My Lengthy Absence

Funny how quickly time can slip by when you don't commit to a blog schedule...
I didn't make any posts after having my cat put down, because I knew I would miss him lying on the arm of the recliner as I typed. It's been nearly six months now, and we've actually had to say goodbye to another kitty, MacGyver, in that time. Now we're down to the four little ladies, and they're definitely more manageable than six cats were.

Rest in peace, Little Guy

Losing MacGyver was a shock. Jack had cancer, and we knew we would eventually have to say goodbye. But MacGyver was literally here one day and gone the next. He bugged me for a taste of my lunch on a Saturday, and Sunday he wouldn't eat anything. I called in sick to take him to the vet that Monday, and there was nothing they could do for him. It still bothers me that I didn't notice anything wrong with him in time to help him, but the four we have left are all healthy.

Additionally, in the time since my last post, I completed the rough draft for Holiday at Home, the third book in The POG Series, following the adventures of Marine veteran John Smith. While I do the editing on that one, I have started writing the fourth book in the series, The Deseret Diversion. In the fourth installment, John Smith is about to travel from his home in Flagstaff, Arizona, to Moab, Utah for the Easter Jeep Safari, when his administrator Alicia Englestone asks for his help. A friend of hers from her time in the Air Force has been lured into a polygamist sect, and the sect has relocated to a compound built into a bend in the river in the middle of nowhere. Alicia needs John's help to get her out. The task is further complicated by John's friends, Jason and Stephanie, coming out from North Carolina for the Safari, so a plan is worked out to include them.

In between writing, editing, and busting my knuckles at my day job, I have taken a renewed interest in metal fabrication. I posted an ad on Craigslist offering my services, and a customer contacted me about building a winch bumper for his truck, which is the same make and model as my own. It has taken some long nights in the garage, but I have a bumper ready for his truck. He also wants a rear bumper, which is still in the design phase right now.

Now I Kinda Want One For Myself

On a whim, I uploaded my Sci-Fi manuscript The Ondellus Determination to Kindle Direct Publishing. There was a time when I wanted to be a Sci-Fi author, but I lost the zeal for the project about two-thirds of the way through. I still think the finished story is worth the effort, but I will be sticking to regular fiction in the future unless the book's performance really exceeds my expectations. It was conceived as the first in a three-part series, but it will have to sell a lot of copies for me to write the rest of the series. I will try to market the book however I can, and I plan to sell hand-made tie-in merchandise. There is a tavern game in the book called Sinna Ki, played with throwing knives and numbered tiles, that I would like to see people actually play. I think it would suit a grown man more than Quidditch does.

A Sinna Ki match between Lokewa, the protagonist, and his brother, Treselo:

“Tell me, brother, do you share in the genetic trait of Sinna Ki domination?” Treselo asked as he strapped Tabrod onto a reading cushion in the middle of the lounge.

“In the presence of full gravity, I can hold my own,” I said. “Not so much in its absence.”

“Gravity or not, if we were to play, I believe the odds would favor you,” he said, mixing the numbered tiles with his left hand. They were kept in a black canister on the patrol base, as the lack of actual gravity would allow them to drift away if they were kept in a pile as with the terrestrial rules. “I have not played since we embarked on our journey.”

That nagging feeling that something was amiss returned to me, but I dismissed it, reasoning that he was just thrilled to have someone new to talk to. 

“Are you certain your muscles have rejuvenated sufficiently for the demands of this game?” I asked him.

“I am certain that I am more rejuvenated than my comrade Tabrod is at this point,” he said. “As for the demands of the game, how better to find out than by playing the game? Best two out of three?”

There was no talking him out of it, I could see. I reluctantly accepted his challenge, and we took our places on either side of the pedestal and drew our tiles. I looked at mine, careful not to let him see. 

I had drawn two fours and a one. I had no choice but to give him one of the fours. I held it out in my hand, value-side down. Treselo placed one of his tiles in my hand and removed the one I was holding.

We each looked at the tiles we had received. I could not believe my luck. He had given me a five. All I had to do was hit zeros with the knife throws. 

Treselo frowned and held up his tiles. He had a three and a one, in addition to the four I had given him. He needed to hit two ones or a two and a zero. I showed mine, holding back a grin.

“It appears that you do not need the favor of the odds, young Lokewa,” he said magnanimously. 

“By the rules, you have the first throw,” I said, retrieving the two twin scabbards from beneath the pedestal and handing him one.

He pulled a knife from the scabbard, examined its edge, then took careful aim and threw it. It flew straight, sticking firmly in one of the zero spots. I drew my first knife, reminding myself to be aware of the flatter trajectory in the lack of gravity. I aimed and threw, hitting the same zero spot. Treselo aimed and threw his second knife, just missing the two spot and sticking in a one. 

“Nine,” he said, looking disappointed. “Of course, there is still the possibility of you missing your throw and going over.”

“According to General Tarsk of Soxus, when your only chance of winning depends upon your opponent committing an error, you have already lost,” I said, throwing my knife. 

It stuck in the other zero spot. I had won the first round.

“Mind your pride, brother,” Treselo said. “We still have two rounds to play. I will retrieve the knives.” 

He set off for the wall, noticeably struggling to stand in the simulated gravity of the outer circumference as he plucked the knife blades from the target surface. I placed the tiles back inside the canister and spun it around my hand to randomize the contents. From the corner of my eye, I saw Chief Tombusk enter the lounge. She smiled at me as she strapped onto the cushion beside Tabrod, who was still barely coherent. Treselo returned with the knives and handed two of them to me.

I allowed him to draw his tiles first, then pulled out three for myself. I looked at mine and saw that I had two twos and a three. I selected the three tile to exchange. Treselo held out his hand with a tile in it, which I took as I placed mine in his palm. This time, he had given me a one. I needed five points to win. Aside from the three I had given him, Treselo had also drawn a four and a two, for a total of nine. 

“You throw first, Lokewa,” he said.

I made no effort to disguise my intentions. I aimed and threw for the five spot, just missing it and hitting the three adjacent to it. Treselo chuckled to himself and threw his first knife, hitting the zero on the left side of the board. I took a breath to steady myself, then took very careful aim and threw, sticking the point of my knife blade in a two spot. Treselo threw his remaining knife, hitting the same two spot, for a score of eleven.

“It would appear that you understated your proficiency to give me an overabundance of confidence, young brother,” he said, as he began to make his way back to the board to remove the knives.

--end excerpt--

I'm not usually one to make New Year's Resolutions, but I will resolve to be more consistent with my blog posts; at least once every two weeks. If anyone catches me slipping, please feel free to call me on it. 

Wishing everyone the best in the coming year.