I woke up at 8:02 a.m. to a knock at the door. I took a look at my UW sweatpants and Pixies t-shirt and thought that whoever knocks at this time of morning should have low expectations. I opened the front door, and…
There. Stood. Jodie. From the library.
She was catching her breath and grinning the way girls do in cold weather. She had a snow shovel balanced on her shoulder.
– Chickenshit: Crisis #4 Chickenpooped
In Crisis #4, Billie is worn thin by working on the farm, doing her IT side jobs, and running back and forth to her best friend’s house in Boise. After Billie goes MIA at the ski lodge out of utter exhaustion, Liv decides she needs to put her stamp of approval on the farmhouse. Billie meets a talkative neighbor and a cute librarian.
Chickenshit – Or: How a City Girl Does Country All Wrong is Volume I of a series. Available now on Kindle and on Amazon paperback. The next volume will be published in Spring/Summer of 2018.
This week has a had a lot of stops and starts, but with a lot of help (thanks Traci and Kellen, the chickens now have clean, warm bedding to cozy down into. We still have one rehab bird that I think may be a little emo (every time she is close to reintegration, she causes another injury). All the chickens seem a little on edge this week. Earlier, one rooster (name withheld) who is normally docile tried to attack Steph. Don’t worry, he’s okay. Poor little Red bit my gloved hand when I was trying to give her snacks (it was dark, I get it). The BBS Marans roosters are a little giddy, too, and one little Welsummer hen keeps trying to sleep outside, which is particularly frustrating because we just built a chicken barn with enough room for a few dozen birds to roost and a small pony. Next on the agenda: wild bird mitigation.
Other than chores, we did some last minute shopping, watched A LOT of Dexter, saw the movie, Wonder, and drove past all the lights in downtown Caldwell during the first night of snowfall.
Getting Chickenshit out in paperback was a big hurdle because CreateSpace, that’s why. All the support and good responses I’ve received in the last few weeks has made the stress and annoyance of publication worthwhile. Being a new author AND an indie author can be an insular experience at times, like talking to a lamp post. It is often difficult to get feedback, but I have benefited in some way from each review, comment, or verbal exchange in regards to my writing. Ya’ll keep letting me know when I have spinach in my teeth, okay? I’d rather not walk around all day like that.
Meanwhile, I have been laying the groundwork for my next southern novel, the second book in the Lookout Butte series. The working title is Whippoorwill Springs. The current plan is to have it on pre-release this spring.
I hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday season! Stay warm.