I'm Fine. Everything is Fine.

So, Angst 5: Something with Something Angst, is coming along fine. Everything’s fine. For some reason, working 50 hours a week, being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, and now having to exercise has slowed my progress. Weird, huh? My new PD meds have made me as focused as a teenage boy at a female gymnastic meet. Really, I’ve got this.

WIP

One of the things that I picked up from readers about the ending of Burning with Angst is that there is so much going on that it got a little confusing. I’ve only heard that from a few, but that’s enough readers to make me refocus on what’s happening in the next novel. It’s a challenge considering how much I want to wrap up. There have been mini story arcs happening in every nation on Ehrde, and I want to address all of them without making it complicated.

It’s always been my goal to write fun escapism, and that’s exactly what I’m focused on doing with this final novel. Based on the dark ending of Burning with Angst, that’s not an easy task. I haven’t shared words with anyone yet, but I think I’ve got a good spin on how to do that. Basically, Ragnarok is coming, in the most fun way possible.

I’m juggling a lot these days, but the book is still coming along and I’m having fun writing it. I’m also in the slow process of editing my novella, and deciding what to do with it. My instincts are SELF PUBLISH NOW, GO GO GO! I’ve been advised by wiser people than me to send it off to New York and see what happens. I’ve never done that, but I believe this is a story that would be well received by a wide audience. We’ll see.

Just another mountain

Parkinson’s holds me back more than anything. I’m trying hard not to use it as a crutch, but self-motivation with half of my happy brain juice (dopamine) being underutilized is a bigger deal than I care to explain. It doesn’t help that the drug which slows the progression of PD makes me feel like I’ve got the flu and sucks energy out of me like a vampire. (Not a fun Selene Underworld vampire, a little more like the less-fun Nosferatu.) I’m not giving up, on anything, it’s just harder to be “all in” like I normally am.

I’m not looking for pity. When I shared that I had PD on Facebook, a friend from high school commented, “Well, God sure picked the wrong person.” I appreciate the sentiment, but maybe I’m the right person. I want to be that person people see and say, “Look at what he’s accomplishing, despite what he’s facing.”

Eating Rocks

We all have our mountains to climb, or rocks to eat. It doesn’t have to be disease, or depression, or cancer. It could be a bad day, or a bad run of luck. Life can really be the suck, so let’s not roll over and take it. Let’s face each challenge as best we can, revel in our wins, learn from our losses, and then keep going.

We had a saying in Thee University of Wisconsin Marching Band: “Eat A Rock.” Marching for UW was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, and considering that I’ve run two marathons, that’s significant. It’s not hard to understand the saying. Try eating a rock, it’s not easy. I’m eating a lot of rocks right now. If my rocks are bigger than yours, it doesn’t make yours any easier to chew. I’m going to finish with this rock and move onto the next. I hope you do too.

Worth the effort

I know the next ten books I’m going to write. I’m going to write them all, and it’s going to be a lot of fun for me and everyone who enjoys my writing. It may take me a little more time, but I think it will be worth the effort. It’s not over yet, and I’m not even close to being done.