"Getting" Busy

Our theme this month is "Getting Busy:  Tips for Staying on the Writing Track Through the Holidays."

What's this "getting" busy stuff about, huh?  I'm already busy AND IT'S NOT EVEN THANKSGIVING YET!  I went to the Dollar Tree, usually my go-to source for decorations.  This year, I've been trying to get festive since we moved into a bigger Chez Noony and have, like, space.

So, I walked into my favorite neighborhood haunt, actually my second favorite, the BIGGER one up on Howard Street, and WAS ASSAULTED BY RED AND GREEN EVERYWHERE!  I MEAN EVERYWHERE!  THERE WAS NOTHING TURKEY-RELATED IN THE WHOLE DAMN STORE!

So, I wandered the whole.damned.store.  Not a fracking turkey anywhere, nothing fall related even.  No leaves, no goofy kitschy things I could put on my turkey table to festive it up a bit.  It's two weeks after Halloween, Mama, and Christmas is way, way the fuck off over there!  And you're telling me we've collectively had a conniption fit and forgot the fricken' turkey dinner halfway between Halloween and Christmas???  What???

I decided to at least buy some more Thanksgiving cards, since we're not going to be visiting our family this year for dinner.  I started a  new day job that I love and haven't accumulated enough vacay to go.  ~sob~  They did have cards, but then it hit me:  when the frack am I gonna have time to fill these puppies out?  And holy shit, did you realize Christmas is coming?

On the radio in the car on the way back home the lady said we need a new holiday, Hallow Thanksmasbowl.  I damn near drove into a tree, though I'd be hard-pressed to say if I was crying or laughing or both.  How pitiful is it that we have all our holidays mashed into this one eight week span of time where we run ourselves ragged, trying to get everything done and spend all this money on credit that come February, we're gonna hate ourselves for?

So, here's my decision.  I'm rebelling.  I'm not going to get all excited and hot-and-bothered about the holidays and I sure as shit am not going to focus on Christmas until its due time, thankyouverymuch.  THANKSGIVING is up next, and I'm celebrating.  Not because I think it's fun that my ancestors massacred millions of indigenous people.  (Actually, half my ancestors.  The other half were still in Ireland getting shit on by the English, but that's a different story.)  (Which, incidentally, probably explains my push-pull relationship with myself, because half of me is the oppressor class and the other half is the oppressed.  "Help, help!  I'm being oppressed!"  "Shut up, you."  "See?  Come see the violence inherent in the system."  Is it sad that I suddenly understand Monty Python in a very personal way?)  Now, where was I?  Lack of turkey.  Ah, yes.

So, be thankful, my friends.  We have much abundance in our lives, particularly since we're reading and writing together on this great interweb of ours.  The folks in the Philippines have seen first-hand what can happen in the blink of an eye and so can my fellow Illinoisans (if you're not aware of our home-grown hardships, 16 serious tornados decided to eat half our state and our neighbor, Indiana).  Take a step back from the melee and focus on what's important.

Which, come to think of it, is pretty damned effective for keeping on the writing track, too.  See?  I can too stay on topic.

SQUIRREL!

Come check out our new release!  This week, Torquere Press re-releases "Taking a Chance," our short contemporary M/M romance about Jay and Chance.

Doctor Jacob Davison has outgrown the hookups of his younger days and wants to settle down. When he’s abandoned by the side of the road, a leather-clad stranger stops and offers him a ride. Chance Renton is different from anyone Jay’s ever met. He’s caring and helpful, yet cynical and world-weary.

From the first moment of their shared motorcycle ride, an attraction begins to simmer between them. Between Jay’s ex-boyfriend showing up and the misconceptions they have about each other, does this relationship have a chance?