Not Much Writing Happening

Not much writing has been happening here lately. I've been swamped with other responsibilities, and I just got two new short term contracts for other service work. Money is really good! But there is little time left for thinking creatively and writing.

I have selected my new printer and ordered it. This is the direct result of the pay for writing the article in Your National Forests magazine.

Thinking About Short Story Options

Most of us are still waiting for our digital short stories that were winners to appear on the Twin Trinity Media site. It just takes a long time for all the mechanics to happen. Eventually, I will have three stories there, in addition to six that were good enough to be chosen for books.

Meanwhile, there is one lonely story that didn't make the cut for an award. Of course, I think it's a fine story... just didn't appeal to the judges that month for one reason or another. One possibility is that it's pretty straightforward and has a happy ending. The theme was "hope," and I didn't try to twist that in any way.

I've looked up lists of the seven virtues, and found: four cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, restraint or temperance, and courage or fortitude, and the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. So, this makes me think about ideas like a group of seven stories based on these themes. These stories would be uplifting, no nasty twists or angst-laden endings. Hopefully, however, they would not be trite.

Not all of my stories have happy endings. In fact the two first stories that will be up on Twin Trinity are darker. But recently, I seem to be inundated with stories with more questions than answers, bleak endings, and tragedy. Maybe I'm just ready for some positive input.

Of course, the question is, would anyone buy these? I'm not sure how much credibility I have as a short story author until some of them actually come out on TTM.

Ivy and Midge Recommend North Country Cache

One of the prizes for a contest on my other blog, My Quality Day, was a copy of North Country Cache. It was won by Ivy in the Philippines, and after 5 weeks in the mail, she finally received it!

The fact that she likes the book means a lot to me, since I have come to count her among my friends, and sure would hope to meet her in person some day. Here is part of what she says:

I got the parcel notice from the post office on Monday, so Marguerite and I went there on Tuesday to claim it. I started reading it right away and couldn't put it down. My initial plan was to get my writing assignments out of the way first before I settled down to enjoy the book, but I made the mistake of sampling just one essay and got hooked.

Her daughter Marguerite (Midge) is posing with the book-- it's quite an adorable picture, don't you think? And she's allowing me to use it for publicity. Hop over to Spinning Lovely Days and see what else Ivy has to say.

Ludington Daily News Column- June 2011

 I did get my newspaper column done on time, but forgot to blog about it. It was due on Monday, and I actually zapped it off the the editor several hours before the deadline.

Several times a year the column features other people who "get off the couch." This month I wrote about a paddling journey that a group of people took this month the entire length of the Muskegon River. It was named Voyage of Discovery, and had the purpose of surveying the river's ecological health.

I called the watershed organization which sponsored the trip, and also one of the people who paddled the entire distance, for interviews.

"21st Century Voyage of Discovery

The Manistee River is the third-longest river in Michigan. Can you name the two that are longer? Did you guess the Grand, just because of the name? You are right; it’s longest. Which one is in between? That would be the Muskegon..."

Chapter 10 of News from Dead Mule Swamp

This chapter has taken forever to finish. I started it almost a month ago, and then decided that it was time to have something significant occur to keep the plot moving along. That changed the chapter from one of mostly dialogue to a lot of moving people around and meeting someone new, and setting up this next piece of action.

That took a lot of words! In fact, this chapter is twice as long as the previously longest chapter. Hmmm. Maybe it should be split into two.

Nevertheless, I got a big chunk of the story done to take to the West Side Gang writers group last night. Since it was really rough (I finished just in time to take it), they offered some good suggestions.

It is a little odd to hear one chapter of a book about once a month. I know, since some others are also bringing chapters. There usually needs to be a little update to remind people who the secondary characters are and what previously happened.

I should be good to go with the next few chapters now, as this latest plot complication plays out.

Program Booking

The program on June 21 has spawned another booking on September 21 for the Academy of Lifelong Learning, an arm of the local West Shore Community College.

The goal of the The Lifetime Learning Academy is "to become the leading provider of continual learning and enrichment to adults with programs that promote growth, culture, and spiritual life through academic courses and social interaction."

I know they do a good job of publicity, so it should be a great venue.

Interest from Cozy Cat Press

Cozy Cat Press has expressed an interest in News from Dead Mule Swamp!

"A 'cozy mystery' is a fun mystery that features an amateur sleuth--often female who uses brain power over brawn. The protagonist hero/heroine usually stumbles into investigating a crime--typically murder. She--or he--is generally a likeable, sympathetic character. In fact, most of the characters who appear in "cozies" are likeable--and often eccentric. Cozies move fast, with lots of exciting plot twists. That's what a cozy is. Here's what a cozy isn't--violent, profane, or sexually graphic!"

Cozy Cat is a consortium rather than a publisher. They collect mysteries with a similar style and work together for publicity and marketing. See Cozy Cat Press

Guess I better write faster.