Five Years Tomorrow

So tomorrow, Wednesday, September 29, 2010 will mark five years' sobriety. I can't believe it's been so long! What once seemed an impossible feat is just daily life now. Thank you God for my sobriety!

The Perils of Sibling-Rivary

Watching: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Reading: Relentless by Dean Koontz
Next on Reading List: Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

My brother-in-law came to stay with us when I went into the hospital for my stomach surgery in July. He's still here. Not that it's a bad thing, or anything. It's kind of funny, except for the fact that it's a small apartment, and we now have 3 adults and 2 children living here. Hopefully Matt will be able to go stay with his mother soon, she lives alone in a 2 bedroom apartment. It is nice having him here, though. It gives me someone to talk to when I'm up all night. Plus he's been a great help with the kids. I'm still rebuilding my strength, after all. Last week I took out the trash and hurt my stomach. Luckily didn't get a hernia!

But what is on my mind, the reason for this post, is the sibling rivalry going on here. Our 8 year-old son and 15 month-old daughter don't annoy each other this much. Matt is 25, and Crystal will be an undisclosed age between 29 and 31 on September 9th. These two constantly flip each other off, Matt comes and sits down right up against Crystal--which for some reason creeps her out--they hit, slap, call each other names... it goes on and on. Then they fight about who started it. When they start the gross-out contest it gets bad. I found out how to end things, though. At least for a little while. When I've had enough, and they won't stop I say something like--now this is bad, so turn away now--"You secretly look at naked pictures of your mom." Or, "You like to go nude hot-tubbing with your mom." Not pretty, but it seems to work. If that seems bad, Matt likes to text Crystal pictures of his butt, and once, a turd in the toilet. I mistakenly thought we were adults, here.

Oh well, I guess they really love each other, because they sure as hell couldn't live in the same apartment this way if they didn't.

The Fire is Back

Listening to: Avenged Sevenfold
Reading: Relentless by Dean Koontz
Next in Reading List: Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane, then perhaps Floating Dragon by Peter Straub (Again)

So, after my story 'Jack Rainey and the Apocalypse Swarm' was accepted by Black Label Books for publication I noticed they publish novellas as well. I had a novel I was working on around November last year, 'Kept'. But it stalled around 27,000 words. There was no way I could extend it to a full-length novel. I am close to the ending, I expect it to finish out around 30,000-32,000 words. So, I've decided to make it a novella. After I finish the first draft (This coming week, hopefully), maybe get that beta-ed, get editing and rewrites completed, I have somewhere to sub it to.

I know other publications accept novellas, that was never the issue, but Black Label pubs in E-Book format, and I like that. Plus, they're great people to work with. Mad Props to Julie and Julia! And it's kind of a hard story to categorize. It's probably Dark Fiction. A short synopsis (on the fly, people, so it won't be great) is: A woman wakes to find she's been kidnapped. While she looks around the room she discovers she can see through one of the walls. She steps through the wall, and it's a portal to a whole other world. A world where women are controlled by a father-figure of evil proportions. Her husband, a ex-government assassin (unbeknownst to her) begins a fevered search for her, enlisting friends, one of whom has psychic abilities (unbeknownst to HER before this). A man who's brother the husband killed had paid for the kidnapping, but when the woman disappears everything gets weird, to say the least. Another kidnap victim, who also passed through the wall, and one of the cowed women from the other world make up the cast. It's a fun, scary, and intriguing story.

I can't wait to see how it ends. I'm happy that seeing Black Label pubs novellas relit the fire I once had for this story.

A Smelling Sheep-Worthy Post

I intended to post something worthy of my nomination by the I Smell Sheep Crew yesterday, but needed a little time to think. I'll start out with the craziest/funniest music video known to man. You'll be hard pressed to not roll your eyes and laugh till your gut hurts when you watch it. (Only the first 3 minutes are the actual video)
Scatterbrain Down with the Ship

Shepard's tip: To keep your sheep from running away during those 'special' moments, stick their hind legs in your boots...

Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits Award

I have been nominated by I Smell Sheep for the Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits Award. It is based on Cate Gardner's short story collection, 'Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits'. This collection is available for pre-order at a discount of $1.99 off the cover price. To help celebrate the release, Cate and Strange Publications have a contest, with two awesome prize packages to choose from. The Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits Award is given to only the strangest folk, and as the recipient of such you are deemed very strange indeed.

Congratulations.

Now for some rule-type stuff:

1. Add the logo of the award to your blog post.


2. Add a link to the person who nominated you. (Play fair, don't have all the links go back to your own post *wink*)


3. Nominate 7 other blogs, tell us wh you think they deserve the Strangness Award.


4. Leave a message for those nominated on their blogs.


5. And if you leave an e-mail for catephoenix(at)gmail(dot)com and tell her you've recieved the award for your strangeness, she'll enter you in the biggest, kick-ass Strange Men competition ever.

Details over at strangemeninpinstripesuits.com. (Click on the award logo on the home page.)

So now I must picky out 7 worthy friends for this. *scratches head...* *headdesk* *flips television channels to mind-numbing SpongeBob...* *HEADDESK*

Bettielee strange in a totally normal way ;-)

SLCBoston don't let the camels fool you, he's really a sheep :D

GypsyScarlett one of my first really good friends at Absolute Write

Melanie Avila Coolness and strangeness wrapped all up nicely and tied with a bow

FotsGreg need I say more?

LaurieD she's a crazy, rabbit skwirrel... ;P

Adam Slade a frosty customer ;-)

Now, let's all celebrate our strangeness, we're writers, after all... a strange bunch by nature.