Roadtrip Aftermath

Jun 02, 2024 4:35 pm

I am home and I'm thinking.

I arrived back home on May 21st and let me tell you I missed my bed. And the cats. They are even speaking to me now, but since I'm gone again I'm sure they are annoyed all over again. I'll tell you where I am but for right now a few more rambles about my trip.

I drove from Georgia up to Northeast Washington and back. It is a long trip but it refreshed my memory. I've been to a lot of states over the years, but this was the first time since 2001 that I've crossed that many. America is GORGEOUS. So often we only see parts of it when something bad is happening: tornadoes, riots, floods, bridge collapses. I think that makes it seem smaller that it is. We have miles and miles of farmland. Mountains that are breathtaking. Low rolling plains that stretch to the horizon. I had forgotten how much I missed the mountains, being able to watch storms come in across flat stretches of land, of the variety of animals. Bottom line regardless of how much I spent in gas and hotels it refreshed my creativity and love of nature. I want to travel more and see the Alps, Stonehenge, Iceland. I am going to see more of the breathtaking beauty of this world.

Currently I am at ConCarolinas in Charlotte, NC and selling books and babbling at people. While my word count was obviously lower than last month, I still broke 30k so I'm not unhappy. I need to get back to the 5k a day, but the rough draft of the epic part 1 is done at 148k. Yeah I expect it to be closer to 155k by the time I'm all done. I'm plotting out part two right now. I have zero idea if this book is any good so I might be begging for betas later.

Otherwise I am writing like crazy. On the bright side for you audiobook lovers, I have Vengeance, PuppetMaster, and No Choice all being narrated right now. So hopefully that will be coming out soonish.

Book Recommendations!

I stumbled across this cute series. If you loved Pride and Prejudice but want some magic, try Joyce Harmon's Regency Mage series. I'm just recommending it because I read all four of them in less than a week. They are cute. Free with Kindle Unlimited too.

Weekly Micro Story

Pagan

[Enter Worshipper.]

The voice was everywhere, in my brain and outside, vibrating with power and a touch of contempt. I looked around wildly, trying to place what was going on. Last thing I remembered I'd been walking from my car to the office. A squeal of brakes, impact….then nothing.

"If this is the afterlife I'm going to be pissed," I muttered as I stared. It made most apocalyptic landscapes seem warm and friendly. In the distance I couldn't decide if that was an actual skull of a creature impossibly large or a carved mountainside For my own sanity I decided to assume it was a carving.

"Where am I?"

The world froze. You know that moment before a sneeze where there is almost negative sound? That happened. Then the strange voice boomed, echoed, existed everywhere.

[Welcome to Pagan. Your job is to survive, find a god, convince your god you are a worthy follower. Fight for them in the gods wars. The more powerful you become the more likely your god is to win.]

"Find a god? Fight?" My stomach wound tighter than the Gordian knot as the voice spoke.

[That or cease to exist.]

A book appeared in my hands and I almost dropped it. For the first time it dawned on me that I felt odd. Or didn't feel was more accurate. My hands didn't hurt. I didn't have a low level headache. And most miraculous of all, I could see my feet. Time and weight had not been my friend.

The book said 'Property of Jaycee Lawson'. Which was my name. Then there was a blank space under 'Acolyte of'. The set of blank lines that said 'Class','Profession','Craft'.

[Choose,] the voice said and my eyes narrowed. This might get complicated, especially as I was an atheist.

~*~

So I've been reading a LOT of litrpg. And this one just kind of appeared when I wrote it. I has thoughts.

Mel

Schedule 2024:

ConCarolinas - May 31-June 2 Charlotte, NC <-- NOW

LibertyCon - June 21-23 Chattanooga, TN

DragonCon - Aug 29 - Sept 2 Atlanta, GA

Deep South Con - Oct 11-13th, Helen, GA

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