The Artdog Quote(s) of the Week If you’ve been following my blog this month, you know I’ve been struggling to balance a range of unusually urgent demands on my time. As January draws to an end, I can close the book on several of those tasks, but the underlying challenge persists. I always have a lot to do. Don’t get me wrong. I like it that way. But it makes me vulnerable to overload, if I need to take on extra stuff. Whenever I can, I try to anticipate when I’ll be most…
I’m writing this post from the edge of Table Rock Lake, in the Hollister, MO area, at a resort managed by Bluegreen Vacations called Paradise Point. I’m enjoying a mini-writing retreat there with my friend Dora Furlong, who set up this trip. Here’s the view (across an arm of Table Rock Lake) from our balcony at Paradise Point. Neither of us is officially participating in Na-No-Wri-Mo, but both of us are trying to make progress on our current projects. And what a beautiful setting for our efforts! The physical beauty of the land…
They’re all coming back home to roost. And being critiqued can be scary. Somewhat like the buzzards returning to Hinkley, Ohio (albeit several weeks later–I can’t believe I missed Buzzard Day, which was March 15), my manuscripts are slowly returning from my beta-readers. Who are the brave volunteers? I sent drafts of my science fiction novel What’s Bred in the Bone out in March, to a collection of willing souls. Some are published writers. Some are working-on-being-published writers. And some are much-prized living embodiments of my “target audience.” A…
Day Six: Gratitude for Companion Animals When placed up there next to some of the other massive issues (yesterday I was talking about global food security, for example), the blessing of having a companion animal in one’s home at first doesn’t seem to be in exactly the same league. But human-animal bonds are ancient and strong. I have argued on this blog in the past that the history and development of humans would have been considerably different without domesticated animals–especially dogs (dogs are my ultimate…
They’ll be haunting the streets tonight! Stay alert when driving, and keep an eye out for their safety, all through the night. It’s a time for creative fun and laughter, but also for keeping all the little ghouls and goblins bright-eyed. Unfortunately, hazards do lurk. Children (and pets) don’t usually think to watch out for them. It’s up to all of us to make sure the little kids stay safe and have fun. Here’s to a happy and healthy Halloween…
Last week I attended MidAmericon II, the 74th Worldcon, which was held in my home metro area of Kansas City. As the author of a recently-finished (but not yet published) novel, I was a bit more finely attuned to the crosscurrents (perhaps “riptides” would be a better description) of opinion about publishing that could be observed in action at this convention than I have been in some time. Between the panels, the readings, the parties (such as they were) and the…