Definitely on the mend - finally!

Yes, I’m definitely starting to feel better. Despite not getting nearly enough sleep last night (O Nyquil, I reach out a trembling hand, but you slip from my grasp…), I’ve been productive and actually have energy today. As in, “Okay, let’s tackle the next item on the To Do list” as opposed to “Oh gods, not the next item on the To Do list…fuuuuck…”

Okay, for the record, I did doze off during my acupuncture appointment. That was a nice rest.

Of course, now I’m battling with the Popcorn Kittens. So many projects bouncing up and down demanding my attention! First orders of business are copyediting (I have two jobs to finish before we leave for Oregon on the 23^rd) and a short story due ASAP. I’m expecting a story assignment by the end of the week (for one of the Oregon workshops) that will then be due ASAP (before the second workshop; I don’t know the exact date, but probably before we hit the road).

Butbutbut then there’s publishing! I just got my second collection out (Five Funny Fantasies) and I’m jonesing to do another. I see that if I publish two more outdoor erotica stories, I’ll have a total of 10, which will be perfect for a collection. I also have a mock-up done of a cover for another fantasy story; I think it’s pretty good, which means I have to buy the art, format the story for the various markets, see if there any nice reviews of the story out there, write the blurb, etc.

HOLY SHIT, DUDES! Apparently the story in question, “Some Old Lover’s Ghost,” was nominated for a 2010 Gaylactic Spectrum Award for Best Short Fiction! It didn’t make the short list, but still!  O.O

Woah. Right. Where was I?

So, copyediting, writing, publishing. I’m also doing the tutorials for InDesign so I can finally get some print books out (oy). I’m behind on work email, too. And a wee bit of promo here and there—a bunch of Cleis Press anthologies I have stories in are now available as audio books, and I’d like to do a post on my romantic stories that would be nice for Valentine’s Day….

Meanwhile, I’ve been pretty good about keeping my home email In Box, which includes bunches of SCA mail, mostly down. But a flurry came in this morning, so I need to deal with that tonight. Today, I’ve also gone to Trader Joe’s, the drugstore, Best Buy (I can has a new little light wee Kindle!), and Jo-Ann’s. Not a lot of house stuff, but some puttering here and there.

What I really want to do is watch the new Styx DVD, but it’s just gonna have to wait a little while longer! Writing calls!

Edited to Add: And tomorrow I’m going back to bootcamp after a couple of weeks off. It’s gonna hurt, but it’ll gonna hurt so good….

First fantasy collection!

Five Funny Fantasies by Dayle A. Dermatis

Five Funny Fantasies is the first collection from prolific writer Dayle A. Dermatis. Prepare to be amused by these five humorous fantasy stories involving dragons and slayers, deals with the Devil, 80s hair metal, and much, much more!

Includes the following stories:

• If the Shoe Fits
• Feline Design
• Famous Last Words
• Hell’s Belles
• What Dragons Prefer

“Dayle A. Dermatis’s ‘If the Shoe Fits’ is a funny (and rather ingenious) semi-modern twist on Cinderella, in which we find out why that shoe was really so important to everyone.”
—Errant Dreams Reviews

“[What Dragons Prefer’ is] a very good short story with a classic twist at the end. This story is very well worth reading.”

—Steve Challis, Smashwords.com

“Simply put, the author's writing style is really, really good!”

—A.A., Amazon.com

“I chuckled aloud at [‘What Dragons Prefer’]. Brilliantly succinct expression of a neat twist!”
—George, Podcastle.com

Cover art © Julien Tromeur / iStockPhoto.com.

Available in a variety of electronic formats
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

State of the Dayle (and Ken)

We’ve had a much-needed quiet, somewhat catch-up weekend. I’m pretty sure I’m on the far side of my cold; I finally haven’t needed nasal spray to sleep (which I’ve been using since, oh, Christmas) and I’m not coughing much at all. Maybe tonight I’ll try to go without Nyquil…? Which would be sad, because I like Nyquil so very much. It puts me to sleep, and keeps me asleep, and even if I get up to stagger to the bathroom or snort more nasal spray, it puts me right back to sleep. Sweet, sweet Nyquil. Why must you have high fructose corn syrup in you? Of course, as soon as I’m not sick and I try to take Nyquil, it will keep me awake, spinning and spinning. So at least there’s no chance I’ll become addicted to it.

Sadly, Ken’s now been struck with a cold; hopefully it won’t linger as long as mine. Sigh.

My root-canalled tooth still hurts if I try to chew on that side, and I’m hoping that’s because I have a temp filling. My jaw is also still a little achy, but nothing awful.

So we’ve spent the weekend catching up on TV (plus I’ve been saving some stuff to DVD), and I’ve ton a bunch of copyediting and started a short story and answered much work email (and home email and SCA email and…), and Ken’s cleaned off his desk, and we cleaned off part of the sewing table (as well as putting away the air mattress and sheets and blankets from our most recent guest), and Friday night to Saturday morning I slept 11 hours, waking with dismay at 1 pm.

But maybe that’s why I’m finally feeling better. Who knows. I set my alarm for noon today and got up at 11:30, so I’m slowly dragging myself back to a schedule the rest of the world views as “normal.” I’ve got an acupuncture treatment tomorrow morning so I have to be up…

I think my hand’s marginally better, thanks to my babying it as much as possible. The NAMM and Styx/Geoff Tate vacations helped, as does Dragon Dictate. Writing is still slow going, though. I’m handwriting a story and then dictating it in, but I’ve discovered that when I handwrite, I tend to default to notes rather than, oh, actual sentences. Ack.

Okay, off to hammer through some more emails before I curl up in bed with Ken and the latest Sue Grafton!

Who's there?

So it’s 1:30 am, Ken’s gone to bed, and I’m still up sipping red wine and trying to eke out a short story.

We live in an old house, one that creaks and groans and settles.

Just now, the heater (I think) (I hope) made two distinct, sharp knocks into the silence.

And all I can think is, I’m damn well not going to knock back, because I do not want to get an answer.  O.o