Different Writing Genres

One of the interesting things happening in modern fiction is the blending of genres. It used to be there were distinct boundaries separating mystery, romance, science fiction, etc. Now with more experimentation through self-publishing and small press options, writers are more often melding genres.

I write mysteries but they include romantic elements. Because of this I joined Romance Writers of America as well as Mystery Writers of America.

I also have two published paranormal/urban fantasy mysteries published by small presses. With this new direction I recently attended the science fiction/fantasy Mile Hi Con in Denver. This introduced me to a new world of people in interesting costumes and a wide variety of writers and artists.

Like cooking, writing can blend a variety of genres. It leads to a delicious meal.

Looking at Clouds

Did you ever lie on your back on the grass and look up at clouds when you were a kid? I can remember doing this with friends as we commented on all the different shapes we saw: rabbits, cars, giraffes and expanding blobs.

Okay, now as adults have you looked at clouds? I don’t think I have for almost sixty years. It’s a good exercise, though. After my heart attack three weeks ago, I’m trying to unclutter my life and not rush so much. I’ve even spent time just looking at clouds again. A week ago, I sat in my office chair looking out the window and rather than rushing to the next item on my to-do list, I watched the clouds. They blew, bubbled and churned. Two days ago I lay in bed with the curtains open and watched the clouds at dusk as they turned yellow and pink. What a delightful experience.

Stop and sniff the flowers. Also stop and watch the clouds.

Learning to Procrastinate

I’m not a good procrastinator, but after my recent heart attack I’m learning to not try and do everything right away. It’s a matter of priorities. The big things need to be done, but don’t stress the little stuff. This is a good lesson for me. I tend to get too wrapped up in my “to-do” list.

In the last two weeks I’ve canceled a lot of activities, asked other people to cover for me and reassessed what are the important things on my list. The top include my family followed by walking, relaxation and writing. There are a number of other activities I’ll put off.

I enjoyed a character in John Vorhaus’s novel, The Albuquerque Turkey, named Vic Mirplo who had a saying, “Procrastinate later.” Well, rather than feeling I have to do everything immediately, I’m learning how to procrastinate right now.

Go left, Live: Go Right, Die

No, the title of this blog post is not a political statement. It refers to a life transforming event. I can add one item to my list of achievements: I’m now a heart attack survivor. I can assure you this wasn’t something on my bucket list. It wasn’t even an event on my radar as a possibility.

Why? Because I supposedly did the right things. I never smoked, I exercised every day, I ate healthy food. But Thursday a week ago as I returned home after playing platform tennis, I noticed a tightness in my chest. At first I thought it was indigestion. Then as I got closer to home, it felt like someone had punched me in the chest.

I faced a quick decision. I could turn right into my residential area to head home to rest or turn left toward the emergency room of our nearest hospital. I made the correct decision and drove into the parking lot of the hospital. I stumbled inside, told the receptionist I had chest pains and in moments they had me in a room with tubes attached. This hospital didn’t have the cardiac unit, so within minutes I was transferred to a gurney, put in an ambulance and taken to the hospital across town. Later I was told I was in the operating room within seventeen minutes of entering the first hospital.

After three days in the intensive care unit and two more days on the cardiac floor, I returned home. I am now recuperating, getting a lot of rest and adjusting my life style to a new reality. I haven’t done any writing and probably won’t for another week, but I will get back to it. In the meantime, I’ve watched some old movies on television, taken lots of naps and relaxed. It’s great to be alive.

Earth, Water, Air and Fire

After the flood destruction here in Colorado this month, I’ve been thinking about natural disasters. Ancients spoke of the four elements: earth, water, air and fire. My wife made a good observation the other day that I hadn’t consciously recognized before. These four elements also account for our natural disasters. It’s ironic that contracts often refer to “Act’s of God.” To me, disasters have nothing to do with God unless you hold with a vengeful Old Testament type of God who likes to punish people. Let’s take a look at the four elements.

Earth. An earthquake shook Pakistan this week and killed many people. If you live in California, this is always a possibility as well. I grew up in Hawaii where volcanic eruptions (a combination of earth and fire) occurred frequently.

Water. In drought, we seek it, in flood we want it to stop. There are also tsunamis, a combination of earth (earthquakes) and a resulting massive pulse of water. We’ve recently experienced a 100 year flood here in Colorado. After several years of drought, we broke all records for a day, month and year with one week of too much rain. The power of water carved the Grand Canyon. I’ve seen pictures of roads obliterated in canyons in the Colorado mountains in the recent flooding and witnessed the flood erosion on nearby hiking trails.

Air. Ah, those storms. Wind, tornados, hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons, Chinook, Santa Ana whatever you choose to call them can wreck devastation. And some of them produce ocean surges and the accompanying rainfall, leading to flooding. Blizzards combine air and water as do hail storms. Dust storms (simoom, haboob) combine earth and air.

Fire. We have had too many wildfires in Colorado the last few years. These have caused damage to thousands of acres of forest and the houses built in these areas, and taken lives. A number of the wildfires were caused by lightning.

Thus, the elements that provide for our existence (earth, water, air and fire) also bring the risk of natural disasters. It’s just the way our world works.

Writing During a Disaster

With all the flooding in Colorado over the last week, I’ve managed to get some writing done, although it was hard to concentrate. We’ve been fortunate to have no damage to our house, but throughout Boulder and other parts of the state it’s been a disaster.

Many mornings I remained glued to the television to see what was happening. Then I started taking walks to survey the damage in my neighborhood and walkable locations nearby. Currently, the water in the creeks has subsided in Boulder, but driveways are full of carpet and water-damaged objects. The Open Space areas are still closed, so walking has to be limited to city streets and bike paths.

Insurance companies refer to an event like this as an act of God. I don’t think God had anything to do with it. Stuff happens and sometimes it’s Katrina or Sandy and recently it has been too much rain in Colorado after earlier drought and fires.

Our thoughts go out to all of those who have suffered through this tragedy. As Annie says, the sun’ll come out tomorrow.

September 11

Nearly everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news about the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. For me there’s a back story.

Rewind to the summer of 2001. One evening sitting in an easy chair in my living room, I made the decision that I wanted to retire into fiction writing. As a result of this, I negotiated with my boss to work three days a week. This turned out fine for both of us since my primary responsibility at that time was negotiating contracts with customers and suppliers. A number of these entailed night phone calls to Japan, so I could set my own schedule and get the work accomplished in the equivalent of three working days. Then I could spend the equivalent of two working days jump starting my writing.

I also had learned that if you’re 55 or older, you can attend any course at the University of Colorado for free with the instructor’s permission. I availed myself of this program and signed up for a fiction writing class that began at the end of August.

Fast forward to the morning of September 11. I got up and didn’t turn on the television because this was going to be my first day to write all morning. I had an idea for a short story for my writing class and was excited to be able to dive in and spend an extended time writing.  I had just settled into the chair at my desk in my home office, when the phone rang. It was the president of my company asking me if I had watched the news that morning. Of course I hadn’t. I ran downstairs, turned on the television, and needless to say, I didn’t get one word written that day.