TechnicDragon: Blog

I received an email informing me that New Magus has been nominated (9x) for _Long Story of the year_. There are two problems with this:

1. New Magus was completed in 2011, not 2013, even though the story page says it concluded in 2013. I did update the story for corrections and adding in Character bios when new characters were introduced, but I'm not sure that makes the story eligible for this year's award.

2. The length of New Magus (120,000+ words/642KB) would put it in the _Epic Length Story of the Year_ category, not _Long Story of the Year_. A minor issue, except for the fact that nine nominations wouldn't put it in the top ten in that category and thus it would not go on to the voting phase (by my understanding).

For those who nominated New Magus, thank you. I do appreciate it. However, I've sent an email to the webmasters about this and am leaving it up to their wisdom. Should they decide to move New Magus to the correct category, it will need more nominations to make it to the voting phase.

I've looked through the list of nominated stories, and found that Child Magus has been nominated for _Epic Length Story of the Year_. Currently, it has 6 nominations. To make the top ten and move on to voting, it will need more than twice that.

I'm of of two minds on this. I would like to see one of my stories make it past nominations, YET I don't write to win awards. <shrugs> I leave this up to you.

TD

--==( Week Off )==--
My week off was fantastic. Enjoyed time with my kids, got to meet their teachers and friends. Even got along with my ex really well (shock!). We had a couple of mini-adventures too. Sunday, it snowed almost all day, so they ended up with no school on Monday! We spent the day playing PS3 and watching movies. Tuesday, it was back to their normal school routine. Wednesday, their mother and I joined them for lunch at school and some other activities that afternoon. We went grocery shopping that night and when we got home, my daughter realized that her backpack was missing! We searched the car and the complex, but didn't find it. The next day (Thursday), I helped put together some things so she would have what she needed for school and their mom wrote notes to her teacher for her missing homework and the librarian for the missing book. However, the Librarian had a surprise waiting for our daughter when she gave her the note. Turns out someone found her backpack at Wal-Mart after we left and turned it in. Wal-Mart found the library book with the school's stamp in the inside and called the school to let them know where her backpack was. The twin's mom and our daughter raced over there right after school to pick it up --- all contents were accounted for. Friday we overslept. It was a race to catch the bus, but too late. So their mom drove them in. Today, I came home, somewhat sad because I had such a great week with them, but also ready to get back to writing.

--==( Sibling Magus )==--
While the kids were in school, I spent my time going over all of the chapters currently posted for Sibling Magus. I was looking for anything that didn't fit correctly, or wasn't consistent. I found a lot of little problems and corrected them all. I also decided to change how Seth addresses the Sheriff, Stephanie Dalton. Previously, he called her Sheriff if he was upset with her, and he called her Stephanie when they got along. I changed that. Now, throughout the story, he calls her Dalton, or the Sheriff (when referring to her by title). I hope this doesn't cause too much confusion.

There were several points where some changes were necessary and one chapter that I all but re-wrote (ch20). So, for those who've kept up with the story week-in and week-out, you'll want to go back and re-read it. I'm sure the story overall will feel more cohesive and less confusing.

As usual, if anyone has any questions, feel free to shoot me an email.

This Friday afternoon, I'm heading up to spend a week with my kids in Wichita Falls. I'll try to get some writing done, but no promises.

Hope everyone has a good week and I'll blog with ya later!

TD

--==( Sibling Magus )==--
Yeah, I've written two more chapters already, but 27 is already being re-written. Seth's sister, Faith, gives him news he really didn't want to hear, and he learns more about what it means to be a Padrone.

--==( Internet Access )==--
I haven't received any donations for the internet bill, so I'll have to revert to posting chapters when I can. I have access at the Fire Dept., so all is not lost.

--==( Personal )==--
Plans are all set for my trip to Wichita Falls. I'll leave here on the 31st, stay that weekend and return the following Friday (2/7) or Sat (2/8). My ex doesn't have internet access, but I'll be able to take my laptop along and keep working on the story. It could be a very productive week, at least during the daytime hours while the twins are in school. :)

TD

--==( Sibling Magus )==--
Just like he title says, chapters 22 thru 25 have been submitted for posting.

I've already begun work on the next group of chapters: More is learned about the Lockdown and Seth's new status has more implications than anyone could foresee.

--==( Internet Access )==--
It's that time of month again. No, not THAT time of the month. I received an email regarding my internet bill. $69.20 is due on the 26th and I need your help. Donations can be made through Paypal. Use my email address (technicdragon@gmail.com). Any help is appreciated and earns you early drafts and revisions of up-and-coming chapters.

--==( Personal )==--
I got a call from my daughter today. Her doctor has determined that she is bipolar. Her mother has the same issue but her meds are exactly what she needs to function normally. My daughter's aren't, not yet. Her call today was hard to listen to. She was upset and wanted to see me. Unfortunately, as all of you know, I'm not in a financial situation where I can drop everything and drive up to Wichita Falls to spend a day with her. I also lack a car. Her mother suggested I come for a visit anyway since our girl can't miss any school. I knew it wouldn't be possible for at least two weeks, and they locked onto that. So, it looks like on the first weekend of February, I'll be going up there to spend a week with them and return the following weekend. When they lived in Arkansas, I didn't have to travel this much - mostly because my kids hadn't hit puberty yet and the affects of that on their emotions hadn't hit. Now, it's looking more and more like I'll have to eventually move closer to them to help out when and where I can, but that's not an absolute yet. For now, I'm looking at that trip, and the cost. And once again, I'm asking for help. if anyone can offer donations so I can have the money ready, it would be appreciated. (see Internet Access for details).

Thank you, for reading, for writing, for following, and for listening.

TD