I couldn't sleep and I remembered I wanted to blog. Sunday is blog day to recap my week. My life is pretty mundane. I work, care for my family, write or sketch, etc. This week I attended a YA book club meeting and that was cool. Not a lot of people there but I'm hoping the club grows. I am planning on joining another book club too. 

Now, I am making an effort to not put too many projects on my plate. Keeping my focus strictly on my WIPs. However, I wanted to engage social activities I enjoy, like book clubs. So besides WOK, I'm joining two book clubs, one astronomy club, and I'm hoping to start a critique group. Once a month is doable. Things may change, but this is the plan for now.

I'm reading The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and Exhalation by Ted Chiang. Next on the list is Interment by Samira Ahmed. 

Okay, I did add one extra activity I probably shouldn't have: a puzzle. It's only 300 pieces and sometimes I need break. I'm almost finished. I also made low carb bread for the first time. I'd take a picture of it but it doesn't look anything like the picture in the recipe. Lol. I plan on trying again.

My first poetry publications were speculative horror. I wrote them from flash-fiction prompts. The poem Death Rise is probably my most political poem, though it wasn't intended to be. Simply, it was a poem about a patient-zero zombie apocalypse. Something I had an interest in before. One of my first short stories was similar; the title was "Patient Zero." The subject of the poem was inspired by the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. I took class a long time ago on social and scientific experiments, and we studied what happened to these men. I don't know why but I was thinking of this experiment when I wrote the poem. 

When I look back at some of my stories, I can see now how some could be seen as political. Like Don't Harm the Wine, which is not really about over regulation but it certainly reads that way. 

Aberration is another story which seems political or at the very least a social statement. And that's fine. I want people to take whatever is good from them from the story. But really, the story was about my singledom. I was never really self-conscious about it until I reached my late thirties. I remember when I was younger, I had a co-worker who got very upset when she was ridiculed for not being married. I didn't understand it. Back then I was not interested in marriage for various reasons. I had already been through a really crappy engagement to someone which was not a good experience and was greatly disillusioned. Plus I wanted to be a scientist. But as I got older and everyone around me was married, it slowly became something that bothered me. Not because I wanted to be married per se, though it would be nice, but because the people around me seemed to be surprised that I wasn't. I got the question a lot. Even one of my nieces would always ask me where my husband was. She was a young girl then and kids are blatantly honest like that. I'd joke around and show her a picture of Keanu Reeves. I started to feel like something was wrong me. Like I was broken somehow. 

It's interesting how a story can take on a life of its own. From plot outline, to finished product, to reader interpretation. They are never the same. I had a conversation with one of my writer friends about this phenomena. When a writer states the character wanted to do something different, that's not pretension. I've seen it with my works. 

I have a collection of my early publications (for only $8). I've grown as a writer, and I think the most interesting aspect of this collection is how each story or poem illustrates me as writer growing into my voice. 

"I suspected water was in those syringes, saline solution." - Death Rise, a poem

I wonder how many blog posts I've posted since my first one? A lot. My first blog was on MySpace. Remember MySpace? I actually miss my page. I was reluctant back then to do anything social media but I was talked into a Facebook first and then a MySpace page.

It took forever to build. Searching for html codes for just about everything. Your page could look anyway you wanted, with music and glitter and "top" friends. I used to type in the smallest font possible because I have a weird awkwardness with the internet.

Social media was like crack back then. I was always checking FB and MS. My MS page was all visual with book, album, and movie covers in collages, a matching color scheme and background image, and a selection of music set to auto-play. FB was all about virtual gifts and throwing sheep and awarding superlatives to your friends  (via the app, e.g.  the most likely to hang with Jesus.)

It's interesting to see how social media has evolved over time to be the thing it is today. 

My first week of 2020 I spent creating posts for my social media accounts and loaded them onto my posting application. I even quoted myself in a couple, which felt weird but usual. I organized my work-space at home, both my art desk and writing desk. Got all my pictures in their frames and hung, which was stuck in the planning stages for a long time.  

A productive week, which is good. My family is safe and healthy. I am gainfully employed. I have a lot bills like everyone but there is a roof over my head, food in the fridge, etc. I'm good. 

I am preparing for my book launch on February 1 at Russo's Books. It's going to be similar to the last one, with cupcakes and lemonade. The graphic and FB link are below. 

Current WIPs: I'm still working on my paranormal crime fiction novel and a comic script. I really don't like to share more than that until it's done.

My sister is making halo halo this Saturday, and I'm bummed out that I'm going to miss it. My mom used to make this Filipino dessert. When I was a kid, halo halo was one of those Filipino foods that I acquired a taste for as I got older. I think it's all the sugar in American foods, so with the subtle sweetness of halo halo, I didn't warm up to it at first. But there were other foods I lost the taste for, like bugoung. Little tiny baby shrimps that are super salty. My mom used to mix it in my rice.

So here is my work in progress. I just started this sketch, a series of sketches of the Entwives. This is just for fun fan art and for practice, but I am working on getting a small portfolio together. A simple one. I might play with color pencils with this. I don't know yet. I'm working on her tree form. It's just the beginning. I'm going to try and post more often: works-in-progress, etc.

Every year this time in July just moves in so fast. I still got so much to do! 

"When honey spills, and apple swells, though wind be in the West,
I'll linger here beneath the Sun..."  

I love painting. Like I'm so in love with painting. Like what took me so long to get here to this point, to find this outlet?

I painted this Friday. This is not from the fantasy landscape sketch I made. I haven't started that one yet. I like it because my tree looks good. I need to practice clouds among others. This is one of two fairy house scenes. Acrylic on 12X12 canvas board. I'll update with the second one when I finish. 

I really enjoy watching Bob Ross. He's so calming and comforting. I'm going to start an oil painting soon using his wet-on-wet technique. 

Oils are expensive. But I've gotten smarter with my art supplies. I buy large tube sets and stick to the primary colors. Having the other colors are great but are really not needed. I also utilize sales and coupons which cuts costs a lot.