Wednesday, May 30, 2007

What I've been up to in the interim

Sorry for the long absence, folks. I’ve been having a tough time freeing up time for blogging lately. First, it was craziness at work, then too many things planned for my vacation (which is, sadly, waning down to nothing as I type this).

Let me give a quick update of things that have been going on in my life:

1) I’ve been doing a great deal of stuff around the house. Primarily, I’ve been doing a lot of concrete work in the garage. I found that big areas of the walls were actually sloughing off. When all the “punky” concrete was knocked away, some of the voids were upwards of five inches deep. I was concerned about this, since I didn’t want the garage to fall off the end of the house. Then there’s trying to put the house back in order, as we’ve been re-organizing everything, trying to get the stuff that belongs in shed #1, shed #2, and the garage in the right place. I have a bad feeling about the grammar of the previous sentence, but I’ll soldier on regardless.

2) Also, I went to the local Sci-Fi/Fantasy convention, CONduit. That was a great three days, albeit an exhausting one. I met several local writers, gamers, and hobbyists, all of whom were very cool. I listened to readings by Brandon Sanderson, David Webber, and Paul Genesse (who was hyping his story in Pirates of the Blue Kingdoms, and is my best bud from college). I went to panels that featured guys like L.E. Modesitt, Dan Willis, and the aforementioned worthy individuals. I also got to talk to the delightful and talented Julie Wright, who is another Utah writer. Overall, CONduit was a good con for me. I was hyping my website Nasty, Brutish and Short, for the most part, hoping to get submissions for that venture. Also, I was acting as “wingman” for Paul Genesse while he tried his hand at doing readings, signings, and panels. It was a great learning experience. In writing, it is often about “who you know”, so conventions are great for making connections. Lest that sound too cynical, let me also say that, in the main, writers are kind, approachable, giving individuals who are always happy to share their experiences in the industry and help newbies get started. It’s a tough business, and no one gets very far without help. If you’re interested in becoming published, you’ll want to get to as many conventions as you can. Just attending, being in the company of all the like-minded individuals, will often jumpstart your productivity. Okay, my con-plugging speech is now complete. You may start to read again.

For those of you not interested in “fluffy” news about my personal life, please note that I’ll be posting “real” stuff on my sites as soon as I’m able. And yes, folks, this one is going up on multiple blogs. You may pelt me with rotten fruit if you wish, but that’s just the way it is.

I hope you are well, and I apologize for not patronizing your sites more frequently of late. I don’t know when I’ll be less busy, but I hope to free up some blogging time from somewhere. Do I really need to sleep, after all?

Take care, all.

2 comments:

Paul Genesse said...

Pat,

Rock on!

See you later,

P.G.

Patrick M. Tracy said...

Paul,

I'm rocking on as we speak. You keep rockin' and rollin', and I'll keep rockin' and rollin'.