Well, I'm off anyway. An old adage my mother would quote whenever I started another project was "He mounted his horse and rode off in all directions." Gee thanks, Mom. So good for my childhood self-esteem.
But November 1, 2019 was a big day. The first chapter of "The Transmogrification of Jacob Hopkins" book 3, Double Tears, was posted. I spent a good share of the following hours uploading the other 50 chapters of the story to the posting queue so the entire book is at SOL and ready to post a chapter every three days. I really hate the yellow bars that show up over some stories that say "Inactive and Incomplete" when an author loses interest or just dries up or dies. So, the book is finished.
Early comments express some trepidation about the title Double Tears. There is one event in one chapter of the 51 chapter book that will jerk at your tear ducts. More importantly, it will show to Jacob and his pod how truly insignificant their pissing and moaning has been over imagined ills. The rest of the book is filled with fun and frolic. If you are really impatient, instructions for getting the eBook are in the end note.
November 1 was also the first day of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I went to the Seattle Region kickoff party at midnight on Halloween and joined many other writers in getting my first 2,000 words written. Then I got up in the morning and wrote another 4,000. At the end of day two, I was up to 12,000. I have a new story and it has me motivated.
American Royalty 1: Coming of Age is the title of this one. Currently I anticipate three books in this series. I have not decided yet if this is an aroslav story or if it is a Wayzgoose story. There is room for it to go either way. Right now, I'm thinking of it as character-driven literary fiction with a touch of romance and class conflict. I see it as a "Minimal Sex" story, but not "No Sex." After all, it is a coming of age story. Duh!
My Sausage Grinder tier patrons ($10.00/month) already have access to all my development notes and the first draft of the first two chapters. It's not too late to join and you'll find instructions in the end note for my stories. I won't put it here. If you can't find the link, "Send up a signal and I'll throw you a line."
And… I have started receiving edited chapters back for Wayzgoose's Stocks & Blondes, the next Deb Riley mystery. Chapters in this story are a little shorter, so it will start posting two chapters every three days as soon as I have the rest of the edits back. So, with three projects underway, I guess Mom was right and I'm riding off in all directions.
Just a quick note regarding my health. I'm slated into the hospital for a heart ablation tomorrow, November 4. My cardiologist has done hundreds of these with a good success rate and both he and I expect this will solidify my heart rate and prevent me from going into A-fib again. I'll be staying in the hospital Monday night and released on Tuesday. Pending the doctor's okay, I plan to head back to my trailer and go south for the winter. Not that my daughter, ex-wife, and step-husband haven't been more than gracious hosts, caring and concerned nurses, and willing shuttle drivers, but I've been here for six weeks and it will be good for all of us when I leave.
I appreciate all the good wishes I've received from fans. You've made my recovery assured.