Monthly Archives: June 2012

Writery Updates

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I am a few sentences away from completing the climax – the showdown – of Adam’s Name in Detroit. I have some that I want to add on the end, to tie up loose ends, and some at the beginning, to create more loose ends. The structure of the piece seems to call for both bits of extra, so I’m going to see where it leads me. I am incredibly excited to be completing this piece, and it’s going to be a hard wait for input from my Alpha Readers (who rock) and then it’ll be hard to not rush through the subsequent rewrite. First thing’s first – I need to focus and get this draft done. I need to not get distracted just as I’m nearing the finish line.

Last night, I got to see John Scalzi here in Lansing, at Schuler’s Books. He’s on tour for Redshirts, which I’m hoping to get as an eBook. Not only do the author and subject matter make me drool over the book, but Tor‘s switching to a DRM-free distribution model, and Redshirts is the first released. I’d really like to support that. Anywho, I showed up an hour after the event started, and my wife (who, as is noted in earlier posts, is awesome) took the kids to browse around the bookstore while I listened to the end of the talk, and got in line to get my copy of Old Man’s War signed. I was nervous about getting that one in particular signed, because I’d bought it used (at John King in Detroit), which means the author didn’t get any money from my purchase. My good friend reminded me that I was being silly, and to not worry about it. So, I went, and I ran into other people I knew, as I usually do. Despite my wife’s accusation of flirting (I am SO not protesting too much!), catching up was pleasant and helped pass the time in line.

I expected more people there, honestly, but I was happy that I didn’t have to fight too big of a crowd or wait too long in line. I was surprised and amused that despite explicit instructions not to bring any, there was a container of frosting (with sprinkles!) on his table as he signed away. When I got to the table, I got to thank him for his movie columns in the past, and for bringing rationality to some movies that had just generally made me pissy. I made my save vs. fanboy, which means I didn’t drool or stammer, didn’t bring up bacon taped to a cat, and was able to hold an intelligent conversation. I’m making a note here, great success!

And according to what he wrote, he remembered me from some point in the past. Of course, the last time I had him sign something, he wrote that I should “never mention bacon again.  No, seriously.” Great success, indeed.

One Year Old

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I never thought I’d have a daughter.

Truth be told, I had convinced myself pretty thoroughly that I’d never have kids at all. That is, until I met Nikki. Hunter and Aidan came with her, as a package deal, you might say. Then Cian came along. Three boys was a hell of a lot of work and stress and crazy, and then just as I got let go for the second time in my life, we found out that we were pregnant again.

We made it to three months before the miscarriage hit. The night before, I’d placed a lit candle outside on the snowy porch railing, as if I knew something was about to happen. I hit a pretty deep depression after that, and after a while, I decided that it wasn’t worth trying again. Three boys were more than enough. Nikki wanted to try; she wanted a little girl to raise. The disagreement almost ended our marriage. In the end, we agreed to wait and see if time changed our minds after a year or two.

Time decided that we’d get months instead of years. I figured it out one morning when Nikki had beef jerky and orange juice for breakfast as we headed out on a road trip. She’d not had her usual signs, but sure enough, Acelyn was on her way.

On June 10, 2011, we welcomed a screaming banshee of a girl into the world. She was wailing before they pulled her out, which made the weirdest gurgling sound I have ever heard. EVER.

This past Sunday, Acelyn Elizabeth Crampton turned a year old. She was surrounded by family and friends, soaking up every ounce of attention that they were willing to shower her in. She’s completely unlike her brothers, and fearless to boot. I’ll tell you something else: that cake never stood a chance.