December 2019 - Welcome to Inadvertent Consequences

December 11, 2019December 11, 2019

Further adventures in writing…

I bit the bullet and paid for some developmental editing for one of my short stories (Bearing Witness). After researching available options I settled on one candidate and sent the short as a sort of test, I wanted to see what their editing style was, and whether we might mesh.

Long story short, I don’t think we are a good fit. Still, even though I didn’t agree with about 90% of what they had to say, I did consider the other 10% and made some modifications. The only truly painful part was getting rid of my favorite line in the story…sigh. Ah well, c’est la vie.

Anyway, it went from 2900 words (maximum for the PNWA contest) to just under 4100 words. So as you can see I added quite a bit. I think it might be a better story, but I actually preferred the abbreviated version (and it did get an Honorable mention…).

And… I submitted the end result to the Writers of the Future 1st Qtr contest. This will be my third submission to them so we shall see. Got another Honorable Mention from them in the 3rd Qtr for Six-gun Apotheosis, so I must be doing something right. I’ll cross my fingers, but won’t hold my breath. Continue reading “Further adventures in writing…”

December 10, 2019December 11, 2019

Holiday fun…or something like that.

We went to Phoenix for the third time over the Thanksgiving holiday, and for the most part it was good, but… Well, let’s just say that it didn’t start off on a good note. The direct flight we took shortened the flight time considerably, but it doesn’t really matter how long the trip is if the last twenty minutes are spent breathing in the acrid aroma of fresh vomit. A young boy in the seat in front of us slept for most of the flight but woke up on the approach to landing, and immediately started yakking his guts out. Lovely.

Now, before you start getting all up in arms at my insensitivity, I feel it’s only fair to inform you that the sight and smell of vomit triggers a sympathetic reaction which means that I can end up doing the same. Not always, but often enough that I fail to find the situation amusing in any way. As a matter of fact, when my daughter was a baby I would take a poop filled diaper over her yakking all over my shoulder any day of the week. I certainly wasn’t the only one either, as a quick glance around me showed most people covering their noses or grimacing at the prospect of having to endure this for however long it took to get out of the plane when it landed.

When that ordeal ended we made our way to the Enterprise rental car area where our ride awaited. Now, I had hoped to get an Infinity Q50 or Maserati Giulia, but unfortunately ended up with an Infinity QX70 Crossover. Meh, not a huge fan of SUV’s in general as I prefer something sporty. However, being that it was a holiday I guess beggar’s can’t be chooser’s. Continue reading “Holiday fun…or something like that.”

December 9, 2019December 11, 2019

Ahhhh, tis the season, once again…

I wrapped up my Christmas shopping last night. Yes, you read that right, I am done, done, done. While this isn’t the earliest I have ever completed my shopping, it isn’t the latest either. I always try to get it over with well before Christmas because I can’t stand dealing with the crowds at the malls this time of year. Besides, all of the goodwill and cheer oozing from everyone is nearly unbearable. And yes, I was being sarcastic.

Ninety percent of my shopping is done on-line. It’s just so much easier that I cannot fathom why anyone would willingly do it any other way. I can sit in a comfy chair, go to Amazon, place my order, and not give it another thought until the packages arrive. So simple…

Unfortunately, I cannot avoid all of the Holiday hoopla that dominates my TV. Seriously, how much of this crap can one person stomach? Evidently, no limit exists as far as my wife is concerned. Hallmark Channel and Lifetime run Christmas movie marathons this time of year…and I do mean marathons. These shows are back to back to back…24 hours a day. Continue reading “Ahhhh, tis the season, once again…”