Monday, December 02, 2013

Birthday Sale, Updates, and a Shopping Story

Hey, guys! I'm going to interrupt your regular blogging schedule to... ramble. ;)

NaNoWriMo
I nixed my NaNoWriMess participation halfway through the month (a mix of personal issues and client scheduling), but strangely enough, I don't feel bad about it. It's taken me years to get to the point where I don't feel the need to take on everything, and I'm comfortable with my priorities. I'll finish Honesty over the holidays.

Novella WIP (Honesty)
Speaking of which, writing from Cole's POV is disturbing, but in a fun way...

Audiobook
I won't delve into details yet--because I'm going to do a whole post on the process--but I found the perfect narrator for Strength! *squeal*

Sale
Thursday is my birthday, so my books will be 99¢ for approximately 24 hours!



Confession
Did anyone go Black Friday shopping? I did! Though, later than usual...

My sister and I used to go with a crazed pack of women in the middle of the night, but with the sales so spread out, there's less incentive to lose sleep. (Side note: Thanksgiving Day sales are not cool, retailers. I refuse.) Now we rock the duo system. Tactically planning stops ahead of time, making a color-coded spreadsheet of deals, assigning roles...

*Cough*

Anyway, I got a steal on a label maker at Staples. Latching on to one of the boxes earned me a nasty cardboard cut, but I used it to my advantage. A little blood rubbed on your knuckles goes a long way when it comes to people keeping their distance! ;)


Question of the week: How was your weekend?

48 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Happy birthday early!
I don't leave the house the Friday after Thanksgiving. I did score some great deals online though!

B Reading said...

Happy Birthday wishes in advance :)

JeffO said...

Happy birthday to be! No shopping for me, a quiet weekend with the family. Looks like a lot of good stuff happening for you, way to go!

Donna K. Weaver said...

Yay! I'm excited to read your post about making an audiobook since I'll be needed to do that next year for Torn Canvas.

And Happy Early Birthday!

http://donnakweaver.com

Iain said...

Good on you for accepting that some things are going to happen at a different pace that you'd like :o)
They are tried to kid us that we have a Black Friday here. The problem is, we English just formed an orderly queue and tutted loudly an anyone who tried to queue jump. It certainly showed them the error of their ways!
We also saw Catching Fire - how awesome is that film?

ELAdams said...

Happy (early) birthday! I didn't do NaNo properly either - it started well, but then I had to take a break to work on revisions on my other book!

Melissa said...

Blood on the knuckles. ROFL xD And, oh no - not a label maker! If anyone or anything stands still for longer than 30 seconds in your house, it'll get tagged. hahaha

I don't brave the crazy crowds--and would never do it on TG. (Did you see the taser fight news footage? *shakes head* Takes 'cat fight' to a whole new level!) So I'm rockin' the cyber Monday thing today. ;)

Happy Birthday early. I didn't forget. :)

ilima said...

Good for you for not stressing over Nano. I just got back from Georgia, just in time for a snow storm to roll in...joy. :)

Angela Brown said...

Congrats on making progress when it comes to dealing with letting things go. I hear you about trying to take on too much and having to accept that sometimes, you just have to let it go.

Three cheers for the progress made for your audiobook as well :-) Woot!

And an early Happy Birthday to you :-)

Nancy Thompson said...

Someday, you & are gonna party together for our birthdays. Cheers to you!

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Alex! :) I'm glad you were able to score some deals online. Those are the best kind!

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Jane! :)

David T List said...

First, happy birthday!
Second, way to use that injury to your advantage!
I've never completed a Nano, not in 2 years of trying. So that's another reason I didn't even try this year. (first reason being research and planning for el kicko startero)

Anonymous said...

Happy*Birthday*Week! Looks like we're twins . . . also backed out of NaNo halfway through due to other duties, but still wrote over 30,000 words and WILL finish over holiday break! Plus, my book is 99 cents today and tomorrow for Cyber Monday . . . extended. And, my publisher just informed me that all three of my books have been assigned someone for the audio version *squeeee*All of my Black Friday sales were done online after everyone left on Thanksgiving :-)

Michael Di Gesu said...

Hi, Carrie,

Happy EARLY Birthday… So glad you had a fun holiday and an INTERESTING shopping experience!

Congrats on nailing the perfect narrator for STRENGTH…. ALL the best!

I had a very exhausting and "interesting" trip to the top of the Andes… My highs and lows mirrored the terrain perfectly. So much happened… good and bad, but I am THRILLED to be back at sea level in sunny Florida for the next few weeks before heading back home to the frozen tundra of Chicago. Brrrrrrrr.

I hope all is well with you and I can't wait to catch up with you…

M

Sheena-kay Graham said...

My birthday was Friday. Had a good weekend and I have new books to read. Happy B'day when it comes and glad you're moving forward with your books and I didn't finish Nano either but am also glad I made some writing progress anyway.

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Jeff! :) That sounds pretty nice, actually. I'm always a fan of quiet weekends with the family!

Natalie Aguirre said...

Happy Birthday early! Sounds like you're really organized about the sales. I want to take my daughter to one of the Friday sales because she wants to go. Otherwise, I stay away from them.

Carrie-Anne said...

Happy birthday, fellow Sagittarian! I don't understand the whole concept of Black Friday, though I'm not big into shopping and crowds anyway. My weekend was spent doing schoolwork. Once the semester is over, I'll have to study the GRE math so I can officially join the program.

Misha Gerrick said...

Happy Birthday! (For in case I don't make it to your blog on Thursday.) :-)

My weekend was pretty calm, thankfully. Although I did a lot of baking.

Carrie Butler said...

So far, it's been a great experience. :) And thank you!

Carrie Butler said...

Why thank you, Iain! That particular skill set has been a long time coming, for me. ;)

Hah! Oh, I would've loved to have seen that.

Aww, I haven't caught the film yet. The book was good, though, so I have high hopes!

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, Emma! :) High five for priorities!

Carrie Butler said...

You are absolutely correct, my friend. LOL

No, I didn't! Geesh, what's wrong with people? I don't blame you for rocking Cyber Monday!

And thank you! :D

Unknown said...

Black Friday is dangerous, yo! I assumed you were one of the women I saw "taser fighting" on the news. LOL

Happy pre-birthday! :D

Elizabeth Seckman said...

I have an impressive system for Black Friday. I give my niece a list and cash and she does all the work. I AM spoiled! Happy Birthday to you. I shared and tweeted (yes, I did tweet!) about the sale from Lisa Regan's blog.

Carrie Butler said...

I was adequately prepared for a defensive situation, but it wasn't a taser. :P

Thank you!

Carrie Butler said...

Ugh. Can't the snow wait until Christmas? I'm not ready! lol

Carrie Butler said...

Thank you, Angela! :) I appreciate that.

Carrie Butler said...

Yes! Twins separated by a *cough* few years. :D

Happy Birthday, Nancy!

Carrie Butler said...

Thanks, David! :)

Hey, it was worth it. You planned that KickStarter so well!

Carrie Butler said...

Whoa! We must be on the same wavelength, Jamie. :D How cool is that?

Thank you!

Natasha Hanova said...

Happy early Birthday! Congrats on your success with Honesty and finding a voice for Courage. Looking forward to seeing the post on that!

I know some people might think you're exaggerating with the whole color coded spreadsheet thing, but I understand and am proud of you. :)

Tammy Theriault said...

Happy very early birthday miss thang!! you seem to be a busy bee...just send me your Christmas list! :)

Liz Blocker said...

You are a brave, brave soul. I'm a wimp; I'm too afraid of stores on Black Friday to go shopping. Well, not the stores, but the crazy, I mean, dedicated throngs of people.

Just as a side-note, I'm inspired by your ability to say no, and let things go. You're so right; we can't do everything, but I'm still at the point where I give myself a hard time about it. This helps :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Kimberly said...

Happy belated birthday! Hope it was awesome. You are a brave one to go out on Black Friday. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Hey Michael,

Thank you so much! :)

Oh my goodness. You'll have to tell me ALL about it. I can't wait to catch up!

Carrie Butler said...

Happy (belated) Birthday, Sheena-kay! :) Here's to progress!

Carrie Butler said...

Thank you, Natalie! I hope you get to take your daughter sometime. :) There are great deals to be had!

Carrie Butler said...

That is pretty impressive, Elizabeth!

And thank you. :D I appreciate it!

Carrie Butler said...

Thank you very much, Natasha! It's so nice to have a fellow organization freak around. *grins*

Carrie Butler said...

Thank you, Tammy! <3

Carrie Butler said...

You should try the smaller towns/cities. Same deals, less crowded. ;)

Thank you very much! I hope you'll be able to cut yourself some slack in the New Year. You wouldn't believe how freeing it is. :)

Carrie Butler said...

Thank you, Kimberly! :)

Mason T. Matchak said...

There's always something awesome about writing from a POV that disturbs you. ^_^ And I'm a bit late, but happy birthday!

Carrie Butler said...

You bet! :) Thanks, Mason!

Stina said...

Happy belated birthday. Mine was just days before yours.

I had to stop my NaNo project because of an upcoming deadline. I was sad because I wanted to finish project by Christmas. I'm getting to work on it now, but have to read through it to remind myself of all the changes in the plot that aren't in the outline (and to remind myself of my characters' voices). Hope you get back to yours soon.

Carrie Butler said...

Happy belated birthday to you, too!

Ugh. Don't you hate that? I hope you get it all done by Christmas! I'll be working, too. :)