And Then My World Fell Apart...

...but only just for a while. I'll pick up the pieces and rebuild it again. Loss does that.

Two weeks after my Mom died suddenly and I'm swimming through choppy waves of emotions. I can almost fool myself into thinking that I'm alright, but then a memory, a thought, something I see or hear bursts that bubble with another river of tears. I can sometimes contain the tears... but not always.

The Last Day / Few Minutes of 40...

Today is the last day of my 40th year! 

Time to set some goals for the next year of my life.

40 Goals...

In no particular order...

Here goes!

1. Set up a regular Blogging schedule... and stick to it!
2. Finish all the short stories I currently have in the works
3. Send those stories off to be published
4. Get published? (Okay, so I have no control over this... but it is a goal!)
5. Finish my novel: The Jurisphere (working title) - hopefully this'll be the last draft... to be seen!
6. Work on my novel: Sister Stitch-Witch
7. Clean my room (Come on, with a list of 40, I gotta have some easy ones! Sadly, this is not that.)
8. Research getting an MLIS degree
9. Run the No Shush Salon
10. Take myself out for writing dates more often 
11. Begin a writers' group
12. Get a bunny... maybe?
13. Foster more kittens
14. Visit my family!
15. Snuggle ALL the furry creatures living in my house!!!
16. Get a new car... maybe?
17. Learn illustration to a satisfactory degree
18. Illustrate the Stanley stories
19. Work on my Spanish
20. Read LOTS of books
21. Watch LOTS of movies
22. Study Science (For Science!)
23. Sew stuff
24. Get another tattoo or add to one of the ones I've already got
25. Set up a writing schedule
26. Go camping
27. Try new foods
28. Write at least one note of appreciation each month
29.  Learn more about trees
30. Organize my sock drawer
31. Get a drawer for my socks
32. Help with finishing the Death Metal Kitchen
33. Do more rituals
34. Meditate
35. Begin a podcast for Ninyx Natterings Presents
36. Join a gym (YMCA?) with a swimming pool
37. Research different librarian career paths
38. Play the Harp again
39. Go kayaking
40. Invent teleportation 

How To Get Hit On at the Supermarket in Six Steps

1. Take six walks with six dogs. The hotter the day, the better.
2. Be certain to you've been sweating... a lot! I mean, sweating so much that your eyelids are sticking to themselves when you blink.
3. Make sure you got sloppy kisses from no less than three of the dogs you walked so you smell like dog breath.
4. Wear your most bedraggled work-shirt. The more stains and holes, the better!
5. Wear a big floppy hat over your very messy hair.
6. Make eye contact, 'cause you always do, and smile.

This should allot you at least a, "hey!" from a strapping young man and maybe even wink from a lovely young woman.
But if you're lucky... if your very, very lucky, you might even get a, "how ya doing? You're looking sexy, baby!" or maybe even a stocker telling you about a deal at another store on something you're about to purchase.

New Persona

With the intent of eventually setting up a YouTube channel where there's a bit of theater (which I miss) combined with my writing, I created a new persona. I have yet to do much with the YouTube channel. (But lo, much will be done!) I have given her a facebook page, a twitter account and she now has her own blog. The idea behind the blog is for it to be the testing ground for new writings. I'm also updating that blog daily. So some of it may just be, well, natterings. Today's only the fourth day, but so far... Yeah, it's only the 4th day.

Nin Nyx Natterings

A Writerly Day (with very little writing)

Today, Saturday, I went to the Hinsdale Public Library where they were hosting one of the seminars from a series a few libraries are doing called, "Inside Writing & Publishing". The seminar I went to was called, "A Writer's Guide to Tech Tools". This is something I'm deeply interested in so, while I was sad I couldn't make it to the other seminars, I was excited that this one fit into my schedule.

The presenter had a lot of interesting point. Only the seminar should have been called, "The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing" because that's what it focused on. If I had known that it was going to be about self-publishing, I wouldn't have taken time off work. I am interested in self-publishing, but it isn't what I was hoping to spend my Saturday afternoon on. She did touch on some tech things, but I already knew all of the things she had to say. Then, when asked about some of the tech aspects, she said, "I don't know." (I even knew a few answers to some of the questions she couldn't answer.) But when asked about self-publishing, she gave more info than what the person necessarily wanted.

It was disappointing. But I refuse to let it be a waste... I took from it a deep conviction to always be clear about what I'm teaching or presenting.


In the evening I went to the Tamale Hut for their reading series and Open Mic. There was some good writing! I was especially pleased with the readings of a few very talented writers whose stories just blew me away! Sheila Johnson wrote an eerie story about how the past can rip someone apart. Michael Penkas had me rolling with his reimaged version of the conversation between the christian god and Moses and how that god really wished he could have used more plagues in Egypt. Jenny Seay once again made wrestling interesting through her depiction of young wrestlers finding their place in the wrestling and the world. There was other good writing, but these were the three stories that really grabbed me.

Meta: Posting on Posting

So my plans to update twice a week has been an abominable FAIL!!! Then, the longer I went without posting, the harder it was to kick myself in to posting again. (Stupid loop of stupidity!)


BUT!!! That's not to say that I have not been writing... I HAVE!!! Here, let me catch you up on all the things I have been doing in my writerly life:

• I dubbed 2013 "The Year of Rejection"! (I was going to post about that closer to Jan. 1st...)
• I FINISHED my story, "High Priestess of Roadkill" AND sent it off to be published!
• It was rejected, but there were some helpful comments that came with that rejection
• I have sent it to two friends for critique
• I am working on two new stories:
• "Why I HATE Dragons!" (working title)
• The Birth of Squid Shoes: A Cautionary Tale
• I have started research on a Secret Project... (Oooooooooo!)
• After working on a map and timelines for Tech Forsaken (maybe working title?), my Jurispherian novel, I have set it aside. I got lots of very helpful critiques from my friends, but I was getting waaaaaaay too bogged down and need some time away from it. I plan to pick it back up again in March.

I have also, sadly, hit a glitch in the "and now I must purchase a computer" department of my life. This is partially due to finances, partially due to indecision and partially due to the demands of the "Secret Project... (Oooooooooo!)"

I'm also going to give myself a specific day of the week to post to this blog. So since today is Monday, that is the day it will be! (I thought this through quite a lot... can't you tell?)

Postings every Monday! Aaaaaaaaand GO!!!