C'mon you apes, do you wanna READ forever?!
- Thread starter Atla
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Family first, dude...family first.
I love reading your books, but not so much that I could ever begrudge a man for taking care of his family. If you never wrote another word, I'd be content knowing you were taking care of your little girl.
I love reading your books, but not so much that I could ever begrudge a man for taking care of his family. If you never wrote another word, I'd be content knowing you were taking care of your little girl.
OP
Thanks everyone. We meet with a PANS expert next month to figure out a protocol to get her back to herself. There may be light at the end of the tunnel!
In the meantime, here, I made a meme.
In the meantime, here, I made a meme.
OP
I've managed to get some writing done in bits and pieces. Not as much as I'd like, but better than none. Shoot, I spent an HOUR the other night working on the back book blurb. I can usually crank them out, but for some reason this one keeps feeling like it's lacking in... descriptive awesomeness. Once I get happy with it, I'll share it. 
And I grew this super sexy western mustache to get in the feel of my books...
Unfortunately, it only lasted about 8 hours. But it was a wonderful 8 hours.
Western Stache. Feb 25, 2024 to Feb 25th, 2024. Shaved, but never forgotten.
And I grew this super sexy western mustache to get in the feel of my books...
Unfortunately, it only lasted about 8 hours. But it was a wonderful 8 hours.
Western Stache. Feb 25, 2024 to Feb 25th, 2024. Shaved, but never forgotten.
I've been here more than 2.5 years and this thread evaded me. Reading it now I feel like I'm on a bit of a roller-coaster; uncertainty on the new, 1st book, success, more success, family illness...and now a leveling-out(?) and even more success on the horizon.
I truly hope your daughter is on the path to wellness. I never heard about PANS/PANDAS, so I just read about it - horrible.
Generally I read non-fiction, military history. But I'll order your book(s) due to the overwhelming response and reviews - CONGRATS, and good luck with your daughter. Sorry about the stache.
I truly hope your daughter is on the path to wellness. I never heard about PANS/PANDAS, so I just read about it - horrible.
Generally I read non-fiction, military history. But I'll order your book(s) due to the overwhelming response and reviews - CONGRATS, and good luck with your daughter. Sorry about the stache.
OP
First off, how dare you?
Just kidding. Thanks for checking it out. I bet it was a heckuva roller coaster. It's been a crazy past four years!
PANS/PANDAS is a relatively new discovery. I think back in the day they just stick kids in the psych ward until they grew out of it. It's only recognized in a handful of states now for insurance coverage but it's gaining a lot of traction as more folks learn about it. My wife never gave up and through research came across PANS/PANDAS. Then we sought out some experts to confirm. We got lucky there by finding people with some experience with it.
Let me know what you think of the books. I'm told they don't suck.
And I wrote them in a fashion that my kids could read them, so no sex, no F-bombs, just glorious violence and a smattering of swear words. A lot of people let their early teenagers read them. (They seem to REALLY like 'em. Probably cause it's the coolest thing they've read up to that point thanks to boring school stuff. 🤣 )
OP
I just submitted my first short story for a 'Weird West' anthology being run by Raconteur Press.
Title is 'Blood in the Valley'.
Summed up: A man seeks death and a confrontation with God. Finds Sasquatches instead.
It's a fun, violent little adventure that I wrote in four days. (Started Monday and submission deadline was TODAY!)
I should know by the end of the month if it was selected for print or not. If it's not, I'll post it on my blog for reading.
Title is 'Blood in the Valley'.
Summed up: A man seeks death and a confrontation with God. Finds Sasquatches instead.
It's a fun, violent little adventure that I wrote in four days. (Started Monday and submission deadline was TODAY!)
I should know by the end of the month if it was selected for print or not. If it's not, I'll post it on my blog for reading.
OP
Well, my short story didn't make the cut.
But I learned a few things, such as 'take more time' and 'use more words'. I wrote it in four days and final drafted it hours before it was due. And I used 5,2xx words of the 8,000 words allowed. My story needed that time to review and word count to flesh out better.
And I've spent the last three weeks or so kicking myself for how I could have made it better.
Anywho. I'll put it up on my blog tonight or tomorrow. (Easter Bunny's a coming tonight!)
As for Book 5. It's going great actually. Daughter is doing a bit better, and I've been able to get some writing in at night. I just hit 70k words, and I still have the final battle to do. Which is pretty flippin' cool. I realized I've done the 'big battle' thing for a bunch of my books. Which is okay, but they are always from the point of the guy in the fort/camp/town/whatever.
This time it's going to be from the lead character's point of view in a cavalry charge of Vikings riding triceratops. Blood, guts, and horns.
Cool!
But I learned a few things, such as 'take more time' and 'use more words'. I wrote it in four days and final drafted it hours before it was due. And I used 5,2xx words of the 8,000 words allowed. My story needed that time to review and word count to flesh out better.
And I've spent the last three weeks or so kicking myself for how I could have made it better.
Anywho. I'll put it up on my blog tonight or tomorrow. (Easter Bunny's a coming tonight!)
As for Book 5. It's going great actually. Daughter is doing a bit better, and I've been able to get some writing in at night. I just hit 70k words, and I still have the final battle to do. Which is pretty flippin' cool. I realized I've done the 'big battle' thing for a bunch of my books. Which is okay, but they are always from the point of the guy in the fort/camp/town/whatever.
This time it's going to be from the lead character's point of view in a cavalry charge of Vikings riding triceratops. Blood, guts, and horns.
Cool!
OP
Blood in the Valley – A short story.
I wrote this for a short story anthology in four days. It turned out okay, but was a really good learning experience about how to do it better. Such as, I dunno, take more than four days. Use more …
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OP
I strongly believe in the power of prayer, and it means the world to me. Thank you!
And as an aside, I have a new writing buddy. He swims next to me.
His name is Rittenhouse cause he's a cool kid.
OP
Conquering Prehistoric will be finished this week. (Probably tonight... but I'm being cautious...)
Who wants to read an advanced copy and give me some feedback/catch some errors before I final edit it and turn it in? Respond here or shoot me a PM with your email, or whatever.
Here's the sucky back blurb that I'm not happy with, but is the best I've come up with so far:
His adopted name is Cato Landry.
But everyone calls him The Black Plague.
From the tamed East to the prehistoric frontier of the New West, his guns have protected railroad tycoon Reydan White for decades.
But with his employer now dead at the hands of his brother, he’s set loose in a world that needs men of his particular skill set.
Because as civilization clashes against civilization in bloody battle, winners rise and fall.
And in this strange world, sometimes men are the greatest danger of all.
One civilization will conquer.
One will fall.
And it looks to be The Black Plague’s guns that will decide the outcome.
Who wants to read an advanced copy and give me some feedback/catch some errors before I final edit it and turn it in? Respond here or shoot me a PM with your email, or whatever.
Here's the sucky back blurb that I'm not happy with, but is the best I've come up with so far:
His adopted name is Cato Landry.
But everyone calls him The Black Plague.
From the tamed East to the prehistoric frontier of the New West, his guns have protected railroad tycoon Reydan White for decades.
But with his employer now dead at the hands of his brother, he’s set loose in a world that needs men of his particular skill set.
Because as civilization clashes against civilization in bloody battle, winners rise and fall.
And in this strange world, sometimes men are the greatest danger of all.
One civilization will conquer.
One will fall.
And it looks to be The Black Plague’s guns that will decide the outcome.
OP
Microsoft Word.
I just sent it out to everyone whose email I had. If I missed anyone, let me know.
Dang but it's a good feeling to finish another one!