Anybody out there? Please respond.

For the past year—wow, I hadn’t realized it had been so long already!—I’ve been mirroring my posts on LJ and Blogger. But more and more of my friends are on LJ now, which means they’re reading my posts over there.

So my question is—is anyone still reading this?

I’ve been considering stopping the blog. It would be one less step if I didn’t have to mirror the posts here. And I prefer LJ—it’s more interactive and has several really nice features, including the ability to friend-lock posts.

So if you are reading this, and don’t have an LJ, and want me to keep posting here as well, let me know.

Thanks.

That clacking sound you hear

Another week and I’m finally getting around to posting. Shocking, I know, but at least I’m consistent.

So what have I been doing with my time?

type type type type type type
[and so on]

Yep. Writing. I’m well into the next novel now and that’s soaking up most of my free time. It’s going well and should be done on time. And no, I still can’t tell you what it is. :)

Also, our little boy was sick this week, enough so that we took him to the doctor. Turns out he’s got a cold or minor virus and all we can do is give him Tylenol and Advil, but it’s pretty scary when a child that young gets ill. He’s doing better now.
I didn’t wind up getting as much done last weekend as I’d hoped—less writing and none of the household projects, though I did get to spend a nice day with my lovely wife and wonderful children, so that was good.

This weekend was originally supposed to be busy—the wife going out tomorrow and leaving me alone with the kids and me going to a gaming con in NJ on Sunday—but I suspect one or both won’t happen now. The wife has been a little under the weather herself the past few days, plus our boy is still a little sick, and my big reason for going to the con seems to have stalled (a project I co-wrote—we were originally going to be selling it there but that’s tough to do when it’s not even laid out yet).

So that means a little movie- or TV-watching, perhaps—we found a way to improve the volume on our computer enough that we can finally catch up on second-season Dr. Who, yay!—and some hanging out and maybe those painting projects.

Oh yes, and writing.

The long week(end)

I keep meaning to post about the past weekend. Of course, since my body and brain think today’s Wednesday, it doesn’t feel like I’m all that tardy on the update. :)

The weekend was good, and long in a good way. I’m on Summer Publishing Hours now (have been since Memorial Day, will be until Labor Day), which means starting work a little earlier and leaving a little later Monday through Thursday and getting to leave a little before 1pm Friday as a result. Since I’m usually in early and often leave late regardless I basically get Friday afternoons off for free. Works for me.

So last week I left work around 1pm. I didn’t have to return until this past Wednesday morning, meaning I had 4.5 days off without having to touch my vacation. I know, pity me.

We actually didn’t do that much with the time, which was nice after the whirlwind weekend before.

Friday evening qadgop and xochitl42 came over to hang out and game. Saturday we spent the day relaxing with the kids (who kindly let us sleep a little late—9am, woo!) and then went grocery shopping that night. Sunday was more of the same. It was too hot and too wet to go out so we stayed home, relaxed, played with the kids, etc.

Monday I did some work—okay, I stayed up until 3am finishing some novel edits. I wanted to get it finished so I could start the next project, which I did.

Tuesday saw the return of qadgop and xochitl42, plus our friend mook, for a longer than usual (roughly 2pm-10pm) gaming session. We’re still playing Serenity, for those following along, though this storyline is rapidly drawing to a close. We discussed what to do next and the consensus was for me to run more another Serenity adventure with the same crew. I’m happy to do it, and they’ve certainly got enough plot threads about to lead to some interesting stories. We grilled all manner of meat (the lovely wife’s domain) and produced two batches of fresh fries (my bailiwick) and had margaritas and other drinks. Much fun was had by all. We missed the fireworks entirely and didn’t much care.

And then Wednesday rolled around and I had to drag myself out of bed at 7:30 again. Which is probably why I fell asleep on the couch around 10pm that night, and then again upstairs around 11—I basically tucked our daughter in (after the lovely wife had gotten her ready) and passed out on our bed until the wife woke me just before 1am so I could actually wash up and go to bed properly.

Not a lot else going on. I’ve seen the roughs for my second Warhammer cover—it’s very cool and by the same artist who did the first cover. I’m not allowed to show it off yet because Black Library wants to reveal it in their catalog first, but as soon as they give the okay I’ll have it up here. I’m already working on the next novel, not the third Warhammer but something else—I’ll give more details as soon as I have clearance.

This weekend should be nice and quiet. Gaming tonight, a bit of writing each day, maybe a little house work—I have a chair rail in the loo and a new radiator cover I found for the living room that both need some paint—but otherwise not much going on.

And maybe by Sunday my body will have realized it’s a normal weekend, so I can wake up properly Monday morning.

A Worthy Cause

My good friend James Wallis, who anyone who does RPGs has probably heard of, is doing a pilgrimage. It's for an excellent cause and James is an excellent fellow. He's looking for people to donate money--not to him, but to Cancerbackup.

James has a blog. It's here:
http://www.magnumopuspress.com/blog/

I encourage everyone to check it out, donate if you can, and spread the word.