Good morning, Readers!

I got so damned excited yesterday about my writing, that I totally forgot that I had posted to Black Gate Magazine.  So, I'm over there today (technically Tuesday, but you know the drill by now), talking about writing advice.

It’s a beautiful summer’s day here in Ottawa, Canada as of the writing of this. A lovely cool breeze is coming in the window, mitigating the heat of the sun, while cotton-puff clouds float through an impossibly blue sky.

I’m sitting by the window while my dad cooks a spectacular fry- up brunch, letting my thoughts drift with the clouds. I have nothing with me but his old iPad and a cup of delicious locally roasted coffee from my friends at JenEric Coffee.

This is all a poetic way of saying that I’ve been thinking a lot about writing advice of late, and I figured I would share my thoughts with you.

(You want clumsy segues? I’m your gal!)

Good morning, Readers!

I'm back to writing as of yesterday.  I did none over the long weekend.  I generally do none on the weekends, as I reserve those for work that never gets done during the week - teaching martial arts, laundry, tidying about the house... playing Skyrim a stupid amount.

You know, other "work."

Where was I?  Oh, yes, writing.  It was a good day yesterday.  I made two thousand words and finished a wonderful scene that I like very much.  Side note: just because I like it doesn't mean it's any good.  I'm a terrible judge of my own writing.  I'm hoping for another good day today.  If all goes well, I'll be crossing the one fifth mark today.  I'll be so close to a quarter done by the end of the writing week (which is tomorrow).  I'm really happy with this book.  I love the characters, and the story has some pretty wonderfully creepy imagery thus far, without diving too far into horror.

I can see it all so clearly in my head, and I'm super thrilled with that visual.  It's punk, and creepy, and full of piercings and tattoos, swords and laser guns, spectral hunters and giant dogs with glowing eyes, and, of course, so much angst.

This series, which began life as a more pleasant distraction from the gloomy, difficult Great Man series, is quickly becoming a favourite of mine.  I love it all so much.  I can't wait to share it with the world!

Right, I'm getting overexcited about this whole affair, and I need to stop talking about writing and go actually write.

I'm excited to get going.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

I did not post here yesterday, as I suspected I would not.  I had thought that I might be able to at least muster the energy for a Happy Canada Day!  Alas I could not.

Speaking of Canada Day, I do so love Canada.  It's a beautiful country, with beautiful people; warm, kind, joyous.  But Canada is not without her problems, and I'm horribly worried for her future.  Like the States, and many other places in the world of late, Canada's fascists appear to be mobilising, and far too many people are unwilling to rock the boat enough to resist them as fiercely as needed.  It has me concerned.  This isn't to say that Canada was brilliant before this modern rise of hatred and stupidity.  It wasn't.  I was talking with a friend of mine, who is First Nations from a reserve not too far from me.  He's seen great improvements, which assuages my concern a little.  I'm still very, very worried, however.

Anyway, I didn't celebrate Canada Day by heading downtown to party in the city.  Crowds of that size are incredibly stressful for me, and I spend the whole time wound up like a clock, ready to attack at the slightest provocation.  It's not good for me.  So, instead, I spent the day with my dad, who is a good sort, and doesn't get my back up.  We chilled and listened to awesome music before heading out the cinema to watch the newest rendition of Aladdin.

I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed the film.  It was, more or less, an entire rehashing of the animated version, with some changes.  Still, it was fun, beautiful to look at, and utterly enjoyable.  I have to commend Will Smith here.  He had an impossible task of replacing the irreplaceable when he was cast as the Genie.  He took it in stride, and made it his own.  I was struck every so often with a barb of sadness for Robin Williams while watching this, but Will Smith did an amazing job and deserves a lot of credit.  It can't have been easy knowing the legacy he'd inherited.

All in all, an excellent film.  I don't even care that it was likely a cynical cash grab designed also to extend proprietary rights.  It was a fun time, and I'm not sorry it happened.  I might even buy this one on blue ray. *gasp*

In other news, I completely forgot about streaming last week.  Not that I have a huge audience, mind, but I did promise to make up the stream I missed on Monday, only to... not at all.

It's all good.  I'll stream tomorrow night.  Which reminds me, my time teaching on Wednesday nights is done, so I will be returning my live stream to the regular Wednesday night slot for the rest of the year... until next spring, assuming I have the good fortune to teach kickboxing again.

Right, I have some terrible amount of work to be getting on with.  Have yourselves a fantastic day.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

How?!  How is it already Thursday?

Ugh!

In other news, I've been granted a name for the rando horse that continually shows up when I fast travel in Skyrim.  Folks, I'd like to introduce you to Horace, the Rando Horse.  Thanks for the name, Éric!  I'm still looking for a name for the helpful dragon.  One was provided, and I do like it, but I'm not in love with it.  Any suggestions welcome.

This morning was a sad one.  I woke up to find my sports watch band had snapped.  It's not a replaceable one, so that means I can't get new ones and just continue wearing my watch.  I had hoped to be able to afford a refurbished Apple Watch before that happened.  Alas, no.  So I shall have to carry around the corpse of my sports watch for when it's needed.  It still functions fine.  Le sigh.

Also, depressingly, yesterday I was promised a thunderstorm.  I did not receive a thunderstorm.  I'm irked.  Firstly, thunderstorms are about my favourite ever type of weather.  Secondly, it might have helped lift the humidity, which is making my life difficult.  It's affecting my runs, and I'm not a fan.  I have to run in this muck this afternoon.  LE SIGH.

And, I'm also sad because I taught my last co-ed kickboxing class for the season.  It was so much fun, and my students were really great this semester.  They tried, they really worked, and it was so rewarding to see them improve.  So, to my students this semester, you are awesome, and I'm so proud of how far you've come in eight short weeks.  I hope to see you all again in the autumn.

That doesn't mean that my workload has lifted.  I am teaching a new unarmed combat class on Friday evenings, I have my own martial arts training to keep up with, which will be happening three times a week, plus working full time, strength and run training for my two 5Ks this season, my writing, editing and a prepping of two manuscripts to go on submission (as soon as I get comments back from my two manuscript killers)... Not to mention trying to keep up with my podcast stuff... Yeah... I'm swamped.  It's a good kind of busy, though, as it's all stuff I quite love.

Speaking of busy, I have to get going if I want to hit my stretch goal of 6K words for the week.  It's a long weekend coming up, so there likely won't be a post on Monday.  It's a holiday.

Right, I'm off.

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

So, of late, I've restarted playing Skyrim.  It's a dangerous thing.  I don't know what it is about this game, but I can disappear inside of it for days.  I have to be really careful and disciplined while playing, or I will definitely end up playing that game for three days without break before collapsing from exhaustion and starvation.

It's a fantastic game that is so immersive, it swallows you whole.  One day, I will get the VR version, and the rig, so I can really disappear into the game.  For now, though, I'm content to sit and play like a regular game.

One of the things I really like about Skyrim are the glitches.  No, no, hear me out.  rarely are the glitches affecting game play in an adverse manner.  This glitches are really mild, and often hilarious.  Like, for example, the floating objects glitch.  Every so often you just come across a thing that is floating mid-air.  It's often weird, always hilarious, and once, the thing of nightmares.  I'm documenting these as I play.  The album of floating things is on my gaming page, and I'm slowly adding the screenshot in.  They bring me joy.

However, there is one glitch I've not come across during any other play-throughs of the game.  I find it hilarious.  I have a horse.  I mean, I didn't buy a horse.  Nor did I steal one.  I didn't earn one in a quest, either.  But now I have one.  Sort of.  It just shows up randomly when I fast travel places.  Then it turns around and starts walking back to wherever the frak it came from.  It never stays by my side.  It just shows up, then slowly walks away.  Occasionally, it'll battle things on my behalf, and then resume its walk away from me.  It's the weirdest, funniest thing, and I really enjoy seeing that horse in the most random of places.

I acquired this particular beautiful glitch shortly after leaving Riften once.  The minute I exited the city, we were beset by a dragon.  We were beside the stables when the attack happened, so naturally, the horses joined in.  To fight.  A dragon.  Never let it be said that the beasts of burden in Skyrim are cowards.  Anyway, the horses joined in.  Once the dragon was dead, they returned to their stalls in the stables, and off I went on my merry way, not thinking more on it.

Then, this beast started appearing when I fast travelled.  Not all the time, mind.  Just a lot.  Most of the time, even.

The thing is, I can ride this horse.  I get the option to ride it without the 'steal' indicator showing.  It's just 'ride.'  So clearly this horse is without a rider.  Did the rider die in the fight with the dragon?  If I were to build a stable at one of my estates, would I be able to ride it to that, and leave it there?  Would it take to the stable?  Would I loose the random appearances of the horse if that was the case.  Who knows?  Until I can find out, I'm documenting all the random appearances of the beast with screenshots.  They're in an album on my gaming Facebook page.

Anyway, I love this glitch.  This game bug amuses me.

I'm thinking of naming it.  I probably won't be able to keep it, even if I build stables, but I should like to greet this half-wild fighting horse that often shows up and helps me out, then trods off to... wherever.  I should follow it one of these days.  The point is, I need a name.  Any suggestions?

And while we're naming things, there is a dragon that sometimes spawns that does nothing but circles me for a bit, calling it's really brilliant (well done, sound designers) cry, then flies off.  A couple of times, that dragon has attacked things that were attacking me, which was weird and wonderful.  It attacked and killed a bandit chief, for example, then flew away.  I wasn't even in stealth mode.  I was also trying to kill that bandit chief.  It just didn't attack me.

I'm rather fond of that dragon, so much so that I don't attack a dragon unless it attacks me first, just in case I accidentally wound the nice dragon.  I reckon it also needs a name.

So, here's your task, readers.  I need a name for the random horse, and the friendly dragon.  By the way, Puff, is out for the dragon.  I've already dismissed it.

Right, I have a tonne of work that needs doing.  I'm off.

​Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

It's cool and rainy out today.  This is by far my favourite weather, and I'm wishing I was at home, in bed, a cup of tea and my kitties for company.  That's my idea of heaven.

Apologies for not posting yesterday.  I was at home.  In bed.  Recovering.  I spent most of the day there, snoozing on and off, cuddling the kittens, listening to some music, and sleeping.  I was a wreck yesterday, and I needed the rest.

I also did not stream last night.  I shall have to make it up some time this week.  Not tonight or tomorrow.  Sometime, though.  Sorry to everyone who might have wanted to hang out last night while I gamed.  I was in bed.

I did have a blog post planned for yesterday, but it was one of those that would take a lot of time to write, so I will reserve it for tomorrow.  For now, all I have is this brief apology for vanishing from the internet altogether for a day.  It was really, really needed, however, so I'm not that sorry.

Today, I'm back to writing.  I'm not expecting the same momentum from a fortnight ago, but maybe I'll strike gold and get stuff done.  If I do manage six thousand words (which would be two thousand words per day for the remainder of my writing week - Fridays are reserved for other work), I'll be pleased as punch.  My goal, however, is three thousand for the week.

Speaking of work, I should really get going.  Have yourselves a wonderful day today.

​Ciao!

After this week, I'm not really going to be tackling any pride stuff in depth.  Today, I just wanted to leave you with some things that hit me really hard when I saw them in the past week or two.

The first is a coming out video, done in the most beautiful manner I can possibly think of.  I cried watching this.  It really was just that beautiful.

Here is the short making-of documentary for the above video, in case you  needed it explained:

This last one is long, but worth it.  In a humorous vlog about his life, popular British YouTuber Dan Howell talks about his experiences as a queer person moving about the world.

That's all the pride-centred stuff I have this month.  I'll be back to talking about boring stuff like my run training and my new work in progress and stuff after this.

Have a great weekend, everyone.  See you Monday.

​Ciao!