Spring Has Arrived! Finally

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago and unfortunately the candytuft and phlox aren’t blooming as pretty now, but that just means it’s getting even warmer. I can’t even begin to complain about that.

Just like the toad (or maybe frog) picture I posted last time, these flowers are in the rock wall lining my driveway. This had to be put in a couple of years ago (long and expensive story) so this is year two of the plantings. I think it’s looking better than last year and it is the easiest thing on my property to weed because a lot of it I don’t have to bend down to do. So that’s a big plus. The other big plus is that with the rock wall in place, the ground is no longer threatening to swallow my driveway and garage whole.

I’ve been trying to decide how to format my blog and what to do with it. I’ve decided to post some writing and am currently trying to figure out the logistics of setting up my website to handle that and make it easy to read stories and chapters. I think I might have the beginnings of it sussed out but I’m sure it will be an evolving work so please bear with it. I have a completed M/M story that I will hopefully start posting a chapter a week this weekend. I’m also trying to write some shorts/filler chapters to the book I’d like to publish. The bits of writing will focus on pivotal (or what I feel are pivotal) moments in either a character’s development or the storyline’s development. I’ve got the first one written. It needs editing and I’ll read over it a few more times but hopefully I can get it up either this weekend or over the following week. That main story will probably not be posted on this site. If I can’t get it “officially published” then I’ll look into self publishing so it can see the light of day. The tentative title of that story is Reaping Covetous and it is a paranormal/urban fantasy romance that is M/F. I welcome constructive feedback on stories as well as hearing if you like them or not.

I’d love to write and work on this more, but work is busy and very stressful right now and I find my brain busted by the time a day off rolls around. Creativity can be difficult to come by after having to tell a client, or some days, several clients, bad news. In the time of COVID, it is even weirder because I can’t offer the level of comfort I’m used to. It’s wearing but at least I’m still working. My heart goes out to all those struggling right now.

Hopefully this weekend will prove fruitful and I’ll start getting some writing posted. Until then, keep well and lower your mask long enough to smell a flower or two.

A Sunbathing Toad to Brighten Your Day

I found this little guy sunbathing on top of one of the boulders holding back the ground from invading my driveway. He (or she – no idea how to sex toads/frogs) stayed there quite a while. I thought I’d add this into the post today. Most likely I’ll try and add pictures to most posts. I’ve found that I have precious few pictures of me and most are of plants and animals. I had to scrounge a bit just to find the one for my icon.

I finally signed up for Facebook last week. I feel like I might have just sold my soul. Time will tell. One thing I hadn’t been expecting was connecting with classmates from veterinary school. One of them had even started a group just for us. It’s been interesting connecting with people I haven’t seen since graduation eighteen years ago. Veterinary school was such an odd four years of my life. I look back on it now and wonder how on earth I made it through without becoming an addict of some sort or another. Well, I suppose I am addicted to carbs and sugar, but in the big scheme of all that could have gone wrong, I guess I’ll take that. I’ve often said that going through vet school was kind of like surviving a natural disaster with a select group of people. You may not like everyone in that group, but if push comes to shove, you’ll defend almost all of them with your last breath.

When being a veterinarian isn’t kicking my ass, I try writing as much as possible. My goal on my days off is to write at least 3,000 words. I’m not really sure if that’s good or not but that’s been my routine. I’ve been trying to find comparable published books and am having almost no luck. I’m not exactly sure what that means except for a lot of head scratching on my part. I never dreamed this would be the difficult part. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent putting in different search words and criteria, reading exerts and sometimes whole books only to think that it doesn’t really fit. I’m not gonna lie, it’s frustrating. I don’t know if I’m being too picky but I don’t want to falsely advertise my writing style/content either.

And so, I keep writing. I’m about 80% finished with the follow up book in the series I’m trying to find representation for. I figure if I’m lucky enough to ever find an agent, I’ll probably have the third book done. On the flip side of that, if I never do find an agent and try and self publish, I’ll probably also have book three done too. Cue the long sigh . . .

Well, that’s it for tonight. I’m still not sure if I’m doing this blogging thing right or not. Mostly this sort of feels like a journal entry for others to possibly read. If anyone out there is reading it and cares, I also have an Instagram site called fenfensfollies that basically has pictures and videos of my dog and cats. Sad, but that is what makes up the bulk of my life. Then again, not so sad because I really do love my furry kiddos.

Take care and stay well.

First Blogging Post!

Whew (wipes brow), setting up a blog is a difficult thing for a first timer like me. I decided to start this because I am an aspiring fiction writer. I’ve been writing fiction for over fifteen years. About ten years ago I discovered fan fiction and fell in love with it. I’ve written several completed stories with mostly positive reviews. Fan fiction is wonderful, at least to me. It allows one to write fresh stories about characters they love, driving the storyline in a different direction. As much as I love fan fiction, I’ve gone back to writing my own characters and story lines. I’m weeding through trying to find an agent who might be willing to take me on. It’s a daunting process, especially for someone who doesn’t know anything about the literary world.

My youth filled dream was becoming a veterinarian. There was a road to follow to get to that goal. Sure, the road had a couple of optional stops to refuel, but overall, it was a fairly straight forward path and if followed correctly, led to that golden ticket otherwise known as an acceptance letter. The road to getting published seems tangled and more like a loose suggestion rather than a well paved layer of concrete. Getting lost and taking the wrong exit are much more likely and the destination keeps getting further and further away. But I’ve got a lot of gas in my tank and I’m meandering as best I can.

I’ll try and keep up my thoughts on being both a practicing veterinarian as well as a hopeful writer. If I have any sanity left in life, I give full credit to my pets, writing and exercising (most likely in that order). If anyone is reading this, I hope you have a good day and are staying well.