Weekend Adventures (or: Taking a Week Off from #HIGP posts)

Yeah...no How I Got Published Post today, sorry folks! I was gone all weekend and I've had a lot to catch up on this week, including working on a new revision for Duskfall. But more on that later.

What was I up to this weekend, you ask? Let me tell you.

Raych and I ventured down to St. George for a friend's birthday, where we ate delicious food, went to an (outdoor, as you can see) concert, and stayed at a mediocre hotel. It was, all in all, a very fun weekend. The relaxation was much needed.

We also spent some time in Snow Canyon State Park, which was fun. Also, Raych is pregnant.*

Southern Utah has a very unique landscape. It's pretty cool to adventure around these parts.

Just keepin' it real.

So those are things I've been doing lately. But I'm not messing around when I say there's some stuff I need to get caught up on, so...back to work.


* ISN'T THAT AMAZING?! I am so excited about it. I suppose I'll have to tell you more about the whole preggo thing--I'll get to that once I'm caught up!

I'M BAAAAAAACK

Yeah, I've been gone for a couple weeks. Because we've been here:

That's the Pantheon. In Rome. In Italy. My wife and I just spent 2+ weeks there and it was amaaaaziiiing. I'll tell you all about it in the near future.

I've got a whole bunch of other things to say, too. I still have one or two more posts queued up for my series on The Hero's Journey/The Virgin's Promise/Story Structure. I've got some updates regarding what I'm currently working on and a visit with my agent in NYC. And, if I get around to it, I might offer some thoughts on where the TV series Glee has been going recently.

So, you have all that to look forward to! In the meantime, rest assured that I am not dead.

I've been sick.

You may have noticed I haven't posted much recently.  This time, I feel like I actually have a pretty legitimate set of excuses that include but are not limited to:

• what may or may not have begun as a stomach flu
• two ER visits in two days
• my first IV ever (which included my first intravenous drug experience)
• my second IV ever (which included my first morphine and dilaudid experiences)
• vomiting dark red blood and totally freaking out about it
• severe stomach pains
• even more severe,  if-this-is-what-periods-are-like-why-don't-women-kill-themselves-every-month stomach pains
• like, really really really REALLY severe, I'm-going-to-die-any-minute, please-knock-me-unconscious-because-I'd-do-anything-to-get-out-of-this, someone-just-stabbed-me-in-the-stomach-with-a-dagger-the-width-of-a-plate-and-is-now-twisting-it-around-in-my-guts stomach pains
• not eating solid foods for about 48 hours straight
• x-rays, EKGs, and CT scans
• acute appendicitis diagnosis
• appendectomy moved up because they were worried it would burst before the surgery, or that it would explode the minute they touched it
• a crazytimes video of me just after the surgery, hopped up on doobies (or the post-op equivalent), singing the Taylor Swift song "Trouble" (because, apparently, I was talking about how my appendix was nothing but trouble and then burst into song) and acting like a general weirdo...(see video at end of post)
• lots of recovery, resting, drugs in just about every way shape and form, and weird sleeping habits
• my wife taking care of me like a freaking boss through the whole thing

So, yeah, that's been the last week or so for me.  Short version:  It's been awful.  But there is a bright side:  my progress bar for BTD 2.0 has been creeping up bit by bit, which makes me happy.  Appendicitis will NOT stop the writer!  MUAHAHAHAHAHA...

weekend hiatus (part 1).

It's been a few days since I've blogged.  That's because I've been doing some ridiculously awesome things, like this:

(thats me catching a tree that nearly fell on me while hiking in Zion National Park this weekend, and then heaving it off the trail.  true story.)

And also, this:

(thats me nearing the top of Angel's Landing and looking over one of its many heart-squashing cliffs.)


And hiking things like this:

(Angel's Landing is that giant cliff in the background . . .)


And through things like this:

(The Narrows)


. . . check out the next post for more . . .

weekend hiatus (part 2).

So, as I was saying . . .

And I did some cool things like this:

It was fabulous.  I may not have gotten a lot of writing done, but it was good, ah, research . . . and worth every minute.  If you'd like to see (my first attempt ever at) a slideshow of more pictures, go here, or check out my wife's blogpost on it here.

Otherwise, happy trails . . .