Over on X, Eric S. Raymond (yes, that ESR) weighs in on the value of a good steak:
Look, I'm not going to say that steak is the solution to our country's problems, but I'm going to say that he isn’t far off in thinking it will help.
Inviting your male friends out for a steak is great. I mean, hey. STEAK. Who wouldn't like that? Pick a decent place - someplace quiet, for the love of Pete, so you can have an actual conversation - and spend some time together.
You know what's even better than that, though? Invite them over to cook a steak. One of our counselors over at Family Life told me once that while women bond face-to-face, men bond side to side: by doing things together. Hunting, building, playing sports.
Grilling.
Have your friend bring their favorite cut of meat for grilling, their favorite seasoning, and set up a couple of grills. Spend some time together talking while you keep one eye on dinner.
Doesn't have to be steaks, either. Have folks make your favorite burger recipe and bring a few patties over. Grill some chicken. Do some ribs. Whatever floats your boat, but do it together.
Is grilling a steak with my friends every couple of weeks what it takes to get back onto an even footing with my fellow Americans? I don't know, but hey - I'm willing to throw myself on that ribeye for God and country.
The Business of Writing
A mid-week update on my three major commitments: to write, to edit, and to read.
Oh-KAY, buckle in, buttercup. This is my first update of the year, which means we have a lot of things to cover.
First of all, I completed the manuscript for Blue as Sky and handed it off to the editors at Cannon Publishing. Shari’s also finished her read-through and given me comments. I know that there are a couple of points that I will need to address, and that the final story will be a bit longer (perhaps another 10k-15k words). C’est la vie. In the grand scheme of things, those are minor problems.
With BAS out of the way, I had time to take a break and catch up on some critiques. It may seem strange, but that’s the way I do my fiction reading these days, it seems. It’s also a great way for me to shake things loose in my head and help me refocus.
Which is something I need, because I have two short stories to complete in the next few weeks. Neither is a stretch; I have one half done, and the rest of it sketched out. The other is just an idea at this point, but it’s really jelled today. I’m going to take some time and sketch that one out so I don’t lose it. Both of them should be out sometime this year.
Today’s announcement from Raconteur Press revealed the details of how they plan to handle their novels in the coming year. Spoiler alert: it ain’t the way anybody else does things. It will be interesting to see how that goes. I’ve already handed the manuscript for Sigils off to them for evaluation. If they like it, I'll have some cleanup and editing to do to make it work in the serial format. If they don’t like it… well, I’ve shown I can finish a novel in 3-4 months and I have plenty of other ideas I can bang out. :)
And for the last bit: I have more than enough short stories now that I can put out my own collection! I am thinking about calling this one Monsters, Angels, and Men. It’s not just a matter of slapping a bunch of stories together, either. I’d like to go back and review each of them to smooth off the rough edges and make sure they’re up to snuff.
All in all, good stuff, but it’s already shaping up to be a very busy year.
Other Stuff
Our household has been plagued this past month in a very traditional way. Both Shari & I have had some kind of virus where - to quote J. Kenton Pierce - “… my nose has become a portal to the Elemental Plane of Snot.”
Paints a picture, doesn’t it?
Meanwhile, the Day Job has ramped up with the start of the new year. Not atypical, really—nobody wants to do anything in December, one way or another—but it does mean that there’s a bunch of stuff popping now. Fun, sure, but also tiring. Layer that on top of a cold, writing, and trying to manage MarsCon a few weekends ago, and it all adds up.
On the fun news side, out gaming group has started the new year with a new scneario, and new characters to boot! I’m playing a gnome “druid” by the name of Holi Timbers. If you’re wondering why her name is in quotes, it’s because little Holi is actually a necromancer wizard. I mean, she was going to be a druid, before… things happened. Things she doesn’t like to talk about. Her friends back home are asleep, though. They’re waiting for her, and one day, she’ll figure out how to wake them all up! Then they will all have a party, with cake and everything, before they go hunt down the thing that made her burn down the forest with her friends in it and she will make it pay.
Cake first, though! TO go along with the steak. Pick whichever one you like, enjoy, and I’ll see you next time!
I just went through the "meat hunger," bit a week or so ago. Porterhouse! Rare roast beef! Ribeye! More roast! And don't forget the Yorkshire puddings! Little man was down for it, too, even if he's still a bit lacking in the dentition department. The ladies... "Daaaaaaaa🙄aaaaad..."
I'm not sure I'd ever really noticed the cyclical nature of "meat hunger" (man, that makes it sound like *pon farr,* or something 🤭) before, but it makes sense. "Yep... getting about time to go kill something. Come on, men!"