Reading Aloud

The oldest drove back to college yesterday afternoon and the house is already much emptier. It’s strange how quickly that happens. It’s not just his physical presence, absent, it’s his energy. I’m very fortunate to have a good relationship with both of our children.

He sure gave us a wonderful gift this year, a mini-roleplaying campaign of about seven episodes that I’m most likely to turn into a Dabir and Asim novella.

When not gaming or writing I’ve been reading my way through The Big Book of Locked-Room Mysteries. I may have to pick it up and permanently add it to my collection. Not just because it’s really too big to read when borrowed from the library, but because there’s some masterful stuff in here that I might want to read again. The most interesting, so far, are a Sherlock Holmes pastiche by none other than Stephen King which is one of the finest pastiches I’ve ever read (“The Doctor’s Case) and the best Manly Wade Wellman story I’ve ever read, a mystery set on an Indian reservation, “A Knife Between Brothers.” I’ve yet to read a real dud, and even the minor ones still have me nodding my head in approval.

I’m in touch again with my old friend William King and was reminded that I haven’t yet explored his Kormak book series, despite the fact I’m mentioned in the dedication of the first one! I loved the original Kormak story, so I really ought to check out the books. You can find them here.

I’ll be having a conference with my editor very soon, and then book 1 will have some final tweaks, and it’s just about my last time to make any substantive changes. With that in mind I’ve been working my way through it, reading aloud. It’s funny all the stuff that jumps out at you while you’re reading aloud.

I keep trying to think of a longish story/novella featuring the character and worlds, but I just keep thinking of new Dabir and Asim stories. I outlined another one the other day, and discovered an old fragment that I’ll probably expand and turn into a completed story. It starts so strongly it’s like Howard of a decade ago sent a gift forward through time.