Category: Writing

finnegan beginegan

Because I am a complete compulsive graphomanic fool, I have commenced working on additional Brad and Omar stories. They will be assembled into my next book, which will be 10 or 12, 3000-12000 word stories continuing on in the Brad and Omar universe. (Dave already teased me that I might do this so yes you guessed right congrats sir!) This project is called “Matching Shorts: A Brad & Omar Collection”. It will cover the first couple of years after the events in Guyana.

I get Alex again this week. It’s such a privilege. It’s possible Jeff will be off to Victoria at some point soon to provide some assistance to mOm and pOp.

 

 

It’s done

My screwball thriller romcom “Totally Boned” is complete. Many will find the ending abrupt. I’m very pleased with it. I wrote it so that I could introduce a number of contemporary romance tropes and updates to my mother, since she introduced me to the romance genre in the first place, plus Omar and Brad just would not stop telling me what to do, and the final line of the story is the starting line for ANOTHER romance, so …

104K words give or take. Also sent to Dave.

I feel absolutely wonderful. Not everything in my life is great right now, and I forgot to wish Paul a happy 74th birthday. But honestly this is the best I’ve felt in weeks. I’m going to try to have the best day possible. Starting with emptying the dishwasher and getting to sink zero, I reckon.

I need coffee

378 words yesterday, and as is typical as soon as I get to the end (ish) of writing one novel another one presents itself. begging to be wrote

This is how it presented itself IN THE MIDDLE OF A TB SCENE

Dying gods.

The words echo. The words are not even a map, although they are a key. Words keep destroying our morality. Only deeds restore it. The messages you hear? They’re real. The gods who speak them are real. They’re also dying, and untrustworthy, and malicious as demented fuck.

The feeling when you’ve been given a ‘randomly selected’ opportunity offered by the provincial government to comment on things like racism in BC and you’re the only white people on your block…I mean, there may be other people who are white living on our Street but they do not look that way to me.

Alex again today and tomorrow. I have some stuff I have to do for Paul, wish me luck. Car’s insured. Buster stayed in the doorway looking at him yesterday for 20 whole seconds.

Load of laundry yesterday.

Can’t shake this utterly horrific feeling of impending doom, Pop is home from hospital and yet I can’t stop thinking the worst.

One of the non binary Indigenous people I follow on twitter had an elf-bear-baby on September 3 with their Indigenous love and they just posted a pic of the baby’s elf ear and I am dying of the cuteness. So you can see after posting the above thought I went looking for a styptic against the cuts of the world.

Alex again

Very peaceful stay. Buster of course is not happy.

672 words yesterday. Brad and Omar burst into song and how on earth do you respond to that as a reader why by reading more. Just remember folks, neurotypical people DO NOT BURST INTO SONG. I feel so sorry for people who can’t.

pOp still in hospital, Mary’s rehab continues, mOm is very downcast by his continued absence but she did get the laundry done.

house is cleaner

Of course, from the outside this house looks like a teensy little yellow hell-hole, covered in algae and arrayed in rotting concrete.

Suzanne and Alex and Katie and me all got to be in the same room at the same time yesterday so that was nice. Jeff kept gaming and gritted his teeth through the noise.

Must run the dishwasher, there’s no decent clean cups.

Buster is still hiding from Alex but progress is being made.

Just wrote the single funniest line of description I’ve ever written in my life. Don’t worry beta readers, you will know it when you see it. 553 words yesterday.

No news is good news from the recovering elders.

solid day

Got the ringer reset on Paul’s land line, sent some waords off to Dave, got a new watch battery into Paul’s watch, hung out with Alex. Spoke briefly to Keith to update him on some stuff, fired off an email covering all that to the kids and Ruth. Ate lunch there, what a disaster. Was seated with two other people; the man was deaf and the woman is early dementia; she had a permanently startled expression that was rather disturbing. I need to get over myself regarding my ableism, it’s startling.

Mary and pOp continue their recoveries in Victoria.

The laundry’s all folded and upstairs. In about ten minutes I’ll drive Alex to school.

374 words yesterday, 500 words so far today. Progress continues.

Much love to those who labour and worry.

Alex today

Actually I’ve got him all week.

Today will be the longest day, I’ve got him before school and then from 10ish to when Katie comes for him. I’ll be taking him with me on errands with Paul, who needs a battery stuck in his watch. He’ll be here in an hour or less.

466 words yesterday

Put away some laundry and the dishes.

Mike took me to supper at Little Minh’s. I had the Banh Hoi (Vietnamese pork sausages with cucumber and lettuce, fine rice noodles in sheets (never seen it like that before) with basil on top. (He had the chicken, fried egg and noodles.) He showed me videos of the animals he’s seen in Brunette and Alouette – a beaver and a young bear, respectively. The bear came right into the water so Mike was careful to mention that he was yonks away and the zoom function on his phone is crazy amazing. He’s given up all other activities but kayaking, and does that whenever he can. We didn’t really talk that much. Work is bad, but he’s not putting up with anything they throw at him. He’s being locked out of meetings for a product for which he’d normally be required to write customer support documentation. And the rollout is 3 weeks hence. Basically it’s the same shit as 2012, it’s just ten years on. And as soon as the meal was over, he drove me home. I think it was at his outer limit of what he can deal with socially, and I’m just glad he wanted to spend the time with me.

Mary is still on the mend, with all the tubes, and pOp had a fall and will likely be home from hospital today. I know I’m all blithe about it here, but I’m really not; I’m just letting my feelings be guided by my mother, who was concerned but not frantic.

Jeff of the Miracles

So someone decided to say on the internet PRONOUNCE POPSICLES THE GREEK WAY

and the following story appeared

Popsicles said to Spectacles – ‘Can’t you see what’s going on here?’

Spectacles replied, “Vehicles is trying to drive away, but Tentacles won’t let him go, Barnacles keeps trying to come along and Obstacles is in the way. You don’t have to be Oracles to see what’ll happen next.”

At which point I had to stuff my fist in my face not to howl with laughter.

35 words yesterday

Got a lovely comment on my most recent fic the other day.

Jeff of the Miracles got all the data off Paul’s old phone onto the new one AND got Gmail onto the new phone. We none of us deserve him. I fed Paul lunch and tried to help him run an errand but the shop was closed for repairs.

mOm talked to her sister Mary on the phone yesterday and words can cover the gratitude and relief. She’s still gravely ill but recovering.

quiet day

435 words. Not really feeling the writing at the moment, I’ll have some coffee and see if that helps. Bought beer yesterday, couldn’t drink it. AREN’T I FUNNY I lost my taste for it!

I’ll be minding Alex next week. It’s a big adjustment for me and Jeff. But after everything Katie has suffered, to have a convenient stopping off point for childcare is a big deal.

Not awake yet

Mary is not fully conscious, still in hospital and has a long recovery in front of her.

1355 words yesterday.

Paul came over and I clipped his toenails and Jeff ‘fixed’ his current phone and needs the passcode for the old one, so I imagine I’ll be running over to his place and getting that info.

I have completely paid off my credit card for Keith’s IKEA bed-desk. The last time I saw him I told him I forgave his debt.

My head is full of thoughts I do not wish to share….

 

Auntie Mary

my glorious aunty is in hospital on the Island having fallen and not been found for a number of hours. A head injury (she’s not speaking) and a broken femur are among her injuries. Despite the gravity of the situation, her kids are optimistic for her recovery. Fingers crossed. mOm is keeping us updated. I can’t imagine her worry – Mary despite various lifelong health conditions has always been as spry as anything and how does one not worry about it even when knowing she’s cared for. Her surviving kids are on the case.

1750 words yesterday.

Absolutely must renew meds today I’ve been putting this aside and today’s the day. Think I’ll make coffee now (it’s 2:am) since gosh I’m up.

dang this coffee’s good. Off to the salt mines of laundry errands and writing. Errybody have the best day possible.

later.. coffee on and in, laundry commenced, 1100 words of writing and it’s only 6 am

crying my face off

about my life? no
about the lives of my little carnivale of characters, that would be an affirmative

So I wrote 2000 words, and that’s enough for today. It includes Blossom’s call to the boys, and some really emotionally intense conversations. Like holy shit. Crying like a baby. Now to do something useful.

 

l8r

Have paid for 4 l of bowel cleanser. The life of an ex is not an ‘appy one.

sent the woards off to mOm I think that’s it for section II