The computer is set up on the dining room table at the moment, because it is more convenient there for my wife and daughter, so this edition of Notes From the Cave comes to you from the Dining Room. I'm seated in front of a large window with brilliant Spring sunshine coming in, even though it is still technically Winter.
As many of you know, I did a free promo on my short story Widow's Walk last month, and it was a resounding success. I had more than 1,400 downloads during the 5 days it was free. This was literally about 10 times more than what I had hoped for. I would have been thrilled with 150. Since it went to its normal price of 99 cents, I am still selling several copies per day, so it has become a boon for my publishing income as well, which is all just on-the-side income for me. If anyone reading this has read Widow's Walk, it would be a tremendous help to me if you would put up a review on Amazon. This is very, very important. People are more apt to buy books that have lots of reviews (especially if they are positive!). And thanks.
I also recently published a short historical essay on the Virgin Birth. This is an essay I posted as a series on my blog a few years ago, and it was also included in my first book, Christianity is a Verb. Like Widow's Walk (which was included in my short story collection, Serendipity), I decided to make this one available by itself, for 99 cents. I haven't advertised this one at all, figuring it will garner more sales during Christmas time.
My next project will be a collection of poetry. I don't expect to sell that many copies, but I figured I would put it out there for anyone who might be interested. When my wife and I split up a few years back, I found poetry to be an effective catharsis for what I was going through. As a result, I wrote hundreds of poems during that 18-month period, and continued writing them occasionally for several years afterward. It took a lot of time to pick and choose which ones were good enough for publication, and which ones were appropriate for publication (if you've been fortunate enough to read any of my poetry, you'll understand why some of them are most definitely not appropriate for public consumption - ha!). In any case, I will advertise it once I have put it onto Amazon. I think most of the poems in the collection are pretty good. So if you enjoy poetry, I hope you'll buy it. I'll probably put it up for 99 cents.
There isn't much else to talk about....work has been picking up lately, and I did a week of thirds a few weeks back. I enjoy working third shift, but it is a total bitch going back to first shift after getting on that third shift schedule. My first day back was last Tuesday and I was an absolute shithead all day. The worst thing about third shift, for me, is the feeling of being totally disconnected from the world. You are up all night, so you obviously sleep much of the day, and you feel like you have no idea what is happening in the world: sports, news, politics, your friends and family. It's a very lonesome feeling in that regard, and I don't like it at all. I guess you'd get used to it if you did it all the time. It's sort of like being on vacation - you don't read the news and you don't know what's going on with your friends and neighbors, and you come back and have to get re-adjusted to normal life.
My 5-year-old broke her finger last week, getting it caught in a door she was trying to shut. Broke the tip of her pinkie and cut it so badly her daycare called 911. The EMT's bandaged it, and then we took her to the emergency room, where they had to stitch it. She has since seen a hand surgeon who said he could not rule out possibly having to do surgery on it. Here's to hoping that's not the case.
I'm ready to kill my dog.
I'm currently reading Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon. It's a haunting novel set in 1699 and centered on a witch trial in the Carolina colonies. It is absolutely wonderful.
I haven't watched any episodes of Lost recently, but I am up to the 4th season now. It's not got quite the same je ne sais quoi as it did in the earlier seasons, but it is still very captivating.
We are finally doing our taxes - probably the latest we've ever done them. If the return is substantial enough, I am hoping to get a new laptop for myself, so the kids and the Wife can have this one, and we don't have to compete for it. It's a major crimp to my writing endeavors. :)
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