I’m amazed by how hectic a week can be for a guy who essentially sits in front of a screen all day. I plan to go a little sideways on the promotion topic. I'll write more about the effort of promoting Book 3 in the Writing Updates section, but I wanted to share some non-writing news first. This week, Intel promoted me, moving me up from managing a team of design engineers, to managing the other managers of design engineers. It'll be an interesting shift, and I'm excited about the new things I'll learn and the new challenges, but it is also a bit overwhelming. Any of you who know me well are aware - I'm not a super-confident person. Yeah, maybe I play one well when I have to, or at least I'm told I do. The point being I've been put in charge of the fates of some 60-odd engineers. Eeep! Okay, they're not all odd. (haha, but actually, most people are odd, in some way, and often that's the interesting bit).

My boss made me promise that the promotion would not impact the delivery of the chip for which I lead the structural design. "Okay." Then he told me I had to come up with an org chart in two days - and I'd better coordinate with all the existing managers, figure out who I was going to move up to replace me, and how none of the product lines could be disturbed during the transition. Juggling 101.

Some updates on my youngest (because that's what's on my phone camera... maybe my older kids will get jealous and let me start taking pictures of them again?) - she had her first choir performance, and she was soooo excited (and cute). She's the one on the far left. Then she came home from school with the cute Beanclaw, whose mouth drips acid, and we celebrated its creation with a daddy-daughter date to Daiso, where she restocked her drawing paraphernalia.

Writing Updates

Lots of wrapping up this week… how apropos for the season. I uploaded the final versions of the paperback and kindle editions of Book 3 to Amazon, and finished listening to, and commenting on, the audible of Book 1.

With kdp (that Amazon Upload site), every book provides a new challenge, but I learn a little more too. This time, for the paperback, every page on the left side that had a row of text that started with the letter “j” got flagged as an error. So about twenty random pages scattered throughout the book. The fix wasn’t hard once I recognized the pattern, and it helped me understand margins better.
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Since it’s my first time to try an Audible, I’m just fumbling my way through. But I think Jillian, narratrise extraordinaire, will turn my suggestions/corrections around quickly, and then I think we just have virtual paperwork to finish.

I received some leads on a better logo after my last newsletter, so thank-you to those who offered help. Below is what Edith Pawlicki designed — I find it very clean and simple. I’m going to try some variations from that starting point.

As mentioned, I also started running promotions, on FB/IG, to advertise for the release of Book 3. I tried one with just reviews visible in the Ad, and a couple with pics from the book(s) and the reviews in the copy. One of the latter, which was supposed to read, “I cannot recommend this series enough,” did not work out so well. 🥴 (Read what got printed in the second pic below). I had to pull it. 😂

I received some uplifting and well-written (and well-written matters) reviews this week, from ladybug_shirls and bookn.all.night. Some of the generated chatter had me realizing I’m missing some opportunities to advertise and maybe make money with merchandise—book sleeves, pins, hardboard pictures, keychains, coffee mugs, t-shirts. I’m not mentally ready to start editing Book 4, so maybe I’ll dink around with those digital-creation ideas.

Anyway, 'nuff said. Lots of stuff finished this week, and I'll take a little break before diving into the remodel of Book 4 (still haven't come up with a name). I've got house projects piled up, folks to visit, books to read... elves to chase around the house.

o To-Do list for writing last week:

• Email updates
• Continue on audiobook - I'd like to finish it this week.
• Update the Amazon downloads for ebook & print version.
• Hop over to B&N and get the 3rd book uploaded there.
• Poke on the new Amazon offering for hardbacks - see what it would take.

o To-Do list for writing this week:

• Email updates
• Hop over to B&N and get the 3rd book uploaded there.
• Poke on the new Amazon offering for hardbacks - see what it would take.
• Poke on logo ideas.
• Research ways to create merch - maybe this time I'll try to understand the playing field before diving in. (Nah)
• Take care of whatever pops up with the Audible.

Previous Newsletters

• ​Elf on the Shelf and the Bless-Yous of Winter - 12/05/2021
• ​Thanks have been given - 11/30/2021
• ​Reviews, but not bookish reviews... - 11/23/2021
• ​Lights, digital recording device, action… - 11/16/2021
• ​Losing Faith, a Calyx Twins Story - 10/26/2021 📜 Losing Faith, a Calyx Twins Story.pdf​
• ​New pics for Book 1 - 10/19/2021
• ​Happy Birthday, Middle Egg - 10/12/2021
• ​Age Before Duty -10/05/2021 📜​ Age-Before-Duty.pdf​
• ​Grundle's Hope - 9/28/2021 📜 Grundle's-Hope.pdf​

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