Robert L. Slater's Blog, page 4
February 29, 2020
Voyage of the Decameron: Prologue:
We’d been cruising slowly out of the Caribbean since news of the virus broke.
And the ship had slowed still further once it became clear that the virus was on the ship. The staff and crew, which were most of the healthy people left, knew we weren’t making the normal speed. Keep the clients distracted, that was the advice. That got old quick. We weren’t going near them without masks and even then, we’d keep our distance and wear gloves.
It was important to keep the crew healthy, but the...
February 27, 2020
Advice for Life, For writing, For Art
Inspiration from the blog of Kristine Katherine Rusch
I just read an awesome blog post from one of my mentor/authors. It’s about challenging yourself and getting out of our Comfort Zones. As I start into this next crazy project, a challenge I think she and Dean would appreciate, I realize how much I’ve let things that aren’t go well, take away from my time to be creative.
I’ve literally had this idea rolling around in my head for four years (i can verify that as I found the FB, Blog...
February 25, 2020
This Left Turn Feels Write
4444+ words in the last 4 days on my “novel” writing project.
THE VOYAGE OF THE DECAMERON
10 tales and a teaser for 10 nights and a day.
Robert L. Slater
Modeled on Boccaccio’s Decameron, but set on a cruise ship during “The Quieting,” my Bat Virus pandemic, it will feature 10 young characters crossing the Atlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Civitavecchia (Rome’s port city).
Story Prologue/Intro will launch on Leap Day, February 29th as a Blog Post. Adding one vignette [flash-ish short...
January 19, 2020
Save the Planet (and some $)
One of my goals for 2020 (and there are many, more really SMART [Specific, Manageable, Achievable, Rigorous, Time-based.] ones, too) is to post daily tips to #savetheplanet and #saveyoumoney. Every 11 or so days, I will do a wrap up blog post with links and extra suggestions. The idea is to have a bunch of things that are easy to do that will save you money and help the planet. They likely won’t save you time, but them may give you a sense of accomplishment and the feeling that you are...
September 7, 2019
My Long and Winding Road to Mental Health.
A Big Blog Post. Personal. 911 words. Hhhmmmm…
I want to thank Eva Pohler for inviting me to join the first annual Book Lover’s Unite for World Suicide Prevention Day programming as part of World Suicide Prevention Day, Tuesday, September 10. She is hosting a FaceBook Live Event here.
Mental Health. What did you just think when you read those two words? Those people… Crazy… Manic Depressive… Almost always somebody else. Until it becomes yourself. I’ve worked with lots of students who have ha...
July 16, 2018
WATCH ME NOVEL
Random weird authoring idea #777.
Who? You. Deserted Lands fans who are waiting for Book III.
What? I would like to offer to let you watch me novel. I need to finish.
Which? No Man’s Land. Keep an eye on me as a loyal supporter and cheerleader.
How? Send me a picture. Everyone who sends me a picture will become part of a collage that is watching me write Book III. Include a handwritten note in the photo if you wish. Maybe when somebody decides to make this into a movie I can use it on the set...
March 26, 2018
One Week…? [Kind of a Smorgasblog, but shorter.]
Question: One Week?
Answers:
A. A song by the Barenaked Ladies.
B. The amount of time TOILS AND SNARES is on sale for ONLY $0.99!
C. The streak for breaking my average number of words per day written in 2018.
D. All of the above.
D. Yup. If you answered all of the above you are correct. This week has been a good one. I’m beginning to feel back in the writing groove. I have a nearly final plot for NO MAN’S LAND. I have over 76,000 words even after cutting about 3K in the last two weeks. I’ve g...
February 28, 2018
Happy Birthday to Toils and Snares (And my brother!)
On February 28th, 2015, I published TOILS AND SNARES on Amazon. It was my eldest brother’s 55th birthday. His name is James and, though I wasn’t thinking about it at the time, is a character in TOILS AND SNARES. Oddly enough, the other main characters are Maria, Sam, and for a while, the villain was named Dan. Maria and Sam are my partner’s siblings and Dan is her nephew. Sometimes the brain works in mysterious ways. Maria’s original name in the story was Tara, but I changed it for some reaso...
Happy Birthday to Toils and Snares (And my brother!)
On February 28th, 2015, I published TOILS AND SNARES on Amazon. It was my eldest brother’s 55th birthday. His name is James and, though I wasn’t thinking about it at the time, is a character in TOILS AND SNARES. Oddly enough, the other main characters are Maria, Sam, and for a while, the villain was named Dan. Maria and Sam are my partner’s siblings and Dan is her nephew. Sometimes the brain works in mysterious ways. Maria’s original name in the story was Tara, but I changed it for some reaso...
February 14, 2018
Happy Birthday to All Is Silence (and me) 2018.
Full Frontal with Clete Barrett Smith at Village Books in Bellingham.
I officially released All Is Silence February 18th, 2014, so it is nearing its fourth book-birthday and about eighteen months from my fictional apocaloptimistic future pandemic. It’s been a lot of up and down recently. All of them have silver linings, but sometimes it’s just a sliver.
The high school I have taught at for the last eight years, on the site where I have taught for ten years, will be closing at the end of this...
