I have my caffeine; I have my sounds (my favorite podcast) and I have my computer running. I also have a headache, but two of these things are going to alleviate that. Now that I am firmly in the routine, let’s put in the work. What do I want to talk about today? Well, I did see The Dark Knight Rises – on its own, it stands as a great summer film. As the final part of the trilogy, it wraps up everything nicely. I think it suffers from the flaw of too many villains and should have stuck with Bane and the not-so-subtle jab at the Occupy movement. However, if they did that, then the fanboys would have been howling for a Batman movie with Catwoman in it. If they had just Catwoman, then the movie’s theme would have to be different and (while sparking another ‘How I Would Have Done It Differently’ – I should get back to writing those) I think it might have taken away from the dark tone the first two movies labored so hard to achieve and maintain. Overall, this was far better than Prometheus, but as far as action and just plain fun goes – The Avengers is still out in the lead. The next summer film to take a shot at is Total Recall, which I will go to see next Friday.

My novel has languished somewhat, but I have an artist for the cover and hopefully they will be kind enough to do it for free. I have an editor (Hello, editor!), so I believe that everything is coming together (cue: ominous music) to get this book off the ground. I am looking for other e-book hosting options beyond Kindle and Nook. I have heard grumbles of dissatisfaction concerning Smashwords, so I might pass on them. Since I have the software to convert books to Epub format, I might sell them on the major sites, but also have a way to purchase them from my website as well once it’s set up. When it’s done, I’ll put up a link from here. I am still aiming for a November or December release. After that, I might deviate a little from my original plans and release a second volume of 4 Bits and a Dollar for October, making it a yearly thing. But I/O Error is going to be my second novel and I am going to have that finished by January (or so I hope). My goal is to have four books a year written, and at least three of them hitting the shelves in that year. This Saturday and Sunday, I am going to work to get the last three chapters finished, and with it the novel. Thankfully, I can write the ice cream scenes at work with my Color, so I can get a little more work done. I sincerely think this is going to work.

Wish me luck.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

Hello all.  I am using my Color to write this post at work.  This will be a short post because I have a short lunch.

I am a creature of habit.  Any little thing that happens to me that is out of my normal routine ripples through my day like a boulder tossed in a pond.  What threw me off today was people coming over to cut down some tree limbs that were coming close to power lines… so having someone knock on the door at 8:00 AM — an hour and a half before I needed to get up.  I couldn’t get back to sleep comfortably and I was too scatterbrained to write.   I tried to get something going — even if it was some planning on another novel.

How has your day been?  I promise to write something more pithy tomorrow.

Sincerely,
Seething Apathy

I haven’t posted a blog since the 3^rd of August. I would like to say that I decided to take a vacation, but that would be untrue. The fact of the matter is that I just stopped. I had told myself that I was going to write Monday to Saturday, but I didn’t feel like writing – especially after Saturday. I’ve also been a bit dodgy about the novel – I got a very little bit done on Friday. Sunday night, I stayed up to watch Curiosity land and went to bed at 2:30 AM rather than midnight. I woke up on Monday at 8:30 AM, but felt like I was trying to think through cotton and spider-webs. So I took a 2 ½ hour nap, with enough time to get ready for work and leave. I did do a little bit yesterday with the next ice-cream scene in the novel (I’m going to continue that today and take advantage of that app in the Color). Overall, this is the first major writing I’ve done in a few days.

But I told myself that I was going to put my nose to the proverbial grindstone on this. I was going to work regularly on the novel and blog on a consistent schedule – but as we can see, I am unwilling to be held to that. What’s even a harder kick in the pants is that this isn’t the first time. I am starting to consider that I am – and looking back over various things that meant a great deal to me at the time – in the habit of sabotaging myself. Why? I am not entirely sure (or I am completely unwilling to face the truth). It could something as simple as I’m lazy, or the fact that I feel as if I deserve nothing good in my life and doing this feeds that thought process. Well, now that I know this – I can work to either mitigate the effects of this thinking, or just float along… and thus, the purpose of this blog is revealed – to be a private sounding board.

Back to the novel – I started writing the ice-cream scene on my Color and I am going to finish it there and move it back to my computer. I’ve gotten a new idea and I don’t know if it should be in the same realm as Rhona and the others, or should it be its own book. The idea (and it is still working itself out in my head – so I am scribbling madly in between calls at work) is that the main character is stricken by some illness that is known to be fatal, but he has to accomplish something in a short amount of time… so it is a race between his illness and this accomplishment. I am intrigued by the idea of the hero being somewhat infirm and getting worse as time goes on. So, as far as research goes, I am going to look for diseases that are medium-term (two to six months) that have a set of highly visible symptoms. I’m not going to start it until I am done with I/O Error. The idea is that I have one novel I am working on writing, another novel that I am outlining and one that I am plotting. I am trying to keep busy, going along with the idea that while quality is going to get me fans; quantity is going to get me paid.

That being said, I have some work to do.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

Hello, all – you’ll notice that there was no blog post yesterday. Well, I decided rather impulsively that I would take a day off and finally get that Nook Color I had been drooling over. The drooling was worth it. This device is perfect for people who want to have something beyond an e-reader, but also don’t want to shell out the money for an Ipad. I’ve been very satisfied with it thus far – even found out there was a new “Dexter” novel which I am going to get today before I leave for work. As for writing yesterday, I had the best of intentions. I wanted to go to a certain Barnes and Noble store, since they had a Color cover that I liked (with a quote from Oscar Wilde: “At the New York Customs, I have nothing to declare except my own genius.“). The plan was to have breakfast, get the Color come back home and revel in its glory until I had to leave for work. Sure, extra gas was to have been spent, but it would be worth it.

I got to the Barnes and Nobel and pulled into the relatively empty lot… and saw that the store didn’t open until 10:00 AM. Fine. I had fifteen minutes to kill, so I waited and read a book. When it opened up, I walked calmly inside and told the person at the counter that I would like to get a Nook Color. Now, when I get into a high emotional state, I tend to stutter, stammer and flip words around. So, I took a deep breath and relayed my message. The counter person (probably thinking I had released myself from the local sanitarium) cheerfully grabbed a Color and offered me the standard discount card for the store, which I took since I plan on shopping there more often. I got that and the cover, making a beeline for the power socket in the café. My thinking was that I should do as much as I can here, and then go back home for a couple of hours. So, I grabbed an ice coffee and relaxed.

Oh, did I mention that it takes 3 hours for the initial charging? Yeah. OK – I figured that I was just going to have to make a day of it. I wanted it charged up so I could read something at work. So, while it was charging, I decided to get some apps – including QuickOffice Pro, so I can do some work if I don’t have a pen and paper handy (it’s compatible with MS Office). Instead, I bought the one book I knew was missing from my “Dexter” collection (#2: Deeply Devoted Dexter). I perused the newspaper and magazine collection (no hometown paper? Huh?) and generally made myself have a little fun. When the Color was finished charging, I unplugged everything and walked out with the intention of getting lunch, which I got from this place. I would also like to point out that for the amount of money I shelled out – I should have gotten a hot dog bigger than a pencil. I’m just sayin’. I had a good day.

Well, I need to get to work. I hope your days are as good as mine was yesterday.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

Hello, all – I am getting a late start to today for several reasons, but the chief among them is that I am tired and it’s only Wednesday (check local listing for actual date and time). There is little going on anywhere as far as the novel, my life or even movies (TDKR Sunday!). I’m just really, really tired today. I am going to get some work done on the novel, but as far as blogging goes – in between political fights on reddit (to quote Tom Araya: “Just me and my world of enemies”) and trying not to throttle people through the phone at work – there isn’t much to say. So, I turn it over to you: the fan(s). What would you like to read me expound on? Favorite movies? Movies that I would have done differently? Movies that I want to know why they were made (other than for money and to keep lazy actors off the streets)? There will be a caveat to this: I will not discuss political views. The reason being is when I started this blog, I didn’t want to have it devolve into a flame war. I have enough of those on other places, thank you.

As far as the novel goes (another reason for this blog has become me accounting my progress to the web and keeping me motivated and honest), the poisoning scene is going to wrap up and from there we get to meet Anya’s Poppa – not the person you would think would have that title. This, and the final scene (no spoilers) are the two scenes that I am really going to work on to get right, especially since everything that has happened has led up to that point in the book. I want it to be a powerful piece, so I am going to more than likely going to dither over it for a couple of days beyond finishing it.

Some other interesting news: someone admitted that they were going to buy my first book – and no, he was not under duress when he said that. This doesn’t bring me to the great $10.00 threshold, but it brings me closer to the point where I would buy it to get it over that point. When I do, I promised myself that I would buy myself a meal… of course, when I said that, I was thinking more along the lines of a nice steak – but a sub will do. I’ll be sure to capture the moment with a video.

Oh – there will be an announcement at the end of the month concerning this blog. It’s good news. I swear.

Well, I am going to try to wake up again and get cracking on that novel.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

First day back at work… and I have got to get this novel finished soon. There is no other way about it. If it’s not the people I have to talk to on the phone, it’s the people I have to talk to at work. They want us to give people confirmation numbers, but not enough time to finish the notes so we can give them confirmation numbers. To say that I work in a madhouse would be an insult to people who actually work in madhouses. I would quit, but I need to have money to pay for things… expensive things (like not getting the NFL Channel anymore) and I am not ready to part ways with my phone yet. So, I will grin and bear it, but the second I get books out there and hit the magical amount where I can quit for one year and live off of the royalties, I am gone.

OK – enough of the venting. The poisoning scene is wrapping up, so next is the ‘advice from Poppa’ scene, to be followed by the final showdown and Anya’s decision. Moe than likely, this scene is going to have a lot of re-writing ahead of it so I can get it just right. The ‘advice from Poppa’ and ‘the Scholars’ scenes are the two big scenes in the last third of the novel. I want to have them right before they go off to the editor. I am happy that this book is coming to an end and I will hopefully get to I/O Error and maintain that level of enthusiasm I have for it that I have for the current project. All I have to remember is that tone before I take the call at work. See? Inspiration is at hand.

I finally got to see some weightlifting (women’s – most of the events I’ve seen are women’s event. Are there any guys there?) and I have to hand it to the Thai weightlifters – they do not quit. Yes – it was too much. Yes – she wasn’t even a medal contender at that point, but she stuck it out and made the most of her appearances, even when she dropped the weight; she smiled and bowed. I must admit, I was crestfallen when I saw that. All I wanted to do was walk up to her and give her a hug. Sure, security would have dropped me or she could have handily thrown me into the crowd like a bag of garbage – it’s the thought that counts. I still have a couple of days left to watch, and I will more than likely glut myself from Friday night when I get home to Saturday night (that’s right, no sleep for 24 hours – it’s college all over again!). I will write during that time, but more than likely I’ll end up taking some naps during the events I am not too crazy about.

Well, I should head off to the novel. Hope everyone has a good day.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

OK – I am now feeling well enough to go into work… which means I am going to have to come up with one more excuse and use up all my sick days. Any suggestions? No? Fine.

The Olympic coverage from NBC is not the best I’ve seen. The few sports I follow (or try to follow) are shown at the worst times and the ones I am blasé about are really the only things that are covered. I haven’t availed myself to the online coverage since I am not at work – but I will when I get the chance. When the Winter Games come, I will hopefully be working from home so I can drop everything and follow the game full time. I know I’ve said this before, but I really
love the Games. I’ve even stopped following my Twitter feed in the event of getting a spoiler from someone lucky enough to enjoy more coverage than me. For me, the world grinds to a halt every two years and I love it.

I am however, going to split my attention between weightlifting and the novel. Thank God for laptops. I have finally gotten everything set up in my head as far as Anya’s particular issues. I just need to get down on paper as it were. I am still aiming for a Christmas debut and will work to get I/O Error for a later October release and drop another volume of 4 Bits and a Dollar in between. I have three ideas in mind; I just need one more to complete it and try to get that finished so some more pocket change (I’m not kidding on this one, so far I’ve only made $7.00 with it). This one is going to be better than the last one, now that I know how to make a real table of contents. Might even try to design my own cover, but I will actually follow through with actually making it. I am really trying to make an effort to get through the novel, but there is only so much I can do in a day… until I do this full time. That’s my goal – write full time.

I am going to get a Nook Color this week for one major reason: it has a word processing app that can work with MS. While, yes, this Color is going to be nothing more than an entertainment suite for me (might even indulge in HuluPlus for the heck of it), I will have 30 minutes at work to read and maybe sketch out some ideas. I might also get a Kindle Fire for the magazine subscriptions and make it closer to an e-reader than the Color. I might have some pictures when all is said and done. For now, it’s going to be back to work while waiting for the weightlifting competition – I did get to see the women’s weightlifting – did you see the woman from Thailand in the 56 Kg event? Such a little thing picking up… well… half of me in the clean and jerk event. She dropped the weight and looked so crestfallen about it, I wanted to walk up to her and give her a hug and a pat on the back to tell her to try again.

Well, I’m off to try to salvage this day. Good luck to you.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

The Olympics have started and I am trying to catch all my favorite sports – which is going to be difficult. Thankfully I have several placed where I can go and watch them online. Right now, I am watching the women’s 10 meter air rifle finals with China winning the gold. I missed the women’s basketball against France, but I am going to see the next men’s basketball game – I am looking forward to that and the weightlifting competition. I don’t watch a lot of events, but the one I do watch, I will follow almost rabidly. When the Winter Games come, I am definitely going to take that time off and indulge myself in coverage. Hopefully by then, I’ll be writing full time and can just get up from the bed and go to the TV. I tend to like the Winter Games a bit more than the Summer Games, but hey – it’s the Olympics (even if there are some games that have been dropped).

However, I am going to endeavor to put in my work on the novel today – finishing up the poisoning scene and moving on to the advice scene, which will put me within spitting distance of finishing this thing. After this, I will be going through the rewrites, which I am going to go through here, if only to make sure I remember what I need to do when I get to that point:

1. Give Rhona dialogue. Not as hard as one would think.
   
2. Give Anya some non-stabbing, non-raging scenes.
   
3. Don’t know if I want to give Everthirst some scenes.    
   

I know I’m dragging on this and the story, but the Olympics are playing on the TV. I might wrap this up and enjoy the women’s handball (Spain vs. South Korea). Hopefully, I can watch some weightlifting tonight as well.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

Well, I went to the doctor’s today. Blood pressure is 130/80 (a little high… but not life threatening) and my weight is 284 lbs. – hey, I’ll take it. Ends up that the coughing and the phlegm is a symptom of bronchodialation – it’s my old friend asthma deciding to come back after a several year absence. Didn’t write, didn’t send me post cards, and didn’t call me to say that it missed me. Oh, well – at least it’s treatable and it is something that I am used to…. *sigh*. But – hey! 284 lbs.!

The novel continues on – but this last finished chapter doesn’t really have the feeling of the other chapters. If I have to cut words, this might be the first thing on the chopping block, but I’m concerned that Anya is taking over the narrative. While, yes – the story is about how Rhona manages to deal with Everthirst, but I am concerned that Anya is stealing the spotlight. Before you say ‘why not make Anya the main character?‘ – I have thought of it and I’m not keen on it. Yes, it would make other novels that take place in that world a little easier (several projects that could involve her come to mind), but I want her around for a while. I don’t know – but that’s what rewrites are for, right? Make the rough draft with a sledge hammer and chisel away with the re-writes… or I hope that’s how it goes. Well – I know that this is going to be a good novel once I get it finished. Stop laughing. It’s going to get done.

Anyways – there is a YouTube video of Halo 4 game play. Holy cow – why isn’t this out yet? I love the Halo series and I can’t wait to see what direction they are taking the story in now. I haven’t read any of the books (I might try one, since you can get a little bit more out of the game if you know that backstory), but I might pick one up now just to see if it’s as good as some people say that it is. Boy, I am still feeling a little tired – time for a drink. One of the things they suggest to lower your blood pressure is to take in less caffeine. Those that know me well know that there is a better chance to hit three Powerball lotteries in a row than me giving up caffeine anytime soon. So – it’s not high, but I know there are those that would suggest I change now and head it off at the pass. Maybe tomorrow.

Well, after I put down some words, I am going to watch the movie “The Skin I Live In” – I have to admit that I have a weakness for foreign horror films – ever since I went to Wild and Wooly’s for the first time and saw “The God Of Gamblers” (not a horror film, but a darn good film regardless). I am also one of those weird people who enjoy movies that aren’t re-dubbed in English. Things like that take me right out of the film. Best foreign horror films come from the Japanese. I like a couple of French horror films, but they tend to have the 80’s horror mentality – gore is good and a lot of gore couched in between heavy philosophical concepts. The gore works fine for me. Yeah – I’m a bit of a gorehound.

I need to get to work. I hope everyone has a good day.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy

Good morning, all. I am sick – in a physical “wasn’t that supposed to be attached to me?” way (mental illnesses aside). Now, here is a rare glimpse into my family history: if you were sick, the only way you could get out of work/school/living was to be to the point where you were ejecting fluid that was:

1. Not meant to come out of any orifice
   
2. Not meant to come out of a particular orifice that fast or that far
   

So, it meant if I had the sniffled, I was told to suck it up (metaphorically and otherwise), take a pill and soldier on. Granted, that’s good advice for life in general – but it also set up something in me that I am particularly fond of: I rarely call in sick and feel guilty if I do. The last time I called in sick was maybe two months ago. The time before that? Early last year. I tend to use only one to two sick days a year – other times I’m ill, I just soldier through. Not because I am some sort of unstoppable tech support machine, but because I was raised to do that.
I understand that I have sick days, and the company is more than happy to let me use them – in fact, they have a ‘use them or lose them’ policy. One thing I will say about my last employer, they had a better policy concerning that: whatever you didn’t use, you got cashed out at the end of the year. Since I usually only took one week off a year, I had a nice bonus coming towards me around the last week of work. Not anymore.

My current position is a reason why I want to write for a living. If I get sick, I can take a couple of days off and let the sickness ooze out of me, or if I need to keep writing as a way of therapy – I can do that. It’s my choice. Right now, the only reason why I am not following my normal routine of blogging, writing and then trundling off to work is because I feel like poo now, and it’s only going to go downhill from here. The fact that Opening Ceremonies are Friday has absolutely nothing to do with it. Seriously. I got my PC at work to live stream the games and my DVR all ready to record what I don’t watch. Anyone who thinks I am slacking off just because of that is sadly mistaken.

Yesterday, I did slack off on my writing however, and I can’t blame illness on that. However, I am going to try to make the best of today and not only hit my 1,100 mark for today, but cram in another 600 to complete that goal for yesterday. Realistically, I can hit that easily before I have to call in (the benefits of having a late night shift, I don’t have to call anyone until the afternoon) and if I write anything after that is just gravy. I had a change of heart for one scene and I want to get that down and finish the poisoner’s feast before too long, which is going to lead to the climax of the book and the last short chapter to the end. Look for it to come in at about 65,000 words when all told and I am aiming for a Christmas release, if not sooner.

Well, I am off to get some juice and tissues. I hope you’re feeling better than I am right now.

Sincerely,

Seething Apathy