Autumn/Winter Update:
I know it’s been a while, but a lot of things have happened in the last few months that made it take a while before getting this update out. The biggest news is that I am currently in Northern Ireland for at least the next 6 months. Around the end of August and beginning of September the Wife and I decided we’d had enough of being far apart and we began looking at our options. The lawyers confirmed that I could travel wherever I liked as long as I didn’t go to the Republic of Ireland while my visa was still being processed, so I did! We decided that I would visit Northern Ireland, since the border is not too far from our house.
So, on October 30th, I left Florida and headed to a little apartment to live out of in a small down near the border of Northern Ireland and Ireland. The picture for this post is my new backyard. What’s hard to see is that there’s a stream behind the 2nd gate. It’s quite lovely here and I’m so happy to be able to see the Wife again (she’s a California commute away from where I am). She was in the apartment when I got here and yeah, much cuddling and talking and emotional crying happened. It’s so nice to know that she’s not too far away and that we’re in the same time zone!
I’m still waiting for my visa to come through. Nothing has changed on that score. Sigh.
Book Updates:
Nothing new with Nemetona or the other Survey series sequels yet. Too much life stuff going on at the moment, but hopefully we’ll get there.
However! I am writing again! Yay! This time in a completely different genre: paranormal shifter romance. I couldn’t find the smut I wanted, so I’m writing my own. Honestly, that’s how it usually works, you know? I’ll be writing that under the penname of “Lulu Spencer” (and a free ebook copy of Nemetona for anyone who guesses where that name comes from!), so look for that sometime in the next year or so, depending on how life stuff goes. It’s good to have my writing mojo back!
Twitch Updates:
The downside of being here, though, is that I can’t do my Twitch streams (it’s a technical thing with my visas), so streaming is on hiatus indefinitely. It’s a bit of a bummer, but there’s not much I can do about it. However, I’ll be hosting body doubling writing sprints on my Discord server, so if you’d like to join me there, please come on by! I’ll still be doing pomodoro sprints, breaks and all, but you can supply your own music! I’m thinking Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 pm UK time (2 pm Easter, 11 am Pacific US) for the time being. Maybe a third day if I feel like it. Just join the #body-doubling voice channel when you see me online!
Fountain Pen Update:
I did get a TWSBI Swipe just before I left Florida. I already have a different color Swipe at home in a box somewhere, but the salmon colored one is one I’ve wanted for a little while now. I do recommend getting the TWSBI cartridges for this pen, though. It technically fits standard international cartridges, but the standards I have didn’t stay on well, especially on the plane. Thankfully, the ink stayed in the pen itself, so I just had to clean the pen, not my whole bag!
Other Stuff:
Most of my Twitch viewers will know that my Dad had another back surgery in July which kept him in the hospital most of July and August. Thankfully, he’s been home since the end of August and is getting around better now as his body heals and he does physical therapy. There were a few scary spots during this time, but he got through it. He was doing so well that I wasn’t as worried about him and my Mom when I left.
The election was a huge disappointment. I don’t think Harris did a bad job of it, but I think a lot of folks underestimated just how racist and misogynistic the US really is. I really wanted to be hopeful and have hope in humanity, but, well… I’m thinking about doing some blog posting around this, so I won’t go into it too much. What it boils down to for me is that I’m feeling more punk rock/rage metal about the whole thing and I shouldn’t have expected much from a country that was founded on slavery and religious cults.
To that point: If you’re someone who follows my blog and voted for Trump, you can kindly fuck off and unsubscribe. You can deny all you want that you “didn’t vote for that!” but you did vote for racism, misogyny, and bigotry. I hate the idea that the colony of "New Harmony" in my book Unity is closer to reality than not, and shame on those who decided that that reality and a convicted felon was a better choice than putting a highly qualified black woman in the White House. You don't have to announce your departure, nor do you need to convince me otherwise. Just go.
On a more positive note, it’s time for me to wrap this up and get some more writing done! Have a Happy Turkey Day, Blessed Yule, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, Happy Hanukkah, and happy whatever other Winter holiday you celebrate! I’ll have an update again in the New Year!