Wayne Gray

Headache is GONE. That means I get to work out today. Hurray! 😄 Happy Thursday, all.

I've now had a headache for two days, and I typically don't get them at all. My tolerance for this kind of pain is very low, and I'm not a fan. I'm pretty sure it's due to some headcold thing that's just beginning to hit, and I'm also not a fan of that. Luckily I work from home most days, so I can have tea, be in a quiet space, and just do my work without a lot of extraneous stuff going on. I just hope this thing passes soon. Urgh. I hope the rest of you are having a better day than me. 🙂

Pecan pie ... hard cider. That sounds WAY too sweet for me, but the flavors are intriguing! I've been a writing fool. I'm well into chapter five of my new one, and man, it feels good. Scenes come to me and play across my mind like I'm watching them on a movie. It. Is. ODD. But I'll take it. Having a bit of rum now after a marathon of a day. Tomorrow I gotta do a lot of cleaning and cooking. Going to have company and I'm in charge of dinner - short ribs, cheesy grits, broccoli are all on the menu! I hope you're all having a stunning evening.

Congratulations, Fae! The important things took center stage, and that's your and SP's commitments to one another. Enjoy your more intertwined lives. 🙂

Yasssss! Do it!

Money is good. Nice job, Kitt.

Hey, folks. I hope you've all had a good weekend. Mine has been productive. I wrote about 2,500 words over the last couple of days to finish off chapter three of my new story. I've got more to do. Gonna get chapter four started. 🙂

The greatest of injustice, is those with the most to give throw themselves into the dark striving to hear an echo of the kindness in their hearts. And falling into a void, faithful till the end of all.

I had a friend tell me I'd make a good counselor/therapist - something I'd always considered (and he didn't know that). It made me feel nice. Someone else's turn.

Unless you make the rice sticky first. 😛

Okay ... that's pretty funny. FYI - your latest installment of Lucifer and Gabriel was good. Nice work.

Nice job. I liked revisiting these two. And I particularly like how the nearly infinitely powerful devil is captured ... at least, for a time by a mere mortal.

Hehe. Thanks. That's the only way I can explain it. I certainly write characters that are smarter than I could ever be - because they are smart at full speed. It's a funny phrase though, isn't it?

The chapter I'm currently writing has this scene. It's a scene with a therapist and her client, and I am trying to portray her as clever, caring, and deeply insightful. I mean far more insightful than I could ever be. And let me tell you, that's tricky business. So I'm faking it. I get the luxury of time, while she has to deal with someone sitting across from her, and she is having to think on her feet. What takes me writing and rewriting, and hours of thought, she does in moments. I guess it's true, I am just as smart as she is. I mean, she came from me, right? The only difference is Naomi is smart at full speed. Pretty big difference. LOL But it's so fun writing her. God ... she really is clever. I love when secondary characters shine like this. Onward.

I gotta agree with spyke. Good job doing the right thing @Story Reader, regardless of your deluded step-daughter.

Nice job, getting your booster. Our clinic system is madly working through our backlog of requests for them for those who qualify. Then it'll be on to getting shots in the arms of the 5-11 year olds (just approved).

You don't have to write them in a vacuum. Look up vows others have used. Blend and make them your own. It's what I did for our wedding/handfasting (I leaned heavily on Celtic vows, because I loved the equality buried in the words, and the lack of distinction between genders). “I, (name), in the name of the spirit of God that resides within us all, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take thee (name) to my hand, my heart, and my spirit, to be my chosen one. To desire thee and be desired by thee, to possess thee, and be possessed by thee, without sin or shame, for naught can exist in the purity of my love for thee. I promise to love thee wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee, thy beliefs, thy people, and thy ways as I respect myself. This one is pretty agreeable, though a bit generic and religious. Both things are fixable. Remember - this is a chance to say how and what you feel. It's for you, and it's for SP. Nobody else has to know what that inside joke buried in your vow means, or approve of the way you express yourself. It's also allowed for you to write it down. Don't try and memorize it if it's going to be a stressor. Yes, practice. That way you can watch his eyes as you speak. But keep your card/notes handy too. I'm a romantic ... can you tell? Good luck, and congratulations. What a lovely thing to stress over, eh?

Having rum, dinner is in the oven, listening to music, writing chapter two of a new tale that WON'T let go. I will probably be laid up from my COVID booster and the flu shot I got today, but for now I'm feeling good. Besides, that's a great excuse to spend time writing, and I'm gonna use my weekend that way. I hope you're all having a good night. Cheers!

This is all I was given by my "vision". Yet, I get the distinct impression that it was Andy's partner, and that's how I'm writing the rest of the story I'm building around it. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Awww. That's so sweet. What a great gift to give a creature - a place to love and to be loved. 🙂

There's this album by "The Decemberists", and it's called The Hazards of Love. The first time I heard it, I didn't know it was an epic. It's a story, and it's told from song one to seventeen, in order. The title fits as well as a tailored glove. It's not all good, and it even ends in ... well, nevermind. I'll let you listen to find out. Regardless, a couple of days ago, I had this scene slam into my head. If you want to read the unedited, raw scene, it's here. In it, we watch someone suffer through one of the hazards of love, and it's not exactly pretty. Still, people go on. Some are forever changed, but they go on. And from that scene, I've outlined an entire story, and titled it The Hazards of Love. Loving is a risk, after all. But if we're brave enough to face the Hazards of Love, maybe we can win something wonderful. My outline is almost done. Then the real work starts.

Thanks, Parker. I really wanted that. The cold, the gasoline, the lights, Andy's desolation, Brad's struggle to protect and help him, Officer Kenson's war between professionalism and empathy. I wanted all of it there to be experienced, without my saying it needed to be. I just wanted to paint it. It's a new way of writing for me, and the differences are subtle. The Answer started me down the "Deep Point of View" rabbit hole, and I'm seeing how far I can go with it. I like it. 🙂

Asking those good questions, I see. Thanks, Tom. And I think I have a title for the story. "The Hazards of Love" homage to The Decemberists album of the same name. By the way, there has never been an album with a better title!

They're just short ideas/scenes. Ohhh ... did you make it to Brian and Aaron? Hahahaha

What a lovely thing to see. Thanks for featuring my story, and thanks to Chris for the nice review. Camp Refuge is a strange little love affair I had with writing - one that's still going. It's really where I decided that characters need to be imperfect, and they need to reflect the real world if I want readers to relate to them. I'm glad it worked. I'm happy I got to tell all of these intertwined stories, and that readers saw themselves reflected in the characters.