What I'm Reading. What I'm Watching. What I'm Breathing.

There are doors that should never stay closed. Passageways that should never stay dark. Take a peek at the stories that impact & influence how I feel, think, and exist in this shared world of ours---there's magic in every word you touch.

It's February 24, 2025. I'm writing. I'm reading. I'm plotting. I'm planning. I'm hoping and dreaming that my book collection #2 of short stories (Born of Dirt & Dust) gets picked up by one of the three independent publishers that are reviewing (judging, criticizing, scrutinizing) my work. It's s tough game ... getting published. A subjective, vulnerable, wounding, and heartbreaking process. I am forced to rely on the teeter-tottering opinions of editors. But I won't change my vision of the characters and worlds and scenarios that I build, one word at at time.

I wait, counting the tick-tocking arms growing and shrinking across the faces of my clocks in the kitchen, living room, den, bedroom, iPad, Kindle, smart (and unsmart) tv. Across the wrinkles of my face mirrored from every closed window I see. "Open," I say, yell, demand, whimper. "Open that publishing door and let me come inside."

The average response time--from what I've learned--averages 3 to 6 to 12 to 18 months. What do I do with myself during this painful waiting period? Write, of course! And read book after book after book. It's February 24th, and this month alone, I've read a historical-fiction novel, a speculative-fiction novella, a middle-grade fiction, and two graphic novels. On my desk is The Husbands by Holly Gramanzio, a debut novel that I'm looking forward to reading for virtual book club with friends in Toronto.

I also fill my time (while waiting to hear word from my potential publishers) streaming thrillers on Netflix, Prime, and Peacock. Dropped my Disney+ subscription which also dropped Hulu (boo!). I'm currently caught between Kaos and Madness on Netflix. Lioness on Prime. Day of the Jackal on Peacock.

Most important of all, I'm on version/draft #2 of my 90k-word thriller novel. It's the most fun I've had the past 24 months. Each chapter diving deeper into answering why Riley's 3-year-old brother's death was no accident.

Until next time, keep reading all those books that you love. Keep watching all those films and shows that make you shiver and shout. Keep breathing and remember to have fun, to be kind, and to say hello as many times as you can to your family, friends, and neighbors---they all have a special way of bringing magic into your life.