June Starts not with Gloom but a Heat Wave

It's supposed to be near 100 degrees today. This is not June weather. This is July weather. Global warming is not a myth.

After a two-week hiatus, I'm back. This will be a post of updates, not the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens Where are They Now?" article I was planning on writing. I still may do that because hey, it's been six months and I'm sure people would like to know what BB-8 is up to these days.

The writing front had slowed down the past few months until recently. Between writer's block, a piling up of rejections and a slight lack of motivation, progress had not been made on very many of my projects. That scared me for a spell, as I was not ready to give up on writing but there were days of despair in which it seemed writing was giving up on me.

Over the last month, the ramp-up of writing has started again. I have been editing previous projects, including re-writes, and started the early stages of writing new material. It's amazing how my mood depends on whether I'm writing or not.

One of the re-writes I'm in the middle of is for my full-length play The Latitude of Life. Some fairly major changes are going on and I'm also awaiting feedback from some of my contemporaries that are reading the play for the first time. I feel good about the changes I'm making and am holding out hope that it will see the stage within a year. 

Of course, that's the hope for all of my plays. The goal will never go away.

This past weekend I was once again able to participate in the i48 film festival in Boise. This year I found myself not as a main writer, but as a contributor, script supervisor, and, for a brief section of the script, director. The experience was a great one, as I was surrounded with a fun group of people who are smart, talented and excited about making films.

photo courtesy of Matt Melton

On the subject of films, the first short film I directed, The Broad Brush, was finally edited and "released". While I don't think it will be entered into festivals any time soon, I am glad for the experience and proud of what this small crew created. More about the film can be found on the Jason Haskins website.

I am also currently in the process of editing/re-writing a few of my screenplays and an original pilot for a television show (on spec. No deal in place or anything like that). Though these are for feature movies and an hour-long television show, I do have a short films outlined in which I can hopefully film some time this year. A lot of big plans, right? Go big or go home.

On the literary front, The Blue Gem has not seen the needle move in regards to the word count since February. June and July are going to place a lot of heavy focus on this fantasy novel as it is still a goal to have a completed draft by the end of July. That may not happen due to a commitment to some other writing projects, including a ten-minute play festival with HomeGrown Theatre, and acting in a short film, but I will hold firm to accomplish as much as possible before the end of July.

In the mean time, The Dragon Princess is still available to purchase. The price has been lowered to the download price of only $1.99. Pursuit of an agent and a publishing deal continues, with emails being sent out daily. 

The ball is rolling again. Pushing myself to keep the momentum going and keep chipping away at the blockade that sometimes slows me down. Persevere.

On a more personal note, my cat of ten years was laid to rest last Monday. I'll spare the details, but it was a difficult decision to make. The apartment is a bit lonelier these days, as she has been a vigilant roommate for the past nine years, and she will be missed.


"Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience."- Paulo Cuelho





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