Saturday Night Message: Week of June 8 to 14
Days Till Novel Launch: 140
Sunday, June 8, 2025
12:01 a.m.
Greetings, Bonjour, & Howdy Gentle Reader:
Before I get caught up in the week’s work, I want to pause and welcome a couple of new Bookworms and a new E-postle. Your support is recognized and appreciated! This week’s focus is going to be the Welcome/Start Here page video and drafting the press releases.
I have a total, modest amount of 44 Bookworms and E-postles because I wanted to get some content on this site before I made a big push. The vast majority of you reading this entry are family and friends. I sent a handful of notices to a select few who I thought would tolerate my many mistakes as I got into the Substack grove. You’ve all been kind and have stuck around. I see you and appreciate you!
And…a handful of folks from around the InterWeb have stumbled upon my ramblings and joined up. Welcome and THANK YOU, as well. :)
After this week, I suspect that the posts will become more craft-focused, but I will still do this Saturday Night Message. :)
As you may already be realizing, the writing life is far from glamorous. There are only so many Stephen Kings and [insert your favorite writer here!], and they have the lion’s share of the fame and fortune. The rest of us take out trash, cut yards, clean up after pets, do day jobs, and on and on and on.
And so we work, deep into the night, long after all those we love have punched the day’s clock. That’s how we get the work done. Start with the crappy first drafts and keep working until there’s something worth reading.
By the way, I’ve heard kind words from several of you about “A Pass for the Brokenhearted.” THANK YOU! It was a lot of work, but fun was had along the way. Speaking of which, I gotta put in a couple of hours.
Later gaters…
About Twelve Hours Later…
Caffeine. Chores. Breakfast. A few interesting segments from CBS Sunday Morning.
The following article on Jay Gatsby came across my email this week and thought I’d share. :-) Click HERE to launch a PDF of the article.
9:06 p.m.
The below image came across my social media feed today.
I didn’t write “A Pass for the Brokenhearted” in response to any particular event. Instead, I wrote it in response to the ever-unknowing of so many of them…and to the destruction that these decisions leave in their wake.
11:14 p.m.
So, the START HERE video is about five and a half minutes long. So, I’m crafting the script, the message, which is the sound that runs with video. And then I’ll need to create some B Roll material. When thinking of B Roll, think of your local, nightly news program, and the little boxes of pictures and videos that pop up in the top corner from time to time. Ugh. I’d rather be reading and writing. I promise you: I’d rather be reading and writing.
Anyway, I had a good start this evening. The structure is coming into my mind, and I’m forming notes and lines.
Monday, June 9
8:47 p.m.
Awoke in a foul, slow-moving mood. I was eager to take a sick day, but I didn’t. Busy busy at the day job these days.
I am happy to report that Eryn’s car was salvageable…for a little while longer, anyway. Picked it up during my lunch hour.
The following put me in a good mood, i.e.: there’s a group in Swiss Cottage, working to save Ye Olde Swiss Cottage, my pub from my ole London days.
I arrived in Swiss Cottage in 1988 and stayed till February, 1990. I let this group use my poem “Twilight in Swiss Cottage” as part of their ACV status effort. The following is from the group’s website:
The community responded with determination. Residents and supporters across Camden and beyond successfully campaigned for the pub to be granted Asset of Community Value (ACV) status—a major win that officially recognized its cultural and historical importance.
And the below item came across my email today, from Chapter 16. I appreciate the shout out and being included. Click here to read the newsletter.
So, not even counting what I get done tonight, it’s been an interesting literary day…all around the edges of the day job and home life. :)
Tuesday, June 10
11:11 p.m.
How in the world did it get to be almost midnight…already?
Did a tiny bit of reading in Mary Karr’s The Art of Memoir. I can tell it’s gonna be a great, helpful read.
Spent some time test driving Eryn’s car after work today. She said she thought it was driving weird on hills, but I couldn’t reproduce it. Maybe she’s freaked out a bit because it left her stranded on the side of the road last week. :(
Here’s hoping for a bit more literary progress tomorrow.
Oh, it’s Tuesday, so it’s Laydown Diaries time. :)
Wednesday, June 11
10:36 p.m.
How is it possible that today was busier than yesterday…at least at the day writing gig. Busy on the home front, as well, but more manageable.
Took Eryn’s car for another test drive after work. Seems okay, and she drove it to get her fingerprints done today. She has her first real summer job coming up, and she’s doing all of the usual stuff, i.e.: physical, background check, finger prints, training. Who knew day care places had such a system?
Received the following in email today:
I had the manuscript entered into a novel contest. Actually, it is entered in several. This was the latest reply. Oh well, on to the next!
Started doing some brainstorming and searching for info and photos related to The Southern Festival of Books. I’ve been to almost all of them since it started in around 1989-ish. Realizing how federal support and funding is taking a hit this year, I thought an article would be a good idea. Anything that draws attention is good. Here’s a photo from around 2011, which the journal had a booth.
Thursday, June 12
5:21 p.m.
Typically, this is the post-day job time of the day when I jump in the shower and prepare for the nightly routine, but I was side tracked with a poetry submission.
Primrose Hill is the North London park where I jogged daily, and it is my favorite park in the world…at least as of this post. ;-)
I discovered the On The Hill magazine today and thought, Why not submit my poem “Twilight in Swiss Cottage” to the magazine? They may not even publish poetry, but there is a Primrose Hill connection/reference in the poem…and it’s easy and free to email, so why not?! I started 2025 with the decision NOT to reject myself, and it has worked out well so far.
And if nothing else, it’s fun to share photos of the place.
I tried and tried to wiggle Primrose Hill into THE E-POSTLE, but it simply wouldn’t work with the story.
11:18 p.m.
My computer mouse died earlier tonight, so I took it as a sign that I should work on my letter to Bob. Glad it worked out that way. Just did a tiny bit of posting to social media. Just the good and the literary posts. I leave the bad news to other people.
Feels like it’s time to check out for the night. Freckles sure feels that way. ;-)
Friday, June 13
10:46 p.m.
This moment, dinner is in the oven. A busy day followed by some chores and hanging with the kids, watching old videos from my…earlier days in the late 1980s.
Seems wrong to type anything and not mention that the world is sort of trying to self destruct. Middle East shooting rockets back and forth. I’m confident that we are helping.
Los Angeles, Los Angeles…
In more cheerful news…
I received the following email in response to my poetry submission:
The white building on the left is her Drama school, and that long-haired country boy is Master Seth, on our summer 2022 trip. :-)
Saturday, June 14
1:18 p.m.
A shout out to my friend and fellow Middle Tennessee writer Terry Price. This morning, I read his wonderful story “Cantilever,” which appeared in the online journal, Bloom. Click HERE to read it. I don’t want to give any of it away, but I will say that it does a great job of writing in the present tense: A difficult thing to accomplish. The piece “clinks, metal on metal,” as Terry writes. Oh, and any story that takes place in Middle Tennessee is a great story. ;-)
And I think I’m gonna but this Saturday Night Message to bed. Some chores to do today, and I’ve got literary work to accomplish, as well.
Happy reading! And as always, Freckles sends her regards. ;-)
Entertaining, as always, Roy.