Blog No. 316
Before I started to write today, I too a look at the calendar and realized this will be my third last post for the year. Usually I do some kind of end of the year thing that starts around now and finished with the post closest to January 10th of the following year (since that was the date of the first post since I’ve been doing this weekly almost six years ago). I may keep that for next week, or for the final week of 2018. Not sure. Today, I’m going to talk about other things. I suppose. That doesn’t mean that I know what I’m going to write about. I’ll figure it all out as we go! Continue reading “December Update”
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After a less than stellar summer of writing, I managed to pick things up over the last few months. Christian and I were both coming to the end of our individual projects, so we made an effort to get together when we could and work. I managed to get the first draft of Neon Heart done that way. I put that aside for a few weeks in order to start my novel and give myself some time and space from the novella so I can be very critical when I went back to it. I intended to hit it hard starting on December first (putting the novel aside for the month and getting back to it in the new year. The problem with that plan is that, not only am I really lazy, but the day job decided that I shouldn’t be aloud to do anything but work there (and suffer). 
The last ChiSeries Windsor of the year took place last night. I’d like to say it was a smashing success, but (as I’ve said before) I write these blog posts early, for a number of reasons, and I don’t know how it went yet. I’m pretty nervous. Christian and I put a lot into this one (both time and some money) so I hope that the low numbers on the event page and the severe lack of people signed up to read were inaccurate indicators of what to expect. I hope we filled Phog to the brim and had so many people to read that we had to cut it short. I hope that all the extra effort, the time volunteered by the people we roped in to be judges, and the bumping of a regular Wednesday night musicians was worth it and we had the best ChiSeries Windsor yet! As I write this, I do not think that will be the case. 
I bought a new phone. I’d been on the fence for some months, ogling the latest models until they became the old models and using a phone that (while getting slower and more finicky) was still usable. I probably could have held out longer, but in the world of mobile phone technology, the difference between cutting edge, obsolete, and a third category that I can best describe as what happens when companies put their eggs in the wrong basket, I found something that seemed like a good bet that wouldn’t make getting Christmas gifts for people a stretch. I went with an LG G7 One, which is a phone with mostly last year’s guts and some features that are more cutting edge. It’s considered a mid-range device, but it comes with basically stock Android and comes closest to a modern version of the phone I liked most (the Nexus 5). 
I have officially started to write the Invasion Novel. Right from the first chapter I had some issues. I hope it’s just a bit of beginning a new book shakes, because I would hate to think I’m going to spend the next, however many thousands of words, second guessing every decision I make. I think I’ve solved the issue for now, but that’s based on my concept being a successful one. I have some interesting half chapters that are very different from the rest of the book that are designed to give me some fun interludes and to fill in some gaps in the complicated history. In order to get that history in without resorting to a lot of flashbacks or info dumps, I had to start the story a little earlier than I expected. That means the opening line (the one that was the basis for the whole story) has to be the opening to a later chapter. 
Good news everyone! The first draft of The Neon Heart is done. It’s the second book in my Novella series, but it’s pushing the outer boundaries at 43 000 words. Considering 
A bunch of my last posts have been all about The Neon Heart, the second book in my Novella Series. With most of my events done for the year, it’s what I’ve been spending my time on most. I am so close to finishing the first draft that I can taste it (though the word count just keeps growing). I’m eager to get it done so I can spend as much time as possible in the editing stage, and so I can finally start my next novel. I do have a potential ChiSeries reading in Peterborough on Nov 15th, but it hasn’t been finalized yet, so I’m not counting on it happening. Other than that, I’ve been pouring a bunch of time and energy into the last 