The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.
It's been a crazy few weeks around here. What with all the hubbub trying to get my books off the wide retailers and into Kindle Unlimited, then going to lengths to renew my passport, then finally traveling and returning, I have been run ragged. Today I'm feeling tired and spent. I hope I can get some rest later.
First off, we had a great time on vacation! Jamaica was beautiful as always, the resort was great, and the people were so nice. I ate a lot of food and drank a lot of rum punch and wine. No complaints from me. I slept moderately well there, too. The beds in hotels always seem to be too firm for me, and my hips hurt. This was the case here, but it wasn't as bad as Japan where I swear all the mattresses are made of wood. Anyway, we had no issues getting there and getting home. In fact, when we got into Newark we expected a huge delay through passport control and immigration/customs yet THERE WAS NO ONE THERE. No one! We zipped right through. I should play the lottery because that is NEVER going to happen again.
Since being home, though, life has been sad. One of my long-time author acquaintances, Autumn Kalquist, passed away this week. We started publishing around the same time, and I read several of her books and admired her creativity. Cancer and other life-threatening illnesses took her too young. And now, a long-time knitting friend of mine is in the hospital for comfort-care (end-of-life care) because of cancer as well. She was diagnosed five years ago with Stage 4 cancer and did a lot of treatments to stay alive as long as she has. Fuck cancer. Cancer took my uncle last month too.
Life has been rough in the author world too. There are a lot of FEELINGS surrounding AI right now and its impact on our business and livelihood. I am pro-AI and use the tools all the time. I even teach other authors how to use them. These AI tools helped me so much last year when I was suffering from long covid. I've also had short term memory issues the last 10 years and these tools are helping me with that too. I can't tell you how many times I've been called inhuman, a thief, a plagiarist, and unethical for using AI tools. I'm severely disappointed in the author community right now, so much so that I have pulled away from almost all of my online interactions. I just need to push on and forget about them.
This week I hope things are better. I'm still writing and I have plenty of projects to work on. I just need to concentrate on doing my best and having fun while I do it.
This was the extent of my vacation. Lots of sitting on the beach or by the pool with a drink in hand and my kindle. No complaints. Jamaica is wonderful but I've never seen anything but the resort and the airport. Lol.
Lulu missed us while we were gone, but she did so much better with the dog sitter this trip than our last one. This time, she actually ate her food while we were gone and she adjusted quicker because she knew what was going on. So proud of this little dog for being such a trooper!
And finally, back in the dreary and gloomy northeast. I still went out for a lot of walks this week despite the weather. I needed to bring down my blood pressure on several occasions, and walking is the only way to do that effectively.
Oh! If you listen to podcasts, I was a guest on the Subscriptions for Authors podcast this week talking about how to use AI tools to enhance an author's subscription offerings. Funny enough, there were three podcasts all in one day about AI tools. Lol. Joanna Penn did another AI image and text podcast, and Elizabeth Ann West talked about using Sudowrite to write Jane Austen Fan Fiction.
Have a great week everyone! Stay safe and healthy.
