State of the Author: A New Hope

...Or, maybe not so much.

So, as to not bore those who don't care, I'll put the pertinent stuff up first.

Nothing is cancelled.

I am actually halfway through my chapter of Twelve Pleasured Mares, but for reason you can read below if you care to, I haven't been able to write properly in a long time. I apologize profusely to my fellow writers on this collaboration, as any f those who came before me can tell you, I was kind of a bother to them sending a PM for a status update on a weekly basis when it was their turn, then mine comes up and I mostly go dark. Truly dick move and I understand if you hate, dislike or despise me, but I hope when I finally manage to finish my chapter, hopefully within a month, those few still after me may still be willing to do their own. If not...I'll cross that bridge when it floods over...

I have started the next chapter of Star Bolt, Son of the Moon, kinda started the third chapter too as it's a bit separate from the current story, and actually have a storyline worked out. Again, see below as to why I haven't done more writing.

In addition, I have a number of half-written one-shots and snippets I hope to complete in the comings months.

Now is the part you can skip. If you would rather not hear my excuses, reason and whatnot, scroll down and feel free to flambe me.

Now, around the time of my last Snippet post (Roughly August, 2014) I quite the job I had at that time. I wasn't getting paid enough both due to it being barely above minimum wage and the boss wouldn't let me have more hours, and it being a graveyard-shift job meant no real interaction with the world at large.

I did find a better paying full time job in short order, though, with good benefits. The problem being it was assembly and, being the weak-little beansprout I can be, it took a long while before I could do anything after coming home but lament how sore I was. In addition, while my co-workers there were a joy to work with (For the most part) and my boss was mostly tolerable, I still came home too tired to do much of anything, let alone focus.

In April I lost that job due to being written up a number of times. I am humble enough to admit some of them were deserved, despite no allocation being made for the fact they were from when I was stating, but some of them were utter tripe (Remember I said the boss was mostly tolerable) that pointed out the reasons my younger brother, who had worked there a few years previously, had told me it was a bad place to work.

I did find a new job, again in short order, which I am still holding. While something new to me (Sales), I have been doing well and in the first few months when I was a part-timer, I managed to make, on average, as much as I made at the full time job with 10 hours less work a week. Since then, I have moved to full time and enjoy a decent benefits package and will be on company insurance soon.

Now, some of you are no doubt wondering, if I was making good wages and had an extra 10 hours a week at that point, why was there no writing?

To be blunt, Summer planted a firm kick into my groin and the collective groin of my family. Without disclosing too much and among a few other, more minor things, about May my step-mother found she had tumors that needed removed. Thankfully, they were found to be benign, but the surgery still left her unable to work and somewhat restricted at home. I, being a decent son (Stepson, whatever) helps my father and his wife as I could.

Then, in the early June, on my way home from work, I slid out on my motorcycle. To those who don't know, no, that is not the name of a bad-ass trick (Not to my knowledge, anyway). I means that my tires lost traction during a turn and my bike slid down the road, with me bouncing along on the pavement closely behind. Again, thankfully, my injuries were not near as bad as they could have been (A few bone fractures, a broken tooth and a lot of road-rash), but it left me with a swollen face and broken glasses, both of which seriously impeded me from doing anything for a while.

Then, the kicker. For those who don't pay attention to Midwestern America for things other than politics, we has some nasty windstorms during the mid-summer, one of which was so bad that a lot of trees in my town were torn to bits. My father, being the type of man that he is, set to work that weekend to clear his yard of debris. However, while finishing a limb that had already been half torn off by the storm, the branch snapped and my father had only a moment to react. Given my stepmother was below him, steadying the ladder, he couldn't simply drop the chainsaw lest he risk hurting her. He also couldn't just jump from the ladder with chainsaw in hand. So my dad cast the chainsaw aside, far and away from both himself, my stepmother and my stepbrother as the falling branch knocked him several feet to the ground.

Once again, the injuries could have been far worse, and I did my best to help afterwords, but my father still suffered a number of breaks in his left leg and had to go on disability from his job, which did not sit well with him. My father was a bartender and owner for nearly twenty years of my life, and for the rest of his own near sixty years he has worked as a welder, trucker, grain-worker and numerous other jobs. He does not like to be laid up and unable to do anything. Because of this, he pressed his doctors for clearance to return to work, and ended up doing so sooner than he should have. He was back at work for six weeks before he needed to be taken off again due to an infection. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it meant another run towards cabin fever for my father, and my brothers and I did our best to help with what we could.

Then comes New Years, and I make the resolution to write more, to be more active and social, and just today I find my father admitted to the hospital again.

Family will always come first to me, but please understand I shall endeavor to do better.

TL;DR-Whine-Whine-My Family-My Troubles-Whine, I'll try better this year

Comments

[Thundereaper]

Ouch man. I've had my own spate of bad luck but you've got me beat somethin' fierce.

Here's hoping things settle down a bit.