6:30 a.m.

Stagger out of bed, making sure all body parts are functioning. Make coffee and make way to office, shuffling like an old blind woman. Try to remember how to spell password and log in to computer.

6:40 a.m.

Open email program. Delete half of new messages, answer two with a short sentence each, move half a dozen to other folders because the “rules” don’t seem to be working. Again.

6:50 a.m.

Open browser. Look at today’s weather. Groan and turn on space heater at feet. Look at tomorrow’s weather. Moan. Look at five-day forecast. Try to smile. Face hurts from effort. Think about 10-day forecast, know it will likely change, click on it anyway. Sigh.

7:00 a.m.

Reheat coffee. Open morning group of pages in browser. See no horrible personal news, breathe sigh of relief. See the usual other news, not really new after all. Sign in to Facebook. See new messages – a few must have been waiting for the green dot to show I’m here. Answer those with quick one-sentence responses. Wish folks happy birthday. Delete game requests. Scroll down to see what’s going on.

7:15 a.m.

See kid off to school. Make bed, do dishes, pick up house. Make more coffee. Plan to take a shower and get moving more quickly today. Make to-do list. Suddenly remember half a dozen things not finished yesterday and add to list. Think of other things that must.be.done.now. Add to list. Check email.

7:45 a.m.

Third cup of coffee. Check sales stats and reviews. Check for new press announcements and interviews. Answer email. Respond to Facebook messages. More email. More messages. Think about breakfast. Drink more coffee.

8:00 a.m.

Time for promo and online marketing. Update websites. Tweet. Facebook pages. Blood pressure rises because browser crashes. Twice. Reboot, finish promo.

9:00 a.m.

Write blog post. Or two weekly blog updates. Or reblog something. Write a book review. Check calendars: personal, bookstore, publishing. Think about working on WIP. Find other things to do. Check list. Cross off three things. Add four more. Think about exercising.

10:00 a.m.

Yay! Time for more coffee! Make phone calls. Return phone calls. Wait for return phone calls. Wait in vain. Check book stats. Mess around on Facebook. Answer interview questions.

11:00 a.m.

Think about lunch. Realize it’s not yet noon. Realize it’s almost noon, so get dressed. Do some housework. Check mail. Check phone. Open WIP. Stare at screen. Open current ms for RHP. Line edit.

12:00 p.m.

Phone call from hubby at the bookstore. Change gears, work on bookstore events and some promo, answer some email, read news while eating lunch. Wonder if there’s time for a nap. Remember that bills need to be paid. Browser crashes.

1:00 p.m.

Really wishing for a nap. Hey, coffee time! Read new submissions. Remember that there are two books waiting for reviews. Check to-do list and cross off six things. Add two more. Re-heat coffee. More line edits.

2:30 p.m.

Go to bookstore. Download bank info. Check bills. Talk with two customers. Answer two phone calls; one is someone trying to sell something. Change board. Straighten shelves. Clean bathroom. Check consignment sheet. Meet with author.

3:30 p.m.

Back home, check email, check stats. Finish to-do list. Read. Edit. Look at WIP. Drink more coffee.

5:00 p.m.

Happy Hour! And oh yeah – what’s for dinner? Oh. Yes. Must cook. And make notes for tomorrow.

6:30 p.m.

See “3:30 p.m.” Except for “finish to-do list.” Pretty sure that’s done. And no more coffee.

10:00 p.m.

NOW everything is done. Assuming there were no major glitches. Ha.