Early Spring Writing and the NHL Playoff Race

The days are rapidly growing longer and warmer. It won't be long before the red-winged blackbirds are screaming outside my windows all morning. Overnight, I like to leave them open and enjoy the cool, fresh air, but these fellers are relentless, let me tell you.

It's been a pretty solid spring for sales of Chester and the Sex Robot vs the Woke Mind Virus. Readers in the US, UK, and Canada scooped up several copies during the last week of March and the first week of April, including a handful of paperbacks. You simply love to see it. I hope they all really enjoy it and leave good reviews 🙏

I've been doing my regular submitting (up to 38 rejections now) and research, and I've been doing some short story editing recently. Most importantly, I've gotten back to actively working on a novel - the hard sci-fi one. I've added about 4000 words over the past week and a bit, bringing the total to just over 15,000. The progress is a bit slow, but hopefully it picks up a bit more as I grow more familiar with the characters, setting, and story.

One of my horror flash pieces has been published by AntipodeanSF, but I'll hold off on sharing that one til I can include the radio/podcast narration as well. They air on Sundays, so it might even be tomorrow, not sure yet.

In sporting news, my beloved Pittsburgh Penguins have miraculously clinched a playoff spot. The consensus was that they'd likely be a bottom-5 team this year and there were rumors that they might even trade Sidney Crosby (who's still setting new records at age 38). But nope - he, along with fellow old-timers Malkin and Letang are going to get another kick at the can. How about that. I don't like their odds, but anything can happen if you've got a chip and a chair, so to speak.

The Ottawa Senators also clinched a spot tonight, which is nice to see. Not like I could afford playoff tickets anyway, being unemployed and all, but I'll cheer them on from home. It's a fun time of year for hockey; there's still a few spots up for grabs, and there's only 2 or 3 games left for most teams to make their move.

Speaking of employment, I've been applying to more places, but not much luck so far. I did finally get an interview, but a couple days later got an email saying that they're not going to be moving forward with my application (no explanation as to why). Oh well. All I can do is keep trying.

Mittens is still happy and mobile, though it's always a struggle trying to figure out what kind of food she's in the mood for. No matter how well she seems to be doing, I am always hoping that she puts on a little more weight. Even a half pound or so. Anyway, that's about it for now. I've got two publications this month and I'll likely be posting about one of them very soon !