Kenn Ghannon: Blog

I don't think I've ever been above admitting when I was wrong. So, I will admit I was wrong about masks. A nice reader (whom I won't identify because I didn't ask for their permission to identify them) explained things to me and changed my opinion. I still don't agree with 'mask mandates' - but it's on a philosophical point and not a scientific one.

The COVID-19 virus is about 0.125 microns in size. An N95 mask - which most of the population DON'T have, but we'll talk about the 'best' masks we can find - can block particulates down to about 0.3 microns. That is a large window and one which the virus can easily get through.

So my science was right - at least, I still believe my science was right - as far as it goes. I, however, was wrong.

As I've been made to understand it, the issue is that the mask works to 'break the breath' of the wearer. So, although the virus can get through the mask, it isn't propelled with as much strength beyond the mask, thus - with proper social distancing - it poses a far less significant threat to the surrounding population.

So, I'm glad I still choose to wear a mask in public buildings and when I can't stay far enough a way from strangers. However, I'm happy that - at least right now - it's my choice to do so. :)

I live in Texas. My state just opened itself fully with no mask mandates. Finally, we're being treated like adults. It's a refreshing change.

I still wear a mask in stores and when I can't help but be near 'strangers' - the difference is it's my choice. It's a pre-caution, really, since there's scientific proof even an N95 mask does not protect against something so small as the COVID virus/Wuhan Flu (yes, I'm one of those). Still, it looks like we've conquered the normal flu with these masks, so it's potentially worth it.

I've not written a single word in months. I had good intentions, but work has been crazy, I've been worried about elderly relatives who've had various illnesses (not all COVID related) and, of course, the unending drama within my own family (I'm a staunch conservative while my eldest daughter, who believes she knows everything since she graduated/was indoctrinated by her university, has been brainwashed to liberalism and all that entails). I've tried and failed. After dealing with everything, there just hasn't been any creativity left.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Work has slowed a bit, Texas is mask-free, my elderly relatives have started to heal - family drama still exists, but three out of four ain't bad. Plus, we have some trips lined up in the coming months that should bring rest and relaxation.

I'm going to read through Runesward Tome 1 and the chapters I've written on Runesward Tome 2 today to prep myself for continuing that saga (yes, I wrote it and took copious notes, but some of the minutiae isn't fresh in mind). When it's completed, I'll start looking for an editor or two to check grammar, spelling, and continuity - but that won't be for a while.

I wrote the opening scene for InCAPable but it needs to be brushed up. I've got some refinements locked in my head and I need to think my way through them carefully. I also have taken some notes about plot threads and the like and I feel it is in a good place for now.

I've written 19.5 chapters of Runesward, Tome 2, starting with Chapter 30 and I'm in the middle of chapter 49. I need to re-do parts of chapter 48 and polish it some. For those interested in statistics, that's 211 Microsoft Word pages (I write in MS Word) composed of nearly 106,000 words. The intention had been for this Tome to be 25 chapters (more or less) but I fear I'm going to overshoot that mark. There are threads from Tome 1 I need to work with and I've introduced some new sub-plots in Tome 2 I think will really help the story line. I've not revised my chapters since I began, but I've updated my plot-lines as I've worked with them (mostly, anyway). I'm going to say this Tome might come in between 25 and 35 chapters, depending on when I stop.

Anyway, I hope you and yours are getting through the pandemic carefully and safely. I'll try to blog more as more comes to me.

Sincerely,
Kenn Ghannon

Between my personal life and my work life, I've been running myself ragged the past three months. I've gotten very little writing done - there are just not enough hours in the day and my work suffers when I'm tired; who knew sleep was a worthy endeavor after all?

Based on my notes, I'm just about half-way through 'Runesward Tome 2'. Thankfully, I've some editors lined up so that is in position to move forward.

I've written bits and pieces of 'InCAPable' as ideas strike me. I've started a few other stories and even cleaned up/wrote a few new pages of an old story I'd abandoned long ago.

There just has not been time to really sit and focus. Now that I have two weeks off, I expect I'll get a FEW moments to write (holidays are all about family in my house) but it's going to be rough. Thankfully, one of my Christmas presents is a brand-spanking-new laptop so I'll soon be able to write from places beyond my office. Yay me! (Of course, it's a gaming laptop so all of my time won't be spent writing ... funny how that works ...)

Anyway, in case I get bogged down and forget - I hope all of you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and a joyous, prosperous New Year. May the worst of the years ahead of you be better than the best of the years behind you.

Sincerely,
Kenn Ghannon

I decided to end my hiatus today and what better way to end it than with a BANG?!? Actually, I floated the idea of this joke last week to the Swarm Author's group and they were of two minds - either I would be reviled beyond measure or people would get it. Either way, they told me I was EVIL for doing it.

Well, that's the right attitude to be a writer, I suppose. Sometimes, you just have to let your inner EVIL out to play. :)

In recompense for my (possibly) ill-conceived joke, I will be posting the remainder of 'Fairly CAPable' later today (the final 2 chapters). I hope that helps. :)

A chapter in 'Fairly CAPable' made someone physically ill because it reminded them of their own rape experiences. I didn't consider Chapter 22 'rape' because, while unwilling, the concubines in Swarm stories are slaves ... but, thinking it through, you can definitely rape slaves so...

I NEVER wanted to be 'that guy'. I never wanted to write something that made someone physically ill. The e-mail has been weighing on my since I read it. I got very little sleep last night.

I was of three minds late last night. Part of me just wanted to throw all of the rest of 'Fairly CAPable' up and let it be judged in whole instead of in pieces. In the full context, Chapter 22 becomes a part of the whole story.

Another part wanted to do away with Chapter 22 and just show the aftermath in Chapter 23. As I read it over, looking at it in a new light, Chapter 22 was gratuitous and unnecessary. I thought it would be visceral and induce a sense of disgust. I thought it was important to show the depths of Leo's soul. I thought wrong. I could have done similar work - without such disgust - by just showing the results of his actions and kept the torture off-screen.

The final part of my mind is the one I think I'm going to follow. Chapter 22 is out there and the internet remembers everything. No one is going to forget that I wrote it. Besides, I don't think I have it in me to get inside Leo's head again to re-write Chapter 23.

So, I'm going to take a hiatus - not from posting, the story is set to autopost for the next week or so and I'll stop in to make sure the whole thing gets out there. I'm going to take a hiatus from reading - possibly until the whole of the story is posted so it can stand or fall on it's own, complete merits.

If you write me e-mail, I promise to read and respond when I return. If you post comments to the story, I'll read those when I return.

I've always said I write for myself. That is true.

However, I enjoy the comments - even the negative ones so this is NOT an indictment of those who couldn't palate the story; I am thankful for every comment and e-mail I receive (even those that intimate I was born illegitimately as a piece of dung). They will all make me a better writer, something to which, even at my age, I aspire. So, I'm certainly not avoiding critique - I just need to step away from it for a few moments.

I really am not 'THAT' guy. Hurting others with my imagination is certainly not something I ever considered.