I haven't seen much talk about the latest season of #TedLasso, but I am here to say that 3 eps in, I am 100% enjoying the heck out of it.
The assistant coach with the world's most ferocious resting face & a knack for saying things in the worst way possible is an absolute shining gem and I have more than a little crush on her.
If you like your science fiction mixed with thrills, mystery, a little sweet romance, and plenty of character development, try my near-future techno-adventure series in a book.
I've given it an update & pretty new cover. It's currently only available in ebook via my website, but to balance that, the savings are BIG. Four books in one, on sale only $7.50 (a $16 value)
https://kmherkes.com/the-bookshop1
#books #scifi #kindle #ScienceFiction #Hopepunk not #dystopian
Want a quick scifi read with light romance, a lot of chosen family vibes, and a bunch of characters you'll want to read more about? Of course you do!
(Or maybe someone you know wants it.)
This 2--in-1 tale starts with a summer fling in future San Francisco that ends in a HFN, then picks up later for the HEA after more drama.
Discounted & DRM-free ebook here: https://kmherkes.com/the-bookshop1/p/weaving-in-the-ends-ebook1
Print, audio & ebooks at bookshops online & off:
https://books2read.com/WeavingInTheEnds
New Morning Routine achievement unlocked! I was awake, vertical and moving before 8AM. Cat care, breakfast & morning cleanup all done & laundry started before 9:30 AM. Victory is mine.
The only downside is that right about the time I get comfortable with this, the end of Daylight Savings Time will arrive to fuck up my body clock for a month.
Another day of quiet accomplishments
1. wrote my after-action report for Windycon 52 so that when I forget everything between now and next year I can remind myself what I did. That's here: https://kmherkes.com/brain-bubbles-blog/post-142
2. groomed all the poor neglected cats who had to go THREE WHOLE DAYS without brushie time.
3. Took a long walk in the "WTF it's 75F in mid-October" sunshine and admired the bright trees.
4. Gave the bathtub a scrub so I can have a luxury soak tonight.
I am disproportionately proud of myself for a thing I did today: I finished a project collecting all 10 years of my book sales data into one workbook and made a spreadsheet with the year-over-year data sorted by convention.
There’s undoubtedly an easier way to do it than the brute-force manual method I used, but it’s done, it’s even pretty (proper headers & labels n everything!) and it’s reminded me that actually I have sent my stories to a lot of new homes over the years.
Most of my summer flowers are done for the year, but the zinnias are still going strong.
Me, thinking: all righty, time to grab fresh tea and sit down to do some desk work.
Ellie: immediately races across the room, mrrping the whole way, jumps onto my lap and flops down, purring.
This is my life now.
Today's project: making autumn-themed decorations for my cubicle at the library.
I always feel at my most professional when working with scissors and glue sticks.
Looking for some comfy reading to uplift & entertain you in these uncertain times? Try my whimsical fantasy story collection. Elves, gargoyles, mischievous young magicians, heroic aunties, very good doggos, & much more.
sale price $4.99 drm-free epubs: https://kmherkes.com/the-bookshop1/p/relics-from-a-traveling-show-ebook1
Kobo, Nook & more $7.99:
https://books2read.com/relicsfromatravelingshow
$9.99 at the Bezos bazaar: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJWQRWGY
#fantasy #wizards #monsters #witches #sorcery #elves #FoundFamily #reading #books #bookstodon #bookpromo #indieauthor
Today is laundry-grocery shopping-errands-worshift day! (Soon to be followed by recover-on-couch day.)
Third load of laundry is in, and lists are made. Onward to the first "outside of the house" section of the agenda.
There may be a trip to the bakery in there just because baked goods make everything better.
Sunday was spa day here at Herkes House. All 3 cats got full brushings, pedicures and ear cleanings.
Never ceases to amaze me how tolerant they are about getting scrubbed and trimmed and rolled over. That said, it's true they enjoyed their post-spa treats a lot more than the grooming itself.
Then they celebated being all clean and groomed by watching invisible gremlins in the sink for nearly an hour.
This is why I have to clean counters *before* I cook things. :sigh:
This just in: Mister Pips and Gray are being adorable together again.
I hate it when I want to support a small business but their website is so janky I not only end up swearing at the screen but ALSO can't even get it to accept payment in the end.
Sorry, MyPlayingCards.com, I tried to give you money, but your checkut process suuuuucked.
Here's hoping their customer support is better than their checkout desgn. Zero phone support & 3-5 BUSINESS days for reply to my ticket are bad signs, but hey. At least they did not inflict a freaking chatbot on me.
Oh, no.
The Big Cat has taught both Smol Cats his favorite trick: Make The Big Noise.
It's a simple one: stretch up full length against an open door, then slide paws down the panel to make it slam shut.
Pippin had mostly gotten bored with the game, but recently he did it in front of Ellie & Gray & they, being kittens, are now OBSESSED.
Now I have 3 cats occasionally mewing plaintively about being locked in closets, bathrooms and the back hall.
Nothing demonstrates the important difference between “healthy” and “properly medicated” like having a fever.
As long as I take meds for the aches etc, I feel fine. But when I start thinking, “hey, this isn’t so bad,” I have to be careful. It leads to acts of hubris like forgetting to put water, crackers & the pill bottle next to the bed so I can take my next dose on time without getting up.
Because I am NOT fine, and it will be a miserable wake-up if I forget that truth.
Krypto was almost the best thing about the Supergirl movie.
Both the actress who played Supergirl & the e who played the plot’s mostly sidelined main character did a great job with the script they were given, but—yeah.
So very tired of movie & book characters doing heinous things & still being given the mantle of hero” because they’re the protagonist.
Hero-washing will never fail to creep me out.
I watched Supergirl tonight. Wanted to like it, but it was like a bad Star Wars clone w/ Supergirl & gratuitous violence grafted on.
Somebody needs to explain to Hollywood that onscreen urination & vomiting, fistfights, & torture threats aren’t the clever shorthand for “this setting is gritty & our protagonist is tough!” they think it is.
It’s tired. So are underlit, literally gritty set designs, & villains who would be over the top in a fucking Mad Max movie.
Do you know anyone in Nebraska who worked for Union Pacific in the '70s–90s or is a ham radio or vintage computing enthusiast? I'm following leads on Teletype equipment used there.
Boosts appreciated.
I wrote about the trip I took to the Catskills to help my Spouseman's family close up the house of a deceased sib-in-law I only met once, 40 years ago.
It was a strange journey. I was trying to describe the Catskills to another Midwesterner and the best I could come up with was "Imagine Wisconsin, only crumpled up so the hills are actually mountains and deep valleys. And it's ALL 3 hours from major metropolitan, so priced accordingly."
Anyway. Post is here:
https://kmherkes.com/brain-bubbles-blog/post-139