The Grad Life

So yay I’ve been a grad for almost three months. Boo to the fact that life has me busy and such though.

Things I’ve noticed since graduation:

1. I love my internship at the magazine more now that I have extra time to write articles. (Wasn’t aware of that? Here’s a link to the articles I’ve done.)

2. There are going to be months in the future where working your butt off is for a paycheck around $100. (No, not fair but it’s better than nothing.)

3. I’m more thankful for that Accounting 101 class. Also, I am really glad that business math is the one thing that doesn’t make me confused out of my mind. (Says a person who is near tears when a decimal or fraction problem is part of homework.)

4. Ebay is my best friend during spring-cleaning.

5. The count down on my education contract is leaving me panicked – and therefore grabbing every freelance job I can get a grasp on so my self-employment counts as legitimate work in the funder’s eyes. (And therefore I’m not stuck with a job that feels like making a deal with the devil.)

Since graduation I’ve managed to get one more book published (you can find it here), taught two classes on essential oils, and got around to start writing that cookbook I keep saying I’ll write. Just being able to write and catch up on neglected fixes is what I’m enjoying about being a grad. Plus there’s been time to get reacquainted with sketching, crafting, sewing, and a handful of other things. (Some of which are going to be in a shop soon.) Nothing is normally ideal but the pace of life at the moment has me content and ready to dive back into blogging.

I’m once again stricken with the “I have too many ideas” syndrome so bear with me as I work on them. While I work on getting the next few posts ready you can catch up on the blog-a-books or see what I’ve been up to on Tumblr or even on the internship.

By the way, here’s a short list of in the works projects that are on the publishing list for the summer.

S. Holmes I (You can still read the second draft here.)

Magic Antics – book #3 in the Fae Favors arc.

Mythology Sequels – A series of tales inspired by the idea of ancient gods and goddesses coping in the modern era. Number one in the series is called Last Chance, featuring an escaped Loki and Sigyn’s reincarnated form.

And coming Winter of 2015: The Child Who Feared Santa – a revised version of a short I did a few years back with some illustrations to make it into a children’s book.

Keep an eye out. This summer and autumn is going to be a busy one with publishing and art.

The books behind S. Holmes

As mentioned in podcast #2 I have book recommendations for how to write villains and the chaos they create.

#1. As mentioned in the podcast Making of S. Holmes #2 – this book is one I use daily for writing. It’s creditable, cram packed with information, and easy to understand. Key to writing villains is to make phycology your best friend. This book makes that step easier. #2. When doing a whodunit, you have to look up things on the web that probably are really suspicious. This book helped me keep my internet history from looking…well, worse. Within the pages of this book you have a basic guide to writing accurate forensics – from the crime scene to the morgue. Definitely a book that should be on the must have list if you’re wanting to write blood, horror, and the morbid aspect of life. #3. My other must have book to keep the Internet history clean. Book of Poisons is one of those odd books that I find myself using every once in a while for projects. Inside there are the nature made poisons – like hemlock, snake venoms – and industrial. Each poison gives a medical break down of what the symptoms are, reaction time, and a level of how deadly said poison is. First three books down on the recommendation list, many more to go!