Aftermath

Aftermath, one word not two. After math is like 3rd period, after math. This is more like Donald J. Drumpf is going to be the next POTUS. Yeah. Bad. Or maybe a little gentler aftermath would be post-NaNoWriMo. That is coming up (maybe today!). I've hit 48,765 words, so today (and tomorrow if necessary) I have to write 1,235 more words. That's less than a single day of normal NaNo. I'm getting really psyched! I have an excellent track record, so far, of ONLY buying a WINNER shirt on years that I win - but I buy them BEFORE I WIN! It's pretty motivating, actually, because they ain't cheap and if I lose I force myself to donate the shirt. Harsh! In the (almost) aftermath of the crazy marathon of writing I (almost) find myself relieved and ready for a break, but also full of inspiration and confidence I didn't have going in.

1. I fucking did it! It's hard. It takes diligence and perseverance, neither of which I actually have. It also takes generating a story that has enough interest to keep my ADHD brain engaged. Not easy.

2. If the story is great, which sometimes it is, I love that I now have a HUGE pile of words to pick through and pull from to create a cohesive arc and build on personable characters. Often the NaNo work itself is kind of chaotic, because that's me. I'm a pantser. But it gives me a ton of material to work with.

3. As disorganized as my pantsed work is, I do work hard to think the story through before I finish. There is generally a beginning middle and end. Occasionally there's a theme or moral. Infrequently (but once it's happened) a long string of pages work really well together and just get plucked from their nest and into a new home, a new document, impressive and whole.

4. Making time for me can be really challenging. It comes with a heaping spoonful of guilt, because I am the caregiver of a child, a dog, a husband, a house, two cars, a potted garden (which is mostly dead, now that's it's the end of November), and a host of volunteer jobs, not to mention my mom/brother, friends, in-law family, and other activities. I don't think I'm unique, or have more on my plate than most - in fact I think I have less. And I have pretty understanding people in my immediate world. But it can STILL be hard. Plus most of the time I can carve out is either giving up one of the aforementioned things (like friendships, laundry/cleaning/shopping/housework, or something even less lovable, like making our end of year cards for everyone we've ever met etc.) or my OTHER me time - binge watching Netflix original series. Tough choices, to be sure.

Anyway, the glow of this aftermath is so close I can feel the brushed cotton of the t'shirt. I hope everyone gets to experience this feeling in some way - whether it's art or programming, finishing a really hard puzzle (I've got one of those on the go now too), sports, or cooking; this feeling of aftermath - as opposed to the OTHER aftermath (i.e.: DJT) is AWESOME!

I forgot

I actually forgot that this exists. Wow. I've been forgetting things lately, but forgetting for THREE YEARS that I have invested at least something into a blog for a while...that's sad. Well, I'm back! And happy to be back. Maybe I needed the break.

So since I am back, I want to mention Pub518. Shannon, Rachel, Lizette and I each chipped in some money and time and we're getting this little publishing business off the ground. It makes us happy! Check out our site (which doesn't have much yet, but there is ANOTHER blog there, all about writing), and try submitting something to our next publication. The launch is closed for submissions now, but we've got the next one in the planning stages already. Check back periodically for more info and dates.

Also done is MY FIRST NOVEL. Lethal Secret is a mystery set in the Albany area. It's sassy and thrilling, full of thought provoking behaviors and, I hope, quirky characters that are easy to love and/or hate. The quick and dirty on it is this:

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A handwritten note arrives at Nicole’s rural farmhouse - no address, no stamp. “I know what you are doing. If you don’t stop, your family will pay.” In response, Nicole feels she must give up her habit of supplementing her hum-drum sex life with the eccentric sex rites she relishes, performed with other members in the basement of her church. Admitting this will blow her marriage apart. She’s never told her husband Liam about the rites because she believes he wouldn’t approve. Nicole attempts to quit. Lonely and unhappy, she falters after a few weeks. Clandestinely re-entering her sexual alter-ego world, she discovers that she’s been followed. A second note appears. and shortly after, her daughter complains of an upset stomach. As her symptoms soon develop into a fever and full-blown illness, Nicole runs out of time. 

Detective Antonio Petrosino and his partner, Officer Francine Solanski, embark on solving the crime of little Amelia’s poisoning, entering a mad world of sex, jealousy, and brilliant chemistry. Petrosino lives a straight life, full of Sunday dinners with his mom and a well ordered private life. The multi-sexual world that he investigates leaves a foul taste in his mouth, but as lead investigator he has to moderate the attitudes of his own and other cops. Solanski is a street kid who grew up to be a tough, kind hearted cop. She’s young, but street savvy, and on her way to becoming a Detective the Albany NY Police Department. As his new partner, she is learning from one of the best detectives in the Albany PD.

During the hunt to find the perpetrator, Nicole and her husband Liam must decide whether they belong together, if either can change enough to make their marriage work. Petrosino and Solanski find themselves all over the capital district, from Lake George down to the Catskill State Forest, and figure out how to be better as a team than they are alone. As Nicole and Liam fight to reclaim their lives, doctors and researchers search desperately for a cure for their child’s lethal illness, and hope that the police are having more success than they are. Amelia’s survival is in the hands of many competent, well-intentioned people, but in the end, it is her own family who have to pull together to figure out how to save themselves. 

***

I'll let you all know when this gets picked up for publication! Meanwhile, NaNo has rolled around AGAIN, so I've started a new project called Blood of War. This follows the genetic line of a single bloodthirsty man through time, seeing how his gene pool spreads across parts of the world. IT's a historical novel, and is taking a lot of time to research, but it's fun. 

When I get more time, I'll post pics of our trip to England, Scotland, and Wales, which was really amazing. 24 days on the road with the four of us in pretty close quarters nearly the entire time, and we not only survived, we really enjoyed the trip. Some of the pics are amazing!

Ok, back to work, before I forget.