Completion!

Hallelujah! I finished the first draft of A Barrel of Vintner at 4:04 PM EDT yesterday afternoon. It came in just a hair short of 105K. But I know it will be well over that number once edits start.

It's a bit of a relief since I was wondering if I'd ever get to the end. I thought a quiet winter would help, but the last three months have been anything but quiet, both in my personal life and in the world at large.

Needless to say, my writing and publishing schedule has been pushed back thanks to the chaos. I'm still plugging away at the other books on my list. And I really hope things calm down.

Except I know they won't no matter how much I childishly wish for it. It doesn't mean I can't keep hope in a little box on my desk. Sometimes, clinging to hope is the only thing that gets me through my days.

Tonight, I'll work on something else to clear my palate before I start edits. I'll let you all know when the preorders go live. And don't get too excited just yet. It may be a couple of weeks before I finish the edits. It's damn long book! 

Music I Listened to Long Ago

Julie Brown was rather popular in my women's fraternity back in the '80's. We never thought this particular would become our reality.

A Rough Monday with Rewards

I knew Monday was going to be a rough day with multiple appointments and very little writing time. I also knew today I would pay for running myself ragged.

Whenever I have major amounts of stress, I end up with a ton of muscle and joint pain. The doctors over the last twenty years have no idea why. And since it can't be instantly diagnosed, they give up. It leaves me struggling on days like today.

The overall stress isn't going away any time before 2029. Hell, it may even get worse after 2029. All I can do is try to alleviate personal stress. Which I generally do by writing.

See my problem? LOL

Anyway, the fabulous Mallory Goeke has hand-drawn a new Ohio Rebel Symbol. She shares her work freely, but if you want a copy, kindly tip her of Venmo.

So between this gorgeous bird and some perfectly baked chocolate chip cookies, I'll relax and see how close to finishing A Barrel of Vintner today!

To quote Dustin Pace, aka Non-Toxic Masculinity on Facebook, "Read Books. Lift Weights. Fight Fascists."

Music I Listened to Long Ago

This is another funny song the morning DJs' played when I lived in DC in the '80's. I've worked the drive-thru as a fast-food employee, and I've been a customer. I've had problems with the speaker as both, which is why this is so hysterical.

The Status of the Latest Justice Book

I get it. You're all anxious for A Barrel of Vintner. I see the stats of people checking the Justice series page.

And I want it done, too!

It's just been a little hard to concentrate over the past ten days. We're in the middle of a war that only the one-percenters want. A buddy of GK's knew one of the seven soldiers killed. And the current leaders of  U.S. are telling us they'll sacrifice all our kids to get what they want.

 The wrongness of those statements makes it a little hard to concentrate.

DH and I are old enough to remember Vietnam. The stupidity. The senseless waste. Children my age being napalmed. And yet our leaders are stupid enough to make the same damn ideological mistakes over and over again.

So, yeah. I'm terrified of losing my only child in a war that makes no fucking sense.

But for those of you that need a new Justice book to forget about the war that's not a war, I'm working on it. The wip crossed the 91K line yesterday. I hope to get another 2K written today.

We're getting there. At least, in fiction.

The real life mess? Well, the mid-terms are coming. Let's see if Americans get off their asses and vote. Because gas prices aren't coming down as long as the Straits of Hormuz are blocked.

Music I Listened to Long Ago

When I lived in DC back in the late '80's and early '90's, this was one of the fun songs on the early morning DJs' rotation. I still find it hysterically funny decades later.

What the Everloving F***!

I did some online bitching Monday and Wednesday last week about the state of the U.S. Saturday, it got a hell of a lot worse.

Once again, we're in a war with no real objective. No exit plan.

And worse, no communication with our allies in the region. Which is why the Kuwaitis shot down three U.S. military jets, thinking they were incoming Iranian fighters.

And the idiots in Washington really thought what was left of the Iranian government wouldn't retaliate.

I admit I'm already sad from our friend's funeral on Saturday. Genius Kid made a point of calling on Saturday afternoon, his attempt to reassure us after news of the U.S. strike on Iran hit the airwaves.

I'm scared. I admit it. GK's current stint would have been up in August. He decided to stay in the Army. But I'm not scared just for him. As I bitterly told a friend yesterday, Tribblehead's cronies are doing their best to turn the U.S. into the Fourth Reich.

And I fear between the war in Ukraine and the one in Iran, we may have World War III on our hands.