Amnesia

AMNESIA

I have a Muse.
Her name is Amnesia.
She’s never around,
When I really need her.

She’s off, gallivanting,
With some other guy,
Leaving me on my own.
Don’t ask me why.

Amnesia is fickle.
She comes and she goes.
She gives me the fits,
As I struggle with prose.

I’d get a new Muse,
In a minute.
It’s true!
But what if she’s worse?
What’s a writer to do?

So I’ll grin and I’ll bear it.
I won’t open my trap.
I’ll sit and I’ll wait,
And put up with her crap.

‘Cause sometimes it’s better,
The Devil you know,
Than to find a new Muse,
And risk greater woe.

Amnesia is fickle.
That much is true.
But when she is here,
See what we can do?
^_^

The Very Definition

Friends Like These

Grimness

Hello, gentle readers.

It’s a rainy day here and I am doing laundry.

Ah, the pleasures of domesticity.

They are, ladies and gentlemen, a bit overrated.

Weren’t we supposed to have self-cleaning houses by now? Or robot servants? Whatever happened to the flying car?

Sometimes, it seems like the promise of the future has not been achieved. Which, if I’m being completely honest, depresses the hell out of me.

Occasionally, I have stories posted at a website called 365tomorrows.com. The site is devoted to showcasing short science fiction. Lately, though, I’ve noticed a trend in the stories that they’ve been featuring. They’re dark and grim, focusing on death and war.

Now, I like a good post-apocalyptic yarn as much as the next guy, but I don’t want a steady diet of it. Sadly, that seems to be all we’re getting these days.

Science fiction and fantasy have just become so grim.

Where’s the wonder? The joy? What is with this tendency to wallow in angst like an overemotional thirteen-year-old?

Whatever happened to fun?

February

Hello, gentle readers.

Welcome to February.

I don’t care much for February. It’s a short, unpleasant month that always feels colder and more miserable than any of the other winter months. In my mind’s eye, February is the Napoleon of the Months, a short bastard trying to overcompensate for its lack of days by making them as miserable and wintery as possible.

Part of the effect, I think, is psychological. I’ve had some bad experiences in this month. It is peppered with bleak anniversaries for me that I will not discuss, but, suffice to say, I don’t look forward to it and don’t miss it when it’s gone. During the actual month, I sort of hunker down and assume a siege mentality. I prepare for the worst, even though most of the time nothing bad happens.

And, so far, February hasn’t been bad. I started a part-time job this month at my local comic shop, working about thirty hours a week. The work is pretty easy, the co-workers are cool, the customers are pretty nice and the work environment is stimulating.

So, that’s a good thing.

Sure, having a job means I’ll have less time to devote to writing, but I’m sure I’ll continue to do it. I’m about halfway through writing the sequel to Dawnwind: Last Man Standing. And I’m practically absent from Twitter, but I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. Twitter does tend to eat up ones entire life. Or it that just me?

Anyway, even though February isn’t my favorite month, so far, this year, it has been agreeable. And I suppose that being agreeable is better than being outright unpleasant.

So, I am offering a flag of truce to February. I’ll try not to think of you as such a little stinker, if you don’t turn around and bite me in the ass.

I think that’s fair.

Don’t you?