Middle of July finds me working on my various things...research and writing stories and writing poems. I've taken up some of the simmering pots of plots on the WIP backburner and starting working on getting them cooking again. I've started a newish project (currently in the research phase), and a non-fiction project at that.
Some of the stories (new ones and the backburner ones) are taking new and interesting twists. Some are making me fall in love with writing all over again. I've had some issues with storytelling lately, but I may be looking at the silver linings in the disipating rain clouds. I've been meditating and I've never felt better. I'm talking to the characters in my head and they are talking back and wanting me to get a move on in telling their stories.
And I want to tell them.
They NEED to be told.
I understand their rush and impatience. Time is the most fickling invention mankind ever created to torture each other with and I just celebrated my 58th orbit around the sun a few weeks ago. I ain't no spring chicken anymore and it's time for crunch.
I also need to get serious about getting my book of published short stories and my poetry book up on Amazon and other places. As in serious serious. Next-level serious. And I'm making plans for those to happen soon.
As for what's been taking off the near-black-hole of my writing stove and being lovingly stirred again? Here's the shortlist of things I've worked on in the past month or two.
THE BREAKING OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE TEACUP MENDING RITUAL (SHORT STORY):
- This is the story told through a series of mental breakdowns of universal inhabitants and how all of it is cured through the loving repair of a broken teacup by a wise and compassionate old Buddhist monk in Japan. This is a new project.
DARE MO SHINJINI (SHORT STORY):
- A love/hate story between two notorious Men in Black. I mean, REAL ones and not the bullshit Hollywood ones. The real ones are much more frightening. And they are not from the neighborhood. They may be both timeless and spaceless. I don't even know what I mean by that yet but I'm sure the characters will let me know. One of the MIB is a "yes" man and a wanton bringer of destruction and death to anyone who crosses his path. He's also a bit of a troll to his partner, making advances on him by kissing him whenever they part ways. But Evans doesn't trust Kelly. Not one bit. Even if he does love him. The title of the story is Japanese and translates to "Trust No One." My little nod to X-filefilia. (Trust No One is the first different opening tag line, from the 24th episode "The Erlenmeyer Flask"). Yes, I'm a nerd. This is from the recent backburner.
A LEPIDOPTERY FOR LEON (SHORT STORY):
- Backburner that I began in 2021. An unusual, compassionate son of a cruel lepidopterist (butterfly and moth expert) goes on a trip with his mother to visit his father's brother and his son. Leon hits it off with his cousin, who is also named Leon. In fact, the uncle is also named Leon. The Leon boys share fun, adventure and soon discover mutual feelings of attraction for one another. Planned this as a sweet magical realism and so far, I'm keeping it that way.
EXORACISM IN HOLLYWOOD (BOOK):
- Yes, you read that right. So what is exoracism? It's a word not recognized as yet. But I believe, in time, it will be. 'Exo-' means 'external' or 'from outside.' And racism is hate. We are well familiar with racism. Too familiar. It seems to be the one constant on Earth that we are always looking for some group to hate. Exoracism deals with the ways humans have been inundated with mostly negative messages in the genre of science fiction, in particular, the way we portray extraterrestrials. I intend to show in this non-fiction book all the times in films we have been given the mental nudge of people from outside our Earth being evil and murderous. I believe this has been done with intent for the past 60 years. Do I believe? YES. I can not tell you why, but just the feeling that if humans are the only intelligent life out there then eventually the entire universe will be destroyed...BY US! I prefer to be hopeful, however, that the ones visitiing us are not the evil ones. Rather, we humans need to go look in a mirror, read some goddamn history books and then look within. Yes, we are the assholes. Of course. I feel very strongly about writing this, like it may be my life's purpose. Laugh if you will. I'm 58, and I don't give a fuck about that anymore. Rather, I hope I can shine a light on the same thing we do all the fucking time...hate each other for differences...so that maybe, just fucking maybe, we won't do it again. This is a new project.
STILL DOING WORK ON THESE PROJECTS AS WELL:
DON'T WAKE THE BABIES (SHORT STORY)
ZEN & THE ART OF ALIEN DIPLOMACY (BOOK)
SO LONESOME I COULD CRY (BOOK)
BIRDS TREES WATER SKY (NOVELLA)