[Chapter 1] of [Book I likely won't finish]

Here as requested: (PS: http://jmtrent.blogspot.nl/2017/12/do-you-have-to-write-every-idea-into.html)

This is simply chapter one of the story that came into my mind yesterday. I'm not sure it's my story to write - but I did get a request to put it up/show it to the world - so enjoy!

65-year old Henny Pipers was driving home alone on a rural road in CO when what she later described as a man-beast appeared in front of her car. Mrs. Pipers's wild ride hit a tree and uprooted...

Riz threw the article on her desk in digust. Mrs. Pipers saw a man-beast had she?

"Where is she now?"

"Ahh... that's a difficult question."

"I'm not in the mood, detective Huber."

"It is a difficult question, however. Mrs. Pipers, you could say, suffered some trauma and is unavailable for comment at the current."

Riz turned her scowling face towards the detective. She hadn't become a police officer to listen to fairytales of man-beats loose in the countryside. And yet the frequency with which these reports were coming in was mounting.

"How does this -" Her hand flicked at the article. "-know that she encountered a man-beast then?"

"She was on the phone with her husband, Mr. Pipers."

The detective's words only agitated her further. She'd seen Mrs. Pipers's phone (It had been confiscated as evidence when she rolled over the three cars in front of hers in her sudden panic) and it was definitely not designed to take calls through the car's speaker system.

"While driving?" she snapped.

"While driving," he confirmed.

Riz's temper was bad enough as it was with all the fictitious cases that'd come her way this week, and now this.

"You want me to write her up?"

"I want you to speak to her," he said, seriously, then on a lighter note, "but yes, the rules must be observed as well. Mrs. Pipers isn't exempt from fines."

Riz grabbed her uniform jacket to head out. It was late and she'd been looking forward to a quiet night, but now, with all these cases about monster men, and the strange tracks found, her mind spun too wildly to rest.

"Why don't you come to my apartment?" Mel said as she passed the other deputy's desk. "We could order pizza, watch a movie..." Her voice trailed off.

And then what? Riz thought. Have sex? She didn't need sex. She needed to find out why all of Blackwater had suddenly gone insane with these fairytales.

"No."

Mel crossed her arms. It wasn't as if Riz didn't like her - actually more than that, because who wouldn't immediately fall for those dark locks and pretty lips, and pretty tits - but the cases. The cases of the fairytale monsters. About a week ago people had started seeing bigfoot here and there on deserted country roads, and some accidents had happened because of it. Two people had died. The third, the passenger in the back seat (also the only one with a seatbelt), spoke of a man-thing that suddenly appeared before them out of the woods. It had antlers and walked on two legs. That was about all he'd seen, and now it was on Riz to figure it all out. A man in a carnival suit? An elk rearing up on its hind legs when the light startled it? And yet eyewitness acounts claimed there had been something ominous about the creatures. A black veil around them, or a black sort of fog, and its eyes gleamed like, as one eyewitness named it, 'the devil's eyes in embers'.

Riz stared at Mel (or rather her boobs, because it was difficult to keep eye-contact when her mind was somewhere else) and scowled.

Unless they weren't fariytales.

Mel lifted an eyebrow as she crossed her arms.

"Clarisse?"

But Riz had already unravelled her arms again and was rushing out into the corridor to grab her coat. It didn't matter if they were fairytales or if they weren't. If she went home, she wouldn't be able to sleep, and if she stayed in, Mel would drive her crazy with those boobs and lips, and detective Huber would bother her about more fairy cases. So why shouldn't she investigate herself?

Depression and why you should NOT be a writer every day

I want to talk about taking breaks.

I'll talk a little bit more about myself first (but there'll be practical advice too so stick with it!). I'll tell you about my life for one reason: It's vital to understanding my art. In order to do this let me explain a bit about depression.

Imagine going to sleep at 9 PM and waking up ten hours later still (or perhaps already) tired. Imagine having to order food twice or three times in a row because you weren't able to face going outside/to face reality/to face other people and maybe having to speak to the cashier in at the store. That's just a short insight in what depression can be like. I don't want to bore you.

It suffices to say depression is a terrible ghost. I'd love to exorcise it but that will never truly be possible and it does sometimes affect my work. I don't have as much energy to write and I need to take breaks often during the day. I also have a day job.

In addition to having depression I'm also a perfectionist. I can't just put 'any' short story or novel out there even if it sounds good in my head or is mostly completed. If it's missing the special spark it has no place under my name.

I won't lie. I don't always do good work and sometimes it's true crap as well. I'm not always as productive as I could be (thank you reddit). But I do my best. I do as much as I can every single day, even if I know some projects won't work out.

Doing my best means - for me - also taking breaks. If you're burnt out, then the best you can do is take a break and forget those spivs trying to convince you you're not a real writer if you take a day, a week, a month, or even a year or two off. Writing is a profession as any other. Would you say a policeman isn't a policeman because he doesn't work one weekend of the month? If he takes a year off to recover? Police work is hard work and so is writing - a book or short story or anything else you pour your heart into and risk your (mental/virtual) life for. And that's what a good book should be. It should risk your reputation and challenge everything you ever believed.

You deserve to take breaks just like the coffeeshop lady eating her sandwich in the back.

And if this doesn't convince you yet then consider that: Don't want to write for a month? Ok. A lot of people will think or tell you you're not/no longer a SERIOUS WRITER (TM). I won't because that's bullshit (reasons explained above). But let's say you're no longer a writer because you dared take a break. You know what? The moment you pick up your pen or keyboard again you'll be a writer again - just like magic! Any really. I'd rather not be a writer for a year, then be one again, if that helps me stay relatively sane.

I'm not sure if this'll be of any help to anyone but I often have to give myself permission to take a break. It's not easy. I'd love to work every day the whole day and write 20 million books a year.

But it's not possible.

Depression makes writing everything even more exhausting than it is/has to be and I'm probably a lot more sensitive than others to the break-needs because of that. However - everyone needs a break every once in a while to stay healthy. So please take a break. Do it before you burn out. Do it now if you feel like your head is stuffy/about to explode.

You can still be a writer tomorrow or next month.

A long hiatus... but I have good news!

I know I haven't posted in a while. I'm sorry. I'll be trying to post more but I didn't want to spam y'all with useless posts. If I have nothing to say I'd rather shut up most of the time. (Unless it's an argument I need to win!!!!)

Anyway! I wanted to take the time to list some accomplishments before the new years starts and you're all welcome to participate/tell me about yours! (PS: this blog will turn more informal than it has been.)

So.

What have I done this year?

1. I've finished the third draft of my post-apocalyptic dinosaur and cyborg book. This is great news because it means only one more draft and it's done! I'll be sending it out to agents (and publishers in some cases) and hope someone takes it! My beta reader has also been very positive about this book so that makes me double happy.

2. I wrote about three short stories. I've sent one to the New Yorker because it applies to the real world (strangely enough) and is about a popular current topic (children's privacy on the internet/especially concerning pictures). I'm pretty sure they won't want it but hey! Worth a try anyway. I'll probably be putting it into a collection on amazon soon. It's called KIDNAPPING SKY.

3. I have three wonderful covers on three of my short stories! I love them and they're done by the very talented Hannah Hilton (link to follow shortly).

Here they are:


also following shortly with amazon link

On Amazon!

On Amazon!

On Amazon!

4. I've also read 30 books of my 53 book goal! I'd hoped to do more but am not terribly disappointed. 30 is good. 52 would be better but I did my best and it just wasn't possible. I'll try again in the New Year! :)

That's it from me folks. How about you?

PS: Merry Christmas! It's only three more days!