Wayzgoose: Blog

Sorry. For those of you who have been skipping church to read the philosophical gems in The Book of Wesley, I forgot to post The Fourth Hundred yesterday. I've put it in the queue for posting asap. Enjoy.

Aroslav is 71 years old today and is dragging the rest of us alter egos along with him. 71 is a fine prime number. So, I'll just say I'm entering my prime. What better way to celebrate than to release a new book. Almost today.

I'll start posting the next Dag Hamar cyber mystery on Wednesday 9/30. For Mayhem or Madness takes place between For Money or Mayhem and For Blood or Money. I know. Why couldn't I just write them in order like a good boy.

Um... maybe because I'm not a good boy?

This novel is a bit shorter than my others but is an important chapter in Dag's life. And this one really isn't a tear-jerker, in case you're worried about that.

While I'm announcing upcoming stories, I'll mention that aroslav's new SWARM Cycle story, Pussy Pirates, has been approved for posting in that universe by Thinking Horndog. It will begin here on November 3. I thought that would be a good way to recover from Election Day. Of course my $5/month patrons will start reading it next Sunday, October 4.

My $10/month patrons have begun reviewing chapters of my next anticipated SWARM story (not a sequel) and I expect they'll be getting regular updates to my rough draft for the next couple of months as I take a look at another neglected aspect of that universe: the planetary militia (non-Sponsors). I think there's a good story there and the email brainstorms (also recorded for my patrons) have been flying fast and furiously.

If you've been thinking about becoming a patron, this is a good time to do so! https://www.patreon.com/aroslav

Enjoy my birthday! I'm getting slow cooked ribs for dinner!

If you are reading aroslav's Props Master series, chapter five of A Touch of Magic posted this morning. In it, Serepte shares a late-night dinner with The Great Paris. She says:
"Remembering stories is important," Serepte said. "My father, though he was gone before I was born, once said that all the things that ever existed had their being only because people remembered them. And there were incredible things that could bloom into existence if only they could be remembered."

In fact, that quote begins her father's musings in The Book of Wesley which I've posted the first chapter of today. It will post in five weekly installments of 100 philosophical bullet points each. I think that's all my mind could handle in a week. There is no voting, but you are welcome to comment on the points and discuss them.

Back in 1979, when I'd just completed the first draft of Behind the Ivory Veil, I met with a fellow author who read and critiqued the book. "Wow! This is really freeze-dried," he said. I waited for an explanation. "If you added a little hot water, it would be a whole book."

I walked home that night deep in thought about what I would ask this character. What was isolation like? How did his attitude toward religion change as a result of his experience on the mountain? What musical theory was he applying to the strange notations on the rostrum?

As I stopped at a curb for the traffic light, I heard a voice right next to me say, "If you'd shut up for a minute, I'd tell you all about it. Everything that exists and everything that has ever been exists only because someone has remembered it." I was so startled, I nearly fell off the curb into traffic. It was the first time a character had spoken in my head. (And by far not the last one.) I got a journal and began writing down everything he said, even though they came out like random thoughts. The result was the five hundred (and three) bullet point Book of Wesley.

So, if I published The Props Master Series under aroslav's name, why am I publishing The Book of Wesley under Wayzgoose's name? The Book of Wesley isn't a story. I hesitate to call it non-fiction because I'm sure a lot of this was made up on the fly, but philosophy is considered non-fiction no matter how far out it is. It just seemed more appropriate to separate it from the novels in the series.

I hope you'll comment on Wesley's sometimes bizarre thoughts. I hesitate to admit they actually came from my head. Enjoy!

This morning, I started posting Steven George & The Dragon, a story I published commercially back in 2011. I'm also running the story on my website for my Patreon patrons. Here's the blurb:

ONCE UPON A TIME, there was a dragonslayer named Steven George. When Steven is sent by his village to slay the fearsome beast, he suddenly realizes that he doesn't know what a dragon looks like, where it lives, or how to slay it. But Steven's village has fostered the talent of telling tales. Steven trades once-upon-a-times with the people he meets along the way and each remarkable story leads him a step closer to understanding the true meaning of his quest.

If all that looks like a dragon may not be a dragon, then it follows that all that is a dragon may not look like a dragon.

Steven travels the Endless Road, journeying for a time with a melon farmer, a village idiot, a tinker, a woodcutter, a company of knights, a merchant, a thief, and a gypsy. Thinking he has lost his way and nearing despair, he discovers that all roads lead to the dragon.

This is a no-sex collection of fairytales that have their roots in my daughter's bedtime stories years ago. I thought I'd share a couple of fun things about how it came about.

I'd sit to tell a story to my daughter at bedtime each night. I would start the story, "Once upon a bicycle..." or "Once upon a pickle..." only to be interrupted by my daughter to correct me by saying "Once upon a time, Daddy. It starts once upon a time." Okay, I got that corrected but as the stories progressed, I tried to get her involved in the telling. "There lived a little girl named..." and I'd wait for her to fill in the name of the girl and other details about her. Once, I said "There lived a little girl named..." and my daughter said, "You pick." I continued right along. "Once upon a time there lived a little girl named Upik." And so it went until my daughter could pretty much tell me the stories.

We adopted a rescued greyhound. As enthusiastic owners, most of our Christmas presents that year were greyhound paraphernalia. I didn't mind because my college mascot was also a greyhound and I already had some maroon and grey alumni clothing. But I got a great sweatshirt from my daughter that had a stylized greyhound on the front. Great shirt! I was coming out of the gym one day and sat in the lobby to wait for my wife and daughter to come out of the locker room. A little girl about 4 or 5 just seemed to be fascinated by my shirt, wandering closer to look and then running back. I finally asked her if she liked my shirt and she nodded. I said, "It's a greyhound dog." She looked very disappointed as she said, "I thought it was a dragon."

So, there you have the key elements that went into the writing of this story. It will be posting two chapter-stories every three days.

I can't give you information regarding an eBook as SOL rules now state that we can only promote eBooks available on Bookapy. This is a platform that I need to set up and start releasing books on but have not yet worked on. Somehow I missed that memo. Since I have over 30 books to set up on Bookapy, it will take me a while and this one is a low priority as it has been commercially available for nearly ten years. I'll get it done and will announce it here as it comes online.

Right now, I need to cue up the remaining chapter stories in this book for release here on SOL.

Be well!

Thank you all for the kind words in response to the conclusion of American Royalty 1: Coming of Age. The current status of the book is that the rewrite is in my line editor's well-washed hands and she is sifting through the story even as I continue to write more.

I am working on making all my books available for free online reading. I think that as we discover the impact of social distancing, we might all need some extra reading material and not have the cash to feed the hopper of our voracious appetites. All but one story in my backlist is now available here on SOL. I will work on converting that book for my readers here as I continue to write new material, both as Devon Layne (aroslav) and as Nathan Everett (Wayzgoose). The final backlist book is a Young Adult collection of "Once Upon a Times" reminiscent of Grimm's Fairy Tales. The title is Steven George & The Dragon. With luck, you'll see this one start in May.

I have been blocked from continuing my anticipated journey across the south to Arizona and then north to Idaho. RV Parks are not admitting any new travelers, so for the next month, I'll be resident in Pharr, TX, just north of Brownsville. I hope that when April 23 comes around, I'll be able to make a run straight north up I-25 to I-90 and home. I have a doctor's appointment in Seattle on May 12.

I am also revamping my two websites during this down time. Hope you will check them out. They are simply nathaneverett and devonlayne. A few broken links and repairs still to be done.

I found myself humming a new tune while I washed my hands yet again. For years, since my daughter was tiny, we used "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" as our hand-washing song. Suddenly I was humming a different tune and had to figure out where it came from. At first, I thought it was the clock music from the old 1950s TV game show, Beat the Clock. It wasn't. I finally located it as the Jeopardy thinking music. Anyway, another perfect 30 second reminder.

I have been working on a humorous story for aroslav called Adams' Apple, but every time I think up some ridiculous situation for the story, I end up reading it the next day in the news. Turning out to be more satire than humor. Maybe I should try a story called "21 Ways to Cook Toilet Paper" with a special section of "5 Delicious Hand Sanitizer Desserts."

Though I need both bread and eggs, I understand people rushing out to stockpile them so the store shelves are empty. What I don't understand is the store being out of pickles and olives! No olives? What am I going to put in my quarantini?

And this news just in: "In an abundance of caution, both the MLA Handbook and Chicago Manual of Style are re-instituting the 'two spaces between sentences' in solidarity with APA. Please be safe out there."

Be well, my friends. Thank you for your continued support, comments, and email!