STATUS – 6.10.2025 –

Hello and good morning.

The boys are back from their trip to Tucson, April and I had several days to get the house in order because HEY, guess what, October is basically right around the corner and Baby Girl (Baby D?) is on her way, so I organized about four rooms and moved furniture and sifted through onesies and lifted a play kitchen upstairs and overall didn’t burn myself out too much.

I am very happy to get back to this after a week off.

A package of Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens from Japan.

April found these pens in her office from our trip to Japan back in 2018. Crazy to think that was nearly 7 years ago. I’ve already used them in my Morning Pages, drawing inspiration from Austin Kleon’s notebooks and how he draws in them. Turns out you can break whatever arbitrary rules you have in your mind, like which notebooks are for writing and which are for drawing.

I’m a very limited person…

The cover of a brown LOCHBY pocket notebook. — I guess I’m sticking with calling these things “Scribble Books.”

Speaking of, the first Scribble Book (guess that name is sticking) is all done. Took a couple of months, and some help from my sons, but it’s done. And, honestly, it might be the practice most helpful to me. So long as I keep at it. The mixture of drawing, writing dialogue I overhear, has led to some small strides in my drawing skills, something I used to be partially proud of. Like Julian Simpson said in his article about notebooks, “Writing with a pen puts your brain in motion, and motion is lotion.”

A small sample of the quick sketches (are these what blind sketches are?) and dialogues I had.

Of course, this wouldn’t have been finished without the occasional help from my boys. Either in doctor’s waiting rooms or at restaurants, taking out a small notebook can capture focus for breaths at a time, and sometimes as a parent, a breath is all you need.

A kid's drawing of his dad and himself. — Dante drew himself and me. It’s funny to say, but, he’s gotten a lot better.

Of course, that means this is what I have to switch into now, a pocket notebook I got in Vietnam in a post-office. Love the rough paper feel. Will be a nice switch-up compared to the smooth LOCHBY pocket.

Picked this one up in Vietnam. Finally getting around to using it…seven years later.

PROJECT UPDATE:

#AMQUERYING – Project NESS received a full manuscript request this morning. That’s the fourth full manuscript request this book has received. I’m going to try to put this into the “Doing Something Right” column of my writing journey. This book has made at least four agents go, “I want to read more.” Whether or not they sign me is irrelevant. I made it that far. That’s all I needed.

CITY – The outline for Project CITY, my middle grade horror romance, is done. I’m reviewing the final bits of it today and then, tomorrow, is the day…we begin the First Draft.

CURRENTLY LISTENING:

No, YOU spent a good 15 minutes this morning trying to figure out what the actual final boss battle music was of Final Fantasy VI.

CURRENTLY READING: More Dandadan by Yukinobu Tatsu (B&N)

Something about this story is just hitting me (which I feel silly saying, since it’s one of the most popular manga going, like, duh, of course something is clicking). The vibe is fast, the pacing is quick, and just when I think I’ve got the art figured out, Tatsu and crew blow my mind with a full-page spread that’s spine-chilling and thrilling.

Picked up volume 5 just before the boys left, then burned through it and needed to get the next two.

Now I need to get the next seven…