aroslav: Blog

I get more excited at this time of year than a kid at Christmas. It's only four days until the start of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). And I'm feeling well and healthy enough to be able to focus on a new project. I can hardly wait to be writing daily again.

The new project will be called American Royalty 1: Coming of Age. It's an alternate reality story in which American society has a well-defined class structure, not based on wealth or occupation, but based on the character of the individual. Education is a process of discovering and revealing a person's character and class. They are told the structure of society and their place in it on or near their sixteenth birthdays. Here's the logline:

In an American society based on class distinctions, someone still needs to teach the heir apparent how to behave like royalty.

If this goes like previous NaNoWriMo projects, we'll be looking at a release on SOL between April and June. I don't know what the sex content of this story will be. I foresee that as in any coming of age story, it is likely to play a role, but how detailed I make it is still up for grabs. I don't know yet if I will post the story as aroslav or as Wayzgoose. Currently, I'm calling it literary fiction. Characters will drive the action and expose both the benefits and cruelty of their society.

I expect that I'll complete the 50,000 NaNoWriMo words easily in the month of November, but writing may continue through December and very likely longer when I add in the two sequels, Coming to Power and Coming to Grips. Sounds like a lot of coming. My Sausage Grinder patrons ($10/month) will have access to the unedited story as I write it with weekly posts on Sundays. Check out patreon/aroslav for details on how you can get access.

But that's not all! I feel like I should be broadcasting on whatever that television channel is that has "As Seen on TV." This past week, I finished the writing of Wayzgoose's sequel to Municipal Blondes titled Stocks & Blondes. The story is in the hands of my incredible editors, Old Rotorhead and Pixel the Cat. Barring the two of them sending it back and telling me it sucks, I expect I'll be able to start serializing it here on SOL by the end of November or early in December. Here's hoping!

And if that wasn't enough… There is only one chapter remaining of Double Time, Book 2 in "The Transmogrification of Jacob Hopkins" series. It will post Tuesday this week. And without skipping a beat, on Friday November 1, I'll begin posting Book 3, Double Tears starting with chapter 99.

Unlike previous stories in which I released the eBook eventually during the posting, the Double Tears eBook will be available for purchase on the same day the story starts here. Details on purchasing it will be in the end note. I've finished writing all five books in this series and don't see a reason to hold them back to match the posting schedule on SOL. Binge readers will be able to acquire the eBooks on an accelerated schedule. Those who need the time will continue to have the chapters presented for free here on SOL every three days.

And that's the story for this week. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please drop me a line. I received so many responses to my question "How much sex is enough?" that I was unable to respond to everyone who commented. The overwhelming majority of the responses stated I had a good mix and appropriately labeled most of my stories "Some Sex." A handful want more and a handful wouldn't mind if I cut it entirely. Can't please everyone, so they stay as I've labeled them.

I have one more procedure to undergo and it will be Monday November 4 when I have an ablation to stabilize my heart rate. With luck, I'll be able to hit the road headed south again in the middle of November. I'm glad my family loves me and has tolerated me freeloading here in the Seattle area for a month now and a couple three weeks to go. I know they'll all breathe a sigh of relief, though, when I'm able to travel again.

See you with a new story on Friday!

There's been a bit of discussion in the comments on my story Double Time (Book 2 in The Transmogrification of Jacob Hopkins) regarding the lack of detail in some of my sex scenes that apparently leaves some readers frustrated. Others have come to the defense of the story, indicating that it has plenty of sex. It isn't the first time one of my stories has been criticized for lack of sex or lack of 'real sex.'

I don't usually engage in the comments unless asked a specific question because I prefer to think of them as a place for readers to express their thoughts, not for me to justify mine. But since this issue has come up before, I find it somewhat compelling to open a broader discussion on the subject. You can respond to me either through email or in the comments section of Double Time. I'll do a recap here next week.

So, I thought I'd start this discussion, or fuel the other one, with my thoughts about sex in a story. First, let's review the codes here on SOL. According to the definitions made available for authors on SOL, the following five 'Sex Contents Definitions' are offered.

1. Stroke Story: Story is mostly sex.
2. Much Sex: Story contains plenty of sex.
3. Some Sex: Story contains Some sex.
4. Minimal Sex: Story contains just a bit of sex.
5. No Sex: Don't expect any sex.

My stories are coded "Some Sex." To me, that means that the story is about the characters and sex is a part of what makes that work as opposed to "Much Sex" in which the story is about the sex and the characters sort of hold it together. I don't consider the definition to mean that there is some sex in every chapter, though sometimes I think I've really gone overboard with it. I often think of the sex as being just ancillary to the story and only go into detail when it feels like the story just demands more explicit detail.

Apparently, that's where I disagree with many readers who felt the story demanded more detail than I gave a particular instance. Well, for that, we just have to figure out a way to coexist and hope they can enjoy the story with both hands instead of just one.

I think there is a fundamental problem with writing detailed sex scenes every time they come up. I'm reminded of one popular writer on SOL in which every sex scene sounds the same. Each couple-and there are several-makes love in the same progression and often with the same phrases, endearments, and sequence. The scenes are nearly copied and pasted. Even I get bored with copy and paste sex scenes. I could go back a chapter and just reread the last one.

The Transmogrification of Jacob Hopkins is five books and 237 chapters long. On average-and the average always has exceptions-there is a sexual situation in most chapters. There is a sexual tease in about one out of three chapters. There is an explicit description of the sex in about one out of seven chapters. Like I said, those are averages. I could go ten or twelve chapters without getting into explicit detail. Then when I spend a chapter (yes, an entire chapter) on a sex scene, I get email that says, "I kind of skimmed over this chapter because it was all sex."

In my highest rated story series, Living Next Door to Heaven, we get to nearly the end of Book 4 before anyone has penetration sex. "Real sex" as one reader suggested. Yet there are scenes of great descriptive teases that end in orgasms-for the characters as well as some readers.

I appreciate your response to the issue regarding how much sex is enough sex in a "Some Sex" story. It's always possible that I should recode the stories. And believe me when I say I would recode the stories and not rewrite them.

Opinions please?

Wanted to get an update out to everyone who has been so kind and concerned about my condition this summer/fall. Let me start by saying I'm much better today, thank you! I genuinely appreciate all the good wishes I've received from folks here at SOL.

I returned to the Seattle area on Saturday 9/28 to await my cardioversion on 10/9. First, thank you to my neighbors for coming over Friday night and packing up my patio and all my food for transport to Seattle. A big thank you to my friend for driving my truck for me! My ex-wife, her boyfriend, and my daughter were incredibly kind in opening their home to me during a time when it was difficult for me to even eat. And thank you for friends for stopping by my trailer over the weekend to make sure it was buttoned up securely and ready for the cold snap.

My sister came to visit Sunday afternoon and found me drifting in and out of sleep in the recliner. And not only was I feeling sick, my ex had gotten food poisoning a couple days early and was completely out of it for several days, including her own trip by ambulance to the emergency room!

Unfortunately, I couldn't wait ten days for the appointment. I was suffering by Monday 9/30 to such an extent that my daughter called my doctor and took me to the emergency room. After they got me settled enough to breathe more easily for the night, they admitted me and performed the Transesophageal Echocardiogram Monday morning and proceeded directly to the cardioversion. I was sent home that afternoon. The next few days were filled with appointments with various doctors to check my progress and all get in sync on my treatment.

They were also days of uncertainty. Sometimes I felt fine and at other times it was as if nothing had improved. The worst was Sunday but there was a marked improvement on Monday.

Tuesday, my ex drove me to an appointment for a pulmonary function test and consultation. The doctor was very attentive and said that even though my lungs were showing only 37% of capacity, she felt getting the water out of my tissues and drying up my sinuses would reveal that in two weeks I was breathing normally. However, I'll need to be back in two weeks for a CT scan and evaluation. As she said, "I hope it's only your heart." I also managed to eat an actual meal at the hospital, the first I've had an appetite for food in a long time. BLT and a chopped salad. Delicious. I had already had a strip of bacon and a scrambled egg for breakfast, compliments of my step-husband. I had another meal of leftover Chinese food when we finally got home, and a few bites of dinner.

Wednesday, at what my ex called "The butt crack of dawn," my daughter took me back in for my follow-up consultation with two cardiologists. Both concurred with everyone else that I need to shed the water weight I gained. I've lost 8 pounds in the past three days and will probably lose at least that in the next week. Wednesday is the first day I've felt completely clear-headed and had a good appetite, as well.

What I didn't know, however, was that I need an ablation now to stabilize the heart in its rhythm. The alternative to that is long-term drugs which can be as harmful as the a-fib in the first place. Scheduling has said I need to stick around until November 4 to have that procedure. Then probably a two-week check-up after to make sure everything is ticking correctly and steadily.

So, I'm here in Lynnwood WA for another month before I can consider moving my trailer and going south. At that time, it will all depend on how the weather is and how safe it is to travel. I'll just have to wait and see. Sadly, that is delaying me from being reunited with my girlfriend.

That brings me up to date. Since I'll be in the Seattle area now for at least another month, I'm hoping to see some of my friends here. If you're in the area and want to get together, let me know. If I continue to improve as I have the past three days, I'll need to get out of the house occasionally. And figure out how I am ever going to repay my ex, her boyfriend, and my daughter for having abused their welcome and hospitality so thoroughly.

It appears that I have made it to another milestone anniversary of making my first appearance on the stage of earth. My performance is at a slow spot in the script at the moment, but is still running. So traditionally, this would be the time when I pontificate on my sage wisdom, acquired through the trials of life and miraculously revealed on my birthday.

I'm counting down the days to my cardioversion, hoping to see the constant exhaustion, difficulty breathing, and coughing dissipate soon thereafter. I'll be headed to the Seattle area tomorrow to await the procedure under the watchful care of Q and M and J. Sometimes, you just have to admit that you need help and they have stepped up to embrace me, for which I am so thankful.

I'll be leaving Sun Meadow behind for the season, but don't know what I'll be doing after the procedure. I'm sure the doctors will have something to say about follow-up. If I'm feeling able to travel and live independently again, A. will fly up and we'll drive down there to spend the bulk of the winter. There are other options I might consider as well, including leaving the trailer stored for the winter here.

Yes, it is possible that I did not age past my expiration date and that angel has become a very important person in my life.

I was on a record writing pace until July this year, set to top 1 million words. It is still possible that I might make that mark, but it will depend on whether I really get my energy and focus back after the procedure. Currently, I can only write a couple hundred words without needing a nap. I've already had one in the midst of writing this blog post. Being unable to focus and be productive has been one of the worst parts of the past two months plus. I feel like I have left behind important tasks unfinished and don't even know where to find them.

The year had several notable events. I was in Arizona from October until the middle of April.

I even decorated for Christmas a little (strand of red lights) and Q came to visit and to have an adventure over Solstice. We went to the Cabeza Prieta Wilderness Area for a day of solitary exploration and scene gathering. We had a great time negotiating paths with the truck that were rugged.

In January, I released a new serial titled Double Take, Book 1 in "The Transmogrification of Jacob Hopkins." It was so successful in getting new patrons that revenue from patronage soon tripled what I make in royalties. Those people have been extremely loyal and supportive all year!

I managed a very pleasant trip north back to Sun Meadow for the summer and arrived the first of May. I've made a trip to the Seattle area every month all summer long-mostly for doctors. However, on June 23, I released Nathan Everett's Wild Woods (sequel to City Limits), Municipal Blondes (sequel to For Blood or Money), and Double Time (sequel to Double Take). A very successful event at the Chandler Reach Winery Tasting Room in Woodinville, WA. I hoped to release Stocks & Blondes this fall but that is another of the projects delayed. Perhaps by the end of the year.

The writing is complete on three more sequels, but production and release have once again been delayed significantly. Hopefully at least one will be out this fall.

I have a hopper full of new book ideas, but it seems to be jammed when it comes to letting it feed the pen.

May was also the time when it dawned on A. and me that our long-time friendship and writing companionship might actually lead to something else. We explored this through the time during the summer when we were each too sick to do anything about it, but in September, she visited me here at Sun Meadow and we discovered we are just as good face-to-face as we are online. And that has been the highpoint of my summer.

And through this year, what have I learned?

First and foremost, that I have many friends here at Sun Meadow who will go the extra mile to help me. The shortness of breath and A-fib came on me very suddenly this summer and I discovered there were three respiratory nurses in the community. A friend took me to the airport when I couldn't face driving across Washington to Seattle. Friends have looked after my trailer, brought me food, and driven me to the grocery store or pharmacy. At the lodge, I got soup and they made sure I had extra to heat up for quick meals. There has been no end to the support of my friends here at Sun Meadow and that is one of the main reasons I still call this home.

I learned that family is also strong. M, J, and Q have extended their home to me and watched over me during my various doctor appointments. I simply wouldn't be on the road to recovery without them. I've come to value good people. The world would be a better place if there were more good people.

And that brings me to my major lesson of the year. If something I say or do doesn't make me a better person, it doesn't make the world a better place.

It only took me seven decades to figure that out.

According to the dates I haven't updated you all in a long time (Aug 6). Apologies. I'll try to be brief and not overwhelm you with details.

1. Health. It got pretty bad. By August 17, I'd been in urgent care twice unable to breathe. I hadn't slept in days. I had doctor appointments slated the next week in Seattle but didn't dare drive while sleep deprived, so flew in. The short was that not only am I having some kind of apparent lung problem, my heart was in A-fib. The upshot was that after four doctor visits that week, I ended up with $700 a month in new medications and an appointment the second week of October for both Pulmonary Function Tests and Cardioversion. I received a message yesterday that I was slated instead for ablation--a different treatment for arrhythmia. Will be calling the doctor tomorrow to get clarification.

I have been slowly improving over the past four weeks, but still have days and/or nights of misery that have left me unable to focus and trying to catch my breath.

2. Writing. Much to my dismay, my writing has been cut to only a few thousand words a week. Just can't focus on the story. Nonetheless, I managed this morning to put the last words down on Double Team, Book 5 in "The Transmogrification of Jacob Hopkins." That's at chapter 237 for the series. There is probably more to this story that I will be convinced to write, but I don't need to worry about it for a few months. I'll do my best now in the next month to focus my writing time on Wayzgoose's Stocks & Blondes.

Here on SOL, Double Time (Book 2) enters its final part tomorrow with Chapter 86. I am ready to start posting Book 3, Double Tears, on November 5, starting with Chapter 99.

3. Personal life. I have a girlfriend. She joined me here at camp this week and it has been a delight. We live 2000 miles away from each other, so regular visits may be difficult, but we hope that as my health improves, we'll manage more time together. Perhaps I'll pull the trailer down nearer to her for the winter.

The funds I so carefully put away for the past year in order to travel around the world are steadily being dissipated with costs for medicine and doctors and procedures. I really need to find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. So, as soon as possible, I'll be writing another book.

I think that's everything for now. I'll try to update more regularly when I can breathe again.