Today is ‘Shark Awareness Day’, so I had to make a post about them. So many species with their own unique traits that I can cover them in a single post. Instead, I’m going to show you some of the rarest sharks. Enjoy. (Started having trouble finding fun facts about species, so I tried my best.)
Frilled Shark (Two members of this family of primitive deep sea sharks.)
Megamouth Shark (Only seen alive 3 times and usually washes up on shore.)
Speartooth shark (Can enter freshwater rivers and is rarely seen.)
All I managed to do in terms of writing was tinker with a new idea, start the short story ideas for the first ‘Phi Beta Files’ book, and typing in one chapter worth of edits into Darwin & the Avenging Elf. I’m sure next week will be slightly better, but the summer isn’t going to be the way I thought. Plenty of reasons why and I should have seen them coming.
First, a bunch of appointments are scattered about the next two months. I was hoping it wouldn’t be this clogged, but it happened. So, I won’t always get time after work on the days I don’t have my son to type in edits. I have my son next weekend and we have early birthday plans, so no editing then. Guess I won’t be getting through Darwin & the Avenging Elf until the end of July or early August. That means I’ll have the next book to edit when I go to Oswego. On the fence about doing that or just going up with notebooks for a lower impact author weekend. Going to be tired from the driving and trying to destress, so we’ll see what happens.
The second reason I didn’t get a lot of editing done was that summer school started. I know this only takes up 5 hours of my day (6-6.5 if you can’t showing up early), but it’s rather draining. We don’t lounge around the air conditioned room. We have lessons, work sites, specials, field trips, cooking, and whatever random stuff turns up since you can’t predict everything. Hopefully, this week was the toughest since we were all getting used to the a different location and schedule. Things weren’t what I expected, so a few of us had to adjust our lunch plans. I’ll be attempting wraps instead of rice bowls since I can eat the former on the move . . . Well, I will be able to do that once I figure out how to not overstuff the wrap. Current recipe is vegetable medley slaw, grilled chicken, water chestnuts, Yum Yum sauce, and a honey wheat tortilla. So far, so good.
The final reason I got no editing, writing, or much of anything done is that this is ‘Pokemon Go-Fest’ week. I started playing 3 months ago to help my son with raids, which are when trainers can take on powerful Pokemon that they can try to catch after winning. This current event is their big yearly thing, so every weeknight leading up to today had a special raid challenge from 6-7. My son and I were in the park all that time, which included his mother who plays too. Today and tomorrow are the big days with events happening from 10am-6pm. Being a new player, this is my first chance at catching some rare Pokemon that only appear in other places around the world. So, I’ll be out there until I catch everything I need. Probably meet up with my son and his mother to increase all of our chances at catching the powerful ones. Tomorrow won’t be as crazy as today, so I’ll get a chapter or two typed in when I need to get out of the heat.
All of that being said, I’m starting to wonder if I’ve become a washed up or failed author since I don’t do it every chance I get. Pokemon Go helps me exercise outside when the weather is good, but it takes me away from writing longer than biking indoors did. I still think up ideas and try to jot them down, but I don’t really know what I’m doing as an author any more. Been sliding this way since I learned how many people didn’t really have faith in me back in the day. Maybe Pokemon Go, Lego sets, and jigsaw puzzles fill that void where a sense of accomplishment used to be. I claim clear victories when I finish or gain things there. With writing, I’m no longer confident about my abilities and I’m back to what I was through my 20’s. I tinkered and worked with my ideas, but I only dreamed about having them go any further than myself. Not doing the latter these days, but I do plan on writing at least the whole Darwin series and Sin series before I get yoinked off this mortal coil. I’d like to think this is just because I have so much on my plate with work, parenting, and struggling to improve my health. Could change course again in another few years. Though, I don’t know how I could do that since I no longer have any clue on how to get attention to my books.
So, I will continue getting my serotonin from catching fictional creatures and cursing at the ones that get away. I’ll do the October posts when I have my son and he’s doing his own thing. I’ll type in edits of Darwin & the Avenging Elf after today when I don’t have my son or appointments. Tonight, I have a friend’s block party I plan on going to after Go-Fest. No editing until the morning, which shouldn’t be too hard because I’m not in a drinking mood. Life really doesn’t leave much space for hobbies whether they be relaxing or artistic. Really sucks.
Goals of the week:
Enjoy Go-Fest and catch a bunch of shiny Pokemon.
Type in a few chapters of edits.
Time with son when I get it.
Work more on the ‘Phi Beta Files’ stories.
Continue building Lego Gotham City.
Remember sunscreen and hat since I’ll be outdoors a lot.
A year ago, I bought my son a shirt that said ‘Ramen Life’. He loved it and wore it whenever he could. This led to me getting him a ‘Ramen Life’ long-sleeve shirt and a sweater. All are popular with him and it got me thinking about the declaration. I mean, don’t most people have that food they hold above all others? The guilty pleasure they will use as rewards and indulge in whenever they can?
(This poem stems from a thought I always had. People are born with talents, but not everyone gets to either discover them or use them to their fullest. Society simply isn’t designed to let the majority reach their full potential. Always makes me wonder how many amazing people have been lost to history because they weren’t allowed to do anything other than survive from day to day.)
We are born
With a fiery ambition
The great desire
To leave our mark
And be remembered
Strongest in our youth
Think hard
Bend back the years
Did you build
Before you walked
We are born creators
Thirsty to build
Through imagination
And curiosity
Crushed as we move on
You are special
You are an individual
You are unique
We say these to children
But never go beyond
Taught the universal
No special treatment
Only facts
That ‘everyone’ should know
But few ever use
A handful survive
With ambition intact
Most fall
From mortal gods
To withered drones
What would our world become
If everyone was nurtured
To follow
Their instinct
And mark humanity
Some may say anarchy
But is it possible
That the curer of cancer
Or the greatest artist of our time
Is rotting
In a cubicle
War of Nytefall: Lost is the second volume of the series. It introduces a character that people on the blog seemed to enjoy. Come to think of it, everyone seems to like my whacky, crazy, random characters. Not much love for the villain who came with her, but I guess kooky nuts wins over malicious nuts. Either way, this book threw everything for a loop, which is impressive for a world that has yet to settle.
The big event here is the introduction of Lost. This teenager is a Dawn Fang with a stuffed bunny that can move around while she talks to it. She’s unique because she is the first of the womb-born Dawn Fangs. Her existence reveals that Dawn Fangs are capable of breeding through sex instead of using Clyde’s blood or biting others. This throws the whole vampire world off-kilter again, especially for the one who discovers she is Lost’s mother. Since Dawn Fang babies are born dead and need a few minutes before they get a heartbeat, Lost was assumed a stillbirth and abandoned. Rather dark, but the first vampire birth wasn’t going to be rosy.
Of course, Lost growing up as a Dawn Fang with only a pair of mortal gnomes to raise her means she doesn’t know the rules. So, she isn’t careful with her powers and identity, but doesn’t stay in one place long enough for people to figure things up. So, Clyde’s demand that the mortals not learn about Dawn Fangs existing is at risk. Doesn’t help that she swears Xavier Tempest, Clyde’s friend turned enemy, is her father, so she’s openly asking about him. The girl really does come with a ton of problems, including her old army of fellow womb-borns and a dangerous assassin she had brainwashed for years to be her bodyguard. This is why the story is a race to see who can be the first to get to Lost, get her to stay in one place, and undo all of the damage before the mortals notice.
Lost is the book where I realized the civil war concept wasn’t going to work as anything more than a backdrop. War of Nytefall was clearly going to be about the characters and their personal goals. My original plan of having each book be a key battle between the Old Worlds and Dawn Fangs was falling apart. Seemed really boring, especially when I had created multiple characters whose would shine brighter outside of stories involving mission and battles. It didn’t help that Xavier and Clyde were supposed to go from trusted allies to bitter enemies, but that was dwindling already. I made both of them fairly honorable on some level, which would bite me in the ass after this book.
Would I change anything? The main thing I would change is the character of Eighty. This is the one leading Lost’s old army. I didn’t expect him to turn up until I wrote the scene and realized the group needed someone in charge. He grew in leaps and bounds since he required a personality. Didn’t take the time to really flush him out, so he’s built entirely from pantsing my way through his scenes. I do like how he came out, but I feel like I could have done better if I prepared for him. Maybe it wouldn’t be better. Still, I keep looking looking back at him and wondering.
Some fun questions:
Do you think a story with plenty of action and comedy can broach a sensitive topic?
Are phobias interesting character quirks or overused?
Why do you think people like kooky crazy characters like Lost and Bob?
Welcome to our little soda shop where we have more flavors than you can imagine. We don’t both with the brands you’re used too. They may taste alright, but they aren’t special like our brews. Some would say there’s a little magic in the bubbles, but they would be wrong. The magic is actually in the syrup. Here is a list of our top sellers and seasonal specials. All effects last until the soda is fully processed by your body. Please don’t hesitate to ask if we have any other flavors in stock.
Root beer– Sharp and smooth at the same time. Grow bark on skin to function as armor.
Cola– Basic, but tasty. Can blend into the background.
Seltzer– Regardless of flavor, it heals minor wounds and illnesses.
Cherry– Sweet and syrupy. Gives you a temporary slime form that is impervious to damage.
Grape– A tastier version of cough syrup. Can fire sense-debilitating bubbles from fingertips.
Orange– Tangy and popular with older generations. Grants super speed, but only when one moves like they are skating.
Chocolate– Favorite among kids for obvious reasons. Control mud and dirt with your mind.
Peach– Sweet and fuzzy to the tongue. Transform into a furry mammal of your choice, but it is what you think of first.
Ginger Ale– Tart and helps with stomach issues. Enhances all 5 senses OR grants temporary ESP.
Mystery Citrus– Strong and tingling taste. Will cause you to glow in dark and sense radiation levels in area.
Birch Beer– Tastes similar to an herbal tea elixir. Communicate with plants and sense when they are ripe.
Celery– Tastes just bubbly celery. Can read and understand Hebrew as well as absorb high amounts of water.
Strawberry– Sweet as expected, which I guess is everything on the list. Revitalizes all body systems and purges all toxins, including diseases. 10% chance it will reduce cancer, but cannot eliminate.
Neapolitan– Layered soda with chocolate, cream, and strawberry. Transforms person into an Earth Dragon.
Legends of Windemere 