This may (or may not) be my last post for a couple of days (or more #SFWApro)

My battery is dying, so having a convenient Apple Store, I’m taking it in for repairs. While I can check email on my phone, it’s not very good for blog posts, and I find my iPad cumbersome too. So once it goes in, that’s it until it gets back (possibly three days). Fortunately as I’m not doing any Demand Media stuff currently, it won’t affect my cash flow, though it is annoying not to be able to do my regular work (I’m compiling alternative activities, such as research time, even as we speak).
The oddness of this March continues. This week, for instance, I got relatively little done on my birthday (yes, surprise!) and spent Monday doing our taxes. While I want to give them one more going over, I’m pleased to have it out of the way. More pleased we don’t owe a ton. I also spent part of Wednesday getting my annual checkup and then Thursday taking the computer to see if it did, in fact need a new battery as the Change It message comes and goes (turns out it’s right on the margin, so it sashays back and forth).
I did finish my 20,000 words of Southern Discomfort. I submitted all the remaining stories I currently have out. And I browsed Barnes & Noble’s magazine section to get ideas for possible markets. Plus, did I mention I got our taxes done?
I’ve learned in the past that when Demand Media work gets cut off, it takes a few days for me to ramp up to my changed schedule, so it’s not surprising I wasn’t more efficient. I learned this time that I really need to be much more specific than just “marketing” on my calendar. That covers a lot of ground and if I want to use the time well I need to be clear exactly what I’m doing any given day.
Of course my computer’s absence will make it hard to apply those lessons next week. But it’s still good information.
On a cheerier note, McFarland contacted me and said they’re definitely interested in my time-travel proposal, but have a couple of questions to answer. Those, fortunately, I can work on even offline.
And Betrayal on Monster Earth is now out with my short story “The Fox and the Hedgehog.” I’ll be posting a Story Behind the Story but for the moment here’s the Kindle link and here’s the cover:

The creature in the bottom-left corner is my creation. I’m tickled.