Calkins Day 2022: Celebrate Creative Writing on Feb. 10

For the first time ever in the BryonySeries world, our Calkins Day celebration will not be held on Calkins Day, which is February 13.

That because Calkins Day this year lands on Super Bowl Sunday even as Omicron is still having its way with the world.

Someday, of course, a Calkins Day celebration, complete with parade, will supersede any thoughts of Super Bowl Sunday, and it will be the Super Bowl that will be forced to reschedule. But we are not quite there yet, and Ed and Nancy Calkins agreed.

So at the behest and in honor of Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, the BryonySeries will hold its first Calkins Day Chat.

The event will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 10 on Zoom. The event is free, but registration is required through the BryonySeries website.

You see, after we released Ed's first novel last year, he joined WriteOn Joliet, where he has enjoyed meeting other writers, as well as reading and commenting on their works.

But he's only had the oppportunity to chat with members of the group just twice outside of meeting times: at our anthology release party and our Christmas party, both in December 2021.

So he asked me, "Can we just hold a WriteOn Joliet meeting and just talk? And can we open it up to others?"

Of course!

Who should attend?

Anyone who wants to talk about and/or promote their writing.

Anyone who likes to read.

Anyone interesting in fictionalizing a real person in their creative works - we've done it!

Anyone who has questions about the BryonySeries.

Anyone who wants to meet the world's first dyslexic Irish vampire who is also now an author.

Anyone who just wants to listen in.

And everyone else.

My WriteOn Joliet leader Tom Hernandez won't be joining us as emcee this year because he has a work commitment. So you are stuck with me.

I hope that doesn't dissuade anyone from tuning it. But we are being transparent about it.

What is Calkins Day, you ask? It is Ed Calkins' birthday. And it's an opportunity to celebrate laughter and creativity. 

Register at bryonyseries.com/registerforcalkinsday.

Just Twenty-Six Letters

It occurred to me the other day how magic writing truly is.

With just twenty-six letters, we can inform, stir minds, call to action, induce strong emotion, and make readers believe (if just for awhile) that make-believe is real.

Isn't that awesome?

A Free Couple of Days (Sort Of)

The burning question: did I get to spend as much time on Before the Blood as I wished?

Not even close, which is profoundly disappointing.

Was it a good three days off? Yes, in many ways.

On Friday, I reread some portions and wrote snippets left and undone here and there. I was a amazed at how much real progress I actually make in my half hour each morning. This was heartening. So while I often do not spend entire days writing 3,000 words at a time, typical of Saturdays when I wrote the drafts of my trilogy, I am ending up with copy that will need minimum self and outside editing when the time comes.I also have to remember the prequel requires an extraordinary amount of research, which also slows my pace. When it's done, and I'm ready to begin my standalone werewolf novel, the drafting pace will be much quicker. So all things in their time, I suppose.

A reminder: Enjoy the roll.

We finished the formatting for Cornell Dyer and the Missing Tombstone only to realize there's a formatting glitch that made adding page numbers impossible. So we reverted to an earlier draft, and I need to refix the mistakes,which will occupy my fiction time this morning, grumble.

On the other hand: I learned this weekend not to be so stoic. I applied the maxim, "Ask and you shall receive" and received mixed results.

I reached out on my personal Facebook page for reviewers for my series with the result that I mailed out six books and received a request for a seventh, and then an eighth, which that reviewer offered to pick up from me. In addition, someone who works at a local Montessori school would like a grade of students to review "Cornell" as a class project. So I am most anxious to get this book done.

I also reached out to a friend I'm deeply missing, but received a distracted, lukewarm response. Ah, well.

Still, I'm proud of myself for showing a vulnerable side, even if it was not received, in that moment, as well I might have liked. An especially poignant poem a member of WriteOn Joliet share with the group on Thursday evening stirred it inside me and she kindly gave me a copy.

A reminder: Enjoy the roll.

I had lunch with family Saturday afternoon, but a high stress evening followed it, which resulted in a night of insomnia. I slept better last night, but am entering the week tired. I also had to get about an hour's worth of work done on Friday, double that on Saturday, and five yesterday after church before I cut it off to walk in the waning sunshine.

I finally scheduled a catch-up at week at work, which I might extend into two, for my goal is to genuinely get on top of some pushed aside items. It will probably mean a temporary reduction in actual feature stories for a week or two, to be occasionally repeated when necessary, but the goal is to open up some free/family time and stay on top of things, not a bad goal, methinks.

A reminder: Enjoy the roll.

On Thursday, I received a gift of original poetry from a new friend in WriteOn Joliet. I met her a year ago at a revision workshop a local library asked me to present, and she's been attending the Joliet group ever since. I really wanted to purchase her book but she insisted she felt inspired to publish it because of me and wanted to give me a copy. Well! That made me feel good. So I have it at bedside and am reading one poem per day and night, to soak up the words and inspire ME.

And these are my thoughts as I enter Monday. Enjoy the day, vampire fans! :)