The Redcap's Roost

A Post for Postings Sake

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:13:21 GMT

I keep promising myself I will post, but by the time I'm sitting here all my great ideas have fled.

I could blog about Chloe, our sometimes cat. Well, she's always a cat, but sometimes she's ours. I could blog about how the Wii tattled on Isaac or I could blog about his new bed. I could blog about going back to work after five days off. I could blog about the May Bird books now that I finished the trilogy - this post would end up being more about sticking the dismount than anything else. I have something I'm promising I will post for MLK day since it has something to do with civil rights, but I intend to save it for then. I could blog about the Civility Project and how it's nice to see I'm not the only one fed up with the prevalence of "argumentum insultum" in modern life.

I've also thought about requiring myself to blog three times a week for the next year - especially since I tend to slack off for long stretches. I suppose any of the above topics could be interesting. I'm just not sure which I'm most interested in posting about.

*scratches head* I thought my wife was supposed to be the indecisive one . . .

Time or Something Like It

Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:36:07 GMT

At long last, I have a five day vacation. Since the Christmas overtime period came to an end, I can use the 'X' days I've accrued again and have done so - all at once. I don't go back to work until the 4th. This is the first time since I went back to work after the pinched nerve I've had this many days off in a row.

Christmas was a delight. Mom rented a bounce house for the kids and they took full advantage of having it all to themselves. For my snow bound northern friends, you have to keep in mind our temperatures were balmy here in Phoenix. So, a bounce house isn't a stretch. Having so few kids in it meant Elizabeth got to climb in and really get her legs under her.

I also got some editing done on OAL and fired it off to my new crit partner. I need to get cracking again on BGS. Speaking of which, the last time I posted about the AEdyll project, BGS was running around 15k words. It's now just barely over 9k. What happened? I stepped back and realized breaking pattern with how I changed viewpoints in GCB was a patently Bad Idea. So, I had to delete almost six thousand words and start over on Carl's section of the story. The story will be better for it.

So, it's time to close the book on 2009. It's been a rougher year than some, but we have survived.

Goals 2010

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:42:51 GMT

m_stiefvater is big on setting goals and I have to agree with her logic. Got to have something to shoot for, otherwise, how do you know when you've hit the target?

So, here are my goals for the next year:

1) Get an agent.

2) Complete rough drafts of The Boy with the Goblin Sword and The Child of Two Worlds.

3) Revise The Girl with the Centaur Braid.

4) Read at least three books on Rockefeller. (Research for a future project.)

5) Clean and organize library.

I may add more as I cross these off. The last two shouldn't be hard to achieve.

I also got good news from postal management today. One of our carriers retired for medical reasons a month ago and they've chosen to dissolve her route. I'll be absorbing a chunk of her territory - enough it should return me to having every Saturday off instead of every other. Now, whether I GET those days off or have to work them due to a shortage of substitutes, we'll have to see. If I end up working all my relief days, I may just start taking a week off every five weeks or so.

When the going gets rough . . .

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:51:49 GMT

This week has not liked me much. Here's the rundown:

Saturday evening: Elizabeth got sick. Not badly ill - a fever and a bit of an upset tummy. She announced the upset tummy while I was holding her. Keep in mind, I'm a Daddy. Being puked on by my daughter just isn't going to phase me. I've already been peed on, pooped on, spat up on voluminously, and had one son throw up into my mouth while being dangled overhead. Being thrown up on is tame. Getting little Elizabeth to the bathroom in time for her third announcement to hit the toilet from a foot away - Highlights Reel material, seriously! Fever broke shortly thereafter.

Sunday: Church and our annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering Auction and Chili Supper. Except this year, since our pastor (who always took the role of auctioneer) retired last month, I'd been asked to be auctioneer. No problem. I love this sort of thing.

Problem: I woke up Sunday morning feeling nauseous.

I should have suspected something was wrong Saturday night at dinner when I only ate half my sandwich. I'm wasn't going to allow myself to be sick, miss church and the auction. Especially since I'd planned on starting a critical unit for my class. I taught the lesson, but had Joy drop me off at Mom's after service while they went to lunch and promptly crashed on the couch for several hours. The rest (and a dose of Motrin) helped me make it through the auction. A great success, I might add. We raised almost the full $3,000 we set as our goal for the Missions program. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Home and bed for me.

Monday: Rainstorm rolled in during the night. I decided I felt well enough to go into work. I questioned that decision as soon as I walked in the door. Large amounts of mail. More parcels in one day than I've seen in a month. Two days worth of DPS mail and lots of certified letters. Spent six+ hours in the rain and cold delivering the mail. Keep in mind, the USPS does have an inclement weather policy. It reads, and I quote: If you get struck by lightning, it's your own fault. Home to hot cocoa, warm shower . . . and a power failure.

Tuesday: No power. No estimated time of restoration. Joy took me into work and took the family over to Mom's since she can't do school without power. Power finally came back on around 4 PM or so. However, the storm apparently took out the phone too and for the life of me, I couldn't get Qwest's automated phone system to put me through to a human being.

Today: Phone service restored.

And, somewhere in all of that, Carl and Winnie took me to task about the current state of BGS. Splitting the past storyline chapters between them wasn't working . . . which means a very large chunk of the 15k words I have on this novel have to be ripped out, dumped into a separate 'outtake' file, and rewritten. At least it explains why I've been stymied on it.

Let's do the Time Warp again!

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:53:23 GMT

This weekend held a couple of blasts from the past. First, Mikey's cousin, Nicholas, had his sixth birthday party at Rollero. (That's the roller rink, for the non-Phoenicians on the blog.) I haven't been there in years . . . since either high school or maybe as far back as elementary school. I seem to recall a birthday party there - maybe Mike, Renee, Melissa, or Stacy on FB can help me remember who's party it was. My brain keeps saying at least one of you was there.

Anyway, the moment I stepped inside, I could have sworn I'd stepped back in time about twenty years or so. They played some of the same songs on the sound system. Same disco ball in the center of the rink. Even the benches were the same: bright primary and secondary colors on vaguely L-shaped seats. One of the guys bopping around on skates was dressed like it was the early 80's. Although, back then, I suspect his hair wasn't quite so gray. Rollero is an unchanged bit of my childhood - detached from time and floating on an asphalt sea. It's not the same roller rink I spent all that time in as a kid in Florida, but a roller rink is pretty much a roller rink.

Yes, I did put on skates and take a few turns around the floor. If hadn't had to work, I'd have been out there more. It took a little bit for my body to remember what it's supposed to do. Zac and Mikey had a good time skating. Jacob is still getting used to walking in the skates and wasn't really willing to get out there - something I understand all too well.

The other walk down memory lane was Metrocenter. Those of you not living in Phoenix, go rent Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Go on, the rest of us will wait for you to catch up. Metro is the shopping mall from the film. (Side note: See if you can spot my buddy Colin's shoes at Circle K in the movie.) Back? Okay. I worked at The GameKeeper on the south end of the mall for about three years along with my buddy, Scott.

At Metro, things have changed. Frankly, it looks like the place is on life support. Two anchors empty. Dozens of unrented spaces. The GameKeeper is long gone. The chain was sold to Wizards of the Coast back in '99 and ultimately shut down. I remember being so excited at the beautiful remodeling job completed while I worked there. Now, all those brilliant colors are hidden away behind black drapes and almost all the slots on our end of the mall are vacant. The Game Nights operating out of the old Imaginarium spot was packed, though. It looked like they had a CCG tournament going on.

The Waldenbooks slot has never been remodeled since the store closed. In a way, the whole mall felt haunted - too little life overlaid across years of memories. Ghosts of the past walking the halls unseen by holiday shoppers and teens focused on their cell phones. Some things don't change, though. Suncoast Video is still there. So is Sweet Factory, where I first encountered chocolate covered gummi bears. But too much has changed.

Strange how some places are locked in time and others die within it . . . there might be a couple of books in that thought.

The Moon, the Road, my Daddy and Me

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 05:29:31 GMT

The Moon, the Road, my Daddy and Me

The world is huge!

Full of black roads

Roaming everywhere.

I thump along by Daddy’s side,

Hand gripping his finger,

Pink shoes slapping.

There are rocks -

Small, medium, large -

Beside our path. I stop and

Point. Daddy names them.

Precious gems for

My word collection.

We pass two dogs. One behind

A fence, another

Across the road, tail

Lifted high and waving.

I name them for Daddy

So he knows what they are.

Noises above!

Lights moving in the

Orange-red sky

Buzzing past a white circle.

Daddy gives me “Airplane”

And “Moon.”

Nestled now in strong arms

Smell of soap on his

Shirt, comfy shoulder,

We turn for home.

The road, the moon,

My Daddy and me.

- John A. Higginbotham Jr.

11/26/09

THUD

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:24:07 GMT

That sound? Yeah, it's my writing productivity for the week.

I managed to get into the war room once since Saturday. Thus, I'm raising the white flag on NaNo for this year. I'm continuing to plug away at the book, but I'm not going to stress about needing to hit 50K by the 30th. There's enough stress right now in other areas.

I've spent much of this week doling out new keys to the customers in the middle of my route. After four years, the Post Office finally replaced seven stops worth of my rusted out backloaders with brand new boxes. They did it much sooner than anyone expected too. I delivered keys on Thursday and the boxes were installed on Monday. Quite a few of my customers hadn't picked up their mail in time.

Joy and I watched the first episode of AMC's remake of The Prisoner last night. I am VERY pleased. I loved the original series - short though it was. This one hit all the right notes with me.

Day 13: Night of the Living Friday

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:56:37 GMT

After a very long week, we come to Friday. I'd hoped to have today and Monday off from work. I have a couple of X days built up from working my relief day. (X days are also known as 'comp days' to the non-Postal.) However, I've run afoul of the most wonderful time of year - that period in which we may not use previously earned X days, nor may we bank them for later use. Translation: I have to work. :(

What does this mean for the novel? It means no catch-up for John. It also means the chances of me reaching the 50K goal by November 30 are very, very slim. I am not upset, really.

The Boy with the Goblin Sword is flowing nicely. I have encountered one problematic scene which will need a complete rewrite - primarily because I put the wrong character into the scene initially. I realized this last night after bemoaning how bad the scene was and despising it completely - mostly because the characters didn't seem to be themselves. Well, no wonder! How else are my characters going to react when the person they're dealing with is acting completely out of character? The rough draft looks strange because I changed who was in the scene WITHOUT going back and editing it now, but I can fix it in rewrites.

Here's where the text stands now:

13747 / 50000 words. 27% done!

Day 6: Stress? What stress?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:08:58 GMT

Previous years, I've fretted over falling behind on the daily word count. This year . . . I'm not all that worried for some reason. No, I'm not catching up, but the story is flowing nicely. The characters all feel like themselves. There are new plot elements showing up blending into the rest of the world almost seamlessly with how I imagined it. Best of all, I think I might begin to see how Winnie and Carl get from where they started to where they end up.

Will I hit 50K by the end of the month? I'm not sure.

Will the book get written? You betcha!

Seriously, how can I stress when I recently found this clip of The Wizard from Wallace & Ladmo?

8071 / 50000 words. 16% done!

Day 5: Snippetage!

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:57:46 GMT

Today, I'm posting a small taste of what I wrote yesterday for BGS. (I keep thinking that abbreviation is far to close to the one for Battlestar Galactica.) I still haven't reached Day 3's goal,but I should make good headway against it tonight. I've also been remiss in keeping my word count up on the Nanowrimo website. *shrug*

To her right, a man in a black suit sat reading a book. He looked up, stood, and tucked the slim volume into his coat. Taking a step forward, he extended her his hand. “Lady Winifred, I presume?”

Without turning, Winnie drew her pistol and leveled it at his nose. The man’s eyes widened a touch, crossing as he looked down at the barrel.

“Altae, who is this and why is he in my tent?”

The centaur stuck his head in through the flap. “Domo Ryleigh, m’lady. He’s the Thane’s ambassador. We intercepted him on his way to meet with Lord Oliver two days after you left.”

“If I may, Lady Winifred,” the man said, “I come on the Thane’s behalf to negotiate –“

Winnie cocked the gun.

4511 / 50000 words. 9% done!

Day 4: Onward, Upward, and All That Jazz

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:41:09 GMT

I am behind on my word count goal. No big surprise there - the first few days of November clobbered me hard last year too. This year was no different. In addition to the regular weekly full coverages and the monthly ones, the community college sent out catalogs this week. So, I've had two full coverages each day this week. This leaves quite a bit of mental fatigue upon getting home and isn't exactly conducive to pumping out scenes.

Which brings me to an interesting point. So much of NaNoWriMo focuses on word count, but m_stiefvater made an interesting comment the other day about how she views a novel not as a collection of words, but as a collection of scenes. I like this concept because it's similar to how I view my own writing. In fact, while I was writing OAL, I kept a list of scenes to complete so I didn't forget any of the moments I desperately wanted to have in the story.

A quick check of my writing buddies list over at the official NaNo website reveals I need to give a shout out to ordos45 and Zoe for already having hit the halfway mark. Great job, you two!

3412 / 50000 words. 7% done!

Day 1: Start Your Engines!

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:16:44 GMT

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it's November again. Which means National Novel Writing Month is back and once again, I'm plugging away at the goal of writing a 50K word novel in 30 days.

As I've said in earlier posts, this year, I'm writing The Boy with the Goblin Sword (a.k.a. AEdyll - book 2). Winnie and Carl are still trapped in the world of AEdyll - the way home is blocked and their one hope of removing the barrier . . . well, it didn't exactly pan out the way they hoped. In the parallel storyline taking place six years later, Winnie's discovered someone is actively helping the Darkness and she's about to learn just how much worse things can get . . .

I'd intended to stay up last night and get some writing in just after midnight. However, I came home from our Fall Festival with a splitting headache. I crashed before 10pm and woke up around 3 still in pain. I did manage to get back to sleep and rest enough I didn't feel out of it for church.

Anyway, current progress bar for BGS:

1682 / 50000 words. 3% done!

There is Safety in Pepper Spray

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:31:35 GMT

Yesterday, I was attacked by a dog while delivering the mail. The Post Office knows this will happen sooner or later. In training, we're told that if you like dogs, you'll probably have one incident with a dog in your first three years. If you're afraid of them . . . make that nine months. I like dogs and in seven years, I've had two truly serious concerns - yesterday being the second one.

He didn't get me. I backed away from him and used the dog spray on him - twice. He got the message the second time. I also discovered how badly the dog spray canisters leak when they're old. I ended up with the orange oily stuff all over my right hand. I used a full bottle of water to wash it off and even then I made a point of not touching my face until I'd thoroughly washed my hands. As an aside, a solid scrub with the fingernail brush would have been a good idea. I still had some of it under my nails - not enough to really hurt, but the burning sensation isn't fun.

I finished the GCB read through. I can already see where I'll need to do quite a bit of clean up on this project. Part of that is going to include getting Campaign Cartographer installed on this computer so I can recreate the map of AEdyll and mark out the towns and landmarks. And then, there's the world bible that needs to be put together. But I see gold beneath the dross of this project.

Just over 48 hours to NaNoWriMo . . . BGS outline is making slow progress. This one is a little more challenging because I split the party and now have to divide the past story chapters into a Winnie part and a Carl part. Which means Winnie is getting a larger share of the writing now. It feels important to start putting some of the past into her POV because of where this storyline ultimately ends, but I don't want to completely shut out Carl's voice either. This book may end up bigger than GCB . . . and some of the early chapters may end up moving to that book when I finish the major revisions. Don't know. Too soon to tell.

Like last year, I'll be posting more frequently during NaNo than I have been - just to keep everyone updated on how I'm doing.

Meteors and Musings

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:26:03 GMT

I set the alarm clock for dark:thirty this morning so I could watch the Orionid meteor shower a bit. I didn't watch for more than half and hour before going back to bed, but I did get to see several beautiful meteors. It made me grin thinking about another late night in the schoolyard at Litchfield Elementary - looking at Haley's comet through telescopes borrowed from the high school - and here I was looking at the after effects of that visit all these years later.

I made good progress on the BGS outline yesterday. I managed to throw in a complication for the characters that will be rather difficult to solve. I've also noticed I'm doing something rather odd with character introductions on this project. For the uninitiated, the AEdyll stories are told in parallel format - one storyline takes place in the past, the other occurs in the present. It's the same set of characters, so I'm having to write both who they are and who they were simultaneously. However, I find I'm introducing new characters into the present storyline before the MCs meet them in the past. I've done this with three characters so far. The strange thing is . . . I think it works - for these stories, anyway.

Today We Are Ten

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:18:21 GMT

Ten years ago today, Joy and I said our wedding vows. In that time we've gone through the births of three children, two miscarriages, a job change, bought a house and a van. Somewhere in there, we saved the world, though you'd hardly know it to look at it now.

In those ten years, I've learned a few things about marriage. Those who are married will recognize much of this. Those who aren't, but one day hope to be married . . . pay attention, there will be a test.

1) Marriage takes work. Like a railroad handcar on a steep slope, you and your spouse are either growing closer together or drifting apart. Closeness is at the top of the hill and you have to work at it if you're going to move in that direction. You may not both be working, but the car can move up the hill from the effort of one person. It's just easier if you're both working. If you don't work at it, you'll end up alone.

2) Romance doesn't end at the altar. Yeah, I know that's where the romance novels typically stop. You have to keep romancing your spouse. Don't stop dating your spouse just because you share an address. Keep in mind, romance doesn't necessarily mean flowers and candlelight dinners. It can also mean washing dishes. (That last part is courtesy my dad, who's been married 47 years. I figure he knows a thing or two about marriage.)

3) If your right eye offends your spouse, pluck it out! Yeah, I'm misquoting Christ - but He's got a point. Anything less than a deity that takes precedence over your spouse needs to go. If you're spending more time questing on an MMORPG than you are with your spouse, there's a problem. The love of your life is far more important. Frankly, I still love the scene in Fireproof when Kirk Cameron's character, realizing how his Internet habit is wrecking his life, takes the computer outside and smashes it. Work, friendships, hobbies - all these things should take a back seat to the person you vowed to spend your life with.

4) Consider your advice source. You know that friend who's always giving you marriage advice - the one who's been divorced twice, the drama queen who's perpetually in unhealthy relationships or grousing about the person they're with? Why would you take relationship advice from this person? Your best bet: listen to what they tell you to do and then do the EXACT OPPOSITE. There's a reason their relationships keep falling apart and it's probably them.

So, that's the best of what I've learned in ten years. Joy and I are hoping to one day make the Guinness Book of Worlds Records for longest marriage. And for those who are wondering . . . yes, we've been accused of acting like newlyweds for the last ten years.

Workshopping and a holiday

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:09:56 GMT

Since I have today off (but the rest of the world doesn't), I took today to clean up the next four chapters of OAL and get the posted onto the OWW. I figure I'll do a few more reviews later this week now that life has calmed down a little.

Meanwhile, we're now twenty days away from the start of NaNoWriMo. I did some work on the AEdyll outline this morning after finally deciding what nifty SFX of mass destruction I could use that hadn't seen use in a disaster flick in the last ten years. Now, I just need to work out a few details about the pirates who show up in this book and get back into the swing of it. I figure I should have ten to twelve chapters worth of outline ready by Nov 1. That's about what I had last year.

At this point, I'm thinking that after OAL is completely workshopped, I'll restart the agent search.

Now, a few of you are probably wondering how I feel about the Coyotes season so far. It's just been four games, but I can see a real improvement in my favorite team under Coach Tippett. I'm hoping for a win today!

Fun Time!

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:45:56 GMT

The Guides tell me they're bored and are demanding entertainment in the Roost. So, I've got a little game for anyone who wants to participate.

Take the title of a book, short story or movie and combine the last word with the first word of something else - preferably something you'd find in the supermarket and then give a one sentence description of the new story that results. For example:

Edgar Allen Poe's The Telltale Heart of Romaine: A vegetarian is driven mad by a steady crunching sound only he can hear.

or

Richard Adams' Watership Downy: Rabbits caught in the runoff from a semi-accident become fluffy soft when it rains and are attacked by other jealous rabbits.

Bonus points for anyone who can work sock puppets into their plot.

Weekly goals and HOCKEY!!!

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:30:46 GMT

Still in the midst of the GCB read through. However, it's working. I have an idea of where BGS is going. With AEdyll, I'm finding myself doing something more akin to janni 's exploratory draft than my usual outline and write method. With GCB, I did outline . . . but I was usually only a chapter or two ahead of my narrative at any given time once NaNo got into full swing. Frankly, I'm not going to sweat it if I don't have a full outline come Nov. 1.

I also did some adjustments on OAL to link some of the new material into the later parts of the book. There's still a few minor adjustments I wish to make near the end, but I hope to post a few more chapters up on the OWW soon.

Speaking of the OWW, I've been trying to put in a few more reviews in the last week. I owe a number of people reviews. Ironically, one of the people I reviewed for this week turned out to be an old friend - one I hadn't heard from in a very long time.

And, it is hockey season once more! I like the moves the Coyotes have been making and I'm hoping for a big win over LA tomorrow. (Really hoping for it, 'cause my fantasy team is heavy on the Desert Dogs.) I want a lot to howl about this season, especially with all the turmoil over the ownership of the team.

Elizabeth's first birthday was this week. Here's the slideshow of her eating her birthday cake:

Hard to believe my little girl is one year old.

A True Weekend

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:44:50 GMT

I actually have tomorrow off! It's been a month since I had a Saturday off.

I'm also pleased to say I accomplished most of my writing goals for this week. Most of them revolved around OAL, and I got the new chapter and a rewrite up on the OWW. I suspect I'll be ready to post the next few chapters soon. I've got the points. I do want to get another review written before the weekend is over and start a read through on GCB. I need to refresh my memory on AEdyll so I can get the outline going on BGS. (I'm beginning to wonder if all my books are going to end up with three letter abbreviations.)

Tomorrow, we're going to the Arizona Science Center for the member's preview of the new Robots exhibit and so Isaac can get his picture with Sid the Science Kid. And when we're done there, we'll be heading over to the Chick-fil-a at Gateway Pavillions for Elizabeth's first birthday party. Joy ordered a dragonfly cupcake cake from Safeway. Gonna be lots of fun.

Singing Along

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:55:11 GMT

Saturday, Joy, Anna and I attended the charity screenings of Serenity and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog in Tempe. Finally got to see one of my best friends for the first time in several years. (*waves to Colin on FB*) Elizabeth went with us - she slept through the movie, but was an avid participant in the "sing along" portion of Dr. Horrible . . . even if she didn't restrict her singing to the songs. She also notes that the Arizona Browncoats' recipe for Fruity Oaty Bars is nummy.

Afterwards, we had dinner at Uno's and took a walk down Mill Ave. We were about halfway down the street before we realized Anna was still wearing the fake mustache from the Bad Horse chorus portion of the DHSAB prop bag. She kept it on. (Got lots of complements on it, too.) We paid visits to some of the old haunts Joy and I were familiar with - common locations from the Rage Against the Darkness LARP. At dinner, Colin commented he'd recently overheard a couple of guys talking about the game - remembering plotlines, characters, and rules fixes we'd kludged in to deal with various things. RAD's ended years ago, but apparently, we live on. Good stories do that. They take on lives of their own and can't be killed.

Unfortunately, Mill Ave isn't what it was in those days. The Centerpointe theater is gone, along with almost everything on that end of the street. Charlie's shut down at the same time RAD did. There's another coffee shop in it's place, now. Changing Hands moved to a new location even before that. From what I saw, the hippie look is back. On the whole, it felt like something was missing . . . but I suppose that's just nostalgia. The old haunts have been handed over to a new generation. After all, a good setting must move on and be populated by new characters with their own stories to tell.

Still, would have been nice to climb Hayden Butte and howl. Something to think about for a reunion.

Long Live the King

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:40:53 GMT

I just found this article from the Washington Post. Seems the plot of many fantasy novels isn't so far off from real life after all.

Crawling towards Apothesis

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 07:08:35 GMT

So, the new Chapter 3 for OAL is done. Well, the rough draft of it is done. I'm going to do edits on the additions to other chapters before going back and editing it. It really is a monster of a chapter for this book, clocking in around 2500 words compared to the previous chapters which run around 1500 words. It has bits I like and bits I don't.

I also need to do some editing on the additions to what is now Chapter 4. Tried doing some of those today, but I'm not as happy with them as I'd hoped. Some elements will need a rewrite, some need editing.

And before anyone says it: There is no typo in the title of this post. I double checked my word choice and I have the right word.

Now, for some linkage fun, m_stiefvater posted a delightfully funny public service announcement on her blog today. Go Team Kraken!

In which there is much blood and gore . . .

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:09:22 GMT

My part in this weekend's drama began with my usual "halfway through the route" phone call to my wife. Instead of her usual cheerful greeting, she answered the phone with: "Michael gashed his leg open. The paramedics just got here. I'll call you back."

So, for those who haven't heard the story, here's what happened.

Michael tripped getting off the couch and landed on a glass goblet Isaac left in the floor. The glass shattered, slicing a good three inch cut in his leg right around his ankle, going through the flesh and poking out the other side. He says he spent the first few moments screaming in shock, but without pain. However, he gathered his wits and organized Jacob and Isaac into an emergency team. While Jacob went to neighboring houses to seek help, Isaac called 911. Yes, you read that right, our three year old initiated the 911 call. Joy was out grocery shopping and arrived home just after the call was placed. While she worked with Mikey to try and stanch the blood, Anna and Jacob got the freezer and refrigerator items put away and kept Isaac and Elizabeth out of the blood all over the living room and dining room carpet.

Our local volunteer fire department arrived quickly, evaluated the situation and determined they needed to transport him to an ER. Anna, who arrived with Joy, went with Mikey in the ambulance. Joy told her we'd meet her at West Valley Hospital and then she called me back.

I took a few minutes off from delivering the mail to contact Mom and our Head Deacon. Less than a minute after I got off the phone with our Head Deacon, our assigned Deacon called me to double check where Mikey was headed. He and his wife were going to the movies, but they left to meet my son at the hospital.

Here's where things get problematic. Joy has the van. I can't leave work until she can come get me. So, I keep delivering the mail, praying for Mikey all the while. Then, Mom calls me. She's at West Valley's ER department with both Decons and our pastor. Mikey and Anna aren't there. Triage says they diverted them to a trauma center because they don't have a vascular surgeon on staff, but they don't know what trauma center they sent them to. There are three possibilities: Thunderbird Good Samaritan, St. Joseph's, or Phoenix Children's. No one knows where our son is and Anna doesn't have a cell phone with her or know our cell phone numbers by heart.

Joy drove to our volunteer fire station, but no one was there. She went back home and found the number for Buckeye PD. The dispatcher there transferred her call to the fire department who did know where they were going. We relayed the information to Mom. They were headed to St. Joe's. Our family friend, Vanessa, had Joy drop the rest of the kids off at her house and said they could keep them as long as we needed them to. Joy picked me up at work and we headed to the hospital.

Mikey was unconscious from the pain meds when we got there and a doctor was stitching up the cut - first on the inside and then the skin. Because of all the critical things in that area (tendons, ligaments, major blood vessels), she ordered a CT scan to see if he'd damaged the blood vessels. All through this, the cut was still seeping blood. His feet were covered in it. Everyone there took turns going in to see him.

CT scan confirmed he'd cut an artery which meant surgery to repair it. Since St. Joe's didn't have a pediatric vascular surgeon on call last night, they transferred him to Phoenix Children's. This time, Joy rode in the ambulance with him. A nurse was waiting to take me back to them when I walked into the ER.

For those who don't know, PCH is a beautiful hospital. They have kid sized benches outside decorated with bright mosaics. One bench has a pair of turtle statues next to it - one hoisting the other up to climb onto the bench. The hallway walls are decorated with interactive art and handprints from patients. There are a pair of sculptures with horses you can set swaying so they look like they're running across the desert. Every room has colorful artwork in it and the ER waiting area has a play area built in. The staff are friendly and explained everything to Michael as they went.

We met the surgeon and his team just outside the OR. He'd looked over the CT results and Mikey'd done worse than just cut the artery. He took a chunk out of it, gouged the bone, and sliced four tendons - all of which needed repair. He estimated an hour and a half for the surgery. Our friend Christopher (who'd arrived just a little bit before) walked with us to the red line to see Mikey off. Last year, we'd stood in that same spot for Chris' first surgery and now, here he was with us for Micheal.

Mikey was in surgery from around 11:30 pm to 1 am. Everything went well, but they put a cast on the leg and gave him strict instructions he couldn't put any weight on it for the next two months. If he does, he risks destroying the repair job on his tendons and a second repair will be much harder if it's possible at all.

They released him from the hospital this afternoon and we got him home a little bit a go. He's already a pro on the crutches. We've got a big mess to clean up in the dining room and living room. Several patches of the carpet are just saturated with blood.

As far as I'm concerned, I have three heroes on my hands. Mikey showed leadership in a crisis. Jacob showed compassion - his every thought through this has been for his siblings. And Zac brought in the cavalry. I can't thank the folks who supported us through the last two days enough: both sets of grandparents, our pastor, everyone who came to see Mikey in the hospital and our friends who've been praying for him. Thank you all for your help through this. Joy and I are forever greatful.

The Reading List: Catching Fire

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:08:14 GMT

It's very difficult to write a summary for this book without giving away part of The Hunger Games and I know there's a few folk who read my blog who still haven't read that book.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

It's been six months since Katness Everdeen survived the Hunger Games. Her mother and Prim are provided for. Every family in District Twelve gets a monthly shipment of food from the Captiol. But Katness' victory is being seen as an act of rebellion - one that's stirring up unrest in the other Districts. President Snow personally delivers an ultimatum to her: convince everyone her final act in the arena was one of love inspired madness or everyone she loves - Prim, her mother, Gale - will suffer the consequences.

First, Collins' writing is as splendid as the first book. Katness' voice pulls you through the easy prose, drawing you through the story in an effortless arc. (Plus, big kudos to the copyedit folks at Scholastic. If there's a typo or typesetting error in this book, I missed it and I rarely miss seeing such things.) It's clear she followed much of the same structure she used for The Hunger Games, but twists it a bit. The book contains a number of reveals. Some of them work better than others, but nothing that really irritated except one.

The Quarter Quell bugged me because there's no mention of it at all in the first third of the book. Had it been foreshadowed a bit, I don't think it'd have been a problem, but it feels like it came out of left field.

On the whole, the book is a splendid second act in the trilogy. Second acts are often little more than setup for the third installment. (Back to the Furture Part II and PotC: Dead Man's Chest, anyone?) You should be able to look backwards from a good second act and see a logical outgrowth from the first. It should raise the stakes and, frankly, our heroes should lose and barely escape with their lives. I'm pleased to say Catching Fire doesn't fall into the 'setup' school of second acts. There are a few places where the plot feels forced, but not enough to ruin my enjoyment of the book.

Collins' mastery of the haunting final page is as evident in this one as with The Hunger Games. For Babylon 5 fans, if you remember when Garibaldi walks into Sheridan's office and delivers the line: "It's started. They're bombing Mars." you'll recognize the feeling you get from the last sentence in the book. The line's been crossed. These are some of my favorite moments in any story - that point where the heroes realize they have to fight, the enemy's taken all other options off the table.

I'm going to call Catching Fire a four out of five stars. It's not as perfect as The Hunger Games (which would have been a tough act to follow for anyone and may stand as Collins' masterpiece) but it's a great book and a must buy for anyone who enjoys a good story.

Update pending

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:01:34 GMT

I read Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire last night. Yes, I know it released yesterday. Yes, it took me less than six hours. Yes, I will be posting a review . . . tomorrow. Maybe. If the shock has worn off.