The fictive spirit continues

I meant to post an update on my fictional adventures these days. THE BIG MUDDY MONSTER film script is finished and in the can, so to speak. We just need to film it later this month. My mystery novel, BLEEDING HEARTS, is over 50,000 words now and I hope to finish it by year's end. Ditto with the other mystery I'm working on, MURDER AT PK'S. MURDER AT PK'S is, of course, set at PK's bar here in Carbondale, the second of a three volume "locally produced" book series I am writing. I go to the establishment, sit, and write. Simple enough. TALES FROM THE CELLAR, written at The Cellar, of course, was the first one. Sometime next year, I will begin work on the third volume. The location where it'll be written is still up in the air. I'm debating a few locales as we speak.

As anyone who can read my blog will note, the past year and a half have been rough on me. Most of the fiction I've written in that time has been either dark or deeply reflective. I just finished ALL SUMMER LONG, a book of poetry that I wrote over the summer, and a change took place during the writing of that book...I found a good woman. She has affected my writing and my heart. The last quarter of ALL SUMMER LONG is all about how I started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I still see it. So, early next year, I will begin work writing a new book. This is a book that's been in my head for 25 years or so. It will be the tale of three estranged friends who come together again in a nursing home. Their families have left them there to die, and they will face their mortality and the reasons they parted ways many years ago. It will be dedicated to Stephanie because, without her beautiful heart for guidance, I would never have attempted the tale.

Thank you, Stephanie....you are the best.

Roger

Confusion and Paradox

Well, today is my daughter Hope's 7th birthday. I remember seeing her borne unto the world. The doctor had to use forceps to remove her from the comfort of the womb, and the plates in her head were scrunched up between the metal "spoons" of the forceps. I remember being sickened at that sight, thinking "that's got to affect her brain." Of course, naive me, I was wrong. She's sharp as a tack. She till has marks on her head where the forceps pulled her into the world, but no one would notice if they didn't know where to look for them. I do. I was there.

Anyway, today is both a happy and sad day. I am happy for so many things in life right now. My beautiful young daughter, my son, my legal-drinking age daughter Sarah, Stephanie, the most incredible woman I've ever known and her daughter, Stasi. All wonderful reasons to be happy. I am a rich man indeed these days.

Sadly, I also got the notice of the final court date of my marriage today. Isn't that ironic? Funny how God will try to depress you when you're happy. I had thought the farce that was my marriage to Hope and Darrien's mother would be over long before this. And, while I will always love the children I had with her, I have come to the realization that she was an absolute stranger to me throughout our marriage. Certainly, she was watching out for her own self-interests. I will never regret Hope and Darrien, but their mother?......well, that's a different story. It is certainly a paradox.....how to love them and how to deal with her. I am working on that. Unfortunately, it is a work in progress.

Confusing? You bet. But, I do know one thing....I am with the most incredible woman I've ever known now, and I want to continue being with her. The more I am with her, the more I realize what a farce my marriage was. This is a woman who genuinely CARES for me. This is a woman I can TRUST. And, in the end, if you can't trust someone you love to watch your back....well, you shouldn't be with them. They don't deserve you.

Sorry for the candid post, folks, but I'll give you a final word of advice. Or, rather, I'll let the Great Criswell from the Ed Wood movies do it. He said: "The future is where we'll live the rest of our lives."

Live for the future. Embrace the good in your life. Life is too short.

Have a good day.
Roger

Summer's Over

Good morning,

Well, the kids are still in bed at 8 a.m. on a Sunday (this is as rare as hen's teeth, my friends). Stephanie (whose last name will not be mentioned here lest she be inundated with marriage proposals from men reading my blog hunting for an incredible woman.....get your own! She's mine!) and I took the kids down to the SIU Homecoming parade in strollers. It was a decent walk and we each had to snooze a bit afterwards. Then, last night, we went down to BellaTerra Winery in Creal Springs to see Breeden, Bradley and Maze perform. The kids ran like crazed animals while we listened to the band, drank a bottle of wine, and generally had a great time. We were going to dine at the winery but, alas, they weren't serving food any longer. So, we went to Tall Tree Lake in Buncombe to have dinner prepared by Nick Rion (of Lick Creek General Store fame). The food was wonderful and we had a great time. On the way home, my son, Darrien, crashed out. I knew how he felt. I was exhausted, too. I think we all were. At least, I'm pretty sure of that. October is Stephanie's favorite month and we've got a lot of fun things planned. I feel like a very lucky man to have found such a fun, wonderful woman. She's a keeper. I haven't had this much fun and adventure in years. And, even though summer is now over and fall had fallen, I think we'll find plenty of ways to keep ourselves, and the kids, busy.

On a totally different note, I have completed the script to THE BIG MUDDY MONSTER movie and will do some rewriting over the next week or so. I have put out a casting call for a few actors, as well as a make-up artist to design the monster. My buddy Rehab will play the part of Conrad Brown, a man who was accidentally shot in the head and roams the woods near the Big Muddy in search of his lost wife and child. Local rock legend Jon E. Rector will be Park Ranger Bob, a cynical park ranger, and I'm going to try to get Brad Moore, local artist extraordinaire, to play the monster. Rehab and Brad have practiced fighting each other (pseudo-acting/fighting) and I think they need to capture that on film. We'll see. The film is, tentatively, scheduled to begin filming by the end of the month.

Anyway, figured I should put up a new post. Hope everyone's doing as well as I am.

Have a beautiful Sunday,
Roger

Tomorrow is another day

Had one of those days today....everything was chaos. On days like today, I wonder what the heck went wrong with the lofty goals of mankind? Or, sometimes, I wish I were a pioneer, trapping and hunting my food, trading pelts for things that I need. Of course, I'm a horrible outdoorsman. I'd probably starve to death. My father would have been perfectly suited for such a life. He loved to hunt. Me? Well, I simply didn't. But, in my daydreams, I'm like Jeremiah Johnson, hunting in the great outdoors. Those must have been wonderful - if incredibly tough - times. You could be your own man without being governed by the bureaucracy that the world has become these days. I guess, in a way, I crave simplicity. I think a lot of people do. While we've made medical advances that add decades to a person's life in comparison to the pioneer days, I sometimes think the pioneers lived more exciting lives. And, on days like today, daydreams about being a pioneer keep me sane.

What do you dream about?

THE RED LION

On September 10th, I made the 350+ mile journey to Chicago for the GraphExpo at McCormick Place. We drove all day. But, that evening, I jumped the "L" and went to the Red Lion Pub at 2446 N. Lincoln Ave. I'm glad I did. It turns out they'll be tearing the Red Lion down to the ground next month and rebuilding it, brick-by-wonderful-brick, from the ground up.....with the exception of putting a foundation under the building. The Red Lion is an incredibly old pub that the Twilight Tales writing group has meetings at every Monday night for many years. I discovered it thanks to my friend Wayne Allen Sallee. We reacqainted ourselves there for the first time in a decade and some change. I fell in love with the place and go there every time I'm in Chicago on a Monday night. Hopefully, The Red Lion will be rebuilt the next time I'm in town. It's a wonderful place and I hope you make the trek there just to meet the bartender, Joe. He's a nice guy.

By the way, that lovely lady I'm hamming it up with is Martel Sardina, co-editor of HELL IN THE HEARTLAND. It was her birthday. I bought her a birthday beer. That feller with his head turned is Wayne Allen Sallee. Always the gentleman, Wayne turned his head and blushed.

Check out the Twilight Tales site (www.twilighttales.com). I think there are some links there worth checking out.

later,
Roger

Glory Days

I've been thinking a lot of the future these days. Things are looking up. But, I've also been reflecting on the past. Stephanie, the wonderful woman I've been seeing lately, mentioned the glory days of Lick Creek General Store to me. I used to work down there frequently. I was sort of "Chef" Nick Rion's minuteman....he called me when he couldn't find anyone else to cook the chickens or stir the jambalaya. It was always a good time working there. And, Stephanie, I have to make a confession....I do remember serving you at least once and thinking "what an attractive woman." It's funny how things can come around to revisit you.

But, back to Lick Creek.

Lick Creek General Store was a wonderful place to have a nine-course meal. I've boiled crawfish about a million times down there, usually with a beer in my hand and a smile on my face. Anyone who's ever dined there will attest to the wonderful and adventurous atmoshere of the place. I've certainly seen some weird things at Lick Creek - people dancing half-naked on the tables was a common thing. Often, the tables would collapse and, at least once, the dancer didn't miss a stride. It was a magical place.

Sadly, "Chef" Nick moved on to Tall Tree Lake (by the way, you can Google both establishments....God Bless the Internet) and Lick Creek sort of fell into a lull. Emma Taylor and Lance Jack are working hard to bring Lick Creek back, and "Chef" Nick has called me at least once in the last year to come down and work at Tall Tree Lake. So, I guess the purpose of this post is to give a nod to Lick Creek and Tall Tree, and to remember the past. Those were good times.

I hope everyone out there has a Lick Creek General Store or Tall Tree Lake in their memory. It would be sad if you didn't.

later
Roger

in-plant graphics article

http://www.ipgonline.com/story/story.bsp?sid=73267&var=story

That's the link to an article I wrote for In-Plant Graphics about polyester plates. I used the plates to print three books so far, with a fourth and fifth one coming very soon.

Check out the article.

Roger

p.s. That tired old fart in the picture is me.