When life gets lemony

 Now available in Kindle & Paperback formats

The day before yesterday looked to be an awful amalgamation of icky goings-on. One untoward situation after another reared its mocking hideous head, and I quickly saw my week derailing. I decided to fight back. Specifically, I decided to fight fire as it should be fought—not with more fire, but with a hose! With cool clear cleansing soothing water ... at least metaphorically.

I cleared my schedule and postponed all the things I'd planned 'to do,' and sat down to think about what I could do that would be festive and positive. I was on special-needs-puppy-sitting duty, so getting out of the house was not an option. Instead, I brought some of the All Hallows season fun and spookiness into the space where I was by writing a little rhyming story about witches.

I started out with a premise, a title, and the artwork for the cover. Then things took an unexpected turn of the broom and I ended up with a whole different tale. (Ever the repurposer, the other story will come out next year.) Before I knew it, the new little story was written. New cover art was created. Pages were designed and formatted. And now it's up and available on Amazon... in both e-book and paperback no less!

The moral of the story? Don't let the blue meanies get you down. Either kick them out, or tickle them into submission. And then enjoy your success over a cuppa or glass of that lemonade! Cheers!

P.S. All proceeds go to Whimsicalidocious' Lyle Dagnen author scholarship fund.

A Ray of Hope

January 2001 - I got the idea for what I intended to be my 'opus' - the Ray of Hope trilogy set on the ancient island of Amadun, ie. modern day Catalina off the California coast. I shan't divulge the premise here, since I still fully intend to realize this project. The story was to include an oceanic festival. That's when the idea of Squallix first popped up. It just made sense to me that 'water polo' should involve playera riding 'sea horses.'

I came up with a variety of humanoid 'species' that evolved based on their physical environments. Not sure if I still have notes on any of them, but when the time comes to write the series, the differences between the species will be a big part of the conflict. The story will be a precursor to Pete Drake's Omni tale. I love three of the main characters, although I can only remember the intended name of the protagonist now: Orlian.

Wow, this makes me want to work on that project now!