Ever have one of those weeks that you can label a comedy of errors?  That happened starting around Monday.  I’m going to try and change the way I do these posts though too, so hold on.  Mostly, I’m doing section labels instead of a spew of paragraphs.

Freedom and Disease!

For those paying attention, I still don’t have my laptop.  So, I’ve had to use the communal desktop to get work done.  Hasn’t gone well, but Tuesday through Thursday saw me having the house to myself.  What could go . . . BLARGH!  I felt off on Monday, but I thought it was the heat and me not sleeping well. One bite of yogurt proved that it was something a lot worse and I had a steady decline.  It culminated in a night where I couldn’t keep food down, felt like I had a fever, stomach ached, head spun, and had chills that bordered on full body convulsions.  Thankfully, it was a 24-hour stomach bug and I was functional as long as I mainlined Pepto Bismol on Tuesday. Was that the end?

No, but what kind of husband would I be if I didn’t share?  My wife starting feeling it around midnight.  Mint tea helped her survive and she started early enough that she could eat by the end of the day.  She managed to avoid the bulk of the symptoms, but my wife doesn’t do sick very well.  Fatigue settles in and stays for days.  So, I got hit worse than her, but she took longer to recover.  This is actually a running gag for the last two years.  I can’t get sick without her joining or one-upping me.  What’s a guy gotta do to get pampered while diseased?

Gets better!  My parents had gone on a trip . . . and my mom fell to it before they could get home.  Yeah, it’s been one of those weeks.  On the plus side, the kid didn’t even get a hiccup.  He wouldn’t slow down or play nice unless we snapped at him, but at least he wasn’t sick.  Hope that holds through the weekend.

The Laptop

I was checking the updates that never came and getting emails that swore the unit arrived at the depot.  Suddenly, I get a message that the laptop is fixed, the OS didn’t have to be reinstalled, and it should be back Monday.  Probably only have to charge it and make sure nothing funny happened on the way back.  The problem was that a speaker either blew, became unseated, or the wiring went bad.  So, the speaker was replaced.  I can finally get back to writing in privacy and at night next week, which means I might actually finish Derailing Bedlam before August.

Derailing Bedlam

Cassidy and Lloyd’s next adventure is moving along slowly because of the technology and time limitations.  I’m working on chapter 4 of 17 this weekend, which involves a city-sized water park filled with mermaids.  This one is more enjoyable to write than the one on the blog because I’m not doing anything with politics.  Just the usual antics of traveling for a cause and running into trouble at every stop.  I’m still trying to figure out how to add Reese into this since this happens only a few months after Protecting Bedlam. Not sure where he would have wandered off to or if he even left that hunting lodge.  I need to read over that too because I keep forgetting everything about him.  This might just be a cameo too since I didn’t have him in the original idea.

I’m going to be honest here too.  I just can’t see Reese traveling with Cassidy and Lloyd. He isn’t needed since Cassidy can do most road repairs.  His temperament would get him killed in the first firefight or sent away afterwards because they don’t want to get hurt trying to protect him.  I saw a few people call him a mascot, but that makes me think they just want him around because he’s adorable.  As comical and silly as Bedlam is, there is a brutality there.  Reese would either have to avoid or succumb to this.  The former makes me think he’d be a running gag or a figure that sucks more reality out of the scene the Lloyd.  Not in a fun way since it would him simply not getting hurt no matter what happens.  The latter would upset people since it sounds like many consider him a human puppy.  Not supposed to kick those.

Life and Goals

It goes and I kind of did my rant yesterday in regards to limping sales, rising doubts, and wondering how to translate hype excitement.  Really fearing that Path of the Traitors will be the Windemere book to break the Top 100 list trend.  Unless I count Top 100 New Releases, but Amazon doesn’t put those on the book sites.  They really should though because that could help out.  So, what’s the plan for next week?

1. Continue writing Derailing Bedlam.
2. Check laptop when it comes back and get back into old habits.
3. Follow up on the kid’s birthday party guest list.  Looking like it will be a small party, which I hope he takes well.  Summer birthdays are pains because people go on vacations or to camp.
4. Possibly hear back about the sleep apnea mouthpiece.
5. Read more Claymore.
6. Relax or something.