Danny January: Blog

It's that time of year again. I think this is an interesting tool for readers to discover new authors. Go vote for your favorites, then drop me a note and tell me who you like or what story you like and why. I'd love to hear it.

I just update recipes. It was one of, if not the first story I posted. When I first posted it, I had no idea that I'd be writing as much as I have been. Several of my stories are of the "as told by" nature and "Recipes" was no exception. I changed the name of the protagonist so it wouldn't be so confusing, made some general edits and clarified a few things that could have been confusing. Also, I added an "Author's Note" at the end.

I'm nearing the end of the first draft of Tourist Season and needed a bit of a break before finishing up. I saw the definite need to update the Beach House series (for reasons that will be intuitively obvious to even the most casual observer) before publishing Tourist Season. One thing lead to another and I reworked Recipes. Now, back to Tourist Season.

By the way, thanks to those who have supported The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. That is much appreciated.

And, for those who have asked, our horses do just fine in the cold weather. They develop a nice fuzzy coat that will shed like crazy in a couple of months. We leave the fuzz out near the bird feeders and they use it for their nests.

I've been working on "Tourist Season" chronicling the summer of 1982 when I realized the need to re-visit the Beach House stories. The reason will become obvious when you read "Tourist Season". I did a bit of editing and clarified a couple of things but made no real substantive changes to the content other than that. I also made a couple of editorial changes to "Maja's Mom" as I'd used the wrong name a couple of places and I'm sure it could be confusing for readers.

In the process of writing both the Beach House and Jack Pierce Chronicles, I've realized that what I'm actually writing is historical fiction. That's a fairly grandiose term for what I've been doing but I suppose it fits. It has made me more aware of the advantages and challenges of doing so. A big advantage for the author is that for more recent events, you can rely on the reader to understand the context. However, for events that have happened long ago, or in a distant land, you have the opportunity to educate the reader. "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchel or "Shogun" by James Clavell are marvelous examples of that. One of my favorites is "The Killer Angels", by Michael Shaara. Leon Uris is always good.

I want to thank all my readers who have sent notes of thanks and notes to correct errors of all kinds. I've been having fun with this "new" hobby and am glad to see so many readers enjoying the effort.

I hope y'all have your popcorn ready for this afternoon. Looking forward to watching the Yellowjackets sink the Commodores. Go Jackets!!

I had the goal of posting all of Centerfield before 2024 came to a close and I made it. It didn't happen without a few glitches though. I managed to double post a chapter, realize I'd left a chapter out of Feasting With a Silver Spoon, posted a blank chapter, and probably a half dozen other issues. Thanks for your patience. All of those problems have been corrected.
If you enjoyed it, despite the glitches, send me a note or vote.
I'm working on "Tourist Season" and hope to have it finished and begin posting in early Spring. We'll see how that goes.

Merry Christmas to all
(Die Hard is a Christmas movie - in case you didn't know)