Update Link: Signs of Life – Chapter 24

Patreon Check In – Open to Everyone

Hey! I was hoping to get back from the dealership in time to set up for Flash Fiction, but it took FOREVER and I didn’t get home until 10 AM, which meant I had an hour to reset and just my brain wasn’t in it, so I decided to push it until Sunday again.

So I’m giving you another update of Signs of Life to make up for it, but I’m contemplating a shift in my Flash Fiction schedule anyway. In December, after the postseason (MY PHILLIES ARE IN THE NLCS) and NaNoWriMo, I’m going to do Flash Fiction on weeknights, so I can spend more time writing my novels on the weekends. I’ll keep you in the loop when that happens.

I did a livestream check in for my Patreon community — these are usually for the paid members, but I figured I owed everyone a bit of an update for everything, so if you’re interested, check it out on Patreon. It’s time stamped so if you want to hear me talk about the nonsense in my real life, you can, but you can also jump straight to Fool Me Twice or Flash Fiction updates.

Updated: Signs of Life – Chapter 23

Hey! Sorry I didn’t post this yesterday. I was distracted after a long day at work, and then made plans to go to family’s house for dinner and watching the final NLDS game (well we hoped it would be, lol). My Phillies tried to murder me at least three times — my soul DEFINITELY left my body during the top of the seventh and seeing Matt Strahm come in at the top of 9th with no outs caused a panic attack (joking, but not by much), but they did it. And they had the decency to clinch last night so I could have three days to recover, lol. I have work to catch up on from the injury, and of course the writing took a backseat this week. But I’m almost there, and I promise to do a better job of writing before the game, lol.

Flash Fiction might be late tomorrow — I have to get my oil changed at 8 AM. I should be back in time but sometimes it takes longer than I plan for. Will definitely be up tomorrow!

Update Link: Signs of Life – Chapter 22

Writing this update post an hour before Game 3 of the NLDS and trying not to think about the game, lol. Hope you guys enjoy this update, and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Update Link: Signs of Life – Chapter 21

Hope everyone is having a good day. I’m dragging really hard — I couldn’t really sleep last night and I spent my entire day grading so I could get completely caught up and stay that way. And my brain probably hurts from the Phillies-Braves game which we were four outs away from being up 2-0 and then — well — disaster.

I’ll see you guys tomorrow!

Update Link: Watch Me Burn – Part 52

Shoulder feels the best it has all week — the brace really helped. It keeps my shoulder stabilized, and helps me remember not to use a bit better. I have the specialist appointment tomorrow where they’ll confirm what the last doctor said, and hopefully give stretches I can use. I’ve been hesitant to try on my own because I don’t want to pick the wrong ones.

I’m going to get back into my writing schedule this week, I hope, starting Tuesday. I wasn’t really able to write or do anything all week for work, so I’m spending the rest of the weekend getting caught up and back on track. Can’t get too annoyed because of the health conditions making things difficult. Just need focus on what I can control, and get back to work when I can.

Oh, and my mood is probably improved by the fact the Phillies demolished the Braves last night, and shutdown them at home for the first time all season. Sometimes it’s the little things.

See you on Tuesday!

Hey just ducking in to let you know that I won’t be updating Flash Fiction today, but will be doing it tomorrow. I got my shoulder brace on Thursday, and after wearing it all day at school on Friday, my shoulder feels a bit better. So I’m going to take another day today to give it more rest. It’s still hard to sit and work for long periods of times without accidentally jostling the shoulder.

I know I left you on a cliffhanger, but last week as I was finishing up, the pain was really bad, so I had to take a break and couldn’t do much else. Writing sustained for an hour feels like a lot to ask right now. But I think tomorrow after another day of the brace and regular ice and rest, I think I’ll be able to do it.

Thanks!

Update Link: Signs of Life – Chapter 20

This chapter has a ton of new content! The opening Liason scene has been lengthened, and the conversation has been edited heavily. Then, there’s a second Liason scene that is lightly edited. Finally, the Sonny scene and second half of the chapter is brand new.  Would love to know what you think — I spent a lot of time on this section of the story in edits, so I hope it was worth the extra wait.

I got my new shoulder brace, and it’s helping to limit how much I move the upper arm. We’ll see if it helps alleviate some of the pain. I appreciate the comments and suggestions — hopeful for some relief soon! I’m scaling back on writing this week just because sustained writing at the desk for more than 25 minutes is just not happening, and I’m falling behind with so much at work because I can’t work at the pace I’m used to. Trying not to be too frustrated, but you know me.

But hey, my Phillies clinched last night, so more baseball! We take on the Braves on Saturday, so thanks to the boys for lasting long enough to ensure they’re still in the playoffs by the time my postseason shirt arrives, lol.

See you on Saturday!

Update Link: Signs of Life – Chapter 19

Note: This chapter is basically brand new! All new material or so heavily edited it’s not recognizable from the OG Flash Fiction.

Well, I’m writing this on Wednesday morning, feeling a bit of mixed feelings. Absolutely elated that my Phillies won the opening game of the Wild Card, and now we’re in a position tonight to clinch a trip to destroy the Braves again in the NLDS, but then I woke up unable to move my shoulder enough to get dressed much less drive to work. This would have been a great time to be married, lol, or live near someone who could drive me. I called out (which I hate to do) so that I can rest and ice, so I can go back to work the next two days.

I have a doctor’s appointment on Monday, and a shoulder brace being sent tomorrow that hopefully helps. I was trying to hold off buying anything until I had doctor’s advice, but I’m having a lot of trouble remembering not to use the arm. I made some adjustments to my desk chair to better support my shoulder and right now, typing this, it feels so much less sore and I don’t feel pain while typing.

Obviously, this shoulder injury and the way it’s getting worse is a huge blow to my hopes to make some real progress on FMT, at least this week. It’s obviously the higher priority to make sure I can get to work, so that’s the focus. Hopefully, this brace gives me some relief, and the specialist on Monday gives me a treatment plan so I can get my life back. It’s not just writing that’s more difficult, it’s literally everything, Changing my clothes is painful right now.

It’s just frustrating that as soon as I got my TMJ meds back, I have another health issue complicating things. But we’ll take it one thing at a time, I’ll keep updating Flash Fiction weekly so I’m still here. See you tomorrow!

Update Link: Signs of Life – Chapter 18

Happy Tuesday! I’m writing this on Monday, right before (hopefully) a good writing session for FMT. I was hoping to get an earlier start, but it was a rough Monday at work. Getting over a cold so I was super tired, and my shoulder was really sore. I finally got a chance to make a doctor’s appointment for next Monday when I’m off so I’m headed to a specialist. I don’t expect an easy fix, but I want to get back to a good place. It’s really hard to write for longer than an hour right now, especially after I teach all day. Ice relieves some of the pain, but not enough.

Just a reminder that I’m adding an extra posting day for Signs of Life this week, so I’ll be back tomorrow with another update! This week’s chapters have a bunch of new material. The Alexis scene in this chapter is new, so let me know what you think!

Hopefully the next time I check in, my Phillies will have won the first game of their Wild Card series! (Though I’ll be writing that update post before the game so, uh, you’ll know if you check my Twitter and I haven’t lost my mind). See you tomorrow!

Oh, hey, little Easter egg — I named the killer in Watch Me Burn after my least favorite Phillies announcer 😉 If you know, you know.

Update Link: Watch Me Burn – Part 51

Happy Sunday! Apologies for not updated yesterday — as Friday evening went on, I started to feel to the first stirrings of a cold. For me, it usually feels like it crawls up my throat (it starts to feel a bit thick, then sore, and then the congestion) but this time it was in reverse. The congestion came first and I thought it was the change in weather, so I took my TMJ meds. Unfortunately, the TMJ meds have a really serious interaction with most cold medicine (particularly the Vicks I have at the house) so I couldn’t take anything until yesterday. So I didn’t sleep well and I woke up a bit late and feeling ugh. I decided to take the day and just rest, let the meds build up.

I feel a lot better today, and I’m really hoping this is the regularly scheduled cold I usually get on Columbus Day weekend — three years in a row, I get nailed on our first day off. My immune system is famous for holding out just long enough until the weekend or a break. I literally didn’t get my Covid symptoms until the afternoon of a Friday that was a half-day for students and we were off that Monday for MLK Day. It’d be really nice to have next weekend to actually get things done.

A few notes for the month of October & November —

• Fool Me Twice’s second draft is still a work in progress. I have roughly 46 chapters left to write. I know that sounds like a lot, but this second book is insanely stupid and long, lol. I’m already written 43 chapters, and of the 46 left, I’m keeping a lot more of my first draft than I did in the first half.
• FMT’s beta draft being posted and updated at different intervals for three different tiers if you want to read along (and let me know how you like it and what maybe needs work!)
  • Stalker ($15) – Same day updates (Chapters 39-82 available now!)
  • Obsessed ($10) – When I finish the chapters that take place on a day, I bundle them together. (Chapters 39-78 available now!)
  • Adored ($7) – Updated monthly on the last day of the month (Chapters 39-82 available as of yesterday).
• No matter where I am on November 1, I’m taking a break from FMT. I’ve been working on it almost without stopping since January. The only “breaks” I’ve taken are ones when I can’t write and I feel guilty, lol. This will be a scheduled “I’m not thinking about this story at all” break.
• This is because my NaNoWriMo story is only plotted out to 30 chapters, which means I could maybe get a huge chunk of it done if writing goes well. I have two four day weekends, and as long as I don’t get sick (ha), it’s possible I might even finish it.
• In Flash Fiction news, Watch Me Burn will conclude on October 28. The new series, Hits Different, will debut the next Saturday. I’ll be doubling up on Fridays twice that month (Nov 10, Nov 24) because I have those four day weekends.
• And finally! Starting October 11, I’ll be posting three chapters of Signs of Life a week — Tues/Wed/Thurs. That way I’ll be finished posting in November.

See you Tuesday!