I'm not dead yet! I'm getting better!

Because a Monty Python reference can fix quite a lot.

So my life has been rather busy. How about yours?

I am still teaching English and Psychology--in fact a new quarter starts tomorrow and I have an 8 a.m. Psych 220 (I am enthused and exhausted at the thought of it)--and working on two committees at my university, soon to be advising student mentors.

I've been dealing with some irksome health issues, not the least of which is being out of shape. I went hiking on Tuesday morning and made it to the top, but was huffing and puffing most of the way (cue Big Bad Wolf joke here). It was a good workout, though. But I also found out I have thyroid issues, so I spent some being radioactive, you know, like you do, and will find out this Thursday if that did what it was supposed to.

This is the view from the top of the Makapu'u Lighthouse Hiking Trail. It actually ends above the lighthouse, so you can take a picture of it from above. (But the buildings in the distance of this photo, where the red roofs are, is Sea Life Park, on Oahu.)

I've also had some building/crafting/cleaning projects throughout the year, some of which are all-day affairs, others taking over weekends.

And I've been trying to write. I am finally making some headway with that, starting a new story just in these last few weeks.

Of course, all of this is in addition to my job as editor.

What you'll see coming up soon on this blog are: Updates and announcements for the first novel I'd edited, "Purple Haze" by George Hudson; those long-promised and hopefully long-awaited Sirens conference reports (women in fantasy/tales retold, my favorite!) and just in time to gear up for this year's; and writing prompts.

I know how hard it can be when you get stuck in a story or between stories and simply don't know where to go, so I will be sharing different writing prompts that can at least get you writing again, and maybe pull you out of the block.

For now, let me leave you with some inspiration, Neil Gaiman's Commencement speech on making good art. Regardless of the form your art takes, regardless of the circumstances life throws you, just keep making good art.

Neil Gaiman's Commencement Speech, Philadelphia University of the Arts, 2012

(The lighthouse on the Makapu'u Lighthouse Hiking Trail)