kbois

Happy Easter to those who celebrate it! For those that don't, just remember stale peeps are the only correct way to have them!

I'm heartbroken today. Another senseless mass shooting and this one hits home. It happened at Florida State University, my son and daughter-in-law's alma mater. Over the five years my boy lived in Tallahassee, we made many trips, four and half to five hours up.... four and a half to five hours back. Some were overnight trips, most were day trips to bring him home. One was an emergency dash to get him before Hurricane Michael hit. All of the trips were happy occasions... football games, concerts, or just to visit. We took shelter there during Hurricane Irma.... that was quite an experience sharing a house with four college kids and we had a blast. It's a beautiful campus. Today's shooting casts a shadow that will linger for a while. For as long as homo sapiens have existed, we've been at each other's throats. Every generation since the start of this nation has had its share of strife: the Revolution, the Civil War, two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War. The Middle East drew us further in with 9/11, and on top of all that we have to deal with a string of mass shootings going back 30+ years. The term "going postal" originated as a result of a string of shootings by disgruntled postal workers. There's no end in sight because no matter what your political views, religion, sex, race, gender, orientation or any other of the thousands of labels we insist on dividing ourselves with, humans refuse to learn to get along. Our system is broken, programs like education and mental health are cast aside in favor of a pissing match between political parties and world leaders. The Grand Poobahs of damn near every country only seem to care about the issues that line their pockets or make them look good. Average Joe and Average Jane only seem to care about how many likes and views they get on social media. Our phones and tablets have become our security blankets. Whatever happened to knowing who your neighbors are? It will take a while to get to the bottom of why this happened. If past incidents give any hints, it's probably related to mental health issues. Coping with life can be hard. We've all dealt with adversity. I have no solution. All I have is a deep sadness for the FSU community. Nole Nation is strong. Pride is tangible at the first pounding hit of the drums when the war chant is played. FSU will weather this tragedy and come out stronger. I have to believe that.

Glad you're doing better @chris191070. I've got a question for those of you who don't live in the US. I'm curious. During a bout of insomnia last night after my dog woke me up at 2:11am to go out, my brain started spinning.... which you all know it can think weird things in that state. I got to wondering. I see a lot of reels and videos online that deal with generations and the differences between them. It seems like here in the US, there's a huge divide amongst the generations. Being the humans that we are, we have to label everything... Boomers, GenX, Millenials, Gen Z, and now Gen Alpha. Each one seems to have pretty decisive opinions about the others, except for GenX... we don't give a damn. (Yes, I'm a card-carrying member) What I'd like to know is; if, in the rest of the world, do you see an emphasis on the generational gap and do you label it? And now you know why I couldn't sleep last night. Have a great weekend!

Having to watch someone you love battle suicidal ideation is such a difficult place to be. We both know that we can't "fix it" no matter how much we want to. If there's one thing my chats with tim has shown me, it's that he's worth fighting for. If it takes ECT treatments for him to get to a place where his voices cease to keep those suicidal thoughts from taking over then it's worth every emotion it puts you through. Too many times people tell you not to be scared or sad or angry or whatever it is you're feeling. To hell with that... it's ok to feel what you feel. I'm happy tim's treatments seem to be helping. It's not a magic cure but a treatment that helps. He has a great doctor and with the support you and Dan give him I'm sure he'll find the right balance for his mental health. Hugs to all of you 🩷

I'm so glad you enjoyed the story (twice)! I've toyed with the idea of publishing on Amazon Kindle. I'd have to do another major edit and right now I don't have the time but it's possible. I hope you've read the two sequels and enjoyed them just as much.

No worries there. I decided to put the story I was working on on the back burner. I had to start a different story. Such is the way of my brain when characters demand to be heard.

Good for you for wanting to post a story! The instructions in the help forum outline the process pretty well. Just make sure you complete all the steps. It can be a little confusing until you've done it a few times. Tips... well, there's no one clear cut answer to your questions. How often you post chapters is up to you. I do recommend completing your story before publishing. That way if life gets in the way your readers aren't left hanging. Nothing generates more frustration than a long lapse in chapters. Once or twice a week seems to be the most common schedule for authors. It also depends on the length of the story. No matter how often you post, it's essential to find a good editing and beta reading team. You'd be surprised how many mistakes even a seasoned author makes. (Ahem @Mrsgnomie get cracking on writing. You're slacking) As far as tags go, more is better. That way your story will appear to people who use those categories when they put in filters. Every time you publish a story it will appear on the story page. It also will get a place in the Weekly Wrap Up every Sunday. A few tips... make sure you respond to comments on your chapters. Readers are more engaged when they get feedback and more likely to follow the story which will send them notifications when you post a chapter. This will help you establish a rapport with your readers. (If you get snarky comments from a short-legged yapper just bop him on the nose with a rolled up newspaper [this means you @weinerdog]) They are also more apt to follow you as an author if they can interact with you. Speaking of.... if you enjoy an author's works, follow them as well as the story. Good luck!

You've been a busy camper reading this week. Lol. Read enough of my stuff and you'll realize there's always a reason.

I'm in desperate need of a mental health day... which I'm luckily provided 5 of every year. These people are driving me crazy.... and it's not even the snowbirds this time. Oy. Today feels like the Monday-est Thursday ever. On the bright side... I can't complain about the weather. It's sunny and 75 right now. Have a good day everyone!

I still haven't decided. Since I started writing I've only left two stories on the back burner. One is still there, the other morphed it's way into a trilogy. I honestly think that I left poor Spirit Wolves hanging in the wind for so long is because I knew at the time I didn't have the writing skills nor the support team that the story deserved. It took on a life of its own once I got back to it. I guess it turned out ok lol. I'll mull things over this weekend and see what happens. I used to let my long walks with my dogs be my time to allow my brain to do its thing and give me some inspiration. The pups are now seniors and walks are shorter so it's not as productive. Thanks for your feedback!

Here's a question for my fellow writers. How do you decide when it's time to throw in the towel on a story you're working on and put it to the side? Writer's block is a vicious b!+€#. I started a story a little over a year ago. The idea had been brewing for a while. Last year had a boatload of challenges for me, physically, mentally and emotionally. I got as far as chapter 8 and other than the first chapter, the rest didn't seem to flow as easily as my earlier stories. I have other story ideas in a folder I keep for that very purpose. None of them have really ignited a spark yet. Then today, I had some inspiration and a new idea took hold. It's just a seedling. I have no clue whether or not it's viable. So do I let it germinate for a while and continue trying to yank the rest of my current story out of my brain or do I throw in the towel, put it to the side and start over from square one with this new idea? I just wanted to get a few other perspectives. Let me know your thoughts on what has worked for you.

Customer service.... ever have one of those Mondays where you know damn well your coworkers will probably be setting up a GoFundMe for your bail money by the end of the day? Yeah... it's one of those. Good thing my patience was refilled. Cross your fingers that it doesn't run out lol. I hope everyone else has a good day!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Why didn't the skeleton have a date for Valentine's Day? Have a good day everyone!

🤐

Welp... there's an oopsie. 🤭

That is pretty bad ass. Your tattooist did a great job!

Well-timed chapter, I was ready for a nice little distraction. Work has been busy and babysitting grown-ass adults who act like bickering children is vexing. Our little group is expanding into a nice little community. And yes... a bulldozer would be a great addition to their equipment... you never know when you need to doze a bull. 😉

As they say in the South....bless her heart. Glad the little imp is ok. As for the supposedly responsible adult... better luck next time!

Lucifer is always surprising when he pops up in my head lol.

Our entire political system is in need of a drastic overhaul. Unfortunately too many politicians are narcissistic, egotistical, money and power hungry individuals who really don't give a damn about the people they represent. They're not accountable for their actions and are too busy fighting the opposite party to get much accomplished other than to piss of the American public. Sigh.

I am from a recipe that states: Combine the following ingredients in whatever ratio is appropriate for any given day Craziness, loyalty, an "I'm not playing" mindset, stubborness, creativity, attitude (feel free to include snarkiness), insecurity, love, friendship, and a smidgen of 'piss off' and 'ewww people' Throw in an air tight container and shake well. Caution upon opening.

Leave it to you to stir up trouble. Bad dog.

Hi! Everything's ok here. Just been working and dealing with all the stuff that goes along with it. Have a good day everyone!

Wow... your timing is spot on. I literally just finished dealing with an irate resident. Direct conflict: The issue was a notice we gave him regarding items on his site that needed to be addressed. He was trying to argue with me saying that we are accusing him of not having a valid registration displayed. Our notices are basically a checklist... we place an X next to the violation and highlight when it needs to be taken care of. He could not comprehend that there was no X checked off by the registration. It was checked next to the 'remove clutter.' No matter how I tried to explain it to him he didn't get it. This is a direct conflict... both of us engaged in verbal sparring. He's lucky I didn't lean over the counter and initiate a direct physical altercation and throat punch him, especially after he started bad-mouthing my staff. I shut that down pretty quick.