The Party’s Over

Lunar Boogie has been published. The blog tour has ended, and it’s time to forge ahead. We had a lot of fun on the tour, and I got some wonderful comments.

Some people have read it already, and the early reviews are awesome. Maybe consider clicking on that cover in the sidebar and checking it out.

This week was crazy. Not only did I have a book tour going on, I also had to make a quick road trip to Sandpoint for my real job. Responding to comments on a cell phone with dicey wifi is a treat.

Sandpoint is a beautiful town up close to Canada. It sits on the shores of Lake Pend Orielle. It’s frequented by bald eagles, so I kept my eyes open.

I saw a lot of ospreys on the way into town. As cool as they are, they aren’t the same. I heard an eagle scream from my hotel, but couldn’t spot the bugger through the trees.

I drove the rental car for our group, and when we drove home from supper, I spotted one. It was twilight, and I was watching the geese in a grain field. The closest bird to me raised his head and wasn’t a goose at all.

This seemed like my luck lately. I spotted the dumbest, outcast eagle of all time. He was out past bedtime and appeared to be grubbing for worms in the mud not twenty feet from the car. Not very majestic, but I’m counting him.

I know eagles don’t spend all their time posting selfies. I’ve seen swarms of them crawling around a beached whale carcass like maggots. They aren’t anything more that what they need to be. People like me put the image on them.

When we left town, I had a glorious sighting of another one. This one swirled around on thermals above the lake, then landed on a pole just as I drove past.

Bald eagles are a rare sight around here. I watched the Boise River all winter, but never saw one this year. I always felt like they foretold luck for me. By sighting two, I’m kind of artificially excited.

Never got to see the famous lake monster. Maybe next time. I should have placed out some cookies or something.

I’m considering doing a series blog tour this fall for The Hat Series. I have enough books now to make it a thing. I can take advantage of some free days as part of the promo. I’m curious what you folks think of this approach.

Lanternfish beckons now. I have three days to myself, and need to hack out some new material so I can get this one out in 2021. If you include Serang, I could tour this series around in a similar fashion.

Procrastination is part of the game. This week was brutal, I’m telling you. I’ll write at some point, but I kind of want to vegetate for a day.

Let me hear from you. Do you have a connection with a specific animal? Do you know any fresh new promotional tricks? Have you ever seen a lake monster?

2020 Fatigue

Honestly, today was a great day for writing. It was my flex day and I had the house all to myself.

Somewhere along the way it just didn’t work out. I have a million things on my mind, and none of them are good. Honestly, it was a better day for daydreaming about future projects.

Me, being me, I gritted my teeth and wrote anyway. I started off with a critique chapter for Lanternfish. I spent some time making changes, and have it in a presentable fashion right now.

Then I opened The Hat story and put down some new words. This part was all about a supporting character. It didn’t exactly flow, but the concept is solid.

The sad part is it only came to 1000 words. A whole day and I frittered most of it away.

This character is a fun one, but I still need to figure out how to tie his story to Lizzie’s finale. I also need him to walk into the next story in the series.

I have faith that I’ll figure it all out, but not this week.

2020 brought a lot to everyone’s table, so why should I be an exception. I have 1000 words I didn’t have yesterday, even if I probably have to edit half of them out.

Under the circumstances, I think I’ll take it.

When my brain gets really really tired

I must be tired, I used two horrible modifiers in the title. Even when I'm tired, Lorelei the Muse won't leave me alone. She just keeps pushing. This came to me after my wife started watching the first Transformers movie. I went to the kitchen for a glass of water, and noticed the cover of her People Magazine.

It's the story I could never finish, or publish. It's just an example of what happens inside my tired brain. This is what you get when you take fatigue, add a science fiction adventure movie, an old photograph, and water.

***

I awoke to a low throbbing base sound, and crossed the bedroom to look out the window. It came from the barn out back.

A million stars lit the nighttime sky. Everything looked pretty peaceful. I dropped my old felt hat on my head, then plunked a pair of buckshot rounds into my shotgun before stepping outside.

The barn expanded and contracted in time with the noise. It was as if the barn was breathing, like some kind of wounded animal.

The sound of helicopters overshadowed the noise from the barn. I crossed the yard to find out what was happening.

The trio of helicopters whooshed overhead, and I had to hold my hat down as they started landing in my pasture.

A motorcycle sped down the road toward me. It slid sideways and stopped feet from where I was standing. The rider's platinum blonde ponytail swung forward as she skidded. She wore skin tight black leather from head to toe, with a black leather jacket over the top.

This woman was gorgeous. She stepped across the bike, and walked up to me. “Stand down, Sir.” Reaching inside her jacket, she flashed an I.D. card. “JonBenet Ramsey, Special Operations. We'll take it from here.”

***

It's not socially acceptable. I get that. It's just that my brain rarely ever stops. I suppose having thoughts like this isn't horrible in itself. It certainly isn't as bad as People Magazine plastering her image on their magazine to move copies.

I'm just talking about her. I'm not trying to sell something based upon her. What if she lived, but was taken away? Maybe this is my denial that someone would harm a little kid, but such things really happen.

I checked. She'd be twenty-six now if she had lived. It doesn't seem that long ago.