Hot summer days are nearly behind us and -- many of you will likely disagree with this -- but I am thinking of snow. I mean, if Starbucks™ can roll out their pumpkin spice products already, then I can think about snow.
You're right. Autumn comes first. And I love the fall so I'll hold off thinking about snow, for now.
It does lead, however, to the reason for the wintry photo to kick this update off. Today, I'm providing an excerpt from my upcoming novel, one I've been working on for almost two years. It's a shorter one, one inspired by holidays of my youth, and one I will be releasing in the 2019 holiday season.
It's not finished yet. But by providing this excerpt and stating it will be ready in 2019, I'm holding myself more accountable. It also gives a nice, round deadline of Thanksgiving to finish this current draft, write another draft, and get it edited all in time for a holiday release.
The book, at the moment, is tentatively titled "Of Snow Forts and Santa". I'm still toying with the title, as this was also the title of a monologue I wrote about five years ago so I'm a little torn. But that's not your problem; it's very clearly mine.
A little tease.
It was the worst snow fort ever built, for sure.
I had built a few beautiful snow forts in my lifetime. My dad had helped in the past, even offered his assistance on this day, but as his daughter and now in the fifth grade, I wanted to construct this one all on my own. Forget snowmen. Even snowgirls were not my specialty. Snow forts were where the fun was at and last year's lack of recorded snow disappointed me greatly. Only four inches of snow fell last year, at least that's what all 11 years of my brain had remembered.
Even this year took some time. This weekend was the first significant snow of the year and it was already December, one week before Christmas. The snow falling from the sky was not light and wimpy at all. These were huge flakes, wet flakes. Ten inches of glorious snow had fallen in the yard since Friday night, all of which I used here, on Sunday, to construct my current fort. Frozen grass, hanging onto its last luster of green, acted now as the moat of my sad snow castle.
My eagerness had -- as always -- gotten the best of me. Mom had done a fine job of trying to temper my spirit, to convince me to wait until more snow had fallen before attempting the feat of snow fort building. Her wisdom was infinite, but I wanted to get outside as soon as possible. In my haste, I'd even forgone putting on my pink snowsuit. Mittens, scarf, and wool cap were all I'd need. And now, with the storm delivering piles and piles of gorgeous fluffy stuff, I was more than ready to be let loose in the yard to begin my world building.
A few things from August
A major focus of writing in August was spent on not only the above short novel (end product goal of a 100 pages) but on a rewrite of my latest full-length play, Half Past Midnight. I did manage to cobble together a couple of sports posts and couple of blog entries.
If college football is your thing, you can read about the Boise State Broncos and their exciting win over Florida State. Or take a look at five impact players for Boston College's upcoming season.
And hey, who doesn't like Christopher Meloni and Elias Koteas?
August was also spent on helping to prepare for Alley Repertory Theater's upcoming season. Some very exciting stuff on the agenda and I can't wait to share it all with the audiences of the Treasure Valley.
Around the Treasure Valley in September
There's plenty to check out as we prepare for autumn.
Want to see some theater (or theatre, for the fancy people out there)? Opal Theatre is presenting The Minotaur by Anna Ziegler. This production is at the Gem Center for the Arts and runs from September 12 - September 21.
The Red Light Variety Show kicks off their new season on September 12. Tickets, at last check, were nearly gone so be sure to hop on this train quickly.
In more theater related events, the Campfire Theatre Festival is back for year number three. This festival welcomes playwrights and artists from across the nation with the reading of new plays, plus plenty of workshops to go around. September 6 thru September 8.
And STORY STORY SONG-NiGHT: Jodi Eichelberger still has a few tickets remaining. See Jodi in his first cabaret performance as he performs songs from across his 30-year career. September 27 at The Sapphire Room.
Thanks for stopping by.
Be bold. Be kind.