Another year older and while not deeper in debt …

… some cash clients would be nice. As I’ve said before, being in a two-income family means the wolf is not at our door despite my various business/finance writing gigs drying up. But I’d still feel better the more I can contribute to covering our expenses. Plus I don’t spend much on myself when money’s not coming in and I like spending money on myself.

(In case you haven’t guessed this, it’s not my usual Saturday movie-review post).

That said, the last year has been a good one. Professionally I self-published Questionable Minds; McFarland published The Aliens Are Us; and both The Savage Year and Death Is Like a Box of Chocolates came out late last year. And while focusing on fiction the past three months hasn’t been lucrative, I do enjoy it.

Away from my computer, things are going well too. I’m still in good health, which I appreciate more with every year that goes by. I’m not at the “I’m just grateful I made it through another year” point — I still expect better than that low bar — but I am pleased when it happens. The dogs are in good health too; Plushie, as the older pup, has a few health issues but we’ve been able to manage them. TYG is much happier since changing jobs which makes me happier and our practice of weekend dates has worked out well too.

As far as I know I have not lived before so I’ve no idea what getting older is going to be like. Anything could hit any of us at any time but I’m a little more chill about that than when I was younger. Onward and upward!

Funny, my birthday posts (mostly on other blogs and websites than this one) used to be a lot deeper with a lot more soul-searching. But since meeting, and then marrying TYG, I’m a lot less stressed about the future. And for that matter the present.

#SFWApro. Covers by Curt Swan (t) and J. Winslow Mortimer