Gonna Be Another Hot Day

So, you Californians who moved here to Seattle for the mild climate and then changed it all to LA heat… I mean, there has to be some reason, right? Expected to hit 100 today and as high in the area as 110-115 tomorrow. That just isn’t right. But let me remind you there is no such thing as global warming.

It reminds me of that time back in college—1969-70, I think—when it was 110 in the Shade. Not the temperature, but the musical. What a fun time when we closed up production of Hamlet and started the winter musical, 110 in the Shade.

I worked tech on the show, so none of those actors are me. And it was the middle of winter in Indianapolis, so the temperature was lucky to reach 10 in the shade, but they acted it all out and it was a refreshing show.

Well, we’re all lying on the floor with the fans blowing on us, trying to stay cool. It’s 91 at noon here today and still climbing.

Enough reminiscing, I suppose. What am I writing?

The answer is “Not much this week.” I’ve released the first five chapters of my new fantasy, Jackie the Beanstalk to Tier 3 patrons this morning. I stalled a little, but had a good lunchtime conversation with my alpha reader, Les, and I know what direction it’s headed now and what I need to put down when I switch documents this afternoon.

Eighteen-year-old Jackie is surprised at her high school graduation when she’s given the keys to her grandfather’s mint condition 1968 Fairlane 500 Fastback. Jackie, her 25-year-old Aunt Misty, and dog Roadkill, jump in the car to start a road trip that leads them straight into an alternate reality. Jackie discovers she is a Warrior Wizard and her ever present basketball is a powerful weapon. Of course, her entire graduation cap and gown and regalia are weapons, as well! And it’s amazing what she can do with a pocketful of beans.

Now if she could just convince herself that this is real and not just a dream…

Monsters and ogres and werewolves and ghosts and giants… Oh, yes! And a dragon. All she needs now is to defeat the opposing army that faces her newly acquired friends!

On the Devon Layne front, I’ve set a one-month sales record for my newest book with over 600 copies sold in the month! Team Manager: SWISH!  is doing well. I’ve finished writing the sequel and am ready to start working on the next volume.

But since Living Next Door to Heaven won 2^nd place in the Classic Clitorides awards this year, a sudden uptick in interest in the series has prompted me to prepare a new edition of the ten-volume epic. So, I’ve been working on that this week as well. I expect the first five volumes ready by next week.

When I’m not writing or editing or formatting or planning, I’m helping out around my friends’ house as he recovers from hip-replacement surgery. There are the dogs, the cooking, and the icepack to tend to! He’s coming through great, but chafes against the enforced immobility during recovery.

Well, that’s the news from Lake Woebegone. Carry on.