November has proven to be a month of extremes for me this year. Incredible lows and a few very nice highs have competed for brain space, leaving me tired and cranky and out of sorts, and looking forward to the new month and a fresh start.

Followers of this blog may remember me writing about a fall I had earlier this month in my home. I slipped on our carpeted stairs, landed heavily on my butt, and had an epic bruise for weeks afterward. To this date, there is still a small spot inside the muscle that is intensely painful; not sure if it’s just a deep bruise or if I chipped a bone but fortunately it only bothers me very rarely. I also weathered TWO different bouts of the common cold this month; the first immediately after GameHoleCon, and the second on the heels of TeslaCon. I’ve now spent more than half the month sick, and indications are that this latest batch will last into December. I’ve spent the last half of the month in something of a fog because of it. This after nearly two years of not getting sick at all; guess I was due.

However, there is good news to report as well. First, I had a short story published in the Darkened Streets ebook anthology – available on DriveThru RPG (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294150/Darkened-Streets?term=Darkened+Streets) and had word that another story that has been almost three years in process may finally be about to appear in print and ebook versions; I won’t see that happen until next month at the earliest, but it does seem (fingers crossed!) to finally be happening. There is potential interest in a third story of mine, but I have to be patient on that one too.

Of course, seeing Pegasus Games close its doors took an emotional toll on me that I didn’t expect. That store has been a part of my life for its entire 39-year existence, and having been an employee there for many years and a customer for even longer, it was devastating to see it crumble and collapse the way that it did. Life will go on, and there are still many game stores in town to fill that need, but it will never be the same.

I find myself looking ahead to the coming new year with cautious optimism. I have hope that we’ll be able to turn things around with our elected officials and governmental policies, and I look forward to new writing challenges and perhaps a road trip or two. IN the mean time, I’m out of spoons; I’ll be hunkering down at home for a few weeks and hoping for better things in the month ahead.