End of the Year Review, Or Why Murphy Is the One, True God

Plans.

I had so many plans this year. Novels and shorts published under both names. And what is the end result?

Only one short story, a sword and sorcery fantasy, was published in someone else's anthology.

Selling a short should make any writer happy. Don't get me wrong; it does.

But right now, life has kicked me in the head again.

Today marks the end of the second week of my MIL's stay at a rehab care facility. She fell on their front porch the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and ended up in the hospital. The injuries from the fall itself weren't the problem per se, but other issues came to light, which resulted in a week's stay at the hospital before she was transferred.

And because no one in my husband's family can keep a straight head in a crisis, I'm the one keeping track of everything.

Which is the capper to a year of dealing with a variety of personal issues, mainly other people's.

It doesn't mean I haven't been writing. I've been tapping away on my phone while waiting on kids and parents at various appointments.

It doesn't mean I haven't been editing. There's a proof copy of a paperback sitting in my backpack, along with a highlighter and sticky notes, that gets pulled out when I can.

But right now, I'm angry and frustrated because it feels like I'm spinning my wheels on my career for the third straight year. It doesn't help that if you're reading this today, Wednesday the 30th, I'm probably sitting in MIL's room, listening while the medical team plans for her eventual release.

Why am I there? Because the two sisters-in-law who are supposed to have the power and responsibility for medical decisions probably didn't show up. Again. And FIL asked DH to be there, and DH asked me to be there, because they both are having trouble keeping track of all the doctors' opinions and appointments because they're stressed and worried and not thinking straight.

I really want to say, "Not my circus, not my monkeys," and bury myself in Sam's latest adventure because, well, cursed phones, a Kevin Smith clone, and the return of Baron Samedi are way more fun than wound care and blood sugar levels and blood oxygen readings.

Needless to say, nothing more will be released in 2015. Here's hoping 2016 will be a little better.

Monday Movie Mania - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I think I have a split personality after watching the latest installment of the Star Wars saga. Thirteen-year-old me is ecstatic! Fifty-year-old writer me wasn't impressed.

I don't want to ruin the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, so here's my only SPOILERS:

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SPOILERS


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1) I hate FUCKING CLIFF HANGERS! Unless you have a good enough story to overlook it. TESB works. TFA does not.

2) Harrison Ford finally got his wish.

3) There's a reason Mark Hamill isn't featured in the teasers. He does NOT have one FUCKING WORD of DIALOGUE!

4) Leia and Rey ROCKED!

5) J.J. Abrams kept to the spirit of the original.

I'll tell you right now. This isn't a complete story. I think that's my biggest problem with TFA. The original Star Wars had a complete story. Sure there was stuff before and stuff after, but the story as shown on the screen had complete plot and character arcs. It's why I use it an a prime example of the classic three-act structure for newbie writers.

But this? This kind half-assed of story crap is why readers hate a lot of indie writers.

So between my two personalities, I have to give Star Wars: The Force Awakens a 6 out of 10.

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P.S. There's SPOILERS in the comments, so don't read 'em if you haven't seen it!

Holiday Music from My Youth

Nothing rocks any holiday like The Boss.

Merry Christmas!

Have a wonderful day with your friends and/or family!

Writing over the Holidays

This time of year you see so many posts from writers on how to be productive through the holidays.

I'm not going to give you any tips on writing.

Instead, put aside your journal or notebook or laptop. Go out and be with family and friends. Be with people that make you happy. Enjoy the season and whatever holiday you may celebrate. Eat good food. Play. Make merry.

I know far too many people who live with regrets. For the words not said. The hugs not given.

So go out and interact with real people this holiday season. Meet strangers. Ask deep questions. Laugh.

Even if you think you know someone, memorize the person they are now. See the little guy above? Not even that version of him will be around forever. So go out and love the people in your life and enjoy yourself.

Trust me, your imaginary friends will be waiting for you when you get back.

Happy Yule!

It's the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. So let's light up the night!

Holiday Music from My Youth

One I play every year, multiple times, until DH is begging for mercy.

I'm Away from My Desk, AKA End of Life Things You Don't Want to Think About But Need To

Blogging may be sporadic for an unknown amount of time. My mother-in-law is in the hospital, and DH and I are taking turns assisting my father-in-law with patient advocacy.

I am going to point out a few things based on my previous career as a probate and estate planning attorney and our current situation:

1) When you get to your later years, your spouse/partner may not be the best person to act as your medical representative. He or she may have theirs own health problems, or the emotional impact of their potential loss of you overwhelms them.

2) Whoever you choose as the person authorized to make medical decisions needs to be strong enough to support you and to make those decisions. Frankly, two of DH's sisters are supposed to be the decision makers for their mother in lieu of their father. One of them is scared of the possibility of her mother's death; the other is in total denial concerning the severity of the current problem. Which leaves me as the one acting as my mother-in-law's advocate, i.e. asking questions, consolidating information, weighing treatment options.

3) When a third party is forced to make decisions, this can cause fractures in family relationships. I'm lucky right now in that both of my in-laws are of sound mind. The problems for me happen when my mother-in-law is on painkillers and my father-in-law forgets to wear his hearing aids. Thankfully, no biggie, especially when my husband is a phone call away (or ten minutes from the hospital).

However, when I was practicing law, there was an instance where the daughter who was supposed to make decisions was camping for the weekend. The father had a heart attack, and the other daughter had to make end of life decisions because no one could get a hold of the first daughter. Last I heard the first daughter was still refusing to split the estate per the father's will because she accused her sister of murdering their father for his money.

So my not-legal-advice-or-representation suggestions are the following:

1) Have a clear-cut medical and estate plan.

2) Make sure you've chosen people who can follow through on your wishes.

3) Make sure everyone involved (especially immediate family members) is aware of the plan. Ask your attorney about ways to deter inter-family squabbles when you're gone.

As the late, great Benjamin Franklin said the only sure things are death and taxes. No one gets out of this world alive, so do what you can to make things easier for your loved ones.

Holiday Music from My Youth

Adam Sandler's Hanukkah song is much better than Phoebe Buffay's.

Whatever Happened to...?

That writer, the one you loved so much when you were twelve? Or twenty-eight? Or forty? The one from whom you bought every new release? Whatever happened to him/her? They seem to fall off the face of the earth.

Three of weeks ago when I was very sick and running a fever, I decided to clean out my Twitter account. Over fifty writers I followed at the beginning of my career in 2011 have disappeared. These include both trad published and indie published folks.

In the case of most trad writers, their publisher dropped their contracts. A few stated that they also publish as "So-and-So" in "Such-and-Such" genre and "Here's the link", but most don't even give that slight acknowledgment.

Some, both trad and indie, quite literally disappeared. Their websites no longer exist.  Others still have their books for sale, but nothing new had been published since 2012 or 2013, and neither their websites nor their blogs/Twitter/Facebook/etc. have been updated since then either.

There's no explanation. Nothing. Nada.

I don't know if they died. Or got burned out. Or if simply life got in the way.

It makes me a little sad. Such wonderful voices that made me happy, never to be heard from again.