Ready for #NaNoWriMo?

It's almost that time of year again - when writers around the world gather together for the greatest event known to man, er, um, writers - National Novel Writing Month, a.k.a. NaNoWriMo.

Calling All Readers! I Need to Know....

In 1978, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their second album, You're Gonna Get It! It was a very good year, in my humble, unbiased opinion. Any year we get new Petty is a good year, right?

I could go on for days about my life-long love affair with his music - I can listen to most of his songs in my head, no LP or iPod required. Which (sort of) explains how I Need to Know got stuck in my head this morning. Have a listen so we're on the same page-

Now I'll explain the why....

An excerpt from The Shadow Watcher - Chapter 7

Curious about The Society in the Shadow of Civilization? This week I'm sharing Chapter Seven from The Shadow Watcher ... which is where he finally starts to explain himself.

Character Spotlight: Adjatay - Keeper of the Tree

(Spoilers, maybe? Be warned....)

Sam first meets Adjatay in The Shadow Watcher, and visits him again in A Shadow in Doubt. Though Adja's appearances are brief, he is a key figure as the keeper of the Flamella tree.

According to www.babynamespedia.com, the name Adjatay is of Cameroon/African origin, meaning prince". It was meant to be; in my head, Michael called him Adja, before I even started looking for names. 

Adja was taken in by the Society in the Shadow of Civilization in the mid-eighteenth century, and in recognizing the purity of his soul, he became a sort of spiritual center for Samuel, and later Sam. It takes a special kind of person to live alone in the jungle for more than a century, without going bananas.

Staring at the Stars

Orion Nebula

Today was my father's birthday, he would have turned seventy-eight. It's been over fourteen years, but, I still miss him every day. Tonight I spent some time watching the clouds dance around the stars.

Between summer camping trips and many weekends at one spot or another along Colorado River, we spent countless hours staring up at the sky. He taught us how to read a star map, and used the big, extra-bright flashlight to point out the constellations. I've always been fond of Orion, probably because it's one of the few that shines through the light pollution back home.

Just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you today, Dad. Love you always.


Photo courtesy of user WikiImages at Pixabay.com