EarWorms and Alarms

So, I wake up every morning to a song. I always hated the old alarm clocks that blared sirens and bells and whistles at me, so I bless the smart phone and the ability to load up a nice tune to sing me awake.

What do I have for my wake up song? Martin Sexton's "Over My Head". It is gentle, tuneful, and perhaps one of my most favorite songs, ever. Waking up to it just about guarantees I'll have it on my brain -- or in my ear -- for the rest of the day, and so far I'm okay with that.

But last week I was prescribed some medication that has a very specific window of time I have to take it in. It has to be taken between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m., and then I can't eat for 30-60 minutes after taking it. Now, anyone who knows me knows that 4:00 a.m. is out of the question, unless I haven't been to bed, yet.

See, here's the way my day works. "Over My Head" starts playing at 8:00, and I lie in bed doing some social media work -- and yes, it IS work for me -- until about 8:45, which is when I have to get up and check and report the rain gauge. By the time I do that, enough time has passed that I can eat before I go to the gym. Then I do some gardening, more social media and research, and if I'm really "on", some writing before Hubby gets home, and then when he goes to bed, I really knuckle down with the writing.

But I know myself. If I don't have a special reminder while this pill-taking business is so new, I might forget. So I set another alarm. And this one may crack you up. It does me. I have it set for 8:05 a.m. -- so far I've remembered to take the pill when the first alarm goes off every day except one, but that one day the second alarm saved the day. I'm hopeless.

What is the second alarm, though? It wouldn't work to have the same song, would it? So I have Melissa Etheridge's "The Letting Go" for the second song. 

Problem is, this song is also a favorite, and an earworm that has potential to last all day. So what happens? I get the confused earworm that goes a little something like this:

"I came here to let you know, the letting go has taken place...this boy in a boat that I am, through the haze I can catch a glimpse of the damage that's been done. Isn't that what we wanted, all along? Freedom like a stone, and my pockets full of sand...I'm over my head!"

I don't mind it, so far. Soon I'll feel confident enough in taking the pill on the first alarm that I won't need to have the second, and these pleasant earworms are antidote against other songs that invade my ears during the day.

Does this ever happen to you? What is your best earworm? (Please don't tell me your worst!)




    

Writer’s Conference = Productivity!

It’s a beautiful day outside the window of my writing cave. I wish I had gone for a bike ride instead of driving to the gym to work out, but let’s face it. It wasn’t this nice when my schedule dictated I head to the gym. 

What? you say. Kristi with a schedule? How bizarre. Tell me about it.

Last weekend I went to the 21^st Annual South Coast Writer’s Conference in Gold Beach. As usual. (I’ve only missed 5 of the 21, I think.) This year I got a lot of bang for my buck. Not that I don’t normally, but this year they had some great speakers on topics I really needed to hear about if I am going to take a proper crack at writing full time.

Managed to get SOME time on the beach!

I spent Friday in an all-day intensive workshop about the serious business of writing, facilitated by Jason Brick. One of many things he taught that really resonated with me is, “The more you don’t want to have a schedule, the more you need one.”

Sigh. So, here I am. Writing a blog post because it is on my newly developed schedule. But you know what, instead of resenting it and fighting it, I’m actually enjoying the process. This is coming off as more “stream of consciousness” writing, but that is part of the plan, too. 

Another presenter, Eric Witchey, taught that there are no wrong ideas. Or more precisely, the only wrong idea in writing is the one that never gets written down.

I came away with so many wonderful tools. Like how to use a Pomodoro timer to focus on my writing. To me it is comparable to what I learned in a 12 Step program: You can do for 30 minutes what you can’t imagine doing all day. Then you take a break and start the timer again. In this way you train yourself to focus and cut out the distractions.

Another tool is also courtesy of Mr. Witchey. Use a metronome to trigger ideas. Train yourself that with every tock of the metronome you come up with one idea – this is great for the brainstorming stage of writing. Each idea may be more wild and outrageous than the last, but something in that maelstrom of ideas will be the perfect torture to put my characters through. 

I anticipate not spending quite so long pondering plot points, but rather coming up with more gut wrenching plots for your entertainment. My goal for the future is to not just entertain you with my stories, but really affect you with them. It’s time to move beyond the fluff, the mind-candy, and make some seriously memorable fiction you’ll want to read again and again.

Part of my new schedule is a promise to myself, and to anyone who does me the honor of following me, to faithfully write a blog post every Wednesday, and to post a newsletter on the first Saturday of each month. I tend to worry about producing content that people will find interesting, but with these new tools, I’m confident I can entertain you. Yes. Confident. Really.

And what do you know—now it's raining! This is all I have for today, but I will surely expand on it for the Newsletter, so keep your eyes open for it. You can sign up on my website - or visit the page to see it posted. I will also post a link to it here in the Bounded in a Nutshell blog.

Until then... Thrive, my friends.

On This Christmas Eve...

Okay, Christmas music on, coffee at hand, blanket tucked in place...and....

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! – 2015 edition

This was another year of transitions for us—some we’re still in the process of, so not all have definitive conclusions to share with you.

Last November (2014) saw the arrival of ‘Little Luke’ Owen Dunigan, and we’ve been adjusting to being grandparents to both him and his older brother Mario. It has been a blessing to watch Luke, Lupe, Mario and Little Luke grow as a family, and we made a few extra trips to Salem to visit when we were home. We are proud of Caleb, who is now working as a Music Director at a church in Michigan. After working at a resort near Jackson, WY, Jeremy is currently in truck driving school down in Riverside, CA, joining Luke to be another trucker in the family. Luke drives for SWIFT, and Jeremy will drive for CRST.

Most of our home-time has been spent getting the exterior of the house sorted out. The house has been painted—possibly the first time since it went up in 2001. We got a LOT done toward finishing the back yard, smoothing out what we tore up last year—or was that the year before? We now have 9 raised beds, so we’ll get to have a garden next year! (More on that in a moment.) We’ve put up another poly-shed, and have taken down most of the decrepit wooden shed. By the end of next year we hope to have a greenhouse up. It’s shaping up...and that’s enough said about the house.

Speaking of home time, that is part of the biggest transition of all. In July, our house sitter went on an extended vacation, so I came home to hold down the fort, and I’ve been home ever since. It was earlier than planned, but I’ve transitioned to writing and editing full time. I anticipate being able to put out twice as many books in 2016. (I’ll have another novel in the Boys of Syracuse, Kansas, series released come February!)

When Collin came home in October, Christopher moved out and we shook up the interior of the house. We moved our bedroom into the spare room, and I now have a “Writing Cave” (Collin calls it a Diva Den) in the master suite. I’m sitting in it now, enjoying the comfort and the view out the window. It’s a place to escape any hubbub in the rest of the house, because...

The end of an era is nigh? Collin came home to stay at Thanksgiving, and is trying out driving log trucks for Ireland Trucking. Our long term plan has been for us to be home together, and it looks like we’re putting that in motion. Collin is looking forward to spending quality home time with me, getting to see the kids and grandkids more often, and having time to do more around the house. So far, he enjoys the challenge of driving in the woods, but he’s not yet sure if it is ‘the job’ he wants to do until retirement. He’s reserving the option of doing something different.

Chances are good, though, that the Ball & Chain will officially shut down come the first of the year. It’s been a great 8.5 year run, with plenty of ups and downs, but the industry has been changing, and we just figure it’s time to move away from being owner operators and closer to our long term goals.

We are looking forward to a new year filled with family, home time, love, and all the peace and happiness we can find. We wish the same for all of you.

Much love, Kristi & Collin 

The Boys of Syracuse, Kansas series is going back to All Markets on Sunday, August 9th. This is your last chance for the foreseeable future to borrow and read for free! 

Last Shot at Justice (#1) 
Detective Mitzi Reardon doesn’t know what she did to anger her boss, but he is gunning for her. Now a prostitute is dead, and she is the prime suspect with the law hot on her heels. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Mitzi’s only hope lies in the hands of a sexy stranger.
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Shot-Justice-Syracuse-Kansas-ebook/dp/B00CAWDE22

Last Second Chance (#2) 
An ex-con's search for a new start leads to a chance at a life and a love he never expected. But the life he left behind won't stay quietly in his past.
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Second-Chance-Syracuse-Kansas-ebook/dp/B00T3OQTVI

Looks like we passed the judges!
Last Shot at Justice - the Audiobook - is headed to retail, which means it will soon be on sale on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes!

On Welcoming My Hubby Home

My husband is a truck driver -- so am I in the summer -- but he runs solo in the winter so I can (theoretically) stay home and write. This winter I did more proofing for customers than I did writing.

Anyway, after 3 months away, he came home Friday morning, the day after our 9th anniversary, and I went from basically living a single woman's life to living married overnight. It's an adjustment to have him home again.

I love my husband, and I often say our current arrangement is the best of all worlds for a introvert like myself. For 8 months of the year, we are together 24/7, crossing the country, spending time and seeing the sights, and making money. The other 4 months he gets to run solo and be a free spirit, and I get to be a homebody and recharge so I'm ready to go again in the spring.

But the initial time spent when he comes home is always an adjustment. I go from staying up into the wee hours of the morning, working in silence in the front room, and getting up at my leisure, to having the TV on every waking moment, running errands with him, getting called upon to rub his neck, back or feet, and basically not having any time to get into work mode for proofing, much less writing.

I don't want to make it sound like I'm spending all of my time slaving for him -- he will often make dinner and serve me, and we do things together like shopping, etc. We went to the beach to celebrate our anniversary, and stopped in at the casino on the way. But it is an adjustment to now spend time doing things someone else wants to do.

My hubby doesn't understand about my writing process. He thinks I should be able to just sit down and type immediately, and set it down at any suggestion and pick it right back up. He doesn't understand that I have to work into it, get the words flowing, and that any interruption is a setback. Even now, he wants to put his foot in my lap so I can rub it. (He apparently got bit by something when we were doing yard work yesterday, and he thinks a massage will help.) Of course, I had just started getting into the groove of writing this post.

I didn't set out to moan about my hubby with this post. My intention was to speak to how much of an adjustment it is to have him home.

Another week and we'll be back on the road, and I will settle in to being a truck driver first, and author/proofreader second. And it will be fine. Really.

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