Author Journey: June 9, 2023 - Some Writing News & a Life Update

 Welcome to my scenic route! I hope today dawned bright for you and that your health is good or improving. I've got a little good news to share with you, as well as a life update which will explain last week's lapse in posts. I've also got a word prompt ready. I didn't really have time to edit anything this week or last week, nor did I have time or energy to write anything new. But... Well, let me just get on with today's post.

Author Journey: Some Writing News

I did a little research this week, y'all. It looks like I may be able to work through IngramSpark to get print copies of my books out to the world. They'll be a little more expensive than they were before. ("Gotta love inflation," she says sarcastically.) Still, I think it's better to have the option, rather than not. There are still literature purists out there (yea!) who want to have a physical copy of a book in their hands and I'd love to be able to give them that. 

I'm still trying to get the ebook format of The Tale of Outh'n Durr published by June 15th. I'm not sure if I'll meet that goal, but I'm trying. 

Writer's Life: An Update and An Explanation 

Last week, I missed Thursday and Friday's posts. That's what I get for thinking I'd have time to sit down and put the word prompts together. Here's a little run-down of what's been happening the past few weeks. 

• My grandmother had a health scare several weeks ago. My mother, my youngest daughter, and I made a trip to help her so she could relax and truly rest. She's doing better now.
• My mother had a dizzy spell on our way back home from that trip. In the week that followed, she had one or two more dizzy spells and her heart was racing. So in the weeks which followed, there were tests and doctor visits and a lot of unknowns. It's stress-related. I'd say thank goodness but that kind of stress isn't something to mess around with. And she gets few breaks. 
• Two weekends ago, there were two things happening. A cousin by marriage celebrated a wedding for her daughter. It was beautiful and godly. I'm glad we were able to attend. The other event -- my grandmother celebrated her 91st birthday. She's still living at home. For that, I thank God. She's comfortable there and can still get around, though slowly. It was nice to surprise her with a small family gathering. But that meant another weekend away from home for us.
• The next week was spent preparing for our youngest daughter's graduation party. Granted, a friend of ours was hosting it, but there were still things we had to do to get ready for the party. 
• Our old couch had a crater in one end and had decided to get a little hangry. When our youngest daughter cut herself twice on it, we knew it was time for it to go. We moved it out and bought another one. It took probably a week to get that room ready for the new couch. When it came, it took an entire day to get everything in place enough to be able to use the room. The following days were spent refining that space and organizing the other items within it. 

Left to right: My husband, our youngest daughter, and me with her cake and a whole bunch of pictures of her life.

As you can see, we've been pretty busy. Our home church and Bible studies haven't stopped in all this melee, so that's good. But the last few weeks have been pretty overwhelming. Y'all know how little things throw me for a loop if you've been reading my blog for a while. Well, this was more than a little thing. 

Spartacus is doing alright, though he really does get sad when we have to be gone a lot. He's a sweet buddy. In this picture, I don't know what he and my son were communicating, but it was too perfect a photo opp to miss it.

Our son with Spartacus

Just Keep Writing: Friday Fascicles

If this is your first time participating in this kind of writing exercise, you're in for a treat. If you've done this with me before, just keep scrolling for the prompt.

Rules:

1. You can use any/all of the words and/or the photo in the prompt below to create a unique written work. Fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose, even lyrics are acceptable.  
2. Please keep the material you write clean (i.e. nothing R-rated or worse) if you wish to share the link to your work here, as well as if you link back to my site. I strive to keep my site free of such things. My readers know and expect this. I respect your right to write whatever you feel you need to write. And you're free to use my prompts. But if your material is graphic, I'd rather not view it, and most of my readers will not wish to. 
3. Have fun! This type of exercise is perfect for growing in the writing craft, or for helping through a rough patch in your current WIP. If you're looking to push your author limits and you normally write in nonfiction prose, try a whimsical collection of lyrics. If you normally write poems about real life events, try your hand at a fanfic. Give yourself some room to explore.

Don't forget to leave a link to your creation (unless you're writing graphic material) so my readers and I can check out your work. I'd appreciate a link back to this post to help me reach more readers, but it's not required. 

What do you think, Creatives? Can you work with these? I must admit that 'litigation' is a difficult one for me. I might give it a try if I get a chance today, though. 

Thank y'all for stopping by today. I know your time is valuable. Perhaps today's post was worth your time. If so, I'd love to hear why in the comments below. 

Please come back on Monday if you enjoy these word prompts. I'll have a new one ready for you. 

Until next time,
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