Monday Morning Musings

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. How was your week? Mine was busy, as always, but also quite rewarding, as you'll see.

Many thanks to my buddy, Ellie Garratt. She hosted the Star Trek Blogfest last week. It was very cool, reading through each list and meeting new people. It was also educational for me, because I never paid much attention to any of the other Star Trek series or films. My allegiance was always to the original cast. It wasn't intentional. It's just how it all worked out. Anyway, I gained a bunch of new followers out of the blogfest who I look forward to getting to know better. *waves to new friends* If I missed any of your blog posts last week it was because it took me three days to get through the Star Trek posts. I believe it was nearly fifty.

On Friday morning, I happened to come across a Facebook Page entitled, Novel Publicity. They were doing a chain where you posted the link on your page, along with a simple sentence which alerted participants that you knew the rules of the game and intended to play along. Next, we posted on the Novel Publicity post and then headed off into cyberspace to meet new people. It took quite awhile getting through the list and saying hello to everyone participating; however, by the time it was all said and done, my author's page on Facebook had jumped nearly 100. Out of that number I did manage to find a few familiar faces that I already knew. Although only a few appear to share my darker genre, I think there are many that we'll find share some things in common, and will end up being friends out of the deal. I plan to join again next week if I'm able. Perhaps I'll see you there.

On the reading front, I have been reading Drood by Dan Simmons. It is a huge book that I picked up at Borders when we were in Monterey, California last month. It is the story of real-life Charles Dicken’s supposed infatuation with a mysterious character that ends up consuming the last years of his life. Unfortunately, I only have about a half hour each night to read, and although the novel is very interesting and intriguing, I can’t find any other time to read. No matter how good the novel is, I read in bed before going to sleep, since it helps to tire me out. When do some of you writers find the time to read?

Speaking of writing, by the time that you read this post, I should be doing an edit/rewrite on my second novel, the sequel to Dance on Fire. It is currently entitled, Dance on Fire: Flashpoint. Before I do that, however, I need to get going on my next article for Kings River Life Magazine. I’m writing about a very talented gentleman that composes, performs and leads choirs. His music has been played all over the world. He teaches and actually leads worship in our church. It should be interesting.

How are your stress levels, my friends? I’m not going to repeat myself here; most of you are aware of my day and little time I have to do anything. A week ago, I took most of Saturday and Sunday to clean my house–I had neglected it that much. Now, with the work that remains on my novel, plus the itch inside me to begin writing book three, I am really beginning to need to clear my desk, as it were. It may be time yet again to reevaluate what takes up my time.

How about you guys? Kids are back in school, so do we have more time to write or less?

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week. I hope our paths cross more than once, whether it be the blogs, Twitter, Facebook or any of the other social networks. Are any of you on Google + yet? I'm not, but would like to be. Do we still need to be invited? If anyone knows the scoop on that, I'd love to hear it.

We'll talk soon.