Yes! The writing is going forward. Slowly. But yes, the marketing and the setup for more marketing is also going ahead, with most of the energy to the marketing. Up until now! The pieces of the plan to market Small Town Romance are sorted out and the first pieces are in place. It’s been a steep learning curve. Now to ‘relax’… a weekend off at the very local Glenwood Avenue Arts Fair, literally a half block from the apartment!

About The Romance:  I went back over the Small Town Romance manuscript, correcting spelling and improving a few sentences. I’m satisfied that it is “Finished”, as far as any changes or improvements. Abby and I have briefly talked about a sequel. Pretty easy to see where it would go, to me, but I’m interested to hear what you all think on that.Leave a comment here or on the Facebook page. It would be fun to know what you all think!

About the House: I haven’t made it out to John’s place—my mentor. He’s been out of town anyhow so that worked out. Soon though, I do want to get there. An interesting side note: I had a conversation with a sociopath. Yes, a real one. The villain in This Old House is a pretty good example of a sociopath, it turns out. The research I did on his character… maybe save that for another blog… but apparently I did a good job. The Character is drawn to a chilling accuracy. By the way, the conversation was NOT face-to-face!

About Other projects: Lately I’ve noticed a few novels set in fantasy worlds, and I’m mulling over the idea of trying to write or at least outline a story set in such a world. I’m more of a history buff than Si-If or Fantasy, so it would likely be heavy on historical accuracy of that kind of ‘post-Apocalyptic/Medieval’ society. If you think about it, the so-called Middle Ages were our planet’s very own post-Apocalyptic period, at least as far as Western Europe is concerned.  Maybe even more interesting—and a lot more research needed—to do a story set in Africa after the decline of one of the Central African Empires, maybe the Sao or the Awkar Empire (somethimes known as the Ghana Empire). I don’t know much more than they rose, existed and declined long before Europe rose from its own post-Rome Dark Ages but how interesting to look at the world from that very different point of view!

I also have written and sold a few helpful pieces on healthcare. They are nothing fancy, nothing fiction, but as always good practice. To do solid research, to be concise, to meet a deadline—everything a writer of anything needs constant practice doing!

That’s it for now. We have people coming over for dinner, the street festival tomorrow and extra time on Loyola Beach on Lake Michigan.  And I’m very ready for the ‘letting down’ for a few days. Then—back at it! Have a good weekend!