Jude Stringfellow's Blog, page 23

Dog Trading - (Making a Good Thing Out of a Bad Thing)

 About 11 months ago we fostered and/or adopted a dog we named Hugo. He was a little puppy at the time, and he came to us by virtue of someone believing he was abused and used as a bait dog. We took him in and had him examined by a vet. He was just over 8 weeks old when we got him. He was missing his left ear.  

    When we took him to the vet, Dr. Crosby (Sr.) told us that Hugo was born without his ear, he was not deaf or injured and we set out to find him a good home immediately. He was going to be a bigger dog; we knew he had Shepherd and Rottweiler in there somewhere, and he was going to need a backyard, which we didn't have. Fast forward 8 months and we really needed to find him a good home. He was actually beginning to misbehave in public so we couldn't take him with us to the various stores Laura wanted him to go to. 

    Laura has been looking for an emotional support dog for a couple of years; two dogs around Hugo's size and of similar breeding simply didn't work out; they didn't pass the tests. Hugo was no exception. He needed a good home! We tried the shelters, we tried the rescues, we put him on all the sites. NO ONE wanted him. It became desperate to be honest with you.

    We finally called (last resort) our own animal shelter in OKC and asked them to pick him up, because he had two separate incidents when he became outwardly aggressive or protective really, when dogs that were off their leashes came toward him and Laura when they were walking. Mind you, those dogs were NOT on their leashes and Hugo was, but he somewhat injured Laura when she tried to get him to heel; he wasn't interested in doing so, and he even nabbed one of the small dogs and could have done real damage if Laura hadn't physically intervened.

    Well, we had no choice.  We couldn't lose our living arrangement over a dog no matter how much people continue to say we could have stood our ground. That philosophy only works in books, on television, etc...but not in real life. We were told if the dog wasn't removed from the house we couldn't renew our lease. NOT fair, but true. Did the other dog owners get into trouble? NO..because they are tiny dogs. Not fair, but true.

    When they came to pick Hugo up today, the shelter worker evaluated him and gave him an 8-out-of-10; meaning, he would be eligible for adoption, not to be put down. You can't know the joy we felt over that news. He'll be neutered, vaccinated, evaluated again, and put up for adoption next week. Well, the really good news is, when we went to the same shelter today to get another dog for Laura, we told all the workers about Hugo, and everyone we told made a point to say they'd go love on him, feed him treats, call him Hugo, and see what they could do to get him a good home. (Even if one of them ended up with him, which is what I'm hoping.)

    God is good. That's my point. God is so so so so GOOD!  We went to the shelter today with hopes of finding a smaller female dog to hang out with Ginger, but to be Laura's emotional support dog. We found her.  I adopted her, and she'll be Laura's dog; her name is Ino. (It was Gabby) She is a mix-breed with some sort of Whippet or Italian Greyhound type dog as well as Chihuahua. She's about 5-8 months old and was part of a small pack that was found abandoned in a warehouse on the SE side of town.

    We can't take her home yet - she will need to be vaccinated and spayed. She is ours though. We have signed the papers and she and her three siblings who were all spoken for, will be given their medical treatments this coming up week and she'll come home with us very soon. Ginger can't wait. We told her. We also told her about Hugo, but I don't think she quite understands.

    I'm pretty worn out from the emotions of the day, to be honest. I'm eating terrible food; I cried all morning, and then stomped my foot down and told the world about what happened to Hugo. It's not right! There are laws to protect us, but no one seems to abide by them unless you have money to fight it; which most people don't. At least we know he'll be fine. We wanted him to have a good home before - and he will now.

Again, God is so good!  Ino will be loved....very very loved.

Photo Credit: Me

What is a Locate? (I'll Share)

     My job is to deal with locates. I deal with them every day, 100+ times a day. If there is ONE word, I say more than anything else all day, it's "locate". I'm asking "Did you call for a locate?" or "Were the locates marked or not?" I may say "I checked, and the locates were marked, and they were marked accurately." I am also prone to saying, "What? You did what? You dug a hole without a locate? What are you, nuts?"  NO MARKY  - NO DIGGY!!  ( I say that all the time too.)

    A locate is what a locator is placing on the ground (paint) and in the ground (flag on a metal stick) to mark that right below the locate or marks, is a wire of either the fiber flavor or the copper flavor -- or both. Some wires are aerial (or above ground) you see them attached to telephone poles, but a lot of what I do is underground or buried cable work - - I don't actually do the locate, no, but I am calling folks to see if they did them if they did the when they were supposed to, how they were supposed to, when they were supposed to, because they were supposed to.  You would be surprised how many people across this big country of ours do NOT do this tiny simple job correctly.

    How important is a locate? I'll tell you (you knew I would). If you dig a hole and hit a line when there is no locate you are 100% automatically held 100% responsible for having committed an actual tort, a negligible offense; and you are also responsible for paying for all recoverable damages for having done so. It may be tiny - - you know,  a few hundred dollars. It could be in the millions because you hit a gas line and blew yourself up, and the neighborhood! Yes, it happens. Google that.

    Even if you are just putting in a fence, or post, or doing a bit of deep-rutted gardening, you have to call 811 to get permission to do so because you never know where those communication, energy, gas, water, and sewer lines are. We've all seen colored stripes on the ground around our neighborhoods and the flags too - - do NOT pick those flags! That too is a tort. Do NOT do that, you'll literally put lives at risk if you do. Cameras are EVERYWHERE and you will be caught eventually - - by someone like me who investigates these things. 

    So, you're going to put in a fence, you call 811, they come out and say there are water lines, gas lines, telephone and internet lines, and there are both cable and fiber, above and below the ground. They point out the pedestals, the crossboxes, and anything like a pole or guidelines with anchors that should be an enormous clue that there are wires either above your head or below your feet.  When 811 calls USIC or another locating service, they come out and mark the place. AFTER the mark it, you can dig. If you dig before it is marked, it is a no-no, don't be that guy/gal who I call in a year when the utility company gets around to giving me that claim.

    The locates are tagged with the names of the utility company too: AT&T, Verizon, Windstream, Frontier, Cox, OG&E, ONG, you get the picture. On a busy corner there could be dozens of lines and symbols that the excavators have to understand before digging. Depth of a line is NOT a reason to blame the utility company for YOU having destroyed said line. Remember that; depth is NEVER the root cause, the person digging is the cause. Before the dig, that line was fine - - minding its own business and in working order.  When it is disrupted people lose power, and they complain. That's when and how most damagers are caught.

    Remember those cameras? They're on phones too. People like me and anyone else who sees a person digging without colored flags or marks can send those photos to 811 and guess what - - yeah, about 14% of the photos I get to prove a damager was there come from passersby who caught them digging and/or "inspecting" a pole without a dig mark -- NO MARKY, NO DIGGY!!  I really should make T-shirts that say that.

    Anyway, that's what a locate is, and the next time you see a house flatted because someone cut a gas line, or you lose your internet for no reason, you may find out it's because someone got antsy and dug before calling 811 -- it's a FREE SERVICE PEOPLE....but contractors, subcontractors, bosses, employers who think they're above the law, or that because they own their own equipment that they don't have to follow the rules - - they'll do it. ESPECIALLY IN THE COUNTRY where they think it's OK...who lays lines down in the country? EVERYONE!! EVERY SINGLE FACILITY and UTILITY company does.

    That's my rant - - I'm over it. Do me a favor, go out and look for locates in your neighborhood and if you see someone digging or working without locates visible to your eyes - - because they can't work on expired tickets from 811 - - only valid tickets which are usually only good for 2-4 weeks, take their picture and send it to the good people at 811. (Watch them call me now and ask me to stop telling people to do that.)

Photo Credit. ME.

I Love my Job!

So, I know, I write a lot about writing, but I do love my actual job too. I'm going to tell you what I do, but I'm not going to tell you where I work. Ok...I'll tell you that too; I work from home! LOL...but I'm not going to tell you the name of the firm. Nope. It's so not happening. Did you know, the last two places I've tried to work before I got this job, I had someone (calling herself a friend) who called the potential employer and lied about me. I didn't know what the lies were until a LONG time later; and you can't defend yourself when that happens. I let her go - she is no longer welcome in my life, and by my life, I mean the lives of my family either . She blew it. You don't betray me or my kids and think it's going to be OK. It's not.

    My job is that of a licensed Claims Adjuster. I've been an adjuster for about three years now. I can say that on a resume and not lie - it's true. I have the date on the licenses to prove it. Speaking of licenses, I just got my North Carolina and my Wyoming licenses. I'm now licensed in 11 states; most of which come up for renewal in a month! I have to prepare for that. Anyway, I enjoy what I do.  I'll even explain it to you.

    Licensed adjusters do so many things and for so many reasons. We may work health claims, workers comp, disabilities, etc...or we can work liability claims; think accidents, and homeowner issues. We can work on commercial property damage, political (governmental) claims when the workers for these entities screw up or when there is damage by act of God, or vandalism. I work for a niche section of the claims world; we do claims for public communication and utility companies. Really very unique work.

    All day long I'm talking to people, investigating if they are the damager of a certain property or if they were there when it happened. We try to find the actual person(s) responsible, and when we can't our client has to write it off as a loss. We try to recover when we can, but I won't lie for my company or for anyone else, so what I find is what I find. The evidence leads to where it leads.  

    I recover quite a bit, maybe $150,000-200,000 worth of claims every month actually; and it's fun work. It's not hard, but it is steady. I work a full day starting at 7:30 a.m. and I get off at 4:00 p.m. because I'm in the Central time zone, and we work a great deal of claims back East. If I do work the West Coast, it's OK to get off at 4:00 p.m. because it's 2:00 p.m. by that time, and they're back from lunch.

    I work from home and have a very short commute. I take breaks when I want. I'm not monitored. I'm not under the glass or anyone's thumb. I get my work done, and I clock out when I'm done. I love it.  All of my co-workers are fun, and very different in terms of culture, backgrounds, walks of life, etc. We joke around in Teams and have Teams video meetings two times a week so we can see each other and stay connected.  I truly do love it. I don't think I'll leave anytime soon, unless of course, my books take off, and then yeah - - I'm gone. They know that.

    I did just buy myself a new chair today. I needed a better chair because I sit cross-legged during the day and the one I have now was really taking it's toll out of my hip - I didn't want the "cross-legged" chair because I tried it at the store and didn't like it. I got a big wide chair instead and think it will be OK. We'll see. If not I'll opt for something else, but for now,  I'm counting this as a really good step in thinking I'm sticking around for a while. I'm happy...and the pay!! Oh, it sucks. No, really, it sucks. But that's OK too, I'm not in it for the money - - I'll trade money for relaxation, fun, security, and a group of awesome employers and co-workers any day.  ANY DAY.

    This is good - - I finally feel like I have a good place to call my own.

Photo Credit: Orange Factory Chairs 

Nick Posh Series ( The Plan )

     I've been planning the Nick Posh thriller series for well over twenty years, it's just I never had time to write any of them until more recently. I also didn't know how it would turn out. I didn't know I could write, edit, design, and publish for virtually free, and if I had known that, believe me, I would have started a long time ago.  As it is, I've only been publishing my own books for right at a year. The first Nick Posh book, "MURDER BOOK", was in fact the first book I wrote, edited, designed, and then published on my own. I love that. It could be improved, no doubt, but it is my baby - - I'll live with it.

    What I did today, was to think about the end of the series. I've written four of the ten books and I now know what the other titles will be, what will happen basically.  I'm working on growing them organically to work within the system; meaning, they'll relate to one another in some way.  This way readers can pick up on cues and be familiar with different things that happen, as well as the staple characters in most if not all of the books. 

    Obviously, Nick is a character in all of the books. His friends are mentioned, worked with, played with, and involved. His family of course, will be the books but there will be so much more. He's the hero, but that doesn't mean he won't be bumped around a bit - he will be. He has been. For now, it's good to know that I'm focusing on the 10 books which will be the Nick Posh Thrillers, that way I have a goal and I can meet it. I like setting and meeting goals - - it's very important to me.

    The next book is "CASK". I won't tell you what it's about, but it will take place in America, France, and there will be a time when Nick dips into London, and he takes the train up to Edinburgh for a weekend with his friends. The next book after that is "KINGDOM". It will, by default, take place in The United Kingdom - - all over it. The next book is "SHADOW" and will find Posh back in the United States. I won't say where but it's a very dark place.

    After that, I'll write "DEATH MASK", it will be another American tale, taking place in Texas, but I won't say where or who is involved. There is a cattle drive; I can tell you that, and we'll visit our old friend Dennis Rockford! Won't that be fun?  If you know, you know.  Following "DEATH MASK" I have two more books - - "TULSA" and the last will be "THE DANCE".  With both books, Nick remains in the United States; he makes phone calls to Edinburgh, and Eoghan visits during "SHADOW"; they work together in that one as well as "KINGDOM".

    With "TULSA", Nick is treated to the hospitality of a great oilman, a geologist who hails from Norman, Oklahoma, and who attended the University of Oklahoma. He buys into the rich soils of Green Country and finds himself waist-high in a murder-for-hire plot - not realizing he's been played. You'll like it. I am already writing it in the back of my mind, and can't say much more than it's slick...very slick.  The last book in the series takes place on the West Coast, and around, in and out of the Bay Area. It's not really about a dance -- but the dance of racing; both horse and dog racing.

    You'd be surprised how many vile things take place under the guise of animal parimutuel betting. I say you'd be surprised; you may not be. I wasn't when I dug into it. I expected to see what I saw - not surprised at all! And that's it -  the 10 books will be finished by December 2025 I imagine. That's the plan anyway. I should have "CASK" and "Kingdom" out by this December (2024). I have two other books I'm writing as well; books that are not Nick Posh books - both dramas. I can't tell you about them yet, but I will - - I will. I promise.

    The other plan this summer is to get all of my books into EPub format and uploaded onto Amazon as Ebooks. They will be cheaper and hopefully I can do that without too much trouble. I'm reading about it starting next week, and I'll work on the files over the next month or so. It's a June plan...and yes, I'm writing the first of the dramas about the middle part of June to about August so, I may only get one of the Posh books out this year. We'll see. I hope I can make it happen, but I also have to work and breathe. I do promise to keep you posted. I know I can promise that.

    I just bought the last little tartan book to write and take notes for the last two Posh books. Each notebook has 2 books worth of notes - - except Shadow, it has its own - - it needed its own. Just saying. It's going to be a plot twister. I love the heck out of these little books, I'm telling you. Did you know they've been around for a very long time - about 100 years or so, and many great authors you'd recognize used them to do exactly what I am doing with them. I would love to run across one in an antique store some day - what a find.

Photo Credit:  kinlochanderson.com

MESA (More Done Than Before)

 The really cool thing about "Mesa" is that it is now in the can but I can pull it out this week to work on it, including more tweaks that I'll be doing tomorrow too. It is finished in that it is written, and I've gone through it to do the spacing of the paragraphs and the page setup. It's so close to being done done.

    The thing I like about this stage in the process is that I have completed the cover. I'll post it below. I did change it up from what I had originally wanted to do. I had picked yet another "PRO" photo from Canva, and even though I may actually be a pro member, which I think I am, I don't want there to be any problem later down the road if the book takes off and someone out there claims I stole their photo without giving them proper credit.

    With Canva, you can pick photos, graphics, etc, and not give anyone credit because they were either donated or created to be shared. I always check the "FREE" box  - just to be sure. I like the photos I found though; there are so many to choose from I've never had an issue. Canva is an amazing site if you haven't heard of it; go look! www.canva.com. I used it to make my Christmas Ecard this year too. Good stuff.

    So, "Mesa" turned out about 87% like I thought it would. Nothing I write ever turns out 100% as I intended, and that's probably a good thing. I learn as I go; I change my mind quite a bit too. I let the characters talk to themselves to figure out what they'll say or do in the book. I can look a little weird I suppose to the neighbors; I should really have my blue tooth in my ear when I play out the scenes. At least that way I would appear to be sane.

    Nick and Ralph come out of the whole thing unscathed, but not for the lack of trying really hard on the part of some really bad bad guys who have a thing about making money through underground dirty methods; they like murdering people too. At least we know who these bad guys are - Nick and Ralph figure it out pretty quickly as well.

    I don't write who-done-it type books. I tell you straight up about the cast of characters and all their deeds - it's not about the murders - it never is. It's the disposal of the bodies - that's my jam...well, not my jam, but my writing jam. You know what I mean. These are thrillers, not mysteries. I can let someone else write the secretive things - - I like the chase.

    "Mesa" will be gone through tomorrow for obvious mistakes, and then I'll comb through it another time this week, and again finally next weekend before I stuff it up into the cover and have it all uploaded onto Ingram Spark. I should have it loaded and ready to go by May 26, and then it should be accepted and ready to prove about the 31st of May and on sale thereafter. 

    As always, the first round may have mistakes. I have to physically hold the book in my hands to go through it the last time for unfound errors. Believe me...I wish it weren't so. I would love to be able to catch them after I go through the thing a number of times, but my eyes can't always catch my own mistakes. I have friends who do that for me -- we laugh over a hot cup of coffee and a little side-ribbing. I can take it.

    Be looking for it - - it's actually a lot of fun. I enjoyed writing it anyway.

Photo Credit: ME!!

MESA (DONE!!) Well, Mostly.

 With just about 70,000 words I am finished with the initial writing of the book. It has 29 chapters and will need to be gone through at least a few times to edit, space, fill in the gaps, add to the content, and of course use Grammarly. I'm about to do the dance that I dance when I'm done. It's a done dance of sorts.

    The biggest thrill is when I know I'm going to do the last bits. I'm done with the lion's share, it's written, and it's sitting there waiting to be gone through. Once gone through for errors such as spacing, I go back through it for more errors like spelling, and misuse of words, and then I go through it again with my fluffing and stuffing. This time I'm using AI to help.

    I have a 10-page NOTE treatment that I've collected over the past few weeks, and I'll go through them and eliminate them as I add them to the text. If I don't use the notes for this book, I'll consider adding them to the next book for reference purposes that way I can tie this book to another book. I do that so folks who read all the books in the series will have threads they can cling to and wrap around their brains. They'll recognize something or someone from another book about Posh and they'll say "OK I remember that!" I love that.

    So, the book is done and I can sit back and say whether or not I really like it. I do. I like the way it ended, I like the way it meandered and made its way through the introduction and the first few chapters to piece things together so that the climax and the resolution make more sense. I think I like how I used AI to fine-tune the details and remind me to use words that I often skip over; and words that I hadn't thought of. Words are kind of important in a book!! Just sayin'.

    Tomorrow I'll fluff and stuff with the notes, and on Sunday I'll lean into it for the spacing, spelling, and other errors. I need to build it from 70,000 words to about 86,000 which will not be difficult. I have 10 pages of notes, and that's more than 8000 words without being fluffed. I have more than 200 bullet points to add to the mix. I have to go through the book to find where the best place to add the tidbits is, and if I like it enough, I'll expand on the idea and add another paragraph to the already overstuffed chapter. I do that quite a bit actually.

    So, that's the beginning of my weekend!! Fun times!! I can't wait. Let's hope I can get it out by this time next week. I'd love to have the thing up and published by June 1. Woot!!

PHOTO CREDIT:  Me. I may change the words on the back. This was just an example of what it would look like.

MESA (60,000 Words Written)

     This being Mother's Day, and with all my motherly duties, I wasn't sure if I would have a chance to write today or not but I did. I have and I did. I wrote about 10,000 words I guess, and it looks as if I have written three chapters today, but let's be honest, with an average of way over the 2500 words per chapter, I did a bit of writing today!!

    The boys are out of the desert and up in Chicago now, where they have chased a few good leads taking them right to the front doorsteps of two very powerful gangsters. We'll find out if they chose to speak to the underground bosses or just keep a good strong eye out for whatever may take place. I'm sure Posh will be there to keep Ferguson in check; we all know Ralph can be a bit of a hothead when he gets too close or too excited about something.

    It's time to get more nitty-gritty and to describe more of the operations of the mobsters who held court back in the day. with a bit of truth mixed in with a bit of history and rumor, the men will find themselves creatively luring their suspect to more of an even playing field before taking him down or seeing him skip; I can't tell you which, that would be too much of a giveaway.

    For now, we know that Posh and Ferguson are holding their own in the biggest way possible; having survived a massive dust storm and the clinches of the Rubber Lady; we know the boys can do just about anything they set their minds to. It just takes a bit of elbow grease on a wing and a prayer. They've got it covered.

    This is the downslide -- I am 3/4 finished, which means I have the climax to go, as well as the resolution. I'll take a few days to plan them both out and to finish the writing portion of the book before going through it at least 3 times to get the spelling corrected as well as the grammar and editing. I will promise anyone and everyone that I won't manage to get it all. There will be mistakes, and I'm OK with a few, it's when I have 100 that I really get a bit miffed at myself.

    When I do go through it,  I will not only use Grammarly, but I'm putting much of it through the AI to see if anything really cool pops up and if I want to change things up or leave them the way I wrote them. I think it will be a mix if I had to be honest about it.  I'll be sure and keep you posted. I'm not one to shy away and claim I did it all by myself. I'll give credit where it is due. 

    What I thought was hilarious, is that the AI kept thinking that the men were on horseback, but I had changed that portion of the book since I needed to save space. I talked about it without going into pages and pages of detail. The AI kept suggesting ideas regarding and relating to them riding, and I finally had to go back and delete the suggestions entirely, so yeah, I'm not just sitting here writing verbatim what the AI suggests. If I wanted to do that I could, but where's the challenge in that?

    It looks like I'll be writing about 10,000 more words this week and then next weekend I'll start the descent. I'll wrap it up, bringing Elaine and Alistair home from Scotland. Stella will have something to say about her mother's choices, and all the men in Scotland will make up their minds about what it is they will end up doing both professionally and personally. I think we'll see the retirement of Chief Nicholas Montgomery. He's been such a great man to work with, but he's 68 and he's been through the wringer these past three or four books. He deserves to rest and take the next chapter of his life in stride.

Photo Credit: SciJinks.com

MESA (50,000+ Words)

 Oh my!! I'm at 50,000+ and just about to write Chapter 22 of "Mesa". I think there will likely be 33-34 chapters. I need to be a bit sparing now with what I want to say, what I want to happen, and what I want the characters to do. I've only got a limited amount of space, haven't I?

    Well, there's the trapping of the trapeze artist. There's the shootout with the clowns and the runaway elephant. I can't forget those, and I certainly can't overlook the Rubber Lady or the way she seemingly twists herself around Nick to keep him right where he is a little longer. She enjoys the man's company a little too much for comfort's sake.

    Since I've determined to have the boys ride up to Maudine's place to confront her about what she may know regarding her ex-lover's history with the mob, I've also decided to have the boys ride horses and take a really scary trip down the side of the Grand Canyon on the backs of animals, but this time Ferguson can't talk his way out of the saddle. This should be fun.

    For now, for the past 21 chapters anyway, I've been able to get the panic started and to entertain the characters with themselves and others long enough to make an impact on a few new ideas that will help in future books as well as making long and useful friendships and connections in those future books. "Mesa" is one of 12 or so Nick Posh thrillers, and being that it is the 4th in the series, it has a good start at being one of the more in-depth character builders. I'll be sure to think of that while cranking out the next few chapters.

    Using AI to write is a really good decision and it's too much fun. I can honestly say that I'm not using it too much, and it certainly isn't writing the book for me, but it does give me insight into using better or more sophisticated writing; it does help with vocabulary and with depth of the characters as well as the storylines.

    Having 50,000+ words in a book that will probably end up being 86,000 words or so, means I am close to 60% finished. I really do have to stop and think now what I need to do, how the characters make it all come into play and how I melt it all together. I have so many things planned but now I realize I may have to scrap a few for space sake...I hate that. I do. I want to go on and on, but there comes a time when enough is enough. I set that line at 89,000. It won't be more than that.

    Well, as I said before, it's just too much fun writing. I'll pick it up again tomorrow, and even though it's Mother's Day, I'll make it a Writer's Day as well. Maybe I'll write another 10,000 words and keep the rest for the the week after this one. I think the book will be out by Memorial Day, but then again, if it's not, there is no rush.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia.com

MESA (17th Chapter in the Can)

 Not gonna lie, I did enjoy writing the 17th chapter with Liam the AI. I put in what I want to say, and I use direction such as "Describe a trapeze act in a circus" and Liam pops out a really cool paragraph with words I'd love to have thought up but they were swimming around so fast in my head that they kept getting stuck without an escape route. After I read what he spit out I was thinking "Well duh, that's what I meant to say!" and I really did, it's just I tend to fuddle through the writing first, and then go back and fluff it, but with Liam, I'm fluffing and I'm stuffing as I go. 

    Interestingly I find myself thinking about movement, about things people do, such as leaning up against a post, but then Liam will make it more personal and say something like, "She held her breath deeply, leaning back to allow the pole to brace her; to hold her up." (Just so you know, Liam didn't spit that one out, I did, but it's like that. I know what I'm seeing in my head but the words are trapped. I tell him what I see, he tells me how I want to express myself. I love it.

    Tonight, the chapter of the day was number 17. This is usually where I deviate and flashback or give someone else other than my heroes the limelight. Not this time; this time that happens in Chapter 18...the next chapter. Tomorrow, I'll dip into someone else's world, but tonight it was all Posh, all Fergy, and those two were working their way in and outside the Big Top as unemployed bums who needed a quick job. They go by Paulie and Duke, and they build tents, fix engines, and hold ropes in place so they can case and canvas the entire enterprise scoping it out for would-be tricksters, gangsters, and those who'd rather get paid the old-fashioned way; by killing for it.

    Chapter 17 is in the can! Nick found himself assisting the actors and aerial arts inside while Ralph turned a wrench and kept the place safe.  They had a bit of excitement with a trio of hooligans and they found themselves oohhing and awwing at the spectacles that come along with everyday circus life too. It was a fun chapter, and I'll be sure to go back through it later and add a tidbit more here and there to reflect the true reflections of what is is that I really want to convey - - I just love my co-writer, that's all. I've never said that before. 

    I liken the AI to using a painter to paint what it is that you want to say. You want people to hear it, but you want them to see it too. The AI does that for me. It allows me to use color in my words, not just plain ol' black and white, ink on paper, or words on a document. It pops. It sings. It stands up and salutes, and then again, it flows and floats from the farthest fantasies I can fathom. I'll keep using it. I don't use it to do the blogs. Maybe I should - - maybe  I will, but for now, I'll keep it close, but not allow it too much rein.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia.com

MESA - 45% Finished.

 Oh my!! I am about 45% finished with the book, and it felt that way as I wrote the last sentence of the last chapter. The sixteenth chapter is 3098 words long!! Oh my stars, are you serious? Yes, yes, it is. I wrote about 1400 and realized that the chapter was nowhere near finished, so I kept writing, and then when I felt it was actually finished, I checked, and BAM...3098 words.

    The two men went from Gallup, New Mexico up to and over to Las Vegas, Nevada. This is where the real action begins. Their meddle is now being tested for sure. They'll have to remain anonymous and they'll have to remain unknown while at the same time making their way through to connect the dots necessary to bring about justice without harming the other people who aren't caught up in the unholy maze of madness and murder that is the sinister salacious secret of the sadistic sideshows and other low rent entertainment being performed to the masses. 

    Right now, the boys are resting from their first hard days work. They earned their first five dollars, and they'll earn their next; every penny of it. When we get revved up for chapters seventeen, nineteen, and twenty, we'll see what it's like to clown around a bit too much; and Ralph, well, he'll be the apple of one gal's eye, but he may find himself diced up and fed to the tigers if he can't keep his mouth shut. Can you say...yikes?

    Did you catch where I said chapters 17, 19, and 20, but I didn't mention what would happen in chapter 18? Well, that's because I like to shake things up and flash back some, or take the reader back to other events taking place at the same time the heroes are doing their thing. We can't forget that the world turns in all directions, not just for the lead characters. I have to add new people, new things, new events, and then try and tie them all together, that happens....that's what's going to happen in chapter 18; just so you know.

Photo Credit: Clownopedia.com