No, I’m not taking a break from the blog. I didn’t come back only to turn around and leave again. For now, and probably for awhile, I’ll continue to post several days each week. I’ll get to the break later in this post.

I Didn’t Watch It

Yesterday I debated whether to watch the debate. As the time got closer for it to begin, I got tired so I took a nap.

My goal was to skip it entirely. Who I’m voting for is locked in stone so why bother? Well, I did bother a little bit.

After it was over, I surfed the net for reviews, polls and commentary. Hearing what a shit-show it was, I was intrigued enough to pull it up on Hulu. I made it somewhere between the 15 – 30 minute mark before I gave up.

There were a lot of comments about Trump refusing to condemn the white supremist groups. I did watch that and was appalled. To have a sitting president who won’t commit to accepting the election results and calling on the Proud Boys to “Stand back and stand by” is not only sickening but dangerous.

For those who are curious, Proud Boys are thrilled with Trump’s comments and are already using them as their rallying cry. Do I think Trump will refuse to step down if he’s not elected? I’m not sure. On the one hand, he is a coward. He can’t even fire his own people directly. He has to do it through Tweets. But, I think it’s a good possibility.

What happens if he refuses to step down (I ask as if that’s an option) it will go to the Supreme Court which will likely strike his case down. But what about Proud Boys, and other militia groups? They will act. It’s possibly they will act based on encouragement from Trump. No matter what, there will be bloodshed. I don’t think there will be a civil war, but I think they will try. There’s a good possibility for there to be chaos and murder before the police, and probably the military, put out the fire. November 3rd – January 20th is going to be an ugly stain in U.S. history.

The Break

I’m seriously considering taking a break from writing. Not leaving forever in any way, but to give myself room to breath. While there are no rules on how productive a writer needs to be (though they should write something. ANYTHING every day. There is an expectation readers have that you’ll put out something once a year. I know plenty of authors who had a two or more gap between writing, but that’s really a long time.

The pressure is on. My last novel was published on June 10, 2020. My goal has been to get the next one out by March 2121. As I said, unless you’re accepted by a publisher, the only timeline is one you create yourself…well, I created it. With everything I’m going through right now, I think it’s best to take that due date away. Set the novel aside a bit and perhaps work on some other things, such as novellas or short stories, which may or may not have to do with my Mitch O’Reilly Mystery series. Taking that break will be like taking a huge boulder off my shoulders. I haven’t made a firm decision yet. Doing that will require that I post my decision on social media and in my newsletter. I’m not ready for that step.

I was invited to attend a writer’s retreat. I’d be flown to rural Louisiana to a beautiful farm with a small group of people to focus on writing and work with mentors. The flight, the accommodations, the food, were all paid for. An all expense paid trip to do what I love to do and learn from it. Sadly, due to fucking Covid-19, the retreat has been postponed. I have no idea when the opportunity will come up again.

Podcast

While it looks like there’s a good chance I’ll set the writing aside for a bit, I will continue with the podcast. I already have people booked to be on in 2021, plus it’s not hard or time consuming. I interview on Sundays and that gives me a little over a week to edit, update the website, create promo materials, etc. There really is no stress unless I put all those things off until the last minute.

Stress

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m under a lot of stress. Much of it is self-induced. I need to get the chemicals in my brain more balanced. This is really going to be a struggle.

A friend has been offering to allow me to work from her home. From there, I can either work outside on her patio, or work in a larger inside air conditioned space. I agreed to go today and it was bringing me a lot of stress to get out of my cramped in my little cocoon here. Just getting out was going to be stressful, so I was actually grateful when I woke with a horrible migraine. I still have one helluva headache, but the powerful migraine has subsided for now. With a Zoom call with my doctor on my schedule today, I think it will be easier to stay home. Maybe step out and get some fresh air. Well, smoky air, but at least I’ll be outside.

That’s it for today. Not a whole lot to write about, but some big stuff in a short number of words. I’ve got some little things that need to get done today and I will when the headache cools down. It will feel good to get a little bit caught up.

How are you doing?