Hens Lay Eggs
food for thought
Heat, Humidity, and No Service
The week beginning Monday, June 17, was hot and humid. Temperatures cracked 90 degrees Fahrenheit; humidity exceeded 70 percent every single day. Although I realize correlation is not causation, I do believe the sweltering weather had something to do with the short power outages that struck at least once every day.
I live in a rural area. Our power consumption is nowhere near what it would be in an urban area; however, the power grid apparently had difficulties coping with the load.
For most people in my neighborhood, the heat and humidity don’t pose a problem. They work in air conditioned spaces, and their houses are air conditioned, too. I work from home. My house has no ductwork, which means we don’t have central air conditioning. We use strategically placed window air conditioners: one in the bedroom and one in my office. Of course, if I turn on the office AC, then I have to lock the dogs in the room with me.
That’s not usually a good idea. So, I’ve got a fan running 24/7 in my office. It doesn’t help much.
It was a busy week, too. The acting editor-in-chief of the magazine I edit—we’re trying to get the July/August issue out now—offered me a quick proofreading job for another client. I took it on, started working on it over the weekend, and delivered the proofread document a day early. That was serendipitous, because we lost internet access, cell phone service, and telephone service from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
(At least for those 11 hours I didn’t have to deal with any spam calls.)
Unless I was able to speak with someone face-to-face or wanted to mail a letter, communication ceased. Without access to the internet or cell service, my work was dead in the water. I could do nothing. The brutal heat and humidity discouraged physical work, so I retreated to the living room (which is cooler than my office) and read.
I read four books.
I read Kade the first book in Jenna Myles’ Brash Brothers series. It was a hoot! The book has sarcastic humor and a female protagonist who is both kind and strong in both character and body. This is no delicate flower or shrinking violet, but neither is she an terminally stubborn idiot who’s too stupid to live. The hero’s physically strong, but an emotional wreck; however, he manages to work through his issues with the help of his brothers and some candid conversation with his one true love. It’s an adult story that doesn’t have the characters jump between the sheets before the heroine—who’s not ruled by her hormones—is damned good and ready.
If you’re looking for good romance, I strongly recommend this book. The proofreading could have been better, but it’s a solid 5-star book anyway.
I read You’ve Got an Earl by Bianca Blythe. This is a Regency romance featuring a rather easily manipulated, 18-year-old heroine and a beta male for a hero. The hero isn’t awful, but he’s quick to take advantage of an innocent girl many years his junior. The heroine, who succumbs to his liberties all too readily, teeters on too-stupid-to-live. Regardless, the story kept my attention, and the editing was decent. I’d give this one a 3.5-star rating.
I read Doctor’s Surprise Twins by Sofia T. Summers. The editing in this fluffy romance was decent, too. The heroine knew what she wanted, although she displayed a complete lack of consideration for consequences. She’s also sexually aggressive, which isn’t my favorite trait for a heroine, especially when she seduces the hero into breaking his own very reasonable workplace rules. For protagonists who work in healthcare, their abject failure to consider the consequences of unprotected intimacy garners one strike. I’d give this book 3.5 stars.
I read Savage Is My Kingdom by L. A. McGinnis, the first book of her Wicked Realms series. This fantasy features another 18-year-old heroine who’s not naive, but she has a consistent habit of making poor decisions that get people killed. As the heroine learns painful lessons, she grows in wisdom. It’s an adult coming-of-age story that becomes a reverse harem “romantasy.” Again, proofreading is an issue, although this story kept me engrossed despite the errors sprinkled throughout the book. This would be a 5-star read if it weren’t for the lackluster editing.
So, yes, while I’m reading I’m certainly not writing. But one of the hallmarks of a good writer is one who reads extensively. So, let’s just consider my over-the-top reading habit as extra training. And in the meantime, I’m still hustling for paid writing and editing gigs.
#henhousepublishing #hollybargobooks #fictionwriting #amreading
What the heart wants
On May 29, my Facebook feed brought up photos of a lovely black Morgan mare that looked nearly identical to my lovely Lady Anastasia who had passed away in 2020 at the ripe old age of 35. My heart lusted after that horse, but the horse was scheduled to be auctioned off on June 1 somewhere in Pennsylvania, and I already had commitments for the day. So, I bid her farewell and wished her a soft landing.
On June 3, that mare popped up in my Facebook feed again. An internet acquaintance who is also a Morgan aficionado purchased the horse and another Morgan gelding at that auction, rescuing them from the terrible experience of the auction cycle. She offered both horses for sale to good homes.
It had to be fate.
“I don’t need a third horse,” I told myself.
My heart really wanted this mare to come home to us.
“I don’t need a third horse,” I told my husband. “What am I going to do with a third horse?”
“Put her in the rotation,” my husband replied, referring to the order in which I ride my horses. “When am I picking her up?”
I wavered, quibbled with myself, and finally made a decision despite not needing a third horse.
You already know what happened. We brought Bar Nothing Hazell home yesterday.
I still don’t need a third horse, but I really wanted this one.
I’ve noticed in my decades of animal husbandry that there is no limit to how much the human heart can love. As we say in my household, there’s always room for one more.
So … about Hazel. She’s a 2010 model, about 15 hands on a tall day, and lean. Don’t worry, we’ll fatten her up. If there’s one thing we know how to do, it’s fatten up our animals. She seems calm and sensible and kind. All four hooves are shod, so I left a message with the farrier to schedule an appointment to have those shoes removed. She’s trained to both ride and drive.
My thanks go to Lori Sargeant of Three Fates Morgans who plucked Hazel from the auction cycle. I look forward to many good years with Hazel.
What’s involved in ghostwriting?
The very nature of ghostwriting makes it a murky topic shrouded in a fog of mystery and concealment. This makes finding ghostwriters difficult, discerning what’s considered reasonable and appropriate rates difficult, and understanding the ghostwriting process difficult.
That’s a lot of difficulty.
Gotham Ghostwriters published an article that sheds light on the cost aspect of ghoswriting. If you’re considering having a ghostwriter do the heavy lifting for your project, then “for an objective dose of reality,” I urge you to read this article: “Straight Talk for New Authors: What to Expect About the Cost of Hiring a Ghostwriter.”
The article by Gotham Ghoswriters candidly explains what a ghostwriter does to earn those fees, but how do you determine whether you even want or need to hire a ghostwriter? That decision must come first.
Who would you hire a ghostwriter?
As my colleague Judy Lane-Boyer stated, “Tons of people want to write books. I had no idea what a huge percentage of the population does until I became a ghostwriter! But for the vast majority, the book dream stays in their heads . . . because they DON’T know where to start or what to do.”
Think of it in a less personal sense.
Consider business. Every company out there produces written content, from social media posts to technical manuals. Someone has to write all that content to convey information, instruct on procedures, impart insight, and market the business or products. From brochures to case studies to newsletters to catalog descriptions to annual reports: business generates a lot of content, and they hire people to write that content. Those writers don’t get bylines; they get paid.
Now let’s return to you, personally. Be honest with yourself because honesty is critical to making a smart decision.
- How good is your writing? Is it “good enough for a report” but not truly engaging?
- Do you even like to write? Doing something you dislike only makes the project more difficult.
- Have you already written a book-length manuscript, or even a short story? Writing 50,000 words or more is a big commitment.
- Do you have time and are you motivated? Or would you rather hand off the project to someone else with the skill and creativity to do your idea justice?
If you’ve ever tried writing a story and, upon reading what you wrote, noticed it felt flat, then you have learned that writing is craft. Craftsmanship is necessary to produce good quality work. Craftsmanship understands rules and conventions and follows them to ensure the product meets the standards of professionalism. It particularly applies to much business content, such as policy manuals and instruction booklets.
However, creating content that engages the reader requires that extra soupçon of artistry to elevate prose into something people want to read, something that will engage and hold their attention while imparting great advice, keen insight, or just entertaining them for a while. Attaining that level of skill requires more than craftsmanship; it requires talent. A ghostwriter brings talent, a love of writing, and the requisite artistry to elevate your story that acquires and holds the reader’s attention.
For more on how hiring a ghostwriter might be your best decision, read this article: “13 Ways a Ghostwriter Can Help Your Write Your Book.”
If hiring a ghostwriter makes sense for you, then consider hiring Hen House Publishing. I specialize in ghostwriting short form nonfiction (e.g., blogs, articles, LinkedIn posts, etc.) spanning diverse topics and both short- and long-form fiction across a wide spectrum of genres.
Except horror. I don’t do horror.
Author
Hard boiled, scrambled, over easy, and sunny side up: eggs are the musings of Holly Bargo, the pseudonym for the author.
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Blog Swaps
Looking for a place to swap blogs? Holly Bargo at Hen House Publishing is happy to reciprocate Blog Swaps in 2019.
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