Been a bit...

I want this for my desk.

Just realized it's been a bit since I updated all of my loyal minions on my shenanigans.

Not really much to talk about.  Which, of course, begs the question "Why am I doing this?"  I don't know.  Maybe I just like the illusion of minor fame that being a regular blogger gives me.

I have had a plethora of doctors' visits lately.  My shoulder is sore from getting shots of cortisone yesterday.  And I get to get shots in the other shoulder in 2 weeks.  I have an unrelated procedure next week.  And I even had a mole removed.  I'm kind of a mess, but I'm feeling better.

Anyways, enough of that. 

Writing
I've been chipping away at my orc story for Scott Oden's anthology.  It's coming along nicely.  I really only have one more major scene, and some connecting details.  Then there will be some re-reads and edits before I show it to The Man.  Also been thinking about and working on a Sword & Planet story with a twist.  With John Carter in my near future, that genre has been on my mind.  And finally, with the help of my wife, I managed to polish up a good story and will begin shopping it around.

Some of you may recall that a while back I had an idea with a couple of friends to do an e-anthology of S&S stories set in a shared world of my creation.  Well, it's still in process, though probably still a ways off.  I have one story complete, and probably publishing-ready.  The other two friends have been busy with lots of other things.  But one is planning a surge in the project soon, setting himself a due date.  The other had started his stories, then fell out of love with the concept and characters, and decided to scrap it in favor of something else for the anthology.  Haven't heard from him in a long while on that.  We'll see how it all turns out.

Gaming
Finally getting back to our regular D&D game tomorrow night.  It's been a few weeks, and I really miss my Half-Orc Barbarian/Favored Soul/Fighter.  Tomorrow starts another short arc, and I am eager to see where we go from here.  Also, still looking forward to the AD&D game in April for my friend's birthday.

Been playing a lot of Star Wars online.  Really enjoying my Sith Marauder (dual lightsabers).  Started a new Trooper last night, just so I could play with my wife and her Smuggler.  We're only 4th, but it's still fun to game with her.  Last night I also realized that DCU Online is now free-to-play, so I updated it and logged in for a quick mission.  Still a very pretty game, and fun to play.

Reading
Recently finished Outworlder by Lin Carter.  Not a "bad" book, it just seemed too brief.  Like it was a rough draft that had potential for so much more story.  But, it was a product of the short fantasy books that were popular in the 70's, so I guess it works.

Got a Kindle Fire recently, and now that I have a really nice cover for it, I'm using it more.  Currently reading Hunters of the Red Moon by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Paul Edwin Zimmer.  Really cool book.  It's apparently the first in a series (trilogy?), so I may have to track down the others if they are available as Kindles.

Also on my Kindle, I recently read Scott Oden's short story Amarante (also available at Smashwords and DriveThruFiction).  Holy cow, what a great story.  My only complaint after reading it was that it was over.  I am eagerly looking forward to his Orc novel.

Other stuff
Speaking of Kindle, despite my love of their services, Amazon is irritating me.  Rather I am irritated on behalf of authors like Scott Oden.  I'm sure a quick Google search will enlighten you to their latest BS better than I can.  Suffice it to say, they are screwing authors and publishers.  They really need to back off.  Or other e-tailers need to step up and take a bigger chunk of the market.

On a brighter note, I started my next class: "The Wars of Ancient Greece and Macedonia."  It's pretty interesting, and much more relaxed, as far as the format of the class.  It's straight up learning about and discussing history, rather than the mechanics of studying and reporting on it.

And finally, I have been oddly obsessed with Marvel's Hercules lately (hence the picture at the beginning of this post).  No explanation given here.  Just thought I would throw that out there.

Huh.  Well, I guess I had more to talk about than I initially thought.

Btw - If it seems like I talk about Scott a lot, it's because he's such a great guy, and really great writer who deserves much more attention than he is getting.