All posts by sonworshiper

Chairacters

So I started writing chapter 4 of Diffusion, the sequel to my fantasy book. And this is the first scene readers get with Josephine Delumiere, the Soulforged character from the first book. (Picture a “paladin” from Dungeons & Dragons, or some sort of holy warrior whose order alone is empowered to stand against the Fractured creatures of darkness that spawn throughout the world.)
In the first book, and in all four books that I have planned in my head, Josephine always had long blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun. Maybe that started with my wife’s World of Warcraft character, who once upon a time (before they put in a Barber Shop) was a blonde with long hair. 

But as I wrote the scene, suddenly Jo showed up with a haircut–short, unkempt, easy to care for, nothing for an enemy to grab hold of… the sort of “do” that you can run your fingers through and call it good to go. Enough hair to wave in the winds as Josephine dashes with divinely empowered speed, but nowhere near the length that for literally eight years up until half an hour ago I had always envisioned on this character.

Something like this sketch I whipped up in about twenty seconds for my wife…

   
I’m no fan of what I’ve heard described as “character development by haircut.” Tris Prior getting a short, pixie chop-job in Insurgent is the most recent example I can think of. So I’m not trying to tie a new hairstyle to some “new” Josephine.

But this is one of those rare instances where a character comes along, surprises me, and says, “Hey, I know you had such-and-such planned. I did this instead. Deal with it.”

Weird.

And awesome.

I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I’m having a blast.

First Amendment

Oops. 
So maybe it’s one of those obvious things everybody knows… 

But the saying that income under $600 doesn’t need to be reported to the IRS for taxes is a myth.

I realized this after getting an email from Kindle Direct Publishing stating “your 1099 MISC for royalties is ready for download” …about a week after I already sent off my tax return.

The good news is I doubt there’s a lot of taxes on maybe $50 worth of income. I got $22 in royalties and I sold a few books in person (with maybe $3 profit for each sale, but I have to check).

Royalties on a 1099 MISC are different than the self employed paperwork you have to fill out if you earned more than $400 in your business. And they also make it clear that money you make on side jobs still counts, despite that pervasive $600 myth. 

So NOT filing the amendment (since KDP has tax documents prepared) is more worrisome to me than whatever comes of sending in an amended return. I like the idea of showing the IRS “hey, I didn’t include this, but here it is, I’m doing the right thing and just being thorough, please don’t destroy me.”

And with such a small amount, I doubt anything’s going to change…

Other than the way I document whatever profit I make throughout the year. Even if it’s just “coffee money” here and there from selling a book in person, I want to have my ducks in a row. 

Ducks in a nice row don’t get audited as often. Or so I hope.

Happy tax season!

Makeshift Reblog

A friend of mine has started posting some parts of a philosophy of holistic fitness that he’s been thinking through. He focuses on the common experiences that unite us – shared ideas based on what it means and feels like to be a physical being. While I love to pick on him (usually in retribution) and disagree with him about many things, I’ve always enjoyed hearing his perspective. 
Maybe you will too. 

It appears he has reblogs turned off, but links work just fine.

Beat the Snow

Yesterday was among the coldest days on record for Okinawa, Japan, to include a light bit of snow (barely noticeable and only on the highest part of the island, to be fair–nothing like what some of you see on the regular in the States).

We will try to rebuild and recover. 

Still, a chilly day inspires me to enjoy a nice warm soup and sandwich, something to beat the snow and fill me with joy. And my favorite combination is a bowl of robust and flavorful tomato soup, with what Panera Bread calls a “Big Kids’ Grilled Cheese.”

The sandwich is a thick toast triple-cheese parmesan-crusted taste of awesomeness with bacon in the middle. The soup that I’m making has been kicked up a notch with italian seasonings, extra garlic powder, and a sprinkle of southwest chipotle. 

 

The start of a satisfied smile on my face
 
Since I have a swarm of hungry kids, there’s a pan of tortellini boiling to ensure everyone eats their fill. (Confession time: I want tortellini and the rest is pure justification.)

Yes, this is going to happen today. 

The herbs count as a vegetable, right?

Bacon of course, plus some 5-cheese Italian sprinkled between two slices of cheesy Texas toast, then the top of the sandwich is dusted with parmesan and it all goes back in the oven to melt into delicious crispiness.

And since it wouldn’t be a reasonable facsimile of Panera without coffee… I’ve got a special pot of cherry chocolate coffee brewed up for me and the wifey. 

Suck it, “cold” mid-40s Okinawa weather!

Out of Stock

When I self-published Diffraction, I had no idea how many hard copies I might need and guesstimated 15.

  
Those got claimed faster than expected. So I ordered another 12 after the 15 arrived. 

But when people saw me handing out the signed copies, more friends said, “Me too.” So now all 12 are claimed before they even get here. And now I need to order more.

I never anticipated writing would be something I do for a living, so I’m realistic about the fact that 30 or 40 copies of a self-published book does not equal best-seller.

But it puts a smile on my face nonetheless.

Thanks to those who gave my writing a shot!

Sick Sucks

One of my goals for writing is to reach 20K words / month, preferably on the sequel to Diffraction. Between that, finishing my NaNoWriMo book, continuing Echoes on WattPad, participating in occasional Blog Battles, and maintaining a somewhat frequent blog, I have plenty of writing options. 

Brandon Sanderson posts his word counts and percentages complete for various projects. That struck me as a great way to inject a little discipline or intentionality into my own writing–something I lack. I’m used to winging it, writing when I feel like it, for however long the mood strikes. But like many disciplines (dieting, exercise, learning an instrument, studying for school), a little organization and tracking can show you how much (or little) you’ve done.

I finished 50K in a month for NaNo. I chose 20K a month as a sustainable pace (given I have a full time job). And I thought, “This will be easy.”

Yet my word count tracker tells me otherwise:

 

It hurts to insert so many 0s.
 
I flew twice for work over the weekend (Saturday and Sunday). I spent Monday thinking “I’ll write some in a bit.” Then I spent pretty much all of Tuesday confined to bed with a terrible nauseating headache sinus combination of death. Still, the excuses don’t make me feel much better when I have to hit ‘0’ for that field. 
Looks like I have some catching up to do.

Real Artists Ship

It’s a quote attributed to Steve Jobs. I found it in a book by Jeff Goins, called You Are A Writer, So Start Acting Like One.

I’ve been reading it in the winding line at the Postal Service Center, waiting to pick up packages that invariably contain anything but what I was waiting for. (My wife had fun with holiday shopping.)

Today I got my present in the mail:

 

Sometimes shipping takes a while!

And all but one of the books are already claimed. I got my signing pens ready!

Thanks to all who support in various ways – the Facebook shares, the GoodReads review, the “me!” responses when I post an offer. 

This gets me going for the next book (the draft of which currently holds 5,600 words).
Blessings.