Just Keep Swimming!
Small steps, big setbacks, and enjoying every moment--even when it's hard. (Plus a conference and new books!)
September and October are proving to be crazy months. I’m dealing with a demented dog who forgets that he can do things unless I walk over to him. This means every 15-90 minutes, he starts yelping because
he needs to go out
he needs to walk to his water dish
he has forgotten what room he is in
his canine brother is looking at him! (said brother is being a bully lately)
Sometimes, he wanders into the pool, or he starts walking somewhere and just stops and stares blankly until I go touch him. I feel like Robin Williams in Awakenings.
He also barks at night, and somehow they’ve gotten into a 4:30 am feeding schedule, so I’ve been sleep-deprived most of a month. Things are calming down again.
In other news, my mom seems to be sliding downhill again, sleeping a lot and having other issues. Dementia is not fun. But last Tuesday, she didn’t want to get out of bed, so I lay down with her and she took my hand and fell asleep holding it. It’s a moment I’ll treasure.
As many of you know, I’m President of the Catholic Writers Guild, and because I’m a glutton for punishment if it gets things done, the impromptu webmaster. The site had been under intermittent attack for months, and just last night, we got it resolved…we hope. I spent a lot of time clearing out fake accounts and updating from the last copy before the crash.
Despite all this, I had a pretty good writing month. I published Mensa, Magic, and Mayhem as well as Thanks for the Mummyries, and have two more short stories ready to go—one when my crit group is done and one when I finish making the cover.
How am I doing it? Small steps, consistently taken. The CWG has a weekday meetup for 3 hours, and while sometimes, that time is used putting out fires, I am managing to get a lot done. It helps to have other people “physically” around to motivate you.
Anyway, what I’m saying is that it is possible to get stuff done in the midst of the busy. Just take it bit by bit, and it will come together in the end. (And that’s as profound as I’m going to get tonight. Good night!)
Join me at LegendHaven, Oct 18 & 19
LegendHaven is a fan convention for clean fiction, and it’s always a good time. You’ll meet some great people, attend interesting panels, get read stories!, and get to know a lot of cool people who also love speculative fiction in books, movies, and games.
Bonus—it’s all ONLINE. You can come in your pajamas, bug out to raid your own refridgerator, and the only travel is to your computer.
It’s a great deal at only $10 for the weekend.
I’ll be doing a lot at the convention, I have a Q&A, a read-aloud from Mensa, Magic, and Mayhem, a panel discussion, and a humor routine about the writing life. There are a lot of other great writers and some up-and-coming talent in multiple entertainment fields.
Thanks for the Mummyries is Now in Ebook
A lot of you have been enjoying “Thanks for the Mummyries” on Substack and newsletter. If you haven’t or just prefer to get the whole story at once, it’s now on Amazon.
Vern gets a job at the museum! Okay, so they ask him to “go” in the dumpster outside, but the assignment—guarding an exhibit of Fairie and Mundane Egyptain artifacts—offers a walk down memory lane. Plus, his old friend Linda is assisting with the exhibit.
But when an actor hired to play the Harbinger of Doom goes nuts and destroys the exhibit, releasing ancient magic, a night of nostalgia becomes Night at the Museum. It’s Vern vs. The Mummy—and the scarab beetles, and Hatsup the Cat in this hilarious DragonEye short story.
And if You Need More Vern…
Mensa, Magic, and Mayhem!
This one is a rewrite of the previously published Magic, Mensa, and Mayhem. I had to add Gapman and the new lair and Florida from my eyes as a resident. So much more fun!
It should have been a cushy job: Vern and Sister Grace are given an all-expense-paid trip to Florida to chaperone a group of Magicals at a Mensa convention. Leaving Gapman to take care of Los Lagos, they set off anticipating sunny skies and interesting conversation.
Then the pixies start pranking, the Valkyrie starts vamping, and a dwarf goes to Fanny Flamingo’s Fantasyland hoping to be “discovered.” Environmentalists protest Vern’s “disrupting the ecosystem,” while clueless tourists think he’s animatronic. Not to mention, Gapman’s desperate calls as he deals with hobgoblins and Moles of Unusual Size.
When the elves get high on artificial flavorings and declare war on Florida, it turns into the toughest case they aren’t getting paid for.
This was a great update. So glad I read all of it. Thanks for your care and thoroughness. All the best, BTM