Howdy, everyone!
It occurs to me I have not posted in a while, but I have much news!
Firstly, we welcomed our first son to the world in September. This has kept things very busy around here.
So, when we found out we were expecting last March, we decided we needed to move from our 100-year-old 750 square foot lake cabin. Last summer was a long, moving adventure. We sold the old place and doubled our square footage.
Since moving, we have been remodeling, putting in fences, putting in gardens, while our little guy rolls around in his play area and yells "Rawwwwwwr!"
He has teeth now and everything!
Long story short, this has not left a ton of time for writing. SBR2 stands at about 20k words, and has a lot of El Asno's backstory.
But, I did find time to write a short story that is now hitting the presses! It is part of a compilation called The Event: The Chicago Rust Yards. The idea is a fun one. Several colleagues all used the same prompt: An explosion in an industrial part of Chicago. Each one of us approached the story in our own idioms and on our own timelines. And the result is a good one, combining the works of Steve Metcalf and Robert S. Miller with my own.
My contribution is called The Blue Ribbon Panel of Academic Experts, in which a seismologist has a theory about the event and is summoned to a panel of academics charged by the powers that be with explaining the disaster. Here is an excerpt from Lieutenant Governor Morganford explaining their objective:
So let me give you the long story short,” Morganford continued. “The President is scheduled to call the Governor in,” he paused while checking his wristwatch, “thirty or forty minutes. And the Governor and I, we need to throw the President a bone. A big fat honkin’ bone.
Morganford elaborated with his arms folded. “As you know, we got a lot riding on federal funding in the state of Illinois right now. Pending federal funds, mind you. We got a two-hundred million dollar grant for a new football stadium for Western Illinois University on the line. We got a matching five-hundred million dollar grant for a Soldier Field re-renovation on the line. We got three-hundred million on the line for a University of Illinois football stadium expansion. And we got another four-hundred and fifty million dollars in federal funding for a new fantasy football stadium on the North Side of Chicago on the line. There is a lot riding on this phone call, people!”
The Lieutenant Governor paused as he put his hands on his hips for dramatic effect before bellowing, “We will not go down in history! Go down in history as the Got-damn administration that failed the great sport of football! Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes,” the professors meekly chorused from their chairs.
Lieutenant Governor Morganford scowled. “Then good. So get me a Got-damn narrative pronto!” Then with a stomp of his foot he barged out the same way he had barged in.
The Event was a heck of a fun project to work on. And I hope you enjoy what you read!
Here's a link to Amazon page for the book.