'The Ballad of Bejus Fine' is progressing well, if a little slower than I usually write.

I'm taking my time. Trying to add interesting content, atmosphere, and emotion into the story. The characters are much more complex than my usual fast paced SciFi stories. 

I find myself writing for a while, then stepping back and reading, writing, repeat. It is helping me 'understand' my characters more. I'm letting my imagination brew and percolate the story and the people living the story.

Lots more research on the 'Dust Bowl' era of the Panhandle of Texas. I was born and grew up in Levelland, Texas, about 30 miles west of Lubbock. Smack in the middle of that period where the lush prairies were devastated in a matter of a few years due to drought and poor soil conservation.

Families and animals starved. Whole towns were deserted. People had a truly 'hard scrabble' existence. Or they moved away to escape the dismals times. By some counts 2.5 million people moved away from the Plains states by 1940! It was the biggest mass exodus from an area in American history.

The dust storms would last for days, burying crops and homes and killing livestock. The skies were black with dust and debris. The Sun was blocked for days.

I can remember, in the early '60s', looking across the cotton field behind our house and seeing a brownish-black cloud on the horizon. And that was decades AFTER the Dust Bowl 'ended'! I remember eating baloney, mustard and onion sandwiches on white bread and getting a mouthful of grit from the dust that was EVERYWHERE after a storm. ;-)

I hope all my writer friends are busy working on their stories and enjoying life.

There is only now.

'The Ballad of Bejus Fine' is in progress

 After multiple medical interruptions, and just plain life issues that we all have to deal with, I'm back to my next WIP.

'The Ballad of Bejus Fine'.

It's not a SciFi or ghost story or paranormal romance. It's a plain ole literary fiction, based in the Panhandle of Texas where I was born and grew up.

I chose to write this one because I need to stretch a little and improve my 'world building' beyond space ships and evil, ugly, alien invaders. ;-) I need to write a story that has real human drama. I need to to show myself that I can. And, of course, to show you that I can. 

I love my books, all of them. The 'buddy' SciFi spoof series , 'Arlo and Jake', has been an absolute gas to write. My readers have been awesome with their reviews and comments. I'll be writing more in that series as my Muse releases more cool story ideas. But I need to add some depth to my writing. Some human depth.

So. What do you do when you need to 'switch gears' for awhile?

Do you switch genres? Take a sabbatical? Pour two fingers of White Horse and ponder the Universe?

I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Be cool, everyone.

 First, please check out my book tabs on the right. That's where I pimp my books! 

I've been writing and publishing since 2006. My first book was 'Genome', a biotech thriller with a paranormal backstory. That's right, I mixed genres and it WORKS! ;-)

Next, I'm back!! My 'medical event' was a stroke and then a 'carotid endarterectomy' to clean out some plaque that blocked the blood flow by 75%! The Spice must Flow! ('Dune' lovers out there?) I look like Frankenstein's Monster on the left side. Didn't really affect my handsome looks that much. I think it adds a bit of charm, actually. Nothing like a 7 inch scar to add a little pizzaz to your face! ;-)

For the not faint of heart, go google that procedure on YouTube. It's unbelievable what medicine can do these days! I'm not a faint-at-the-sight-of-blood kinda guy, so I find these things fascinating. We've come such a long way from the discovery in the 19th century that tagged germs as something that affects illnesses. We knew about germs themselves in the 17th century.

I did some research about the procedure and turns out that the first successful carotid endarterectomies were performed in the early '50s! I'm so lucky to have been born in '52.

A personal note to everyone out there to pay attention to your body! Talk to your doctor about symptoms of stroke, heart attack, vascular issues, etc! Your doctor can only help you IF you talk to them about changes in your day-to-day feelings.

And eat a Mediterranean-style 'diet' for crying out loud! It's plenty delicious and varied and it WILL help keep you healthy with a little exercise on your part. Burgers and steaks are great occasionally. I enjoy a platter of Red Robbin's Cajun Clucks and Fries once in a while, too.

Writing has been spotty, considering I was in and out of the ER and then the hospital for the surgery. I'm working on Episode 9 of my new Amazon 'Vella story, 'Auntie Renita's Martian Motel'. I need to move that story to conclusion in the coming months. PLEASE go check out my 2 stories on 'Vella, I need to see some feedback on that new platform. The first few Episodes are FREE!!!

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Auntie Renita's Martian Motel

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After I finish 'Auntie Renita's, I'm going to pickup on a couple of stories I put on the back burner a while back.

Keep writing, my Friends!!