Category: Uncategorized

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there and back again

I got laid off last week. It came as a surprise. There were no rumblings, no rumors. I was anticipating a raise and a promotion. Instead, I got a severance package.

No hard feelings, though. It was a good company,y and I worked with good people. I loved the work that I did, and I am proud of what I have accomplished.

Now, I’m back in the trenches, looking for the next step on this journey.

I am looking for a Remote position in the Technical Writing arena. I have over 20 years of writing experience and management experience, and I learn quickly.

I know you’re out there. Come find me.

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this election matters

Sometimes, I feel like I’m just coasting, letting the tide move me without even putting my oars in the water. I do my day job, take care of the animals, eat, sleep, and then start over the next day.

Other times, I get to do wonderful things or make myself do difficult things. Last week, I went to a conference. In a few weeks, I’ll go to LA for music and spend a couple of days at Disney by myself. After that, I need to go to Tucson to help my stepmother with a few things.

Difficult. Fun. Difficult.

In the middle of all that, I have a day job to do, and we have a national election coming up. I’ve never been more adamant about an election before this one. If we are to survive as a democratic republic, we must vote blue up and down the ticket.

I am a passionate proponent of women’s healthcare and reproductive choices, the LGBTQIA+ community, BIPOC equality, and taxing the rich. I want to elect the first woman president, and give her a blue senate and house so that we can make progress.

So, that said, please get out and vote. Our lives depend on it.

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late nights, early mornings

I’m in Raleigh, NC, for Pendomonium, a conference for software company Pendo.io as a work thing this week. I flew in on Monday, getting to my hotel at around midnight. I couldn’t sleep. I got maybe two hours, all told.

Yesterday was the first day of the conference, and boy, I struggled to stay awake at points. Lots of good things to learn and some networking.

Last night I got about 4.5 hours of sleep. I could lay down right now and sleep, but day two starts in about a half an hour, so…

Tonight, I NEED to get to sleep early. There may be some Benadryl in my evening meds. My alarm is set for 2 am for a 5 am flight.

I think I’m getting too old for the late night, early morning thing that I used to do with no problem. I’m not quite ready to give up gig nights, but between two gigs in two nights in August, and two days at Pendomonium, I think I’m getting to the point of needing to space them out more.

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

Oh, yeah! And you can now buy my books in my SHOP! Get yours now! Forever is on sale for the whole month of October, and Tonight is FREE for October.

I need more coffee…

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shaking the dust off

Wow, it’s been a minute. I’ve been struggling with my usual summer depression, and I’ve let a lot of stuff slip. I’m here, though, and I’m pulling myself up out of the fog.

I’m working on getting all of my books listed in the shop here, provided I have physical copies. The ebooks should all be up before the weekend is over.

In other news, I’m going to Raleigh, NC, this coming week for work. I’m going to a conference for Pendo, the software we use to manage pop-ups and surveys on our platform. Then I need to go to Tucson to handle some stuff for my step-mother, and in November, I’m down to LA for a gig.

Always on the go!

In writing news, I am finally finding my swing again. It’s hard to write in the fog of depression. I found a WIP on my hard drive that I’m playing with. It’s sci-fi, with a morally gray main character.

So, anyway, Hi and stuff. I hope to be around a little more often.

Photo by Vinicius Wiesehofer on Unsplash

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nano, holidays and other manic things

So, November was an interesting month.  I chose to focus on The Blood Witch for NaNoWrMo, dedicated my morning makeup routine time to writing, and spent at least four hours every Saturday and Sunday writing.

On November 29th, I hit 50K and breathed a sigh of relief.  I’m really fond of a lot of what I wrote in November, and yeah, some of it sucks and will end up heavily edited or cut, but that’s not what matters.  With a deadline, even self imposed, I set myself to powering through even the plot spots that were stymying me and making me back off the story.

It isn’t all fixed, and I still have a lot of ground to cover, but I know how the story works from here to the end, and I even know how we transition to the next book and a vague idea of what happens in it.

If you can’t tell, I am not a big outline and plotter kind of person.  I kind of pants it mostly.  I find that if I sit down and plan it all out, my brain decides we’ve already told that story, time to move on.

I got to spend a good day with family on Thanksgiving, even if the oven at their place decided to decorate my hand TWICE.  Ouchie!  And, with that the run up to the holiday season is upon us.

Tomorrow is my brother’s birthday.  On Sunday I’ll be heading up to help my mother decorate for Christmas (and recruiting help from the younger generation).  My presents are all bought and I’m just awaiting delivery for some of them.  I have some baking and such to do, and I’m crocheting in the evenings, handing out scarves and hats to the homeless as I walk to/from work.

And yes, still writing.  My goal is to finish this zero draft before the end of the year and find a critique partner/beta reader who can help me with plot holes and inconsistencies and such.  December is such a crazy month!

I hope that you find some time in it to do something you love and spread a little kindness.  Happy Tuesday, Readers!

 

Photo by Mark Rabe on Unsplash

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an agoraphobic’s day out

My weekends are normally pretty domestic.  If I can manage to stay in my pajamas the whole weekend, I count it a victory.  Some of that is due to the agoraphobia, some of it is just introversion and lack of desire to be among people.

Today, I am venturing off toward Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, the kind of place I am usually happy to avoid.  I’m actually feeling pretty good about it today.

I will also be doing something else that often makes me uncomfortable:  meeting someone new.  She is another author who my publisher works with, and while I am just getting started on reading one of her books, she’s in town today so I am off to introduce myself.

Speaking of which, I should probably get myself moving.

 

Photo by Chris Coudron on Unsplash

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exhaustion on tap

The last three or four nights, I’ve had really segmented sleep that totals to less than five hours per night, most of it in one to one and a half hour increments.  I’ve also needed to be in the office and at all day meetings this week, plus had social engagements with coworkers from out of town.

To say that I’m tired is not enough.

I’m here in the office again today, though today’s meetings aren’t a solid nine hours long.  We have our monthly all hands meeting, followed by break out sessions, which largely means smaller groups of people hashing out issues that were raised in the meetings. Because I’m the technical writer, I’ll likely float between the groups, which means I might find some time to actually squeeze in some actual work.

Which is what I should be doing right now!  I love being in the office this early, when I’m the only one here and I can rock out in my chair to some tunes  and power through stuff I can’t get to once the distractions of the day start pouring in the door.

Happy Wednesday, Readers!  May it be spectacular! I’m off to pour that first cup of Death Wish and kick this day into gear.

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happy June

I know it’s cliche to say something about how fast the year is moving, but seriously, how is it June?  Granted I lost a few weeks there with dealing with my step-father’s death and the chaos that surrounds an unexpected end, but still!

For me, June is a crazy busy month.  The kind that makes agoraphobics like me more than a little anxious.  This is my only quiet weekend, and I hope to get some writing done, but I also have a bunch of stuff to finish for my first Pride training next weekend, and final orders for equipment to finish.

Yesterday as I was digging through some files on my cloud drive, files with such descriptive names as “story” and “story 2,” I came across a story I’d forgotten I’d started.  It’s a fantasy and I love the characters in it.  I may have to go back to work on that!

Anyway, here it is Saturday, and I have a house to clean, groceries to buy, Pride work to do, etc.  How about you? What’s your Saturday looking like, Readers?

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giving thanks

I realized this morning that it’s been a while since I posted here.  The reasons are many: the continued issue with the pinched nerve, getting back to work full time, taking on an editing job, plus working on a new anthology, plus two novels currently in progress…all of which means I haven’t really had much free time to do promo work or write up blog posts!

When you’re surrounded by what feels like insurmountable debt, it’s hard to find your way to being thankful about much.  It is insane that a grown woman with a good job and decent insurance should be this deep in medical debt, but it is what it is.  You either suck it up and get the work done, or you continue to suffer. (I have a fundraiser set up to help me cope with the unexpected medical bills, if you’re interested: You Caring Fundraiser)

But, even with all of the doctor visits and the pain and the physical therapy, and the bills and prescriptions that come with that, I am blessed.  I’m living a dream I have had since I was pretty young, I’m a published author!  And I get to make a living working with words.

Not everyone gets to live their dream.  You can’t help but be thankful when you see a lifetime of learning and crafting become an actual reality.  My first book, Forever, took me years to bring to fruition and I learned a lot along the way.

Currently I am working on two different novels, the ending of the Shades and Shadows series and a new one that jumped up out of the abyss that is my mind a few weeks ago and took up residence in the front part of my Brain where it will not leave me alone.

And do you remember the anthology we published a few months ago? Once Upon a Broken Dream was the first in a series of anthologies from Creativia Publishing.  Each anthology begins with a prompt and writers are invited to submit stories using that prompt.  Well, the next one should be ready in December, so keep your eyes open.

So yeah, I’m pretty blessed and living a life that’s pretty amazing.  Even if I’m struggling in some areas.  I hope you can say the same.

Oh, yeah, and if you want autographed copies of my books this holiday season, hit up my facebook page or email me at natalie@nataliejcase.com.

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Time for a Giveaway!

I asked myself this morning what it was I wanted to do today. Aside from the obvious answer (writing), I heard myself say “let’s give away some books!”

I thought that was an amazing idea! So, let’s do that! Contest opens tomorrow, runs through November 15th. Prize package will include, at minimum, one copy each of Through Shade and Shadow and In Gathering Shade. There will be other goodies thrown in there too to make things fun. I won’t tell you exactly what the prize package includes, but it should suit most any reader.

Click the link below to enter.
Count me in!

And now I head back into the third installment in the series!