rearview mirror 2015

I hadn't planned on a recap post for the year, but why not?

My year was, thankfully, status quo. I continue my employment where I have been and marked 12 years with the company. Not bad for starting on a temp 3 month contract. :) My kids are growing, learning and making me smile.

On the valley side of the peaks & valleys - the 1st anniversary of my father's death and the 1st anniversary of the death of my wife's best friend came at the end of the year. There were a few tears but life moves on. Also, we sold the house I grew up in. That was emotional, too.

I read a lot this year and that felt good. I think I reached 35 books if you count a few collected graphic novel trades. Outside of that list, I read many single comic issues and short stories (which I did not track.)

Writing was a fair year. For me it was good but I need to kickstart out of my glacial pace. I technically sold three stories, but only one appeared in print this year. Another should be showing up online next year. Another depends on if the project goes forward. (I keep nudging the editor.) And, I have one in a slush pile that I had hoped to hear about by year end, but they are delayed a month, at least - so I won't know either way until early 2016.

I have a huge list of story ideas. I am not sure how many will come to fruition in 2016 but I will be whittling away the list. I really hope to write some longer pieces, so I know I probably won't execute on all of the ideas in 2016.

It was a great year for connecting with writers and online friends. I attended NECON and spread out more since 2014, meeting and chatting with lots of writers, editors, fans. Thanks to my locality to Christopher Golden and James A. Moore, I got to attend book launches and a writers coffeehouse, too. And there was NecronomiCON-Providence, where I got to meet fellow Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft fans (and editors, and writers.)

As usual, I am abysmally behind on t.v. series and movies, but I did get through the first two seasons of VIKINGS, stayed with DOCTOR WHO and enjoyed SUPERGIRL.

Happy New Year 2016!

Heading into July

Nothing major to write about, this time around.  Looking forward to the 4th of July holiday and long weekend coming.  Those who know me on Facebook know my wife just went through a hysterectomy - so most of my time right now is wrangling our two toddlers even more than usual (even with other helping hands on-board at our house.)

I did make a big splash at a comic store sale last week.  I also finished reading an interesting, if quirky, lost French scifi novel, which I'll be posting about on my next reading wrap-up.

For a little bit I am going to stay off novels, finish reading the Paizo collection, Who Fears the Devil? by Manly Wade Wellman and alternate those stories with a stockpile of comics I have built-up.

The immortality of fathers

"Well, I just bundled your father off to the hospital in an ambulance."

 On this past Saturday morning, that was not what I was expecting to hear my mother say on the phone.

The good news is he is home again, and what he experienced, though frightening, was mild by any yardstick.

He had a very, very small stroke.  It affected his left big toe, and the sole of his left foot.  He is expected to have a full recovery.  He still has some atrial fibrillation and I don't know if that will mean anything drastic later (pacemaker?) but for now the doctors think that will calm down.  The a-fib causes blood clots, so he is transitioning onto a blood thinner.  He sounds tired, says the drugs are giving him "weird" in his head.  Probably a combination of the long weekend and the drug acclimation.  I hope his body adjusts and the fatigue isn't a permanent side-effect.  I know I had some weird dreams for a week when I went on high blood pressure medicine (and the drug label did warn of such.)