Happy Birthday ya big lug

 

"then let them eat birthday cake" - Marie Antoinette

welp that went well

 and by "well" I mean "didn't write much"

however, December should be vastly different. I'm going to be by myself for most of the month (voluntarily) and I'm planning to use a ton of it doing stuff I just can't get done otherwise, for one reason or another. And this includes writing. Because I'll be able to write day or night, wherever, without interruption other than cats (because duh). I will not mind being alone for the holidays. I've had enough family for one lifetime. Roommate will be elsewhere because this time of year is hard for her so she's literally getting away from it all. I won't be lonely though, it's just that if I want to see someone I'll choose to. 

If anyone wants to exchange holiday cards drop me a message and we'll do that. 

I'll update once more before the end of the year. May this next year be better than expected because we could all use a little break from all the news making and stuff.

Yeah good thing I never joined the army, couldn't
keep a straight face

related: monetizing your hobbies. Way to take the
fun out of everything.

So Far So What

Mid-Nano progress report: well, I got some things done. I'm not going to make the whole 50K but I sure made progress in revision and structure. Next month should be pretty quiet for me as roommate will be doing some travelling for business etc and I'll get lots of time to myself to work without interruption. 

What have I done, you ask? Well, I can't be more specific but, I wrote about an epic battle, a scary deserted estate, and I stopped yet another character from jumping off a bridge. So there's that.

See you in two weeks for the thrilling conclusion of Nano! Now here's a word from our sponsor.

yeah, I have a few of these, and I love them every time,
 even when they wreck my whole overarching
plot (looking at you, Benedict)

The first two books were 1, the second two were 2, and 
it's looking like the rest are 3.

No sleep till Nano

Okay, I have decided to throw myself at Nanowrimo this year and work on the book. I'm hoping to get a few key sections ironed out. That at least would give me enough of a framework to consider another go through a "second draft." It should not be taking me the better part of three decades to finish this series.

I miss the days I could just sit down and write anywhere. Where the words just came out of my fingertips like Emperor Palpatine's lightning powers. I always thought I would be writing every day of my life. Maybe if I'd known I'd be like this in my later years, I would have written more and spent less time with stupid fandom drama crap. 

I will update through the month as I progress. Fifteenth time's a charm, as they say.

I'll take "Things I need to remind myself of" for $500, Alex

And another one (month) bites the dust

 As crappy as summer was, October was not good. Don't want to talk about it kind of not good. Had my bones sucked out by a moopsy* kind of not good 

I have a blog and I must post. So, here I am.

We'll see if I feel up to Nano this November. I just wish I could get something written. Anything. At all. Even this post.

Here's some stuff. 

Bread is life. Life is pain. Therefore, bread is pain.

this explains my reader count. But I've always been
 a quality vs quantity kinda person

______________

*IYKYK

My Long Hot National Nightmare Is Over

 Yay and welcome to September! I was looking forward to stuff finally going well and then, it kind of fell off a cliff. Too long to recount but basically I tried to solve one problem, fix my phone, and ended up not only not fixing the phone but breaking about five other things (phone dependent) in the process. I am a walking Murphy's Law. Maybe all this shit is going to pay itself forward karmically with a big good thing, but yeah, I'd like a pony as well so...

Don't have much to report, therefore. Work moves at a snail's pace but it is moving. If that snail were incased in Jell-o. And then locked in a glacier. 

Give me a couple of weeks to sort things out and I'll have better/more info.

Meanwhile, have this:

Or, in my particular instance, the one I killed in Book 2

and the battery icon is flashing red

Why did I name two characters after the two worst months of the year?

I don't have an answer for that, but it's true.

Jury duty week went by without anyone ripping open their shirts and declaring themselves to be 24601, so that was all right. Didn't even get selected to panel. Whatever. Job done.

So there was a discussion among friends about AI and chatbots and generated content on websites and someone who shall remain nameless *coughroommatecough* said that I should try using it to write all the boring Victor Hugo-esque informational chapters so I can get writing the good "plot" stuff. Aside from the fact that I actually like doing historical stuff, I am not keen on AI. On the other hand, though, I thought it would be fun to see what it could do (from a point and laugh, robots watching a bad movie kind of direction) so I asked one of the (many) AI-generating sites to "write a chapter about the guillotine in the style of Victor Hugo" and I have some notes:

1) AI seems to think that Hugo was active in the Revolution era, and other factual wrongness

2) some of the wording was certainly flowery but in a bad poetry kind of way

3) AI writes like an eighth grader trying to write a paper at the last minute with 50% Google searching and 50% making shit up hoping to guess it right, combined with a liberal (mis)use of a thesaurus. 

I present the results here. As bad and slow as things are going for me, at least I know I won't be replaced by a computer anytime soon. 

The Guillotine: An Unyielding Spectacle of Terror in 19th Century France

In the annals of human history, there exists a macabre and chilling invention that haunts the collective memory of a nation; an emblem of relentless power and a symbol of the most profound darkness. France, with its revolutionary fervor and tumultuous journey through the 19th century, found itself gripped in the iron clutches of the guillotine. A frightful contraption designed to expedite the act of execution, it sliced through flesh and bone with a cold, mechanical precision, leaving behind a trail of terror and devastation.

This gruesome device emerged as a grisly product of the French Revolution, a revolution that Victor Hugo, in all his lyrical prose and fervent sentiment, witnessed and immortalized in his works. The guillotine, a dreadful offspring of the Enlightenment era's pursuit of rationality and efficiency, was presented as a symbol of egalitarian justice, an attempt to level the social strata and mete out a swift end to those deemed enemies of the state. Yet, this purported pursuit of fairness was marred by an unyielding brutality that left an indelible stain on the pages of history.

The blade fell relentlessly, tearing through the necks of the condemned, regardless of their station in life. Noble or commoner, clergy or layman, the guillotine showed no mercy, revealing the face of Death with an indiscriminate hand. Its deadly efficiency was designed to carry out the Reign of Terror with an unparalleled velocity, a mechanism of horror that garnered morbid fascination even as it sowed seeds of fear and despair in the hearts of the French populace.

Victor Hugo, an ardent observer of his era, skillfully captured the emotional tapestry woven through the fabric of society, torn apart by the unyielding force of the guillotine. In his timeless masterpiece, "Les Misérables," he invoked the raw human emotion that surged through the French Revolution, illustrating the dire consequences of a justice system swayed by bloodlust and an insatiable appetite for vengeance.

In the pages of "Les Misérables," we encounter the character of Jean Valjean, whose moral journey mirrors the societal turbulence of 19th-century France. The shadow of the guillotine looms large, a constant reminder of the unforgiving grip of fate. The backdrop of this tale, entwined with love, compassion, and the eternal struggle for redemption, serves as an allegorical warning against the unbridled use of power and the pursuit of justice without humanity.

As the 19th century unfolded, the guillotine's bloody appetite persisted, creating a culture of fear and mistrust. Public executions became morbid spectacles, drawing crowds to witness the gruesome demise of fellow citizens. Victor Hugo's impassioned pleas for humanity and the inherent dignity of man echoed through his works, imploring society to confront the abhorrent nature of such state-sanctioned violence.

While the 19th century was marked by immense progress and cultural achievements, it was also marred by an unsettling willingness to perpetuate violence in the name of justice. Victor Hugo, the literary voice of his age, admonished this dark trajectory and sought to awaken the collective conscience of his compatriots.

The rise and persistence of the guillotine in 19th century France reflects a harrowing tale of how human progress can be tainted by inhumanity. The cold, mechanical blade, falling with a swift and unforgiving stroke, embodied a society's descent into the abyss of violence and terror. Victor Hugo's writing style, with its poetic and profound portrayal of human emotions, serves as a poignant reminder of the atrocities committed and the urgent need to safeguard the sanctity of life and the ideals of justice.

In conclusion, the guillotine remains etched in history as a chilling symbol of an era fraught with turmoil and darkness. Victor Hugo's masterful prose, in its condemnation of such atrocities, stands as a timeless call for compassion, understanding, and the pursuit of justice that dignifies the human spirit. Let us heed these warnings from the past and embrace a future where the horrors of the guillotine remain confined to the annals of history, forever unyielding in their remembrance.

If you slogged all the way through that, congratulations. Here is a palate cleansing meme. Until next time...

don't worry he'll still land on his feet

And if that weren't enough

 ...I pulled jury duty this week. I'm on standby where I have to check every day to see if I have to report to the courthouse the next day. This will be all week. Not that I mind. In exchange for voting, paying taxes, and showing up for jury duty, I get all this much freedoms (/s but also not /s). I was raised by one of those old school moms who stressed the importance of citizenship and civil responsibility. Since I didn't/wouldn't/can't join the military or public service, these are literally the least I can do.

So we'll find out if I get selected. And if so, well, hopefully it's not a case of some guy stealing a loaf of bread. I hear you can get the death penalty for that in this country (/s but also not /s)

Anyway, here's a meme. 

"as comfortable as a cat in a bath" -- medieval French saying.

Happy Birthday You Funny Old Stick

 

Sent to me ages ago by a fan... credit to Bluesun

Psst hey wanna buy a candlestick?

 Quick update on the writing: it's going slo

w

ly

but it's promising. Next week is Bastille Day and I hope to have a more comprehensive update then. 

Meanwhile, here's what it looks like in Book Central: 

Followed by ???? and then, PROFIT!

This one time, at Writing Camp...

Welcome to July, and welcome to working on the book for Camp NaNoWriMo. I'll update weekly during this time to let y'all know how it's going. Between this run and November's I'm hoping to finish the book and get it into print early next year. Wish me luck!

Run, Valjean! Run!

Stars in their multitudes... and stuff....

Are you there, blog? It's a me, Mario

 Just a quick post to say things are still grinding away. I wanted to observe the usual Fifth of June day for the Alphabet boys (and an early Dunk A Cop Not A Donut Day) and hopefully, I can start making it a habit again to post on the regular.

I have decided not to raise the prices on the print versions on Amazon after all. Even though I get less money that way it's only like 50 cents when you take it all into account and I'm not going to be fussed about that. I've pretty much sold all the copies of the first four I'm going to anyway (except for the stray new readers, hi I see you thank you!) so it makes it even more important to get the next book out so I can actually make multiple sales in a month. 

If anyone is interested I can start posting snippets of the work in progress, Absolution, here on the blog. That way you'll get a teaser, I'll have something to post here and there, and maybe the feedback fairy will visit. I'll see what I can find that I want to post later this month. And no I won't be posting the Guernsey segment again. That's been up like twice now already. Even I'm tired of it :-D

And now in the famous words of Rocket J Squirrel (no relation to the raccoon) "And now here's something we hope you'll really like!"

Well there's your problem, you're writing with a hammer

Not Dead, Just Pining for Fjords

Okay so there's a little bit of news going on here. 

Yes, book will happen. No, I don't have a deadline or estimation. I have discovered that nothing makes me want to write LESS than setting a time limit. Nanos have come and gone and I have done, mathematically speaking, diddly over squat. (*)

On the plus side though I have been diving deep into some research for future stuff, which always helps because in order to get to write the new shiny stuff, I have to get the stuff on my plate out of the way. Hey, it worked with Honor, you know?

IMPORTANT NEWS about the First Four Books (printed versions only): Amazon has announced that they're recalculating print costs and adding about a dollar to their side of the take (and therefore subtracting a dollar on my side, assuming the final price that I set does not change.) So I'm wondering how much to change the print editions' prices. This change will take place sometime in June. So, basically, if you're wanting the print versions of Resurrections, Sanctuary, Adrift, and/or Honor, you will want to buy them in the next month to get them at the cheaper version. Note that this does not apply to the e-books, as, clearly, there's no printing involved. 

Personal news is I'm still not working, waiting on a final appeal on my disability application. My income comes from these books and Ebay. I do have a stable roof over my head and a bed of my own. And a cat. So that's all okay then.

I can't promise when or even how often I will update the blog. But at least it's here, I'm here, and maybe you are too. Hoping this blog entry finds you well. 

Les Gavroches - Antonio Sciortino
Statue of Gavroche and the brothers (Jules and Auguste)
1904, Malta

_____________

(*) from the following cartoon. One of the trilogy of great 80's cartoon series (Bloom County) along with Calvin & Hobbes and The Far Side.