It Begins: 3rd At-Home Writing Retreat of 2024

Good morning!

The proof copy of "House on Top of the Hill" arrived on Wednesday, but I haven't made much progression in reading through it, just the prologue and two chapters.

So the goal this week is to read through ALL of it and upload the copyedited manuscript to KDP, which will hopefully result in an approved book and copies ordered.

I'm also planning to work on hard edits for the third book the BryonySeries Ruthless trilogy by Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara.

Oh, and I have a slew of BryonySeries, WriteOn Joliet, and assorted "life" tasks that need addressing. So this week of work is shaping up to be a working week of another kind.

Anyway, here is the synopsis and chapter titles of "House on Top of the Hill," the third book in the BryonySeries Limbo trilogy. Cover image is by Timothy Baran.

Note: Despite the wording of the synopsis none of the story is actually told from the perspective of Steve Barnes, although he appears in most of the chapters.

Instead the novel, which spans forty - fairly consecutively - years, is told through a slew of different protagonists in a seemingly short story format. But the chapters all possess an underlying theme, recurring characters, and an ending that won't make sense if you skip to it first.

This post has more details on how the BryonySeries fits together.

Happy Monday!

Change comes slowly to Munsonville, and for Steve Barnes, who spends his entire life in the village, that's just fine. From boyhood to manhood, he savors the slow pace and friendly smiles, even while working by his parents' side from sunup to sundown to run the family diner.

The only blight is this fishing village's preoccupation with an empty mansion in the woods, whose tales of former glory and catastrophe fueled a rampage of ghost stories. Steve doesn't believe them, but some do – and no no one can deny the power the crumbling old building holds over them.

Especially when it changes everyone, including Steve, forever.

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Traveling Salesman

Chapter 2: Roundtable

Chapter 3: Bottle of the Red Stuff

Chapter 4: Cracking Open the Nest Egg

Chapter 5: Picture Postcards

Chapter 6: Whispers of the Heart

Chapter 7: I Run at Night

Chapter 8: Laid to Rest

Chapter 9: Necking

Chapter 10: Spider and Fly

Chapter 11: Death Heard Round the World

Chapter 12: Mine

Chapter 13: Second Sight

Chapter 14: Chop, Sizzle, Broil, and Bake

Chapter 15: The Rage

Chapter 16: Hard Choice to Make

Chapter 17: Through the Camera’s Eye

Chapter 18: Words Enough For Me

Chapter 19: The All-Hallowed Albatross

Chapter 20: Dancing in the Past

Chapter 21: The New Professor

Chapter 22: Enigma in Residence

Chapter 23: Rain

Chapter 24: From Fry Pan to Factotum

Chapter 25: Nutty Tina Swanson

Chapter 26: Preternatural Guest

Chapter 27: A New Lease on a Very Old Dream

Chapter 28: Journey of a Thousand Heartaches

Chapter 29: The News That Changed Everything

Chapter 30: Severed Links

Epilogue

Results of 2nd At-Home Writing Retreat of 2024

Last week I used vacation time to take a second at-home writing retreat. My goal was to prepare the eight remaining chapters for a novel-in-progress for final editing and to (HOPEFULLY) release before 2024 ends.

Despite a retreat that wasn't quite a retreat (LOTS of life happening, too), I am happy to report that I made my goal.

The novel is called “House on Top of the Hill” and it’s the third book in the BryonySeries Limbo series. The first and second books in that series are “The Phoenix” and “Call of the Siren.”

I conceived the concept for the BryonySeries Limbo trilogy in early 2019. During Christmas break later that year, I had all three books outlined.

Before I go further, the store page on the BryonySeries website will provide more about the individual titles I'll be mentioning in this post. There are far, far too many titles to hyperlink in this blog.

Oh, and the store is closed for renovations, most likely until Timothy finishes his master's degree in February. But the store link will take you to the full list of books on Amazon. 

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

It feels good to near the finish line of what could be my last novel.

My fiction focus for the next few years will be completing the last four books in the Girls of the BryonySeries and catching up with The Adventures of Cornell Dyer series. Both are subseries in the overarching BryonySeries world.

Plus, I have tons of Bertrand photos for future books I need to address.

Now, I could be wrong about “House on Top of the Hill” being the last novel. But at age sixty-three, I want to be sure I finish these other BryonySeries books, while I’m still able to finish them. So I'm definitely not bidding creative writing good-bye. I have plenty of book projects to last me a long time.

Also, for anyone who has read the BryonySeries, this "House on Top of the Hill" brings the series to a nice full circle. 

You see, if one starts with the drop of blood trilogy (“Bryony,” “Visage,” and “Staked!”),  the five installments of “Before The Blood” becomes a terrific prequel to the series. Limbo then fills in the time period between “drop” and BTB, the eighty years when nothing seemingly happens.

Or if one reads the books in chronological order – beginning with “Before The Blood,” and then moving onto to Limbo and then “drop of blood,” the novel “Staked!” gives a nice finish to the series. 

And if you start with Limbo, you can read BTB and “drop” to see what happened before and what happens after, which also works quite logically, especially since "drop" seamlessly follows "House on Top of the Hill."

Now, I don’t want to forget HOW to write a novel. And who knows? I might have another lurking in my brain somewhere, just waiting for the right time to show itself.

Or perhaps I’ll co-write a novel or helps other authors polish theirs. But from my viewpoint on this Monday morning, “House on Top of the Hill” is likely my last novel.

Of course, I did say that after “Before The Blood,” too. 

And if we want to travel down that path, I really only intended to write one novel, “Bryony.” But the story was too big for one book. 

Fine, I thought. I’ll write a sequel. But the story was too big for THAT book, too.

Fine. A trilogy then. Except now I had all this background backstory and my little band of fans for “drop of blood” wanted to read the series back story, which turned into an eight-year project for the five installments.

So there you have it. A series that overtook itself much like the poisonous bryony took over Simons Mansion, the Simons estate, and worked its way into the woods (which wasn’t Simons Woods after all, as you shall see in "House on Top of the Hill").

A quick word about the structure of this latest novel. Despite the wording of the synopsis (see below), none of the story is actually told from the perspective of Steve Barnes.

Instead the novel, which spans forty - fairly consecutively - years, is told through a slew of different protagonists in a seemingly short story format. But the chapters all possess an underlying theme, recurring characters, and an ending that won't make sense if you skip to it first.

Anyway, here is the synopsis. Below the synopsis are the chapter titles and cover image by Timothy Baran.

Happy Monday!

Change comes slowly to Munsonville, and for Steve Barnes, who spends his entire life in the village, that's just fine. From boyhood to manhood, he savors the slow pace and friendly smiles, even while working by his parents' side from sunup to sundown to run the family diner.

The only blight is this fishing village's preoccupation with an empty mansion in the woods, whose tales of former glory and catastrophe fueled a rampage of ghost stories. Steve doesn't believe them, but some do – and no no one can deny the power the crumbling old building holds over them.

Especially when it changes everyone, including Steve, forever.

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Traveling Salesman

Chapter 2: Roundtable

Chapter 3: Bottle of the Red Stuff

Chapter 4: Cracking Open the Nest Egg

Chapter 5: Picture Postcards

Chapter 6: Whispers of the Heart

Chapter 7: I Run at Night

Chapter 8: Laid to Rest

Chapter 9: Necking

Chapter 10: Spider and Fly

Chapter 11: Death Heard Round the World

Chapter 12: Mine

Chapter 13: Second Sight

Chapter 14: Chop, Sizzle, Broil, and Bake

Chapter 15: The Rage

Chapter 16: Hard Choice to Make

Chapter 17: Through the Camera’s Eye

Chapter 18: Words Enough For Me

Chapter 19: The All-Hallowed Albatross

Chapter 20: Dancing in the Past

Chapter 21: The New Professor

Chapter 22: Enigma in Residence

Chapter 23: Rain

Chapter 24: From Fry Pan to Factotum

Chapter 25: Nutty Tina Swanson

Chapter 26: Preternatural Guest

Chapter 27: A New Lease on a Very Old Dream

Chapter 28: The News That Changed Everything

Chapter 29: Journey of a Thousand Heartaches

Chapter 30: Severed Links

Epilogue

Recap of My First At-Home Writing Retreat of 2024

Last week, I took my first at-home writing retreat of 2024, which I will pick back up on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday when it's my turn for a three day weekend (I worked Memorial Day).

The book I'm currently writing is called "House on Top of the Hill." It's the third book in the BryonySeries Limbo trilogy and the trilogy's tagline is this: What happens when time stops in a fishing village in Northern Michigan? The supernatural reigns.

The entire book was loosely drafted when I began my retreat and ready for editing through chapter eight. So my goals for this retreat was to complete one chapter a day with the larger of goal of having the book ready for final editing by the end of summer. 

Some of these chapters from the retreat will need heavy editing. But others are nearly ready to go. Overall, I wrote approximately 2,500 to 3,000 words a day on the retreat, in addition to re-reading some of that work and getting some good editing done on those words.

Read this post to see what these retreats typically look like. You will see why I am always happy to return to work.

Below is a synopsis, chapter titles, and cover concept. The chapters in italics are the ones ready for editing. I made it through chapter sixteen on the retreat and plan to get through chapter nineteen (chapter twenty if the last three days go better than I planned).

Wish me luck for this long weekend!

Change comes slowly to Munsonville, and for Steve Barnes, who spends his entire life in the village, that's just fine. From boyhood to manhood, he savors the slow pace and friendly smiles, even while working by his parents' side from sunup to sundown to run the family diner.

The only blight is this fishing village's preoccupation with an empty mansion in the woods, whose tales of former glory and catastrophe fueled a rampage of ghost stories. Steve doesn't believe them, but some do – and no no one can deny the power the crumbling old building holds over them.

Especially when it changes everyone, including Steve, forever.

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Traveling Salesman

Chapter 2: Roundtable

Chapter 3: Bottle of the Red Stuff

Chapter 4: Cracking Open the Nest Egg

Chapter 5: Scrawls on the Wall

Chapter 6: Whispers of the Heart

Chapter 7: I Run at Night

Chapter 8: Laid to Rest:

Chapter 9: Necking

Chapter 10: Spider and Fly

Chapter 11: Death Heard Round the World

Chapter 12: Mine

Chapter 13: Second Sight

Chapter 14: Chop, Sizzle, Broil, and Bake for it and some against it.

Chapter 15: The Rage

Chapter 16: Hard Choice to Make

Chapter 17: Through the Camera’s Eye

Chapter 18: Words Enough For Me

Chapter 19: The All-Hallowed Albatross

Chapter 20: Dancing in the Past

Chapter 21: The New Professor

Chapter 22: Enigma in Residence

Chapter 23: Rain

Chapter 24: From Fry Pan to Factotum

Chapter 25: Nutty Tina Swanson and Kellen

Chapter 26: Preternatural Guest

Chapter 27: The News That Changed Everything

Chapter 28: A New Lease on a Very Old Dream

Chapter 29: Journey of a Thousand Heartaches

Chapter 30: Severed Links

Epilogue

Cover art concept for "House on Top of the Hill " created by Timothy Baran

Inspiring Music for Writers - 2 Hours of Celtic Music for Creativie Writing

First At-Home Writing Retreat of 2024

Today I begin my first at-home writing retreat of 2024, and I couldn't be happier.

I also couldn't already be more behind.

I overslept (a poor way to start), and I am losing part of the day because Bertrand and I are reading two of his books to my youngest granddaughter's class (a very sweet and much anticipated way to lose part of the day as I've pushed this opportunity out all year).

Although I do work on my BryonySeries on projects throughout the year, I shoehorn most of that writing on weekends I'm on weekends I'm not working and among the activities of family life.

So it's a real blessing that vacation time at The Herald-News does not carry over from one year to the next. It gives me the perfect opportunity to just focus on and immerse myself into one story for a great length of time.

Read this post to see what these retreats typically look like.

The book I'm currently working on is called "House on Top of the Hill." It's the third book in the BryonySeries Limbo trilogy and the trilogy's tagline is this: What happens when time stops in a fishing village in Northern Michigan? The supernatural reigns.

The entire book is loosely drafted. So my goals for this retreat is to get one chapter completed a day and ready for final editing by the end of summer. I'm done through chapter eight already, so I should be halfway through by the time I return to work on Memorial Day.

Below is a synopsis, chapter titles, and cover concept.

Wish me luck and full cooperation of my muse!

Change comes slowly to Munsonville, and for Steve Barnes, who spends his entire life in the village, that's just fine. From boyhood to manhood, he savors the slow pace and friendly smiles, even while working by his parents' side from sunup to sundown to run the family diner.

The only blight is this fishing village's preoccupation with an empty mansion in the woods, whose tales of former glory and catastrophe fueled a rampage of ghost stories. Steve doesn't believe them, but some do – and no no one can deny the power the crumbling old building holds over them.

Especially when it changes everyone, including Steve, forever.

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Traveling Salesman

Chapter 2: Roundtable

Chapter 3: Bottle of the Red Stuff

Chapter 4: Cracking Open the Nest Egg

Chapter 5: Scrawls on the Wall

Chapter 6: Whispers of the Heart

Chapter 7: I Run at Night

Chapter 8: Laid to Rest:

Chapter 9: Necking

Chapter 10: Spider and Fly

Chapter 11: Death Heard Round the World

Chapter 12: Mine

Chapter 13: Second Sight

Chapter 14: Chop, Sizzle, Broil, and Bake for it and some against it.

Chapter 15: The Rage

Chapter 16: Hard Choice to Make

Chapter 17: Through the Camera’s Eye

Chapter 18: Words Enough For Me

Chapter 19: The All-Hallowed Albatross

Chapter 20: Dancing in the Past

Chapter 21: The New Professor

Chapter 22: Enigma in Residence

Chapter 23: Rain

Chapter 24: From Fry Pan to Factotum

Chapter 25: Nutty Tina Swanson and Kellen

Chapter 26: Preternatural Guest

Chapter 27: The News That Changed Everything

Chapter 28: A New Lease on a Very Old Dream

Chapter 29: Journey of a Thousand Heartaches

Chapter 30: Severed Links

Epilogue

Cover art concept for "House on Top of the Hill " created by Timothy Baran

Recap of 2023 At-Home Writing Retreat

The writing project for my at-home 2023 writing retreat really was as tedious as writing a dictionary.

I've been working on a guidebook for the BryonySeries called "Welcome to Munsonville: The People, Places, and Things of the BryonySeries." I have a screenshot below, so you can see what I mean.

It took many months to enter all the people, places, and things. So I had barely started writing the "people" descriptions when the retreat started.

My goal was to complete the book, an impossible task, but I embarked upon it anyway.

It probably didn't help that I also had two doctor appointments, one meeting two events, one concert, a three-hour Zoom call with a family member, a WriteOn Joliet Zoom meeting, and several hours on two separate occasions with Rebekah as we ploughed through medical bills and caught up on BryonySeries accounts all happening in the same week.

Not exactly a full writing retreat. But as much of a writing retreat as I could manage for this year.

We did ignore the housework until Sunday. And then we spent several hours catching up.

Still, with all that in the background, I did manage to complete "people" and "places." I am now working on "things," the largest section but with the one with the least cross references. 

I'm readjusting my expectations that I can complete this book, including the time needed for actual production, in time for the holidays. But we shall see.

With 2023 being a year of the unexpected, with many of the "unexpectedness" being difficult and challenging, the year just might surprise me in a good way.

We shall see.

In the meantime, I have "Karla Joins In" to copyedit this week.

Or, at least, that is the current plan.

Have a great Tuesday!

Virtual Writing Retreat 2023

Five years ago, I took my first at-home writing retreat when airfare to North Carolina skyrocketed and Rebekah and I decide to forego a trip to visit Sarah.

Although I missed seeing family, I accomplished quite a bit of BryonySeries writing (I was finishing up a draft of the fifth installment of Before The Blood at the time). 

However, my at-home writing retreats are intense and hyper-focused almost to grueling. So the enjoyment is not in the moment but satisfying in the amount of words completed.

So now I try to take an at-home writing retreat once a year. 

This year's writing retreat starts Saturday morning and runs through next week and the following Sunday afternoon, whereupon, I will return to reality and tackle some homework.

Among the retreating, I will tell a story on October 18, lead a WriteOn Joliet Zoom meeting on October 19, and participate in a local author expo on October 21.

Otherwise, I will be less present to the world and respond to messages very slowly.

The goal is to complete (or come very, very close) to completing the BryonySeries guidebook by the end of the retreat.

But I am a long, long way from home right now (cue Foreigner).

Wish me luck!

I Pulled a Rabbit Out of my Hat on Saturday

Someone who knew I used my vacation time from work last week recently said to me, "Well, at least you weren't in front of the computer the entire time."

Well...

I actually used a good deal of that vacation time for an at-home writing retreat, a tradition I started a few years ago when I couldn't afford the plane ticket to see Sarah in Raleigh.

The retreat wasn't as grueling as past retreats. The project was small, the word count was modest (by my count), I did build in a little rest (just on weekends), and I did spend some time with family and friends, and I attended a WriteOn Joliet meeting and a storytelling event. 

I also addressed a few "life" issues that cropped up and thoroughly caught up on housework, since I'd let some of that slide during the week so I could focus on writing.

The result of my flexibility was that Friday fell apart all together, and I entered Saturday with a solid third of the project still to write.

But can you believe I managed to pull that proverbial rabbit right out of my hat?

I hit my goal shortly before midnight, gave Faith my calico some attention (she'd waited patiently all day and all day was fast disappearing), and I climbed into bed before 1 a.m. feeling pretty satisfied.

Sunday I spent half a day working since I had a doctor's appointment on Monday - yes, on my first day back to work. But it's an annual appointment made twelve months earlier, and you know how that goes.

So what's the message here?

No message.

Just a bit of sharing and bragging, I suppose.

OK, maybe one message.

Just because plans go awry, doesn't mean the goal is lost.

We can't avoid the unexpected. And we can't check out on life for long periods to attain the goal, too.

So it's important to be flexible, adjust, refocus the refocus, sacrifice a bit, to be able to hop over that finish line.

When you do, don't forget to give yourself that well-deserved pat on the back.

Here I am, at the ripe of old age of sixty-one, learning a new trick or two. It's a great way to enter a new week.

Happy Monday!

Illustrated Results of the 2022 At-Home Writing Retreat

Good morning!

Story roundup will return next week when I actually have some stories to share.

I had vacation time to use by the end of the year, so I took an at-home writing retreat to start and complete a project that's evaded me all year.

With a light outline on my screen, my objective was to write a 20,000 to 25,000 page, 12-chapter book and then edit it on my next day off.

I had plenty of water, coffee (including the Dunkin' from Rebekah on Saturday), salt, incense (don't judge the scents, all gifts from Timothy), Blood Moon candle (a gift from Duanne), and a few timeouts to give Faith extra attention this week, especially when she wasn't feeling well (she's in for a surprise next week when the routine returneth) since Faith has small cell lymphoma.

Photos are below. As you'll see, there's nothing romantic about a writing retreat.

I'll share the specifics of the project on Monday as this week's work is actually the third part. No, I'm not being weirdly mysterious to create buzz, just sticking to the topic and leaving the "info dump" behind.

The retreat ends tomorrow evening. I have 1.5 days left (I need to spend half a day catching up on life things).

Here are my results:

Just under 17,000 words written and edited.

Eight chapters written with final edits very nearly done.

Four more to write.

So not quote the goal I set out to accomplish.

But since most of the editing is done, I feel comfortable from this point (Friday morning) that I can finish the project on my next day off (I work the following weekend, so I'll have a day off during the week).

Only regret: I did not build as much rest (for me) into this week as I had hoped.

But this retreat also wasn't the intense, singularly focused retreat I tend to take.

I also:

I spent some time with family.

I participated in a previously scheduled storytelling event on Wednesday night.

I co-led the regularly schedule WriteOn Joliet critique group on Thursday night.

I popped onto the 5 a.m. writer's club donut party this morning.

And I went grocery shopping with Rebekah this morning before she signed onto work.

Believer it or not, I still have a pile of work sitting next to me from last week that I never addressed or put away (It's under the books I used for worldbuilding reference).

But I am back to work on Sunday. And now I won't have to hunt to find it.

Just so you know, the blank screen doesn't mean I was slacking. That's the screen for my work computer.

The photo below holds the proof.

On The Way

In January 2019, I started releasing Before The Blood, a five volume prequel to the original "drop of blood" trilogy in the BryonySeries.

This was a purposely unfinished novel made up of five interconnected unfinished novel.

At Rebekah's suggestion, I released the story in five parts: John Simons, Kellen Wechsler, Bryony Marseilles, Henry Matthews, and Bryony Simons.

And later, I also released Before The Blood in one volume with teeny tiny font.

Writing Before The Blood was an eight-year project since my fiction writing is confined to Friday nights, Saturdays, an at-home writing retreat once a year, and random free days here and there.

Let me stress that I worked on this novel nearly every single Friday night and Saturday for eight years.

So it's important to be organized and focused, with eyes on the goal, even if the goal is far away.

But it occurred to me one day as I was wrapping up the project that no future enjoyment could ever compare to the enjoyment I felt during the construction phase: conjuring up concepts, outlining, character and plot developments, worldbuilding, research, writing, editing, refining.

It's wonderful to set and reach goals, and I wouldn't recommend a life without them. 

But it's also wonderful to be so immersed in the process we lose track of everything else. 

I also wouldn't recommend a life without that, either.

So during this present at-home writing retreat, I certainly have goals to hit, or I won't get the project done in my pre-set time.

But I'm also having one heck of a good time - when I can remember to lose sight of that goal while I'm creating and simply create.

Most roads lead somewhere.

But traveling is fun, too.

Happy Tuesday!

On This Monday Morning

Many people (including my family) get jittery on Sunday night and stressed on Monday morning.

Sometimes I think that's our mind's way of waking us up, that the weekend's relaxation is waning, and the new week is calling us to be alert and engaged for the tasks we are called to do, for the fresh opportunities, and even the unknown challenges, waiting for us.

It's easy to be thankful when all goes well in our lives. But even when all is awful, I believe hope lies beneath the muck, waiting to be uncovered.

Each coin has two sides.

Each mistake brings fresh knowledge and wisdom we can apply to "next time." But so does each effort we accomplish well, that effects the goal or at brings us closer to attaining it.

If you can't be heard, you can at least be kind and sincere and leave a trail of positivity in your wake.

Not everyone will like you. But you can always like yourself and no one can take that away from you.

If you're struggling with loss of any kind (job, finances, health loved ones), be gentle with yourself and pursue those things that bring you joy, even if joy is fleeting.

Night always follows day. But day follows night, too. Both have their charms, if we are discerning enough to see them.

Our way is not always the best way. It's OK to let go. But it's also OK to stubbornly hang on until we're proven otherwise. Sometimes, we actually are right.

Just because someone serves up poison doesn't mean you must drink it. You can always refuse the cup.

Besides, dark roast coffee tastes so much better.

Happy Monday!

Down the Research Rabbit Hole

Research is often a necessary component when one writes novels that are not set in the present or recent past.

The fun, educational, and, quite frankly, time-suck problem with that research is that I get pulled into one rabbit hole after another, with trails that go bounding away into areas that have little (or nothing) to do with the novel.

Furthermore, it can take an immense amount of research just to find the information I need simply to make one paragraph (or even one sentence) factually accuate.

But, I think (and hope), such research does add to the storehouse of my general knowlesge, keeps the reader firmly set into the novel's world and, maybe, makes me a tinge smarter too.

Here are some of the topics I researched during my last week-long retreat for the second book in the BryonySeries Limbo series, Call of the Siren:

* How boats look bobbing on a lake in a torrential storm

* Photos of a late nineteenth century newsroom and press room

* New cars in 1914 and their cost when new

* Types of beer produced and sold in Michigan in 1914 and what type of bottle caps were used

* The history of carryout

* The history of motels

* The history of fast food

* Lodgings for travelers at the turn of the twentieth century

* How unmarried couples could legallyl travel together in 1914

* Various floorplans for saltboxes

* World War I

* The Spanish Flu

* Suffragism

* Tourism in the early twentiesh century

* Value of the dollar in the 1920s

* Cost of opening a small restaurant in the 1920s

* Prenatal care and childbirth in 1935

* Early twentieth century breast cancer treatment

* Wakes/funerals in the early twentieth century in the United States

2021 At-Home Writing Retreat No. 2 Recap

I made my goal.

That's basically it. 

Yes, I had a more detailed account of my first retreat last month.

And I shared what I hoped to accomplish before I began.

Essentially, the word sketches are complete.

But the pages are still devoid of color and texture. This is the next stage. It's also the most time intensive stage. But not necessarily the most difficult.

To me, each stage of the writing process is easier than the last.

But they also take more time to perfect.

The hard part, giving the story structure and form, is done. It feels good.

Tomorrow I return to work and will concentrate on writing and editing features for The Herald-News.

Fiction will fade to the background until Friday evening, where it belongs.

What a blessing that all activities have their own path - and their own season.

Just like writing a novel, they shape our lives and give form and meaning to our days.

Have a great Monday!

Goals for this Week's At-Home Writing Retreat

Since vacation time at The Herald-News doesn't carry over into the next calendar year, I've decided to schedule a couple at-home writing retreats, although I've held back a few days, just in case I can get down to Raleigh this year.

The second at-home retreat actually began when I left work yesterday.

Read this post to see what these retreats typically look like.

Read this post to see what I accomplished on last month's retreat.

The goals are fairly simple, although not simply executed. I'm planning to write a decent draft of the second book in the BryonySeries Limbo series, which is called Call of the Siren.

The entire book is outlined and chunks of it is written. Those chunks do make the drafting easier. Unfortunately, I have far less actually written in the second half than I do in the first.

Just so you can see the themes and the work I'm tackling, I'm including the back cover summary, the chapter titles (the dividing line represents the work for each respective retreat) and the cover art (thank you, Nancy Calkins). 

Wish me luck and full cooperation of my muse!

Sue Bass is haunted by dreams of her father, who died in a boating accident before she was born, alluring dreams of water and song. But then a soft-spoken outside man with an inside plan comes to town, and Sue's sleepwalking stops, only to resurface with greater magnetism when he leaves. Two voices beckon. Which one will she heed?

PART ONE: WATER

Chapter 1: Lullaby

Chapter 2: Music or Madness.

Chapter 3: Town Mouse: Monday, Sept. 13 morning

Chapter 4: Country Mouse, Monday Sept. 13, afternoon

Chapter 5: Water, Butter, and Wine, Tuesday Sept. 14, morning

Chapter 6: Little Girl Lost, Tuesday, Sept. 14, afternoon

Chapter 7: The Lure of Their Eyes, Wednesday, Sept. 15 morning

PART TWO: FIRE

Chapter 8: Flames and Frost, Wednesday, Sept. 15, afternoon

Chapter 9: Even The Sparrow, Friday, Sept. 17 morning

Chapter 10: Bewitched By Her Sweetness, Friday, Sept, 17, afternoon

Chapter 11: House Calls, Saturday, Sept. 18, morning

Chapter 12: Coin for the Passage, Saturday, Sept. 18, afternoon

Chapter 13: Plaintive Cries, Sunday, Sept. 19, morning

Chapter 14: As Sharp as Spears, Sunday, Sept. 19, afternoon

Chapter 15: The Meadow of Skeletons, Monday, Sept. 20, morning

PART THREE: AIR

Chapter 16: Gates of Horn and Ivory, Monday, Sept. 20, afternoon

Chapter 17 Ask, and It Shall be Given You, Monday, Oct. 18, morning

Chapter 18: Seek, and Ye Shall Find, Monday, Oct. 18, afternoon

Chapter 19: Knock, and it Shall Be Opened Unto You, Tuesday, Oct. 19, morning

Chapter 20: The Stain No Storm Could Wash Away, Monday, Oct. 19, afternoon

Chapter 21: A Stone and a Serpent, Wednesday, Oct. 20, morning

Chapter 22: Treading Water, Wednesday, Oct. 20, afternoon

Chapter 23: Last Dream of my Soul, Thursday, Oct. 21, morning

PART FOUR: EARTH

Chapter 24: On Solid Ground, Thursday, Oct. 21, afternoon

Chapter 25: Ideal – and Worthy of Envy, Friday, Oct. 22, morning

Chapter 26: Sue’s Diner, Friday, Oct. 22, afternoon

Chapter 27: In Dark Depths Lurking, Saturday, Oct. 23, morning

Chapter 28: The Abyss Beckons, Saturday, Oct. 23, afternoon

Chapter 29: No Breath of Wind, No Ripple of Water, Sunday, Oct. 24, morning

Chapter 30: Ferry and Scythe, Sunday, Oct. 24

Epilogue, Monday, Oct. 25, afternoon

Cover art for "Call of the Siren" by Nancy Calkins

When The Author's Away, The Mice Will Play

So on September 21, I recapped my my 2021 At-Home Writing Retreat Number One and promised to show you how Uncle Barty and Bertrand the Mouse spent the week when my mind was in Munsonville working on Call of the Siren.

Here, finally, is that long-awaited post showing some highlights of their week. 

Uncle Barty introduced the newly regenerated Bertrand to his mission in life - to share the joys of reading with children.

And that mission was much bigger than Bertrand had imagined. He can't wait to make his own Bertrand books and continue the legacy. 

In the meantime, Uncle Barty took the time to read the current books to young Bertrand.

Uncle Barty and Bertrand also visited some of their mouse friends.

And they hung out with two other BryonySeries characters: Larry the Llama and Snowbell.

They explored high places.

And they explored basement places.

They raided the refrigerator.

They raided the pantry.

And they raided the cat food.

This made Faith very unhappy.

But they did find her later to apologize, and Faith forgave them.

And they had a great time playing King of the Mountain together.

That tired out the two mice...

...and the cat. 

But it wasn't all fun and games because...

...Uncle Barty made certain Bertand wouldn't fall behind in his lessons.

For more antics of Uncle Barty and Bertrand the Mouse, follow Bertrand's Instagram page.

For more information about the BryonySeries (including where to buy Bertrand's books, visit bryonyseries.com. 

Or check out Bertrand's books on Amazon.