Memories

 I'm sure you've all heard the joke by now: Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most? Story. Of. My. Life.

See, today is December 8. It's my oldest niece's birthday (and my second-oldest niece's half-birthday...and I have two brother's with birthdays exactly six months apart--two years and six months, but that's not the point, which is that we like order and synchronicity in my clan). It also happens to have been the original release date for In the Dark. 

I'm posting the original cover here, not because I don don't like the new one, but because at the time the book was first released, this is EXACTLY how my niece-whose-birthday-is-today looked. I was a little freaked out the first time this image popped up in my email, to be honest.

But I bring all of this up to say that, I HAD A REASON for scheduling my post for today. Do I remember what that reason was?  No, I do not. Did it have anything to do with this book? Possibly? I dunno. 

It is kind of nice that I'm talking about family, however, since this book, this series, hell MOST of my series, are all to do with families. Which is what led me to come up with my most current author logo: 

All the Friends, All the Families, All the Feels.

But I kinda think that that's not at all what I'd originally planned on writing about today, either. 

So, I guess I need a new topic. And I guess I could do worse than to talk about memories. 

So, speaking of which, I remember when CATS first came out--the first, first time, a gazillion years ago--and that song (Memories--for those of you too young to know what I'm talking about) was playing all the time, everywhere...and even more so since we had the album on repeat. Gluttons for punishment, what can I say? Back then, I prided myself on my good memory, even though it wasn't a patch on my grandmother's. She came to America when she was thirteen years old, seventy years later, she could still remember what they'd served at every meal on the trip across the Atlantic. 

These days, memories are like surprises. They pop up out of nowhere, all shiny and new. It's a little like the scene in my favorite old Star Trek movie, The Voyage Home, where they travel back in time to 1986 San Francisco. They need money, so they have to pawn the only old object they have--a pair of antique glasses that McCocCy had given Kirk. Spock says: "Wasn't that a birthday present?" To which Kirk replies, "Yes. And it will be again. That's the beauty of it."

So I guess the beauty of this post is all the synchronicities. The movie was set in San Francisco in 1986. My niece was born in 1986. My vampires live in San Francisco. Maybe my new, new author logo should simply be:  All the Synchronicities?  

By the way. Another synchronistic memory that just popped up on my FB timeline the day I wrote this post, was this image from one of my old newsletters:

As it happens, of course, this was the very newsletter that announced the release of In the Dark--because OF COURSE it was. I quit publishing newsletters because I could never remember to get them out on time. Surprising? I think not. 

COINCIDENTALLY, I'm just in the process of putting out a new newsletter. If you'd like to subscribe, here's the link: https://www.pgforte.com/newsletter  Thanks for reading, and have a memorable day!

Also, happy birthday to Meredith. 

Looking for FREE holiday reads?  Check out my Free for the Holidays page--only available this month--on my website: https://www.pgforte.com/only-for-the-holidays

A Day in the Life of a Writer

Just in case you’ve ever wondered what it’s like in the glamorous world of writing, I’m here to spill my secrets.

Today I was awoken by a beeping back-up indicator on a truck outside my window, interrupting a dream in which I’d received a sudden, unexpectedly large check from my publisher (triple digits) and was having an important talk with my agent at a writing conference. Both things seemed like they were about to change my life, and then that damn truck. I’ve had prophetic dreams about rejections before, so I was hoping maybe this check thing would pan out similarly, but alas, no.

So I got up and went into my office, where I do the day job—editing for a global consulting firm. Answered emails, reviewed copy on a couple of layouts, then took a break to have coffee and a breakfast sandwich, after which I updated some project management records, finalized some copy after receiving approval for an ad from a happy client (yay!), and sent the copy for layout.

Then it was time for an hour of therapeutic yoga at my neighborhood studio to try to manage the pain from the pinched nerve I got a year and a half ago from a herniated disc in my neck from hunching over a laptop writing for 20 years. The pain sucks, but the yoga break is always nice.

Back to the “office,” where I reviewed some more layouts, worked on a PowerPoint presentation, and then a “lunch” break to watch my daily episode of X-Files—along with hundreds (dozens?) of other nerds like me going through all nine seasons leading up to the release of the new series in January.

Then more layouts and emails and edits, and finally, it’s time for me to go “home,” which means heading into my bedroom to read some Facebook posts and tweets and answer personal business email before dinner.

After that is when I start writing. I have a standing desk now so I don’t keep messing up my spine, and I keep the standing desk in my bedroom. It keeps the day job and the writing separate, and gets my butt out of the chair for a few hours. (I also have a treadmill under the standing desk, but am I using it? No. I’m standing on it.)

Normally, I write at least 1,000 words each evening, but tonight I remembered I had this blog post due; hence, my boring you with my day. When I’m finished, I have some giveaway prizes I need to box up and address to take to the post office tomorrow before the winners start to suspect that I’m a big, fat liar who just made up this giveaway. Then, hopefully, I’ll finally have time to write. Usually, writing wraps up around 1am, followed by decaf tea and a little snack (animal cookies) while I unwind with some television before bed.

Add in several breaks to feed cats (and clean up cat puke) and pet a demanding 19-year-old calico, and that’s it. That’s my life. Pretty much every day, except that on weekends, I don’t do the day job, so I have longer to write. Strangely, this usually does not amount to significantly more words.

Believe it or not, most of this—except for the neck pain, the cat puke, and the marketing—is actually how I prefer to spend my time. I like creating worlds and characters who have far more active lives than I do. Though I wouldn’t mind traveling more to some of the places I write about.

Some years I do a few conferences (many of my fellow writers are off in New York this week for the annual RWA), but I couldn’t afford any this year, which goes nicely with my social aversion and agoraphobia. Thus, here I am, sharing my oh-so-exciting day with you.

Was it everything you thought it would be?

What Does a Writer Do When She's Not Writing?

It’s been almost two years since How Beauty Loved the Beast, my last full length novel, was released into the wild. Two years…where did the time go? So what’s a writer doing when she’s not publishing? Here are a few things that kept me busy…

1) Being a (foster) mom

2) Publishing shorter works

3) My cat ate my book.

4) Going to the doctor

5) Learning to weld

6) Cutting my hair

7) Figuring out what to do with short hair.

8) Hanging with TheScott

9) Traveling to the Arctic

10) Writing a new series!

Okay, so MOST of the time was taken up with #1. It’s been a wild two years, and I’m so glad to be back to publishing. And I'm SUPER excited about my new paranormal M/M Stripped with the Vampire, coming out on March 11!

What’s the most interesting or fun thing you’ve done in the past two years?