So, What's Happening Now?

1) My goodreads contest ended on Halloween.  There were 389 entries (significantly fewer than for any Half-Vampire goodreads contest I've done), and 180 people added Becoming Brigid to their TBR list.  A girl named Hannah won, and I mailed off the book Friday.  (I hope she likes it and gives it a positive review somewhere.)
2) This Thursday I'm scheduled to meet with the creative writing club of a high school across town from where I teach.  This should be fun, as they're older kids and I don't know any of them -- for a change. :)
3) Yes, I'm aware that NaNoWriMo is starting.  I don't do NaNoWriMo.  I believe that writing is a craft which takes time.  I suspect that it is extremely unlikely that anyone could write a whole novel from outline to finished first draft in thirty days and have anything that wasn't 90% crap.  (And I read LOTS of self-published fiction which came from NaNoWriMos past and backs up my suspicions here.)
4) I am working on several things right now.
4a) One of them is a 2-book set of Confessions of an Average Half-Vampire and All in the Half-Vampire Family.

(Max in stereo with both HV books.)
I've finished putting them together -- and putting BACK all the italics which inconveniently disappear when I copy and paste.  But I've got to decide on and put in the "extras" at the back of the book and fix up a new cover.  I've been tinkering with variations on that original blood splatter, but nothing is jumping out at me as a good choice just yet.  (Yeah, I have about 15 photo aps on my iPad.)  At any rate, I hope to have this e-book only set ready to roll for Christmas sales.  :)

(A teaching colleague with both HV books.)
4b) I've had The (Dis)Appearance of Nerissa MacKay on hold for months now, as I've been so busy with finalizing Becoming Brigid and working on the first draft of The Chocolate Smuggler's Notebook.  But I hope to have some of these high school creative writing kids beta read if for me.  (I'm also still struggling with the cover of this one.)

4c) I've been pecking away at Chocolate Smuggler's Notebook, but I got stagnated and disappointed for a few days.  I then went back to my idea from last year of writing some short story prequels to introduce the world of the book, and I got another idea.  I decided I'd write a set of short stories as prequels to the prequels -- but Christmas stories!

I have 4 mapped out, and one and 3/4 of them written.  And tonight, I had Dad look over the covers I'd created.  He picked out the one he thinks is best, praised my color choice (usually very good), font choice, and letter placement (often where I have trouble).  Thus, the cover is set.  (Uh, I might add here that Dad spent his entire career as a commercial artist, the forerunner to today's graphic artists, so he knows what he's talking about.)
I hope to have a 99¢ story collection ready by Cyber Monday (e-book only).
5) I do have more contests planned and prizes sitting on my craft desk, ready to be sent out to winners.  I just keep hoping to get some more book reviews for Becoming Brigid, but they're not coming in very fast.  Perhaps I need to start the contest and see if that generates some interest????

6) I've certainly learned that posting photos on this blog (and on Pinterest and Twitter) REALLY increases my blog traffic.  I don't know that it's really increased book sales, but it certainly brings folks to the blog!