Road Worthy

It’s been a good week, though not as productive in every area as I wanted. My writing fell off to only 28,000 words this week as I took care of other business.

I never thought I’d see the day when I said ‘only’ in reference to that kind of number. But I’m sharpening my keyboard in preparation for Camp NaNoWriMo starting tomorrow (April 1). This week I had a small client project that took up a bit of my writing time. Can always use the extra income!

April! I’m suddenly staring at the end of winter in Arizona and taxes. I guess my interruption in productivity isn’t over yet. The project I did this week was from a financial advisor who titled one of his chapters, ‘Given Death and Taxes, Choose Death.’ Thank you but I think I’ll get my taxes done this afternoon!

I’ve once again celebrated the birth of my daughter this week. We had a lovely chat and I’m still amazed at how time changes us. I remember this

Almost better than this

Happy birthday, sweetie.

Faced with the reality of heading for Idaho in just two short weeks, I made a last trip down to Yuma to get ready. My high-res mouse died. It’s clicker no longer clicks. So, my first stop was at Best Buy to get a new mouse. I’m happy. Then I needed to get the truck ready. Tire inflation and oil change. It’s running great and ready for the road.

And then there was the problem of what to do with me. For one thing, I need a new profile pic for the back cover of my book. What I had isn’t quite suitable, so I got the lawn mowed and the hedges trimmed a bit.

Well, it’s closer to being human.

I was amazed at how green everything is out here in the desert. I stopped to take pictures of the crops in the fields in Yuma Valley. Of course, you can see right away why they are green. The pipes run through the fields and sprinklers feed water from the irrigation canals to make the desert bloom with crops.

Being a Midwesterner, I wasn’t familiar with the planting techniques out here. This is a field prepared for planting.

The pipes are laid in the furrows and the crops are planted on the ridges. A million people come out to pull weeds and tend the young crops. Another place we get food.

April is a great time to become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/join/NathanEverett. I’ll be posting the pre-release serialization of two new novels beginning in April. I’ve mentioned a lot about Wild Woods, the sequel to last year’s City Limits. I expect the last proofread copy in from my editors this week and will start a last readthrough and formatting of the story for pre-release on my website. Wild Woods continues the story of Gee Evars as he and his fiancé work to make Rosebud Falls and the Forest a better place to live. Mysteries hidden in the newly acquired Wild Woods, however, will shake the very foundations of their community. And Gee will discover who he is and why he is there.

At the same time, I’ll begin the pre-release serialization of Municipal Blondes, the sequel to the Dag Hamar mystery, For Blood or Money, my first published book. I’d like to say this story continues Dag Hamar, but alas, it is narrated by his faithful partner, Deb Riley, as she chases down the loose ends of the mystery Dag died trying to solve. Her penchant for disguise and not exactly following the rules land Deb in hot water almost from the beginning of the book as she heads back to the Condo, down to Belize, and across the ocean to track down the missing pieces.

The pre-release serials will be available to my patrons before anyone else as a thank you for your support!

So far, plans for simultaneous release of both books in June are progressing!

Maybe I was a little chatty in this post, but it’s almost time to shed the winter plumage and wing my way north. I guess first, I’d better do the taxes!