Holidays! New Settled Dust!

Hey, Everyone.

Just thought I'd check in and see how you were doing on this December morning. For me, time's going at a breakneck pace of late, and the weeks seem to trip by like the clicking of a playing card in a kid's bicycle spokes. It's sort of amazing to consider that 2008 is already nearly spent. It seems I hardly knew her.

I've got the bulk of the family-oriented shopping done, but I've still got a good bit of stuff to procure for the friends. I've already spent more than I thought I would, but what the hell?

In other news, I've got a new Settled Dust segment (part 19) up at Hawkcircle (http://hawkcircle.blogspot.com). The characters continue to whisper their stories to me, and I'm always amazed at the next turn of events. I'm rarely able to forecast how things will go until they're already on the page. I've been gearing up to go through the whole thing and turn it into a cohesive, dramatic, kick-butt little novella, and I think that I have some good ideas about how to deepen the impact of what I've already got here. I'm hoping to finish the "first draft" within the next month or so, then get in there and do all the improvements that we writers get so wired up about.

It's amazing that I've been working on this project for the better part of two years (as a side thing). I didn't imagine that it would take on such long-term energy when I first started to write. I just had a cast-off plotline that I thought would be interesting for a few linked haibun poems. I should know better. Anyway, I think the end result will be a memorable tale, and I hope I will be able to find someone who wants to publish it. Anything's possible...

In any case, hope you like the new "Dust", and have a great holiday season.