Preparing for October: Windemere Monster Poll

Cockatrice

For a long time, I’ve been doing special posts throughout October.  This usually connects to Halloween in some fashion.  Monster Maker is always fun, which I’ll be posting about next Sunday.  Another is the Windemere Monster Poll.  It’s simple:

  1. I create a poll with monster who have yet to be highlighted on my blog.
  2. People vote.  Hopefully I get this right for people to pick more than one.
  3. The top 4 get posts get used for Wednesdays in October.

Pretty simple.  So, here’s the poll, which I hope works correctly.  If there are any issues then you can place votes in comments as well and I’ll try to work it all out.  Enjoy.

Posted in Legends of Windemere | Tagged , , , , , | 26 Comments

Goal Post: An Actual Leap Instead of a Stumble?

(Video picked by my son.)

This week feels like it was both fast and slow.  I remember days dragging a bit as I handled some personal things and worked around the house.  Yet, everything is a blur as if they went by on a bullet train.  Happening more often to me than I’d like to admit.

My son’s birthday party went really well.  Plenty of guests made it and nearly all of the toys I brought along were a hit.  Lawn darts didn’t get any attention, so I guess those aren’t very fun when they’re not sharp and doubling as a lawsuit-in-waiting.  The weather wasn’t too hot and we had a nice breeze to keep everyone comfortable.  It did cause some issues with the cake candles, but that’s to be expected.  The cake looked great too:

DBZ Cake

We haven’t gotten to that show yet since we’re still on original Dragon Ball, but he loved it nonetheless.  Buying 10 pizzas was crazy, especially when people ate much less than I expected.  The comedy of me handing out full pizzas to some of the families who came along with the regular goodie bag had to be seen to be believed.  I still had two full ones for home, so pizza was the big meal of the week.  Finally finished it yesterday.  We still have a quarter of the cake too!

This was the last week of camp for my son and he goes in for his other last week of camp on Monday.  Try wrapping your head around that one.  Simple answer is that certain stumbles resulted in him going to two camps with 3 weeks in each one and the first one get split 2/1 by the other.  Look, it kept him occupied this summer and he had a blast with field trips, art projects, and making new friends.  That’s the whole point of summer fun, right?

Let’s see . . . Bought a bunch of Lego sets that we’ll work on throughout the next few months.  We’re all still exhausted.  Put this fun together right before bed last night:

All Might!

Aside from mowing the lawn, the only other thing I did was write more of Slumberlord Chronicles: Darwin & the Fate Bracelet.  I got 4.5 chapters done since I got to work on Sunday too.  Ran out of steam Thursday night though, so I missed 5 by a hair.  I have 3 chapters left, so I’ll be finishing this adventure next week.  It’s gone very smoothly . . . I’d like to say that.

My notes on this book weren’t great, but I thought I had it figured out.  As the big third act was looming, I started realizing that things didn’t make sense.  Primarily because Darwin was pushing the plot along unintentionally.  He’s not supposed to know he’s part of something big for most of the story, so I began coming up with other reasons for him to do things.  I confused myself here.  Mixed up Darwin’s reasoning for the real reason certain actions needed to happen.  Some of my notes were so vague that I couldn’t figure out how to do it.  Many breaks with me staring at the ceiling had to occur.  Thankfully, it got pieced together when it needed to.  Really hope this works out because I thoroughly enjoy writing Darwin.

In other writing news, Do I Need to Use a Dragon? is still in limbo due to lack of funds and artist.  Just felt like throwing that out there because I keep fearing that I’ll forget this project entirely.  It’s been edited for the most part.  Be so much easier if I only needed a cover artist, but I really want some interior art.  Does that work will on Kindles?  If not then maybe it’s not as bad as I thought.

That’s all I’ve got for people this week.  The blog posts about negativity were really interesting, especially Monday.  Mental healthy posts always seem to draw in people who I don’t normally see.  Maybe I should think about doing more of them, but I really only know about depression and anxiety.

Television wasn’t exciting.  I watched a silly anime called ‘Isekai Quartet’, which involved chibi (tiny cute) versions of characters from other series being drawn into a high school setting.  Weird seeing the skeletal lich and his demonic minions from ‘Overlord’ in cute form, but it passed the time.  Each episode was 10-12 minutes, so it was to clear my head between writing sessions.  After that, I went to ‘Burn Notice’ Season 3 to listen to while I worked on a puzzle.  I’m just not feeling attentive enough for anything deep and my phone keeps going off like crazy with texts.  It’s all important too.

Goals of the week?

  1. Personal stuff.
  2. Time with son.
  3. I swear I’ll bike at least once.
  4. Finish Darwin & the Fate Bracelet
  5. Start preparing for road trip.
  6. Figure out something to watch on TV.
  7. Outline of other series when book is done.
  8. Maybe set up a Sunday post on . . . I forgot the topic.
Posted in Goal Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Questions 3: Thoughts on Negativity

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First, that’s not good advice.  If the negativity is inside you then ignoring it means you’re letting it fester.  If the negativity is from someone else then you’re doing one of two things.  The first is letting a friend continue to suffer with at least trying to see if they want to talk about it.  The second is remaining in a toxic situation with someone who you’re not able to talk with.

Anyway, here are some questions on the topic.

  1. Do you think those who are constantly negative are really in pain?  Why?
  2. What would you do to help a loved one who is always negative?
  3. What would you like people to do with you if you’re stuck on negative?
Posted in Questions 3 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

Immortal Wars: Light, Blood, & Tears Part 24

(Disclaimer: A warning to those who continue.  This is a sequel to a previous story.  Both of these were written in the mid-1990’s.  While the first one was slightly edited and vanity press published, this one has not been touched in over 20 years.  I figure I should do something with it and people may get a laugh or fright from how I used to be.  Every author comes from somewhere, so this is part of my origin.  To that end, I am deeply sorry for whatever nightmares I will inflict on the literary world and the American English language.  Enjoy?)

PREVIOUS ENTRY CLICK HERE

The three remaining guardians are currently orbiting Earth in an out-dated space skimmer.  Their little journey was going smoothly until Fate lost all control and attacked his two friends.  Luckily, he was taken down by Infinity before he could tear his girlfriend apart.  Since then, they have kept a cautious eye on both him and the several news reports about their other problems.

“This adventure might not be as hard as we thought it would be.  Of course, finding them has usually been the easiest part of these trips.  We know that Tegam and Adriana are healing some critical injuries in a morgue that’s by the Twin Towers.  They should be waking up in an hour at least.  That’s more than enough time for us to get there.  Two of us can go fight them while the other goes to Hydrana’s skimmer.  Are you sure all of those restraints on you are necessary, Eddie?” Miracle asks once they enter Earth’s atmosphere.  Fate is currently strapped down and heavily restrained in a nearby chair.

“I almost killed you.  These locks and chains are a lot more than necessary.  Any idea where Hydrana and the other two are?  Or is it an impossible hit and miss job?” he responds through a metal muzzle.

“The latest reports of Hydrana are centralized around the area that she left the space skimmer.  She appears to be healing from her encounter with Draveon, which got on the six o’ clock news.  Every recent report has some mention of her missing a few pieces and growing new parts as she causes minor trouble like traffic jams and terrifying little children.  As for Draveon, he’s either gone into hiding or he hasn’t caused any more problems.  He could be walking through the city like a normal person.  If you forget the fact that he has red eyes and is the size of a large war-horse.  And Cybro is in the Long Island Sound and won’t be showing up for a couple of hours.  As usual, his head fell off when he rammed a coast guard chopper,” explains Infinity with a smile.

“You and Miracle will take on Adriana and Tegam.  For now, the other two are our last priority.  Once they resurface, we hit them hard and fast.  I’ll take on Hydrana since she went to so much trouble driving me crazy.  If only one of us was some kind of telepath this would be a simple problem to fix,” Fate says.  He shakes off all of his restraints and walks over to a circular, blue disc.  Metal clamps attach to his feet once he stands on the platform.

“Telepathy?  Of course!  I am such an idiot for not noticing that one piece of information.  That’s why Delila took that specific space skimmer, even though there are a couple of faster ones in the dock!” exclaims Miracle.

“Yeah.  Sure.  I’m speaking for both of us, Kelly.  What the hell are you ranting and raving about?” whispers the Earth guardian while Fate gives her an evil, impatient look.  He growls a little and clenches his fists in order to stay in control.

“The telepathic scanner I was working on.  She took it because she feared we would try to use it to return her to normal.  I know it’s a stretch.  But there could be some truth to my idea.  If you destroy the scanner near her, the enhanced brain inside might release enough telepathic energy to heal both Hydrana and Fate.  Well, it works in the comic books all the time.  And it is much better than killing one of our own.”

Fate is silent for awhile before saying, “Are there any problems or side-effects?  Tell me now if you want me to try it.”

“I can answer that one.  If this crazy idea does work, numerous things can happen to the two of you.  At the very least, you’ll get the master of all headaches.  The worst thing that can happen is that both of your brains will be turned off for eternity.  You two could even switch minds for awhile or lose all of your memories.  Honestly, the effects are really impossible to predict,” Infinity reports.

“Thanks for nothing.  See you in New York.”  The space skimmer’s rear hatch bursts open and Fate’s platform flies into the thick clouds.  Long after the rear hatch closes, Miracle just stares at the distant ground below them.

“Don’t worry.  He’ll be fine and his powers will end up fixing everything.  Before you know it, Fate and Hydrana will be back to normal,” mentions Infinity while he playfully pats her on the top of her head.

“Do you truly believe that?  You know this can only end in one of two ways, Steve.  We either get them both back to normal or we lose both of them forever.  And right this minute, I’m betting on the second one.  My boyfriend and your girlfriend are as good as dead.  They’re even worse than dead.  Hydrana is already psychotic and Fate is moving there at a very fast pace.  It could easily come down to us killing whoever survives the fight.  And I don’t think I could go on being a guardian with that act on my conscience,” Miracle states as she tries to fight back a waterfall of tears.

“Aren’t you the cheerful optimist today.  Just land this ship, so we can get to that morgue as fast as possible.”

Posted in Immortal Wars | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Negative Poem

Not entirely true (Talking to a trusted person helps too)

Every cloud
Holds lightning and hail
Silver linings
Are mere illusions
The future is rough
To mimic the past
It is what you know
Because
It is what you live
*
Anxiety rises
Depression swirls
People become sources
Of apprehension
Attempts to bond
Leave you open
To pain
And suffering
That you know too well
*
The cheerful try
To clear your air
For both you
And them
Words of optimism
With no pain behind
Stabbing
And grinding
Into your hidden agony
*
People mean well
They also hurt
The price
Of being social
All must pay
Yet some cannot afford
Falling
Into emotional debt
Only seeing red

Posted in Poems | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Teaser Tuesday: Patients or Prisoners?

Cover art by Jason Pedersen

Nyx is always on the list, so here she is.  Of course, I’ve done so many excerpts with her that it’s a challenge to find new ones.  They tend to involve other characters too or be her epic battles, which are hard to chop up.  Today we have a section of The Merchant of Nevra Coil where Nyx and her rival, Queen Trinity, aren’t exactly acting like themselves.  Enjoy!

Continue reading

Posted in Legends of Windemere, Merchant of Nevra Coil, Teaser Tuesday | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Reigniting Your Passion

I apologize for disappearing lately. It’s summer, which means I’m trying to get some rest and enjoy the Greek sun and sea. We also have friends over,…

Reigniting Your Passion
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The Pain of Being Told ‘Just Be Positive’

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You might not be surprised to learn that I am a negative person.  Pessimism tends to be my default if I’m stressed, tired, or not paying attention to my surroundings.  Comes from many things, but I’m not getting into that.  What I want to talk about is the truth behind many people who are considered negative.  I will start by writing the phrase that many have used as if it fixes things:

Just be positive!

Well, why didn’t I think of that?  Let me just get a screwdriver and flip the switch in my brain from negative to positive.  Your words have made everything so clear that I’m now a full blown optimist.  My remaining days will be beautiful, perfect, and full of so many rainbows that I’ll think I’m living in a box of fucking Lucky Charms.

That might not be what I say out loud, but that is kind of what goes through my head when somebody hits me with that phrase or something similar.  It feels insulting as many people who are negative can attest.  It comes off as the person telling me to simply change my mood and mindset.  Not because they want me to improve, but because they don’t want to deal with it.  Demands for a negative person to be positive or to suggest that such people simply be cut out are rather selfish.  At least, they are if you do it without trying to see if there’s more to the story.

People aren’t usually negative because they enjoy it.  This is created within them by trauma and pain.  They have been disappointed, bullied, smacked down, and battered so often that they cannot muster positivity.  In fact, it can reach a point where the sensation of being positive stirs anxiety.  After all, if every time you’ve been happy or positive has resulted in soul-crushing defeat then you’re not inclined to put yourself in that situation again.  Negativity and pessimism become a defense mechanism that shields you from further pain.  This isn’t much of a consideration by people from what I can tell unless they really get to know each other.

Don’t get me wrong.  It’s difficult to handle someone who is negative even when you are in the same boat.  We can handle our own pain and negativity rather easily.  Coming from the outside means it’s not our own suffering and we instinctively try not to let it merge with what we’re already fighting.  A big difference is that a person who is knowingly negative won’t tell another negative person to ‘be positive’.  This is because there’s some understanding that the situation needs more than a simple fix.

It’s difficult being a negative person, especially when you have to fake optimism in some situations.  This can be treacherous.  If you get comfortable then the negativity can leak out at times.  Many times it can be dark humor, which a negative person won’t realize is strange until people are staring at them.  For those who have inescapable toxicity around them feeding the pessimism, you have an added danger of things building up beneath the surface.  One bad day can result in an outburst, which people won’t understand because they didn’t know you had this issue.

This is a difficult topic.  Going to explore it a bit more with poetry and questions later in the week.  It’s hard to put into words and be sure I’m getting the points across.  Mostly, I just hope people understand that negativity and pessimism can be born from pain that is still roiling in a person’s soul.  Telling them to be positive, which is a statement that started me thinking about this, really feels like a slap in the face.  Guess this is what happens when we’re taught it’s better to hide mental health issues than speak about them in the open.

Posted in Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 52 Comments

How to Write Point of View, Part 2, First Person

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Hi SErs! Harmony here 🙂 Today, I’d like to talk about how to write Point of View (POV) in the First Person …

How to Write Point of View, Part 2, First Person
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Another Completed Puzzle Post . . . It’s Been a While

Not sure how long it’s . . . September?  Wow.  It has been a long time since I showed this hobby off.  I have 10 here too.  Guess this is everything I completed over the course of the school year.  Let’s get right to it.

Clearly this is Pokemon.  I found this on a clearance rack and figured I’d get it to work on as I eased into a really rough school year.  I think it has all of the Eevee evolutions too, which was cool.

*

Marvel villains!  This was one of the two puzzles where I found pieces missing, which is another reason it took so long to make another post.  The company was able to send me a replacement for this one, but the other (1960’s Batman) was no longer being made.  At least one got finished.

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Detective Pikachu!  I worked on this while I waited for the other puzzle.  It was harder than it looked because of the fur and brick patterns.  So many pieces looked like they would go in the same spot.

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I always enjoyed Disney’s Robin Hood.  So, I had to get this one from Target.  It was a slight headache early on because the box cover picture had different proportions than the puzzle, so I had to adjust.

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Dragons.  Gotta love dragons.

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I’ve had this Harley Quinn one sitting in my closet for a while.  It was fun to make even when I was scratching my head about the background and skin pieces.

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Dinosaurs, which was a pain.  The picture was a lot clearer than the pieces, so I had trouble figuring out where things went.  The sky pieces were very similar too.  There were several times when I had to move edge pieces around because they were in the wrong place from the start.  Still not sure I got it all right.

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This was a cool artistic one that I found.  It had the challenge of being so colorful that I couldn’t work by sections.  There was no way to pick out everything that went into one spot and work on it, so I just had to sift through the box and try pieces everywhere.

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Space . . . Star fields are a nightmare for me when it comes to puzzles.  I really need to learn my lesson here.

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This one is framed because I’m putting it on my son’s wall.  Unfortunately, I took the picture after I framed it.  So, there’s a reflection/glare on this.  Oops.

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