LIKE A CIRCLE IN A SPIRAL

These quiet times, when you think I've left you and retreated into that infamously crusty shell of mine...well, I have. It's nothing personal. I just have nothing to say to you. If we're going to continue dating, you're going to have to learn to live with that. I need my Jamie time, and frankly, no significant other of mine is going to last if they are irritated by behavior of mine that doesn't irritate my cat, as well. She's content to sleep while I brood. It's a lofty standard to live up to, but I think you've got what it takes.

After some recharging of the batteries last week, having nearly died on the Everest of a previously referenced metaphorical journey, I got to work and finished the third volume of Honey Mustard. I've also been working on a short story, the soon-to-not-be-titled "My Best Regrets." I started it several weeks ago but have let it linger in the back of my mind because I realized I was heading for the same sort of un-ending that had occurred in my previous two short stories, where the main character, who has been dislodged from his life, may or may not be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, depending on your point of view. Non-action as action. One, "Walk Like a Panther," serialized on this blog, ends with Jean asking a question, getting the answer, and sort of nodding; "No Brakes, I Don't Mind," has Wayne basically just lay down on an empty road. I realized that Andy in "My Best Regrets" was scratching the same kind of itch, and I wasn't going to let myself get away with not finding out the source this time. Clearly, my mind is chewing on something, and I need to recognize what the taste of this mixed metaphor is. So, I am looking for the positive action that will wrap up this tale, trying to see where Andy takes me. There are many obvious resolutions, but I have discarded them for being obvious. Yesterday, I wrote nearly 3,000 words, but feel no closer, and they may have actually gotten me off-track. The word "Kafka" keeps coming to mind, both for the state my character is in and for the state I am in.

Another Review: Buzzscope scopes out The Dark Horse Book of the Dead. "From the clever twist of Kelley Jones' 'The Hungry Ghosts' opener, to the waterlogged horror of Jamie S. Rich and Guy Davis' 'Kago No Tori,' Book of the Dead delivers literate storytelling that doesn't shortchange fans of gore and hanging entrails."

Current Soundtrack: Dusty Springfield, Dusty In Memphis

Current Mood: moody

golightly@confessions123.com * The Website

[to leave comments, click on the time-stamp below, then scroll down on the new page] – All text (c) 2005 Jamie S. Rich