Today’s my sexy date with the oncologist. Afterward, I might pop in for an update, but we’ll see. I’m a little nervous. No stiff upper lip here today. I didn’t sleep well, despite a nice dose of codeine. Sleep is the ultimate elixir, isn’t it?

Anyway, there’s fun stuff happening over on the Collections website. Be sure to follow the link and enter to win. Ava’s story was the first one I read when going through submissions when I said, “Hell, yeah! I have to have it!” It’s that good. Funny, sexy, and just the kind of alien invasion story I adore.

This past week was basically all about keeping things together. Soldiering on. The busier I am, the stronger and more positive I feel. Lots happened last week, and this next week will be another rollercoaster.

Report Card

Last week…

1. I celebrated and promoted the release of Secret Identities anthology! I hope you all picked up your copies! There’s something for everyone inside that volume!
2. I worked on edits for one author.
3. I revamped my release schedule so that my book, Built Like Mack, is pushed off to September. Sorry, I know some of you were looking forward to it, but I’m not in the headspace at the moment.
4. I swam every day for the first part of the week. The next two items describe why that happened…
5. I went to the doctor for abdominal pain on Monday, thinking maybe it was my gallbladder or appendix. I wish. I was sent for a CT scan immediately and afterward was scheduled right away to see an oncologist.
6. My daughter and the girls returned from their vacation in Virginia with the flu and promptly gave me the bug, too.

This next week…

1. I see the oncologist on Monday. I’m sure he’ll schedule a biopsy and we’ll go from there. I hate waiting. That’s the worst part. I like action, solve it, figure out what I have to fight. Or maybe, it’s something other than cancer (I can hope).
2. I will finish editing one author’s manuscript and begin editing the next one in line.
3. I’ll work on finishing the next Delta Fire novella, Ignition. I only have a couple of chapters to write, and I think I can get through it while I wait for whatever procedures I will be going through.
4. I’ll continue swimming and trying to watch what I eat, although I am finding it hard not to want to eat my favorite things!
5. I’ll continue working on some small art projects while I declutter my art room.

Open Contests

On the Delilah’s Collections website!

1. GETTING TO KNOW N.J. WALTERS (CONTEST) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. GETTING TO KNOW M. JAYNE (CONTEST) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. GETTING TO KNOW GABBI GREY (CONTEST) — Last Day to enter! Win a FREE book!
4. In One Picture: Michal Scott’s “My Heavenly Phantom” (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!

Here, on this site!

1. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: While the cat’s away… — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. July into August (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Gabbi Grey: What a Difference Seven Years Makes (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Cecilia Tan: A Recipe for Steamy, Steamy Steampunk (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Cottagecore Aesthetic/Trad Wife…? — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…ELF!
*~*~*

Before I get into July’s accomplishments/August’s future plans, I want to take a moment to say thank you to my readers! I woke up to see this today:

It’s the ranking for my latest anthology, Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology! I could not be more thrilled for the authors inside this collection! I wish I was one of them, but I had to reject the two stories I worked on because they just didn’t make the cut. Not sure why, or maybe I do, but I’ll explain more below.

Anyway, congrats to TEAM SECRET IDENTITIES! And if you haven’t gotten your copy, hit the link above. It’s only $0.99, and there’s something for everyone’s taste in this volume. Did I mention it starts with a big bang thanks to my sister Elle James’s terrific Brotherhood Protectors-related story!?

July

1. I published the first book in my Delta Fire series: Burning Up Memphis.
2. I revised and published the second Delta Fire book, Hotter with a Pole.
3. I revised and uploaded the third Delta Fire book, Rapid Entry, which will release on August 6th! (Have you pre-ordered your copy?!)
4. I finished work on Cyrus and published it on July 23rd!
5. I finished editing all the stories inside Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, and it was published on July 30th!
6. I completed 2 editing projects for other authors in July!

Health-related:

1. After all my annual scans, bloodwork, etc., that happened in June and July, I thought I was good to go. Full steam ahead. Enjoy the summer, write like mad. However, around mid-month, problems I had been thinking were minor (gas, indigestion, whatever), I started having some real abdominal pain. I thought gallbladder, then maybe appendix. So, I was sent in for a CT scan from my lungs down to my pubic bone. They found something, and statistically, the thing they found derives from metastatic cancer—but it could be inflammation due to infection, so I’m holding out for that, because hey, all that bloodwork and all those scans didn’t find tumors anywhere. Make it make sense. Not panicking, trying to keep busy so I don’t think about it too much. I’d appreciate any thoughts/wishes/prayers.
2. I paid attention to what I put in my mouth and lost 8.5 pounds this month!

Happiness-related: 

1. July was filled again with family activities. We’ve had movie nights at home and special meals where everyone participated in the food prep.
2. The pool is finally clear and beautiful. Whether I feel like it or not, I swim at least once a day.
3. Art kind of fell by the wayside this month. I have nothing wonderful to share with you. I’ll try better in August!

August

1. To publish Book #3 in the Delta Fire series, Rapid Entry on August 6th!
2. To delay the publication of Built Like Mack. I’m not writing much now, and I have a lot to write on this story. I will push off the publication date as far as I can into September. Sorry, I know some of you were looking forward to reading the next We Are Dead Horse story soon.
3. To complete Ignition, the fourth book in the Delta Fire series. I only have two or three chapters left.  If I can, I’ll have a September release.
4. To complete 3 or 4 editing projects in August!

For health related, I plan:

1. To get an answer regarding my stomach issues and then move forward.
2. To schedule the last of the health-related appointments I need to wrap up: Eye exam and dental exam.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To fiddle in my art room!
2. To spend time with the family—movies, flea market adventures, and pool—before school starts and everything gets complicated!

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier, or tell me what you plan to read in August…

Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

It was a productive week once we got past the AC issue on Monday. You really, really appreciate your conveniences when they aren’t there. It was a busy week. I tend to write best when I’m under a hard deadline, and I really felt the pressure to complete Cyrus, so the story flowed all the way up to the day before I had to upload it! I wish my muse was more disciplined, but that’s just not how it works. I have to let go and let it do its thing. When I surrender and take myself out of the process, that’s when the good stuff comes. And I know that’s more crazy author talk, but if the shoe fits… Anyway, here’s my report card for last week’s work and my plan for the upcoming week. Sharing these “report cards” does help because I feel like I have to accomplish things or I look lazy. LOL

Report Card

Last week…

1. The AC was fixed on Monday! By Tuesday, the temperature inside the house, including my basement office, was at last livable! Yay!
2. I completed writing/editing Cyrus. It was formatted and uploaded for its release on Tuesday!
3. I worked on the last edits of the stories inside the Secret Identities anthology.
4. I gave up on the short story I was trying to write for Secret Identities and started another, but it’s not working either even though I’m 3/4 of the way into it. I might have to reject my own story for the anthology because it’s just not good enough. There’s a first time for everything, and I have to be honest with myself. I think the theme just didn’t work for me, and after reading the great stories that are going to make up the new volume, I’m not going to embarrass myself. 🙂
5. I swam every day, sometimes twice a day!
6. I’m still complying with Weight Watchers, despite the week from hell when we ate fast food at least once a day. I’ve maintained a 5.5-pound loss.

This next week…

1. Cyrus releases this week! Early Tuesday morning to be exact! You know I’ll be promoting the heck out of the first West Yellowstone bounty hunter book!
2. I’ll finish editing stories in the Secret Identities anthology. Then I’ll compile the stories into the anthology and ready them for publication on the 30th!
3. I will begin editing another author’s manuscript!
4. I’ll begin work on my next novel, Built Like Mack, the next We Are Dead Horse story.
5. I’ll continue swimming and counting those points on Weight Watchers!

Open Contests

On the Delilah’s Collections website!

1. GETTING TO KNOW BRENT ARCHER (CONTEST) — Last day to enter! 2 winners! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. GETTING TO KNOW CINDY TANNER (CONTEST) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. GETTING TO KNOW AVA CUVAY (CONTEST) —  This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!

Here, on this site!

1. Gabbi Grey: Pushing Boundaries (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win a FREE book!
2. It’s getting hot in here! (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Saturday Puzzle Contest: I’ve been through the desert… — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Gabbi Grey: Avoiding the Middle Book Slump (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Word Search: Things to See in Yellowstone… (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Caviar and Frogs…whuuutt? (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
7. Gabbi Grey: Something a Little Different (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
8. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: A Grizzly Beginning (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!

Yesterday was fantastic! It was such a cool girls’ day out to celebrate the oldest hitting 20! We had lunch at Red Lobster (do you know how hard it is to count Weight Watchers points there?!), we did some light shopping at Ulta, TJ Maxx, and Bath & Body Works, and then we went to see Inside Out 2! We loved the movie, BTW. When we got home, we all jumped into the pool for an hour, dancing to hip-hop and Gypsy Kings in the water! Lovely day! I slept like a baby last night.

I hope you’re finding ways to enjoy your summer! We do our best to beat the heat or plan our time outside for the morning or late afternoon. The electric bill for last month nearly choked me, but that’s the price of living in the South. 🙁

You all take care and have a great week! Be sure to check out the multitude of contests listed below! ~DD

Report Card

Last week…

• I began plugging away in earnest at writing the book due out later this month!
• I worked on one editing job for another author.
• I continued working on editing the Secret Identities short stories for the anthology.
• We finally got the pool chemicals balanced and started swimming!
• I began Weight Watchers and have lost 4.2 pounds!

This next week…

• I’ll continue to work on Cyrus!
• I will finish an editing job for another author!
• I’ll finish editing stories in the Secret Identities anthology.
• I’ll begin working on my short story for SI!
• I have an imaging appointment on Monday.
• I’ll continue swimming and counting those points on Weight Watchers!

Open Contests

On the Delilah’s Collections website!

1. GETTING TO KNOW CAMERON ALLIE (CONTEST + 2 FREE READS!) — Last day to enter! 10 winners! Win a FREE book + Everyone gets 2 FREE books!
2. GETTING TO KNOW REINA TORRES (CONTEST) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
3. GETTING TO KNOW DARAH LACE (CONTEST) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!

Here, on this site!

1. Clear My Bookshelf Giveaway (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win a SIGNED book + some hand painted (by me!) goodies!
2. Anna Taylor Sweringen/Michal Scott: Harriet Ann Jacobs – Setting and Keeping the Record Straight on Slavery (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. What’s Coming Soon & the Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Orange you glad you stopped by? — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. June into July (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Gabbi Grey: Puppies and kiddos (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Sliding Puzzle: Happy Independence Day! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
7. Reina Torres! My New Military Romance Series! (Contest–Two Winners!) — Win a FREE book!
8. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: At the movies… — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Carol Cox!
*~*~*

Before I dig into accomplishments and plans, I want to invite you to another website!

The Collections website is where the authors of the anthologies I curate play! We’re getting geared up for the release of our newest collection at the end of July, so in this coming month we’ll spend time introducing you to the authors! There will be contests with things to win. Click on the link to check out the site, and while you’re over there, subscribe to get the postings sent straight to your inbox so you don’t miss a thing! Delilah’s Collections Website

June

1. I revised the fifth story of my Delta Heat series and published two of them: Twice the Bang and Once is Never Enough.
2. I’ve revised the first story in the Delta Fire series, Burning Up Memphis, which will be released on July 9th!
3. I continued work on Cyrus, which is presently scheduled for release on July 23rd!
4. I completed 3 editing projects for other authors in June and hope to finish another today!
5. I’ve been editing away on the stories that will be inside Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, coming at the end of July.

Health-related:

1. I had a slew of doctor’s appointments and follow-up screenings. I saw my VA doctor, who thinks I’m now diabetic, barely. I have some work to do to try to reverse course. I also had a mammogram (it was clear!), a CT of my abdominal aorta (that’s a thing to get checked when you are a certain age—and no issue there), a cancer-screening with the dermatologist (no issues), a lung x-ray (I’m good to go), and bone density imaging. I officially have osteoporosis, now. 🙁
2. The biggest improvement I’ve made this month is that I quit smoking. Cold turkey.
3. I did not pay attention to what I put in my mouth. *Sigh*

Happiness-related: 

1. June was busy for family activities. When I had appointments in the city, we took advantage with shopping sprees and meals out. We’ve had movie nights at home and special meals where everyone participated in the food prep. We are loving our new Blackstone grill.
2. The pool is still giving us fits. Every chemical known to mankind has been tossed at it, but we still have issue with phosphates and cloudiness.
3. I finished the #the100dayproject art challenge!
4. Here are some examples of art projects I completed in June:

July

Is that not a yummy array of covers?!

For work-related, I plan:

1. To complete writing Cyrus, the first of my new MBH in Yellowstone series, and which I will release on July 23rd!
2. To complete editing the stories for the upcoming collection—Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology! Plus, get the anthology assembled, formatted and ready for publication on July 30th!
3. To revise the first two books in my erotic romance series, Delta Fire. I’ll republish two of the stories in July: Burning up Memphis and Hotter with a Pole.
4. To complete 3 editing projects in July!

For health related, I plan:

1. To exercise. Still not certain the pool will be under control. But I will walk (counting steps) and make use of my recumbent bike.
2. To start back on my Weight Watchers diet, because it’s time to get serious! (I say this every month, but I really, really have to do it!)
3. To reduce salt and processed food, and incorporate foods good for blood pressure (spinach, broccoli, bananas) and my liver (apple cider vinegar, flax seeds, sunflower seeds).
4. To take my BP every day and log it!
5. To schedule the last of the health-related appointments I need to wrap up: Eye exam and dental exam.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To fiddle in my art room!
2. To spend time with the family—movies, flea market adventures, and pool (hopefully)!

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier, or tell me what you plan to read in July…

Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

Last week…

• I worked on two editing jobs for other authors and finished one. The one that is left is kicking my butt! It’s long and dense (very good story!). I will get to The End!
• I am working on editing the Secret Identities short stories for the anthology.
• I took What Happens in Bozeman wide, meaning it’s available on all the usual platforms!
• We’ve repaired the filter on the pump and are now waiting for everything to be in balance. I’m hoping that in a couple of days the water will be crystal clear and ready for summer now that it’s half-way over!
• I had two imaging appointments (lung and aortic something-or-other) this week in the city. Both came out clear! No worries! Yay!
• I finished #The100DayProject challenge!

This next week…

• I will work on two editing projects for other authors, finishing one!
• I’ll resume work on Cyrus!
• I’ll continue editing stories in the Secret Identities anthology. Plus, I’ll work with the authors to organize a promo schedule.
• I’ll begin working on my short story for SI!
• I have mammogram and bone density imaging on Monday; plus, a cancer screening with the dermatologist.
• The pool situation will be settled this week!!!!!
• I’m restarting Weight Watchers!

Contest

1. Clear My Bookshelf Giveaway (Contest) — This one ends tomorrow night! Win a signed book & hand painted goodies!
2. Another Puzzle Day: What is he hunting? (Contest) — This one ends tomorrow night! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Happy Sewing Machine Day! (Contest) — This one ends tomorrow night! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Shark Movies are Summertime Fun! — This one ends tomorrow night! Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Word Search: Bob Dylan’s Best (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
6. 10 Ways to “Celebrate” International Panic Day + a Puzzle! (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
7. Gabbi Powell: Taking A Chance (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
8. Word Search: Favorite International Cuisines (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
9. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Meet me on the bridge… — Win an Amazon gift card!