Broken Old Broad's update for the last couple of weeks...

 

Hi friends!

Well, my intentions to write a blog each and every Sunday have always been good in theory, but I tend to stray from those plans. Sometimes I manage to catch up around Tuesday or Wednesday, most times I lose track of the time and miss the whole week. 

Thing is, my day-to-day routine is, for the most part, dull as a mud puddle. I get up, I write, I take a break and do a couple of chores, I write some more, I make dinner, Blaze and I watch and movie and scarf our meal, I write some more, read or watch Colbert on Youtube, pass out for a few hours and do the whole thing over again the next day.

There are moments of hilarity or frustration or little bursts of anger (usually from me, I will admit – due to sharing a studio apartment with little space and privacy, which leaves my buttons easily pushed, even though I live with a seriously awesome man whom I adore), but mostly things are humdrum.  And what tiny bits of drama there are go into the books. 

So finding stuff to write about in the blogs takes a wee bit more time than a week. 

2021 is looking to be busy. I have plans to participate in both the April and July Camp NaNoWriMos, as I'm pulling all my writing articles, health articles, and poetry into collections.  Boom.  And in November I'm writing a novel about a woman whose entire life has been shaped by narcissists.  So far….  It's not going to be a horror novel, well, not in the traditional sense. There will be plenty of drama, though. Psychological. Hopefully there will be some sarcastic wit in there too. Now all I have to do is keep myself from veering into the horror genre. We'll see. 

I'm a big fan of Fredrik Backman, and as I was reading Britt Marie Was Here I started thinking I know people orbiting me whose stories would be interesting. I have plentiful notes in journals, attempted memoirs, and character notes to draw from. I'm gonna give it a shot.

But, to those who like my horror stuff, particularly my Owl's Nest novels and Owl's Eye View Magazine, I have plans for a gruesome, deliciously evil novel – to be written for NaNoWriMo in November of 2021 – that will give you your ooky fix in a big way.  Plus, I've reconstructed Owl's Eye View Magazine in its original form and just passed the halfway mark of publishing all ten years' worth (I'm up to Issue 53 as of last night) and am planning on a fantasmagorical bundle towards the end of January. 

Hence, I've been having many "oh crap!" moments on Tuesday or Wednesday, as I realize I forgot about the blog….

I need to learn from my husband, because he is a blogging, posting, publicity machine (and he still gets novels, short stories, and poetry written every single day, which leaves me in awe – and a tiny bit pissed off, heh, heh, heh).  \

Speaking of my dream-hubs – He is chugging away publishing on Patreon. For 3 bucks a month you will have access to the three novels and multiple short stories he's posted there. If you're looking for ooky fixes, there's at least one a day on Blaze McRob's Patreon page, in the form of a novel chapter or short story.

Okay, that about does it for today. Oh! Blaze and I did manage to vote yesterday morning. Hopefully some sanity and decency will get into office and our country can begin to heal and repair all the damage…

I hope all of you are well and are looking forward to 2021 as much as I am. Remember to mask up and slather on the hand-sanitizer when you're out and around, for your own safety as well as everyone else's. I'm hoping the horror stories can go back to existing only on the pages of my books this coming year…and stay there. 

Happy – and safe! – holidays to everyone.

Hugs!

Ter

 

Broken Old Broad Update - Things are moving right along.

Hi friends!

For a Broken Old Broad I've been moving along at a pretty good clip! All four of my Blazing Owl Short Horror pieces are live on Amazon, well ahead of my before-Thanksgiving goal. 

Another goal that's coming right along ahead of schedule is the "104-Issues-of-Owl's-Eye-View-Magazine-live-on-Amazon-by-mid-January" goal. I've been trying to edit and publish two issues a day, no matter what. For the most part I've managed that, and there were a couple of days there when I actually got three up. Some issues require more editing than others – the very early ones contained some non-fiction articles that I had to update or discard, which takes a little more time than editing the straight fiction. Mostly it's moving along glitch-free, and so far the first 15 issues are up. 

I've also organized all the fodder for my memoir books and have started writing some poetry and essays. This was a monumental task because I jumped from Medium (where I'd published over 350 articles and poems) to Patreon (where I'd re-published all the material I'd taken down from Medium, and was up to 60 or so) and decided Patreon wasn't for me. Not that Patreon isn't a great idea, it's just not quite me. I don't do well with the "come pay me to write for you" kind of promotion. I'm better with the "I just put a book up on Amazon that I know you're gonna lovet" kind of promotion. Actually, I'm not great at either, but the latter is more my speed. And knowing the material is up in digital markets and available without subscriptions seems like a better, easier found deal for you guys – my readers.

2021 is going to be a busy year. I've got all kinds of eBooks slated: a writing book, Broken Old Broad Inside Out Essays, (personal experience pieces), Broken Old Broad Outside In Essays (essays about what's going on in the world from a Broken Old Broad's point of view), Broken Old Broad Busts a Beat (poetry – some of it written in my teens and on up through my current stuff). I'm also pulling together notes for an Owl's Nest novel that, if the rest of my projects move right along, I hope to get written for NaNoWriMo (in November) and publish in early 2022. So there probably won't be as much from me on social pages this year, though another of my goals is to be better about marketing and give Blaze more of a hand in that department. I tend to suck at that – mainly because there just don't seem to be enough hours in my day.

Speaking of Blaze, you should subscribe to Blaze McRob's Patreon page – It's only $3 a month and he's already published two complete novels there and is starting to put up a third. Boom, baby! And if you prefer short stories, there are plenty of those in between novel chapters. He's been averaging a novel a month since he launched his page in October. You can't go wrong with this subscription, friends.

Okey dokey. I think that's about it. Ookiness to create!

Stay safe, everybody! Chills!

Ter

Oh! On a completely different subject, some seriously awesome music came out in the last couple of months –

"Only Gossamer My Gown" by Valentine Wolfe – which is extraordinary. I've come to expect unique music and excellent quality from Sarah Black and Braxton Ballew, and they've exceeded those expectations every single time, one album better than those before, consistently. OGMG is no exception. Ethereal, soul stirring vocals from Sarah with a thrashing, bass violin beat from Braxton, bringing the spirit of Emily Dickinson among us and into our hearts. Loving it!

The other is "Hollywood Africans" by Jon Batiste. During 2019 and 2020 I watched a lot of Stephen Colbert, and Jon Batiste caught my attention. I looked him up and found this album which is awesome! It opens with an original boogie woogie, "Kenner Boogie" which sucked me right in (Love me some boogie woogie!!). There's a cover of "Smile" so heartfully done it brought tears to my eyes (more than usual). There's also a cover of "The Very Thought of You" that is soft, slow, and beautiful. Six out of the eleven titles on this album are written by Jon Batiste, and every one of them is stunning and unique. I found out he is the creative musical force behind "Soul" – a Pixar movie coming out this month! Looking forward to that!