Zanski: Blog

Now at 86.7K words in the third book of the Seneca trilogy, working title Nuevo Mexico, probably to finish at around 125K words, at a guess.

To be honest, the notion of a fourth book has started to tingle in the back of my head, but I'm trying to suppress it. In any case, I intend to finish the trilogy come hell or high water, then publish them here. Any additional books would be add-ons, and probably in a different, though not wholly dissimilar, style. One of the purposes I have in writing is to try different approaches to the story-telling.

The rotator cuff has largely healed, or at least it's much less of a bother. My doctor informed me my pitching career was over, but he always did fancy himself a comedian.

Still slow going due to the rotator cuff injury, but that seems to be gradually healing, or at least becoming a bit less painful, week by week. Still, some wincing and beaucoup ibuprofen is involved.

Nonetheless, I crossed the 50K milestone today, on my way to about 120K words. Sneak preview: Elfego Baca's in this one.

Seasonal salutations!

Well, that's not strictly true. I'm better than 30K words into Nuevo Mexico, and that despite having two cataract surgeries and a torn rotator cuff over the past six weeks, including a half dozen appointments with various doctors. I won't bore you with further detail, but the combination has slowed me down, and continues to do so.

I was amused, though, when the cataract experience brought to mind something from back in the day, when I was working in community mental health. As a corollary to the saying, "seeing the world through rose-colored glasses," I would sometimes liken the experience of depression to "seeing the world through shit-colored glasses."

That simile took on new meaning after the first cataract procedure, on my left eye. After that, white objects took on an almost blue hue when viewed through the new artificial lens. Meanwhile, my right eye, to be operated on two weeks later, was still seeing the world in a sepia tint, the deleterious effect of the cataracts. It was an unexpected experience. At this point, both eyes see whiter whites and brighter colors. Go figure.

Then there's the torn rotator cuff, a sheet muscle that stretches over the shoulder joint. SIGH. It begins to be a distraction after about thirty minutes at the keyboard. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

As of the moment, I'm 17K words into the third book of the trilogy, working title, Nuevo Mexico. But I have several relatively routine medical procedures looming over the next few months, so my pace may slow a bit. We'll see.

The first two books, War Party and Bootleg Justice are 121K words and 135K words, respectively. I imagine Nuevo Mexico will end up being somewhere in between.

Later.

I have today finished the second book in my next western trilogy, the Seneca Series. Working titles for the first two books are War Party and Bootleg Justice, 121K words and 135K words, respectively. I still consider both in draft form, though mostly in need of fine tuning more than revisions.

In any event, I have already begun the final book which currently enjoys the working title Book Three.