Idle Thought

I confess that like all authors, the hope of making money at writing was one of the motivators when I initially got into the field. My plan went something like this....

1. Write Book.
2. Harper Collins sends bikini clad supermodels waving fistfuls of cash to my front door.
3. Live happily ever after in fame and glory.

I gotta say, I'm very disappointed in Harper Collins right now. They really dropped the ball on this one.

Oh well, back to work.

Oh Noes!

Look! A giant spider is crashing the Hindenburg!

Yeah. I got nuthin.

There just isn't anything to report today. I'm busy on an editing project that came up, and I'll be doing that for a few days, so nothing is going on on the writing front. And it's the same old thing with the kids...Sheridan is off to "camp" and Rowan goes to therapy at noon. I'm bereft of deep thoughts to blog about, and the cats aren't doing anything interesting. Even the last raccoon has apparently abandoned our attic...probably out of boredom.

Maybe I'll have something later.

I sure wish football season would start.

The Finale

Exiting the Parade

Happy 4th of July

Here are the kiddos, and adult support staff, returning from the childrens parade yesterday. They had a good time, and I want to thank my brother and sister for walking (and pushing in the case of my son) with the kids along the route. (my son's battery on his tractor died and my brother ended up pushing him along the route).

On the writing front, I'm trying to make a couple of decisions. The initial monster I was going to use in Fate of the Coral Horn would actually make an interesting monster for a story in the sequel to The Ways of Khrem. I do have a backup critter in mind if I choose to make that switch, but I need to think about it as it will change the whole charactor and complexion of the story. I'm also toying with the beginnings of an idea for the next ghost story for "4". What if a person was photographed at a cemetary, and it was later noticed there was a person sitting on a tombstone in the background of the picture that neither person saw while they were there....and what if that figure in the background started showing up in later pictures that weren't taken at the graveyard.

Hnmnnn....

It's got potential. I'll have to rough draft it and see what I think.

Oh well. Today I need to find a fireworks display for tonight, so the kids can see their Fourth of July fireworks. Busy, busy, busy.

Independence Day...and Nate Falls Down A Lot

They celebrated Independence Day a day early in the park across from Nonni's house, and the kids were delighted to take part in the annual kids parade. I was there, ready and rarin' to go with my new HD2000 camera as well.

Things started off well, with me getting a few shots from across the street before crossing over to the park to get ready to film the kids. That's when disaster struck. I stepped in a muddy patch on the incline near the street, and in the next second found myself trying to do the Can Can in my braces. Needless to say, I did a very poor rendition of the Can Can and ended up on my butt. I also managed to twist my ankle and my knee in the process.

I then limped back over to the house to do the filming from the security of a chair in my mothers side yard. I guess I got some decent shots, but they could have been better. Then, to add insult to injury, I went in the house and managed to fall again while in the kitchen. This time it was because I was trying to pivot on my previously wounded leg and it just said, "Nope. You're on your own," and collapsed. This time I went down with a crash, taking two kitchen stools with me. That added a wounded hip to my list of boo boos, not to mention a terminal blow to my dignity...as nothing says "spazoid" like having your sister in law finding you flopping around on the floor of the kitchen.

Sigh. One day they will find a cure for Charcot Marie Tooth...and that will be my Independence Day. Until then I will just keep a sense of humor about the whole thing and hope they develop a brace for wounded dignities.

Off to Grandmothers House We Go....

The kids and I have gone to Bryan to spend Saturday at Nonni and Daddo's house. Pictured above, Rowan is delighted for any chance to visit her grandparents. Rowan and Sheridan will be in the little kids parade they have every year. I'll be sure and get pictures.

Oh well, for now it's off to bed.

Sigh!

...and of course, as soon as I get the first draft printed out and sent to one of my proofreaders, I discover a cringeworthy screwup that pulls the reader right out of the story. It's easily fixable, but it's the kind of thing I should have caught before. Argh!

Progress

The first draft of "Death and White Satin" has been finished. This will likely be the first story in the horror anthology pictured above. I'm rather pleased with it, as it has struck the right tones and I think it has achieved the effect I was striving for. It is a little over eight thousand words long, but that will fluctuate with rewrites and editing. It still needs editing, and I will edit it thoroughly because I'm really trying to craft the stories for this book the best I can.

After a cursory edit for passive voice, I'll print it out and send it to proofreaders. Then I'll consider my next move. One possibility is to pull up an old story of mine called "The Tragedy Man" and see what I can do with it. It was written for a particular anthology that it never made it in, and had a theme shoehorned into it that never really fit the story well. A revision of that story could result in a product well worthy of this anthology. It's a good story...it just needs to be recrafted, have a couple of awkward elements removed, and expanded in a couple other areas. It will also need to be retitled since I would be removing the part that the title comes from.

I had considered putting "Storm Chase" in this anthology since I had the rights back for it too, but decided against it. That would make two stories involving wedding dresses, since Charlotte March was buried in hers, and I didn't want to take anything away from "Death and White Satin." Besides, it's only four thousand words long, and I wanted the stories for "4" to be a little longer.  Instead, I think I might try submitting "Storm Chase" to an ezine. That way it could be advertising for both me and "Middle of Nowhere."

Oh well...work, work, work!