Me in Inverness, Scotland I'm going to rant a little now. My mother died in 2015. Our relationship was rocky. She was a narcissistic bully who tried so hard to make me afraid of the big bad world beyond our small town. She wanted me to tone down who I was, what I was, to … Continue reading I’m me, not someone else

The hands, a day post op Morning, everyone! So, trigger finger release happened on the 16th. My family took excellent care of me over the weekend, making sure I didn't do anything I shouldn't. With hands wrapped up like that, it was hard to forget I had to take it easy! I'm also stubborn as … Continue reading On the mend

I've got today off work, and I'm working on how I write my blurbs. Honestly, I don't know what's worse: blurb or synopsis. A good friend in Australia felt my pain and sent me a book she uses on how to write a synopsis, which I've started reading. Today, though, it's about the blurbs. How … Continue reading Trying new learning

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Nessa’s voice had an edge to it.             “I’m fine, really!” Serena reassured her.             The elf sighed. “It’s all so strange,” she said. “Why are these things coming after you? Are you sure you don’t know something? No strange dreams or anything like that?”             She laughed, “I’m not … Continue reading The Murder Hobos – Shore Leave – Episode 11 – The Way Back

Ruins of the house of John CoWane, a 17th c. merchant. Stirling, Scotland. As of yesterday, Washington State is back open for business in every way. Individual businesses can still require masks, operate at lower occupancy to encourage social distancing, and all of that. But there's no longer any government mandates to do so. Where … Continue reading And we’re open again

Inverness, looking across the River Ness. The notch in the hill is where archaeologists have found the site of the last Pagan King of Scotland's castle. Thank the Goddess, the heat dome has dissipated!!!! Today's high is forecasted for 81f. That's 30 degrees lower than Monday! Right now, I'm in my office. The a/c unit … Continue reading Tunnels, lights, and cool breezes

Broken slab in a church graveyard, Inverness Sometimes, timelines are meant to be broken. I'm not talking within the story. Unless you go back, rewrite where things change, and make it accurate...a book's timeline has to be consistent. Authors can't get a great idea, insert it, and ignore that prior events make that impossible. I'm … Continue reading Breaking the timeline

Drive from Inverness to Edinburgh - I fell in love with the sky! Three weeks from now, my palms will be bandaged up. The fingers will be free, and my specialist encouraged me to use them as much as I can. Given that I'm the first slot that morning, it's probable that the numbing will … Continue reading Timelines, temperatures, and tired

Caspar the Mighty Hunter Writers rarely agree on things. Each of us have our own process, our own genre, our own career goals. Some of us use 'said' every time and avoid -ly adverbs like the plague. Others lovingly sprinkle those adverbs in, as well as words like 'replied' or 'responded'. One thing I've noticed … Continue reading Tackling the dread blurb and synopsis

Part of a poem etched into rocks on the path to the Falls of Foyers, Upper Foyers, Scotland On Friday, June 18th, I finished the first draft of 'Shield & Scepter'. It wrapped up about 5k words shorter than 'Scales & Stingers', but that doesn't bother me. It's with my beta readers now, and the … Continue reading A trilogy it will be