To say 2020 was odd would be an understatement. We've witnessed a pandemic that very nearly destroyed our economy, and has yet to be fully defeated. An election that some are still questioning, but I'm not going to go overboard about it here. I've always felt my political beliefs are my own, and quite frankly nobody else's business.
For me personally I don't really know who to believe when the talking heads go on about the effects of covid-19. My wife and I were lucky in that we are both employed in essential services, but at the same time that puts us more at risk. My wife works in a nursing home, while I'm work at a locally owned hardware store.
In November of this year we both contracted the virus. We both tested positive but the effect it had on us differed. My wife had flu like symptoms for five days with nausea and diarrhea, loss of appetite the whole nine yards basically. On the other hand I lucked out and suffered nothing worse than a head cold. We've both recovered and have returned to our respective jobs without the need for hospitalization or ventilators. I know some are not as lucky.
On the writing front I finally released a novel I'd been working on for the better part of the past three years. Two years ago I joined the Horror Writers Association and submitted a request to be mentored by a writer working in the horror field. Something I wish I would have done years ago.
I was paired with Lee Alan Howard and at first I was afraid out styles were not going to mesh. Happily I discovered otherwise and learned so much about the mistakes I was making in my writing and how to avoid them. I feel my three months with him made me a much better writer, which has always been my goal. I want to entertain the reader, give them a story that will stay with them. I'm currently in the process of applying everything I learned to my past writing to bring everything up to par.
I'm also about 40,000 words deep into my next work in progress, that I'm calling Bitter Hollow. Deputy Bill Harris is confronted by an old ghost story centered around Bitter Hollow. A former Baltimore city detective, and veteran of the war in Afghanistan, his past comes back to haunt him after a violent confrontation wounds him in the line of duty. I'll be sharing more about this in the months ahead.
After the first of the year I'm going into early retirement. I'll still work at the hardware store, but it will only be three days a week. My plan is to revamp my blog and get back into a lot of the things I used to do. My new blog schedule once it's up and running will be as follows and will be on an as available basis. I don't want to tie myself down to five posts a week every week out so I'm not going to.
Mondays - New releases in Horror and SciFi culled from the HWA and SFWA FB page when availalbe.
Tuesdays - I'll talk about the books I've read recently and in the past.
Wednesdays - I'm bringing back the short story challenge where I'll share 500 words unedited from the current story in progress.
Thursdays - I'll talk about the movies I've watched recently and in the past.
Fridays - I'm bringing back Friday 5's with a twist. Five different horror authors will answer the same question. Every week it will be a different question with hopefully different authors each week.
Saturdays - When available I'll turn my blog over to another writer to share their thoughts on whatever strikes their fancy.
I'm really looking forward to diving into this and I hope you'll join me. Until then, stay safe.
