Apologies, More Delays, and a Little News

First let me apologize.  I seem to do that a lot, but it's always sincere.  My current project was put aside due to relationship issues taking up all of my mental resources.  Those issues are appearing to improve, but as those have begun to clear others have come to light.

I won't go into too many details since this is supposed to be about my writing and not about my personal life, but when my personal life intrudes into my writing and I let you guys down I feel I have to explain.  As such, I'll give you the top two non-relationship issues I'm facing.

First, money.  I don't have a regular job or regular source of income other than book sales, and those have sunk like the Bismarck, leaving me with little in the way of resources.  Money worries, in short, are stressing me out.  This makes me want to write more, obviously, but just because I want to write doesn't mean things come out easier or faster.  To help remedy this situation I looked for some freelance writing jobs online and found that I was in so far over my head I couldn't see daylight.  The systems for doing the work were confusing, the escrow fees were incredibly high, and the bid averages for anything that I'd be comfortable doing were so low that I'd be essentially working for free, especially with the escrow fees.  I may revisit the idea in the near future, but what I saw was very disheartening.

Second, my place of residence is falling apart.  I'm not really exaggerating, either.  Half the electricity in the house is wired through the same breaker and simply flipping it on throws sparks in my face as it slams back off.  Every time it drops below zero (like it does every winter for days at a stretch up here) I lose water.  I've already had a pipe burst requiring the services of a plumber (more money gone) and spent days without power in the last couple of weeks.  I'm currently without hot water except at one faucet, and that sink needs the drain replaced because water doesn't just leak, it runs in a steady stream out the bottom.  While I'm moderately handy, I don't have the tools to perform the repair myself.

I have many other minor reasons that keep getting in the way, too.  It's hard to think about being creative when all you can think about is how you are losing a person you love, how you can't afford to pay for things you need to have done, and how every other minor thing in your life seems to be coming up at once.  My car's trunk stopped shutting and seems to pop open at the smallest bump.  Just what you need when you're in the middle of an ice storm, right?  I've lost almost 20lbs due to stress because I just couldn't eat, which I needed to do, but the reasons for it are very unhealthy.  I just caught a cold that triggered another sinus infection flareup and if it hadn't been for some penicillin I could inject myself with, I'd be having extreme difficulty breathing right now with another case of bronchitis if not outright pneumonia, and I'm 17 days away from being able to see my doctor.

I need to relax and I need to write.  I've managed a few thousand words lately that I'm actually happy with, so maybe I can have something ready for publication by the end of the month.  I'd like to do that, both for all of you and for myself, and I need the revenue stream boost, but I can't make any promises.  I've broken too many to you guys already.

Having said that, I will make a promise.  I will answer any questions you guys ask.  I'm actually hoping to hear pretty much anything from you guys, so I'm going to ask you guys for two things.  First, if you have any questions, ask.  The worst I can do is not answer you.  Second, spread the word.  Tell people about the book(s).  You know Subject 12 and/or The Grand Granger is/are good.  I'm sure you know some people who would enjoy reading about Hammer or Reg and Xii.  Encourage them to take a look.  You'd be doing me a huge favor, and I appreciate that.

And, I have some news about that inquiry I received back in 2012 regarding the movie rights to Subject 12,  From the looks of things, the woman who contacted me left ICM Partners shortly, if not immediately, after contacting me.  This not only means that I have a good reason for not hearing back, it also means I have no way to contact anyone within the company to possibly expand upon that inquiry.  I do feel somewhat better knowing why I never heard back, but I just want to put the word out there that I am interested in representation, a movie deal, whatever.  Just contact me with whatever you have to say and I'll get back to you ASAP.  Thank you.

So, thanks for reading and for all of your support over the years.  As I get this piece closer to publication I'll update you again!  Take care and here's to both a prosperous and happy new year to you and yours!