It's been a while.

Well, friends, after a life-induced hiatus from the keyboard for other-than-work purposes, I am officially back at it. During my leave from creating worlds and the heroes therein, I can honestly say I have accomplished somewhere between little and jack diddley bupkiss. My time in Oman is mostly spent working on BRTs (Big Red Trucks), and that seems like an exercise in futility. All of our efforts to build idiot-resistant equipment only results in the onslaught of more clever idiots. I think I need to put more effort into using my down time in a wise manner, though. I honestly watch more TV and movies at work than I do at home. That’ll have to change this time, I think.

My home life, however, is still in full flower. A few minor storms were weathered, and we yet again bloom like… well, idiots, I suppose. (Blooming idiots, though, so I think it’s okay.) At any rate, I’ve received another rejection letter. I’ve only gotten 4 or 5 now, but the shock has worn off. The last one actually said I was in the “tentative yes pile” for a time. I don’t know if that’s true or what, but it’s flattering to hear, regardless.

I have let my ADD take me from idea to idea, and I have now lodged on another science fiction story line which I hope will actually pan out. I look forward to someday returning to all the unfinished worlds I’ve started, but time will tell. Maybe some other author out there can tell me how that works. Does Steven King or Orson Scott Card or any of the great, prolific writers have a whole closet full of beginnings? Do they revisit them, as I do, tweaking here and there, moving a word, adding a few phrases, but never actually seriously writing anything?

I have decided to add a What I’m Reading list to the page. It’s something to keep me coming here and checking in. My most fervent reader, my lovely Anne, has told me a number of times that she looks for new entries here and is always a bit disappointed that I haven’t added anything of late. So, the list:

Mistborn – Brandon Sanderson
Just finished. It’s very good. I think it’s an excellent departure from the norm. Well done, sir.
The Well of Ascension – Brandon Sanderson
Just finished this one as well. Second book of the Mistborn trilogy. I’m excited to see what happens next. Visit www.brandonsanderson.com. It’s a wealth of information.
The Gardens of Kyoto – Kate Walbert
Halfway through. It’s a book I’m reading at my Lovely’s request. She found it beautiful and I must agree. The dust jacket blurbs say the prose is moving and unique and it really doesn’t even begin to describe it. No matter what you like, you should read it. It’s not in my normal genre of interest, but one must absorb everything to make sense of anything, I think. Thanks, Anne my sweet, for the recommendation.

I’ll add more to this in the coming days. There will be lots of stuff I’ve finished reading, as well as what I’ve started recently. I might find having a catalog of what I’ve read useful at some later date.
That’s it for now. See you all later.