Anniversary with Ocean the Wiggle Cat

Today is the three-year anniversary for me when it comes to my tuxedo kitteh Ocean.

Back in 2013, on Halloween eve without any trick-or-treaters knocking at my apartment door, instead I had gotten a tiny mewling and hungry kitteh, who quickly bonded to me and pretty much wiggled her way into my heart.

My first pet cat Tehya had just passed away a few weeks before, leaving me heartbroken and not entirely sure I could care for another cat. But Wiggles insisted on being my kitteh, so by Thanksgiving time - which is another sad anniversary time because that's when Page's skin cancer got worse back in 2011 and... and... - I took the effort to bring this new tuxedo kitteh to a vet for a checkup and adoption as Ocean.

And of course that all led to baby kittehs, and keeping Mal the Crazy Cat, and dealing with hissing fights between Ocean and Mal the last few weeks, and...

Sigh.

But then Ocean hops up on my chest and purrs away and wriggles back and forth looking for rubs and I find myself content.

Pokemon Go Busts Out the Ghosts for Halloween

A lot of online games will post a special update to their code to have Halloween-themed special events. City of Heroes did Trick-Or-Treating door events and special Monster spawns, and man do I miss those...

Anyway, Pokemon Go with their first year of existence is hosting a themed event where they upped the spawn rate of the Ghost, Night, and Memserizing-type Pokemon for capturing. This means a high uptick in Ghastlys, Haunters, Zubats, Drowsees, and Pidgeys. Yes. There will ALWAYS BE PIDGEYS. Get used to it.

They're also doubling the Candy drops per capture so that you get six candies instead of three, which helps towards evolving or training the Pokemon you're capturing. Sadly, they are not dropping enough Lapras or Squirtle candies along with it. :(

So... just a reminder kiddos. GOTTA CATCH ALL THEM GHOSTS.

Just DON'T CROSS THE STREAMS... wait, wrong ghost-themed gaming...

I Love It When Libraries Offer to be NaNo Write-In Locales

Just a huge shout-out to

Lakeland Public Library

Winter Haven Public Library

Lake Wales Public Library

Haines City Public Library

and my own Bartow Public Library

for hosting various Write-Ins throughout the month of November for my fellow NaNoWriMo authors for the USA:Florida:Lakeland region.

Just wanna note the Lake Wales Library was very helpful in some background research about the local citrus industry when I wrote my story "Snipe Hunt" for my anthology Last of the Grapefruit Wars!

I've Decided To Write Again in my Superhero 'Verse for NaNoWriMo 2016

Gonna try it again, maybe this year I'll get something pieced together for my Talents superhero 'verse that will be coherent and readable.

So, here we go again kids for NANOWRIMO!

Join me at the Lakeland region! The link is at http://nanowrimo.org/regions/usa-florida-lakeland

Calendar of Write-Ins:

Tuesday, November 1
NaNoWriMo First Day
7:00pm
KickOff Write-In @ Books A Million

Wednesday, November 2
7:00pm
Write-In @ Lakeland Public Library

Thursday, November 3
5:00pm
Write-in @ Winter Haven Library

6:00pm
Writing Group @ Just Costumes Rentals and Sales

Saturday, November 5
9:00am
Write-in @ Panera Bread Winter Haven

Sunday, November 6
7:00pm
Write-In @ Books A Million Lakeland

Monday, November 7
10:00am
Write-In @ Lake Wales Public Library

Thursday, November 10
6:00pm
Writing Group @ Just Costumes Rentals and Sales

Sunday, November 13
7:00pm
Write-In @ Books A Million Lakeland

Tuesday, November 15
5:00pm
NaNo Write-In @ Bartow Public Library

Wednesday, November 16
6:30pm
NaNo Write-In @ Lakeland Writers meeting

Thursday, November 17
5:00pm
Write-in @ Winter Haven Library

6:00pm
Writing Group @ Just Costumes Rentals and Sales

Saturday, November 19
9:00am
Write-In @ Haines City Library

Sunday, November 20
7:00pm
Write-In @ Books A Million Lakeland

Tuesday, November 22
3:00pm
Write-In @ Lake Wales Public Library

Saturday, November 26
9:00am
Write-in @ Winter Haven Library

Sunday, November 27
7:00pm
Write-In @ Books A Million Lakeland

Wednesday, November 30
5:00pm
NaNo Write-In @ Bartow Public Library


Hope to see some of you writing away this November!

Prepping for NaNoWriMo 2016

Okay, so National Novel Writing Month is officially every November, which is now NEXT MONTH.

That means a few things:

1) the NaNoWriMo website resets itself.

2) I need to submit a proposed book idea and proposed cover (optional, but fun to have).

3) The Lakeland FL Region will reset, which means I got to start managing the threads and the notes and the Calendar again!

4) I really need to come up with a good book idea this time.

Sigh.

For all the times I've NaNo'ed, I've yet to complete a "finished" work past the 50,000 word count. The remainders that follow in my wake are - upon re-evaluation - a bit messy even before the need for actual revisions to where I'm almost embarrassed by them.

I need to - NEED TO - come up with an idea I know I can follow up to its conclusion. I'd REALLY like to get one of these things honest-to-God done.

So, a quick poll to anybody willing to leave a comment. Should I write:

1) A fiction novel, focusing on the Talents superhero 'verse I've been working on?

2) A non-fiction novel of political ranting - which I kinda do anyway - during what will be the most anxiety-riddled election month in recent memory?

Please let me know what you think.

And get ready to NANO people! Word Sprints start in 27 days!