Another week where I had a hard time concentrating on anything. And without even the excuse of contractors working or multiple appointments. I keep trying to find my focus but somehow I just keep wandering through a maze of distraction (hence my choice of this Jack Kirby cover for an illustration. Steve Ditko inked).
Part of it is undoubtedly that TYG’s slammed schedule has kept me doing lots of extra dog care. That’s not a criticism — she’s the big breadwinner so if she needs me to watch the dogs so she can concentrate, that’s fair — but it does erode my sense of personal space over time and I know from experience that affects my concentration. Plus the cats have been downstairs a lot during the day this week. Even if they’re not asking for anything, I’m conscious of them and that adds to the distraction.
Is it anything beyond that? Maybe, but I don’t know what. Not exhaustion — the dogs woke me up a couple of times this week but I slept great the rest of the time.
The end result? No fiction this week, or this month. I hate that! I did get work done but it proceeded at a snail’s pace compared to what I’d have managed were I in the zone.
The biggest thing was that I answered all those questions McFarland sent me about my Watching Jekyll and Hyde manuscript. Now I just have to wait for them to send me the galleys for the final proofing.
I also edited my friend Kat Traylor’s story for Become the Sky, the follow-up anthology to The Ceaseless Way. “Surviving Dr. Bloodflask” is a really fun story about a supervillain’s son getting dragged back into his family’s schemes. Kat’s improved it considerably since we critiqued the first draft so all I had to do was copy editing.
I submitted an updated story on the Triangle area’s ongoing drought. Rain this month has eased the stress but not eliminated it. The story will be out next week.
Over at Atomic Junk Shop I looked at how Doctor Doom in 1971 starts showing hints of decency. Also how horror began spilling into romance, war books and superhero comics.
And that’s about it. I have no major commitments next week, though, so let’s hope I can return to productivity.
Ceaseless Way cover by GetCovers, based on design idea by Arden Brooks. Doom by Gene Colan. All rights to images remain with current holders.
