Have you missed me? I’ve missed you. All of you. Every one of my little minions.

I’m sorry I’ve been away so long. I can’t believe a month has gone by so quickly. Unfortunately, the whole hubbabaloo about Thanksgiving kept me away. Lots of stuff to do during the holiday season. Picking the just right turkey (which is difficult to find if you put it off to the Tuesday before Thanksgiving), deciding who is going to cook, watching the Detroit Lions get slaughtered. Not to mention the build up of tension and fasting needing to take in turkey, potatoes, baked macaroni and cheese, rolls, pumpkin pie… I’m salivating just thinking about it. I wasn’t kidding when I said Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I think I might have torn the  lining of my stomach a little this year.

And again, I’m sorry for not blogging sooner. I’ve fallen behind on a lot this past month, but I mean to make it up to you.

First, I totally skipped over writing about my story, “The Purpose,” being published in The Monsters Next Door on November 15th. It was great seeing my name in “print” again. It’s been a while.

Also, my story, “The Witch Tree,” was accepted at Darkened Horizons. It will be published in Issue 6, with a to be determined publishing date.

And I totally bombed NaNoWriMo. Again. But I’ve learned something. I’m an especially lazy person and find meeting a daily word quota really hard. (Or maybe I knew that already.) But I’m determined not to give up. This year I got more words down than I did last year, and that’s a sign of improvement. And just because there’s an worldwide writing challenge in November doesn’t mean I can’t work on finishing a novel any other time of the year. I rebooted a story I started in the summer and realized that the story behind it could be great fodder for a novella, if not a novel, and I’m going to write it as far and as long as I can. Wish me luck.

I suppose I should get around to the real meat of this blog.

The title of this blog is “The Deaf Leading the Blind.” (I asked the hubby about something to write about and that’s what he gave me, taken from a local band’s set list.)

In the end, I found it inspiring. I very much feel like the deaf leading the blind. I really don’t  know what I’m doing when it comes to writing. Everything is new and fresh to me. I’ve not yet grown cynical of the publication process, nor am I a completely pale-faced newcomer. I’ve learned some new tricks and skills in the last year and I’m getting better. (Even if my self-discipline hasn’t yet improved..) I’ve gotten involved in a lot of different projects, each one teaching me something different. Reading submissions for Dark Recesses Press has probably been the most fun, and the hardest work, I’ve yet to get involved with. But the experience so far has been immeasurable. I’ve learned a lot and hopefully passed on what I’ve learned to the authors I’ve had to reject.

Most of all I’ve learned that it’s good, sometimes, to be unaware of where you’re going. If you can’t see the obstacles in your way, or hear the people yelling for you to stop, it’s easier to just let the river take you where it will. To enter into the journey without preconceived notions, without prejudiced ideas of how the journey should be. The journey just is. You go with it and land where you land. Still with the glittering stars of your dreams in your eyes.

And if you’re lucky (take that as “work really hard”) you might be able to reach out and touch those stars. Hopefully, you won’t get burned.

But me.. I’m looking for the third-degree. Peel my skin away and leave me raw. Make me open to my writing and it to me, and maybe the words will come a little easier. (Or at least, a little faster.)

~Shanna