A Chilly Tuesday’s Update

Tuesday, February 3, 2026, Orlando, Florida

It’s another beautiful — and surprisingly frigid — winter morning here in Central Florida. As I write this, the temperature sits at 52°F (11°C) under mostly sunny skies. Not quite the bone‑deep cold I woke up to at 6:30, but still very much a “Sweater Weather” kind of day. I haven’t felt a chill like this since I left New England in October 2024. Last winter, I was in Miami, and even during the early‑2025 cold snap, we never got anywhere near freezing down there. Orlando, it seems, is determined to remind me that Florida is a big state with many microclimates — some of which require layers.

I’m still working from my laptop while I wait for the new power supply for my Lenovo all‑in‑one. I ordered the replacement yesterday afternoon from a third‑party seller on Amazon; it shipped quickly via the Postal Service, but realistically, it won’t land on my doorstep until Thursday or Friday. That means I’ll be on this backup machine for the rest of the week, which unfortunately puts The Jim Garraty Chronicles on pause until my main PC is revived.

I’m also awaiting a new wireless mouse for this laptop. Technically, I can get by without one — the Ideapad S340 has both a touchscreen and a touchpad — but some apps simply behave better with a mouse, and certain tasks are more awkward without one. I ordered a Logitech model yesterday, about an hour after buying the power brick, and thankfully that one should arrive this afternoon. Small mercies.

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In Other News

For those following the progress of the Reunion: Coda audiobook, I have an encouraging update. Stefan (Steve) Lee reached out via ACX to let me know he’s almost finished recording. A missing chunk of text in one chapter slowed him down, and he found a few tracks with audio issues that need rerecording. He’s also planning to clean up any spots where he accidentally stumbles or repeats a line. Once those fixes are done, the audiobook should be ready in just a few weeks.

So if you’re an audiobook‑only reader (or listener, technically) and have been waiting for Reunion: Coda to hit Audible, the finish line is finally in sight.

This morning, I also noticed that a Kindle Unlimited subscriber read 14 pages of Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen, earning me my first royalties of February. Kindle Unlimited’s payout for those pages comes to a grand total of seven cents. Not exactly a windfall, but seven cents is still more than zero cents, and every page read means someone is spending time with the work — which is the real reward.

This morning, I also noticed that a Kindle Unlimited subscriber read 14 pages of Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen, earning me my first royalties of February. Kindle Unlimited’s payout for those pages comes to a grand total of seven cents. Not exactly a windfall, but seven cents is still more than zero cents, and every page read means someone is spending time with the work — which is the real reward.

Speaking of Kindle editions: the e‑book version of Reunion: Coda is currently on sale for $1.99 through February 8, 2026. That’s 67% off the regular price, and the novel has been well‑received on Amazon, Goodreads, and several WordPress blogs. If you’d like to support an independent writer — or simply want a good story to sink into — now’s a great time to pick it up.