“Challenges” Is Not Only

Curve-Billed Thrasher Issues a Challenge!

Last week, I mentioned that I will have a short story in a forthcoming Honorverse anthology.  My story is titled “Deadly Delusions,” and I now know that the anthology title is Challenges.  It is scheduled to come out late in 2025.

“Challenges” is not only the title of the anthology, but also a really good description of last week.  Among those challenge was one that occurred as Jim and I were on our way up to Santa Fe so I could sign stock for Beastly Books.

We’d gone past the last Albuquerque exit on to I-25 North when I heard a sound similar to when the car runs over a tumbleweed.  I was musing that I hadn’t seen anything on the road, when Jim announced that an alert had appeared indicating that he had trouble with one of his tires.  We pulled over to the shoulder and discovered that the right front tire was definitely, uncategorically, undebatablely flat.

Well…  We needed help getting the tire changed.  By the time the various garages contracted to AAA had settled who was required to come a whole couple of miles outside of the city, we were fried.  The help we eventually got was very necessary, so I’m glad we waited. However, we certainly didn’t make it to Santa Fe. 

Imagination may be great for writing books, but it is not the greatest thing during a challenge like that, or even in the aftermath.

Today we plan to drive up to Santa Fe to finally get those books signed.  We’ve made that drive hundreds of times.  Jim, who used to work in Santa Fe, has probably made it thousands of times.  This is the first time we’ve had a flat tire, but my imagination keeps seeing this happening all over again.

Wish us luck!