It's The Most Saturnalian Time Of the Year 2020

Welcome back to another year of the Roman celebration of the Winter Solstice!

I need to hire someone to do a better graphic design for the Saturnalia season.

Say what you want about the failings of Roman politics,
they knew how to throw a shindig!

Happy holidays to you all, ya pagans!

NaNoWriMo 2020: The Reckoning

Keeping it simple: Yes, I reached 50,000 words this time.

It's a second third fifth attempt at finishing a novel set in my superhero Talents 'verse, and here's hoping that this one finally has the kinks banged out of it so I can edit it into a coherent work.

There's roughly half a novel done in this, but it'll need so much more plugged in to make it sensible. I shouldn't crow too much, still working it, still writing it...

I will update on this - with more consistency and focus - so that I know I will get this one done...

Io Saturnalia to ye now!

It's NaNoWriMo Time 2020 Edition

 Once again, America, November is the time to cram 50,000 words into one day's work!

I kid, National Novel Writing Month spreads it out over 30 days. That makes it 1667 words per day, more manageable ya?

I'm going to finish working up on a superhero novel that I've been TRYING Gods help me to get done over the past ten years, and this year I'm feeling it because I am no longer distracted by other story ideas in me head. This is it, kids, I got this.

If you're a writer in Polk County, there's a Lakeland Region you can join and share in various Virtual Write-In gatherings! Look for USA::Florida::Lakeland and sign up with us.

See the rest of you on November 30th when I've got 50,000 and a semi-coherent novel of doom!

The Award

It came today in the mail!

I have Mal lying in repose behind it so you can see the white text more clearly on his black fur.

(hmmm) (contented sigh)

It feels good, getting recognition at something artistic - painting, writing, photography, singing, performing - you enjoy doing.

Thank you, Florida Writers Association, for this accolade!

National Black Cat Day 2020

Say hello to Mal the Crazy Kat (or Krazy Cat, one of the two) the Pan-Furr of the house!

You'll notice he's fixated on the snack that's about to drop into his belly!

(My online friends call their Black Cats "Pan-Furrs" because they're more fur than usual panthers, well you'll understand it when you see it)

Back Open For Business

Just to note today we re-opened Bartow Public Library for the public to come inside.

This is one of the riskier parts of the COVID-19 Pandemic, as the spread of the virus works best indoors in close quarters. A lot of the things the library staff has to do now involve:

• Making sure everyone is masked. Masks work to reduce the spread of the virus (via the moisture of our exhaling breaths). Most everyone who came in wore masks... but some refused to cover the nose, which still allows for their exhales to cause issues. Cover the mouth AND nose, please.
• Wiping down the computers especially the keyboards and mice after every person's use.
• Enforcing the social distancing such as the six-feet-apart rule. We're trying to mark off where people need to stand at the service/Information Desk.
• Putting checked-in items to quarantine for at least 72 hours.
• Trying not to stand too close while helping patrons, especially at the computers where a lot of the patrons uncomfortable with using computers insist on us helping by hand. We're trying to set up a virtual sharing between the staff computer to patron workstation to provide remote help.

So far, most of the other libraries in Polk County haven't seen outbreaks in them. I think one library in one of the smaller communities had a person test positive, they had to shut down for a week. We'll see how things play out in Bartow and how the patrons return to our building over the next couple weeks. It was quiet today, a brief rush during the afternoon when parents came in to use the computers and check out stuff for their kids.

Praying things stay safe for the staff and for the city. The COVID numbers are spiking as the flu season shifts into gear. That's the best we can do for now, muddling our way through the pandemic... 

Royal Palm Literary Awards 2020: Award Ceremony

Having submitted a Finalist in the category of Short Nonfiction: Article or Blog, with "Seven Reasons NOT to Invade Iran" from my You Might Notice a Trend political blog, I waited and watched last night's Royal Palm Literary Awards via online presentation (hi, pandemic!) for the results.

Which was this:

They haven't published the full list of winners - which covers Fiction and Nonfiction, Poetry, Published and Unpublished works - but I'll update this site with a link when I can.

This is a good, nice feeling. For a writer, there is some satisfaction when you get a work printed even when it's self-published like on a blog because there's the enjoyment of having committed the writing to paper (so to speak) and put it out there for entertainment or enlightenment or both. There is a lot of satisfaction (well, depending on how much of a perfectionist the writer is) when any work is lauded by peers.

Thank you, Royal Palm judges. I know it's tricky to give accolades to politically-tinged writing, and I am grateful you are wise enough to be open-minded to judge a work on its quality.

Now, back to blogging! (writes op-ed about how gun nut militias are ruining PT Cruiser's reputation as a cool retro car) ...What?