Tag: Nonfiction

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Coffee and Contemplation: Writing Updates

I wanted to take the time to give all my readers a quick update on some of my projects. In the fiction realm, since I’ve been writing some smaller pieces to post on this blog I’m behind on finishing my novel. No surprise there. I still have about 15 chapters to write but I keep getting more ideas for short stories to include on this blog. I want more content that doesn’t involve searching for holidays to talk about. It’ll happen eventually. The important thing is I’m still writing and don’t plan on quitting. I’ll find my groove at some point.

Moving on, in the poetry realm, I have two small books (or chapbooks) that are ready to go. One of them is complete and all I need to do is choose a publish date and start taking steps. The other has a Halloween theme. I want to find an artist for illustrations and publish around September or October 2021. We’ll see how things go. I haven’t written any new poetry since I completed these projects. I plan to focus more on specific themes for my collections. I think readers of poetry will find more enjoyment from smaller books with more focused ideas.

With the nonfiction posts on this blog, I hope to find other things to write about beyond quirky holidays. I plan to keep the Wacky Wednesday segment with holidays because it is a bit fun to learn about what foods are celebrated. But I want to expand the ideas I share on this blog. I haven’t put much thought into it for now, but something will spark my interest and new content will arise. Will you keep reading for that long? I hope so. As always, I’m open to suggestions. Leave a comment or shoot me a message. I’m curious to see how long I can keep this thing going.

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What’s New Wednesday: September 2

I’ve tossed around the idea of adding premium content to my blog. This means certain posts would be reserved for paying subscribers. I thought this would be a fun way to share some of my unfinished work. Think of it as an exclusive sneak peak. I would probably charge $1 to $5 per month for something like this. There would be unpublished poetry and fiction. Some of it might even be first draft material. Is this something in which you, my readers, would have interest? I have tried Patreon and crowdfunding sources with no success so I’m reluctant to try this before having a larger readership.

I will need to search for more words for Wacky Wednesday before the end of the month. I am open to suggestions. Overall, not much will be new with the blog. I am working on getting a hard bound edition of “The Morbid Museum” for anyone interested in such things. I’m still working on the formatting and cover as I’ve never done those for a hardback book. I have a couple other works that are close to completing but I have not set a publishing date yet. I’ve spent so much time focused on this blog I’ve let the writing of my novel’s first draft fall away. I will attempt to return my focus to that this month.

Nothing too drastic is changing for you all. I’m dealing with some personal matters like dentist appointments and such. This has shifted my focus away from many things that I hope to return to soon. Hopefully, I’ll have more exciting updates and new things this time next month. As always, if there is something you would like to see done with this blog, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me a message. Thank you all who continue reading my work and my thoughts.

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Coffee and Contemplation: National Book Lover’s Day

Today is an exciting day for bibliophiles. National Book Lover’s Day is an unofficial holiday for those of us who love reading and collecting books. I didn’t realize for many years most of the books I owned were nonfiction. This wasn’t a conscious choice. Those were the only books I wanted to read at the time. I started reading more fiction and even gave myself a purpose to read more fiction. I gave myself a goal for the kind of fiction I wanted to read. I wanted to read the kind of fiction I wanted to write.

It began as a list of horror fiction with a supernatural focus. As I read and researched, I realized I wanted the supernatural more than the horror. There are many stories and novels that are supernatural but are not horrific. Likewise, there are many stories and novels that are horrific but have not supernatural elements. I began looking for both supernatural horror and magical realism in stories and novels. This has made for an interesting collection of books I’ve acquired. There are many stories that are not scary in the least but still involve supernatural creatures or beings. Some stories are even humorous in their absurdity.

I plan to share this list of books I’ve read on my journey one day. For now, tell me what you all are reading right now. What kind of books are you most interested in reading and collecting? I also want to leave you with a couple quotes that you may find interesting. One of them has some profanity, but I’m against censorship so consider yourself warned.

“It wasn’t until I started reading and found books, they wouldn’t let us read in school, that I discovered you could be insane and happy and have a good life without being like everybody else.”

John Waters

“We need to make books cool again. If you go home with somebody and they don’t have books, don’t fuck them.”

John Waters