Musings & more….
… but I’m working through the editor’s (aka SFG’s) story notes for Dowser 8 today.
Yep, this is what brainstorming a ‘missing’ scene looked like earlier this afternoon.
I’ve also spent the day trying to convince myself that I have absolutely no need for a new iPad, even if I would totally have fun writing with the pencil.
And .. that’s editing in a nut shell. For this book, at least.
I wrote this note to myself for Dowser 8 over a two months ago. Bring Freddie back? Where? It has been stuck to my desk through writing the third draft of Dowser 8, the entire first draft of Dowser 8.5, and the second draft of Mory’s novella in D8.5. Frustrated with it taunting me, I stuck it to the front of my current notebook a few days ago.
Then, last night while lying in bed and trying to will myself to sleep (as I do every night) and not even thinking about the Freddie hole in Dowser 8, I was was hit with ideas for not one but three scenes (in Dowser 8, Dowser 8.5, and Dowser 9) involving Freddie. Concerned I might forget, I scrambled to find my glasses in the dark (I didn’t want to wake Michael) and email the ideas/scenes to myself. Actually, it probably would have been easier to get out of bed and grab my laptop. Ha.
My point? The muse moves in mysterious ways. And I have absolutely no idea why – after racking my brain for months for a good way to weave Freddie further into the three books – I suddenly figured it out while lying in bed and trying to fall asleep.
There you go.
Bonus: finding emails with scenes sketched out in my inbox the next morning. Plus I didn’t sleep badly after that at all!
I’m working on the second draft of Rochelle’s novelette in Dowser 8.5 today! Fun! Fun!
Okay, I put out a call for cupcake names for the two new cupcakes featured in Dowser 8 last week. And you all submitted A LOT of amazing possibilities. I took some time this afternoon to short list a bunch of the suggestions, attempting to pair them together in a way that worked for me.
So without further ado here is my shortlist.
Cupcake #1 (first row): chocolate mint cake with chocolate mint buttercream
Cupcake #2 (second row): chocolate mint cake with mint buttercream
Chill in a Cup Tingle in a Cup
Brisk in a Cup Shiver in a Cup
Snuggle (or Snug) in a Cup Satisfaction in a Cup
Rush in a Cup Quiver in a Cup
Flutter in a Cup Frisky in a Cup
Spark in a Cup Seduction in a Cup
Awe in a Cup Exhilaration in a Cup
Now, I’m going to send this list to Michael to see if he can help me narrow it down. I’ve only done a first pass, so I have a feeling a few of these pairing might be swapped around before we settle on just two names.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to submit. It was difficult to narrow the pairings down. I actually had a bunch of single entries that I really liked but I couldn’t get them to really work with any of the other entries.
Reminder: some of the suggestions were doubled/tripled/etc. When the final two names are selected, the FIRST person who submitted the name for consideration will be contacted and awarded the prize/credit.
Thank you for playing along!!
_____________________________
Edited:
Michael’s (and my) finalists:
Snuggle in a Cup Frisky in a Cup
Chill in a Cup Tingle in a Cup
And now I think I’ll need to write the recipes and test bake the cupcakes in order to decide which of the two options suit them best. So you’ll have to give me until next weekend to finalize the giveaway!!
Fun!
Two new cupcakes are featured in the opening chapters of Dowser 8. And, for the first time, I find myself slightly stumped about what to name them. Yesterday, after completing the first draft of Dower 8.5 and apparently freeing up some headspace, I decided it might be fun for a reader (or two) to get a chance to name a cupcake.
Fun? Fun! Yes!
The background. Jade and Bryn are about to open a bakery in Whistler, BC. The two to-be-named cupcakes have been designed exclusively for the Whistler bakery. Whistler (in the winter season specifically) is known for great skiing and other winter sports, high-end restaurants, great spas, etc. Jade and Bryn have designed the bakery with a cozy, but modern feel. Think white counters, wood, and glass, comfy chairs and low tables. Big, sleek gas fireplace.
The cupcakes-to-be named are:
Cupcake #1: chocolate mint cake with chocolate mint buttercream
Cupcake #2: chocolate mint cake with mint buttercream
The caveat. Feel free to suggest any names you wish, but the Cake in a Cup cupcake names are usually evocative of some emotion or emotional state.
A complete list of Cake in a Cup cupcakes. For reference and to avoid doubles.
| Serenity | Carrot Cake | Cream Cheese |
| Solace | Chocolate Carrot Cake | Chocolate Cream Cheese |
| Comfort | Banana Cake | Buttercream |
| Cozy | Banana Chocolate Chip | Dark Chocolate Buttercream |
| Sin | Spiced Cake | Mocha Butter Icing |
| Sex | Cinnamon Cocoa | Dark Chocolate Buttercream |
| Blitzen | Chocolate Mocha | Eggnog Buttercream |
| Vixen | Chocolate Gingerbread | Salted Caramel Icing |
| Heaven | White Cake | Coconut |
| Harmony | White Cake | Cherry Butter |
| Delight | White Cake | Lemon Butter |
| Thrill | White Cake | Mocha Butter-iced |
| Wonder | White Cake | Dark Chocolate Buttercream |
| Lift | White Cake | Coffee Buttercream |
| Euphoria | Fudge Cake | Chocolate Cream Cheese |
| Bliss | Fudge Cake | Peanut Butter Icing |
| Happiness | Peanut Butter Cake | Honey Buttercream |
| Glee | Peanut Butter Cake | Peanut Butter Icing |
| Elation | Peanut Butter Cake | Chocolate Buttercream |
| Enchantment | Chocolate Peanut Butter | Peanut Butter Icing |
| Exultation | Chocolate Peanut Butter | Dark Chocolate Buttercream |
| Delirium | Chocolate Peanut Butter | Chocolate Peanut Butter Icing |
| Buzz | Mocha Fudge Cake | Mocha Butter |
| Ecstasy | Double Chocolate Cake | Lemon Butter |
| Desire | Chocolate Raspberry Cake | Dark Chocolate Buttercream |
| Lust | Dark Chocolate Cake | Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese |
| Love | Chocolate Cake | Strawberry Butter |
| Kiss | Chocolate Cake | Cherry Chocolate Butter |
| Hug | Chocolate Cake | Buttercream |
| Joy | Lemon Yellow Cake | Buttercream |
| Sunshine | Lemon Yellow Cake | Lemon Butter |
| Charm | Lemon Yellow Cake | Strawberry Butter |
| Rapture | Yellow/Chocolate Swirl | Chocolate Cream Cheese |
| Flirt | Blackberry Cake | Chocolate blackberry buttercream |
| Sass | Chocolate Blackberry Cake | Chocolate blackberry buttercream |
| Tart | Blackberry Cake | Blackberry buttercream |
| Tease | Chocolate Blackberry Cake | Blackberry buttercream |
| Clarity | Apple Spiced Cake | Honey Buttercream |
How to enter: comment below with your suggested names for cupcake #1 and/or cupcake #2.
I will edit the entries down to my favourites, then ask Michael to pick his favourites from my short listed names. If we are torn between suggestions, the editor (aka SFG) will be asked to weigh in.
The TWO entries/cupcake names selected will receive a thank you on the Acknowledgment page of Dowser 8 as well as an audiobook and postcard prize pack (pictured below). Yay!
Notes/Rules: The giveaway is OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. One entry per person (but feel free to list as many suggestions as you wish). Two winners will be selected by the process detailed above. If there are doubles, I will select the entry with the earliest timestamp. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than to contact the winner. No purchase necessary.
Giveaway closes SUNDAY MARCH 8, 2018 at midnight PDT.
Are you new to the Adept Universe? Book one is Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1).
Click here for the reading order of the Adept Universe.
I finally got Dowser 8 off to the editor (aka SFG aka Scott Fitzgerald Gray) for story editing this morning. Though I nearly lost my mind trying to output the manuscript from Scrivener (the software I use to write) into a WORD document because the compile function had been updated/upgraded. Anyway, an hour and half later, I dropped the book in Scott’s inbox. YAY!
And, because some of you might ask, I haven’t set a release date yet. There are three stages of editing – story, line/content, then proofread. And those tasks depend on other people’s schedules as well as at least two, if not three, more drafts of the novel, plus a polish, that depend on me. Late spring/early summer is my best guess right now.
To celebrate I thought I’d share an excerpt with you.
“Treasure Keeper.” I struggled to keep my tone smooth. “Thank you for coming. I do have some questions. Would you like to step inside the bakery?”
He tilted his head, making a show of thinking about it. “Are there cupcakes?”
“Probably not. Nothing fresh, at least. But I believe we were just about to order sushi.”
Pulou grimaced. “Raw fish.”
“We could order some tempura.” Yes, I was cajoling one of the nine most powerful beings in the world with deep fried prawns and veggies. I had a feeling it was that, or give into the need to beat him around the head until he apologized — for locking me up and not telling me about the elves. “And there might be some leftover petit fours.”
“That will have to do then. Not created by your hand, alchemist, but I shall have to endure, I suppose.” He offered me a smile.
I returned the smile, with less teeth. I wasn’t fooled by his attempt to charm me. Seriously. A girl knew when her former mentor would like nothing better than to kick her ass and retrieve the instruments of assassination.
– Dowser 8, Chapter 8, third draft [selectively edited for extreme spoilers][unproofed]
Michael: *peering into a small pale blue box* “What are these?”
Me: *glancing into the box on my way through the kitchen* “My salted caramels.”
Michael: “Oh.” He glances mournfully at the box he is holding – which used to be full of chocolates he’d selected for himself – then down into a drawer that is *literally* teeming with a crazy amount of chocolate and treats that we’ve just spent two days in Vancouver collecting.
Me: (feeling magnanimous, since there are two of the caramels) “You can have one if you like.”
Michael: “No. That’s all right.” He closes the box, puts it back, and picks up a crumpled plastic bag instead. “I’ll just eat the rest of my sour patch kids.”
Me: ???
Yes. Dozens of amazing treats to choose from and my husband wanders back out to his studio after lunch with his leftover movie night treats in hand.
I ate one of the salted caramels. It was freaking amazing.
Back to writing.
[I’ll run the random number generator(s) for the T-shirt giveaway(s) at the end of the day].
GIVEAWAY CLOSED. ALL WINNERS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED IN SOME FORM.
Blog: Cake in a Cup: 65 entrants. R/N: 32. Winner: Melissa
Facebook: Attempted Murder: 95 entrants. R/N: 61. Winner: Anne
Instagram: Chicken Butt: 49 entrants: R/N: 33. Winner: Jenni
Twitter: I Do Bite: 27 entrants: R/N: 3. Winner: Wendy
Fan Page: Kick Ass cupcakes: 70 entrants: R/N: 65. Winner: Robbin
I thought it would be fun to cap my mini vacation off with a giveaway. And, since I just released new T-shirt designs, I decided it would be even more fun to give away all five of the Adept Universe designs in a scavenger hunt!
Reminder: Everyone should feel free to play along but the T-shirts are only available to USA shipping addresses. Any international winners will have the option of shipping to a friend/family member or receiving a personal-use only PNG logo so they may print their own T-shirt.
There are FIVE steps to play along.
First, comment below on this blog post to enter to win a Cake in a Cup T-shirt (pink or white printing) (giveaway #1):
Second, head over to my Facebook page, then find and comment on giveaway #2 to enter to win an Attempted Murder T-shirt (white or black printing).
Third, pop over to my Instagram feed, find and comment on giveaway #3 to enter to win a Chicken Butt T-shirt (white or black printing).
The fourth T-shirt, I Do Bite, can be found on my Twitter feed. Comment on giveaway #4 to enter to win.
And last but certainly not least, the fifth T-shirt is hiding in my reader-run Facebook fan group (if you aren’t a member, you can request to join). Comment on giveaway #5 to win Kick Ass Cupcakes:
Fun! Fun!!
Likes and shares are always welcomed and appreciated.
Notes/Rules: The giveaway is OPEN INTERNATIONALLY, but the T-shirts can only be shipped to USA addresses, so if selected, international readers have the option to win a PNG copy of the logo for personal-use only to print their own T-shirt. One entry per person (on all five platforms). One winner will be selected by random number generator (on each platform). Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than to contact the winner. No purchase necessary.
Giveaway closes SUNDAY MARCH 11, 2018 at midnight PDT.
Are you new to the Adept Universe? Book one is Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1).
Click here for the reading order of the Adept Universe.
This is part three of a three part blog series about the Adept Universe T-shirts.
Like numerous other T-shirts, the fitted T-shirts I’ve chosen for the Adept Universe Merch fit small. Achieving good, flattering fit is possible, but only if you are willing to pull out a measuring tape and possibly disregard the gender designation on the sizing chart included on each sales page.
For example, both Elizabeth (who designed the logos and models the T-shirts on the blog sales page) and I normally wear a medium size (say in a T-shirt from Banana Republic), but in the Adept Universe designs we both wear a Female XL. As you can see by the picture below, even an extra large is fairly fitted on Elizabeth (as it is on me).
How you want your clothing to fit depends on how much positive or negative ease you would like built into the item. I like to wear my T-shirts fitted, but not tight, so I choose a size that gives me small amount of positive ease.
To figure out what that size is, I measure my chest across the widest part, getting 37 inches. Then I consult the sizing chart that Amazon offers for the T-shirt I want to buy:
The women’s XL is 18 3/4 wide (measured from underarm to underarm). That’s 37.5 inches total. Technically, giving me only half an inch of ease. So, before I even purchase the T-shirt, I know that a Women’s XL will fit me snuggly but it shouldn’t pinch.
Now if I wanted a slightly looser fit I could go into the Men’s medium. 20 x 20 inches is 40 inches total. Which would give me 3 inches of ease. Because the T-shirt style is naturally slim fitting, I know this would look roomy but not too boxy on me.
Straightforward, yes? Yes!
The second option for achieving a good fit is to pull out a favourite T-shirt that fits you well and measure it from underarm to underarm. Double this number, and find the nearest corresponding size on the sizing chart.
So my example (above) is my Smart Ass University T-shirt, which fits me fairly tightly and measures 18 inches from underarm to underarm. According to the sizing charts above I could purchase a Men’s small. Personally I’d stick with the Female XL, because I wouldn’t mind a slightly looser fit.
Makes sense, yes?
Below is the excerpt I promised yesterday. I just added another 2100 words to Mory’s story (which opens Dowser 8.5) bringing it to 12k with at least six more scenes left. So it will definitely be a novella once it’s finished, not even including the addition of Rochelle and Jasmine’s stories. Fun!
Now I’m going to make Michael his birthday lunch (grilled cheese – medium cheddar cheese from a local dairy on garlic cheddar bread from a local baker), then settle in with my knitting for a Thor movie marathon with the birthday boy. Later there will be cheesecake and individual pizzas.
Warner leaned forward. “And if I’m about to leave the country, I’d like a moment alone with you. Upstairs, perhaps?”
Placing a hand on his chest, I pushed him slightly away. He allowed it with a grin that told me he was content to be compliant. For the moment, at least. “Leaving the country? With Kett?”
He shrugged. “We’re bringing Drake. And your father and Qiuniu are joining us at some point. So what could possibly happen?”
My mind momentarily boggled at all the craziness that could possibly occur under those exact circumstances.
– Dowser 8, chapter two, second draft
I know, I know, I made this big announcement about how I was going to cut back and refocus, including taking Saturday mornings off. And then I worked all day last Saturday (I really, really just wanted to get the first draft of Dowser 8 done) and now I want to spend more time with Mory (aka the opening novella of Dowser 8.5) this morning.
But being self-employed has to have some benefits, doesn’t it? And tomorrow I’ll reward myself with a chocolate milkshake and buying/planting a pear tree (I’ll try to remember to take a picture. It’s a two combo espalier and I’m planting it in the raised garden bed outside my office window).
And really, the recycling/groceries/mail can totally wait. Ahem, ah, yeah, confession time, if you won a copy of Dowser 7 from me like a long time ago, I still haven’t managed to get it in the mail. Sorry! But the padded envelopes I needed finally showed up yesterday, so the paperbacks will be on their way soon!
Now where did I leave Mory … oh, yes, Mountain View Cemetery. Where else would she be?
