Friday Thoughts: A Random Collection

I’m starting this post not quite knowing where it’s going. I have a number of random thoughts roaming through my brain right now. I’m on my third cup of coffee, this one iced, and normally, that would help with the brain organization. But for whatever reason, it’s not. What is helping is that I made a sort of generic calendar/to-do list for each day of the week (Mondays is for prompt responses, Tuesdays for blog post, like that). Today’s generic to-do list said “Blog post, Friday Thoughts.” So, here you have it. My thoughts on this Friday, July 21, 2023.

What’s going on here in Chez Ornery? Well, as many of you know we have a new kitten, Marshmallow. She’s all white and a Max-terrorizing, curtain-climbing, wire-gnawing five-pound package of non-stop activity. Her presence has necessitated some changes in routine, but nothing drastic.

There are some events coming up that will involve more drastic changes in routine, but in a good way (more on that in the weeks ahead).

In the writing stuff…

Having been shown a rather different way of outlining a story and a series, I finally feel like I’m making good progress on book #4 in the Academic Magic series. It’s tentatively titled Professor of Magic. I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going, since that keeps me accountable.

Using this fancy new outlining process, I’m also putting together another series set in the same world, and I’m figuring out the basis for a series set on the campus and in the world of The Academy Arcane, my series of short stories which have appeared in the Fantastic Schools anthologies and in Adventure Stories for Young Readers. (Links to all of those are in the side bar over there… no, on the right-hand side. Yep, right there.)

On the reading side of things…

I’m working my way through Eric Cline’s 1177 B.C. The Year Civilization Collapsed. It’s fascinating and his writing style is most assuredly NOT academic. I highly recommend this book. Next up is likely Hans Schantz’s The Wise of Heart: A Modern Day Reimagining of the Scopes Monkey Trial. It comes out July 25, and is available for pre-order now (I got my copy directly from Hans). Hans runs the book sales I’ve participated in, and I got to meet him in person at this year’s LibertyCon. He’s a very cool guy, and, while I haven’t read it yet, I recommend you read this book. I know it’s going to be good.

There are a couple other books I read recently that I will be reviewing. I hope to get those queued up this weekend so they drop in the next couple of weeks.

Lessee… anything else wandering through my brain? I’m gonna save the political stuff for the beginning of the week when I’m feeling grumpy anyway. I want to go into the weekend in a relatively good mood.

Happy Friday, all and enjoy your weekend!