Voted! My fellow Missourians there’s still time for your voice to be heard.

So close to done on the edits but I’m just too tired to keep going tonight. Must sleep. I can get up early & finish tomorrow. Goodnight to the Queen of Air & Darkness and her consort Eoman, to the Queen’s Darkness, the Killimg Frost, Princess Meredith, & Princes Rhys and Galen.

I let myself sleep 10 hours last night. But tonight I’m exhausted earlier. I think I’m just wearing out after weeks of editing/rewriting. My ADHD loves the late nights but it’s not just one paper for college then getting my A. It started as nearly 1,000 pages now down to 700 plus.

I have to stop for the night. I could write first draft but the editing is down to final chioices and I’m too tired to make those kinds of decisions. So goodnight to Merry, Rhys, Galen, and little Bree. I’ll finish editing the scene tomorrow.

Wrote until 1:30am again. Or is it edited, or both? Both. Driven from bed still exhausted but that last scene is now clear in my head. If I’d edited it last night I’d have gotten it wrong. This morning I know one last scene needs to be scraped and done over then we are done.

Mug for today.

Not even Christmas music can block out current news so I’ve got So I’m editing to “The West Wing” on headphones. There is something so soothing about it.

There are homeowners who refuse to be haunted by anything less than a lord or a lady. Refuse to accept their spectres are more likely to be chimney sweeps' climbing boys, maids who took their own lives. Sooty prints and shattered vases tell workers' tales. – #CJosiffe #Ghosts

First lotus of summer! They are so big and pink and luscious like joy in physical form.

My goal today is to stay offline and listen to the pouring rain, drink tea/coffee and finish editing this chapter that’s been beating me for days. Today I will win and then I’m back to editing the hallway scene. Gods, this is my least favorite part of writing.

Sometimes the world gives us omens that should not be ignored:

Ella Dawson@brosandprose.bsky.social · 2mo ago

uhhhh so my mom and all of my hometown lost power because the gigantic American flag hanging from the WWE headquarters in Stamford blew loose and got caught in a major power line

Editing required a new scene my editor & I had agreed on. First first draft in weeks. Got so carried away forgot lunch, so guess I’m getting dinner. My Adhd is thrilled & completely out of steam. My autism is hating the total disregard of schedule. AuHD diagnosis lets me know what’s happening.

It’s been a long, hard month this week. Anyone else feel the same?

Writing went much better today. I had to cut 2 days worth of pages because it’s too late in the edits to add new scenes that aren’t on the list my editor & I agreed on. Plus no adding 1st draft parts in a very final draft because my ADHD is bored with editing & wants new toys.

Morning view while I drank my second cup of caffeine.

I’ve recently rediscovered my long lost love for reading and Audibles, and not only do I remember how much @laurellkhamilton.bsky.social shaped my teenage self into the badass feminist I am today, I’m 40 y/o and still LOVE the Anita Blake series. ❤️

Mother’s Day gifts from my daughter this year are awesome. Then she & my husband gave me the gift I want & get every year possible to not have to take care of anybody else by myself for the rest of the day. All food ordered in, and I am off duty as mom for the rest of the day.

This beast of a book is the Merry Gentry book after A Glimmer of Death. My dyslexia doesn’t like editing on screen so I print out and write changes long hand before transferring back to the computer.

My husband’s ADHD has always been worse than mine. I was driven, focused until my hormones left now I’m struggling the way I’ve seen him do for years. I apologized to him for all the times I was impatient. We both had ADHD, why couldn’t he do what I did? Estrogen, that’s why.

Our kittens minutes after birth three years ago this week. Marshmallow, Smaug, Agatha, plus their brother Graham. He was adopted into another home with a kitten brother from another mother.

Happy Birthday to Marshmallow, Agatha, and Smaug! They were born in rescue three years ago today. It is also the birthday of my grandmother who raised me. I took it as a sign of love and healing, and that is exactly what it has been. Thanks to St. Louis Pet rescue for helping us find them.

The Lady garden survived the storms. The fountain which is the focal point of the garden was broken before hand. If I had been thinking, I would’ve taken the statue into the garage along with the potted plants, but the Goddess stood tall and firm in the face of all the weather.

Behold the snake.

Boonville, Arkansas you have an active tornado without a warning going off according to Max Velocity.

Went to bed early. Woke to tornado sirens. Now down in the basement with family and pets. It’s a warning, so everyone in St. Louis area stay safe.

A mug that makes me think of Anita and rereading Crimson Death to refresh myself on what character before I sit down to write the new Anita Black novel? Can you guess?

Magnus, Agatha, and Smaug enjoying my office view as I write new Anita Blake. The book is an a scene with Wedding prep and mother-in-law‘s from hell, but the short story idea is her armed to the teeth and hunting rogue monsters. Which should I write today?

First day back in my office since I got COVID. I’ve been writing on the couch, but today I’m at my desk with my view spread out before me. Magnus is enjoying the view along with me.

So rainy and gloomy that we turned on our Easter lights to try and bring some cheer into a strangely bleak spring day.

Read the last two Anita Blake books. Found a coffee mug that helps me channel Anita’s voice. Time to start writing the next adventure.