This month we’ve had two hikes, which is fantastic! I’ve been struggling with an ankle injury for almost two years. Last year around this time I could barely walk and couldn’t sleep well, so I went to a doctor and he diagnosed me with achilles tendinopathy, gave me a walking boot and a sleeping boot and basically told me that it would be a long haul and he wasn’t sure that running races was in my future. As he predicted, it has been a slog. But I’m finally seeing my way out.
I healed enough by early this year that I was willing to try running again. That turns out to have been a mistake since it brought the achilles pain right back again. So I won’t be running. I’m now working with a physical therapist, which is helping a lot. (Hug your local physical therapist and the oft-overlooked PT assistants.)
A week ago we started hiking and were blown away by the gorgeousness that is New Mexico. Best of all, although my body is tired and aching, it didn’t break me or my achilles tendon. Look at this! How could it fail to bring joy just being in this beauty?
What I’ve learned is that my happiness directly influences my ability to write. As my physical body is more capable, I am happier and my brain also fizzes over with more ideas for stories. I’m working on a SF Mystery right now as well as a Romantic Suspense novel and various short stories. I’ve started writing more with Steve and that’s another pleasure.
Gaming Supplements
We’ve been hard at work creating four game supplements for the new Regency Cthulhu game from Chaosium. When these are done they will be available in a special bundle, so watch for that. For now, here are the tentative covers I’ve been working on. The first one, Time’s Prisoners, will be published in about a week on Drivethru.com with the rest coming in the next few months.
Latest Cool Thing
I discovered something interesting today, a list of “icebreakers,” that is a list of questions you can ask of people, whether in groups or individuals that are fun and evocative. The list is kept by Rob Walker, who wrote The Art of Noticing. I recommend it to you whether you are looking for ways to chat with someone new, facilitating a group, or just need to dig into your own back brain to see what is there.
I hope things are going well for you, my friends! Be well!