This one's going to be short and quick. I meant to write it last night and schedule it, but after the livestream and taking care of a few other odds and ends around the house, I hit a wall and crashed. This morning, I have an appointment to renew my passport, so...

I'm super jazzed with what I'm coming up with on the poem a day. I'll start posting those to Patreon over the next couple of days. Then I'll do a poll to see which poems patrons would like to hear me read. And... the thought just popped into my head that I'll do them as a video rather than just an audio recording. Cool. Even more excited now.

Last Sunday, I finished my first short story in the story a week for a year project. I need a better name for that. It came out as a really strong draft.  I already know some of the things I'm going to play around with on the next draft. However, the full, original draft will be available to read on Patreon this Saturday. At the end of the month, patrons will get to vote on which story each month will get turned into an audio recording. I don't think I'll be doing any video readings of those. This week's story seems solid as well. I'm excited to see where it goes. A couple of times in the first one, I almost got discouraged, not knowing where the story was going; however, I just let myself go with it, trusted my understanding of craft and narrative, and the whole thing came together in the end. I may be onto an interesting way to dive into the craft of writing short stories. We'll see how things go with the next 51.

Other projects are creeping along. I did some tweaking as to which I'm focusing on right now. Yesterday, I tried planning out my publication schedule through the end of 2026, and that got a little overwhelming. Luckily, I'm learning to manage my ambition against my honest productivity level, and so I crossed the whole thing out. Might try again later today and add those to the schedule. In doing that, I even got to thinking out to 2027. Maybe it's time for me to put together a 5 year plan.

I got notice that Sacramento has a new fellowship for local creatives with a monthly stipend for a year. I'm going to apply. That would totally help me be able to spend more time just writing and not have to worry about all the things I have to juggle in order to be a writer.

I was pretty sure I had more to talk about when I put my fingers to the keyboard, but those other things slipped away into the ether of my mind. What creative projects do you have going on, and how are those going? Let me know in the comments.

Until next time, Gallowglas Army Faithful...

Slante!

FOLLOW UP... added later...

In driving back from an appointment to get my passport renewed, I recalled what else I should have written in this post.

READING

• I was listening to a full-cast audiobook of Good Omens. I gave up. Maybe it's too much like the show, or maybe I'm just not overly wild about the mix of Pratchett and Gaiman. Even before the scandal, I felt Gaiman was overrated. This is another book with his name on the cover where I dislike the portrayal of children. The others are The Graveyard Book and The Ocean at the End of the Lane. I think I laughed once and found another few moments amusing. Perhaps part of my meh reaction comes from the book not aging particularly well. Putting that experience behind me...
• This morning, I downloaded The Hundred Days by Patrick O'Brien and narrated by Patrick Tull. This is the 19th book in what's nominally known as Master and Commander. It's the basis for the Russell Crowe movie. Been months since the last book, and it's like visiting old friends. I love this series. I'm coming up on the end. One or two books after this. I'm sure I'll be melancholy afterward. For now... I'm just going to enjoy these last steps on this 20-book journey.
• I continue to explore Harlan Ellison's short stories before bed. The stories in this current collection come from around the time I was born. It's interesting to explore this writing from the other side of all my fancy learning. I just KNOW I'm going to catch flak for saying this, but Gallowglas in the 2020s is a better writer than Ellison in the 1970's. Granted, Ellison didn't have himself to study. Or any number of other amazing writers that came in the latter part of the last century and the first part of this one. That being said, "Repent Harliquin..." won the Nebula award in 1965 and the Hugo in 1866... So... Well... I'll just be happy to know that every writer's work fluctuates at every point in their career.
• Took a beak from Wonderworks this week. Might read a chapter or two later this afternoon.

WATCHING

• The final episode of Season 7 of The Rookie aired last night. I liked this season a lot. Maybe not the strongest, but I'm glad it didn't end on a pure cliffhanger. It did leave a huge arc open for next season, but did so in a way that I'm okay with waiting. My gut tells me next season will be the last. Maybe then I'll do a series re-watch.
• I realized this morning that I have three more episodes of Andor. I'm so excited to dive into those. Andor hits so many great Star Wars vibes for me, all while treading new ground and expanding the mythology. I think I'll make sure I have time to watch Rogue One as soon as I finish the last episode of Andor. Next week, I'll definitely give myself time to do a proper write-up of the season.
• WWE is now settling into the post-Mania doldrums, but at least this year, it's still somewhat intriguing. However, they've scheduled so many special events in the summer, it's going to be a challenge to make each one of them feel special.

What are you reading? What are you watching? Whatcha got going on? Leave a comment and let me know.