apologies

sorry i haven't been actively blogging. i've been working a lot on marsilani. i have finalized (at least tentatively) marsilani part 4, and put it in book format. i hope to receive a copy of it tomorrow. i will look it over, see if it is decent, and if it is, i'll release it via lulu.com. (sure, there are other venues, but this is so far the easiest). i'll let you all know first! (i know, i'm probably talking to myself here).

with concern about marsilani 4 out of the way, i can tackle the next easiest part, part 1 (life in the trenches). the stories were actually all completed, but due to great dissatisfaction on my part, and because i wanted a kind of resonance between stories of part 1 and those of part 2 and 4, i decided to scrap the final three stories, and start nearly from scratch... so that's what i'm obsessed with now.

so far, story 1 from part 1 (the backwards carp) has received a lot of good feedback from the reviewers at reviewfuse. i'm content that it is "comprehensible," and may simply work out a few kinks. but in the meantime, the story that was supposed to be the second one, "amphibious part 1," will likely replace "the backwards carp" as story 1. i am reworking this one from scratch. this is the story with the kappa. i've hinted at my interest in kappa before, and now, this is my battleground, to see if i can incorporate all of my so-called research into a viable story...

once amphibious 1 is out of the way, then i suspect (or hope) that amphibious 2 "kaeru" will kind of write itself. "kipapa," the final story of part 1, has some well-written sections, but requires a massive overhaul in terms of dialog and the incorporation of an entirely new storyline, the "flashbacks" of ghosts. also, i think i need to give "hamlet" a once over, just to be sure there is resonance (i want to almost re-enact hamlet and ophelia's doomed relationship).

... a lot to do, but i'm kinda excited. i feel a sense of urgency with this. these stories/poems have been mulling around in my head for SO LONG. it will be such a relief to get them down and released. then, i can relax in the knowledge that people will have been able to read my strange thoughts... and i can MOVE ON...

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meantime, i have a lot of other stuff to do. taxes, for one. easter. these massive projects for my two sped classes. and my remaining observation lessons. it's going to be a killer this next month or so. but i'll make it...