1/29/2016

Hello out there from the Pacific Northwest.  In an amazing turn of events, everything is rain.  Actually, the late Winter/Spring rainy season is one of the things I love best about the Spokane area.

I meant to have a blog posted yesterday, but arrrgh this week has been a hell of family emergencies and sleepless nights.  However, I am here now and fully intend to blog about... something.

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This happened.  Actually, it happens a lot, but they do not like digital proof so they tend to scatter when the phone comes out.  If I meet an untimely end, it may be because I posted this image.

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I have been trying to be a more active social networker lately.  Mostly it comes in the form of tweets, because I can totally eat up thirty seconds of your time with nonsense and not feel guilty.  Any longer than that and I feel like anything I put out into the public's eye needs to be cut and edited several times just to make sure that every moment a stranger gives me might be worth it.  So, if you're not following me on the Twitter, and you don't mind me trying to be funny or overly-cynical or even talking about books once in awhile, you can follow me here.  I will do my best to never waste more than thirty seconds of your time, per tweet, but I'm not making any promises.

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If you like audiobooks, I am currently listening to The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (who is actually J.K. Rowling).  I like it so far, quite a lot actually.  It's a crime/thriller novel and I absolutely love the voice Rowling has found in this genre.  

In old-school paper form, I'm currently reading 20th Century Ghosts, a collection of short stories by Joe Hill.  The book is filled with ghost stories and non-ghost stories which are equally well-written, and the collection is beautifully dark, scary, and sometimes sad.  I urge you to read it if you haven't already.

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Unfortunately, my daily writing faltered a bit this week with all the craziness around me, but it was a temporary bump in the road.  I am already back, with my ass at the desk, trying to catch a few decent scenes on the page.

I think I'll leave you now.  I need coffee and there is work to be done.  Also, I need to edit this a few times to make sure I'm using the precious time you're giving me in a wise manner.  Have a good week, thanks for reading.

1/21/2016

It is the morning of Thursday, January 21 as I write this, and the coffee is already gone.  I think I'll have to make more, or find a lamp with a genie in it.  I already know my three wishes, and although I'm not going to spoil them by telling you what they are, I can tell you that I will never have a caffeine deficit again.

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On the second day of January, George R.R. Martin wrote in his LiveJournal that his schedule is off and he will not have The Winds of Winter published before season six of HBO's Game of Thrones comes out.  This means that there are likely to be spoilers that are going to piss off some of his long time readers.  I'm bummed that the book won't be out, because I want to read it, but I don't care if there are spoilers on the show.  They are very different animals, the show and the books, and I enjoy each in a very different way.  Also, as long as the books aren't finished, I have something to continually look forward to.

What do you think?

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The day is rainy and cloudy here in the Pacific Northwest, and I love it.  Rain always puts me in the mood to write, always has for some reason.  And so, I am writing.  Although, I have also been writing on the not-rainy days, and the snowy days, and the weather-is-not-really-a-thing days.  Any day where I am able to get words down on the page is a good day, so I'm feeling swell.

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I am not great at staying in contact with people.  It's a flaw, and one that I've had since I was a child.  My grandmother would write me letters which would go unanswered for months; friends send well-wishes and emails which I smile over and keep forever, but almost never reply to.  I don't know why I'm like this, I've looked for groups of sympathizers to hold meetings with, but no one ever gets back to me (insert rimshot here).

Anyhow, one of the people I do maintain some level of contact with is fellow author, Tracy Sharp.  She writes in several genres, including thrillers, horror, and even romance and I suggest you go find lots of her books and buy them up before they are all gone.  Tracy recently wrote a book with Paul Seiple, it's a sequel to her invasion/horror novel, Intruders.  These are two very fine writers, still early in what I am sure will be their long, successful, and prolific writing careers.  Go get the first two books in the series, and one day you can be the guy/girl who says "Yeah, but I was a fan before anyone even knew their name."

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As of today, I am reading Stephen King's 'Desperation' in hardback (because I haven't read it since I was Sophomore in high school and I loved it and wanted to revisit a place that is super creepy and strongly reminds me of the town I grew up in) as well as listening to Gillian Flynn's 'Sharp Objects' on my Kindle via audiobook.  I love both of these books, and if you haven't read them, you should.  If you have read them, you should read them again.

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I suppose I'll end here and get back to work on writing some fiction while I can still hear the rain pattering on my window.