April Frozen Sky Puke
We got buried in snow the other day. 16 inches of wet, heavy nonsense fell over night. The morning of April 1st, 2023, I woke up to no electricity and an impassable driveway. Busted my well-toned butt all day to clear it enough to get out. I was really excited to spend the day writing, not fighting snow. I could go on and on and on about how frustrating this was, but plenty of folks around here had it worse than me. Here are some pictures I took with the drone instead:
Cabin Fever
It’s that time of year. Friggin’ winter won’t leave, and I just want to get a whole bunch of writing done before Spring. A couple days ago I was like, “Sweet! It’s Sunday, and I got no plans. I’m bout to write all day long!” Instead, I spent the day moving snow. Shoveling off the garage was the hardest part, and I had to lay down a couple times during the process. What I’m getting at here is that morale is low. Everyone’s cooped up. Morale is declining. Friendly advice: if you take a vacation to Mexico this time of year, don’t complain about it when you get back. You say, “It was nice, but I’m just glad to be home.”
And the writing has to get did before youth baseball starts, because I’m going to be busier than a two headed snake in a maternity ward for mice. Lots and lots of writing. And other stuff. There are, most likely, not enough hours in the day for the things I’m trying to accomplish. Which reminds me… stay tuned for a brand new episode of Destroy the Files, the podcast I do with my pal Kate Jonez. If you haven’t listened to us yet, you totally should! Listen on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Also, I finished watching The Last of Us. I loved it. Some people had issues with episode 3 (“I don’t have a problem with gay people. I just don’t think it fit in the story.”), but I didn’t. I appreciated that, even in that horror-world, happiness is possible. They found love, and they left their awful world on their own terms. I didn’t play the game (yet), but I appreciated the impossible decisions laid out for the characters. I love the take on zombies and the regimes that emerged in response. Plenty of philosophical questions to ponder. Great show, but not for everyone. Like my 10-year-old. I don’t think he’d like anything about it (lame!).
Lastly, go to Amazon and buy my books. Leave reviews. Heck, even read ’em if you want! Sales and reviews are the things that keep an author writing when it’s late at night and the author wonders if any of his efforts are worthwhile. Heck, Chuggie #1 is FREE for your Kindle!
Progress
I imagine this post is more for me than anybody else, due in part to the fact that nobody reads these except the Google spiders. That’s fine. Mainly, I just came to say that after months of making excuses, I’ve started to make a little progress instead. I’ve got my little planner book. I’ve got my little tarot app on my phone. I’m a little more organized and a little more motivated. I’d like Pumpkin Guts to be done and sent off by the end of the month. Maybe it’ll fly, maybe it won’t, but April’s coming fast. Once May hits, it gets damn hard to write stuff. Who knows? Maybe this time I’ll build up some momentum and keep it rolling.
CG Jung said “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” Me, I want to be a writer. Sometimes I am. Here’s hoping I am more than I’m not in the months ahead. Here’s hoping I can climb the mountain and light the Demon Torch of Fuhl Thraga Shaka. Let’s fuggin’ boogie, man!
The Sand Taker – Audio
I am thrilled to inform you that my short story “The Sand Taker” has been recorded in convenient audiobook format, and it is all kinds of ready for YOU to listen to! My pal Jordan Etheredge provided the narration for this one. You may remember her from her brilliant work on the audiobook for my novella Cruce Roosters. She does such a great job, I cannot recommend her enough. I could go on and on, but I’ll just let her speak for herself.
I happily present “The Sand Taker,” by me, narrated by Jordan Etheredge:
This story originally appeared in my short story collection DOOMSDAY FURNACE. Get yourself a copy of Doomsday Furnace by Brent Michael Kelley HERE.