Audio Edition Coming Soon!
Autumn is here, a time of year that I’ve grown increasingly fond of, despite my aversion to the cold. I enjoy the colors more, the justification to wear heavy sweaters and buy cold-weather items like blankets, mugs, tea, hot chocolate, candles, and fuzzy socks. We’re also only two weeks away from National Novel Writing Month, which I’ve been part of for the last ten years (although I’ve technically only participated nine times. I did the Camp NaNoWriMos for 2013, but skipped the November NaNo for some reason I no longer remember.)
Due to my lack of focus, I don’t think I’ll be able to work on anything too heavy or serious this November. So I’ve decided to work on a lighter, more fun and childish book that’s been kicking around in my brain for a long time: DragonFriend. This is one of the stories that I used to play out parts of with my toys, so there’s a bit of absurdity to it, but also a lot of exploratory wonder, which is something I need right now. Not that there isn’t dark stuff that happens in this story (because there is) but the overall feel is more like going on an adventure than a dramatic epic. Here’s the description:
A Fairy Tale for Grownups (Or Anyone Else Who Likes To Sneak Into the “Adult” Section of the Library and Read Whatever Interests You)
This is the story of Hagan, an innkeeper’s son with a talent for languages and an interest in magical fauna. After an encounter with dragons, he decides to become a wizard and study these fantastic beasts. His travels garner him many friends, some foes, at least one reluctant ally, and a motley collection of tales from the beings he encounters.
I swear, I came up with this idea long before Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them was a thing. I might have read the first Harry Potter book at the time, and both the name of the main character and the look of the toy he’s based on bear some superficial similarities to Hagrid. But aside from their looks and a love of magical creatures, they are very different people. At least, I think so. DragonFriend will allow me to meander among all kinds of different characters and their stories, weaving them all together, so it should be a fun book to write. (And I desperately need something fun right now.)
There are a bunch of other changes on the horizon which I hope will help improve life and creativity starting in November. For the last several months, myself and a lot of other creatives have felt a severe drain on our focus and energy as stress from the pandemic and political climate continues unabated. I’ve barely worked on anything, haven’t read much, and have gained a lot of weight from stress eating and lack of proper self-care. But some of that is going to change. My youngest brother, who is a chef, has agreed to cook for the household, but only on the condition that processed, sugar-heavy snack foods like cookies, chocolate, ice cream, chips, soda, and candy are banned from the house. If we want sweets, we have to make them ourselves. The extra effort should help deter us from uncontrollable snacking and a detailed meal plan will help with grocery shopping and healthy meal cooking. I’m also going to try to implement a more regular (albeit light) workout routine to keep up with weight-lifting, stretching, and walks (outside when weather permits or inside on my treadmill) to also help with energy boost and weight control. Everyone in my family struggles with depression and with winter imminent, we need to be proactive about setting measures in place so we don’t self-destruct.
In other news…
- I (of course) remain behind on my Audio Editions and I’ve fallen behind on Inktober due to a stretch of particularly low-energy days. I’m trying not to let it bug me, but it does because I always feel like I should be doing more than I am, even when there are plenty of reasons why I and many other people are mentally and emotionally drained these days.
- I keep finding fun and clever quarantine/wear a mask music videos in various places online. “Disney Characters in Quarantine” by Kurt Tocci, “Shut the Fuck Up and Put On Your Mask” by Tom McGovern, “Wear A Mask!” (Be Our Guest Parody) by Noah Lindquist, and “F*ck All” by Mitch Benn. Although I think my favorite video has to be the TikTok video “Creating Your Quarantine Character” by Alina Polichuk. There’s even a Part 2!
- I successfully submitted my order for a hard copy of “Okami Amaterasu” and hope to have that arrive by the end of October. Here’s hoping it turns out all right! I’m super-excited to have my little fanfic all shiny and printed up. (Although “little” is relative… it turned out to be 510 pages once it was formatted!)
- My youngest boys turned 9 last week!
- And to close, here are some pictures from along my daily walk:
The Cat's Cradle : On Hiatus! 