Meet C.T. Robillard. Private eye. Works the streets of Houston just a few years from now. He's about to fall into a tangle of arson, murder, industrial espionage, self-erecting nano-buildings, and more than one brush with death. Pre-order EMBER SINS starting tomorrow at douglasjlane.com

This evening, I locked down the text of my first novel and the jacket with the printer. Digital and hard copy proofs upcoming. Ordering details to follow.

Venison Shepard’s Pie.

Missing the missus. Drinking a Gigantic Boom! Pow! IPA before seeing BIRDMAN (2014) at the Reser with live score by the film’s composer, percussionist Antonio Sanchez - who largely improvised the original score. #notwoalike

That thing where you finally realize what’s missing from your book’s layout: the Acknowledgment statement! So you thumb through files for the list of alpha readers to properly recognize them all… and realize one of them has since died.

The debut C.T. Robillard mystery novel EMBER SINS is firming up for a May release; then the second gets dialed in for Q4 2026; and in the interim, submissions and maybe a second story collection. #keepwriting

Old Man Buster got a clean bill of health from the vet - looking great at 18.75!

Waitin’ on couch time with the people be like…

FREE SAMPLE FRIDAY! If you know where to look, you can check out some work for free and see if I'm your storytelling flavor. For instance, here's an alternate history Hollywood ghost story that got some mileage... www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2023/01/dadd...

December 1: First frost.

I stopped this evening for a tally. Since 9/1, seven new or newly polished stories are done (30k words) and final revisions on a novel (81k words) are keyed. This might be my most productive two months in a decade. #keepwriting

Freezer labeling prevents surprises.

Last Beaverton farm market of the season - Thanksgiving week provision highlights: rainbow chard, mizuna, romanesco, limequats.

Tomorrow’s queue: final proofing of “The Effect of a Monster Under the Bed on the Traveling Salesman Problem” - 5,700 words it only took 16 years to get right. On and off. #writing

Life hands you Dungeness…

I’m not sure an eight-round decision over a 58 year old who hasn’t had a sanctioned bout in 19 years sends the message to the boxing world Paul was looking for.

Intentionally poured hard, because poured soft, it resembles motor oil.

Whatever Became Of… PEANUTS edition.

Keyed revisions for the last 200 pages of the first mystery novel, wrote about 3,000 new words of fiction, and finished John Brunner’s THE SHOCKWAVE RIDER. As writing-productive four-day travel weekends go? 10/10. Would do again.

Happened upon a tumbleweed on my walk earlier, following the rules of the road: staying right and slowing for the intersection.

Did I miss a Scribner “silver ticket” contest where five lucky readers got to tour @stephenking.bsky.social ‘s candy factory? #printerror

Fresh Blog Tuesday! This week: photography, family history, geometry, and a little event in Cooperstown in 1974. Come and look for…

I Am the Architect of My Own Demises, or How Spicy Was My Gumbo - a play in one act in which heartburn invades a dream, and the Tums are elusive in the night.

Through 260 of 430 manuscript pages, de- and re-constructing the first mystery novel while making mental revision notes for the second and rough-drafting the fourth. #allthewords

Spirit animals watching over the north side of the office.

Take seven folders out for published work and two business folders for publication. The remainder? The last two years’ worth of short stories in progress. Methinks #2024isforclosers…

The look of an 18 year old boy who just wants his tribe home so he can curl up on the couch and sleep on them.

New to me bookstore in San Diego. Didn’t buy anything, but noticed more than a few treasures for others (a couple of the Limited Edition Club volumes were both well-priced and gorgeous.)

Got myself a new social media account to replace the one I wouldn’t touch with a disinfected pole and a fresh tetanus shot. Happy Boxing Day!