Get a Clue

Do you know how many people out there don't have a clue?

My daughter is a wonderful person who has several physical problems which, combined have exacerbated her clinical depression. She's working hard to get all the ducks in a row that are possible for her to control. She is actively working to find ways to control the Asthma, Lupus, Sarcoidosis, Seizure Disorder, Bi-Polar issues and have as close to a normal life as possible.

She's also a caregiver. If you come to her with a problem she will try to help. She was released from hospital after a short bout of depression last Friday and then had a major seizure. Keep in mind she is single, never had children, can't drive and lives at home due to her seizures. She's 32. Yesterday she was asked to solve the following problems:

1. A friend who was released from the hospital too soon came over and had to be advised to get herself readmitted before she either started cutting or attempted suicide since she had fallen off the wagon.

2. A friend called to get advice on how to stop her son's muscle spasms in his neck.

3. A 16 year-old called, sobbing, to say that her parents got into a fight, she attempted to intervene, her father threw something, broke the coffee table, yelled at the girl. Both parents have alcohol problems.

4. Another teen came over to spend the night because she has difficulty relating to her step-mother or authority.

In the past one of the same friends called my daughter, in the behavior health facility, for marital advice, when my daughter had just been admitted to the hospital following a suicide attempt. We won't talk about the other friends who told her she wouldn't have been raped if she had not had Tarot cards in the house(that's a whole other story.)

I love my daughter and she is extremely sympathetic and has a lot of common sense when it comes to problem solving. And, she listens. But where would common sense come into the equation? Who would you call when you had a problem, the person who desperately needs assistance with her own myriad issues? And what does it say about the world when there is no one else to call for help.

Rant over. I didn't finish word counts this weekend so I'm behind. Hope to do better this week. Life keeps interrupting and conference/contest. Next post will get back to writing issues, I promise (It says in fine print somewhere.)

American Idol

Who tells these people, "sure, you have talent, get up in front of the nation and make an idiot out of yourself in front of millions so the judges can then humiliate you?" What are they thinking. I didn't watch this time but already heard about it. I did watch Comanche Moon and I'm enjoying it.

Made my word count yesterday, always a good thing. Found a good article on self editing to maybe help me do better editing on Bloody Murder when I finish the first draft. I really need to re-edit Agatha Ann and The Spider Wizard and send it off to Tor since they are looking for middle grade fantasy.

I entered Idol at writers conference last year, but that just didn't feel as personal an insult as American Idol appears to be. As a writer I've developed a thick skin anyway, not that rejection and criticism don't hurt but I get over it fast and get on with it. No time to whine around.

Busy Squirrels.

I'm watching the squirrels chase each other in the yard, a cardinal trying to stay on the fence in spite of the birds, a woodpecker just minding his own business, fluffed out sparrows, listening to a noisy wren. What does that have to do with writing? It's just life, which is busy and full of things that want to conflict with your writing. Keeping focused is my big issue. The cats just want to get out and chase everything out there. That's me, I want to do everything, put can't, have to put things on a calendar, schedule them to get anything done.

On that note, I cleaned out the kitchen desk and coat closet. Yes! Had them on the calendar, got them done. I now have 13,491 done on BLOODY MURDER. approx. 3,500 this week. Can't get my little word meter to work right but I am getting real work done. Now for sales . . .

In real life we are considering a puppy but unless I retire, by daughter would have to train and care for it. If she couldn't, got sick, we'd be up a creek because I'm sometimes gone for over ten hours a day at work. Hard decisions.

Resolve to Work

Harder at writing. Get my word counts done each day and finish book two. Sell FD and PTM, at least enough to have a little bit of royalties. Not sure how to make progress with that but I'll keep at it. I think I'll see a little more progress at that when I can have the paper product available and in my hand for signings etc. My demographic tends to want to hold the paper. I do need to start a list, or order book for all those people who want paper instead of electronic so I can notify them all and get them to buy the paperback.

Feels good to be making progress with Bloody Murder and thought of a new wrinkle involving a main character, thanks to an idea from one of my readers. Can't wait to see how its going to push the story along. Of course, in order to appreciate book two, you want to read PRIVY TO MURDER and start getting to know the characters. An no, I won't tell you what hunk in book two is going to have a revelation. You gotta read it. So get out there and buy. FAIRY DUST might even contain a hint.