The Journal, Thursday, 10/19

Hey Folks, Enjoyed a brief conversation with a dear friend from Dallas this morning. That was a pleasant surprise. Thanks Robert. Of course, in my current state I probably sounded grouchier than normal, though I don’t think I actually was. Part of our discussion was about my current endeavor to leave cigars behind. And in that, I’ve had an even more recent epiphany. If I had a cigar stashed away somewhere and happened across it, there’s a very good chance I would at least light it and take a couple of puffs before putting it out. Of course, that would … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, 10/18

Hey Folks, Not sure what the day will hold. I’ve been a bit depressed lately, mostly because I’m allowing myself some remembrances of a camaraderie I’ll never know again. Sigh. I miss it like air. I mentioned this to an acquaintance a few days ago and he said, “Well, at least you have the memories. Not everyone has them.” Well duh. Of course, what he said is true, but it didn’t help. Not that it was intended to, I suppose. When he said that it reminded me of the scene in Men in Black in which Agent J caught Agent … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, 10/17

Hey Folks, Well, I emailed DWS yesterday about CreateSpace closing their online store. He wrote, “Saw it. No books ever sold out of there anyway, so no great loss.” So there’s another take on it for you. *** I was going to recommend James Scott Bell’s column over at The Kill Zone Blog, but I decided not to. The title is “Use NaNoWriMo to Repo Your Mojo.” All well and good. But if you go look it up on your own, PLEASE take it with a huge grain of salt. I’m glad NaNoWriMo exists, and I’m glad so many people … Read more

The Journal, Monday, 10/16

Hey Folks, Here we go. The first day of the rest of my writing life. (grin) And I’m going to start it in Sierra Vista at a brake shop. So my restart on writing might be one day late. We’ll see. In major news from the department of Well That Sucks, via The Digital Reader, see “CreateSpace to Close its Web Store” at https://the-digital-reader.com/2017/10/13/createspace-close-web-store/. Note that this estore closure does NOT affect CreateSpace’s other services. For more on that, I recommend you read the original announcement at CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/Help/Index.jsp?orgId=00D300000001Sh9&id=50139000000oxUN. The biggest immediate impact is that CS pays (well, has paid) … Read more

The Journal, Sunday, 10/15

Hey Folks, I’m really missing (fiction) writing, storytelling, and it will be good to get back to it tomorrow in whatever form it takes. For me, being immersed in a good story as it develops is like that moment when you smile and sigh as you’re sinking into a tub of hot water. It’s just that good. One more visiting day with my son and his family and one more day of baseball to see whether the Cubs will tie the series with the Dodgers. I’ll continue following the LCSs tomorrow, etc. but watching games will be secondary to writing. … Read more

The Journal, Saturday, 10/14

Hey Folks, Just want to take a minute to say thanks for hanging in with me. When you write a daily blog like this, and especially when you’re determined to share the less-than-good along with the good, you’re going to have some off days. I’m kind of proud of what I’ve done here for the past two-plus years. I’ve written every single day, even when that writing was only in this Journal. Thus far, I’ve written one novel every month for this calendar year. (It isn’t lost on me that when I get back to writing on Monday, I’ll have … Read more

The Journal, Friday, 10/13

Hey Folks, Okay, I’m never again doing anything that’s personal-world earth-shattering while I’m in the middle of writing a novel. Losing a bunch of days to a magical, mysterious haze while writing a novel is not a good thing. A lot of the haze is gone this morning. So my thought that the primary part of the trial would take three days seems to have held up. However, I’m still a bit foggy headed, and it comes and goes. Another son and his family are coming to visit this weekend. They’ll arrive later today and stay through Sunday morning. So … Read more

The Journal, Thursday, 10/12

Hey Folks, First, welcome to “fan2orcas,” the most recent subscriber to this Journal. Glad to have you aboard. I’m going through a personal transition at the moment, so not a lot of substance here for a few days. But hang in there. It will pick up again soon. (grin) *** Woke up to good news this morning. I have another book, The Platinum Blond Perturbance (novella), in an upcoming bundle from BundleRabbit. I’ll post details on the website as they become available. The request for that book caused me to look at my other similar books. I realized I have … Read more

The Journal, Wednesday, 10/11

Hey Folks, Well, my subconscious is out wandering around the universe on its own, chasing shiny objects and worrying about absolutely nothing. I hope it’s having fun. I got through the first full day without nicotine. Today is day two. From here on out, it’s just a matter of will power. Well, that and fear. I am a recovering addict. At the moment, I’m going through the rough part, although that will end soon. But if I take even one more hit of my drug of choice, I’ll have to go through the rough part all over again. Remembering that … Read more

The Journal, Tuesday, 10/10

Hey Folks, Well, I kind’a held off posting the Jurnal just in case, but today is a nonwriting day. My brain’s too fuzzy. (grin) Might be this way tomorrow too. We’ll see. I’m putting this up only to keep the blog streak going. Thanks to those who forwarded their good wishes re shedding the nicotine habit. At present I’m wishing I’d never started again. But it’ll all be fine in a couple more days. Then I can get back to things that really matter. Back tomorrow. Of Interest Nothing really of interest that I saw online today. Fiction Words: XXXX … Read more