Kicking the Chicks Out to Fly

I'm in the process of trying to polish Ghouls in the Grocery Store and get it out to my formatter by tomorrow. It will be the sixth story I've published this year. I haven't had this kind of publication rate since 2013, and I have to admit it's kind of nice.

The reason for the rush is I probably won't be able to work on it until Tuesday. Editing takes a little more brain power than I have right now.

We're having a family get together Saturday night for Genius Kid. The recruiters are taking him and some other kids to the local MEPS facility on Sunday. And Monday morning, Darling Husband and I are driving to the MEPS facility very early in the morning to watch GK be sworn in (again) before the Army flies him to boot camp.

I'm excited GK's moving on to the next stage in his life. I'm amused after all his complaining that he didn't want to continue his formal education and work a desk job like DH and me that's exactly what Uncle Sam is having him do. I'm a little sad that my baby boy has been replaced by a young man who's ready to tackle the world.

DH and I have been reminiscing about GK's antics from years gone by. Like how every color was purple just to get a rise out of the adults. His wicked giggle when he was licked by the dogs. Talking about battle tactics of famous generals ad nauseam.

When we were doing so last night, GK accused us of trying to pressure him into giving us grandchildren. Not really. Just marveling how someone, or something can change as time flies by.

It's not much different with my stories. Or more especially my series. Bloodlines was supposed to be a single title, not nine novels, two short stories and two novellas. Justice was a one-shot short story in an attempt at getting published in a trad anthology. Six short stories and three novels later, it's going strong. 888-555-HERO was also supposed to be a single title. It turned into a trilogy, and readers are asking for more so they're getting a Christmas story that started as a novella and has quickly turned into a full-sized novel in itself.

You're never sure where people, both real and imaginary, will go in life. All you can do is hang on for the ride.