I’m thinking of giving some of my writing away.

I have another idea for a progression fantasy series (Serious, I can’t stop myself), but rather than writing it with a serious eye towards publication, I’m thinking about initially putting up on a free site like Royal Road to get some feedback, then moving it over to publication. I’m not going to start writing it until I have cleared a couple of other projects first: The Resurrectionist’s Blues and The Show Must Go On are my pressing needs right now. Both are slow going right now, I have to finish the editing for the second half of the second chapter and the first half of the third chapter by the 12^th of August, when my writing group meets again.

This weekend? Write-a-Thon! Me getting together with the others in the writing group and just working. I am hoping to get a chapter or maybe two done for The Show Must Go On – which I think I am getting to the good part of the main character investigating his allegations of his wife’s infidelity. Whether it’s true or not, I am going to leave that up to the reader. It’s a balancing act keeping everything in the shadows.

Anything else of interest? I’m going to see the movie Nope tomorrow. What did you think about it, if you’ve seen it? I like Jordan Peele and his particular brand of horror, but I think the trailers have left very little to be revealed. It’s getting to the point where I’m going to have to avoid most major media just to get an unvarnished view of a movie or TV show. I can’t look at my YouTube feed without breakdowns of movies or TV shows I haven’t watched yet (New Rockstars – I’m looking right at you…). Gaah!

Well, that’s all for now. I do have to get some writing done while I’m at my Dreaded Day Job. I hope everyone has a good day and stays out of the rain.

There’s nothing like a vacation to mess up one’s personal calendar. I knew today was Thursday, but not Thursday. This will be a quick update to say that I am still alive and able to type. I just got back from a much-needed vacation, which I will talk about a little later on. I’m back and I feel a lot better. I even got out a thousand words my first day writing at lunch. Never underestimate the utility of letting your mind have some time off, too.

Feeling much better, I am ready to continue on with my current project and start doing a little background research into my next big project which a dalliance into literary arts and writing something ‘serious’, as it were.

Other than that and discovering the relaxation that is painting miniatures, there is little new to discuss. So, with that, I will bid you all a good day and I hope to have more next week.

Did you know you could buy little houses from Amazon for less than $2,000? Did you know you can buy land in New Mexico for less than $2,000 an acre?

I now have new retirement plans.

I’m going to have enough money by the time I retire to buy a small house and two acres of land out in the middle of nowhere. I’m going to be completely cut off from civilization except when I decide to head into town to buy supplies. I can throw up some solar panels for power and buy a small refrigerator to keep stuff cool. Might even be able to get a small air conditioner to keep me cool. Just me and a tiny house out in the middle of nowhere New Mexico…

Until I die of dehydration and heat exhaustion, of course.

I’m surprised that no one else is doing this. Sure – land is more expensive the closer to civilization, but it’s there. You can have a decent house for yourself on an acre of land, have plenty of room to move around – even if you buy one acre. If you have the money to buy multiple acres, go on ahead! There is something about being on my own, alone in the middle of nowhere that touches something in my soul. Of course, I’m writing this in a nice, large-ish house in air conditioning awaiting my dryer to get finished so I can fold the laundry. It’s romanticizing it to be sure. I’m not a fan of the heat, I’m absolutely addicted to the Internet and can’t do anything without Spotify playing in the background. Don’t even ask me to go without Spotify, Hulu, Paramount or Disney Plus.

But…I can stay entertained with my Kindle, and all I have to do is go into town once a week, buy a couple of series and head back to read them. While I couldn’t live with all of the above things, there is something to be said about being on my own and just reading. No distractions, just me, a chair and a bottle of something to drink: vodka, water or soft drink. Maybe even coffee in the morning. Even if I don’t want to read, I’ll have solar panels and more than enough power to keep this laptop going. No interruptions to get in the way. I say no interruptions because there is no way in hell my wife would want to do this. She’s not the wilting type, but she’s not going to like the lack of water. Even though she was raised on depending on well water, there was water there on tap. Out in the middle of the New Mexico desert? She’s going to be a little addled. No matter how much of a fan of the book series Dune.

Well, maybe I’ll do that if I’m on my own. For now, I’ll live among the roaring engines and half-empty malls of Louisville, KY. I can bear it here.

The novel is not popping with me. I don’t know what it is. I’m finding myself changing things mid-stream and that’s a sign that it’s not finished in my head. Now – there are several wrtiers who would say that it’s important to keep going. Just make a note somewhere and write as if you made the changes where they need to be made. I should do that. I should keep on going and get it all down because it’s at least getting done.

But, I’m itching to make those gutting changes.

You know what? I am not going to. I’m going to push on ahead with the novel as it is. I can make those changes with the first set of revisions. My first priority should be to finish the damned thing. I have a habit of abandoning works like a series of sinking ships (…and one day, I’ll finish them…but it ain’t today, folks). Som after my truncated workday, I am going to crack open my laptop and get back to the saga of Chuck, Lin and Joe and the poison of suspicion.

That was easy. It’s the execution that’s the hard part.

But enough about that. I hope everyone had a good Fourth of July weekend. I actually too a little break from writing to enjoy hamburgers and the smell of cordite and other pyrotechnical chemicals. I also got little sleep because my neighbors subscribe to the “the bigger the explosion, the happier I’ll be” philosophy. At the rate of this mini-arms race is going, I fully expect to have someone wheel in a pocket nuke or something (“This’ll put the Hendersons in their place…” *beep* *beep* *beep*).

There’s not a lot else to speak of. I’m going on vacation next week, but I will try to post something ahead of time so that I can maintain (for now) an unbroken string of posts. When I get back, I might post some vacation pictures or something boring like that.

Until then – take care.