I thought I'd get that out of the way right now, although in 2016, that's probably the equivalent of tempting fate.

I've been writing. I've been writing and writing and writing, and none of it has been in my own name. I've been ghostwriting paranormal romance books as Amelia Wilson, which is a pen name that's shared by a horde of different scribblers, some better than others. My contribution to the Amelia Wilson oeuvre is "To Catch a Killer," "Rune Sword" and "Rune Master," with "Rune Hunter" (the last of the Rune trilogy) about halfway done. That's four books in as many months. I think my brain is bruised.

Ghostwriting is a mixed blessing. On one hand, I'm seeing shining reviews for my writing from people who don't know me from Adam's house cat and have no reason to be nice. That's a huge reassurance for an insecure writer. On the other hand, in a world where contributor pay is usually $0.04/word, I'm getting paid $0.002/word, which is highway robbery for the time and effort I'm putting in. I'm not doing this anymore. If I'm going to write this much and this hard, it's going to be for a project I can put my own name on.

(Speaking of names, I'm planning to put out some LGBT paranormal romance/erotica under the pen name of Tiegan Clyne, so watch for that.)

I'm also working on a RPG called "Era: Chosen" for Shades of Vengeance, and I'm, as always, working on my own stuff. "Arthur Rex" is still toddling along in its infancy, although I am a neglectful mother. I have a new character named Sebastian who has me fascinated, so he's getting some mental airplay when I should be thinking about other things.

I recently had a review printed of "The Four Powers," and it was really very good. (http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=40091#.WFUzcZe02sQ.twitter). I've approved the audiobook for "Sacrifice" and hopefully it will be out soon.

So, that's happening.

Work is work and I've been doing entirely too many 12-hour days this year. I have four kitties who share my space (Serina, Coonlet, Buttons and Pickles). I had gastric bypass in 2014 and haven't lost as much as I wanted to (and actually gained some back) because I keep defaulting to restaurant meals, which are too large and loaded with fat and sugar. I'm still down 80 pounds, so that's a good thing. Every little bit helps.

I keep thinking about you all, and I've been horrible at keeping in touch. I apologize for that. I'm a great writer, but as a correspondent, I'm total shit.

2016 has been a challenging year. The next four may not be much better. I hope that we can all stay strong and hold to our convictions and our loved ones and stay the course. Since the election, I've been saying that the Fifth Column starts with me. Hope for the best but plan for the worst...

Take care, friends. Have a happy 2017 and I hope that the rest of this gods-forsaken year leaves everybody alone. It's already taken too big of a toll.

Recent terror attacks in Turkey and Belgium remind me how fragile life really is in times of trouble. I hope that we who are spoiled and safe in our privilege never forget that people are dying every day in this war that humanity has declared upon itself. Take a moment. Reflect on the losses and then be grateful for the security that you enjoy. Then find a veteran or someone still in uniform and thank them for everything they've done, and say a prayer, if you are the praying kind, for everyone still in harm's way, and for those this war has yet to touch.

None of us will make it out of this world alive. How much better it would be to find a way to live in love instead of hate.

My sister, the lovely and talented macdubh31, sent me two posters that she's had made. One features her gorgeous photography, and the other showcases the amazing covers she's made for my books. At the advice of yeopard, I'm going to put the poster of the book covers up in my cube at work. It will give me hope for an escape when things get rough in the day-to-day grind.

They're gorgeous.

I am also very grateful to browngirl for the copy of John Masefield's Arthurian poetry. I'm thoroughly enjoying it, and it's given a different spin to certain elements (such as Uther and Ygerna's relationship, for one - no mention of Merlin or Gorlois here!). I'm currently reading about Morgause falling into the hands of the pirate King Lot. I'm loving it. :)

Thanks, my dear friend! I'll have to find something suitable to send you in return.

It's been a rough couple of days. I've been sick with stomach flu, which meant that I went unmedicated from a depression stand point for a while. That in turn meant that I was thinking all manner of rash and unreasonable things about life, the universe and everything (especially my writing). Today is a bit better, and for that I'm thankful.

As some of you may know, I'm working on a retelling of the Arthurian story, which I'm calling "Arthur Rex." Arthur is the central character, naturally enough, and I've been doing a deep dive into the writing that's come before me.

I think King Arthur Pendragon must be one of the most malleable characters in Western literature. I've been reading a ton of writing about him, from the earliest recorded (Geoffrey of Monmouth, Nennius) all the way to the modern-ish (T.H. White, Marion Zimmer Bradley). In some pieces, he's a powerful warlord who can win any battle and slays enemies by the truckload. In others, he's a potty old man who can't stay awake through feasts and needs to be helped to bed after dinner. Sometimes he's a paragon of kingly virtue, sometimes he's a jealous and suspicious tyrant. I suppose his character is whatever he needs to be to service the story. Lancelot, Gawain and especially Guinevere also suffer from the same fluidity of characterization, which means that you never seem to meet the same versions of them twice.

The take away is that there really is no canon for the Arthurian myths. Even the names change from writer to writer. The thought is very freeing from my point of view, because it means that no matter what I write, I'm not doing any damage to any mythos. I take comfort in that thought as I approach the end of my research phase and prepare to really start the work in earnest.

I'm up to the beginning of Chapter Six, by the way. He's still twelve years old. We've met Sir Ector, Kay, Sir Bedivere, Catigern, Amren, and Niniane, and of course Arthur, himself. There's so much ground to cover, and so many more people to encounter...I have no idea how long this thing is going to be, so I guess I'll just write until it's done.

I hope I do the characters in my mind adequate justice. I hope I tell the story well.

It's been a long while since I've posted here. I don't even know where to start with filling in the space between then and now, so I probably won't. I think there aren't enough people who (a) don't know from Facebook or real life or (b) even care, so this is just the re-introduction post and to tell you that I'm back.

So, I've got this thing called the Mystic Messenger that uses four d12s as divination tools. It sounds really cheesy, but I've gotten some really, really good readings on it.

Case in point:

Question: How can I overcome my insecurities about, well, everything?

FIRE/ACTION:
VOLCANO

Act as an erupting Volcano whose molten lava destroys everything in its path but then leaves the most fertile of soils for new growth to take place. The old ways have outlived their usefulness and must be swept aside with revolutionary zeal. What has come before has to be restructured and transformed so that it may meet the challenges that are of this time and place. All barriers, be they physical or mental, must be vaporized lest they interfere with your new purpose.

AIR/IDEA
BIRD CAGE
Be aware that worry may be as limiting to your alchemy process as the Bird Cage is to the flight of a bird. Your time is well spent analyzing your situation and your plan to change but only up to the point where you become too attached to wanting to know exactly how things are going to turn out. You will encounter enough obstacles to your plan without placing anxious boundaries on your own abilities and thereby preventing your intuitive faculties from guiding your progress.

WATER/EMOTION
TEARDROP
Welling up from pain, sorrow, and regret, the Tear will bring much needed release for feelings too strong to hold inside. Some fear the Tear as an indication of weakness but it is instead a sign of our body's insightful desire to discharge unpleasant feelings before they become embedded in us as aches, pains and disease. Feeling shame for wrong we have done helps to not repeat our mistake. But feeling shame for who we are robs us of faith in ourselves and makes us wrongly feel we don't deserve to love and be loved.

EARTH/PATH
THORNS
You will find yourself trapped in the painful grip of Thorns, forced to learn the lesson of enduring hard times. If you try to free yourself by struggling blindly against your fate you will only impale yourself more. You will be unable to go backwards or forwards on the small but powerful points you failed to comprehend before. Freeing yourself will be hard work, but seeing how strong and tough you can be in the face of hardship can free you from the fear of its return.

In other other news, in the last few weeks, yeopard and I have watched and enjoyed every episode of the erstwhile TV show The Unit. In all 89 episodes we've watched, there was only one that was really abysmal, and the majority have been enjoyable. A few have been outstanding. I'm glad that I discovered the show, and also glad that I was essentially grounded long enough to have time to watch four seasons of TV.