I didn't think we'd ever get to this day.

Graduation day. Yes, I can finally say that my last child has graduated high school. Whew!

Sk8monkey spent every year of school, from kindergarten on, bored out of his mind, and failing to do assignments, or homework. There were times I wondered if he'd just give up and quit, deciding to get a GED instead.

But, after many threatening words much encouragement, he finally pulled himself together, and last night I watched him walk into the Koury Center at Elon University to the sound of Pomp and Circumstance.

I was so proud. Also, relieved. Now we've got to get him enrolled for classes at the local community college. He'll be taking automotive technology, and I think he'll do well. He likes working on cars, especially his own.

So, in a couple of years I'll be watching him do the cap-and-gown walk again. By then, his brother, Second of Three, should be finishing his bachelor's degree, so I'll get a two-fer. I can't wait!

Still no news on the book front. I'm sunk into this blah period and just not getting work done. I did write down some ideas for a short story series, though, so that's something.

Anyway, Gentle Readers, that's the latest big event from my world. Take care and congratulate a grad, or encourage someone to become one!

tentative cover and story list

I've been working away at the holiday collection, getting the cover half-way decent and deciding which order the stories are going to be in so I could do a linked table of contents.

I was sort of scared about that TOC, but it turned out to be much easier than I'd feared. The Smashwords Style Guide was pretty straight forward, especially since my eyes glaze over when the tech talk starts. Wonder if that's why I never managed to become a programmer? lol

Anyway, here is the cover, which I think is in it's final form. It looks good in grey scale also.  And my boys liked it. They seemed rather impressed, actually.

I worked on this for a while, trying to get the image strong enough to see in thumbnails, especially the blood splatter, but not overpower the font. It wasn't until I changed the color from a sepia tone to the green, as well as changing the title color from black, that it worked.

I also learned how to do a drop shadow! Gosh, I'm rather impressed.

My goat was to have at least five stories, coming in around 15,000 total words, for this collection, and I made it. I'm doing the final editing now, but it should stay over the 15K mark.

Here's the list, subject to rearranging and blurb changes:

A Visit From St. Nick 
  What could Santa Claus want with an elderly Jewish grandma on Christmas Eve?

In the Meadow

Winters in North Dakota can be harsh, but this year the piles of snow are a blessing.

Miracle in 34B

The unwavering belief of a little girl in the magic of Santa Claus restores the faith of an enigmatic man.

It's a Wonderful Life

A man wonders what good he's ever done for anybody, until he meets someone who shows what his life was worth.

Figgy Pudding

  The last customer in the restaurant on Christmas Eve brings a special gift to the overworked staff waiting to close up and go home.

There's one more little tease for a story running around in the back of my mind, and if it decides to show itself in time there may be a sixth story. We'll just have to see how that goes, as I plan to publish this collection on November 7th.

So, that's the plan, Gentle Readers. Until next time we meet.

I. Am. Going. Insane.

OK, let me clarify that.

I am going insane-er.

Previously I had noted that I was rewriting my novel, "Landfall", as I thought I had found the correct beginning. Well, after about 2,000 words total, I realized that I was working with the wrong main character. Oy!

So, I re-rewrote the entire thing from what should be the main character's point of view--another 800 words. Urgh. Still not right. I think I need to start further into the story, and work all these plot bits in later.

Back to the drawing board, as they say. I have been reading the Smashwords publishing guide, so I have Word set up properly, I hope, for the big day. I really want to get this novel up and running so I can work on the next thing. I am overflowing with ideas that are waiting anxiously to be written.

Until next time, Gentle Readers.