Year: 2019

  • First snow in 30 years, and huge strides on the Dead Man’s Party revision

    First snow in 30 years, and huge strides on the Dead Man’s Party revision

    We knew yesterday there would be snow today.  I made Matt promise to get me up when it started — and around 4AM, the snow began. (He was editing someone’s novel at the time, and he does that best when the house is quiet and he has it to himself.) So he came and got…

  • So now I’m 59

    So now I’m 59

    I turned 59 yesterday. As you get older, your birthday goes from being the high point of your year to something you give a wary sidelong glance as it whips by. You back away a little. Birthdays start reminding you of all the people who aren’t around anymore to celebrate them with you — grandparents…

  • Home in Ohio — We made it.

    Home in Ohio — We made it.

    The last time I posted, we were in the middle of hanging hurricane shutters with Hurricane Dorian on its way in. Since then, we: Bought a house in Ohio Sold our place in South Florida Packed our stuff into a Pod (BIG shout-out to the folks at Pods.com, who totally kicked ass from beginning to…

  • Hurricanes and Roving Thug Block Parties

    Hurricanes and Roving Thug Block Parties

    Image of Hurricane Dorian is a cellphone screenshot from WeatherUnderground.com Imagine you live in a neighborhood where, from time to time during the autumn, roving thugs invade the entire area. They pour into your house and the houses of everyone else in the neighborhood, stick guns to your head, and for a period of a…

  • 2019 Hurricane Dorian – We are HERE

    We’re busy, but I took five minutes of down time to make this.   As of 2:54 PM Fri Aug 30, this is where Dorian is, and this is where we are. Yippee?  No. Not so much. Download as PDFPrint Page

  • MONDAY. Ugh. But words in spite of that

    MONDAY. Ugh. But words in spite of that

    The chaos has expanded. My writing time has contracted. In spite of which, I got 1136 NEW words on the Dead Man’s Party revision, today, which came out to half a scene. At the moment, it’s going to have to do, and I’m glad I at least got some words, even if I didn’t get…

  • Dead Man’s Party Revision: Quick, short, and NO Friday snippet

    Dead Man’s Party Revision: Quick, short, and NO Friday snippet

    Way too deep in stuff right now to dig through and find a snippet. I apologize. Got 2000 words, did NOT finish the chapter revision, so next week I’ll still be working on Chapter 10. But I’m happy with what I got. Download as PDFPrint Page

  • Back to Words: The Dead Man’s Party Revision

    Back to Words: The Dead Man’s Party Revision

    The last few days have been wordless because of the ongoing chaos, which still has to get a lot worse before it can start getting better. Today, though, I managed to write Chapter 9 — 1956 words. Again because this is still inside the first twelve chapters where I had not yet figured out the…

  • Dead Man’s Party – Cali on the day after

    Dead Man’s Party – Cali on the day after

    Still all new words in the type-in revision. Today was a brand-new Chapter Eight. Five, Six, and Seven were three different takes on the same event — the point where things go from “wow, that was pretty bad” to “okay, the world has now officially fallen apart.” Chapter Eight brings in the character who WAS…

  • DMP Revision — Friday, and I’m running long… by an estimated 30,000 words [FRIDAY SNIPPET]

    DMP Revision — Friday, and I’m running long… by an estimated 30,000 words [FRIDAY SNIPPET]

    I knew this would happen. The raw first draft of the novel was 50,718 words in length. I figured during my read through revision that I’d add 10,000 words (because in revision, I always end up adding words — my first drafts are thin). So I thought, Hey, I’ll shoot for 60,000, but I’ll give myself…