Writer Mick: Blog

Hi All

I'm afraid that I've been a bad boy and got myself into writing four stories all at the same time. I could begin posting chapters on the unfinished stories, but I swore I would never start posting a story until I was done writing it.

Luckily I have had a change of schedules at work and I now have three hours a day I can dedicate to writing. I can't give a date, because I write one until a thought occurs to me about another and I shift work to that repeat, repeat, repeat!

I appreciate all of the interest and concern my readers have expressed.

At this time, "The Strength of The O'Dells" has five chapters done, The Strawberry Patch: Babies Please Don't Go" has 17 chapters done, "On Guard" has 8 chapters done, and finally "I Was Sitting At Home With My Family On A Saturday Afternoon" has 6 chapters done.

Bear with me.

Mick

Hi All

Long time!

I hate unfinished stories on SOL. Drives me crazier than I already am!

Having said that, I just counted and I have almost a dozen unfinished stories in my files. The obvious ones are "The Strawberry Patch" and "The O'Dells" but there are so many more that I consider good stories.

The problem is that I get to a certain point and the characters don't know how to end the story. I have a couple of doozies!

How about one where a loving couple, once a year go on separate sex vacations? Or one where a former Marine sniper has a stripper for a wife, who works for a Mafia bar owner that wants her to hook for him? Or maybe a coach who goes to a strip club with other coaches and finds that one of his former athletes is the star of the Shower and Hour show? Or a coming of age story about some cousins told from holiday to holiday starting at the kids table at Thanksgiving? Or how about the first nudist colony on the Moon?

I need to buckle down and finish The Strawberry Patch and then The O'Dells. With Covid going away by me my schedule finally is getting stable.

Bear with me.

Mick

Hi All

Well the competitive season is over. I now can have a few mornings where I sleep until I wake up instead of when the alarm goes off.

With no practices to write, or run, and not much office work for several weeks, I can get back into the habit of writing. I feel so far behind.

It's also the first year that I haven't had an athlete that works with me or who had worked with me in the Olympics. The Games don't hold much magic for me, having been behind the curtain.

If you ever want to read something that will set you off about "amateur"sports, read "The Lords of the Rings" and "The New Lords of the Rings" by Andrew Jennings.

Nuff said

Mick

Hi All

I got up early this Independence Day. Here in Oklahoma, we finally have a short break from the heavy thunderstorms and rain. Now we can get back to blistering heat and high humidity and very little breeze.

I was writing a chapter of the next O'Dell book when a thought occurred to me. It was about the story I wrote, "Affair of Choice" and some changes I wanted to make. So I opened it, made those changes, read through the entire story again, made a few more changes, caught one spelling error and sent it in to be posted again.

I'm not really expecting anyone to rush over to read it, but it's there for your reading pleasure.

I was also doing my usual Independence Day ritual of reading Rush Limbaugh's father's piece called "Our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor" and the wonderful story by Edward Everett Hale, "The Man Without A Country".

That story should be a must read today. Yesterday after my swim practice, I asked the kids if they knew who we declared independence from in 1776. Of the many 10-14 year olds in attendance only one knew the answer, including several home schooled kids. If we lose our identity as a country it will be because the children aren't being taught about it.

God Bless America.

Mick

Hi All

I'm at a competition this weekend and for the first time in 20 weeks I don't have a chapter to post.

It feels really strange. We are going into the heavy portion of the summer season. My time for writing has dwindled to almost nothing.

This morning my muse hit me in the head and yelled at me to write. Of course it was while I was getting ready to go to the competition. So I wrote this.

Have a wonderful day and, next weekend in the US, a wonderful and safe Independence Day. Don't blow up any important digits!

Mick