Winter Gut Punch

It's cold out there.

Most people think of Valentine’s Day when February rolls around, but my eye is always set on the 2nd: Groundhog Day. My yearly tradition (like many other people) is to watch the classic Bill Murray movie. I’m significantly less interested in the actual tradition and frankly never tune in to find out whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow. Still, there’s something comforting to return to the movie every year, as if I were experiencing the same day over and over like Bill Murray’s character. One thing I still aspire to do one day is accurately recreate his entire breakfast feast for February the 2nd (and then probably eat it for the rest of the week).

Although we’re technically smackdab in the middle of winter, most days it really doesn’t feel that way. We have a few cold days, but they don’t last. (As soon as I finished writing this we were hit with the official winter gut punch of a big cold snap). And there have been some snow days, but the accumulation quickly melts. This might seem weird, but I’m kind of disappointed. I like winter. I like snow. I like a season to feel like the actual season it is. These warm winter days throw me off, and I find myself being somehow less productive because of it. That isn’t to say I haven’t been productive at all though.

Sculptures

For one thing, I’ve gotten back to sculpting. The past couple weeks have so much fun because I broke out a block of clay and started carving new items I plan to first offer to my Patreon members, and then bring to Authorcon 2 in Virginia this March. (Come see me there!)

These will be magnets, probably sold for around $12 each. But I’m also (finally) doing a second casting of the Devil’s Creek Idols (based on Todd Keisling’s novel) for the first time since 2020. These again will be offered first to my Patreon members and then sold live at Authorcon 2. If there are any left after the show I’ll put the remaining pieces for sale on my website.

Authorcon 2 Event

And yes, you heard me correctly. I’m actually going to be at a live event, selling and signing books and sculptures. This is the first major show I’ve done since…ever? I hope to see many of you there!

Articles and Podcasts

Otherwise, I wrote five new articles¹ for the 80sXchange and outlined a new short story I plan to write this month. I recorded a new podcast episode with Agent Palmer from The Palmer Files, which should be out in time for the next newsletter. I had a blast on the show and encourage you all to check out his podcast and blog in the meantime.

Reading

January has also been a productive reading month for me:

1. The Friar's Lantern by Greg Hickey

2. Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? by Max Brallier

3. The Forever House by Tim Waggoner

4. Currently reading… The Raven by Jonathan Janz

I hope you’re all having a warm and productive winter. If you’d like to support my writing and sculpting, you can find all my links, products, articles, social media, and everything else via Linktree.

See you all in the next one!

1. The five new articles include “A Rewarding Article,” “Surviving the Long Cold Winter: Part III,” “Reclaiming the Past,” “The Fast Food Pizza / Movie Connection,” and “The Adult World of Daytime Television.”