A little, sneak-preview, if anyone's interested, in my novella. Still waiting for the cover as patiently as I can. (The artist isn't late or anything; I've been going crazy since I placed the order.)

• Are you publishing/self-publishing anything?
• Would you, maybe, want a copy of my story?
• Would anybody want to read my story?

A little something to enjoy before Halloween.

So, I tried my hand at writing my own translation of one of my favorite passages in the Bible.

1 The words of the Preacher, son of David, King in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. Vanity of vanities; the whole is vain.
3 What is left over for man in all his toil in which he toils under the sun?
4 A generation comes and a generation goes; but the earth remains forever.
5 And the sun rises, and the sun goes [down]; And to his place, there he strives to rise.
6 Going to the South, returning to the North—turning, turning, the wind goes; And over its turning, the wind returns.
7 All the rivers run into the sea, but the sea is not full.
[From] the place where the rivers run, there they return to run.
8 All these words are tiresome. Man cannot utter [it].
The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled by hearing.
9 That which is is that which will be, and that which is done is that which will be done; and there is nothing wholly new under the sun.
10 Where is...

More Chesterton today. Another short one. Please enjoy.

How are the WIPs going?

I spent much of the week being sick. I might have added a paragraph to my dragon hunter story, but I sort of allowed myself, when I was up for writing, to write nearly whatever I wanted. As such, I wrote a really fun little piece of science fiction, with, of course, a dash of horror but also a pinch of humor; finished an essay, the sad attempt can be read on my blog; and started a short story about one of the things I loved most in my childhood, Tae Kwon Do.

It has been a very slow recovery process. Even yesterday, I didn't go to church because I was still feeling whacked. Something as low-key as grocery shopping made me feel like I'd pass out.

Anyway, the livestream went well. The latest Weird Frequencies is so far great; I've read the first four stories and enjoyed them. I'm probably biased, but I still think my own the best. You can hear more about those stories from the authors themselves if you watch the livestream, and if you want another chance to see my ...

How are the WIPs going?

I got distracted from my main project again, but I did start a new short story I'm excited for. I do not really understand my own behavior this time around. I took Saturday off, hoping I could spend the day writing. I tried to write. For hours, I battled distraction upon distraction until, in desperation, I headed off to the gym. A quick workout did help, but even then, getting back to my desk, I was only barely able to write.

A lot of the time I actually spent writing was focused on what was supposed to be a short piece for my blog, but is turning into a longer piece. It is connected, at some level, to a nightmare I once had; the setting and characters come from that dream. It is fun to write, but I realized, on Saturday, that the hours I had set aside for writing were coming to a close. I had not touched my dragon hunters story. I had not finished the horror story. In fact, I did not have anything to post to my blog. I scrambled to get something uploaded and ...

How are the WIPs going?

I actually got a good chunk done on my dragon story. All it took was being sick for three days. Over those three days, I slept, a lot. On the third day, feeling better but not going into work, I sat at my computer for hours, hardly writing at all. Just staring at the document. Then, after many false starts, the dam broke. The words finally poured out of me.

I am beginning to fear that I cannot do my job and write. It's not so much that the job itself gets in the way of the writing, but it does get in the way of my sleep. If I can't sleep, then I can't write, it seems. It's infuriating; even if, on paper, I have enough time to sleep, I lie in bed awake for so many hours that that eight hours of sleep becomes six, and I often wake up throughout those six hours.

No, while I was sick, I was able to sleep when my body wanted to sleep, and I slept well; my mind grew clear. Now that I'm back on my work schedule, no amount of caffeine seems able to break me from this ...