Category: Writing

montage part ii (2013)

Dear Internet,
Below is bits and pieces of entries I wrote and never posted for some reason. They are posted out of context because in some cases, up to years later, I don’t recall my train of thought that started or was to end them. Enjoy them, fragmented thoughts and all.

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localized resource files for this application could not be loaded
Our hot plans this weekend were to separate the whole house cleaning over the course of the weekend as well as do some other much needed errands that cannot get done for whatever reason during the week.
Instead of even loosely following that intention, we spent most of the afternoon doing tech support on my various equipment. To wit, my primary device, my Macbook Air, is seemingly falling apart after less than two years of life. What makes this sting harder is earlier this year, a month after my warranty had expired, my logic board died. Two choices: Pay $300 to ship it to the Apple Depot where they fix all the broken things for one price or buy a new Mac. We went with the Depot option since that was the obviously the cheaper route.
My secondary device has been TheHusband’s old Macbook Pro, which I’ve turned into a desktop ages ago. While it is going on six years it, it’s still functioning like a champ except for two things: It’s slow and the battery doesn’t work so I have to always keep it plugged in (hence why it’s been the desktop). Despite the improvements TheHusband has made to our wireless network since we’ve lived here, my office remains a strange black hole zone of creativity for all of my devices (including phone and iPad). Since the Macbook Pro was going to give up the ghost at one point, I decided that I would prep it to sell to Gazelle or Amazon Trade-In…

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The minging of the red leather jacket
The feeling of almost overwhelming confidence. Bad ass and dangerous to know.
Association with the past and the properties associated with it (smell, feel, visual, and other associations).

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invoking the 17 names of kale
On our way home from the cabin this weekend, we stopped to grab a few groceries before finally settling in for the weekend. I ran into a girlfriend I had once ran into before at another grocery store over a year ago and whose name I could never remember.

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Eat, Pray, and Pomme Frites
In the last year or so, in conversations with friends who seemingly are also going through a crisis of identity, the one constant that seems to be threaded through all of these conversations is spirituality. Not necessarily a lack of, but that somehow spirituality plays a role, no matter how minute, in what they are currently feeling.
There are those that identify with a particular faith and use that faith as guiding post to get them out of their funk or there are those who have a facade of faith because they feel that outing out their true feelings would be disastrous to their community (family, friends) and there are those who are wandering around from faith to faith looking for one to fit their spiritual needs. There are those who just don’t know what the bloody hell they are looking for. I’m in the last category.
What is remarkable about these conversations is that what is revealed is revealed one on one. There is no publicity or declaration of faith (or lack of faith for the faithless). Some who follow what is considered to be alternative religions have said they stopped talking about their faith systems publicly because they were tired of being insulted and ridiculed, others don’t want their families or friends to know and yet others feel that their private life is just indeed that: private.\n\nI was raised Catholic, went to Catholic school and even graduated from a Catholic college for my undergrad. But I have not prescribed to the faith since I was an early teenager and I’ve rejected most of Judeo-Christianity faith systems since I was a teen. I would not go so far as to call myself an atheist, for I do believe that there is “something” bigger than us for it seems absurd to accept we are all there is in the universe. While I don’t go chasing UFOs, it doesn’t seem that ridiculous to believe that there are other worlds out there that exist.

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Of Courtly Love and Bawdiness

King Arthur In Combat, By Robert De Barron (14th Century)
King Arthur In Combat, By Robert De Barron (14th Century)

Faithful defender as you are of those dependent on you, accept under your patronage this book which is published for your pleasure. Accept me, too, as your writer, so that, reclining in the shade of a tree which spreads so wide, and sheltered from envious and malicious enemies, I may be able in peaceful harmony to make music on the reed-pipe of a muse who really belongs to you.
– Geoffrey of Monmouth, The History of the Kings of Britain (1136 CE).

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Heritage under a Tartan
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/may/20/the-return-of-scots

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In which we buy a cabin and the renovations begin
The plan for the summer was pretty easy: First, get TheHusband his summer beater so that he would have transportation while living in the cabin all summer during the renovation. Once we were up at the cabin, then we’d start on the work.

  • Rip up and replace the flooring on the main level and the loft
  • Replace the blinds
  • Replace the deck screen door
  • Replace the front and back doors and screens
  • Retile the foyer
  • Gut and redo the kitchen
  • Replace the appliances from 1972
  • Furnish the place
  • Gut and re-do the loft bathroom

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That ye mow taken heede, And ben expert of this..This dicipline, and this crafty science
When you find out you have a THING, suddenly you become an expert. Item, topic, diagnosis, interest, hobby, whatever. Doesn’t matter. Take up skeet shooting?1 You’ve now also the gun club’s in trap shooting and sporting clays. Find out you have a malady of some sort? Doesn’t matter WHAT the malady IS, you’re the now the foremost expert even if you’ve never heard of the condition until 5 seconds ago and the doctor giving you the diagnosis has written books on the topic.
The THING is happening to you…

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For the wont of great lips

  • Chantecaille Luminous Gloss in Lychee
    • Part of a BirchBox shipment, I was intrigued with the color but found against my skin the sample didn’t work with me. The gloss isn’t sticky, but the single time it was worn it did not last up to six hours as claimed. With a $34.00 price tag, I expect gloss to be a lot more than what this promises. The sample certainly wasn’t special enough for me to consider looking into this product some more.
  • Maybelline SuperStay14 in Ravishing Rouge (065)
    • Great color, but does not last 14 hours. Does not last 1/2 a hour. After conditioning my lips (sloughing off dead skin), I used a lip brush to line with the color and then filled in using the tube. Color looked great but was not moisturizing as claimed, so I added a layer of clear, light gloss to go over. My coffee cup looks like it was part of a blood bath and within 1/2 a hour, the color was almost completely gone.
  • Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Suede in Trendsetter (085)
    • A brilliant idea similar to the Sephora Ultra Vinyl Lip Pencil, the product is sold as food proof, will last all day, while it is moisturizing with matte color. The application I found to be a bit imprecise and the color, Trendsetter, which starts out as a great red ends up as hot pink after I was finished with my coffee. This definitely did not last all day, it barely lasted a cup of coffee. Because of the formula, after the initial color had worn off, I was stuck with nearly hot pink lips all day until I could use oil based makeup to take the remaining stain off.
  • Sephora Glossy Gloss Galore in Femme Fatal Red (7) and Glossy Gloss in Night Out (19)
    • I really, really wanted to like these since I tend to like Sephora’s eponymous products, but I could not get over the stickiness of the gloss and how thick it felt against my lips. Even with a thin application, I ofen found I was having to rub off a lot more than I was putting on. Even doing normal activities, like talking, rubbed the glosses off fairly quickly. They are fine if you just want to sit there, with your mouth closed, and maybe even some slight breathing.
  • Sephora Ultra Vinyl Lip Pencil in Fancy Red (2)
    • Another product by Sephora I really wanted to like, and now discontinued, the idea behind these pencils was to give you the control and matte of a lip pencil, the moisturizing of a lipstick, with a titch of shine like a gloss. Except that didn’t quite happen. If you’re lips were not ultra conditioned before you applied this product, your lips started chafing dried bits of pencil color off during the course of the day. And course, even with the promise of gloss built in, I had to apply gloss after immediate application to get the gloss shine and keep reapplying through the day. The pencil was also prone to feathering, which drove me insane.

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xoxo,
Lisa

This Day in Lisa-Universe: 2014, 2002, 2002

montage part i (2014)

Dear Internet,
Below is bits and pieces of entries I wrote and never posted for some reason. They are posted out of context because in some cases, up to years later, I don’t recall my train of thought that started or was to end them. Enjoy them, fragmented thoughts and all.

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Goodbye Grand Rapids (Again)
Grand Rapids, had, in many ways been good to me. It is here I had my first kiss (Nick Hill). It is here that I learned how to drive; how to roll a joint; and went about discovering myself. It is here that I owned my first home, lived with a husband, and received my first degree.
TheBassist has been in town for the last week to help me prep for Natalie’s wedding and help me pack up my little apartment to move to parts south. The week has been insanely busy, with most days us out and about for 10-12 hours at a stretch. It was nice having a look through this city through his eyes as with them, I developed a crush on Grand Rapids that had long been missing.
There is a lot to be said for this city and its’ stories, but I am not one of the narrators.
I always felt this city was no place for me. I still feel that way. I will always be a wanderer of the parts unknown. Not as glamorous as Karen, who knocks off continents when most people count counties, but wandering all the same. I thought for sure ThePlan would for sure guide me in the right direction

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When Things Fall Apart
As I sat on my nominally comfortable couch this morning at my shrink’s, telling him of the last events in my life up until that moment, he kept commenting on my apparent calmness. Here I was, sitting there drinking my mint mocha latte with soy and feeling, well, pretty calm. Caffeine was not jacking me up and while I was looking a bit disheveled (I woke up late and didn’t have time for a shower), all in all, I felt fairly at peace with the world.
If you look over the events of my life in the past year, this seemed very odd indeed. I was embroiled in a lawsuit, divorced my husband, and crisscrossed the US too many times to count. I am living in a small apartment, my savings dwindling faster than a dog’s winter coat, wondering what the next step is.
Irons are in the fire, as they are wont to be, but…

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that which I fear

I’ve been thinking about fears and my peccadilloes…

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Top 5 Breakups

  1. Justin (TheExHusband), part i and ii
  2. Thom (TheBassist) part i, part ii
  3. Miguel
  4. Jon (TheEx)
  5. Chuck

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heinrich maneuver

It’s December 1. How is the year almost over?
In November, Grand Rapids received 31″ of snow which is half the amount the city I’m currently in received all of last year. I laugh because TheBassist offered to shovel my car out when the snow hits and I thumped my chest declaring where I was from. Puny humans and their weak snow showers are no match for me!
It’s been a solid week since I’ve been on the drugs and so far I’m starting to see some relief insofar my moods are stabilizing and I’m not yo-yoing everywhere. However, mania has ramped up a titch but I’ve been trying to channel it into good (like sorting out holiday shopping and cards) and getting some writing work done. I will have to ditch caffeine again because of the drug changes, which is fine. I happen to like decaf coffee just fine, though the sweet, sweet nectar that is Coke will be hardest to kick.
The combo of Abilify/Lamictal I’m currently on could take 5-8 weeks to stabilize, though some friends have said they felt pangs of relief in the first week or two. Since my drug metabolism tends to be faster, which is part of my fucking problem mediating the bipolar, I could see results much sooner. The household I’m in is well versed in variety of mental disorders, including bipolar, so I am at least safe hands while I go through this drug regime again.
We, TheSoonToBeExHusband and I, will have some relief of stressors soon as the house closes in the next few weeks and the divorce finalizes in the next few months. I’m still in a holding pattern for…

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Love Actually Is All Around

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAD2_MVMUlE
That’s it. Nothing else matters.
But when you’ve been looking your entire life for this thing and when you’ve been running your entire life from the things that hurt you, you get bogged down on the tangibles rather than the intangible. You put a price on love because western society dictates that love is not the sum of the human heart or what the body can give, but what can be provided as proof of love.

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Enter Title Here

In the fall of 2013, N3wsbank emailed the public services librarian at MPOW with a complaint about me. It seems I had said something disparaging about N3wsbank on Twitter and what was MPOW going to do about it? The public services librarian, who was contacted because she was listed as the contact for N3wsbank, immediately fired an email of apology for my behavior and then notified my director of the supposed transgression.

Several days after that occurred, I received a cryptic email from my director about my participation on social media and would I like to meet with her? Via email, I asked her to clarify what she meant so I could prepare for the meeting. She refused. She implored to meet with her immediately in her office.
During the meeting, I was told of the above scenario. I asked for a copy of N3wsbank’s email (which six months later I never received) and a copy of the offending tweet. N3wsbank apparently never followed up with the offending tweet nor was there any, to my knowledge, return phone calls from N3wsbank’s VP of Sales (who apparently also called my director as well as emailed the public services librarian) about my alleged digression.

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Welcome to Pontyberry, Boyle, and/or Portwenn

Port Isaac, Cornwall, the setting for Portwenn.
Port Isaac, Cornwall, the setting for Portwenn. Via Wikipedia Commons

Population 1.
I watch a fair amount of television, which is a nice way of saying I watch an absolute disgusting amount of it.

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Le mie passioni, parte 4: BBC History
(Le Mie passioni, Italian translation of “my passions,” is a an occasional series of things I really, really love.)

Hist_171_Cover_webDear Internet,

A couple of years ago, I started a project, entitled Le Mie Passioni, occasionally documenting all of the things that I really and truly love. Italian for “my passions,” it was to kind of give insight of things I’m digging on a grand scale instead of flavor of the week.

While I was still working at $corporate_bookstore a couple of years ago, one of my coworkers, Mr. Troy, made the recommendation to me of his favorite magazines and books right before I left the employ of the store to finish my

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xoxo,
Lisa

This Day in Lisa-Universe: 1999

Read. Write. Everyday.

Dear Internet,
Rules on how to be a successful writer are as fluid as how to be a successful librarian. Everyone and their sixteen cousins has an opinion on what the “right” or “correct” way to get ahead in this tough industry. I’ve been reading blogs, books, magazines on/about writing for years and the only consistent everyone agrees upon is:

Read. Write. Everyday.

That’s the easy part. Now that’s done, you start asking harder questions such as: Where to submit? How to submit? Should I go indie or should I go traditional? How do I invoice for work? How do I do X,Y,Z? What kind of coffee should I be drinking? Should I brush my teeth today? I mean, there are a fuck ton of questions and ten times the answers.
It’s overwhelming. Confusing. Often contradictory. No wonder people give up.
I’m friends with a lot of writers: some who are traditionally published, others who are indie, and others yet who a hybrid of the two. Most write fiction, some also write in other areas such as articles for news sites, non-fiction, graphic novels, and everything in between. Some dabble in other arts or may have a job or a career in a field not related to their work. But the common thread between all of them is that like librarianship, calling yourself a “writer” really on scratches the surface. It can mean anything and everything in one go.
You write? You’re a writer. Simple. It’s great if you have a tight story and your prose is perfect, but unless you’re content to write for yourself and not have the world see your work, this is the hard shit. The difficult shit. Writing is actually the easy part, it’s the admin work that kills you.
Since I have the opportunity to quit my full time job and write fiction for a year, one thing that is important to me was transparency. Here is what I did, this is what worked and what didn’t. This is what I’ll do again, and this is where else I’ll go. All the gory, juicy, and miserable stuff that no one wants to talk about. And to make sure it is without bullshit. Because I swear to all the gods in the sky, if I stumble across one more author’s site hawking their classes and wares with borderline exploitative pricing, I am going to scream.

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It’s been nearly a year, to the day, that I wrote this and in light of what I wrote yesterday, it seemed apropos to post. And it’s a swift kick in the pants to keep my word on the transparency of the projects.
xoxo,
Lisa

This week in Lisa-Universe: 2014, 2003, 2000

in which we have reading and writing adventures

Barker at the grounds at the Vermont state fair, Rutland (LOC)
Barker at the grounds at the Vermont state fair, circa 1941. Courtesy of The Commons, Flickr.

Dear Internet,
It’s a long, lovely holiday weekend and I’m digging into my stack of books, aided by hot tea, for entertainment. Since my own book has stalled, I thought it would be a good time to take notes on the books I’m reading to see what worked and what didn’t and apply it to, hopefully, jump start my own writing as well to see what makes me happy reading. (AKA, these notes are mainly more for me than you, but hey, if you get something out of it; Awesome!)
The number one rule you’ll see anywhere on writing is, “read more,” but is that all? Yes and no. Below are some of my notes from chewing through a few books this weekend.
♥If influenced by a particular era, do the research. In reading a book set during the Belle Époque (France’s version of the Edwardian era / American Gilded age), the book should have a feel for that period. This one did not and it felt what details were made available were slapped on from Wikipedia. Just no.
♥Alternating POV should move the story along, not show the same scene from different prescriptive.  Thus far, I’ve finished three books this weekend, of which two used alternating POV as a story device. One used it well to advance the story, spending less time on recreating the setting, while the other not so much. In the second, I felt as if the author was slapping my hand for not getting something right so they had to tell me again.
♥Chapters are not always necessary. Yes, they break up the scenes and action, but if done stealthy, the shift between could remain seamless without the use of chapters. Chapters may be like periods, pauses to break up the scenes, but are not necessary. Terry Pratchett was the king of lack of chapters. In one of the books I read this weekend, the switching happened with the alternating points of view and was so seamless, it took me half the book to realise there were no chapters.
♥The length of a book, by page number, does not necessitate how good it is. The ones on the longer side are more than likely just like to hear themselves read. Get it? (They all can’t be winners.) One book I’ve read recently, and was quite good, was a slim 150 pages. Another book that was pure dreck clocked in at 400. Length does not mean everything, as much as we like to believe.
♥Give the book an old college try and read the first 50 pages. I’ll go out on a limb and say this applies to writing as well; if you can’t make the story palatable within the first 50 pages, neither will your readers. And readers? There are too many good books for you to read terrible ones.
♥If heavily using phrases of a language that isn’t your primary language or the colloquialisms of a particular thing, include an appendix of sorts. It’s presumptuous to think your readers are going to have the same breadth of knowledge on the same topic you’re writing about. An aforementioned book set in the Belle Époque period heavily used ballet terms and dropped French like it was ice cream sprinkles. This makes sense because this was the subject matter, BUT if you aren’t familiar with ballet or spoke even rudimentary French, a lot of what was happening with the characters would be lost on you. Yes, I get it, we learn by reading outside our comfort zone but there is a difference between needing to look up “demagogue” and wondering what in the hell is “battement développé” and having translate.google.com by your side.
There were a few more main things I forgot to write down, but this is the gist of it. So it is true, the more you read, the more you learn. Hrm.
x0x0,
Lisa
P.S. Last winter I decided to put together a newsletter for those who read my stuff but can’t be arsed to check it out daily (no worries, I get it, I do!) so this is a monthly round up. I’ve decided to resurrect it again! Called Skaldic Press Presents, you can check out the archive here (http://tinyletter.com/amostunreliablenarrator/archive) and subscribe here (https://tinyletter.com/amostunreliablenarrator).
P.P.S. There are GIFs involved!

This day in Lisa-Universe: 2014, 2014, 2000, 1999

looking for book reviewers / beta readers

Dear Internet,
So – who knew! Memoirs / biographies / non-fiction books are not in high demand for book review bloggers on the interwebs. Even better, if you have profanity or explicit sex in the book, the number plummets even more.
So I’m taking this into my own hands, as one should.
book reviewers
If you’re up for the challenge of reviewing The Lisa Chronicles, I’ll send you an uncorrected ebook (.mobi format) ARC if you’ll do the following:

  • Read The Lisa Chronicles
  • Write a review and rate it on Amazon and/or GoodReads and/or LibraryThing or similar site
  • Let me know when the review is up so I can give you ever loving thanks. 🙂

If interested, contact me or comment below.
beta readers
I also need beta readers for my fiction / creative non-fiction. I had a list from a few years ago but I’m not going to presume that people would still be interested. The writing, for now, is going to be under 3,000 words. At some point in the near future, I’ll be adding in book chapters and creative non-fiction.
You don’t have to comment on every story and some stories do have a time line, but if you think you can comment a few times a month, I would love to have you.
If interested, sign up for the discussion list.
Questions?
xoxo,
Lisa

This Day in Lisa-Universe: 2010, 2010, 2001, 1999

WIP: January writing schedule summary / February writing goals

Dear Internet,
Italicized is the original list. Regular text is add-ons. Bold is completion and totals.
Projects for January (apparently I was overly ambitious):

  • Plow through current library loans and ARCs from NetGalley and get reviews written
  • Collate notes on the Edwardian mystery, continue with research, and get most of the structure sorted
  • Collate notes on the 45th parallel project and continue with research
  • Research (aka read) stream of consciousness novels
  • Finish or shelve in-progress short stories and submit completed ones; submit at least one a week
    • Total submitted: 3
      • To be fair, I had forgotten about this particular goal, but, I did do it and finished three in a week and submitted all three!
  • Get most of Vol 1 of secret Kindle project formatted and edited – Completed January 31
    • Huzzah! Finished this on time and started the print version. Thank the gods this first bit is over.
    • Vol 2 (year 1999) and Vol 3 (2000) started.
  • Continue note carding ideas / quotes / etc for future projects
  • Query/submit non-fiction pieces
  • Continue shilling to get more submissions for so glad is my heart
    • Launch is planned for February 16!
  • Outline and begin 3rd Triangle novel
  • Blog writing count for January
    • Words written: 7,633
    • Number of posts: 13

February projects:
The above, plus!

  • Print proof The Lisa Chronicles Vol. 1
  • Finish organizing The Lisa Chronicles Vol. 2

Previous WIP

xoxo,
Lisa

This Day in Lisa-Universe: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

and with that, it is done

Dear Internet,
My deadline for completing the book for Amazon was January 22 at midnight. I made it with 1.5 hours to spare. It felt like I was back in grad school all over again! But the book is finished and ready for pre-orders.

TLC-Cover-Final
Operators are standing by! Pre-order me now!

From the forward,

Dear Internet,
In May of 1997 I moved, for a boy, to California to gain riches and fame. In July of 1998, having ditched the boy and gained neither riches or fame, I started putting my diary online. I named it The Lisa Chronicles for who better to tell my life story than me? While I didn’t think I was extraordinary, I seemed to continually get into extraordinary circumstances. What I also wanted was the ability to connect to others who were like me: the scared, the frightened, the unsure, the outsiders, and any other group that felt rejected by society. Adding in 1998 I wanted to eat the world, what better way to do that was through the Internet?
What can you expect from the first volume? Love, conflict, obsessions with people, places, and things. Rotating cast of characters and adventures. Sprinkle of song lyrics here and there. Pop culture references galore. Sex. More sex. Profane words and a bipolar girl desperate to connect with a world she did not understand.
While this work has been edited for grammar, clarification, and the obvious typo, it remains largely unchanged from when it first appeared online nearly two decades ago.
And lastly, every word here is true.
xoxo,
Lisa

I have been asked by several people on the process, editing, and WHY I decided to go to Amazon first.
Why Amazon
I’ve been following the self-publishing world for about 10 years (probably longer actually). I wanted to do a chapbook or something along those lines.

  • What persuaded me to go with Kindle (as the first step in the world publishing biz) and ebooks is because:
  • Your book is pubbed immediately across ALL of Amazon’s global sites
  • You can set the price and have control over royalties
  • You have complete control over everything
  • You can use Amazon’s print service, CreateSpace, to make print copies
  • Kindle ebooks is available on all devices via the app, so it’s not necessarily proprietary unlike ibooks or nook. iBook is available on Apple devices only and Nook is now defunct. HOWEVER Kindle ebook format is proprietary while iBook/Nook use non-proprietary ebook formats so you can use any app for those books.
  • Amazon’s reach is bigger
  • It’s super easy to EXCEPT the cover creator. I ended up spending $10 for an image from iStock and following Amazon’s guidelines to make the one that I thought was far better.

Now that it is safely up in Amazon’s cloud, I’m looking into adding it to iBooks and other eBook locations.
So that describes the whys, now for the process.
Process/Editing
Because all of these were journal entries from my online journal, I cut and pasted them into a Word document. I was pleasantly surprised to find the book was 117 pages NOT 50 as I originally thought. 1998 has 51 entries while 1999 has 88, which means the second volume could well go close to or over 200 pages. Yowza.
After the entries were in the Word document, I began the process of creating a style guide for me to follow. This included everything from how to format dates to whether or not I was to use AD or CE when speaking of years to how to format images. I wrote all of this down to refer to as I worked.
While I was working, I also created a separate list of To Do items as the book got nearer to completion, including book bloggers, writing an introduction and so forth.
On the document itself, with a style guide now more or less in place, I started line editing. Line editing, to me, was to read each line out loud to catch missed words or wrong spellings, correct them and also grammar. As you can image, this took forever. I corrected a lot of mistakes but if you go through it again with a fine tooth comb, you’ll find more I’m sure. The reading out loud is an old trick I was taught in grad school since my brain processes faster than I type, so I drop a lot of words.
I did a massive spell check, which took several hours, to correct all common spelling mistakes and to add words not found in Word’s dictionary. I also did a search and replace function to make sure there was consistency across spellings such as cd’s became CDs and so forth. For images, I decided to use tables to place them and decided on a width of each image for singular and multiples. Additionally, I broke each month out like a chapter to make it easier to read.
All in all, I probably spent close to 50-60 hours doing the line editing, proofing, prepping and other work. Now that I have a process of sorts in place, time frame for next volumes will be more based on length of the volume rather than figuring out style guides.
Takeaways
I learned a lot about the process of writing and editing a book, which I’ve more or less outlined above. What was more interesting to me was the comparison between 26 year old Lisa and 42 year old Lisa. I discovered a lot of things about myself that were embarrassing, depressing, enlightening, comedic, and shocking. Some things never change, while others, change was definitely a good thing.
While there are a lot of things about 26 year old Lisa that 42 year old Lisa would never stand for, much of who I am today still shines like a diamond after all these years.
I found that,

  • 26 year old me was a classist, racist, abelist, and other -ists that make me cringe today. I decided not to erase those words because I’m not going to white wash my history.
  • I could clearly see the patterns of mania vs depression in my writing. When I was manic, it was a hot mess of grammar and spelling mistakes, while I was stable or depressed, my writing was a lot more measured.
  • A lot of my problems then (instability, unable to commit, etc) are still prevalent today. Now that I see the triggers and patterns, I can easily work on them where I’ve been struggling before.
  • After reading nearly 118 pages, the startling realization that I’m everyone’s favorite crazy ex-GF smacks me across the brain.

With that, now on to volume two!
xoxo,
Lisa

This Day in Lisa-Universe:  2011

WIP: December writing schedule summary / January writing goals

Dear Internet,
Getting back on track after a several month temporary setback. You can get the full scoop of there temporary setback here. This won’t be as complete since I’m starting so late, but it’s a good start.
Italicized is the original list. Regular text is add-ons. Bold is completion and totals.
Projects for January:

  • Plow through current library loans and ARCs from NetGalley and get reviews written
  • Collate notes on the Edwardian mystery, continue with research, and get most of the structure sorted
  • Collate notes on the 45th parallel project and continue with research
  • Research (aka read) stream of consciousness novels
  • Finish or shelve in-progress short stories and submit completed ones; submit at least one a week
  • Get most of Vol 1 of secret Kindle project formatted and edited
    • Line edits started. Publication date set for January 31, 2015.
    • Vol 2 (year 1999) and Vol 3 (2000) started.
  • Continue note carding ideas / quotes / etc for future projects
  • Query/submit non-fiction pieces
  • Blog writing count for December
    • Words written: 7510
    • Number of posts: 12
  • Continue shilling to get more submissions for so glad is my heart
  • Outline and begin 3rd Triangle novel

January projects:

  • Plow through current library loans and ARCs from NetGalley and get reviews written
  • Collate notes on the Edwardian mystery, continue with research, and get most of the structure sorted
  • Collate notes on the 45th parallel project and continue with research
  • Research (aka read) stream of consciousness novels
  • Finish or shelve in-progress short stories and submit completed ones; submit at least one a week
  • Publish Vol 1 of Kindle project
  • Continue note carding ideas / quotes / etc for future projects
  • Query/submit non-fiction pieces
  • Continue shilling to get more submissions for so glad is my heart
  • Outline and begin 3rd Triangle novel
  • Blog writing count for January
    • Words written:
    • Number of posts:

 
Previous WIP

xoxo,
Lisa

This Day in Lisa-Universe: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2003

introductions, introductions

The cottage from The Holiday.
The cottage from The Holiday.

Dear Internet,
Happy early Svein Forkbeard day. I’m in the wilds of Connecticut prepping for the series of holiday events that will be happening over the course of the next few days. Tonight most of the Connecticut family is heading to the midnight service and I’m thinking of joining them. There is something about theological rituals during the holidays that I still yearn for even though I do not prescribe to any particular religion.
Like previous years, I’m in the throes of making holiday cookies. This year the list is small: macaroons, white chocolate cranberry oatmeal, no bakes, sugar, and finally, gingerbread cookies. I’m shipping cookies to my brother and TSTBEH and of course, leaving some for the Connecticut family. Since the next couple of days is going to be jammed with family activities, I’m stealing time when I can – like waking up at 5:30AM to start the prep work for the cookies and the cornbread stuffing for the big meals that are happening today, tomorrow, and Boxing day.
Nick Frost plays Santa!
Nick Frost plays Santa!

It’s also time for holiday episodes of my favorite British TV and radio shows. So far Stella, the first part of the Zurich episode of Cabin Pressure, and first episodes of Good Omens have played. Then of course come the regulars and new shows that are upcoming like: Doctor Who, Downton Abbey, and Miranda. This is yet another reason why I love the British: the unabashed love for holiday episodes of their favorite shows which Americans give no fucks about.
But I have to reaffirm the bigger news than holiday cookies and TV shows; though in my world, those are very good things.
Skaldic Press Presents
Reminder about the 4x a month newsletter from Skaldic Press (my publishing arm) that includes updates from Exit, Pursued by a Bear, so glad is my heart, and other adventures in addition to Skaldic Press. Includes themed GIFs. You can check out the archives for a better taste of what to expect and then subscribe below.


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The Lisa Chronicles, Vol 1: 1998
Also another reminder that my book is now available for pre-order. Publishing date is January 31, 2015.
From the blurb:

In 1998, having an online diary was a brave new world. Mailing lists, communities, chat rooms, and more all sprung up over people’s favorite diarists. Now we would call them bloggers. But then, THEN was a whole ‘nother beast. Then writing online was intimate. Then it was more personalized and personal. Then writers had less shtick. Not much was expected of these online exhibitionist scribes other than the ability to tell a good tale and regularly update.
I miss those days.
I never expected to get rich or famous, but what I wanted was to be able to connect to others who were like me. The scared, the frightened, the brave, and the bold. (No relation to the terrible soap opera of the same name.) I wanted to eat the world and in 1998, what better way to do that was through the Internet?
What can you expect from the first volume? Love, conflict, obsessions with people, places, and things. Rotating cast of characters and adventures. Sprinkle of song lyrics here and there. Pop culture references galore. Sex. More sex. Profane words and a bipolar girl desperate to connect with a world she did not understand.
While this work has been edited for grammar, clarity, and the obvious typo, it remains largely unchanged from when it first appeared online nearly two decades ago.
And lastly, every word here is true.

So if you’re intrigued by the book description or want to help support me thanks to the saga of #teamharpy, I would be most grateful if you would pre-order the book.

[amazon template=image&asin=B00R2808QE]

<<<<>>>>

Not much else is going on in my world right this very second other than prepping for the holidays and editing my book. Typically I feel some sort of sadness and isolation since my family and I are not very close, but while I feel some semblance of that feeling this year, being around people who care kind of lessens the pain. I still feel awkward and out of place, but when do I usually not feel a disconnect to others’ lives?
The drugs may stabilize my moods, meditation may help me deal better with impulse feelings, but some things about me will just never change.
xoxo,
Lisa

This Day in Lisa-Universe: 2013, 2011, 2002

look, it stopped snowing

Dear Internet,
I unintentionally woke up this morning at 6AM  but it ended up working out as the early wake-up meant I could take Kristin to work. We walked outside to discover that it had snowed over night; nothing serious but it was the first time this season I’ve seen snow sticking to the ground. It snowed once when I was on the east coast, on Thanksgiving, and it was giant fluffy snow; the kind that melts as fast as it hits the ground.
caravaggio
Since I graduated from undergrad in 2005, I’ve made it my personal mission to see every Caravaggio in existence. I am so enamoured of the idea, a few years ago I made a mini-site (okay, a page really) of his known complete works and started checking them off. I haven’t updated in awhile but as of today, I’ve seen over 40 of the 90 Caravaggios open to the public and I have 18 more pieces to catalog before the page is done with the exception of me checking off new ones I have seen.
I really need to hie thee to Florence and Vienna.
The Lisa Chronicles, Vol 1: 1998
…is now up for pre-order. Delivery date is January 31, 2015.
At long last my project is starting to come to fruition. The goal is to take each year from 1998 and forward, clean it up (grammar, spelling, clarity), bundle it as an eBook and sell it on Amazon. The content has been free for  years on EPbaB, but no one reads archives anymore unless there is a direct link within the piece referencing it. There has been requests to eBookify the back content for easier reading, so I’ve done just that.
From the blurb:

In 1998, having an online diary was a bold new world. Mailing lists, communities, chat rooms, and more all sprung up over people’s favorite diarists. Now we would call them bloggers. But then, THEN was a whole ‘nother beast. Then writing online was intimate. Then it was more personalized and personal. Then writers had less shtick. Not much was expected of these online exhibitionist scribes other than the ability to tell a good tale and regularly update.
I miss those days.
I moved my diary (or journal, which was used interchangeably) around to many domains but kept the same name: The Lisa Chronicles. Who better to tell my life story other than me? I never expected to get rich or famous, but what I wanted was to be able to connect to others who were like me. The scared, the frightened, the brave, and the bold. (No relation to the terrible soap opera of the same name.) I wanted to eat the world and in 1998, what better way to do that was through the Internet?
What can you expect from the first volume? Love, conflict, obsessions with people, places, and things. Rotating cast of characters and adventures. Sprinkle of song lyrics here and there. Pop culture references galore. Sex. More sex. Profane words and a bipolar girl desperate to connect with a world she did not understand.
While this work has been edited for grammar, clarification, and the obvious typo, it remains largely unchanged from when it first appeared online nearly two decades ago.
And lastly, every word here is true.

So if you’re intrigued by the book description or want to help support me thanks to the saga of #teamharpy, I would be most grateful if you would pre-order the book.
[amazon template=image&asin=B00R2808QE]
Skaldic Press Presents
The eBook announcement reminds me of another thing I launched this past week: Skaldic Press Presents. It’s a newsletter of updates of my projects, including Exit, Pursued by a Bear, so glad is my heart, and other adventures in addition to Skaldic Press. Includes GIFs.
tl;dr I tweet and write too much, but you want to keep up with me? This newsletter is how to do it.




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where in the world is lisa going to be now?
The constant changing of addresses and locations are baffling peeps, so let me clear some things up. If you have an east coast address for me, mainly for snail mail, you can send me mail there until early January as I will be on the east coast until January 14. After then, I’m back in Michigan to finish up writing my book, continue with The Lisa Chronicles project, and finalize my divorce. I have given out a PO Box to which mail can be sent to and this PO Box is active now. So yes, technically from now until January 15, when I take possession of my apartment in Michigan, I’m homeless.
adios Throbbing Manor (for real this time)
IMG_0884 (1)
The house closed yesterday and the stress of prepping and selling it is now gone. Finally. I’m not sure who is going to be more thrilled about this decision, me or TSTBEH, but we had a very tearful goodbye in the parking lot of the title company before parting ways. I have no idea when I’m going to see him again since he doesn’t need to be present when the divorce is finalized. He headed south for his move, I headed north to Kristin’s to crash for a few days.
And that, they say, is that. I know right now I’m grieving, again, for the loss of my marriage and I’m okay with that. Even knowing what the pain IS doesn’t make it hurt any less.
xoxo,
Lisa

This Day in Lisa-Universe: 2013