Rescue of the Week - Priscilla ADOPTED!

Well, I just saw that Tuffy (who was just there the other day) has finally gotten a forever companion and a new home. That is great news, because he's a wonderful dog. So now it's time to get this beautiful little lady a place in someone's heart:



Priscilla is a little over a year old, and is just the sweetest, lovingest pup you could hope for. She really is just fantstic to visit with. Stop by and see if she's right for your home!



***EDIT: PRISCILLA IS NO LONGER AT THE SHELTER!!!***

Is silence golden?

Everyone has their own way of writing. I don't mean style, mind you, but the actual process. A lot of us are plotters, who plan the story to varying degrees before actually beginning to write. Others are "pantsers", who sit down to a blank page/screen and start writing, and just see where the story or their characters take them. That's also not exactly what I'm thinking about.

I'm talking about when you finally sit down, where are you? What has to be in place?


I remember reading Stephen King's Misery, then watching the film (not sure whether the axe or sledgehammer would have been worse, but I'll bet neither was pleasant). In the film, he had to have a glass of wine and one cigarette waiting for him when he finished his draft. That's the kind of particular I'm wondering about.

See, I can write as long as it's on a computer. My hands cramp (I have psoriatic arthritis) if I try to go at a blank page with a pen or pencil. But a keyboard works better for me.

The other thing is sound. I used to have to have complete silence. That's not so easy unless you live completely alone, and I love my wife and dogs more than my writing (by a long shot). So I tried listening to an iPod once.

It was a problem at first, because I kept singing along to the tunes. But as things went along, and I listened to the same playlist every time, I stopped humming along and eventually tuned it out all together.

Now I can't write well without it, which is a blessing and a curse.

So what about you guys? What little peccadilloes are involved in your process of physically putting butt-in-chair and writing?

Rescue of the Week - Joseph ADOPTED!

Well, shortened week this week, so I wanted to squeeze as much of a rescue as I could into it. This is Joseph. He's huge.


No, I mean it. Dude is B-I-G.


He's also gorgeous and sweet and calm and lovable. And unfortunately, he has heartworms and is being treated for them. You'll notice the telltale patch that's been shaved onto his haunches. But he's an incredibly sweet dog (and the heartworm treatments usually make them more passive anyway). So if you are in the market for a big black version of Clifford from the childrens' stories, this is your guy. Please take him to a good home!

***EDIT: JOSEPH HAS BEEN ADOPTED!!***

It's been a while, since I could....

Hey gang. Been a week or so between posts. Sorry. I know your lives have been just as hectic as mine has, but I hope all is well. I'm stoked because two of my stories are now on the web, published in Pulp Pusher and The Flash Fiction Offensive, plus another coming soon in Spinetingler Magazine.

But this weekend is the big news. Memorial Day. Why is it big news? Because my wife and I get a break. A three-day weekend to catch up on grading, writing, and sleep.

Not necessarily in that order.

So what about you? What plans do you have for observing and honoring those who have gone before?

And remember, flags at half mast on Monday! Have a great weekend!

Rescue of the Week - Sebastian ADOPTED!

Sebastian is a very handsome young dog. He is a little nervous when you first approach him, but he warms up to people quickly. He's also very loving, but because he's young and excitable, it might be better if he went to a home with older children rather than young ones.


***EDIT: SOMEONE IS A VERY LUCKY OWNER, BECAUSE SEBASTIAN HAS BEEN ADOPTED!!!***

Now I'm crying over Manny being Manny

Ugh, I'm bummed. Last night my Carolina Hurricanes won game 3 of the series with Boston, and my LA Dodgers set the modern-day record with a 13-0 record at home to start the season.

And today I found out Manny is gone for 50 games.

F-I-F-T-Y.

Five-Zero.

Look, we have a great team, and we may still win the NL West, if for no other reason than we're playing the equivalent of three AAA clubs and a rookie-ball team. But still, it has to have an effect on the players to lose the guy for 50 freakin' games.

And he isn't even going to appeal, which says a lot.

He was tested and found to have elevated levels of testosterone, which led via paper trail back to a medicine called hCG, which is essentially a fertility drug. Thing is, it is also often used to reactivate the male testosterone-producers after a round of HGH (an illegal steroid that tests can't detect).

Maybe he really needed it for he and his wife, and we're all jumping to the wrong conclusion. Truth is, with Barroid still out there and no one able to indict him and his huge San Francisco melonhead, I don't think it much matters. My team is still going to go a loooooong time without Manny, and I'm now disappointed in a guy I really liked to cheer for. Maybe I'll be a hypocrite when he comes back and still hate Barry but love my guy again. I dunno. But I'm still bummed for the moment.

What does this have to do with writing, you ask? Hell, not much.

Except that somewhere Jeff Shelby, SD madres fan extraordinaire, is bound to be smiling.

Dammit.

"Hey mom! So, about that story..."

That was a weird conversation to have. My family knows how much I love them. They know how badly I want to be a novelist some day. And I got my first official publishing credit this week.

So I had to call them and tell them not to read it.

See what I mean about weird?

Thing is, the story is noir. It's not over-the-top, but it's a bit strong for most of my family. Even my wife was like, "Good story, but the language and stuff was a bit much for me."

So there I am emailing and calling and saying, "Hey, I'm published!! ....uh, no, I can't tell you where...well, 'cause I don't think you'll feel very good about me when you've read it. But I'm really happy to have it out there with my name on it!!"

Yeah, I know, it's probably just me.

Still, what about you? I'm a crime fiction writer, so most of my stuff will follow some pretty twisted paths. Some of it I'm fine with my folks reading, some of it not so much. Do you have anything out there like that? Or anything unpublished that you hide away and hope no one ever sees that that kind of stuff exists in your head?

Or is it just me?
God...imagine if the parents of some of my students read it...(evil chuckle)