The Journal: In Memory of Casey

In today’s Journal

* In memory of Casey
* Bestselling Author Russell Blake
* I got a very brief start
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

In Memory of Casey

As most of you probably know, it’s difficult to lose a little friend who’s been with you awhile. Forgive me the lack of talk about writing today. As this really is my only outlet, I want to devote part of this space to that special little guy.

Casey, our little Chihuahua-mix pup, passed yesterday at around 15 years old. He was probably a couple of years old when we got him from a no-kill shelter near Tombstone. But he was ailing badly and only barely able to get around, so we made the difficult choice to have him put down.

When we found him at the shelter in Tombstone, he’d been brought in that same day. A kind soul found him wandering the streets, ostensibly searching for scraps of food. His ribs were showing prominently, and he was thin as a split rail.

And he’d been mistreated by whatever brave fighter of blind kittens originally owned him even before he was found on the street. Right up until yesterday, if anyone tried to pet him, he would duck his head and pull back into himself, his eyes filled with fear.

Casey lived a good life once we adopted him. He never wanted for food or companionship. In his last few years, I referred to him as our special breed — the vaunted Silverback Chihuahua — owing to the strip of silver fur that developed from his neck to his tail.

He was a good little guy, and as defensive of his family as they come. He had a bark that, especially if it happened right behind you, sounded as if he’d borrowed it from a rottweiler (seriously). And in defense of his yard, he once tried to go through a field fence after a coyote. He actually lost a tooth in that encounter, when it was ripped out by the fence. The coyote recoiled and disappeared back into the desert soon afterward.

In other news, bestselling author Russell Blake has a new personal blog titled Russell Blake Uncensored (see “Of Interest”). The title means more than it says.

On his “old” site at https://russellblake.com/ he still talks about matters purely of interest to writers and fans of his fiction. He doesn’t post often. I am a subscriber.

Blake’s new site isn’t a comedy bit. It’s a place free of the increasing social media bias to air his honest thoughts, presented blatantly and in defiance of an increasingly censored world, one in which truth is at best a maleable object. As pretty much everyone knows, these days, what is referred to (and often reported by the media) as truth doesn’t rely on fact. Unfortunately, it relies more heavily on omission of facts and on who’s speaking, who’s listening, and whether they approve. And everyone knows that, though roughly half the population will deny it.

Blake isn’t a conspiracy theorist, though I suspect he’ll quickly be labeled as such. Unfortunately, I suspect his new blog will cost him readers even though an author’s private life should have nothing to do with sales. But that’s the world we live in.

On the good side, the guy’s bulletproof, meaning a falling readership (crossing their little arms and holding their breath until they turn blue or until he cedes to their demands) won’t bother him.

Same reason DWS talks openly in defense of Heinlein’s Rules and writing into the dark. He’s bulletproof to falling sales.

Me? I’m bulletproof too. Not because I’ve made enough money, but because I just don’t care. I know my stories are good, so if some readers don’t “like” them (sight unseen) because I hold forth on HR and WITD, that’s their loss, not mine. On the other hand, I do not hold forth on political or societal or religious matters, primarly because hey, whatever helps you sleep at night is fine with me.

Still, even as a fictionist, I wish fervently we could all just get back to reality. But I won’t tell any but my closest friends what that reality consists of. Suffice it to say that facts are facts and truth really isn’t maleable.

Then again, the current socio-political climate is a good thing. It’s why I spend so much time in my shell, my fingers moving over the keyboard as I convey my characters’ stories. And it’s great fun because it allows me, for a while, to live in the real world.

I got a very brief start on the new novel yesterday before I had to attend to more important matters. Back to Wes Crowley.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

See “New Blog – Russell Blake Uncensored” at https://russellblake.com/new-blog-russell-blake-uncensored/. I suspect this will cost him readers, unfortunately, but I admire him for speaking the truth.

See “Who’s A Best-Selling Author?” at https://killzoneblog.com/2021/06/whos-a-best-selling-author.html.

See “Intimate Strangers” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/intimate-strangers/. Maybe story ideas, or ways to improve what you already know about craft.

See “Kindle Vella: Return of the Serial” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/kindle-vella-return-of-the-serial/. I’ve thought about starting something similar to Kindle Vella but on my own with my own subscribers. Hmmm.

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………………… 860 words

Writing of WCGN2: The Comancheros (novel)

Day 1…… 1216 words. Total words to date…… 1216

Total fiction words for June……… 49710
Total fiction words for the year………… 504199
Total nonfiction words for June… 16070
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 122300
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 626499

Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… 10
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… 1
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… 3
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 63
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 217
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31

Disclaimer: In this blog, I provide advice on writing fiction. I advocate a technique called Writing Into the Dark. To be crystal clear, WITD is not “the only way” to write, nor will I ever say it is. However, as I am the only writer who advocates WITD both publicly and regularly, I will continue to do so, among myriad other topics.