Cat Connor's Blog

Guys! How are you all?

Revisiting some old favorites from my misspent youth ... I really like Elvis Costello.

So, thought I should catch you up because I've been a slack-assed blogger. In my defense, I have no actual defense. Life has become busier than a bee in a clover patch.
The end.

The first round of edits for Qubyte are completed and back with my editor (who has resigned, long story not for now).

The biggest news of all is this:

MY BOOKS!! That's right, all the hard work and hustle paid off and my beautiful books are now available at Writers Plot Bookshop in Upper Hutt. (And online!)
Very exciting. They were printed in Auckland and are truly glorious. 
You should rush right in and pick one up, I advise starting with Killerbyte although it's not strictly necessary ... but do that, okay?

Just pop in or order one online ... if you ask nicely I'll sign it. I'd say there are signed copies on the counter but we sold them, so, you know, there aren't. :)
In other news: That was it, really ... what more could there be? 
Gimme a second I'll think of something.
My day:- Walked to the bookshop. - Opened up at 9:30. - Started creating more images while questioning why I've written so many books ... because the images are for each book. - talked to a buddy, friend, ol' pal in Virginia for almost an hour. It was one of those cool things, called a conversation where we use our voices. Yeah, that. (You millennials won't understand, shhh, it's okay we won't force you to actually talk to people, back to your texting, off you go.)- Made some more of these cool images.- Talked (that voice thing again) to a wonderful author in California. - created another video- fought a few fires on various fronts regarding my publisher and whatnot- Gorgeous Lou called in and we had a massive catch up because everything has happened!- The Hostile Assistant arrived to surprise me- Caro arrived, had a catch up- walked home- created the last of the images I need- finished another video- cooked dinner- did houseworky parent things-The end.
Yay, you, you read all the words to the end.Pop over and like my Facebook page, go on, it'll be fun. Full disclosure: I hardly ever say penis anymore ... and actually can promise (although I have quite the potty mouth at times) I have never used the C word.
I'm about to start work on Cryptobyte again and I'm really excited!



Love you long time xx

I'm not talking about Daylight Savings and the now five-hour time difference. That sucks but I'll get used to it, as I always do.

This is bigger than that.

This is something that challenges me.

Yesterday my editor announced her resignation from Rebel ePublishers. I do understand her position and why this happened. I have only good things to say about Jayne and nothing but good wishes to send her way.
Some of you know the reason I'm still with Rebel is that I truly adore my editor (that and loyalty).
I was first signed almost 10 years ago.
So, this is a long relationship and it's always hard when a relationship changes. The thing with publishing/editing/authors when its a small company is that it's not all business. You get to know the people behind the words, behind the screen.

I now need to decide what I'm going to do next.

I haven't heard from my publisher, so I don't know what is planned or if there will be a new editor.
Communication is lacking, and not for the first time. I've often had this same complaint over the last 5 years. My editor is the only source of reliable information and after being with a company nearly 10 years that is a bit sad.

With that in mind, the editing of the 10th Byte novel is underway. Will this book continue along the path to release by Rebel? Who knows? 
Not me, not at the moment.
The thing I thought about first was the cover (selfish). I really want to see the cover, I feel like this will be the favorite. To my knowledge, there is no cover yet. (Realistically there may never be one.)

There are a couple of things that need resolving that have nothing to do with editing. I'm still waiting for a reply regarding the 3rd boxed set (months of waiting) and royalties for the first half of 2018.

What's next for me and my series?
Where do we go from here?
I don't know.

I do know I am working through the first round of edits and will get this finished and see what happens next.

This journey started with killerbyte - and the first publisher went bankrupt a week before the book release. Oddly, back then, I had a cover but it was the editing that tipped me off to something being off within the company. I always considered Triskelion's demise as a lucky escape. My rights were eventually returned (months later) and I moved forward and onward.

As far as I know, right now, Rebel is still an entity there is no talk of folding the company.

I will talk to a few people that I know will give me solid advice and start forming a plan.
The series will continue, so don't you all worry about that.
Qubyte is on my screen right now, I'm reading Jayne's comments and editing.
The writing of Cryptobyte is well underway and it will be the 11th byte, come hell or high water! Crashbyte is destined to make a splash as the 12th byte ... so, stick around and let me figure out my next move.

Meanwhile here's a pretty sparkly image for you.

Go download killerbyte  for free and join the fun!

Howdy,

How's it going?
[Listens]

Moving on, you had your chance and you just sat there ...

It's the last day of the term today.
Daylight Savings starts on Sunday morning. That means a five hour time difference for me and my Knight again which means late nights for me.

The week was busy. That's fairly normal.

Most of the week was spent writing. As you all know I'm writing the 11th Byte novel, Cryptobyte. I knew the first round of edits for Qubyte were coming this week and I wanted to get some words written in Cryptobyte before progress ceased so I could work on the edits for Qubyte.

The book I'd been waiting for arrived early in the week (I think or maybe it was Wednesday?), anyway, it's great. 
me I've been using Joe Navarro's 'What every BODY is saying' for a couple of years, Anyone who has done a writing class or been part of a writing group with me will know that!
So when he brought out 'The dictionary of body language: A field guide to human behaviour' it was a no-brainer. 
It's an excellent resource for anyone and very helpful for writers!

Cake pops

ActorKid required something delicious to share for a class picnic on Thursday, so on Wednesday when I got home from the bookshop I made cake pops. Turns out they were delicious. I just couldn't stand the thought of making cupcakes again. :)

I left the decorating of the cake pops to ActorKid and I think she enjoyed it.

A massive migraine interrupted Wednesday night which led to all the drugs and sleep. Thursday was a migraine hangover/still trying to be a migraine kinda day. It was SLOW.
Painfully slow.

Worse because the edits were sitting there in my inbox and I couldn't start them. Pays not to spend long looking at a screen with a migraine, also, it makes it very hard to think.

Thursday afternoon - ActorKid said she needed German food to take to school for a shared morning tea in German class. Seriously? Luckily Siri pointed me to some helpful websites and I made Lebkuchen.
lebkuchen
Yes, I did.
Just like that. Because, you know, super mum!
And it was fantastic. I think I'll be making that for Christmas this year.

The students enjoyed it, so that's a win!

Thankfully my brain improved and edits began today.
Crikey it's fun. I do love this part of the process. I think I whipped through 8 chapters this morning before taking a break to clean and tidy behind the counter. (I was at the bookshop.)

Now I'm sitting in the sun on my bed. The house is quiet (except for the birds - The Hostile Assistant has a cockatiel and a budgie).
I could do some more editing but I'm going to go pour a tequila.
It's Friday afternoon FFS.

Have a good weekend!

Or Monday night gave me Tuesday morning which is kinda where we are now.

My Knight is winging his way back to Perth as I write this, it's always hard saying goodbye. We've been doing that a long time and it doesn't get any easier, which, I guess is a good thing!

We didn't have long together this time. And I miss him already.

But we did manage to spend a week in Mahau with Superman and that was fantastic. Much needed time home. These days when I go home the stress I used to feel is gone. I don't have to think for My Knight, I don't have to worry about what he'll do or not do. He's helpful because he wants to be and he knows Superman very well.
So it was good being home. Hearing Superman and My Knight talking and laughing together. Superman told a few stories and we learned stuff about his time with Fletchers and W&D when he was young. Found out My Knight and Superman have more in common than I thought. :)

Anyway, it was great being home.  And now it's back to the bookshop and writing - although writing is considerably easier at home!

tractor tales
mahau at sunset
fishing
Saint Clair Vineyard
supervising the weed spraying

You are amazing.

This is the last time you'll hear from me regarding pledging on the Pledgeme campaign to "Bring the Byte Series to NZ".Because WE DID IT!!OMFG.Those of you who were leaving it till the last minute ... you're too late. 
Joking!
The campaign finishes on Aug 30th so you can still pledge right up until then even though we've hit the first target.
Thing is, going over is awesome it means as well as printing the first 9 books here (if we go over by enough) I'll have some cash in reserve to print the 10th book when it comes out (and make the launch cake).So, if you were going to pledge there is still time! Get on it! :)I am eternally grateful for the support shown by my family, friends, and community during this campaign. I have some pretty vocal supporters out there and didn't know that before! Told ya this was a learning experience.
Link ---->   PledgeMe

This morning I was happily minding my own business at work.
I heard a siren and then it stopped. Next minute there is an ambulance double-parked outside the bookshop. A car moved and the ambulance parked properly. No idea what it was there for. I'm thinking something happened at the cafe next door, and it wasn't a quick visit, so someone's day wasn't going so well.

Meanwhile, the ambulance is sitting there with its lights on and the side lights flash brilliant white and red, flashing directly into the shop. Like a strobe light really. Was literally two minutes before I had a migraine. There was nowhere to go to get away from the lights.

Ironic, dontcha think?

Anyway, Mrs. Harris (otherwise known as Pip's mum) called in and then gave me a lift home and I went to bed. I slept for a total of five hours.
It was the first sunny day we've had in a bit, and I had the curtains closed to block out the sun that I love so much.

Sigh.

I did sell a couple of books before I left. The customer's card wasn't reading properly and it took a while to sort it. Of course, that would happen when my brain is banging on the side of my skull trying to make a quick exit and I can't recall numbers.

That was my day.

The Pledgeme campaign finishes soon! Not many days left to Pledge, but much gratitude coming your way for pledging!

Follow the link here ....  Bring The Byte Series To NZ.





And now I'm going back to sleep. 
See ya. 

I've been pretty busy having to hustle a fair bit to get to the target in my Pledgeme campaign, which is how it is, so that's all good.

I have learned things though. Unexpected things and also, things I knew but can now confirm without any doubt.

It's been interesting. Yes, let's call it interesting.

As I write this the campaign is sitting on $1000, only $600 short of the target!! 

EDITED: As of Wednesday morning, we're now only $350 dollars away from total world domination. No, hang on, that's a different campaign. We're $350 dollars away from #ByteSeries books printed here in NZ and available!!

Pretty exciting! Fingers crossed I make it, otherwise, I won't achieve my goal and there won't be paperbacks.  But regardless I will have uncovered some things during this exercise that will mean fewer disappointments down the track for me personally.

Stuff I know and have been thinking about this week:

1. I am glad I chose writing not acting. (Writing is infinitely easier than acting.)
2. Ellie has grown a lot in the last two years.
3. She still hates honey.
4. I shouldn't bake when I'm annoyed or stressed.
5. The fastest way to find out who your real supporters and cheerleading section are is to ask people to put their money where their mouths are.
6. It makes me nervous knowing both my sons are on the other side of the world at the same time even though my youngest son is only in Europe for a short while.
7. I truly enjoy helping people on their writing journey and last week I helped several people.
8. PopUp Business School Upper Hutt Support group is filled with amazing people.
9. The sky is blue, water is wet.
10. Zoo was a really enjoyable series.
11. It's time The Byte books were a TV series.
12. I have no time for drama created by idiots.
13. When I'm working. I'm working. And I will take your fucking head off if you break my train of thought with stupid bullshit.
14. I wish Geoff was here already.
15. Chocolate makes life enjoyable but tequila makes it MORE enjoyable.
16. Some days it feels like I'll never get the 11th book finished.
17. Your approval is not required.
18. Nor is your simpering sorry emoji.

Well, my brain is chaotic.
But only when it comes to writing.
The thing is because it operates in chaos mode I don't know where a story will go when I see it. I see pieces of the story but never the whole thing. I don't know where or how the pieces fit.

This kept me awake from two am so it's worth exploring just so I can sleep tonight. :)

The Butterfly Effect.
(It's a tad ironic that the first 6 byte novels have a butterfly on the cover if you think about the butterfly effect at this point in my writing career.)

- Unless all factors can be accounted for, large systems remain impossible to predict with accuracy because the number of unknown variables is too high to track.

A really simple example is an avalanche. It can occur because of a loud noise or a gust of wind or just because, it's mostly unpredictable, and the resulting energy is huge.

That got me thinking ... is that how my brain works?
Can I apply a mathematical theory to writing?
Quite possibly because Chaos Theory (according to the Fractual Foundation) is the science of surprises. It teaches us to expect the unexpected. Chaos deals with nonlinear things that are impossible to predict or control like turbulence, weather, the stock market, our brain states ...

Writing for me is a constant state of surprise. I'm always surprised by how the story works, because I don't know how the pieces fit.
At some point in the writing process, I sit staring at what looks like total chaos. Nothing fits together. Now I know that this is how I work.
One word or one small sentence begins an avalanche of words that become a large body of work and I know to hang in there until it all makes sense. Sometimes it takes a long time before I can say (with certainty) "Oh, I got this."

The thing is the unknown variables are too high to track until I'm about halfway through the work (but I don't know where halfway is because the variables are too high to track). So halfway is determined at the end of the writing process.
And I end up with a book rather than a resulting energy (like an avalanche or a typhoon). Although a good deal of energy is used in the process.

I'm not sure if my brain would work like this if I wrote something other than crime. One day we'll find out.
If I try to do a mind map or an outline for a story I'm working on, it looks like an explosion with a couple more incendiary devices firing around the edges.
I don't know what direction things are going in. I don't know why. I don't know motive. I don't know the perpetrator. I don't know how. I don't know anything about the victim. I pretty much know nothing when my main character is invited into a crime scene. What I do know is the name of the officer on the scene. but not always.

I write from the POV of my main character and she's one of the good guys (so far, who knows what could happen in the future?). So I'm approaching crimes from her perspective not the criminal perspective and that gives me many many variables.
When you remember that characters are people too and people are often unpredictable especially when under stress or if there is a mental health issue or for many many other reasons ... you get chaos.

At the moment I just starting to see a pattern which means the chaos is abating.

So setting that aside for a moment - how about the Dragonfly Effect?

Books 7 and up feature dragonflies. (Just putting that out there.)

The Dragonfly Effect is akin to the ripple effect. Drop a stone in a puddle and watch those ripples. They get a long way from the source, right? Ripple Effect.

The Dragonfly Effect says: small well-co-ordinated acts can lead to a big change.
It's often talked about in social media. Focus, grab attention, engage, take action. It's controlled/designed initially then the ripples carry the message a long way.

I guess it could be applied to writing. Perhaps people who use an outline and plot?

Or it could, in fact, be applied to the entire process from the first word through the writing/editing/submission phases and into publication and beyond.

Just my thoughts from 2am until 6 when my alarm went off. :)


And just after 7 this stunning sunrise happened:

Tonight my PledgeMe campaign went live.
The purpose of the campaign is to raise the money needed to have The Byte Series printed here in New Zealand.

Here's a link:  PledgeMe

There is no better reason to mess about with stuff, than because I can. Really, there is not.

So this morning I posted two photos. They were identical. The files were not.

So here's another photo. Let's try this again shall we? The photos are identical but the files are not.

















And two:




Now if you download these images and upload one of them to this website: Steganography Online
and hit decode you should be able to see a message.

It works when I do it, but does it work when the file is uploaded and then downloaded again?
Guess you'll need to try and see.

:)

Let me know what I said in the image.

I used to use OpenPuff for this kind of thing but it's not Mac friendly so have resorted to trying out a few online Steganography tools to find something I can use.

Get your geek on. :)