All the Holiday Cheer and Catching Up, Too

Hey everyone, long time no talk, yeah? Yeah. I haven’t kept this website as updated as I’d originally planned when I started it. I’ll get right to the point: life has been rough this year. I fell and broke/dislocated my right ankle way back in February, which was not fun. Lots of rods and pins had to be installed. We’ve dealt with other medical issues all year, and as of now, my maternal grandmother’s health is failing badly, and we expect this to be our last Christmas with her.

On a brighter note, I have sent Spin, the final Flying Ponies novel, to my editor and am waiting to hear back from her. It was a difficult book for me, much more difficult than either Lift or Tilt were, but maybe the last book in a trilogy is supposed to be. There’s a lot to wrap up, a lot of expectations riding on those final words. But I think it’s good. I think it’s fitting. I guess in March or April, when Spin gets released, we’ll see if the readers think so, too.

We saw Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker yesterday, and for me, it was everything it needed to be. Talk about wrapping up a series! Wow. And we know there’s more to come from Disney. My family just subscribed to Disney+ on Saturday, so we haven’t started The Mandalorian yet, but I’ve heard good things about it. My favorite fandom will always be Star Wars; my husband is a huge comic book fan, and I’m quite fond of a number of heroes, especially in the DC universe, but for me, the saga that George Lucas started back in 1977 will always be my fandom home. Rise of Skywalker was emotional for me, and I know it will be for a lot of people, just as it should be. It’s the ending of an era, and with Disney helming the franchise now, it opens the way for a new one.

I have the first novel in my next series all done, except for the crucial editing. It’s titled Clandestine, and it’s the first in the upcoming Traitors’ War series. It is set in the fictional world of Imperium, and the first book plays out on the fictional continent of Pentallia, a place where magic, called Illumination, has been outlawed. Different characters will tell the story through the series, including (but not limited to) a princess, a prince, a Shadowliege (assassin), a Knightagent (think a sword-and-gun wielding CIA agent), and an emissary searching for her place in the world. My plan is to release Clandestine in October of 2020, but we’ll see if that is feasible. The first chapter of it will be included in the back of Spin.

My goal for 2020 with this website is to update it once a week, and to talk about not only life in general, but the writing and author life. I hope to keep telling interesting stories.

Merry Christmas, everyone, or if you prefer, happy holidays. May the season bring warmth to you and yours, and may you make wonderful memories with friends and loved ones. My husband and I always wrap presents today, on December 23rd, and watch a movie while we do it. And tomorrow night, on Christmas Eve, after the service at our church, we hang the stockings and put out the presents, and then relax with a bit of Jack or maybe some rum, mixed in with Coke or eggnog. I like our traditions, and I know you all have yours, too. I hope they include Jesus, but if they don’t, know He is always willing to meet you.

Have a wonderful day, ladies and gents.

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I Love Star Wars

I suppose this is the time to confess that I am a Star Wars fangirl. I love all of it: the movies (okay, some more than others, obviously), the books, the comics, the TOYS. Oh man, the toys! In the picture below you see one of my all-time favorite machines: the glorious AT-AT Imperial Walker. This particular one, named Frostbite, is from the LEGO Mini Line (isn’t he cute??). I also own a full-size Walker named Avalanche, and a plush one named Snowball (the AT-ATs in The Empire Strikes Back were part of General Maximilian Veers’s Blizzard Force). 

So yeah. I’m a bit of a fan of George Lucas and his amazing sci-fi/fantasy space opera. My hubby and I have a big Millennium Falcon hanging on our office wall above my desk. Star Wars Funko Pops intermingle with Star Wars action figures. Slave One sits proudly on one of our shelves in the office. My favorite character, you ask? That old chip-off-the-Jango, Boba Fett, ever since his appearance in The Empire Strikes Back. 

Being a fangirl gives me the right to not like everything. I don’t like The Phantom Menace. I’m not a big fan of Rogue One. But Star Wars is such an epic, sweeping story that even given those parts of it I don’t much like, it still topples every other fandom for me. I’m also a Browncoat, Whovian, superhero fan, and proud of it. But ask me for my favorite, the one fandom I couldn’t live without, and Star Wars would win every single time. 

I’m excited for The Last Jedi. I expect good things. We are seeing it Sunday afternoon, so I’ve had to tell others not to give spoilers away. I want to see Rey decide to experiment with the Dark side of the Force. I want to see more of Kylo Ren’s personal conflictions. But most of all?

I want to see those behemoth AT-M6s pounding across the battleground. Why? I am an Empire girl, and my dream job in the Star Wars universe would be an AT-AT driver.

Have a great and blessed weekend, and as always,  MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!