The Thirteenth Story

So, our family has been sick for the past couple of weeks, and it hit me earlier this week.  I was diagnosed with Bronchitis.  So, I haven't been driving to work, which means I haven't been listening to Neuromancer.  As a consequence, I've had lots of ideas streaming through my brain (making me lean towards the idea that it's the story not the mood as proposed in the last blog post).  Of course, I haven't been able to write down most of them (I only managed to get one written down), because I haven't had the energy to go find a pad and pencil, etc.  Hopefully, I'll get "the story" idea before I start driving to work again (likely Monday).

On that note, let's delve into the not so mundane stuff going on in my family life this past week:

Candice now has full-blown pneumonia along with a staph infection and an ear/sinus infection.  Donna has a cough that the doctor said we're going to treat as a cold.  Megi has recovered from her pneumonia (though she still has a cough).  Gabe has a cough and a doctor's appointment Tuesday.  And Grandma went into the hospital because we thought she had the flu along with her toe infection and was getting dehydrated and barely able to eat anything.  Turns out it was mostly about the toe infection, which required her toe to be amputated.  Then while checking her out because of her staph infection, they discovered that the infection was affecting her heart valve, so they've transferred her to a Denver hospital for heart surgery tomorrow.

So, all-in-all, a rough week for the family.

That's all for this entry, thanks for reading.  (And if you are a fan of my T. Allan Bishop Facebook Page, please click "like" on the link to this I post there, Facebook isn't showing them to most of the people who have clicked like on the page but nothing more, and so a lot of people aren't seeing the blog updates when they are posted there, and the only way to remedy this is by getting more "likes" on posts there...)

Sometimes they're inspiring, sometimes, not

Often times, when listening to books, I get struck by inspiration.  More times than not, it's just a tangential thought to something said in passing in the book.  Other times, I feel like the book drains the inspiration from me, and though the book might be filled with lots of stuff that could inspire me, it seems to do the opposite.

I don't know if that is caused by the particular books, or if the feelings of inspiration make me more or less perceptible to those side ideas.  But I do know that I've never had the "feeling" switch midstream in a book.  In other words, if a book starts out inspiring, it keeps inspiring until I finish it.  If a book starts out sucking away my inspiration, it keeps me in a non-inspired state until I finish it.

Right now, I'm listening to William Gibson's Neuromancer, which was a groundbreaking book that essentially introduced the genre of Cyber Punk.  Although it's entertaining, this seems to be one of those inspirational draining books, as I find I can't think of a single thing worth writing about while I listen to it.

In other news, Megi has pneumonia, but is in pretty good spirits.  Grandma and Candice both have the flu, and are both barely able to move around the house.  Gabe is excited about participating in the 100 mile running club, and is also trying much harder at math.  He isn't very good at math, but I'm very proud of him for wanting to try and be better at it (as opposed to before when he didn't care at all).  And Donna seems to be getting everything right on all the classwork that is sent home.  She can even read a few words now, too.

That's all for this entry, thanks for reading.  (And if you are a fan of my T. Allan Bishop Facebook Page, please click "like" on the link to this I post there, Facebook isn't showing them to most of the people who have clicked like on the page but nothing more, and so a lot of people aren't seeing the blog updates when they are posted there, and the only way to remedy this is by getting more "likes" on posts there...)

Reminiscing With People I've Never Met

It's been four months since I posted an entry to my blog.

Shame on me.

Since then, I've been on two vacations (including one without kids), the kids have started back to school, the youngest is mostly potty-trained, and I haven't made one iota of progress towards the book being published.

Yes, you read that right.  Not one iota.  To be honest, it has probably only crossed my mind about four times.  That fills me with shame and regret.  I need to get busy.  If I don't get it done soon, I'll probably just give up on it, which isn't really what anyone wants.

So, what do I need to do to make it happen?

Well, first off, I need to finish writing it.  I want there to be 13 stories in it.  I have 12.  I've looked through some of my past stuff to see if there's anything I could "polish off" and fill out the list, but none of them seem to fit correctly.  Which means I need to write another story.  To do that, I need three things:  an idea, inspiration, and motivation.

I have plenty of ideas, but none are currently inspiring my muse, which seems to also have gone on holiday for a while.  Hopefully s/he will return soon.  The last part of the equation usually sparks up when the inspiration strikes, so...

What happens after I finish writing it?  I need to have it edited.  Self-editing can only take you so far, because you know what you intended to say, and often will read it that way when reviewing it.  So, I need to find someone to edit it for me.  My wife and editor has dozens of projects on her books for her art career, and I don't want her to get sidetracked from them.  I also don't want to pay someone to edit them when I'll probably not recover the fees in sales.  (I'm realistic about how many I'll actually sell.)   We have ideas here, but don't need to worry about them until I'm ready to explore them.

Say I get it edited, then what?

Then I have to get a cover designed.  Even though it will only be an e-book, I still need a cover for it.  Covers are usually the first impression a potential reader has when deciding to try the book or not.  Also, several sites will not put them on their featured pages without cover art.  I'm not much of an artist.  My wife, who is an amazing artist, also has her own projects (as I mentioned before).  Assuming a time constraint in getting the cover designed, my best bet would be to develop a "temporary" cover art until a much better one could be put in it's place (the nice thing about e-publishing is that the product can be updated to change out plain cover art with better stuff, "also by this artist" pages with updated ones, etc.).  that would allow me to publish it shortly after finishing the writing/editing phase without having to "push" or "rush" my wife to do a better cover on my timeline.  I know she hates deadline type work and would then grow to hate the project if I did it that way versus allowing her to do it on her own timeline.

So, that being said, I will start carrying around an idea book and pencil more often (it'll also be easier since we're closing in on the time of year when I have my jacket with me when I'm out) in hopes of getting those key materials needed to getting the thirteenth story written for this collection.  Maybe I'll even force myself to write even when I don't feel inspired.  It's usually the advice famous artists/writers give to aspiring artists/writers.  Even if I throw most of it away, I might find one gem in the bunch.

What about future stories/books, you ask?

Well, those will almost certainly happen if I can get this one story written.  I have several ideas (that don't fit with this collection I think) percolating in the back of my mind.  Several involve splitting up larger story ideas I've had into smaller stories that build on each other for one larger tale when put together as a whole, but each of which could be a small story in itself.  Plus there's the "new takes on classic horror stories" of vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc. that I'd like to include in the same book, but none of which are beyond the early idea stages yet.

Now, on to the fun stuff:

The Sharks only have one game in Colorado this upcoming regular season, so I bought better-than-normal tickets and got second row seats across from the Avs bench for the game this year with Candice.  Then right after I buy them, the school announces that the fourth grade concert (which is usually MUCH later in the school year) will be that very same night.  Gabe loathes going to those events DURING and AFTER they've happened, but generally HAS to go to them because everyone else is.  Since we know how he's felt about all of them in the past, we plan to divert his attention that night.  We're going to give him the Blu-Ray of Captain America:  Winter Soldier and let him watch it for the first time that night.  Should make everyone happy.

Also, this year, Candice will be playing Fantasy Hockey with me.  I'm excited that she'll be participating in a hobby I find fun.  Right now I have 5 teams in the league, all of whom I know, and most of whom are mostly new to fantasy hockey.  We need an even number, so I need at least one more, and preferably three more.  It should be interesting seeing her root even more for some players as the season unfolds!

Megi is mostly over her feat of the potty, and is essentially potty trained.  She also started preschool two days a week.  Donna started kindergarten this year.  My goodness where has the time gone?

We spent the money we had saved up for a new bed on getting the house painted to satisfy the HOA.  It needed it anyway, but I was hoping for another year or two before we were forced to do it.  Now, we're saving up for it again.

Halloween is just around the corner, and this year we have a crying angel statue to add to the cemetery.  Here in a couple of weeks, we'll take the kids to get their costumes and put up the cemetery fencing, then the week of Halloween, I'll set up the rest of the stuff.  Hopefully, we get a good deal on November 1st for something good to add to next year's exhibit.

Megi has figured out pedaling the tri-cycle, but still has a few issues with it, but at least we don't have to push her for the most part any more.  Donna, is getting really good at riding her bike, but needs a larger one.  We'll probably get that and then start on the no training wheels thing.  Gabe, as always has already outgrown his bike, but until he starts learning to use his hand-brakes, we're holding off as long as possible before getting him his first adult sized bike.

I also learned about the Elio around the 4th of July weekend and made a deposit on one.  I got my number in line the other day, and I should get the 5,751st Elio to roll off the assembly line next year this time.

I know I'm leaving out a bunch of stuff since I missed so many months, but thanks for reading anyway!

Lucky 13

I was looking through my completed stories and saw that I have 12 that are ready for editing.  For a short story book with dark stories, it seems more appropriate to have 13 in the book, so I need to get cracking and write another story (and get them edited) so I can get it published.

In other news, Candice has been suffering from a mystery illness for over a month now.  The doctor now thinks it is her gall bladder and/or an ulcer.  She goes in tomorrow morning for an ultrasound for the gall bladder, and sometime later this week or next for a throat scope to find out about the ulcer (and esophageal cancer possibilities).  Either way, we probably can't start and "hard" treatments until we return from vacation mid-June time-frame.  Of course, we are both fighting off a head cold right now, too.

I just started the sprinklers and cut the grass for the first time this year, so spring/summer has officially begun now.

Also, I need to take out the "missile" (luggage container that we mount on the roof of the Santa Fe for vacations) and rinse it out since it got a lot of mud, etc. in it in the rain storms last year before we were able to get it inside out of the elements.  We also need to start working on a "To Do" for getting ready for our vacation. (I'm pretty sure Candice just rolled her eyes as she read that.)

Anyway, that's all I have for right now, thanks for reading!

Juggling Stories

So, I was counting stories that I have in the works and finished.  I currently have 12 stories completed (they still need editing to get the final "polish."  I have 17 short stories I currently have in various stages of writing ranging from idea formed, but no words written, to over half-way written.  I also have two much longer stories that have a lot of words written, but I don't really like them in their current form, so I plan to re-write them.  I also have a story that was in the general genre of fantasy that I plan to turn into a series of about 20 short stories instead of one longer story.  I'll probably include them all together and get the same effect as a longer story, but also individual stories/chapters should be able to stand mostly alone.  So, all totaled, I have about 40-41 stories currently in work or completed.

On that note, I just finished one the other night. It is essentially a flash fiction story totaling around 750 words and 3 pages titled Modern Day Good Samaritan. 

My basic hope / plan for the book is to have it ready to be purchased before the summer is half over so that more people can enjoy it during downtime from work. Ideally, it would be out at the beginning of the summer, but I don't see finishing the editing and cover design that soon.

So that's the latest on the writing front, thanks for reading.

Depression is a liar.

I recently read something that said "Depression is a big, fat liar."  It got me thinking on the subject.  This advice is not meant to take the place of professional help, but rather to supplement it and for short term fixes:



Depression lies to you.  It tells you that you are worthless.  It tells you things are hopeless.  It tells you no one can help you, so it advises you to withdraw from others and even yourself.  All of these are untrue, and the advice is the worst possible approach you could take.

So, what can you do?

Some of the simplest strategies involve connecting and exercising.  Better yet, combine the two.  Go for a vigorous walk with a friend or loved one.  It breaks down the walls of isolation that squeeze you into an even tighter depression while producing endorphins to improve your outlook on the moment.

Call up a friend and talk.

Compliment someone you don't know.  Smiles are infectious.  Seeing a smile come across their face will nourish that feeling of worthwhile that's been dying of malnutrition deep inside your core.

Stop focusing on the negatives.  Try to find a positive in every situation for an entire day.  If someone says something to you that you'd normally take as a negative, examine it to see if you might have just pre-disposed yourself for it to be a negative and perhaps they meant it as a positive.  If they clearly did not, think of how much worse off their life must be that they feel like they need to try to drag everyone down to their level of misery.  Do this for a whole day, and you'll find a decrease in your stress levels.  Then do it again the next day.

Don't listen to "downer" or "angry" music unless it usually puts you into a happy mood.  Find happier music to listen to when you are in your most down moods.

Change your routine for a short period of time.  Don't let the same thing every day get you into a rut.  Try something different.  If you can't think of anything, try some basic stuff.  Try learning to use your non-dominant hand to do a basic task you do every day like brush your teeth.  Try pulling out a board game you haven't played in forever and playing it with a friend.  Sign up for a class to learn something you've always wanted to learn.  It doesn't really matter about getting a good grade as long as you achieve the objectives of a) changing your routine and b) learning something new.

Host a get-together for friends and ask them to invite someone they think you might like.  During the gathering, don't let yourself be a wallflower.

If you have any other ideas of quick, short-term fixes, PLEASE post your ideas in the comments, and thanks for reading.

Death Takes A Vacation

What's been happening since the last blog?  Well, not much in the writing realm, though there has been one significant happening on the writing front that I'll talk about in a minute.  First, I've only managed to write one day since the last blog post update, mostly because of lack of inspiration and desire.  I've just been kind of blah on creativity the past few weeks.  I suppose there are lots of reason, not the least of which is me not making myself write even through the non-motivational period (like I tell Candice she needs to do with her art when she gets into similar creativity droughts  - I am apparently a hypocrite - at least recently.

A little over a week ago, Candice's grandma suffered a heart attack and had to be carried away by ambulance.  She's fine now, but it was scary for a couple of days.  She made it home just in time for her birthday party (which was also Gabe's and Jeanette's party).  She's been tired a lot more since coming home, but seems to be getting stronger with each passing day.

Gabe has become a greedy little jerk.  Everything is all about "me, me, me" and "gimme, gimme."  I know we're not knowingly promoting such an attitude, and it makes us want to go without giving presents to him for a while if he doesn't grow out of it soon.

Now for the "big" writing news - yesterday I sat down and wrote for the first time in weeks, and not only did I start a new story, I finished a new story.  It's only 3 pages and about 1200 words, but it's a pretty decent story.  It revolves around who death is, and his decision to finally take a vacation, which turns into him taking off a whole year and covers how the world changes in that time.

It was a concept that occurred to me while listening to The Book Thief (which we're almost finished listening to).  It is narrated by death and he describes taking the souls away, so naturally, the though occurred to me "What if he didn't do it?"

Anyway, that's what has been happening with me and my writing lately, thanks for reading.

New Approaches

First, if you haven't read my post on how to best support your favorite independent author, do so now.  Then go support them as best you can.  I'll wait.

OK, thanks.  They'll appreciate it (BTW, the advice will also work for new/lesser known authors with mainstream publishers, too.

So what's happening in the writing world of T. Allan Bishop lately?  Well, the muse story stepped back and hasn't cried out for more to be written lately, so I have it set slightly aside.  The zombie story has reshaped itself, and I've written several sections for it over the past week.  It looks now like it'll be formed mostly of "newspaper articles," "police report" excerpts, "medical and lab report" excerpts, personal letters, etc.  I don't know if that will be just one section that talks about the outbreak and part II might change POV to be first or third person yet or not.  the story hasn't revealed details from that far ahead yet.  I do know that some of the personal notes will be from at least one zombie.  I know that this isn't the first time an approach like this has been used (Stephen King's Carrie comes to mind), but it's a new approach for me.

The Josef Mengele vampire story has been popping into my head a little lately, too.  So, it might just turn out that I start juggling stories based on which one is yelling at me the loudest that day.

I got tired of having to constantly reboot my phone, have apps stop responding, the previously awesome battery life suddenly being non-existent, and the phone not even give me the option to answer it.  I was planning on buying it later this summer when I hoped a sale would be happening (though it was going to be painful waiting that long when it was basically a paper weight).  When I did a search for rumored sales of the phone I had decided I wanted, I found that it was $130 cheaper from Amazon than from Verizon, so I went ahead and got it and will be putting the money I was going to be setting aside for it to the credit card bill to pay for it.  We'll keep the Amazon route in mind when we go to upgrade Candice's phone eventually, too.  If it saves us $$, why not?

I got the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.  The primary reason was because I have large clumsy fingers and figured (correctly) that it would be easier for me to type, etc on it.  The secondary reasons was that it has handwriting recognition and I figured that could help me as a writer, and that it has good battery life.  It turns out the handwriting recognition is AMAZING (but slow).  It recognized my handwriting even when I wrote in my crappiest form and EVEN when I wrote in cursive.  I have to write a little slower to get the handwriting recognition to work and convert to typed text, but I'll be able to use it when waiting in waiting rooms, or lying in bed and getting inspired, etc.  So, as a writer, this is the first time that writing using technology has excited me instead of simply handwriting on paper with a pencil, this is another new approach for me to writing.  Granted, when I really get in the groove, I will still probably use a pad and pencil for now, but eventually this might be the way I go.  (This phone will also allow me to change the battery if/when this one starts to die, too).

That's all I have for this post.  Thanks for reading.

How To Best Support Your Favorite Independent Author (or Artist)

Independent authors are changing the way the publishing world works.  You'll often find their books published for much less than mainstream publishing books electronically for e-readers like the Kindle, Nook, iPad, tablets, etc.  Some even release a book for free in hopes that people will like it and will purchase their other books.

When you discover one of these authors, there are some things you can do to make them more successful.  This has already happened to some, who have been picked up by larger publishers for better distribution.  Here's a small list that isn't all-inclusive:

1.  The obvious:  Buy their books.

2.  The next obvious:  Tell your friends and family.

3.  The not-so-obvious:  Write a review of their book.  This is perhaps the most important thing you can do, because it will reach so many more people and surveys have shown that at twice as many of "first time" book purchases for a new author are based more on reviews than by recommendations from friends or family.

4.  Corollary to #3:  Review the book on other sites where you can.  This includes other venues where it can be bought as well as sites like Goodreads and Shelfari.

5:  Important corollary to numbers 3 and 4:  Do not write a review that will make the book sound better than it really is.  Write an HONEST review of it.  If it is 4 stars, don't give it 5 just because you've liked their other works or know them and want them to be more successful.  Write it honestly and include enough details to help someone else decide if they, too, might like to read it (but not so much you reveal the story).

6.  If they have a web page, share it on social media for them.

7.  If they have a social media presence, follow them. But it isn't enough to just follow them.  You also need to share, click like, +1, etc. their posts.  Facebook for instance, inhibits small businesses and independent authors and artists from being seen by their core audience and followers with their algorithm to show "what is important" by only selecting random posts from a site you've clicked "like" on.  The more posts from that page gets shared and/or liked, the more of their posts that will show to people that have already clicked "like" on their page (and the more likely they can then click "like" or "share").

8.  Corollary to #7:  go to their page just in case you didn't get to see some of their posts.

9.  Encourage them.  Post something to their page letting them know you anxiously await their next book, but don't be too pushy.  Artists and Authors like encouragement, but not so much pressure to complete something.

10.  Repeat.

That's all for this week's blog.  Thanks for reading.

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Fonts Can Be A Hassle

Since Forbidden Knowledge has Macedonian, Chinese, and Arabic Text in it, I searched for a way to get them to all show up without having to mess with a whole lot of fonts that might not be in some handheld readers.  I found that Arial Unicode MS was available on most.  But after reading some more, I'm finding that many of them don't support displaying the extra characters needed to show those languages.  Which of course means that I will have to change the story some if I plan to publish it in At The Turn Of Midnight (the tentative title of book number two).  I'm torn between rewriting the parts to just mention the various languages used on the book cover, or making a picture that I include that shows them similarly to how I show them in the text of the story.  Feedback would be appreciated.  Would the pictures (there would be two, slightly different) distract from the story or enhance it? One would look similar to the one I've included on a few other blog posts and also include here below:

The muse story has grown some more, and parts of the beginning have been re-written to fit the way the story seems to be headed.  

Also, in my self-editing phase, I've written about 300 more words to Cat's Eye View, which is about how a cat sees the world it lives in.  I've also made some changes to The Journey, which is a sort of surreal story of a man's journey through the cosmos.  Tomorrow I hope to either write some more towards one of my ongoing short stories I'm working on, or to do some more editing on the stories from Dark Stories For A Restless Night.

That's all for this blog.  Thanks for reading, and come back soon.  I plan to write a blog on how you can best help support your favorite independent author (hint:  it's a lot more than just buying their books)

Pricing For Dark Stories For A Restless Night

I was reading The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success from Smashwords today since the words weren't flowing when I had a chance to write, and it looks like my pricing might be wrong.  In it, it discusses sales at various price ranges.  $.01-$.99 had a sales ratio of 5.9x, $1-$1.99 was 3.2x, $2-$2.99 was 6.22x, $6-$6.99 was 2.2x, and $10+ was 1x.  For some reason, in two different years of doing the analysis, having a sale price between a dollar and $1.99 was kind of a black hole for sales.  With that in mind, I plan to now price it at $0.99.  That should get it out to quite a bit more readers.

On another writing note, I did write more for the muse story the other night, though I think the second section that I wrote belongs at the beginning.  It's also shaping up to be a frightening story for artist types.  We'll see if my muse strikes some more later this week.

That's all I have for this entry, thanks for reading!

Muses?

Yesterday I got an image in my head of a painting.  It involved a muse and a painter, though the muse is not the classic simple inspiration type from literature references..  It persisted, and I wrote a small scene describing it last night.  It doesn't fit into any of my current story ideas, but it might end up being a story idea of its own.

I haven't had any story speak to me since finishing Forbidden Knowledge, so hopefully this is a sign that the stories will start to flow again soon.

I finally got the license plate sticker put on yesterday, also.  I had to scrape off ten years' worth of previous stickers first, but it's done now.

I also cut the baseboard for Candice's witch cottage dollhouse.  I think we're getting to a point where I'm supposed to help put it together and/or start wiring it soon, but I'm not sure.  Candice also got inspired to do some clay work last night making miniature wedding cakes with "sugar skulls" on them.  Since sugar skulls are normally 1:12 scale, she's making them in 1:144 scale, which is apparently pretty frustrating.

I think today might be a lazy day with maybe a little bit of inspiration thrown in if I'm lucky.  That's all for this blog, thanks for reading.

Forbidden Knowledge Finished!

Not all books should be opened.  Not all knowledge should be gained.  I know this now, but I’d have considered those words blasphemous for a librarian to utter even a few days ago.

Back then, I ravenously fed on all knowledge and reading.  I cherished any ancient text that my hungry brain could come across.  To me, there was no concept even of forbidden knowledge.

But now I know better.  Now I know that some knowledge should not be obtained.

That is the teaser for my short story Forbidden Knowledge that I just finished the draft of last night.  The story is 4400 words and will probably be in the second book which I plan to name At The Turn Of Midnight.  I'm still not sure which if any of my other story ideas will reveal their words to me next, so we'll wait to see on that.  But I do know that if I don't get the editing and cover design done soon, I'll lose my motivation to publish it, so I'm probably going to make that my focus.

I need to figure out an item that relates to each story in the first book.  My cover design concept is that of a yard sale table, and many of the items on the table are in some way related to the stories in the book.  I'll gather the items, place them on a table out in the driveway and take some pictures.  If any of them look right, I'll design the cover using it.  I probably need to write the back cover "teaser" for the book, too.

So, that's my great news for today.  Thanks for reading!

Lazy Saturday

I haven't written anything yet this weekend, but I have gotten something accomplished from my To Do list.  I carried out the recycling and trash from the bedroom.  That was all from my actual list, but in addition to that, I loaded the dishwasher and glued a broken piece to Gabe's combination miniature foosball/air hockey/pool table (though in fairness, I did that last night).

It has been snowing out all morning, making me reluctant to go clean my license plates and put the new sticker on them.  If it warms up later, I'll do it this weekend.

I need to also cut a board for Candice's witch cottage dollhouse.  That would require me moving my car out of the garage and staying out there long enough to move stuff off the saw and to cut the board, so if it warms enough to put the license plate sticker on my car, that is entirely within the realm of possibility for this weekend, too.

That's all I have for now, thanks for reading.

Recent Progress and Other Random Bits of Information

I did, in fact, manage to write some this past Sunday (640 words it seems after typing it up) on Forbidden Knowledge.  It's up to over 3200 words so far.  I don't know how close to the end it is though, it hasn't told me how it'll end yet.  I haven't written any since then towards it, but that's because a) it hasn't called to me to write on it, and b) I really haven't had the opportunity to write since Sunday.

I'm hoping it'll tell me the rest of the story soon, and then let one of the other stories start revealing themselves.  Maybe the zombie story, maybe the vampire one, maybe the werewolf one, maybe Red at Night (the companion story to Mary's Painting), maybe the time travel one, maybe the murder mystery, or maybe one of the other fifty or so stories that I've jotted down at least a kernel about...

That's it for the writing front, on to some of the "life" topics:

Donna's hand has mostly healed from her burn.  The skin is still a darker red than the surrounding skin, but other than that, it looks great and is pain free (unless she's trying for sympathy, then she can't use it for anything).  She started back to Day Care/Preschool today (she goes two days a week).  This fall, she'll be starting all day Kindergarten and Megi will be taking her slot (we assume/hope) at the daycare/preschool.  We really need to ask to make sure that plan will work out, but the lady in charge is never there when I remember (she's practically never there in the afternoons it seems).

Last night, Gabe had the annual class concert.  He did awesome.  Usually, he loses focus and stops singing along about 2/3 of the way through, and he never does any of the hand motions/signing that might go along with them.  but last night, he sang along for the entire show, and he did most of the motions, too.  You could tell that he really enjoyed the Star Spangled Banner performance where they beat some colored plates together and made several different sounds with them.  I'm not sure if Candice saw how much his face seemed to light up when they were doing this performance, she thought using the plates was hilarious and was trying to control her laughter the entire time.  :-)  I was especially impressed with Gabe performing the entire show because they did a lot of "rounds" and "complementary songs" which made it more difficult for him to concentrate.  We took him out for ice cream afterwards.

On my To Do list in the coming weeks/this weekend is:

1)  Finally put the new year sticker on my license plate.  I've had them for nearly a month now, I really need to put them on.  It's just been mostly too cold lately.

2)  Make some time to write.  I need to figure out a way to write at home where I don't feel like I'm ignoring my family.  Perhaps at the kids' nap time and Candice can work on her dollhouses at the same time so she won't feel the same about me.  We'll both be accomplishing something we want to do, and we shouldn't feel bad about doing it, because otherwise we'd likely just be doing nothing really.

3)  Try to get Gabe's name changed with the Social Security Administration.  It's been changed nearly four years now, we might as well let the Feds know about it...  This will probably be more likely a task for within the next couple of months, but it's officially on my actual To Do list, and not just my "I should do this" list.

4)  Help Candice wiring her dollhouses when she's ready for that and has bought the wiring kits she needs (assuming she wants me to help her).

5)  Clean the garage.  

6)  Carry trash and recycling out of our bedroom (I really should have done that before this morning since today was trash/recycling day).

I'm sure there's more for the To Do List, and I'll add to it as I remember it.

That's all I have for this blog, thanks for reading.

Door Nameplates Finished!

Well, I finished the nameplates I've been making, now they're hanging on the door.  As promised, here's pictures:

Quick Writing Update 22 February 2014

Last night I wasn't tired when we went to bed, so I sat up while Candice slept and wrote some more on Forbidden Knowledge.  After tying it up this morning (which is very difficult to do with a two and a half year old in your lap, by the way), it appears I wrote about another 750 words, which puts the text just spilling onto the fourteenth page including the title page, and it now stands at a little over 2600 words.

So, yay me.  I have to work crew tomorrow.  Hopefully things will go slowly so I'll have the opportunity to write more on it.  That of course assumes the story will speak to me tomorrow, too.  We'll see.

On a non-writing related note, I've made a lot of progress painting the kids' door nameplates, and hope to finish that stage of the process soon.  Next after that will be gluing the pieces on them and screwing the clips to them.  After that, I'll just need to tie the twine in place on each of them and put the hooks in the doors (and of course take pictures to post here).

That's all for this update.  Thanks for reading.

Writing Update 19 Feb 14

First, some exciting news on the writing front:  I'm up to ten pages in Forbidden Knowledge (not including the title page) now, with a total of almost two thousand words, and the story seems like it still has a lot more to tell me.  I'm excited to find out how it'll end.  Since I finally started listening to Forbidden Knowledge and writing down the story as it relates itself to me, I haven't put much thought (if any) into the other stories.

I think the name for the second short story collection will be At The Turn Of Midnight, and Forbidden Knowledge will be the first story I plan to put into it.  Once I finish writing it (the short story, not the collection), though, I really need to focus my energy on editing and cover design for Dark Stories For A Restless Night.  If I don't, I'll probably never actually publish it, so I'll need to crack the whip on myself.

In other news, Donna burned her hand pretty badly a week ago.  When I first got home and found out about it, the blister was about a half inch by a quarter inch, so I found some second skin and put it on it.  But about 4 hours later, the blister had grown in size to where it was now larger than the patch I'd put on it.  So, we took her to the doctor the next morning and had her treated.  Yesterday, it finally popped, so we took her back.  It's healing up pretty nicely, but I doubt she'll want to mess with the oven anytime soon as a result of the burn.

I'm now bandage free after my altercation with the knife I was using to cut apart ribs last week.  It still hurts occasionally and is still pretty sensitive to direct pressure, but it is healing up nicely.

Gabe had a weird bout with something Friday at school where he was laying on the playground and his eyes were twitching.  When he got up, he walked a few steps and then dropped to his knees momentarily.  They called home to tell Candice that they were going to keep a closer eye on him.  Later, he was (seemingly) unable to track what he was looking at on the computer, so they called home again and we went to pick him up.  He was quite upset that he missed the Valentine's Day party, but we'd rather be safe than sorry.  We took him to the doctor, and she concluded that it was probably one of three things, either a mild virus, a seizure, or heart problems.  We're going to make an appointment for an EKG here soon to eliminate the last option.  The other two aren't nearly as worrisome for now.  If it was a virus, it's likely out of his system.  If it was a seizure, it's likely just a one time thing, as he's never had them before and hasn't shown any other signs of having more.

Also recently, Megi and Candice have both hurt themselves, so, if we can stop having unexpected medical expenses, that'd be great.

I got a decent amount of painting done on the door nameplates over the past few days.  Hopefully, I'll get them done soon and get them fully assembled so I can hang them up and actually have another woodworking project I set out to do completed.

Yesterday, Megi managed to somehow knock her door off of two of it's hinges, stripping out the screws and all.  Mind you, she's only two and a half years old.  We're not sure how she managed it, but in the process of repairing it, I discovered that it had happened before.  It was holding up halfway decently, so I'm still not sure how she managed to do it.  BUT, in looking at the previous handiwork (along with lots of other repair work the previous owners did to the house), I'm surprised the previous owners made money at being in the contracting business, because he SUCKED at basic home repair stuff.  In this case, he used a drywall screw anchor to "fix" the door screws.  In other instances, he also used screws that were a quarter of an inch wide (not deep - wide) for hanging pictures on the wall.  There's lots more, but I really don't know how the man made money.  Then again, maybe he did stuff just good enough that no one realized he was crappy, and he moved because it was getting about time that things might start to fail, so he needed to leave before his reputation would affect his business.

Anyway, that's all I have for this blog.  Thanks for reading.

Today's Agenda 15 Feb 14

I have some plans for this weekend, and if my past is any indication, I'll either do none of them, or get really motivated and do all of them.  I don't seem to have a "go at a leisurely speed" setting.

So, what do I have on my list?

(In no particular order)

1)  Paint the kids' door nameplate pieces.  (I'll probably need to go to the bad place or a craft store to get a few more colors for this project.  Last night I bought some clips to screw onto them, so that they can also be used for leaving messages and surprises for the kids, too.  I only needed three, and they came two to a pack, but they were on sale for three packs for the price of two, so I have six clips now.

2)  Write some more for Forbidden Knowledge.

3)  Play some games with Gabe and try to teach him some sportsmanship, and that losing isn't the end of the world.

4)  Keep the kids away from Candice so she can get back on her schedule for building the dollhouse she is excited to put together.

5)  Finish assembling the nameplates and hang them (See #1 on this list)

6)  Go deposit money in the bank towards our furniture fund.  After this deposit, we'll be at 44% (including tax) of what we need for the new bed and mattress set we've prioritized as first on our list.  With the amount I'm setting aside each paycheck, we'll be getting it a year from now if we don't put any additional deposits in.  If we do, we get it sooner.  Our goal is to get it for each other for Christmas (and then we'll even be easy to shop for this Christmas as we'll need new sheets, etc. for the new size bed).

7)  Remember the other four or five things I had listed out in my head when I sat down to start writing this blog and do them, too...

That's all I have for this blog, thanks for reading.

Office update

Doing a little research, I might be able to install another copy of Office on my new laptop (though I'm not sure it will work with Windows 8 yet).  since my copy is for three licenses, and one of the three installs no longer exists, I might (should) be able to install it again, though I might have to call Microsoft and go through an operator to be allowed to do so.  I'll be trying this week or weekend some time.

It'd be nice to save a few hundred dollars.

More Forbidden Knowledge

So, I cut my finger open yesterday.  I was cutting ribs apart to freeze and glanced away for a second while talking and that was all it took.  The knife was extremely sharp, and it didn't start bleeding for a while despite being pretty deep.  The cleanness of the cut (by that I mean how narrow a cut, not actual cleanliness - I was cutting raw pork ribs after all) allowed me to not need stitches, but rather a benzine glue type substance and steri-strips.  Then they put this annoying tube gauze over my finger that I was to leave on for 24 hours (I'm taking it off after I finish typing this since it has been on for around 29 hours how (though, it'd probably be easier to type without it on since it only hurts when I completely straighten out the finger or bump the sore part which is right around the last knuckle on my non-dominant hand's index finger - putting pressure anywhere else is fine).

When I got to Urgent Care, they informed me it'd be two to three hours, so I sent Candice home while I waited so the kids could be put down for their nap, etc.  While waiting for so long, I came up with the brilliant idea to <gasp> write.  So, I walked down the way to the (literally) corner drug store and bought a new pad and some new mechanical pencils, went back and started writing.

I wrote the first sentence of what is to be Forbidden Knowledge, and it promptly yelled at me that I had written something completely wrong.  So I turned the page and started over.  by the way, the wrong sentence read "Nathaniel woke from the repeated rapping at his door."  It now reads "Nathaniel Scribner opened the doors of the library to the complete disarray inside."

That's all you get for now, but suffice it to say that I now see why the story told me I'd screwed up because it's a much better story the way it is heading now.  Did I mention that I now have 5 typed pages?  Woo Hoo for me (and the story).

Well, momentum is going for it, but hopefully it doesn't get derailed.  I have a tendency not to write when I'm around people I want to be around, which usually means I don't write at home unless they are all busy doing other things and then I might take the time to write.

I have no idea how much more the story has to revel to me and my pencil, but it's fairly exciting to see the words as I write them.

On a related note, my "new" laptop that I salvaged a few weeks back started dying.  It was taking me about two hours of getting it to boot/repair startup/etc for every 15 minutes of use.  So, I broke down and got a new one.  I managed to get a decent one for about $400, but it's a Windows 8 machine.  I figured out how to get it to (mostly) behave like a Windows 7 machine, so I can bear to use it.  Now I just need to get a new copy of Office (and not that 365 crap - I need to be able to use it when I don't have internet access, too - plus I don't want to have to keep paying for it every month).

Anyway, that's all I have for this post, thanks for reading!

Forbidden Knowledge

I almost wrote last night.  In fact, I wanted to write last night.  But the kids (or more specifically Megi) insisted I play with them, so I spent quality time with the kids, which is way more important than progressing on my quest to be a writer.

Yet again, the story pulling me towards it is Forbidden Knowledge, so I think I’ll have to give it some attention soon to keep it from sulking off to a corner of my mind and dying a lonely death.  The zombie story hasn’t been pulling that strongly lately (or if it has, its screams have been getting drowned out by the much louder ones from Forbidden Knowledge.  The cover of the book in the story looks a lot like this in my mind (though the writing shouldn't be nearly as neat):

What I’m curious about, is how the book is dangerous, exactly.  Because the story hasn’t given my conscious mind a clue yet about how it will be dangerous, which is perhaps why I’m hearing it call me more than other stories lately.

A friend at work recently gave me a PS2 for our kids (along with a bunch of games) and a desktop computer.  We hooked the PS2 up this past weekend and got it kind of working (the controllers seem to have a mind of their own).  We ordered some new games (Katamari Damacy, and a bunch of 80’s classics so that the kids can start with them and move into the better graphics of slightly more modern games) and a couple of new controllers.  We’ll dole out the games as they behave, and also will have a new method to try and mold proper behaviors.  I’ll probably hook the desktop up this weekend, and get it connected to the network.  We’ll use it for the kids to do schoolwork until we can’t use it anymore.

Also with the PS2 bundle was a bunch of “duplicate” games.  Not exact duplicates, but previous year editions of sports games such as Madden Football, etc.  We’ll try to sell the older versions, keep the newest one of each type, and use the money from that to buy new, different games.

That’s all I have for this entry, thanks for reading!

Writing Update 24 Jan 2014

I have two stories vying for attention at the moment to be in the next book, which I tentatively plan to call At The Turn Of Midnight.

The Forbidden Knowledge story keeps popping into my head for some reason.  Maybe I should take that as a sign.  The latest way it popped into my head was via the main character’s name:  Nathaniel Scribner, which seems to fit a librarian character from the mid-1800s in my mind for some reason.  Maybe this weekend I’ll see if this story is serious about wanting to be written, or if it’s just taunting me with trying to stay in my mind for some reason.

Of course, at the same time, the untitled zombie story keeps popping into my mind, though not as intrusively as Forbidden Knowledge.  It doesn’t want to be forgotten either (as I wrote at the end of Vivarium), but definitely has spoken to me about changing its format from simply a “first person zombie story” to something more.

I also plan to sit and edit some.  My method for self-editing takes two forms.  First, I read each sentence one at a time in reverse order (since I’m already familiar with the story, this is the best way to see if each sentence works alone).  Then, I’ll just read through and make sure that no story/plot/character flaws stand out to me.

I need to set a deadline for editing and cover art for Dark Stories For A Restless Night so that I’m at least forced into trying to meet it.  I’ll have to ponder just when that might need to be.  I imagine it’ll take at least a good month or two to get both done.  And maybe a month after that to get everything set to pull the trigger on publishing.  Which means I should probably pick a date about three months before I plan to publish.  Whenever that is.  Maybe right at the start of summer for the available online dates?  Feedback would be appreciated.

I’m toying with the idea of using an actual photo for the cover art, or a “sketch” of the photo.  I’ve found some decent photo to sketch sites.  This one does just grayscale:  http://www.dumpr.net/sketch.php, while this one does color sketches:  http://www134.lunapic.com/editor/?action=color-sketch.  I think our concept is going to be a table set up for a garage sale or antique  store with items related to each story on it.  This stems from the story Mary’s Painting in the book where she buys a painting from an antique store that leads to the story line.  I’m not sure what item would be there from each story yet, but I like the idea.  I just don’t know which might prove to be better - a sketch of “live” photo.   

There are eight stories in Dark Stories For A Restless Night.  Some stories lend themselves easily to what the item or items on the table could be, while others aren’t so easily.  Here’s a listing of the stories included in the book:

Mary's Painting - A woman buys more than she expects when she purchases a painting on a whim

Sins of the Father - A priest defends the mission he presides over

The Fall - A young boy awakens after a bad accident while playing

Darkness - A group sets out on a rescue mission in the Mexican jungles and finds themselves at peril

Cat's Eye View - Find out why cats behave the way they do

The Viewing - Witness the last days of life on a distant planet

The Journey - A man travels exestentially through the cosmos

Un-Separation - A man's unhappy and unexpected reunion with his wife

That’s all the news directly related to my writing projects.  There has been some that affects my ability to write.  This past week saw me lose my laptop.  It also saw me figure out a way to salvage a laptop from two unusable laptops.  I took the hard drive from my most recent laptop that won’t even power up any more and put it in the older laptop that wouldn’t boot up completely and system restore couldn’t fix.  I was able to get system restore to reset the newer hard drive’s software to work in the new laptop, but also had to reinstall any software that I use regularly like Microsoft Office.  Fortunately, I still had one more install available for my last Office purchase.

That is all of the writing related news.  For those of you that are interested in other stuff, feel free to read on.

In the past few weeks, everyone in the house has gotten sick in some way or another.  Gabe and Candice have both gotten strep.  Grandma has some mystery illness but hasn’t gone to the doctor about it yet.  Donna and Megi got a stomach bug that saw them both throwing up.  Poor Megi was throwing up for the first time and was terrified.  And I had an intestinal bug the other night.  I’m hoping that the girls and I don’t catch the strep that is making its way through our family.

That’s all I have for this entry.  Thanks for reading!

Vivarium

Well, yesterday, my laptop overheated.  I let it cool down and started it up again so I could shut it down properly.  After that, it wouldn't even entertain the though of turning on again.  This is very frustrating, because the budget doesn't have any room to get a new laptop or have a major repair of this one.  I have a friend who is going to look at it and let me know just how bad it is.  Hopefully, he can get it where it'll at least start again and all I'll have to pay for is a fan and give him some Guinness beer for his time and effort (assuming it's not a major job).  In the mean time, however, I have to share Candice's computer with her and find other things to do with my time.  Maybe this is a sign I should actually get to my "second job" of being an author.

Also, last night, we finally set up the vivarium we've had for nearly a year now that was just collecting dust.  Today, we went and got frogs for it.  Since they're nocturnal creatures, we decided to name them after night related gods.  We've named them Morpheus, Nyx, and Apollo.  Morpheus is the god of dreams.  Nyx is the goddess of night.  And Apollo rides across the sky in a chariot when morning arises.  They are all green tree frogs for us to get the hang of it.  At $5 each, it's not so bad if we fail with them as it would be if they were the red eye tree frogs that run about $50 each.

Eventually, we'll have the other kind (or something cooler).  We'll probably not stop there, either, but we will probably slow down on new pet acquisitions for a while, if for no other reason than the budget won't allow for it.

Candice hasn't been motivated to create lately, so hopefully the new creatures might inspire her a bit.

That, or they'll keep us up all night barking and we'll both lose all creative drive from sleep deprivation.

Here's some pictures of the froggies:

Nyx (The small one)

Morpheus (Adventurous)

Apollo (Shy)

 And the vivarium (the first two are from just before we finished setting it up):

To be honest, we haven't done a single thing towards editing or cover design in over a week and a half.  Don't worry, though, we will still have the book out this year one way or another, and it should be available in the store you get your e-books from.  I have a page or so written on the zombie story, and it is starting to morph into being told multiple different ways within the story itself.  I think there will be excerpts from several different writing sources (scientific documents, personal correspondence, news stories, etc) that when combined in the right order, will tell the basic story.  Don't worry, part of it is still indeed first person point of view from at least one of the zombies.  I'm not sure how it will all play out yet, though.  And to be sure, that's the way I prefer it.  If I know where the story will lead before I get there, I will lose interest in it and not actually write it.


Anyway, that's all I have for this blog post at this time.  Have a nice day and thanks for reading!

Coincidence, A sign, or Just Annoying?

The story I'm currently working on is a first person zombie tale.  It begins with the first death scene from Darkness, though there is no need to read Darkness before it.  It will stand alone.  the connection is just a nice tie-in between stories, where the villain from one story is also the cause of the situation in the other story.  There are a few clues in Darkness, but not reading one or the other wouldn't leave you feeling like you missed something.  (Darkness will be in my upcoming book Dark Stories For A Restless Night.)

The story doesn't have a title yet, not even a working one.  It's still in early writing phase.  For most of my stories, I have at most a vague idea of what is going to happen, if that, and I let the words for the story as they flow off my pencil.

That being said, though, I jotted down an idea back in October when Candice and I were listening to The Shining in anticipation of the new Doctor Sleep book by Stephen King.  It simply read "Not all books should be opened.  Not all knowledge should be gained."  It was inspired by a quick blurb when Jack found the scrapbook in the basement of the Overlook and something told him not to open the book because not all books should be opened.

After that, I proceeded to write a few paragraphs from that, and even got a general idea of where it might go.  I never typed it up, and came across the idea a month later, but not the start of the story that I'd written, so I started it again.  Suffice it to say, none of those ever got typed up even as a place marker to start writing the story.  In the past week, I've come across the idea again, as well as each of the handwritten pages that start the story.  It's very odd that they would keep popping in front of me at different times.

It makes me wonder if it's a sign that I should be working on that story, if it's just coincidence, or if it's just annoying.  Anyway, I've typed them up and at least saved them so that I can work on them later.  Here's the first few paragraphs, let me know what you think of the opening:


Preface

Not all books should be opened.  Not all knowledge should be gained.  I know this now, but I’d have considered those words blasphemous for a librarian to utter even a year ago.

Back then, I ravenously fed on all knowledge and reading.  I cherished any ancient text that my hungry brain could come across.  To me, there was no concept even of forbidden knowledge.

But now I know better.  Now I know that some knowledge should be forbidden.


That's the preface and likely the tag lines for the story.  I'm not sure if I'll switch over to writing more on it now, or if I'll wait, or if I'll split time between the two.

If I keep coming across "signs" to write more on the "Forbidden Knowledge" project, I might have to finally take notice that I'm meant to work on it before my first person zombie story (even though it is finally starting to come to the surface).

As for the zombie story, the preface (as I mentioned earlier) appears in a slightly different form in Darkness.  Then, when I start telling the story, it's in the form of a letter from the main character.  I'm thinking about including pictures of the scrawl along with the typed text to show just how unreadable it is, since it is being written by someone with very little control over their muscles.  What I don't know is if that is just a quick blurb of a story that'll be followed by a separate, bigger zombie story, or if it'll lead to a bigger story within the one I'm already writing.

Other projects waiting in the writing wing include my vampire story where Josef Mengele is the vampire and retells history from that aspect.  Since Josef is the main character in it, I have to find a way to make him more sympathetic, while at the same time still a horrendously horrible person from history.  I also have a werewolf story brewing in my head too, so that it appears like a big portion of the second book might be my takes on some classic horror genres.

Either way, it all seems to be coming together as long as I can keep motivated.

On a different front, here are some season and half-season premier dates we're looking forward to in the near future:

Face Off - 14 Jan 2014
Walking Dead - 9 Feb 2014
Whose Line Is It Anyway? - 21 Mar 2014

Game of Thrones - 6 Apr 2014

That's all I have for this entry.  Thanks for reading.

Has It Been Six Years Already?

Six years ago today, I went out to meet a fellow hobbyist (http://www.wheresgeorge.com/) in downtown Denver.  We'd "met" online previously on the forums, but after realizing we lived somewhat near each other, we decided to meet.

Just over six months later, we got married.  I haven't been happier in my adult life, and I also have three wonderful (though often obnoxious) kids that bring a smile to my face most days.

Here's to sixty more years!

Today, we plan to make some jam for the book fair at Gabe's school that comes up the first two weeks of February.  Candice is one of the driving forces for it, and works most of the nights it happens.  Several times throughout it, they have a bake sale to raise more funds.  This year, we plan to have jam as our contribution those nights.

I need to write more towards my next story.  I haven't really added much of anything to it since last weekend, and then I only added a couple of paragraphs.

Great News in Bundles!

Let's start with the good news!  I have a brand new niece, Loretta Melinda Bishop, born yesterday!

Also, reports are coming in that Hallie Marie White has been found alive.  Hopefully, she is also safe and unharmed.  I've updated my previous blog post about her (at the top of it, of course) to show she was found.

I removed the Goodreads code from the blog page because of two reasons, first, every time I posted a blog entry to my Facebook page, it insisted on using one of the book covers as the image for the post, and secondly because it didn't update dynamically when I finished a new book.  I didn't want to have to re-post the code every time I finished a book.  So, if you want to follow what I've been reading, friend me on Goodreads.

I've also started adding "labels" to my blog posts, and as a side project, I've been going back and adding them to past blog posts.  I don't know if they help, but I'm adding them anyway.

I've started the zombie story.  It's looking like it will shape up to a decent story, but might take a while to write.  Also, it looks like Dark Stories For A Restless Night will probably be priced at $1.99 when we finish editing and designing the cover.

Missing Child

UPDATE:  Hallie was found on 8 Jan 2014.

Yesterday my friend's 14 year old daughter took her suitcases and got into a car with an unidentified white male in his mid-20's in Florida. She left her phone at home and no one has seen or heard from her since. She is considered an endangered runaway. So here is her Missing Person's poster. If you're reading this page and you live in or have friends and family in the southern part of the United States, please share it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr and anywhere else you think it might get seen. 

Hallie Marie White is 14 years old. She was last seen wearing a black and white t-shirt, blue jeans, and a black headscarf like the one in the right hand picture. She has dark blond / light brown hair, blue eyes, is 5'5'' tall and weighs approximately 160 lbs. She was last seen getting into a white 4-door Hyundai sedan with Texas plate BSF-8801 which is registered to Enterprise Rent-a-car. The police have not yet gotten the record of who rented the car. If you see this girl or that car, PLEASE call the Escambia County Sheriff's office at (850) 436-9630 or Klass Kids at (855) 733-5567 with any information! 

Recent Happenings

So, in the past few days, I've finished the draft of the last story for my book (I wrote about that in my last blog post) that will be coming out this year and started writing the next story on my mind. The next one is more of a concept still and not so much a story yet, but it'll get there. 

The other day I took down most of the outdoor Christmas lights and decorations. I hung the curtain rod in Megi's room. I fixed the sliding glass door (it wouldn't lock any more, but does now). And I re-installed Candice's Sims 3 games on her computer because it was crashing all the time. Well, it still crashes, but seems to be performing better than it was. I have to read some articles on how to fix it. Ele¢troni¢ Art$ should stop putting out crappy programs that require computer experts to "fix" your computer after you install their games. That's my opinion of the whole thing. Most other games don't seem to have issues if you have a system (well) above the minimum standard for running the program. It would be nice if a company that gave a crap about the people that bought its product would take over for them, but that'$ too much to hope for... 

Yesterday, I went to see the Sharks-Avs play with Candice.  My team has yet to win when Candice goes to the game.  :-/  But in this case, her team (and my #2 team) won, so it's all good.

Today, we plan to take down and box up more Christmas decorations rather than venture out into the single digit temperatures. The kids want to go outside and build a snowman. More power to them, especially since that's real hard to do here with the snow as dry as it is most of the time. 

 Anyway, that's all I have for this blog, thanks for reading.

Close To Completion

Today, I finished handwriting the last of the latest short story I was working on for the book coming out this year some time. It was five pages and my thumb joint jot a cramp near the end, but it was worth it. I still have to type it up and polish it up some, but it ended itself pretty well. I haven't decided yet whether to attempt to write the companion story for this story before putting out this book or have it be the first story I write for the next book. It'll probably depend on how well the writing attempt goes before I make the decision.

For now, my biggest decision will be what to title the first book of short stories. I originally had one thing in mind, then another. Now, I'm leaning towards Dark Stories For A Restless Night. I might think of something more awe-inspiring later.

For now, the book consists of the following stories (And a quick blurb about each):

Mary's Painting - A woman buys more than she expects when she purchases a painting on a whim
Sins of the Father - A priest defends the mission he presides over
The Fall - A young boy awakens after a bad accident while playing
Darkness - A group sets out on a rescue mission in the Mexican jungles and finds themselves at peril
Cat's Eye View - Find out why cats behave the way they do
The Viewing - Witness the last days of life on a distant planet
The Journey - A man travels exestentially through the cosmos
Un-Separation - A man's unhappy and unexpected reunion with his wife

That's all I have for this entry, thanks for reading.