With a sigh of relief, I can finally announce that I'm finally back to serious writing after at least two years of absence. The advent of Covid-19 four years ago did me no favors. I came down with the disease once, and I was fortunate. I cannot tell you the number of friends I lost to the disease.
That, and the advent of prostate cancer (now controlled by medicines) played a further role in the loss of morale.
Last Saturday, I was involved in a ZOOM meeting with my writing partner, Ken Pick, on wrapping up the first book of a science fiction trilogy, The Adventures of Jill Noir.
The other writing challenge is a dark fantasy short story exploring my fascination with cryptids, The White Thing.
With the latter, I have already played around with several scenarios, considering whether I want a first-person or third-person perspective, the setting of the story, how it begins, and, most importantly, how it ends.
I have mentally played with this story for at least two months now, and I have decided to use a first-person narrator to tell the story of his best friend, who lives in a cabin on the outskirts of the Allegheny National Forest. Summoned to the cabin, he finds his friend in severe straits, dealing with an almost daily visitation from what he calls the White Thing.
It is not a Bigfoot. I think that cryptid has been written into the dust. This a unique creature of my invention with peculiar reasons for terrifying the narrator's friend.
The picture gives an early impression of the White Thing, but I have already made subtle changes to its appearance.
Starting tomorrow, I start work on both projects. Wish me luck.
