You really don’t know what effect you have on people, especially people you barely know.

Let me get this out in the open; I have a compulsive personality. It's a quirk, to be sure, but it's one I fully embrace and own. So, when presented a new and shiny toy, there is a great likelihood that I will wear it out; for instance, my current infatuation with Twitter. That's really a half truth, I've become somewhat enamored with all social media, from the cotton candy favored confection that is Facebook to the more sophisticated and professional LinkedIn.

Competing with this overwhelming need to comment on everything is a secret love that I have hidden away, lo these many years. That love is air-time. I'm not talking grabbing some sky on a half-pipe. No, I'm talking about talking; platters spinning, cans on and mic hot. You see, for the first thirteen years of my professional career, I was a broadcaster.

I continue to gear up for NaNoWriMo. Looks to be an exciting time. Be sure to check out the Project Mjölnir tab above for schedule and progress updates. Be warned, it's liable to change frequently.

I have started Phase 1 of the project, busily filling in the outline for the story, working on the characterizations of the races and people we'll meet. I'm also pulling together my world building notes to draft some of the back stories and history. These are incredibly raw and subject to massive change and revision, but if there's enough interest, I'll post some of these for feedback.

Life has been intruding a lot lately, the way it always does when you’re not paying it any attention. I’ve been guilty of starting several projects at once and not finishing any of them. I want to finish them, I just lack the focus. I believe I have discovered a way to fix that.

November is National Novel Writer’s Month, NaNoWriMo for short. Check out the link for the low down. The short version is: 30 days, 50,000 words, a lifetime of therapy. Well, perhaps not the last part. I attempted NaNoWriMo two years ago and did not succeed. Of course, I didn’t have a plan.  Now, I have what resembles, on a dark night, in the rain, and fog, a plan: Project Mjölnir.

I still get amped seeing my name in print. Must be an (un) repressed need for attention. I received a package of 100 postcard flyers from the festival on Tuesday. My name is surrounded by the red circle. Really, I’m on there, in tiny print, on the back. Click for a close up.

I don’t think I realized just how big a deal this was until I got the confirmation, parking instructions and “meet at participants’ courtesy room 30 minutes prior to your panel”. Back in the bad old days, when I was the Fox 35 fox, I had to change in the car. Getting out of the vehicle proved challenging.

I’m getting ready for the panel, polishing my take on the genre, fiddling with my WIP and working out exactly what I’d like to say. For those you that attend these events regularly, you probably think I’m being a bit silly and going overboard with the excitement of it all. You may be right. I still think it’s cool!

I’m afraid I’ve been infected with a case of the urgent overwhelming the important. My mundane job has been sucking up all my free time lately. Apologies for the long silence. I’d like to say that it won’t happen again. I’d like to say it, but I can’t. Like any habit, if your ignore it long enough you lose your edge; which makes it all the harder to recapture. So, what have I been up to?

It happens, I’ve gotten conformation that I’ll be appearing at the Baltimore Book Festival, Saturday, September 24th and 4:00PM. The Maryland Romance Writers have asked me to participate on their panel, Steampunk: Gear Up for Adventure!

I know, you may be saying, “Gee Paul, you don’t live in Baltimore or anywhere in Maryland. And, you’re not a Romance writer. How did you swing this gig?”