These are coming fewer and farther, Patsy.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy writing on here. I do. Quite a bit, actually. I think when I make it to being a full-time author part of my morning routine (outside of taking care of the boys) would be logging on here, cataloguing the interesting stories or writing tidbits I’ve picked up from the previous day, discuss what I’m working on, send it out into the world, and then get started. Like this bit on comic panel construction from artist Patrick Zircher:

I know it sounds a little old fashioned but I’m not sure if you’re aware, Patsy, but ALL of social media is crumbling in on itself.

So I post here. When I can. If I can. I think it finally came down to, “I have an hour and a half every day to write, realistically, so what do I want to spend it doing? Writing the books that will hopefully someday help support my family or this blog which is, frankly, optional?”

PROJECT UPDATE

Project: DEED, middle–grade realistic fantasy: 1st draft. I jumped RIGHT back into this one this week after a few weeks off. Three, to be exact. I hit this point, and I think all creatives have to hit this point, where you have to stop caring. Not about the work, no, but the quality of the work. If you’re too hung up on whether the first words you put down on the page are going to be good, then you’ll never write anything at all. I did 1,000+ words on Monday and another 1,000+ yesterday. Aiming for the same today. Current Word Count: 43,748.

Project: GREY, middle-grade science fiction adventure: 3rd draft, meaning I’m reviewing all the red pen edits I made in the 2nd draft and typing them up. Nothing too crazy. Current Page: 7 of 200. Got a ways to go on this.

Project: TREES, middle-grade science fiction/fantasy: This is an interesting one. I wrote this book nearly 6 years ago for NaNoWriMo, edited it, reedited it, then queried it a number of times with zero luck. I figured the book was just too high concept for people to understand, or maybe I didn’t know how to sell it? Either way, I shelved. But now? Everyone’s tossing around the word “multiverse” like they’ve been using it all their lives. And I might have just figured out how to fix the opening…Maybe this book does have some legs.

How to make a God Cold Brew: (I meant to write this as “Good” but you know? I kind of like it.)

  1. Buy coffee beans, whole, darker roast
  2. Grind them at home, fresh, if you can. Doesn’t matter the grind consistency. Really. It doesn’t.
  3. I use a cold brew pot, with a space in the middle for me to pour grinds, but you can just use a tea bag. Really. It doesn’t matter.
  4. I use 8 tablespoons of coffee grounds for 6 cups of water. Do with that ratio what you wish.
  5. Let it sit in the fridge for no less than 24 hours.
  6. Pour over ice. Use less ice if you want it stronger.
  7. Here’s the fun surprise: Add chocolate almond milk. Life’s too short not to enjoy the sweeter things in life
  8. [But really 7.5. I had to add regular coffee cream to this one because we didn’t have chocolate almond milk.]
  9. Should last 2-3 days.

And remember, ALWAYS DRINK A LARGE COFFEE. Life is too short for small coffees.

large cold brew