The ramblings and musings of Nancie Neal
I think Mometek needs a new makeover. I like what I have, but it’s more like a news site than a multimedia blog.
I plan to post more than just random diatribes like short videos and picture series.
But first I need to pick a theme.
To be continued…
I’ve signed up to the DALL-E waiting list, but I haven’t gotten an email back yet. It’s been so long, I’m not even sure what email address I used. So to pass the time, I’ve been using Craiyon to come up with interesting art concepts.
Don’t worry, artists, AI has a long way to go.
I decided to use Craiyon to make some reference images. Taking one of six squares (shown above) and expanding it to the size I need, I can trace it and create my own spaceships for some world-building artwork.
One of these might be on a cover, or rather, my version might end up on a cover.
Speaking of which – I have to get back to my current WIP.
We left on the thirty-first and headed towards my in-laws in Effingham, through rain that seemed to come from all directions, only to clear as quickly as it slammed us. We got to Illinois in one piece and earlier than expected. Spent the next day there, visiting Golden Corral and doing some shopping before making the longer trek to Vermont.
Mike’s dad bought us gas. This helped as it was on less stop to make. We stopped in a hotel in Ohio, so we weren’t totally worn out when we got to our destination. A little more rain, and it cleared up. We still made it to Vermont in decent time, even with the overnight stay.
My kids cleaned up the brush around the house. Things my father was too sick to do, but too prideful to ask for help. My husband help my brother clean out the garage, and we found some interesting treasures. Kind of regret not taking the Tandy with me, but I really don’t have a place for it.
The day finally came, and we went to the Green Mountain Church of Christ in Castleton. My sister set up a projector and the few images we did have of dad flashed on the screen. Interestingly, one photo depicted dad with his hand up, indicating he didn’t want his picture taken, showcasing the reason we didn’t have many pictures of him in the first place. Dad never liked having his picture taken and would readily volunteer to take pictures or videos, so he wouldn’t have to be in them.
It was clear for a while until we reached the Midwest. Then it we had a repeat of the storms, book-ending our trip, bringing some form of poetic closure.
I could end this with the clichés like “enjoy what you have now because you never know” and “death can come at any time,” but why? It doesn’t change anything, does it? Experiencing it is the real kick in the pants that works, but then it’s too late.
I’m off to hug my kids – and maybe let them take more pictures of me.
I usually don’t post about a trip until I get back, but this time I have a house sitter for our trip.
Actually, I have two. Nathan was told to “Stand by” by the marines, so he can’t leave the state. It’s possible that he’ll be deployed to South Korea for a “training exercise.” So until they give him the order, he’ll be home. Michala’s boyfriend will still stay here as well. None of us know when Nathan will get the order and I don’t want the animals alone.
No, we are not taking the dogs. Togo is getting old, and Appollo is a very hyper puppy. He’s smart, but is pretty stubborn, which isn’t a great idea when you have to pull into a busy truck stop for a bathroom break. It’ll be a few more months before I’ll have him trained enough to travel. Fortunately, he loves Nathan and Michala’s boyfriend, so he isn’t among strangers.
I’m not sure if I’ll be posting at any point this week, but I’ll have plenty to talk about when I get back. I’ll be spending the bulk of the ride (if I’m not driving) plotting short stories.
Pictured: The next series that comes after Elizabeth – in the bare bones, generalized plotting stages. No real editing except for spelling errors. It’ll be a couple of months before I start the actual stories.
I also realized that I’m using the wrong outline. EvaDeverell’s outline (in the picture) works well for fantasy (I’m using it for “Hidden city”), but I’m writing short stories. I’ll be writing the first one, which will be roughly 10-20k, with the “Save the Cat Outline” and a basic short story outline for the rest.
I’m also working on “Hidden City” which I hope to have ready for a beta-read in a month.
Then there’s Zherosha: Contact. That’s something I should get started on… that’s its own post in the near future.
I’m giving away free kindle e-books
Elizabeth: Heritage Journey- Monday-Friday, June 13th-17th
Elizabeth: Transformation- Monday-Friday, June 20th-24th
Just in time for Father’s day – but you don’t have to be a father to enjoy it.
I dream a lot. So much so that I forget most of it – at least until one stands out more than the rest.
I remember three segments a few nights ago. The first was trying to pick up stuff from a car that was stuck on the side of the road. I think one item was my daughter’s backpack. When we were just about finished, a long line of endless traffic started driving past us. Mike mentioned a school bus passed us and I thought, if only we got out sooner, we would have beaten it.
The second, for some reason, had me roped into selling high-end “smoking” products in a billion-dollar highrise. It even had some water features, and I had to hire designers to deck it out – or something.
The last one was more interesting. It appeared to be apocalyptic in nature, with humans mostly gone. A quick glance at the Minecraft map showed California covered in lava because Yosemite blew up – or something. The friend that was with me mentioned something about seeing aliens taking all the humans from the cities. Then she jokes about thinking that only the righteous are supposed to be raptured. I thought back to a sermon where a minister said that it wasn’t the righteous because the meek were supposed to inherit the earth. Well, anyway, we should go to the east coast to see what’s happening there.
So we hopped into a van, and started driving because I wanted to see how the east coast is, since it’s out of range of the map. This is where I woke up.
The last one might be an interesting short story.
The “meek inheriting the earth” is from somewhere on this channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/ApologiaStudios. It’s been so long, I forgot which video it was.
I’ve finally got to do another round of CLOSAT. If you want to see what it’s about, check out this post. Use the suggestions however you want. You don’t even have to link back to this page or give me any credit. That said, feel free to comment the link to what you wrote below.
In case you can’t see the image:
Character: A tall slender woman who loves to write
Location: An Apartment Complex
Object: A pack of Cocaine
Situation: Mounting Debt with no end in sight
Action: Searching for Ideas on the Internet
Theme: Desire to escape
The 7-point Short Story Structure:
So my mother-in-law messaged me a few days ago, letting us know they’re retiring and probably not going to need their Jeep anymore. If we want it, we can go pick it up.
This is great news! I mean, we’ll have to wait until August when we go to Vermont for the memorial. That said, It still will a lot of cost money to go, especially with the prices of gas going up. I still need to get that funding.
In somewhat related news: I’ve updated my links page to include the update and my BookBub profile link. If you are a fellow author and you follow me there, I’ll follow you back.