Not Another Flood!

Darling Husband (AKA DH) woke up before dawn yesterday because he had to go to the bathroom. (The joys of being middle-aged, right?) He heard the sump pump alarm going off and went to the basement.

Despite all three sump pumps chugging away, one well was full, and the second one was filling rapidly. He ran upstairs and woke me. That was at 5:44 AM.

I threw on a t-shirt, sweats, and my slip-on Skechers. By the time I got down to the basement, the full wells were spilling across the basement floor. We started taking stuff upstairs, but we couldn't outrun the water.

DH was running back and forth in his bare feet. I ordered him to stay out of the water because Goddess only knew what was floating round  in that crap. He stayed above the middle of the stairs and I handed stuff to him.

By 6:04 AM, I gave up. The water was at my ankles. My shoes were full. My feet were itching terribly from whatever was in the flood water. I took off my shoes, left them on the top step, and went to wash the gunk off my feet.

Poor DH had a bunch of his deceased parents' memorabilia and his old toys he wanted to keep in the basement. Stuff that we didn't have room for anywhere else in the house. Plus, all of Genius Kid's (AKA GK) furniture and home stuff down there while he's stationed overseas.

Luckily, it was a weekday, so we had companies there almost as soon as they opened. A HUGE shout-out to the peeps from  EverDry Waterproofing, Bowers Heating and Cooling, and Service Master for responding as fast as they did. We're still waiting for the insurance adjuster from State Farm to come by, which will probably be Monday or Tuesday.

Thankfully, the water didn't go past the second from bottom step this time. But a 1400 sq, ft, open space filled at the rate of one inch every three minutes before the sump pumps could catch up. That's a hell of a lot of water to remove.

Despite all the precautions and upgrades we did after the 2021 basement flood, the pond in the subdivision behind us overflowed. Again. Yes, we're looking into our legal remedies. That's all I can say at this point.

This was not how I wanted my week to end. I was on a good frickin' role with A Cup of Conflict before all the shit happened. Losing two days dealing with the mess was not on my to-do list for this week.

But that's life, right?

It didn't help to learn a good friend's mother is in hospice. It's a matter of days. Which mean another funeral soon. This one I won't resent because this friend has always been there for me.

And life goes on...

Warning!! Price Changes!!

GAH! The tariffs are starting to hit publishers and printing.

Despite the cost of paper going up two years ago, I managed to keep my paperback prices the same. But now, I'm not having a choice. I received a notice from Ingram that several of my books will require price increases because the price of paper is rising dramatically.

It sucks. I don't want to do it, but I don't have a choice. Either I raise the prices, or I cannot offer paperbacks for sale. *sigh*

I get it. A lot of you prefer the tactility of having a book in your hand.

So, if you want a paperback, order it now before the prices go up. My formatter is currently updating the front matter (Angry Sheep Publishing transforming from a sole proprietorship to an LLC) and back matter (i.e. list of books I have available). So, I'll be uploading those as she sends them to me.

In other words, I'll be starting on the price changes next week. This is the first time I've needed to raise all prices since I started publishing in 2011.

If you've been planning to buy a paperback, I suggest ordering now from your favorite bookseller.

Monday Movie Mania - A Minecraft Movie

If this movie had been released when Genius Kid was eight, he would have loved it. Most kids' movies have elements that entertainment the adults. And normally, I'd be excited to watch Jason Momoa and Jack Black in anything.

However, this movie commits the ultimate sin. It's boring.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) I think the actors did the best they could.


CONS
1)  I don't know if my expectations were too high. Or if the writing was simply that bad. The story wasn't interesting. It was very generic, the total antithesis of the creativity of the game, the cooperative intent.


I know this was much shorter than my usual reviews. But even the bad movies I love have something I found entertaining and redeeming. I wish I could have in this one, too. The children sitting in front of DH and me absolutely loved it, but I didn't. Overall, I give A Minecraft Movie 0 stars out of 10.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Down with fascist dictators!

It's Friday, But My Week or Work Is Not Over

I swear some characters can't shut up in my head. (Yeah, I'm talking to you, Samantha Marie Ridgeway!)

Others, it's worse than pulling teeth or fingernails.

Sister Darys of the Skoloti tribes is one of those that refused to tell me her secrets for the longest time. Maybe it's because she's a Thief priestess. They don't just play things close to the vest. They have cards inside a hidden pocket.

Anyway, she finally admitted an really important secret Monday night when I was having issues with insomnia and was finally starting to drift off to sleep. Suddenly, I was wide awake again and cursing her seven ways to Rest Day!

The revelation meant I needed to do some reworking of the first half of A Cup of Conflict. *sigh* So that's where most of my week has gone. It's been a bitch, but I think it'll be a better story for the changes.

Anyway, that's how my week has gone, and how my weekend will continue.

I hope everyone has a glorious spring weekend yourselves!

Wednesday Movie Mania - The Accountant 2

I didn't see The Accountant (2016) when it originally came out. Like John Carter (2012), it suffered from a confusing and ineffective marketing. Unlike John Carter, I had no knowledge of the story, so I was "Meh".

Then I had the TV on for background noise one night when The Accountant aired, and I was hooked.

When the announcement came out of a sequel, I made DH watch the original before I dragged him to see the movie on Cinco de Mayo.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) The sequel leans into the chemistry Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal exhibited in the original as brothers Chris and Braxton. And then, amps it up into buddy comedy proportions.

2) Affleck expands on Chris's emotional awakening with Dana (Anna Kendrick) in the original. Chris's opening scene is him attending a dating event, where the women are initially attracted to him by his looks, but quickly reject him over his mannerisms.

3) Cynthia Addai-Robinson and JK Simmons are also back. As insinuated at the end of the original movie, Addai-Robinson's Medina has replaced Simmons's King as the director of the Treasury Department's FinCEN. King is now retired, but he's picked up a second gig as a private investigator. It's his investigation into the disappearance of a Salvadoran family that kicks off the plot.

4) The subplot about Braxton wanting a dog and Chris telling his brother that he should get a cat because of his unusual schedule is one of the best scenes due to the men's chemistry.
5) Allison Robertson has replaced Alison Wright as Justine, Chris's business partner. I don't agree with this decision because Robertson had a better grip on Justine's non-verbal autism.

6) I hope they do a third movie! Representation is important, and regardless of the violence, The Accountant does a fine job showing some of the difficulties autistic people face.

CONS
1) I really can't think of one. The movie is essentially two bad guys that live by their own moral code. If you can accept that, you'll love this flick!


Overall, The Accountant is a fun popcorn/nachos movie. I give it 9 stars out of 10.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

After a full, very busy, day of work, DH and I went to see The Accountant 2 before celebrating with homemade nachos and margaritas. We needed the break because he's got high school lacrosse games to attend for the rest of the week. And yes, I do know the reason for this holiday in the Mexicans kicking French's ass!

Hope everyone found equally pleasant ways to deal with the chaos!

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Yep, still pissed.

The Enchanted Bakery Is Here!

It's official! The first two stories of The Enchanted Bakery are here!

Chefs, Shrooms, and Sherry

Tabitha Abbot and her adopted sister Everleigh are thrilled to start culinary school. But with three summer internships at the professor’s famed restaurant Finito on the line, a group of bullies in their class led by Sherry Kincaid aim to drive the Abbot girls out of the culinary program.

Tabitha promised their mom no magic at college, but Everleigh didn’t. Tabitha finds herself torn between protecting her rivals from her irate sister and wanting a little witchy revenge herself. Because in real life, there’s no such thing as a fairy godmother to save you from your enemies.

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Cakes, Cookies, and Conjuring

When mega-corporation Apollo Coffee & Tea open a store across the street from The Enchanted Bakery, Tabitha Abbot fears it will be the end of her family’s business. Especially when the slimeball co-owner tries to buy her out.

But Tabitha’s adopted sister Everleigh is determined to fight back. While Tabitha nixes any hexes, Everleigh recruits some unconventional help to show that money can’t buy everything, but excellent desserts can sway anyone.

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Life Transplanting

Both stories from The Enchanted Bakery series have been loaded and are ready to drop tomorrow. I just need to update the series pages with the retail links.

I also need to edit Death Goddess Walking and finish writing A Cup of Conflict. I'm at roughly the halfway point of ACoC. It'll be a downhill crazy rush to the finish as nobles and citizens collect in Chengzhou for Emperor Bao Quan Po's coronation with various opponents looking to assassinate whoever they can to destabilize Jing.

Except I need to fit in some work on the flower beds. This time, it's not just weeds.

The crazy squirrels and chipmunks have decided they don't like the current floral arrangements, and they've taken it upon themselves to change things.

A hyancinth bulb was moved the the succulents bed. Roses have been transplanted to all four sides of the house. (Which actually make sense, since they like sunshine, and the north side wasn't a good place to begin with.)

Strawberries were eaten from their planter, and their seeds scattered along the eastern beds for additional early summer treats. Dandelions were planted in the box on the northeast side of my office, replacing the inedible pink flowers that grew there.

So far, the rodentia haven't touched the daffodils and tulips, probably because the bulbs are too big for them to dig up and move. Instead, the critters are planting oaks in those beds, which will eventually wipe out my flowers if I don't dig up the saplings.

While I can appreciate the squirrels and chipmunks needs and wants, they don't mesh with the previous owners, or my, artistic visions.

So, the battle for the beds and boxes has begin!