On the Road

Spent the last three days on the road. Specifically, the road that leads to northeastern Pennsylvania. Me and Patch were the road warriors in question, visiting my parents. The wife was also traveling the countryside, taking the Little One to Ohio for a graduation celebration on her side of the family. Altogether, the LEs logged a little over 1,160 miles on that lonesome highway this past weekend.

I did manage to get a lot done. I can't emphasize that limpy, milquetoast phrase "a lot" enough. I put in 11 solid hours of thoughtwritework in front of the Dell flatscreen in a 51-hour period. I tell ya, it's amazing the things you get done when you don't have to tend to a pair of toddlers all day long. Thanks Ma and Pa!

Most of my work was on my website. Very, very exciting. I fluctuate wildly over how successful I think it will be (ranging from "not in the least" to "barely pays for itself"). But only time will tell, and the more TLC I put into it, the better results will come from it. At the very least, it pads the ol' resume. You can see here and here for prior recent thoughts on this effort.

The other significant project was to finally finish outlining and really fleshing out a 20,000-word novella I've been working on for 22 months now. Well, I worked on it for a few hours 22 months ago, set it aside for 660 days, then resumed working on it Saturday. It's from a germ of an idea my uncle suggested to me while he was examining my teeth. (He's a dentist, just so we're clear ...) I think I can bang out a first draft in a week or ten days, eight chapters of 2000-2500 words each, plus a few days to edit it. Then we'll evaluate.

The weather in PA was a little bit crazy; beautiful though extremely muggy Friday and Saturday, and alternating Cat-5 gale storms and crystal-clear blue skies on Sunday. My mother wanted to take Patch poolside, but that didn't quite happen. We did take the littlest one to a stable where she smacked a pony on the nose. I also saw the world's fattest hog. Well, the fattest hog I myself ever saw live.

Took an early morning trip into town and visited one of my outta-state book stores I frequent once or twice a year. This time, for a little over $9, I bought

The Mindwarpers (1965) by Eric Frank Russell
Agent of Byzantium (1994) by Harry Turtledove
Ben-Hur (1880, but this edition printed in 1959) by Lew Wallace

Another satisfyingly eclectic group of reads! All spontaneous purchases. I know nothing of The Mindwarpers save I wanted to read something by Eric Frank Russell, having heard lots of second-hand praise for him. As far as Agent of Byzantium goes, I know nothing of it, either, save for a glowing rave by the guy I bought my wife's engagement ring from a decade ago. We talked more about Harry Turtledove and Why I Need To Read Him ASAP than about karats and facets and settings and platinum bands. And finally, I bought the Ben-Hur to read this Christmas season to feel a little more ... I dunno, reverent, maybe? I love the movie, so I'll try the book.

Got caught up on my sleep, ate like a king, listened to good music on the way out and the way home. A nice, relaxing mini-working-va-ca. Lots and lots of writing on the agenda this week, maybe as much as 4,000 words-a-day, if you total the website, the novella, and this here blog. So I'll be pleasantly and not stressfully busy. I also need to read through my short stories and select something to send out. That's a project that's way overdue, and definitely doable. I'll keep all you fans updated on all fronts as the days fly by.