Status update (and a Kindle Countdown deal)

So, um, how’s everyone holding up out there?

Very… interesting times we’re living in, no?

Anyone else just, like, completely cracked out on fear and uncertainty right now?

My oldest is still in school but they switch to “online learning” (and who the heck knows how THAT’s going to work but it sounds a lot like I just became a home school parent for the foreseeable future) and my husband will start working from home on Tuesday and only go into work as needed. I am the most worried about my parents who are as sequestered as they can be except they have a bunch of doctor’s appointments this week because my dad has been very off and they need to figure out what’s up. Fingers crossed that whatever it is turns out to be is more of the “take two of these and call me in the morning” variety and not something that needs a hospital because, uh, *gestures broadly all around*.

So all I can say about any of this is that I wish we were all already hunkered down and riding this out in our houses but at least we’re almost there! Hope you and your loved ones are all comfortably and sterile-ly ensconced somewhere safe and that we all make it through this as soon as we can.

Getting anything done right now is all but impossible but I did finally get myself to be a little bit productive the last two days. And, while I am not claiming that my thought process is healthy or logical in anyway, I share it with you now in the event it helps: I was reading about the symptoms of COVID-19 and how even a “mild” case can knock you off your feet for a week or more and, coupled with the fact that, statistically, most of us will get it, I decided I was better off operating under the assumption that I will get it and start planning accordingly. Which means planning what I would do, where I would self-quarantine and, also, getting my most urgent work out of the way just in case I was out of commission for a while. For whatever reason, this totally motivated me to get stuff done now since I may not be able to in the future. Now it’s more like, “Let’s see, what else can I get done before I get sick?” instead of that paralyzed feeling of not being able to start anything.

Maybe this is weird, but when I am feeling uncertain about the future (such as now) I find it helpful to do something that will specifically only bear fruit sometime later to get myself invested again in what happens next.

Sometimes that means planting seeds today for future flowers.

Sometimes it means making a plan for the worst case even while still hoping for the best.

And sometimes it just means doing some work on that play or novel I hope to finish in a happier tomorrow.

Anyway, though it feels ghoulish to self-promote right now, such is the nature of the beast so if you’re looking ahead to that happier tomorrow and trying to pick a play for a future season when all this is well behind us, my fantastically funny fairy tale play, The Fourth Orange and Other Fairy Tales You’ve Never Even Heard Of, is on a special countdown deal on Amazon this week. It’ll start out at only 99 cents and then gradually go up as the week goes on so head on over and check it out (but if you see this late, don’t worry, even on the final day it will still be more than 50% off the normal price).

Also if you’re a member of Kindle Unlimited or Prime Reading, up until April 2nd, 2020, you can read all of that play totally for free on Amazon. After that date, while the free Amazon reading will go away, the play will finally be available for purchase everywhere in both paperback and eBook. Stay tuned for news about the other Tale of Tales plays which will also be available in print and eBook format soon!

What else is going on besides prepping for a global pandemic and crushing existential dread? Hmm, let’s see…

• I’m taking a really great writing class about crafting Secondary Characters from Linnea Sinclair. I have taken four of her classes now and they are all excellent and very affordable! She always posts any upcoming workshops on her Facebook page so keep an eye out there for the next one.
• I signed up for the Dramatist Guild’s End of Play Challenge (which is basically like a knock-off Script Frenzy, the script writing event NaNoWriMo used to run). I signed up with a very small goal, just to finish half of my monologue play, but I haven’t even gotten close to that with everything going on in the world (plus the class and publishing all the Tale of Tales plays and doing the rewrite I want to have done by the end of the month). But there’s still half a month left so, who knows, maybe I will rally!
• I’ve also been slowly making my way through a bunch of writing craft books and realizing… it’s time to start reviewing those on here so I need to get on at some point.
• Oh, and I know I said I was going to start sending out a proper newsletter in January and that… didn’t happen but, in my defense… *gestures broadly all around again*. For now, if it isn’t essential, it ain’t getting done and that’s just going to have to be fine!

That’s it from me for now. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy out there!