Writing updates!

I have completed the first 9 chapters and did 50% of the 10th chapter of a new fantasy novel. It's unrelated to An Ominous Book and titled "Hyperian Monarch". The story is indeed rather odd I dare say and it has been a very difficult book to write.

I have around 25,000 words finished and at the rate the book is heading along, it is probably around 50% done.

If I try to keep up with 2 chapters a month at the slowest, I should have a finished manuscript in around 4-5 months at the latest.

I will probably be asking people around if any one of them is interested to beta read it and give valuable input.

Well, just here to show that while sparingly, I am still writing.

Thank you!

A writing pet peeve of mine

Like any reader, there are things in stories (not just books, I am currently musing animated tv shows) that I find to be annoying.

Today, I am going to write a small excerpt about something that always annoys me about some shows: screwing up winter and summer.

But... what about Game of Thrones? That tv show doesn't count because it purposely states it's based in a strange magical world where winter and summer can last for several years at unpredictable intervals. I am personally unsure how this strange seasonal structure works. Either perhaps the world is flat and the sun bounces farther away, or the world has a very elliptical orbit.

But, let's get back to my main pet peeve case in point.

If you have ever traveled from the North to Southern hemisphere as I have, you will soon realize the seasons are reversed. I went to Chile on two occasions during October-November and enjoyed the country during their Spring.

Also, the closer you get to the poles, the days & nights will suffer from a starker contrast. Guatemala is closer to the Equator than Mexico, and therefore, while they still enjoy some variance of weather during the differing seasons, the hours that last each day show far less variation than Mexico. Pretty much, their people are used to seeing the sun come up around 6 am and setting at 6 pm all year round.

If you travel to the other side of the world, the hours will be vastly warped. The only hours of the day where it seemed sensible to chat with loved ones when I visited Japan and China was either very early in the morning, or between 8-11 pm Asia's local Time.

When writing a book, it doesn't take much brain power to keep these little writing tidbits into the equation. It would be just as dumb to state the sun sets at midnight in Quito Ecuador, as it would be dumb to state the sun is shining brightly in a village close to the polar circle during the respective hemisphere's Winter Festival.

Yes, I'm looking at you, Korra's hometown in the new Avatar series!

In the best of cases, shouldn't the daylight hours of her city lasted just 1-2 hours during the Winter Solstice?

Helping the stray cats of Playa del Carmen pt2

Its a miracle but I easily got mamma cat into a carrier cage and she has been successfully spayed. Yaaay! No more needy and unwanted baby kittens from her anymore. As if Quintana Roo didn't have enough unwanted stray cats.

The vet was unsure about operating her without an appointment at 7:30 pm, but his fears eased when he realized I was a medical doctor.. and an anesthesiologist to boot!

I'm just waiting for her to wake up and release her back into the wild. She somewhat lets me pet her, and if I had more time I could domesticate her. But I am leaving for another city in a few days and nobody would adopt her. I just hope she just tries to stay out of trouble. Maybe I can't give her the home life she deserves, but at least she won't have more litters.

Speaking of litters, her 3 kittens just got their first vaccine and I'm trying to use social media to find them a home. It would be horribly cruel to leave them cooped up in a tiny cage in a poorly ventilated bathroom. If I can't find them a home pronto, I will bw forced to release them into the wild as strays knowing that they could have lived well as domesticated pets.

Thanks for reading and know I paid these medical bills with my own pocket because I care a lot about animals.

Helping the stray cats of Playa

I have been short on free time to read and write novels. Among other things occupying my free vacayion time, is an important mission: save a family of feral stray cats.

The mom cat is totally feral.and trapping her might prove to be a challenge. I helped catch her 3 babies with hopes of finding a home. They are 3 females that can eat semisolid Whiskas treats. They are around 6 weeks old, a bit on the scrawny side but with some food they should pick up.

One is a  black panther, the second a tuxedo girl amd the last one a spunky tortie. I plan on bringing them to a vet to get washed, parasites removed and vaccinated. And then promote the hell out of these innocent sweeties who deserve a better life.

I took a photo of the panther girl, once she is in your arms, she doesn't fight you. They still have a chance to become domesticated.

I hope to at least spay mommy and release her. Maybe with a lot of TLC, she might become semi domesticated. Looks to be around 2 years old.

Maybe renting a car wasn't such an insane idea afterall!