My original plan was to write the posts about zombies, dehumanization, the attractiveness of driven characters, then cap off that series of posts today with writing advice that unifies all of those ideas. The problem is that I basically already laid it out in those posts. There is good information there for writers, and a summary post would just be repeat information.

Also, not everyone that swings by is interested in writing advice. Sometimes, people just want to know what’s going on with me.

It turns out, I have quite a bit going on! Here are some updates, presented in increasing excitement level.

Exercise and Health

I’ve been walking about 4 miles every day for more than a week, except yesterday where I rested a little and only walked 2 miles. My legs haven’t been as sore, and I’m starting to feel more like I felt before I had Covid last year.

I haven’t needed to take any blood pressure medication in a couple of weeks, even after days where I had a bit more salt than I intended. My blood pressure hasn’t been fantastic, but it also hasn’t been at the kind of levels that make medical interns wonder if there’s something wrong with the equipment. Yesterday in the morning, my BP was 119/86. Honestly, not that bad.

I had lost some weight, and I’m still down, though I showed an increase in a couple pounds yesterday on the scale. I’m not too worried about that. I’ll keep exercising and watching what I eat. The weight will come off when it’s ready to, and I’ll keep focusing on getting healthier.

First Draft Finished!

Yesterday, after finishing my blog post, I went to a Starbucks and wrote until it closed. Then I came home, dawdled a little bit, and wrote some more. After so many months, I finally finished The Psychic on the Jury at just under 14,000 words. Depending on the definition you’re looking at, it’s still in the short story category. It’s a novelette. Not long enough to be considered a novella.

How is it? I don’t know. I need to read it to Melissa, which is my first step in revising it. Later today, after some more revisions, I’ll submit it to my critique group. We’re meeting on Saturday, so I’ll have some objective feedback then. I think there is some good stuff in it! I think it’s probably a good follow-up story to The Repossessed Ghost.

The goal was to finish it by this weekend so that I would have some time today to start the outline for the sequel novel. I’m on track for accomplishing that goal, so I don’t need to cancel my NaNoWriMo yet.

Publishing News!

You’re not supposed to talk about publishing deals until the contract is signed, right? Well, I signed the contract a couple of days ago, and One More for the Road will be published by Water Dragon Publishing soon! And, it looks like a friend of mine will be doing the cover, which I’m very excited about. We’re aiming to have the whole thing ready by Christmas, but that timeline might be a bit tight.

I’m really excited about this one. It’s a short story, so it’ll be a stand alone Dragon Gem. I wrote it for Melissa several Christmas’s ago, and I think it’s my second favorite story I’ve written. If I were to say it’s one of my stories, Melissa will correct me and say that it is her story, and it is. It was her idea, and I wrote it for her. And soon, everyone will be able to read it.

I think that’s it! I have a bunch of writing activities to perform today. I may rake some leaves, too. I’ve got a busy day, and it would be best spent not dawdling here.