I’m back to posting my weekly report card because I have actual work accomplishments to share! Woot!

Report Card

Last week…

1. I worked on edits for another author!
2. No swimming due to the pool pump quitting on us! No other exercise other than stairs.
3. Healthwise, I had an immunotherapy treatment on Monday, and after consulting with my oncologist, I resumed Lenvima on Tuesday, but every other day rather than daily. The doctor hopes my body will adjust so I can go back to daily doses, but it’s kicking my butt again. Not as badly. I’m mostly fatigued and little fuzzy-headed the day I take it.
4. I’m painting again! Limping toward the end of #the100dayproject. The one below was fun to paint because I used a supply I hadn’t tried yet in my hoard of supplies—watercolor sticks on top of watercolor.

This next week…

1. I’ll complete edits for one author and begin edits on another author’s story!
2. I’ll, hopefully, complete work on Ignition—writing new words until I get to The End.
3. I’ll continue painting to complete #the100dayproject. I want to finish by the end of the week. Just six more pieces to go!
4. We’re scheduled to have our pump replaced this week, then it’ll take time to turn the neon green water blue again!
5. I’ll hopefully have time to take pictures to reopen my Etsy shop to sell some of the bookmarks and small paintings I’ve been making!

Open Contests

Be sure to check out these posts and enter to win the prizes that are still up for grabs:

1. Gabbi Grey: When a trope comes calling (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win a FREE book!
2. Word Search: Things associated with June! (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Gabbi Black: A Home for Every Story (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
4. June Into July (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. My New Guilty Pleasure (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Memory Game: More Guilty Pleasures (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
7. Ava Cuvay: The Down & Dirty on the Short Story (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
8. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Poised at the “Star Gate” — Win an Amazon gift card!

I adore Sci-Fi movies and TV shows, hence my lifelong dedication to all things Star Trek and my recent binges of shows like Lost in Space and Time Tunnel. I really want to binge the Stargate world, but it’s so big that it’ll take significant commitment. Maybe after I finish up Grimm and Psych, I’ll start the SG series, taking “breaks” with Lost in Space (it’s very cheesy, so small doses!).

Anyway, I came across an image that made me think about the Stargate series. I won’t tell you what it’s about because I want you to solve the puzzle then tell me what you think is going to happen next. Do so for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card! Have fun with it!

I blame Delilah.

Don’t get me wrong… she hasn’t committed any crimes (that I know of 😉 or done anything bad. It’s simply the fact that I’ve grown to reeeeeaaaally love the reading and writing of short stories. And it’s all her fault.

For those who may not know, Delilah graciously organizes an annual short story anthology, the Boys Behaving Badly series, each year with a theme. Each anthology boasts stories written by a diverse array of authors, covering the theme with an imaginative range of story ideas that are all panty-meltingly hawt.

A satisfying relationship, happy-ending, and a money-shot all in the time it takes me to eat lunch? Yes, please!

So, one year, I decided to submit a story. As a Sci-fi Romance author, I was accustomed to writing books of over 95,000 words. Imagine having to shoe-horn world-building, species-building, character-building, and a creative love story (with sex!) into only 5,000 words. That’s like moving all of Buckingham Palace into a one-bedroom apartment.

That’s what we writers consider one helluva writing exercise.

It certainly worked writing muscles I didn’t know I had. And the post-workout soreness is as much a reality for writing as it is for physical exercise. But I kept going. Honing, editing, questioning every single word choice for maximum impact and efficiency, streamlining character development to its most essential… and my story was accepted!

The experience was such a challenge, with what I felt were lasting benefits to my own full-book skills, that I continued to submit to Delilah’s anthologies. Four anthologies later, and I’m addicted. While I still love writing full-length stories, I also love writing short stories. Please don’t ask me which I prefer to write, because that’s like having to choose between my own children. I love them equally, although I might like one better than the other at times.

I now love writing short stories so much, I just published my own bundle of short stories. Fathoms Below is my trilogy of mermaid-y short stories filled with Disney easter eggs and drenched with romance. Each story is a self-contained love story, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to my characters’ HEA within 18,000 words rather than waiting for 35,000 words, or more!

And I “blame” Delilah for that. 🙂

Contest

I’ll gift a Kindle version of Fathoms Below to a randomly-chosen winner from everyone who comments on this post. Feel free to weigh in on your preference: full book or short story?

FATHOMS BELOW

Under the sea, Atlantia’s mer-creatures are devoting full time to floating… and falling in love.

“Better Where it’s Wetter” — Ariel LaRue assumes the sexy merman pictured on the lake house is “just art.” Then a violent storm topples her into his arms, and she discovers the ocean isn’t the only thing that gets her wet.

“Kiss the Girl” — Mako, a young Sharkanian General, knows there’s more to life under the sea than hunting for food and waging war with the Atlantians. But he struggles against his own predatory nature until a gentle mermaid calms the savage hunger of his heart and tames his sharp bite.

“Poor Unfortunate Souls” — Ursule has an uncanny knack for problem-solving which has earned him the grim moniker Sea Witch. Unfortunately, it doesn’t prevent pesky merpeople from approaching him with their problems. Until two captivating eel-maids invade his lair, wishing for nothing more than his company. And his talented tentacles. 

“Part of his World” — Eric’s Epilogue. Prince Eric wasn’t always royalty. For that matter, he wasn’t always a merman.

Get your copy now! FREE in KU!

 About Ava

Ava Cuvay is an award-winning bestselling author of out of this world Sci-fi and Paranormal Romance featuring sassy heroines, gutsy heroes, passion, adventure… and the word “moist”. She resides in central Indiana with her own scruffy-looking nerfherder and teen kiddos who think her “Rizz” is “cringe” but she “passes the vibe check” and her books “hit different.” No cap. She believes life is too short to bother with negative people, everything is better with Champagne, and Han Solo shot first. Star Wars references are her love language.

Feel free to stalk me:
Website: https://avacuvay.com
Author Facebook: https://facebook.com/AvaCuvayAuthor/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15051407.Ava_Cuvay
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ava-Cuvay/e/B01E5OIZ0I/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ava-cuvay
Instagram: https://instagram.com/avacuvay/
Newsletter: https://drinkingthestarspressllc.eo.page/v8296

I’m continuing yesterday’s conversation about guilty pleasures but widening the scope. I thought, while I jotted down themes I might include in the puzzle, that I might have to go out and find a bunch of new images to represent my many guilty pleasures, but guess what? I only had to find one brand new image. I guess I’ve been talking about these for a while!

Most of the images in the memory game are self-explanatory. The desert island image represents solitude, which I embrace. But there should be a picture or two that will apply to you as well!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, then tell me whether you share any of these guilty pleasures or list a few you would’ve added! Have fun with the puzzle! 

When I wasn’t feeling well and mostly confined to bed or my lift chair/recliner, I spent a lot of time doomscrolling through Bluesky, Threads, and Twitter. When I needed a little lighter fare, I hit Instagram. That’s where I met my new guilty pleasure.

At first, the ads for all these short-reel movies interrupting my IG feed annoyed the hell out of me. Werewolves finding their fated mates, while I love writing them, seemed silly in these short, episodic films. Secret billionaire women scorned by their husbands and out for revenge—silly, silly, silly. However, what caught my eye and kept me watching as many of those free episodes as they teased on Instagram were the Japanese romances set in olden times, where men and women wore skirts and silky kimonos.

I bit the bullet and downloaded a DramaBox reel. The heroine was a modern-day woman, an award-winning cook, I think, who died by getting hit in the head with a light fixture during an awards show and “transmigrated” (their term) into the body of a woman in ancient Japan who had been killed by a jealous cousin a few weeks before her death. Soooo, naturally, the modern woman, with all the other woman’s memories intact, must fix things so she doesn’t get murdered. Along the way, she meets a hero—not the man she was engaged to, who helped her cousin kill her—who becomes her love interest. The fun part about this is that the woman is taking control of her destiny while finding a man who appreciates her strength and independence. Yeah, the reel had cheesy music and subtitles, but I was hooked.

That was the start. It proved supremely annoying trying to buy “coins” to keep watching the episodes until the end. I think I spent $20 to get to The End of that particular story. I thought, never again. What a scam.

Only, another reel entered my feed. Same timeframe, same cheesy music, this one dubbed. This time, I bit the bullet and bought a week’s subscription to watch as many reels as I could. This first story was something about a woman with magical healing powers who wangles her way into the emperor’s palace. But it had the same tropes—a “transmigrating” female lead, a stern man in rice cake makeup with black hair to his butt but who somehow looks hot as hell in his silk robes, a mission to right the woman’s wrongs so she doesn’t end up murdered, and lots of swordfights, gallons of fake blood spit up during canings or killings, whining cousins who look pretty in their silk gowns until they open their mouths and have the most annoying, whining voices.

Every doctor can tell by a patient’s pulse what rare disease they carry, whether they are pregnant and what the sex of the child will be, and what kind of poison was slipped into the character’s drink or food (there are lots and lots of poisonings!). The hero is always a martial arts expert, and many of the females are as well.

What I really love are the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon-style fights where the combatants fly through the air at each other. My daughter shakes her head when she comes upon me and hears the Asian music and voices. I’ve shown her some of the fights, but she just doesn’t get why I love it. I can’t explain it either.

And yeah, the guys look like Korean K-pop singers or Anime heroes, but who doesn’t like a ruthless man who will kill simply because the heroine gives him a subtle nod that it’s okay to permanently remove the threat to her safety?

At $20 for a week’s subscription, and in order to get some work done, I’m only allowing myself one week of subscription per month. My monthly gift to myself. In the meantime, while I doomscroll, I make a list of the reel apps (there are so many!) and movies I want to watch when my week comes. Yeah, it’s an obsession—a silly one—but don’t judge me!

Answer the following for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card…

Have you tried the online drama/reels apps? Do you have a “flavor” of story you enjoy? Do you have another guilty pleasure you’d like to tell everyone about?

June

 

1. I completed one set of edits and began work on another author’s edits.
2. I had the print covers for both Ultra Strokes volumes created, then uploaded them. They are both available at Amazon now!
3. I read through Ignition and actually wrote a few pages. It’s not finished, but my writer’s brain is starting to wake up!

Health-related:

1. I started a new infusion drug, Keytruda, this month. I felt fatigued for a couple of days afterward, but no worrisome side effects.
2. I began two pills a day of a targeted therapy called Lenvima. The fatigue compounded and worsened over the two weeks I stayed on it, along with a nasty bout of diarrhea that left me feeling like a wrung-out dishrag. The oncologist had me discontinue using it last Friday, and I improved immediately.
3. At today’s infusion appointment, we will discuss what to do going forward.

Happiness-related: 

1. I celebrated my birthday! Thanks to everyone who dropped by here or on FB to wish me well! I really do appreciate it!
2. I continued my participation in #the100dayproject. While the rest of the world ended their participation in early June, I’m persevering to get to 100 pieces of art before I finish! Here are a few small pieces I completed in June:

July

 

For work-related, I plan:

1. To finish writing Ignition! Again—no excuses! This will complete the Delta Fire series, my erotic firefighter stories. The book will be out by the end of the month!
2. To begin work on Built Like Mack, the next story in my We are Dead Horse series.
3. To complete working on the edits I have for one author and await the arrival of two other editing projects to start working on.

For health-related, I plan:

1. To continue to focus on recovery! Rest when I need to, and some light exercise—housework and swimming (when the pool pump gets repaired!!!).
2. To endure another immunotherapy session this month.

For happiness-related, I plan: 

1. To spend time with the family during this summer break. We have plans for fun meals, movies, flea market shopping, and lots and lots of swimming.
2. To head to my sister’s place in the northern part of this state for a mini vacation.
3. To complete #the100dayproject and create more art.

Contest

Comment on anything you’ve read in this post. Tell me what you’re doing to make yourself happier and healthier, or tell me what you plan to read in July…

Like I said, comment on anything for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!

My birthday passed in a flash! I stayed away from social media to simply enjoy my birthday—another one bites the dust! After my doom and gloomy post about how bad I was doing on my new medication, I just didn’t want to see or read anything, even the many lovely posts from everyone for their birthday wishes. I’m reading through them today. Thank you so much for thinking about me!

I can report that I spoke with my oncologist’s office on Friday morning, and they had me discontinue, for now, the new medication. And miraculously, I felt like myself again on Saturday—no frantic dashes to the bathroom! We’ll have a discussion about what to do going forward when I go in for my regular infusion tomorrow. I’ll do whatever he recommends to fight this disease, but maybe we need a better plan or some adjustments so my quality of life doesn’t take such a radical hit. I’ll keep you posted. I do feel better and in a better state of mind today.

Another catastrophic thing happened late last week. The pool pump stopped working. The pool has been my greatest joy (other than my family) this past little while, so we are biting the bullet and having it replaced, but it might not be for a couple of weeks because we’re in the middle of pool season and everyone needs help. Which means, it will likely take another couple of weeks to kill the algae already turning the pool a lovely neon green. *sigh*  Maybe I’ll be swimming again before the end of July!!

I spent my birthday puttering (which is a form of exercise for me these days) and indulging in my latest guilty pleasure. I’ll talk more about what that is later this week. My daughter thinks it’s hilarious, but what does she know, huh?

Anyway, enjoy your Sunday! Do something that gives you joy! ~DD

Open Contests

Be sure to check out these posts and enter to win the prizes that are still up for grabs:

1. Gabbi Grey: Dipping my toe into the enemies-to-lovers trope… (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win a FREE eBook or audio book!
2. Happy Juneteenth, My Messy Desk, & a Health Update (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. What brings you joy? (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Romantic Gestures — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
5. Flashback: Bound & Determined from Texas Cowboys (Contest & Excerpt) — Win a FREE book!
6. Gabbi Grey: When a trope comes calling (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
7. Word Search: Things associated with June! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
8. Gabbi Black: A Home for Every Story (Contest) — Win a FREE book!