Friday, August 30, 2019

Catching Up and Progressing

Just one story to share this week, and I'm not the writer.

Rachel Barks, who interned at The Herald-News this summer, finished this story on our last day of her - hers as an intern and mine before I caught a plane to Raleigh.

She did a great job, and the cause is a worthy one. I've posted it at the bottom of this blog.

This past week has been one of catching up and moving forward with new stories.

On the features side of things, my day is full of interviews, starting at noon and continuing through the evening. I'm also meeting with a group of teens who are creating a newspaper and are looking for practical guidance.

Plus, we are heading into a holiday weekend, so I've got some extra work on that front, too. Bring on the coffee!

Also on the features side of things, but as an independent project, I'm ghostwriting the memoir of a Joliet woman. I've neglected that project the last couple of weeks, but with new ones coming up through the ranks, I hope to finish a draft for her to read this weekend.

I'm also reading through an edgy (and extremely well-written) novel I'm editing for a local author and hope to finish the first reading this weekend, too, as I have at least three more intriguing editing projects this fall as well.

On the creative side of things, a solid structure for my werewolf story (Lycanthropic Summer) is nicely taking shape. I did a lot of mental writing in Raleigh during my alone times at Falls Lake. I did bring some excerpts to WriteOn Joliet two weeks ago, but we ran out of time before I shared them. But there's always next time (or the time after that).

At times, ideas come very quickly, but always at the wrong time, like when I'm falling asleep or on deadline. Why do these type of thoughts, so strong when they arrive, fade to wisps when I have time to write them down?

Timothy has also outlined Cornell Dyer and the Flu, so I need to tackle that soon. Just not not this weekend. Cornell Dyer and the Never Robbers was released while I was in Raleigh.

He's also designed a new BryonySeries card. The former "drop of blood" card that's perfect for the original trilogy isn't going out of print - Timothy is calling it the "legacy" card.

But this new card will be more representative of all the books in the BryonySeries (the "drop of blood" trilogy, the Before the Blood prequel, the Adventures of Cornell Dyer chapter book series, the Bertrand the Mouse children's book series, the cookbooks, the Limbo series (in slow progress), and the standalones (Emporium Orphans and Lycanthropic Summer).

The card is very attractive, and I can't wait to see more than a concept in his computer.

In addition to that, Rebekah and I have a checklist of chores we need to complete in preparation for VampCon Chicago next month.

And Colleen Robbins is done with the copyedits for WriteOn Joliet's third annual anthology, which she'll hand off to me at WriteOn Joliet's next meeting on Sept. 5 at the Joliet Public Library, Black Road branch.

Below is Rachel's story, and below that are websites and social media sites for connecting with The Herald-News and the BryonySeries (including Bertrand the Mouse).

Have a great Friday and long weekend!


The search for a donor and a cure
A Plainfield teen with severe aplastic anemia is hopeful for both
By Rachel Barks

Aplastic anemia is a condition that results when the body stops producing enough new blood cells.

This can cause severe fatigue and a weakened immune system with a high risk of infection and uncontrolled bleeding. The only cure for aplastic anemia is a blood stem cell transplant from a matched donor.


"It changed everything about my life, changed how I think, changed my personality; it changed everything," Gardner said.

https://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2019/08/16/0ed15a97aa26424b92a272644889715e/index.xml


Non-bylined features:

Monday through Saturday I assembled my non-bylined works - brief posts and calendar listings - into one convenient file and posting them on Facebook in the evening, so readers can easily choose the ones they want to read.

One can also find those event listings, the Gotta Do It calendar, as well as the pets, health, faith, and arts and entertainment calendars, under the sections tab on the left hand side of http://www.theherald-news.com/. Click on "features" and the topics drop down.  Gotta Do It runs under "people."

Community news? Again, under the sections tab, under features, and by topic. Updates are posted on these days in print and web (and some only on web on other days as I have the time): 

 Social media:

Daily updates: I do post the briefs and calendars on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61.

BryonySeries stuff: I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries at @BryonySeries. And assorted related content at www.facebook.com/BryonySeries. And of course, please follow the adventures of Bertrand the Mouse on Instagram at bertrand_bryonyseries.

If you're a writer anywhere in the world, you're welcome to jon WriteOn Joliet's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/writeonminooka/?ref=bookmarks. We're based in Joliet, Illinois, but we love to meet and interact with writers outside our area, too.

Upcoming events:

Once Timothy Baran is done updating this page, these will listed here: https://www.bryonyseries.com/fetes-and-feasts.

Check out the progress he has made so far. Each square is hand-built. And be sure to "hover" your hand over the first square. Note: this only works (so far) with the desktop version.

But he's also made A LOT of changes to the website. So be sure to roam around a bit.

Books and Such

Information on my books (including where to buy) along with upcoming events is at www.bryonyseries.com. Again, Timothy is in the process of updating the website, so all titles may not appear. If you have any questions, email me at bryonyseries@gmail.com.

Thank you for reading The Herald-News. And for reading this blog. And if you've read (or plan to read) any of my books. Your support is greatly appreciated.



Illustration by Christopher Gleason for "Staked!" Follow him at artworkbytopher.com.

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