I did it again. I now hold in my hands the first printed copy of A Field Guide to Fauns. It is my first pro-naturism novel, even though it is really more about healing from a traumatic divorce, abuse, and severe depression. It is set in a nudist park. Devon, the main character, is a fifteen-year-old boy struggling to adjust to a change in his parents’ custody arrangements after abuse and depression force him to live with a father who has remarried into a family of nudists. Devon is also an artist who deals with the world through drawing. And more than ever, Devon has begun to suspect that he is actually a mythological forest creature… a faun.
I am taking the day off from writing since I finished the novel yesterday. I need some unwinding time, so I am not writing stuff today. Re-read, edits, revisions, and proof-reads all begin tomorrow. So, don’t even count this post today. I am not writing today. Not even correcting spellling.
No, I am not breaking out of quarantine. And I am not about to die. It is the final day of writing my novel, A Field Guide to Fauns. I will have the manuscript complete before the day is over, ready for editing and proofreading tomorrow… or in a day or two.
I can say I will finish confidently because I am absolutely certain there is no more than two or three pages left in the story plan.
But writing my novel is not the only useful thing I have been doing. I have been solving endless plumbing problems in our old house. I have also been doing yard-work in between bouts of rain. And I decided to break out an old Christmas gift from my sister, given to me in the 80’s, and put it together.
You can see from my progress pictures that it is definitely not the last day for this particular project.
I was able to successfully move my recent painting projects, including the Toonerville Congregational Church, to their new location on Fireplace Mantle Street.
So, as with all of life, as one thing ends, other things continue. And some even begin.
“Yeah, not exactly superhero-like, I know. My only super powers are teaching Middle-School kids and writing Indie YA novels. And those are powers that are easily ignored by the truly evil ones,” said Mickey, as if there were actual wisdom in his stupid, purple Mouse-Head.
“Well, you did write a pretty good novel in that last teacher story you wrote. It might make a difference if a few of the right people read it and understand what you are trying to say about education.”
“You’d have a pretty good point there if anybody ever read the danged thing. I have given away paperback copies, and now it’s free this weekend while so many people are stuck at home with lots of reading time and no reason not to click on the link to get it free for their Kindle or free Amazon cloud reader. Of course, it hasn’t even been reviewed one time. Not even by Page Publishing who supposedly edited and printed it before I moved it to Amazon.” Mickey had an ironic twinkle in his eye as he said it.
“Mickey, you are not very good at promoting your books. It is day two of the free book promotion, and you have only given away four copies.”
“I know, I know…” he said with a sigh. “But it is a pretty good story. The title character teaches English to sixth graders. And she is not only tasked with teaching some unique and somewhat challenging kids in the classroom, but she has to deal with difficult parents, an even-more difficult principal, and the fact that her little brother grew up to be a wizard and told the local invisible fairy kingdom that she was the key to helping them defeat the chaotic forces of evil from the fairy realm. You know, the same problems almost every teacher has.”
“It sounds like a book worth reading. And I should know. I have read the danged thing completely from beginning to ending about seven times. Of course, five of those times was because I wrote the previously-danged thing and needed to proofread it more than twice.”
“So, I am now trying to exert the full might of the Mickey and his miraculous super powers on you, the wonderful few who will actually read this dumb blog this far, but still haven’t clicked on the link. It is free, after all. What do you really have to lose?” Mickey shouted into the air of the internet.
This is my free e-book promotion for the month. If you are stuck at home as I am, and you need something to do, this is my teacher-novel that I liberated from the clutches of Page Publishing. It will be free for the clicking on it until midnight of Sunday night. I think you’ll like Miss Morgan. She’s the teacher I always wanted to be.
Being home-bound and jobless has its advantages. Plenty of reading time. Plenty of writing time. Got some house-cleaning done that hasn’t been done in a while, and plan to do more. No stress and hassles from 6th, 7th, and 8th graders… But no more extra money coming in from subbing, probably for the rest of the year. Or the rest of two years.
And the down-sides are huge. Two relatives have cancer and the pandemic may interfere with the treatments for both. My wife has been diagnosed with diabetes, putting her at risk just like me. My son the Marine was exposed to a friend who tested positive for Coronavirus this week. I won’t see him again for at least two to three weeks. And President Pumpkinhead is smugly praising himself for the great job he did pretending to care about the American public during this outbreak. The smug smirk and back-patting of himself is deeply offensive. And if there is a letup in the virus before November, he might get reelected.
Also, the big Marvel movie of the Spring has been rescheduled for later. Bummer.
We can’t get toilet paper. That stuff is made of gold or something. Crowds wait outside the stores in the morning to gobble it all up as soon as the doors open. As well as all the sandwich bread, beef and other meats, cooking oil, and bottled water. Why are they so relentless? How much toilet paper can people eat in a week?
But I have writing time and the ideas are flowing. And you can click above and get the book shown above for free. As of this writing three people have snapped it up already on the first few hours of the promotion.
I now have published in paperback the second book in the AeroQuest re-write, AeroQuest 2 – The Planet of the White Spider. My first paper copy appeared in the mailbox yesterday. I am busily now working on both AeroQuest 3 – Juggling Planets and The Boy… Forever. So, I have been busy writing.
I am also planning to start a Free-Book promotion for last winter’s published book, Sing Sad Songs, tomorrow. So, I am definitely getting book stuff done happily and productively. It is just the rest of my life that sucks now.
