Ready, Set, Go!

That could apply to so much this week. I’m ready to go. My ablation procedure went well last Monday and I’m feeling healthier than the proverbial horse. Tomorrow, I expect to receive flight clearance from my cardiologist and will be back on the road by next Sunday! It’s time to move south for the winter.

We’ve been having some spectacular sunsets. This one was on Halloween. Later that night, I joined about a hundred other writers at the Shoreline Community College Library for the NaNoWriMo kickoff at midnight. I got a couple thousand words in on my newest work, American Royalty 1: Coming of Age. Since then, I’ve managed to get to 33,650 words and six and a half chapters! It’s going well and I should easily finish the 50,000-word NaNo requirement. Whether the book gets finished in November remains to be seen. I’m guessing I’ll be writing well into December with an anticipated release date in June. My $10/month patrons are already reading the first six chapters and will get first look at everything I write each week. American Royalty is expected to include three books, Coming of Age, Coming to Power, and Coming to Grips. It is an alternate universe story in which America has a well-defined class structure complete with its perks and conflicts.

Join my Patreon and follow the story as I write it.

In an American society based on class distinctions, someone still needs to teach the heir apparent how to behave like royalty.

I’m having a good time writing it and I think you’ll enjoy reading!

ADVENTURE OF THE WEEK

I was invited out to lunch Thursday by a fan of my stories and fellow author, Les Bagley. The catch this time was that Les wanted me to come to Kingston and be his guest at the Farm Café. It was the first time I’ve been on a Ferry in several years. And was great fun!

The trip was great. The food was incredible. I spent a lot of money on bread and cookies to go. And meeting Les’s wife tossed into the bargain made it an extremely pleasant afternoon. I even drank a cup of ferry coffee, which I learned years ago was not worth the effort but was part of the experience.

Friday, I had lunch with my editor and proofreader, Denny Wheeler. Mostly, we talked about the work I'm doing now on American Royalty. He's started reading and among the things that we all agreed on was a change to the name of the lead character. These are things you need to figure out!

That evening, I joined my dear friends, Jason and Terina Black. Jason has edited many of my books and I designed a good number of his. In addition to fabulous chicken and chickpea tacos, Terina baked an unbelievably good chocolate fudge bundt cake. Jason and I spent some time going over the new covers for his upcoming re-release of his novels. Believe me, I'll be announcing them here when they are out! Fabulous artwork.

THE PLAN FOR NOW

I have a last doctor’s appointment tomorrow morning. Tuesday, my truck goes into the shop for a major tune-up. If the hospital doesn’t get a bill for me sometime soon, Harris Ford will get paid first! There is a recall notice on my truck that I want to get taken care of before I start towing the trailer. I had a recall during the winter for the same problem and had it fixed before I headed north in April. Here’s the text of the notice:

What is the issue? Our records indicate that you previously had Ford Safety Recall 19S07 performed on your vehicle; however, the correct software was not installed at that time. Ford Motor Company wants to ensure the software in your vehicle is updated to the correct software. Your vehicle without the correct software remains at risk for unintended transmission downshift due to an intermittent output speed sensor (OSS) failure.

In other words, they are recalling the recall because it could kill me.

Quinne is planning to drive out to Spokane with me on Friday because she still doesn’t trust that I’m capable of driving myself. I’m happy for the company and will put her on a plane back to Everett from Spokane. Then I need to get the trailer ready to travel. Make sure black and gray tanks are empty. Put ten gallons of fresh water in, if it’s running, fill the propane tanks, and restock the shelves and fridge with food. Then Sunday morning, I’ll pull out of camp and head south, planning to stop the first night in Pendleton, Oregon. The second night, south of Portland. The third night in California. From there I’m headed to So Cal and then east across Arizona and New Mexico, which have easier pass crossings over the continental divide. I hope to get to my sister’s place in Texas for Thanksgiving and then on up to Oklahoma to see Amy before a book fair in Tulsa on the 7th of December. All plans are written in sand.

I’ve been here in Lynnwood since September 28th. I would undoubtedly have died if not for the care that Quinne, Michele, and Jason took of me. I can never thank them enough and love each of them to the depths of my soul.

And with another spectacular sunset viewed from their deck, I’m just about ready to mount my truck and head out!