Happy Holiday

Well, another fine holiday is upon us. Three day weekends are always a delight, although going back to work afterword can be problematic at best. Still, right now I'm sitting at the computer and the kids are watching Spongebob Squarepants. Life's not too bad, I reckon. All I need now is a good woman by my side. Hopefully, that'll happen in the near future. I'm going to try to be careful this time and make damned sure she's not using me or mental. There are a couple of prospective women out there who have made their interest known to me. Time to move on. It's been a long, dark trip, my friends....but things are starting to look up. Hope everyone is safe this Memorial day and that we have many, many more holidays together.

Roger

Purgatory

Well, TALES FROM THE CELLAR is finally finished. It was a labor of love, literally, and I'm delighted to finally have it out there. You can purchase a copy directly from my website, www.rogerdaletrexler.com. Buy lots of 'em.

Now that TALES FROM THE CELLAR is finished, I plan on releasing an old novel or two. First up will be PURGATORY, a book I wrote in 1987. I'm formatting the book right now, and will be proofreading it over the next couple of months or so (in between finishing up HELL IN THE HEARTLAND, an anthology Martel Sardina and I are editing). PURGATORY was the third novel-length book I ever wrote and, to be honest, the first fully-realized novel. I will go back and rework the first two books (SKYTOUCH and WOLF SCREAMS) when time permits. If time permits.

Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know that TALES FROM THE CELLAR is available locally here in Carbondale now - at Rosetta Stone Books and The Bookworm - and available through my website for those who don't live in Carbondale.

More later,
Roger

Getting old

Man, I'm getting old. I went to my eldest daughter's graduation Friday night. I remember holding the child when she wasn't much bigger than the palm of my hand. Now, she's almost 21....and beautiful. I can't seem to do much right in this life these days, but I can certainly make beautiful children. My eldest daughter is a perfect example, and my two youngsters are following suit.

Reckon I got some things to be thankful for after all.

Believe it or not....

Believe it or not, TALES FROM THE CELLAR is almost here. I need to print the cover on Monday (once again, I have the kids all weekend, so doing anything except babysitting is out of the question). I plan on having copies ready by next weekend. I'm planning on going to Nicole Proctor's show at Rosetta Stone Books on Friday, May 11th, and I'll be putting copies up for sale there then. TALES FROM THE CELLAR has been a labor of love, literally, and I'm glad it's finally coming to completion. Now, maybe I can move on with my personal life and get my crap together.

Happiness is a warm....

I've been going through some difficult times lately. MY wife moved out last July 14th, claiming I was the Anti-Christ, and a snowball effect seemed to take place after that. Let me tell you first and foremost - I STILL LOVE THE WOMAN. The moment I met her, I knew she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my sorry assed days with. Shortly thereafter, I came to realize she didn't love me NEARLY as much as I was in love with her. It was a painful thing to realize. She went out of her way to try to start fights with me over trivial nonsense. I'm generally an easy-going person, so I mellowed out things as best I could. Flash forward six months or so, I ask her to move in with me. She accepts, and we begin the journey that every couple makes. I was very, very happy. I was with a woman I loved, upwardly mobile in my career, and looking toward the future with a woman I loved by my side. I thought life was pretty friggin' good. Shortly thereafter, a mutually planned (if there is such a thing) "oops" produced our daughter, Hope. She's six and a a half now, sharp as a whip and the apple of her daddy's eye. Our son, Darrien, came a year and a half after her birth. I love them both dearly.

Relationships are strange. Right now, I don't care to ever, ever care again for another woman. I know that sounds callous and sad, but I WAS WITH A WOMAN I LOVED WHO DIDN'T REALLY LOVE ME. I'm a damaged person. I know that, and I'm trying to fight it, telling myself that all women aren't like my wife. We had a second child (our son, Darrien) about a year and a half after Hope. I married her then. Not because I had to, but because I loved her and she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my days with.

Last July 14th, those days stopped.

There was no discussion. No "you've done this" or "I've done that". She just left. In the past year, I've pleaded with her to reunite our family, but my pleas have gone unheeded. I wrote a book about my experience. It's called "TALES FROM THE CELLAR" and can be ordered now from my website (www.rogerdaletrexler.com). I finished printing the book tonight. I told myself I'd try to let her go and move on the moment I finished the book. I held off printing it for four months after I'd finished editing it in the hope there would be a future betwixt us. Now, I have to let her go.

Pray for me, my friends. I still love my wife....even if she never loved me.

Roger

Tales from the Septic Tank of Life

Well, it's been 10 days since my last post. In that time, I've gone to the ACUP conference in San Francisco. I got back last Thursday night. Boy, was I tired. But, the experience was a good one, and I loved San Francisco. All I have to say about the town is this - who decided to build a city on such steep hills? You see the streets in the movies, but there's something totally different when you're walking up a 45 degree (or better) incline. I'm considering moving there and starting my own brake repair business. That, or becoming a trolley car operator. I rode one to the Fisherman's Wharf on Wednesday night with Dennis Maze and bought some cheap t-shirts for the kids. I saw Alcatraz in the distance, also.

Anyway, it was good to get home and sleep in my own bed. I wrote a couple short stories in San Francisco and will be rewriting on them in the future. Hope everyone is doing fine, and, if you came across my blog and want to contact me, my e-mail is rtrexler@siu.edu.

more later,
Roger

Damned if I know....

I was looking at the last post and realized it's been nearly two weeks since I last posted. Not much has happened since the trip to Canada. I've been working, watching the kids in the evenings and on weekends so my ingrate of a soon-to-be ex-wife can work. I don't want to descend into a diatribe about how I still love her (and am ashamed of myself for still loving her), but it drives me nuts. She called me the other day - yesterday, as a matter of fact - just to talk to me. She made it sound like she wanted to be certain I was going to pick up the kids up after school, but she DAMNED WELL knew I was. I suppose she was having a moment of regret, and that's fine....but don't mask it as something else. You've lied enough to me over the course of our relationship. We're over. We're done. You made it so. Aren't you proud of yourself? Isn't you momma proud, too?

Sorry, I should delete that....but I probably won't.

Anyway, my trip to Canada got me inspired to start work on a new novel. The book is called LONELY HEARTS and features a very unique serial killer. It features my detective Frank Powell. I'm about 45 pages into it so far, writing at lunchtime and in between entertaining the kids.

I've gotta go watch the kids. More later, Roger