2/25/2015

Wednesday Thinking ....

I sometimes feel sorry for myself when some aspect of life feels difficult or challenging, and then I try to remember how lucky I am. 

I'm loved and healthy and do important work with great people (students and teachers and staff). I live in a house that keeps the cold out (mostly), and haven't been significantly hungry or thirsty or sick in my entire life. My friends and family tolerate or understand or support my particular flavor of crazy. 

 I read an article early this morning about Stephen Hawking, and, as always, am stunned by this man's life and achievements. He was diagnosed with ALS at age 21, given two years to live, and just recently celebrated his 73rd birthday surrounded by family and friends and after a life of unparalleled genius and contributions to the world.


This is my favorite picture of Dr. Hawking. In 2007, he went up in a modified 727 that went through a series of parabolic arcs designed to provide brief periods of weightlessness. Professor Hawking has always dreamed of going into space, and this opportunity got him closer than most people ever get (my fingers are crossed for a future space flight for him). 

 Dr. Hawking's level of awesomeness has nothing at all to do with my occasionally needing a "waaa-mbulance", except to serve as a reminder to me to snap out of it and move forward, in search of my own awesomeness.

Thanks, 

Jamie

2/11/2015

"Watcher in the Woods", My First Work of Serial Fiction


I've been thinking, and talking, about it for a while, but now it's finally been released into the wild. My serial fiction project, "Watcher in the Woods", is available for free download and reading. I'm hosting the serial on a website designed for serials called JukePop.

Synopsis:
Ari Sigrunson has been hiding from the world in the woods of the Adirondacks for more than a year, following a traumatic event in his life. His self-imposed exile ends when a rifle-shot brings him awake and thrusts him into rendering first-aid after what appears at first to be following a hunting accident, takes him into the lives of the people of the small Northern New York community. Ari is forced by circumstances to shift from watching the events around his woods to action in ways he finds increasingly troubling.

It's been well-received so far, with positive voting and reviews and a good number of reads and downloads (you can read it on their site, or on your iPad or phone or other device). The installments are designed with cliff-hangers and all of the other elements generally associated with serial (check out my earlier blog on the subject of serials). The first few installments are a bit over 3,000 words, and subsequent ones will be closer to 2,000; readers of the first installment are averaging 14.2 minutes to read it, so it's not a major investment in time.

I'll be posting the next installment on Thursday,February 19, and then adding a new one every Thursday until the project is completed.

It's free to read and download, although I would appreciate a +vote and a review once you've finished reading it. Please feel free to get in touch with me with ideas about how you'd like the story to progress, as I would love to have this develop into a collaborative process/project.

Thanks,

Jamie