush on, he goes against his better judgement. He joins Usha and a group of their friends for a Diwali party in an empty warehouse out on the unforgiving lunar regolith. True to form, Usha gets Varun in trouble again, and the siblings find themselves donning unfamiliar surface suits and attempting to walk across the regolith back to the city of Mordor… alone.

To whom should you gift this book? Anyone who celebrates Diwali.

Amazon:   http://www.amazon.com/Does-Simply-Walk-Mordor-Cities-ebook/dp/B016VJFZGW/

Barnes & Noble:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-does-not-simply-walk-into-mordor-amybeth-inverness/1122856183?ean=2940150815063

Kobo:   https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/one-does-not-simply-walk-into-mordor

Omnilit:   https://www.omnilit.com/product-onedoesnotsimplywalkintomordor-1912874-235.html

Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/586499

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23925991-one-does-not-simply-walk-into-mordor

 

 

LorindaThe Day Lorinda Flew

The Cities of Luna Book 4

November 2015

7,490 words

Soichi worries about his daughter, Etta Jane, because not only are her bones more delicate than the average Loony child’s, but she has special needs and does not understand many of the simple, everyday dangers such as simply crossing the street. When her idea of teaching chickens to fly turns out to be entirely plausible, Soichi starts to believe that his daughter’s limitations might not be as much of an obstacle as he once thought.

To whom should you gift this book? Anyone who has a child with special needs in their life.

Amazon:   http://www.amazon.com/Lorinda-Flew-Cities-Luna-Book-ebook/dp/B016SVWVIS/

Barnes & Noble:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-day-lorinda-flew-amybeth-inverness/1123020221?ean=2940157869649

Kobo:   https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/the-day-lorinda-flew

Omnilit:   https://www.omnilit.com/product-thedaylorindaflew-1936029-237.html

Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/586501

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27244842-the-day-lorinda-flew

 

CookiesSchrodinger’s Cookies

The Cities of Luna extra-short freebie

December 2015

5,540 words

Pico’s life is turned upside-down when her grandmother from Earth moves in with them. She seems nice enough, but the blue tin that is supposed to be full of delicious cookies sometimes mysteriously holds sewing supplies instead.

To whom you should gift this book: Anyone who has opened a blue tin, anticipating cookies, only to find sewing supplies instead.

Amazon:   http://www.amazon.com/Schrodingers-Cookies-Cities-Luna-Book-ebook/dp/B018FP8JF4/

Barnes & Noble:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/schrodingers-cookies-amybeth-inverness/1123028406?ean=2940152485882

Kobo:   https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/schrodinger-s-cookies

Omnilit:   https://www.omnilit.com/product-schrodingerscookies-1936030-237.html

Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/595447

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28218280-schrodinger-s-cookies

 

 

SleighRideSleigh Ride

The Cities of Luna Book 5

December 2015

9,050 words

Fredrick worries about getting home in time for Christmas, since his business trip has been postponed several times. When he finishes an entire day early, he uses the extra time to stop at the North Pole… the lunar North Pole, that is, and buy a few last minute Christmas presents. But a meteor strikes close the transit line he needs to get home, and he finds himself turning to Santa Claus for a little transportation help.

 

To whom should you gift this book? Anyone who makes too many tamales when they’re expecting company.

Amazon:   http://www.amazon.com/Sleigh-Ride-Cities-Luna-Book-ebook/dp/B017L6YKMO/

Barnes & Noble:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sleigh-ride-amybeth-inverness/1123147334?ean=2940158067686

Kobo:   https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/sleigh-ride-4

Omnilit:   https://www.omnilit.com/product-sleighride-1951184-237.html

Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/590625

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27779853-sleigh-ride

 

 

 

NYC 03Between the Moon and New York City

The Cities of Luna Book 6

January 2016

8,190 words

If Atuf had arrived at Megalopolis just a few hours earlier, he could have avoided the transit strike and gone down to Earth. But since he’s stranded between the moon and New York City, he might as well make the best use of his time. And maybe find true love. Or a cat.

To whom should you gift this book? Someone who lives in another hemisphere.

Amazon:   http://www.amazon.com/Between-Moon-York-City-Cities-ebook/dp/B01A86GV0S/

Barnes & Noble:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/between-the-moon-and-new-york-city-amybeth-inverness/1123298018?ean=2940157622824

Kobo:   https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/between-the-moon-and-new-york-city

Omnilit:   NA

Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/605635

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28500104-between-the-moon-and-new-york-city

 

 

008 NeighborsMy Weird, Beige, Foreign Neighbors

The Cities of Luna Book 8

February 2016

7,900 words

Living in Old Town Sinus Medii, Simon is used to the idiosyncrasies of systems that are more than a hundred years old. But when a new delicatessen moves in next door, the odors that come through their shared air system into his upscale tailor shop threaten to force him out of business. He wants to be a good neighbor, but he has to do something about the smell.

To whom should you gift this book? Someone weird. Or beige. Or feisty. Or your neighbor.

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Weird-Beige-Foreign-Neighbors-Cities-ebook/dp/B01BWGKPCS/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-weird-beige-foreign-neighbors-amybeth-inverness/1123451139?ean=2940157800161

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/my-weird-beige-foreign-neighbors

Omnilit: NA

Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/616356

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29218594-my-weird-beige-foreign-neighbors

 

Robbing 02Robbing the Hood

The Cities of Luna Book 9 (free short)

March 2016

2,280 words

What do you do when you discover the most affluent neighborhood on the moon is stealing air? Steal it back, of course!

To whom should you gift this book? Your favorite HVAC guy.

If any of these links do not list the story for free, please let that e-tailer know it should be!

Amazon:   http://www.amazon.com/Robbing-Hood-Cities-Luna-Book-ebook/dp/B01D9GEOP8/

Barnes & Noble:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/robbing-the-hood-amybeth-inverness/1123575014?ean=2940152934328

Kobo:   https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/robbing-the-hood

Omnilit: NA

Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/624491

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29604805-robbing-the-hood

 

 

 

Pastornack 02Pastor Pastornack’s Sabbatical

The Cities of Luna Book 10

March 2016

10,710 words

The only way Pastor Pastornack is able to convince her congregation that she will really and truly be unavailable during her sabbatical is to leave Earth completely. Yet once she arrives on the moon, she realizes she has no idea who she is when she’s not immersed in the life of her church. Recently widowed, with a grown daughter who hardly speaks to her, Pastor Pastornack looks up at the big blue marble that is her home and strives to find an identity that is not defined by her relationship to someone else.

To whom should you gift this book? Any clergy or seminarian.

Amazon:   http://www.amazon.com/Pastor-Pastornacks-Sabbatical-Cities-Luna-ebook/dp/B01DD0S6T0/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

Barnes & Noble:   http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pastor-pastornacks-sabbatical-amybeth-inverness/1123567660?ean=2940157947132

Kobo:   https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/pastor-pastornack-s-sabbatical

Omnilit: NA

Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/624493

Goodreads:   https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29604807-pastor-pastornack-s-sabbatical

 

MoonDragons 02Moon Dragons

The Cities of Luna Book 11

Uncle Dave has faithfully carried on his father’s storytelling tradition, spinning tales of the dragons that live in the crevasses and caverns around the lunar city of Arrakeen. Then an odd encounter makes him wonder if perhaps there is a grain of truth behind the stories after all.

To whom should you gift this book? Dave. Everyone knows at least one Dave…

Coming April 2016…look for it when the moon is full.

Amazon:

Barnes & Noble:

Kobo:

Omnilit:

Smashwords:

Goodreads:

 

 

 

Backbone

The Cities of Luna Book 12

Coming May 2016…look for it when the moon is full.

 

 

 

 

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Machete Order

Posted on April 9, 2016 by AmyBeth Inverness

Star Wars EarsAlthough I write SciFi and have been a Star Wars fan all my life, I had not heard of “Machete Order” until yesterday. It came up when a facebook friend asked what order her daughter should watch the Star Wars movies. I decided to use that for a SciFi Question of the Day.

Instead of asking “Do you watch them in chronological order (1-7) or the order they came out (4-6, 1-3, then 7) I kept it open-ended and simply said “what order?” Sometimes people surprise me with answers I never would expect.

More than one thread came up with “Machete Order.”

To quote the CNN article:

Rod Hilton, a blogger and programmer who lives in Colorado, wrote a lengthy post on his blog, Absolutely No Machete Juggling, analyzing the fan-favorite series back in November 2011. In it he suggests that Episode I need not necessarily come first and instead he recommends starting, the way anyone over the age of ten did, with Episode IV: A New Hope.

This idea has merit. Of course, as a 45yo fan, I saw the movies in the order they came out, starting in Kindergarten. (Unlike my sad lapse in the Star Trek films, when I saw Search for Spock without seeing Wrath of Khan. I had no idea why they needed to find Spock. But I digress…)

We’re currently reading the junior novelizations of the Star Wars films to our 8yo daughter at bedtime. We started with Episode 7 right after seeing the movie in the theaters. Then hubby and I decided to start with Episode 1 and move forward. We’re on 3 right now.

I know that this will kill the revelation “Luke…I am your father!” But then again, that’s such a huge part of pop culture, the fact is spoiled for most people long before they watch the films. I’m pretty sure our girls have seen a few of the movies already, although they probably don’t remember much because they get distracted and wander away.

So I wonder… has anyone tried Machete Order for a first time viewing? I’m interested in hearing how it went.

 

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“Well, Crap.”

Posted on April 6, 2016 by AmyBeth Inverness

Pastornack 02

“Well, Crap.”

This is a quote from one of my favorite pastors, Rev. Mark Pitton. The quote plays a significant role in the latest story from The Cities of Luna, Pastor Pastornack’s Sabbatical. The story is dedicated to him.

By the way, a PDF is available for free to any and all members of the clergy and/or seminary or anything remotely resembling the profession. Just ask me on facebook or send Gmail to USNessie.

My husband and I tried for eleven years to have a baby. Our church in Montpelier, Vermont, followed along through the years as we eventually became foster parents to a wild little redhead. Her adoption was finalized a few years later, and she was baptized with her new name the Sunday after. It happened to be Easter Sunday.

Besides enjoying the attention from her baptism, our daughter had the boon of announcing to the congregation that day “And Mommy’s pregnant!”

Our lives were filled with overwhelming joy and trepidation. Yes, the adoption was final at last, and we no longer had to sit through the hearings for termination of parental rights, listening to all the awful things our daughter suffered with her birth family. But there was still a long road ahead, dealing with the ramifications of that abuse. Yes, I was finally pregnant, but the list of things that could go wrong echoed in my brain.

Our younger daughter was born healthy, quacking like a duck, by unplanned C-section very close to her due date. I was induced due to preeclampsia, After thirty-six hours of labor, I still hadn’t progressed, so we decided to do the C-section. Other than an odd little dimple near her tailbone, she was healthy and happy and we spent the next month in baby boot camp.

Sisters waiting to see the doctor.

Sisters waiting to see the doctor.

It wasn’t until she started walking that we noticed something wrong. There seemed to be a lump on her back. However, as any mother of a toddler knows, they’re too squirmy to be able to check something like that for sure.

I took her to the pediatrician. Our doctor is very good at checking out any and all of Mom’s concerns. She, too, felt the lump, but it was pretty small.

The lump.

The lump.

She told us to check back a few weeks later at the baby’s regular appointment, so she could compare.

At that appointment, the pediatrician said that the lump had grown, and she wanted my daughter to have an ultrasound. After that appointment, the technicians told me to wait.

They were sending us over to pediatric oncology.

Immediately.

Mommy's scared, but the goobear knows where the goldfish crackers are, so it's all good.

Mommy’s scared, but the goobear knows where the goldfish crackers are, so it’s all good.

That word made my heart freeze. I knew what lumps could be…the dreaded “C word.” But my baby? After such a long journey to have her?

So we went to oncology. Not long after, my baby was scheduled for an MRI as part of a pre-surgery preparation.

Back to church.

I’ve never been shy about sharing joys and concerns. This time, I told the congregation that my baby, not even a year old, might have cancer.

The pastors are a husband and wife team. Pastor Amy continued to lead the service. Pastor Mark came down, sat next to me in the pew, put his arm around me, and said…

“Well, crap.”

Ready for her MRI.

Ready for her MRI.

It was the most comforting thing anyone could have said at that moment. Yes. Crap. Crap indeed.

I just cried.

I’ll summarize the rest, and hurry on to the Happily-Ever-After. The MRI showed that, yes, there was a lipoma. But there was something else…a tethered spinal cord. This is when the nerves at the end of the spine, instead of spreading out where they need to go, are stuck like someone put a piece of gum on her tailbone. Left untreated, she could eventually be paralyzed.

Scar from the first surgery.

Scar from the first surgery.

It was good we found it early. This happened seven years ago, and she’s a healthy, active eight-year-old now.

The lipoma was a side effect of the tethered cord. One surgery to remove the lump was relatively simple, just an overnight in the hospital to make sure she’s OK, and it turned out to be benign.

The second surgery was more complicated. A couple of months later, she was admitted again, and the pediatric neurosurgeon operated to fix the tethered spinal cord.

Comfort from big sister.

Comfort from big sister.

For a scary three days, I watched as my daughter, who had just learned to walk, lay quietly in bed, flat on her back, with strict instructions posted over her crib that she could only be moved by a ‘log roll.’

The little pink car.

The little pink car.

After those three days, though, she was able to sit up. She didn’t seem to be in any pain. She enjoyed being pushed around the pediatric ward in the little pink car.

A year later, her follow-up declared her to be fine. Seven years later, she remembers some of what happened, but mostly because we’ve told her the story. She knows she has not only a weird dimple, but two surgical scars on her back.

But she’s fine.

This is how I take incidents and observations from real life and put them into fiction. Pastor Amara Pastornack isn’t dealing with the prospect of a medical procedure on her very young daughter. Her daughter has grown and flown the nest. But life has dealt her with plenty of crap, much of which is much too personal for anyone in her life to offer any real condolences.

No one’s going to sit next to her and say “Well, crap.”

Not every story in The Cities of Luna is this heavy. But the stories are all about the people…the Loonies…and what they go through in their everyday lives. Some of it is heavy, like in the upcoming story Backbone. Others, like My Weird, Beige, Foreign Neighbors are much lighter.

But they are all very real, even though they are fiction, even though they are science fiction.

Because they are about humans. And whether those humans live in Europe, Asia, or on the moon…

They are people.

Like you and I.

And Pastor P.

And my daughter.recovery

Posted in Cities of Luna, Commentary & Musing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Outcast No More

Posted on March 2, 2016 by AmyBeth Inverness
CO sign

Yes, it is February and we’re in shirtsleeves.

It’s five in the morning and I’m sitting in a Super 8 in Colorado Springs, watching channel 13 news on mute with closed captioning on. The rest of the family is still asleep, although my husband is stirring and the girls occasionally make little noises. We arrived late last night.

I’ve visited Colorado a few times in the past twenty-seven years, but I never dreamed it would take me almost three decades to get back here to stay. I’ve missed the mountains, I’ve missed the people, I’ve missed the way of life. Most keenly, I’ve missed the infinite little indescribable tones, words, and actions that are colloquial here and misunderstood everywhere else.

I’m home.

I’ve had the tagline A Writer by Birth, A Redhead by Choice, and An Outcast of Colorado by Temporary Necessity since 2011. I’m still writing, and my red hair was freshened up with a streak of blue and green before we left Vermont, but I’m no longer an outcast. I’m here, this time to stay.

Time for a new tagline…

The transition time is not over. Today we’ll start looking at housing, but hubby has to return to Vermont for work since he still doesn’t have a job here in Colorado. Getting the girls into school and all the other details of relocating will still take some time.

When I found out this transition was happening, back in November, I stopped working on my NaNoWriMo story and concentrated on all the details of moving. It was neither simple nor easy, but I won’t bore you with the details. I kept up with publication schedule for The Cities of Luna, but didn’t do much else, not even promo. That’s going to change soon. As we settle into our new life, I’m diving back into my writing career full throttle. I have some promo in mind for my lunar shorts, and I will choose one of my romance projects to flesh out and query.

This is March, which means the first Round of Words in 80 Days for the year is almost over. I do have some goals for now:

  1. Revise Pastor Pastornack’s Sabbatical and send it to my publisher. It’s an Easter story, so it needs to come out this month. Usually we work much further ahead, but things have been wonky in transition.
  2. Look at what stories should come out in the following months.
  3. Write some fluffy trash to get the cobwebs out.
  4. Connect with the local writers, many of whom I already know.
  5. Think through what realistic goals should be for round two.

Want some light reading? You’re much lighter on the moon, whose gravitational pull is one sixth that of Earth. Nine covers with title

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A Quickie

Posted on February 9, 2016 by AmyBeth Inverness

Couch goofyI’m here!

I’m in a hotel, and will be for a couple more weeks. Then a week to drive cross country with the family. Then finding housing in Colorado Springs.

New stories from The Cities of Luna are still coming out on schedule with every full moon!

More interesting posts will follow after we’re settled in The Springs.

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The Hotel

Posted on January 28, 2016 by AmyBeth Inverness

20160128_144359We’ve been in the hotel for a week now. To summarize: my parents sold the house we had been renting from them. For a long list of personal and practical reasons, we decided to move back to Colorado where I grew up. Hubby has been applying for jobs, but nothing has come through yet. We’re living in a mini-suite hotel for a few weeks while hoping that a job offer will come through.

Whether or not a job offer comes through soon, we’ll load up the mini-van and the Uhaul and head west in February. We may have to separate for a while, with hubby couch-surfing in Vermont so he can keep his current job, while I take the girls to Colorado Springs.

In all the chaos and uncertainty of moving, it’s been a huge comfort to know that all my writing work is on the computer and in the cloud. The only physical things I need to move are tools such as my laptop, and mementos such as my desktop tchotchkes.

My time, concentration, and almost all my spoons have been used up in the move. I stopped writing twelve days into NaNoWriMo, and I’m just now gearing up to get back into the swing. It won’t be a full swing; I’m just concentrating on The Cities of Luna for now. I won’t be expanding out to other projects until after we are settled in Colorado.

One fantastic thing about moving to The Springs is the Pikes Peak Writers! This is a wonderful group that is incredibly supportive of each other. We’ll be arriving right before the annual conference. I don’t know whether I’ll be able to attend or not, especially since my hubby might be in Vermont while I’m taking care of our girls in Colorado.

Between the Moon and NYC camNYC and Neighborse out a few days ago, and My Weird, Beige, Foreign Neighbors comes out next month. A new story every time the moon is full!

I unintentionally have a cat/dog theme going on… the cat plays an important role in January’s story, and the dog figures into February’s story.

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Happy New Year!

Posted on December 30, 2015 by AmyBeth Inverness

2015 12 30The moving truck will be here next week.

The house closes the week after.

Not much writing has happened.

Not much promo has happened.

And that’s OK.

Life transitions are hard, but I am so looking forward to being back in Colorado!

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Gah!

Posted on December 17, 2015 by AmyBeth Inverness

Packing and purging consume my life at the moment. Yes… there is a release coming up, Sleighride from The Cities of Luna. The Biblical Legends Anthology Deluge came out in paperback (YEAH!) and I have other stories in the pipeline.

But, for the next few weeks, until the house closes in January, I won’t have time for much of anything blog-wise.

We went to Montreal on Saturday, just so the kids could say they've been to Canada! It was a quick trip, two hours up, two hours back.

We went to Montreal on Saturday, just so the kids could say they’ve been to Canada! It was a quick trip, two hours up, two hours back.

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