26 August 2005 Summer Doldrums If, as T.S. Eliot wrote in his poem, The Wasteland, “April is the cruelest month,” then August must be right behind it at number 2, in terms of severity. It’s brutally hot here in East Texas, and I’m running behind in my self-imposed schedules. For instance, with this journal entry, I’m several beats behind the rhythm section. But, I did finish the first novel in a new series for Berkley, THE SAVAGE GUN, a book entitled BLOOD VENGEANCE, and I finished a week ahead of my artificial timetable. Writing 12-14 pages a day, allowed me to accomplish this feat. Some days I wrote more, of course. Am now working on the first novel of another series for Harper Torch. This one is called THE SHADOW RIDER, and I’m calling the first book, BLOOD SKY AT MORNING. The setting is Arizona in 1871, and the main character, the Shadow Rider, is Zak Cody, a taciturn man who works outside the military for General George Crook, righting injustices wherever he goes. After completing this novel, I plan to write a YA on spec, perhaps two. I have four such books planned. T.A.L.K., the Tuesday Afternoon Literary Klatch, no longer meets at The Coffee Cup in Pittsburg. Now, we meet at the Pizza Inn every Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., in a private room that’s quiet and cool. The fare is served buffet style, but of course, one can order from the menu. Seniors pay just $5.00 for the buffet, which includes a tall glass of soda. Everyone seems to like the new venue. Last weekend, Charlotte and I were in Branson for the quarterly Ozarks Writers League (OWL) meeting. They had the largest attendance ever, with Chrissy Willis and Cherry Wiener as the featured speakers. I’ve known Chrissy for many years, having met in Eureka Springs, Arkansas at the Ozark Creative Writers conference perhaps 27 years ago. She is writing for young people and gave me several valuable tips on that market. Cherry does a Q&A, a format that earns her high marks with any group of aspiring writers. Dusty Richards was there, of course, as were a number of other writer friends. It’s an exhausting trip for us, however, taking more than 7 hours to drive each way. I was asked by my publisher, Forge, to provide a cover concept for THE BARON DECISION, along with copy for the dust jacket. I wrote a script for the artist and a descriptive blurb and shot those off the day after the request came through from Eric Raab, Bob Gleason’s assistant. Bob is Editor-in-Chief at Tor/Forge and is my editor there. I have been furnishing these for the entire Baron saga. And, the decks are cleared for the 8th book in the series, THE BARON LEGACY. A couple of months ago, we bought a mobile home to move onto our lake property. It took a long time to close the deal and another month of turmoil after the home was delivered. I had to get another electric pole, and have power brought to the site. Then, there was the septic system, which was a major construction project. Phone lines had to be brought in, while keeping the phone to my office, in a separate building. I had decks built in the front and back. That project was completed yesterday. Now, we must do landscaping, plant trees, and grass and flowers. Paint or treat the decks. We had to furnish the home, and that’s been a slow process, as well. But, we’re in it and love it. I even have an office there, since it’s a 3 bedroom, 2 bath dwelling. Charlotte has her work station where she wanted it, and we’re still installing fixtures, etc. We lived through this turmoil while still keeping up with the demanding work load. Just don’t ask me how we got through all this without collapsing from stress and exhaustion. Now if only the grass seed we planted will start to come up. Otherwise, we have to haul in sod and break our backs laying that out over a wide area of bare ground. Then, there’s the rock work to do…. But, who’s complaining? As we wait for autumn, with its cooler temperatures, write from the heart, and with passion, Jory Sherman