What's in the Works?

Courtesy of Pixabay

Pay no attention to that counter to the left. My deadline has passed and I'm not done. Of course, I've been busy. Life intervened and my son broke his leg, requiring a nurse. Then the anthology arose with the River City Writers and has taken up a lot of time, not only in organizing but in writing my own short story.

I'm working on that today while looking out the window at the gray and gloomy skies weeping rain now and then.

The smooth, well-oiled machinery I was in January is now creaking and in need of more oil. I totally wrecked my schedule. If you look back a few posts you'll see it. It was working so well, I was making progress. Then, wham....

I'm doing better now. I've started working on the short story. I'm working on creating some quiz question for half dozen YA novels for a Christian school for the fall session. I'm still nursing but less. I'm still doing bi-monthly writers' meetings and wrangling the anthology stuff. I'm exhausted, but I'm alive and managing rather well, all things considered. None of this is how I envisioned my retirement.

So, what about this short story? The working title is "The Reefs" but what was once a good title is no longer going to work. I see it as I continue to move forward. The theme of the anthology is Crossroads, so I've got to figure out a new title.

The story is about Jake McClure, who has bought a dilapidated restaurant somewhere on the Gulf Coast in one of the few remaining small towns... probably 20 yrs ago but no date will be mentioned. The renovations are finished, but when a local provides photographic evidence that he's done more of a restoration and provides tales of bootleg, gambling, prostitution, and murder, Jake begins to understand why the building stood empty for 30 yrs.

Isn't that nice? We'll see.