WRITING
I have several projects I'm working on currently. I'm still trying to finish up my NaNoWriMo project from last fall (I hit 50K, but the story wasn't finished). I have an outline of where I want the story to go, but I'm struggling with getting it finished. I've put it off long enough that the details of the story are starting to slip my mind, so I'm going to go back and re-read what I have and try to pad out some of the descriptions while I go.
I'm writing background notes and story ideas for two additional projects: a transhuman sci-fi story in the vein of
Eclipse Phase, and a less-hard, but still not space opera YA sci-fi series. At the very latest, I plan to write the first draft of the YA sci-fi book this November.
I'm also trying to get my middle-grade sci-fi book as well as my superhero novel published. I've had a few nibbles on the middle-grade book, but no real bites, thus far.
GAMING
Due to many dramas in my personal life (moving, getting married again, my father's death, etc. etc.), I suspended gaming indefinitely, but I still think about it. I've been devouring RPG books and thinking about what I want to run when I start up a gaming group again later this year (hopefully). Top contenders include
Eclipse Phase,
Shadowrun (4E), and
HackMaster Basic, perhaps with interludes of
Spirit of the Century and
Star Wars. Maybe after I play
ICONS at Gen Con, I'll add that to the list, too.
PERSONAL LIFE
My wife's late husband left her with
hundreds of boxes of computer, photograpy, and radio equipment. We've started going through them and figuring out what's still usable to us, what to recyle and what to throw away. Once that's done, I can start putting together my gaming area in the basement. I'm planning on having shelving for board games, miniatures, a snack stand with mini-fridge for drinks and fantasy related decor. I also need to frame up and secure one of the little nooks in the basement to use as a firearm storage for the 20+ guns I inherited from my father. Instead of buying a thousand-pound gun safe, we're going to frame up and install a steel entry door with a deadbolt and attach it to the house alarm. It'll be like a walk-in closet for guns.
We're also working on making our flower garden a little fancier with an arbor and discrete areas dedicated to our late spouses.
I'm also still trying to sell my old house. If anyone is planning to move to Indianapolis, and needs a starter home, just look up
Worman on FC Tucker's website and choose the South side location.
PROFESSIONAL
I'm working in a department in decline, but don't think my job is in jeopardy. The first half of the year is usually pretty slow around here, which gives me plenty (too much) time to think. The job market (particularly for publishing jobs) is pretty bad around here right now, and relocating is not a practical option for me. Still, I'm growing weary of rarely having enough work to keep me busy for 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week.
I'm not currently working on any freelance projects. Rite Publishing just put out my latest collaboration,
Litorians. I expect to have some involvement in other projects later this year.