Tag: health

Ghost Riders in the Sky

Wednesday morning and I was tired yesterday. I’m not sure why that was; but I really hit a wall yesterday afternoon and thus skipped running errands after work. I came home, collapsed into my easy chair, and settled in for the evening. We watched two more episodes of The Diplomat after dinner, and then I stumbled up the stairs to bed. I feel like I slept much better last night, although I did wake up once or twice–wide awake at five, but stayed in bed until the alarm went off. It’s also supposed to be colder today, with a high no greater than the mid-sixties. THE COLD FRONT IS HERE. It does feel a bit cooler inside this morning, and the air hasn’t kicked on, so…but I feel comfortable rather than cold.

The pictures and news out of Jamaica doesn’t look great; Melissa is now battering Cuba, with tracks leading it away from the Gulf and up the Atlantic, away from shore. Apparently we’re in a high wind alert, particularly for Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas. Should make for an interesting drive to work this morning, at any rate, especially since I-10 is elevated over Claiborne Avenue almost the entire way.

Apparently there was an accident on I-59 yesterday that resulted in lab monkeys escaping in Mississippi. The monkeys were from Tulane’s research arm, and per news reporting, were infected with Hepatitis C, herpes (a particularly virulent kind) and COVID. As I rolled my eyes, I initially thought along the lines of “this is how it starts in all those plague thrillers, like Michael Crichton would write” but as I thought about it more, the involvement of an elite university in this along with two of the most poorly run states in the union had me thinking more along the lines of Carl Hiassen or an old Burt Reynolds caper movie; it really could go either way. I’m not an intricate plotter, though, and the thing with Hiassen is that he is a master at plotting. Because he writes funny, he doesn’t get the kind of recognition that other master crime writers do (funny is never taken as seriously as tragedy even though it is much harder to be funny), but I have nothing but the utmost respect for him, and Bad Monkey1 is probably my favorite funny novel that I’ve read so far.

But checking the news this morning, it seems like all the monkeys were killed…and they weren’t actually infected with anything. So it’s a tragedy, not a comedy, after all.

Since I feel so much more rested (mentally and physically) today I am hoping that I’ll be able to get some writing done when I get home tonight. I would like to get a first draft of a novella and a short story finished by the end of the weekend, and with no LSU game to watch that should make my weekend more of my own, you know? I do want to finish reading the Scott Carson novel I barely started last weekend, so between reading and writing and cleaning my weekend should be plenty full. I do have some errands to run on Friday once I finish my work-at-home duties, but other than that…I should be home for most of the weekend, other than the walks I need to start taking. I also need to start stretching, too.

And on that note, I am heading into the spice mines. Have a lovely Wednesday, Constant Reader, and I’ll be back in the morning for my last day in the office for the week blog. Till then, au revoir.

  1. The irony that my favorite funny caper/crime novel is titled Bad Monkey did not escape me. ↩︎

Paint It Black

Saturday morning in the Lost Apartment, and all is well–at least so far! I got up to feed a needy kitty at six-ish, but went back to bed where Sparky let me sleep a few more hours and even cuddled with me in the bed for a bit. He can be sweet when he wants to be, after all. I was very tired last night before I went to bed–even falling asleep in my chair for good measure–and it was a bit of a full day. After work, we did run our errands, which included a trip to Costco (they had one of my regular items again after not having it for MONTHS, so I was very pleased, which clearly isn’t that hard to do) but it was an overall nice day. I got the dishes put away and got all that laundry done; today I’ve got a couple of errands to run, but other than that I am going to be here all day. I want to finish reading Hokuloa Road (which I am loving) and I need to reread Hurricane Season Hustle so I can write the epilogue and get it turned in once and for all. FINISHED! I’m also probably going to watch games while I read; LSU is the evening game today and while I don’t have high hopes for my Tigers after last week, you never know.

Tomorrow is going to be a writing day, obviously, and I hope to get some newsletters scheduled to go out this week since Halloween Horror Month ends on this coming Friday. Of course, now that I no longer have anxiety, I also know that I don’t have to finish before the end of the month; that’s arbitrary, and I can certainly can continue my examination, and reading and watching, of more horror. I may even take a walk this afternoon, but probably will wait and do it tomorrow, since I have errands (and chores) to do today. A leisurely stroll tomorrow morning before settling into my writing chair for the day may be just the thing for me, and it certainly can’t hurt me in any way (other than fatigued legs and aching hips), and every step is a way forward to being more healthy.

I was also pleased to see what a difference a new battery and two new tires made in how smoothly the car runs now. Buying a Honda was one of the smartest things I may have ever done. It also definitely needs to be cleaned out today and washed–we’re expecting inclement weather tonight and tomorrow (oh, about that walk tomorrow morning, Greg–maybe you’d better take it this morning after all), and I don’t think this is from Hurricane Melissa, but rather from the cold front which is deflecting Melissa and sending her northeast rather than northwest–but that was also last night and I haven’t checked this morning. Yes, Melissa is projected to cross Cuba and head out to sea, brushing past the Bahamas on her way out….and it’s supposed to rain off and on all day today and tomorrow–although the bright sun and clear skies right now beg to differ. It could of course change at any minute and turn on a dime; which has always been one of the joys of living in New Orleans.

And on that note, I am heading into the spice mines for the day. Have a lovely Saturday, and I’ll be back tomorrow morning, of course.

Gorgeous Nicholas Alexander Chavez, of Monsters, General Hospital, and Grotesquerie fame.

Werewolves of London

Tuesday morning, and we have survived to another day, haven’t we? And of course, my daily posts usually starting with some kind of commentary that boils down to “proof of life” at its most basic level is why people get concerned when I am not here every morning, isn’t it? The more you know…or more like, the more you think about something…which is certainly always the case with me.

Well, I slept really well last night and I feel pretty good thus far this morning. We weren’t terribly busy at the clinic yesterday (today, on the other hand, is a different story), and I ran errands on my way home from work. I’ll probably stop to make groceries on the way home (maybe), and this Friday I am taking the car in for some necessary maintenance (need to replace two tires, the air filter, and some other things need to be done). Tomorrow is pay-the-bills day, and maybe I can get everything done that I need to get done before the weekend so I can just stay home and read/write/clean. Yay! I’d like to get some writing done this week; I woke up to an email from my editor about Hurricane Season Hustle, and we need to schedule a call to discuss what remains to be done. Huzzah!

I also ordered the next dose of my injection medication yesterday from the specialty pharmacy, because I get to dose myself again in November. Look at me, staying on top of things and not blowing them off until the last possible minute. But I can also tell that it’s coming up, because I am having some slight stomach issues–but nothing serious; it’s what reminded me to go ahead and order it. Not to worry, Constant Reader–it’s the same thing I noticed in the last few weeks before I had my first injection last month. I don’t mind having a physical reminder, to be honest. I’ve become so forgetful lately that I worry about forgetting to order it–not as bad as I would have before anxiety medication, I need to point out–but am also hopeful those issues won’t be so bad once I am fully recovered physically from being sick this past spring. Now that I have sort of recovered from the trip, I am starting to feel more lively and alive this week, which is terrific. Alas, I do have to drive to Kentucky for Thanksgiving, which will be a TEST.

I am already dreading that drive, but will be listening to a Donna Andrews audiobook, which is really the best way to travel on long trips in the car. I cannot reiterate too much how delightful it is to listen to books in the car; I wish I had figured that out years earlier. Another one of those better late than never things, isn’t it?

We caught up a bit on Alien: Earth, which is a very interesting addition to the Alien IP. It looks like its going to finally get into what the xenomorphs are, where they came from, and what they want. I don’t remember a lot of the movies other than the first two (classics); I may have even not seen some of them and the prequels never really made a lot of sense to me. But we’re enjoying the show, and October seems like the right month to be watching it.

And on that note, I am heading into the spice mines. Have yourself a lovely little Tuesday, Constant Reader, and I’ll be back tomorrow on Pay the Bills Wednesday!

I have such a crush on adorable Freddie Stroma!

Eldest Daughter

Thursday, and it’s my last day in the office for the week. Huzzah! I am very pleased with myself for somehow managing to make it through the entire week without any super-fatigue or brain fog–which means I am getting better and more healed. I ordered a pair of wired ear buds for my new phone, and am going to try to start going for walks regularly. I also want to start stretching a couple of times per week. It’ll make me feel better in the long run and less sore all of the time, and while it may not burn a lot of calories, it will burn some.

Plus, being stretched regularly will do wonders for the muscles themselves.

I’m very much dragging this morning, since it’s Thursday, and I have to do a ZOOM panel tonight after work. Not sure how that’s going to go, since I am sure I will be very tired this evening. I feel rested this morning, so it’s just a matter of the groggy feeling this morning. I slept deeply and well, and of course tomorrow morning I can sleep a bit later–Sparky permitting probably goes without saying. I had a quiet evening last night after I ran my errands on my way home. Tonight I am coming straight home, and will probably relax for a bit while doing some chores–the kitchen is a mess yet again–and I did try to do some chores last night, so I won’t have as much to straighten and clean up on the weekend. Paul was late getting home last night, so I just kind of sat in my chair catching up on the news (always a tense, fraught experience) until he did get home. I also watched this week’s Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, and once Paul was home we got caught up on The Morning Show, which we are really enjoying.

I will have to consult my to-do list at some point today, to see if I am getting anything done this week. This weekend will mostly be a resting and reading and cleaning weekend, I suspect. Having the LSU game on early Saturday will be helpful; sure, there are other games for the rest of the day but they aren’t anything I would be horribly upset that I didn’t watch, so I am hoping to get some reading done this weekend. I need to finish a couple of newsletter essays (reread of The Haunting of Hill House; Frendo Lives) and start looking at one about Boots. The end of the month is sneaking up on us, too, and then it will be NOVEMBER….and then it’s the end of the year. 2026 is a bit daunting, because that’s the year I turn sixty-five. Yikes, indeed!

I’ve also not watched anything scary this month, other than the first episode of the 1990 reboot of Dark Shadows. I was a little bummed that Scream, my favorite “scary movie,” isn’t available to stream for free anywhere, and I’ve seen the movie far too many times to justify paying to watch it again. I think Scream 2 is probably available? Maybe I will watch that tomorrow while I am doing quality assurance so I can write about my favorite slasher series. (I was also disappointed to see that the original Halloween isn’t available for free anywhere–the same rationale exists for not paying to see a movie I’ve seen multiple times; maybe I should look for A Nightmare on Elm Street1–it’s been years–or Prince of Darkness or The Omen, which could be fun, or even the original Carrie. IT’S SPOOKY SEASON GODDAMMIT!) The weather has become cooler, too–the breeze is chilly rather than warm; the sun is shining every day so it’s in the eighties, but the cool breeze plus lack of humidity is a marvelous reminder of how magical October weather can be here.

I also am doing an on-line ZOOM panel about supernatural mysteries, which should be fun; That Bitch Ford will also be on it.

And on that note, I am heading into the spice mines. Have a lovely Thursday, and I’ll be back tomorrow morning!

The Nile River in upper Egypt
  1. I looked and it’s streaming on HBO! Huzzah! And Prince of Darkness is free on Prime. Looks like I know what I’ll be watching Sunday morning before Paul gets up! Huzzah! ↩︎

Father Figure

Tuesday morning as I get back into the swing of my reality again. Yesterday was an easy way to slip back into the work grind, and I was tired most of the day. I was very tired by the time I got home from work and errands and things, collapsing into my chair and bingeing more of Boots, which we are really enjoying before retiring pretty early. I had hoped to get some more things done around the apartment, but I can only do what I am capable of doing, you know? It’s still going to take a bit longer for me to get reacclimated, and that’s perfectly fine. I can only do what I can, right? I also need to stop berating myself for being a little wobbly when I get back on the bicycle of my reality.

One of the goals for 2025 was to be kinder to myself–and I am constantly having to remind myself of that very thing. My default is to always take the blame, or to be self-critical, and that’s a cycle from childhood that I need to break. I also cannot believe how quickly this month has passed. What the hell? How is tomorrow the 15th already again? Heavy heaving sigh.

I’ve been thinking I might start trying to listen to audiobooks in the car while I run around doing errands and driving to and from work. I’m never in the car for very long, which is why I’m thinking it may not work–it could take weeks to completely listen to a book all the way through this way–but I could also listen while I take walks. I’d just need to get earphones with a connecting wire; I refuse to sell pints of blood so I can afford ear pods, which I would lose. And since the weather is now cooling down, going for walks in the evening and in the morning might not be a bad thing; and an easy way to start getting my endurance back after this hellish decade for me, health-wise. Although I suppose at my age, my health now is really about the time between illnesses and surgeries. Heavy sigh.

And yes, you can still get wired headphones for iPhones. I checked.

I’m also getting caught up on my day job stuff, and perhaps by the end of the day I can triumphantly shout from the rooftops that I am finally current on those duties. Huzzah! LSU plays at Vanderbilt this weekend, and the game is at 11. YIKES. I hate early games, and the Tigers also tend to not play as well early. Vanderbilt is a good team again this year, and we don’t know if LSU is actually a good team or not. I guess we’ll find out early Saturday morning, but at least the game will be out of the way early and the games the rest of the day won’t matter as much whether I pay attention or not, which means a good time for cleaning the apartment.

I also need to start going through the calls for submission that I’ve bookmarked as interesting ideas for me to try for. The entire time I was in Alabama, I was thinking about a novella-in-progress I have that I would like to get finished…yes, another Alabama story.

And I need to start cleaning out the storage attic. That shit’s not going to empty itself out, is it?

And on that note, I am heading into the spice mines. Have a lovely Tuesday, Constant Reader, and I’ll be back again tomorrow. I am off to make a to-do list!

I’ve always been fascinated by Baron Samedi

The Fate of Ophelia

Tuesday morning, and did you miss me yesterday? LOL, I”m sure no one noticed my blog absence for a single day, especially since the world and country are burning to the ground, with a new, fresh dictatorial outrage on the hourly. I decided when I got up that I was going to ignore everything and work on getting the book finished; I had to have to it to my editor by 4 pm CST and…I got it to her by three. It still needs an epilogue and some fine tuning, but I am choosing to focus on the fact that I turned the fucking book in at long last. I wrote about twenty-five thousand new words since Friday, too–something I wasn’t so sure I could manage anymore, but there you have it: Greg can still binge write. Once that was done, I repaired to my easy chair, read more of The Haunting of Hill House, and watched television with Paul for the rest of the evening before I went to bed. Sparky let me sleep in a bit this morning before turning into a manic, frantic alarm–SPARKY NEEDED FOOD–but it was a relief to get the book turned in, not in the least because that horrible little voice in my head that I hate was taunting me that my book-writing days were behind me. Not the case, hallelujah and pass the ammunition, after all. I am a bit worn down this morning, worn out from the binge-writing, no doubt, but…I am very very happy and content this morning.

It has rained every day since Friday and we are due for more today. My windows are covered in condensation this morning, and while it is light outside, it’s also gray and gloomy. This is excellent weather for reading and binge-writing, apparently; it also helped me since I was writing about a hurricane. Today is going to be an easy day for me. I am on vacation, but not leaving to meet Dad in Alabama until tomorrow in the late afternoon. I am going to get up early to drive the car to the dealership for an oil change and to see if they can do something about that thing dragging under the car (long story, but it doesn’t affect the car’s operation, but I just can’t get to it myself to take it off) before I drive up to Alabama in the afternoon. I am also going to run some errands today, and I need to get the house cleaned up and picked up today, so I am going to try to do that around my reading.

I also wrote a lot yesterday on the laptop. Don’t get excited; I was fighting with Sparky over my desk chair (he sleeps in it while I am not home; but it’s napping in my chair is part of his daily routine, and the only choice is between being distracted and clawed to death, or let him have the chair), and finally said fuck this and settled into my chair, put the keyboard and mouse on my lap desk, and mirrored the screen with the television. I have tried doing this before, but it’s never really worked well for me but desperation and deadlines apparently can make me adapt. Good to know for the future, right? And that also removes the danger of television distraction.

I can’t remember the last time I had a day off with nothing hanging over my head to write. It’s actually kind of lovely, to be honest.

After I hit send on the manuscript yesterday, I did think about what I want to do now that Scotty X is practically finished (edits and copy edits and proofing yet to come), and it’s kind of nice having a vacation and a short trip to follow turning in a manuscript. I don’t know if I am going to have the usual post-book malaise, but it’s probably likely. The malaise has been pretty consistent for the last year or so, I’d say. It’s been a rough decade for one Gregalicious, but…be grateful it wasn’t worse, because it could have been quite easily.

And on that note, I am going to head into the spice mines, such as they are, for the day. I’ll be back tomorrow, but probably won’t be around much again until Monday, when I go back to the office.

Take It Easy

Ah, here we are on a Tuesday morning, and I feel okay. I’m not feeling as achy as I have since Saturday, but there’s some tired still in my legs and the hips feel tired rather than painful, which is definitely a plus this morning. I wound up having to work in the clinic yesterday instead of having an Admin day, which is going to throw this week off to begin with and make me super-tired by the time the weekend rolls around again. Huzzah?

Last night I managed to work on the book despite feeling like I’d been run through the wringer after making some groceries on the way home. I collapsed into my chair once I was finished and caught up on the news before staggering up the stairs to go to bed. I did sleep really well last night, which is always a plus, and feel good, as I’ve already noted. My coffee is going down quite well, and I’m just a little bit hungry, so will be heating up my breakfast sandwich relatively soon. I don’t feel any mental fatigue today, which is always a plus. I think I am working alone in the clinic this morning, but could be wrong; I have been before, after all. I might even be able to sneak out early today, as we have no one booked for this afternoon. We’ll see how the day goes, won’t we? (That staycation just can’t come soon enough for me, you know.)

But overall I cannot complain about anything. The work on the book is going extremely well, and I am really looking forward to getting this done finally and out of my hair. I think I am going to spend October–since I’ll have edits and copy edits to deal with–writing short stories and essays. I am terribly behind on my newsletter, and maybe I can get one sent out this weekend since LSU has a bye-week so there’s not much urgency to watch games Saturday; I don’t even know who is playing. I’ll have the games on during the day (Alabama-Vanderbilt might be the winner of the afternoon time slot) but I want to read and write for the weekend and so will probably not pay much attention–unless it’s a really good game. Looks like Texas is playing Florida this weekend, too, and Florida State-Miami is the big night game of the day. I also kind of feel like I’m coming out from under all the gloom that’s been hanging over my head almost this entire decade, you know? When my mind isn’t foggy or tired, it’s sharp the way it used to be, even if the memory banks don’t work as quickly as they used to (if they work at all); I get the spinning wheel in my brain a lot when I try to remember things.

Yesterday was the two year anniversary of Sparky’s “gotcha” day!

In other exciting news, Governor Landry admitted to a national audience that he is a failure at governance and asked for the National Guard to be deployed in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Hope they’re good at filling potholes, because you know damned well they won’t be going anywhere near the parts of the city that are riddled with crime. They’ll be stationed on Bourbon Street, and maybe Rampart and Canal as well. (I don’t think the Governor, who is all about his ambition and sucking up to the MAGA trash, is aware that he’s confessed to utter failure as a governor, while also admitting that a red state needs federal help because it can’t function properly is a hell of an admission to make; why would any other red state reelect their failed politicians after this? Because racism, that’s why.) Apparently, LSU is also going to be having a “Charlie Kirk Lecture Series.’

Which makes me not mind the loss to Mississippi this past weekend as much as I did.

And on that note, I am heading into the spice mines. Have a lovely Tuesday, Constant Reader, and be grateful you’re not a higher-up in the military, letting you off the hook for the idiotic meeting in DC today.

Love Story

And here we are on Monday morning yet again, Constant Reader. I still feel fatigued this morning, which is not a good thing. My hips and legs are aching this morning, but at least it’s better than yesterday, when standing up and walking was actually super-painful. It’s not that bad this morning so far, but it’s going to make for a super long and awful day at work. I should probably stay home and try to rest, but I don’t have enough sick time to take an entire day off. Ah, well. I took next week off to go visit family, but that was canceled and I am now only going to Alabama for that weekend (Mom’s birthday), so all I have to do is make it through this week and then I can get some rest. The fatigue shouldn’t last much longer, should it? I am not fond of this new reality, in all honesty, but next week’s staycation will be nice. It’s been a long time since I’ve been home so long without having had surgery or being horribly sick. I hope to get a lot of reading, cleaning and some writing done that week, too. We’ll see how it all turns out, I suppose.

Yesterday was the peak of the reaction to the vaccine (I do not regret getting it, so miss me with anti-vax bullshit; reminder that I block for idiocy about public health), but I still am a bit worn out this morning. Glad it’s not as bad as yesterday, but it’s still not great. I was able to get some things done yesterday while Paul was at the office–but not as much as I would have wanted to as I was so fucking fatigued. Heavy heaving sigh. Clearly I need to get future COVID vaccinations late on Thursdays so I can recover from the fatigue reaction. This year’s flu shot about a month ago didn’t phase me in the least, whereas it usually makes me feverish for a day or so. Go figure. I am hoping it will wear off throughout today.

The Saints lost again to drop to 0-4…and haven’t been really competitive since their “moment of silence” for a Nazi. What was that phrase? “Not woke, go broke”? I also saw that Harrison Butker, the asshole kicker for the Chiefs, has now missed a field goal in every game this season…maybe he should take his tongue out of Josh Hawley’s butthole and focus on, I don’t know, kicking? It sure would suck for him to get fired and have to be a stay-at-home Dad, wouldn’t it? It’s almost like he cursed the team, isn’t it?

The good news is the book isn’t one tenth as terrible as I originally thought it was, so huzzah for that, right? I will definitely be diving back into it when I get home from the office today, and after I make a small grocery run on the way. I am hoping to get it all done before the staycation, so I can relax and get things done around the house before I leave for Alabama next week.

Not much to report this morning, is there? Maybe I should take the hint and head into the spice mines…see you tomorrow morning!

Julie Do You Love Me

One can never go wrong with old Bobby Sherman hits, can one? 🙂

Well, it’s Saturday morning, the apartment looks a lot better, and I am not feeling tired this morning, as opposed to yesterday morning. I had a good night’s sleep before my alarm kitty went off this morning–he let me sleep a while longer–and now I am awake, swilling coffee, and ready to get to work today. I have to get my COVID shot today (more on that story later), so am hoping for no adverse reactions so I can get some work done today. Paul is working with his trainer and then going by his office–they have to move out by the end of the month (remember the building collapse last year?), and so he is packing and throwing things away. There are football games all day today, too–including LSU-Mississippi and some other terrific match-ups, so the siren song of my easy chair and the television is going to be difficult to resist, but I do have work to do today, that I have to get done if I am going to be finished with this book on time.

Several weeks ago, I talked to my doctor about the COVID shot (I am not sixty-five yet, but I am immunocompromised), at which point I was informed that in Louisiana you now need a prescription for it and if you aren’t 65 or older you have to be at “risk”. Well, everyone’s at risk, since it spreads so easily from person to person, thank you again, MAGA garbage human beings who are seriously too stupid to breathe if it weren’t involuntary. Your doctor has to write a prescription for it, send it to the pharmacy, and you have to know which version of the shot they have. So first, you have to check with said pharmacy to see which brand they offer, and let your doctor know so he can write the scrip for the correct version. So, you can’t just can’t get a prescription–if it’s written for the wrong version they won’t give you either. Idiotic, right? This is what comes from living in a MAGA majority state filled with temporarily embarrassed millionaires. After jumping through these hoops, it turned out that CVS, my pharmacy of choice, wasn’t offering it in New Orleans at all…which meant biting the bullet and getting it at a Walgreens. I hate Walgreens. I’ve been boycotting Walgreens for the most part (other than the convenience of having one a short block away, so I might go get milk or bread from there in a pinch)and don’t spend money there if at all possible. Since the convenient one is the one I used to call the Marsten House on St. Charles, I decided to have it called into the one in the Garden District, by Breaux Mart on Magazine. When I went, they made me wait almost an hour–I had another appointment and had to leave. After leaving, about half an hour later I got a notice that my appointment was cancelled–so they expected me to sit there for an hour and half? And were rude about it when I finally asked? Yeah, I walked out and gave them one-star on Yelp. I also was more than happy to fill out the “customer satisfaction survey” they sent me because I had checked in for my appointment. I refuse to go back to that one, but still need the vaccine so had my doctor call it into the Marsten House on St. Charles. I will report back, for sure.

Paul didn’t get home until after I went to bed, and I imagine I won’t see an awful lot of him until they are finished moving into their new, temporary office space. DISLIKE.

A lovely review of Double Crossing Van Dine by Oline Cogdill in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel was published this week:

Double Crossing Van Dine, edited by Donna Andrews, Greg Herren and Art Taylor; introduction by Catriona McPherson; Crippen & Landru; 310 pages; $22

The Golden Age of Detective Fiction that launched the classic genre novel is considered to be from the 1920s to 1930s. But contemporary readers know that a second Golden Age began in the mid-1980s when the novels became more emotionally involving along with the introduction of detectives from myriad backgrounds and cultures. The genre continues to evolve, seeing several golden ages in the past decades.Going out on a limb here, many authors from the ’20s and ’30s haven’t survived the test of time, aside from a few, such as Agatha Christie. And going out on another limb here, S.S. Van Dine, the focus of this short story anthology, probably is among those only recognized by readers steeped in the history of mystery fiction.Van Dine, whose real name was Willard Huntington Wright, was an American art critic, literary editor, biographer and author who wrote the series about detective Philo Vance.

Each story begins describing one of Van Dine’s rules, then crushing it. Fort Lauderdale author Elaine Viets’ “Sweet Poison,” about two young women struggling in New York’s Lower East Side during 1921, forgets the rule that “all clues must be publicly stated,” as they deal with the unexpected death of one’s “Wall Street sugar daddy.”Barb Goffman puts aside the “no love interest” rule in “Baby Love” as a fledgling-but-broke private detective tries to launch his career so he and his very loving wife can afford a baby. Co-editor Greg Herren stifles the “no supernatural” rule with “The Spirit Tree,” in which the solution to a murder comes from beyond. The “only one detective rule” doesn’t work for Delia Pitts’ “Better Together,” which finds two heads are better than one.Boca Raton author Alan Orloff’s “The Society Set” takes a butler who has several jobs for his persnickety employer on a journey of a jewelry heist that actually embraces Van Dine’s version of a “fascinating crime.” Leigh Perry has a work-around for the “no secret societies” ban in “Guilted Lily,” in which a tight-knit group of grifters seek a score.Tom Mead dismisses the rule that servants should never be the culprits in “The Tell-Tale Thumb.” Some people, Mead writes, see only the uniform, not the person who hides in plain sight.The majority of the authors in “Double Crossing Van Dine” have either won or been nominated for awards. A handy brief bio of each of the authors may inspire readers to seek out more of their stories.

Pretty cool!

And on that note, I am heading back into the spice mines. Have a lovely day, Constant Reader, and I will be back tomorrow morning.

Hero

Work at home Friday! Man, I was tired yesterday when I got off work–not the fatigue, thank God, just a little burned out. I had dinner with a friend at Acamaya in the Bywater (highly recommend) and then came home to just collapse into my easy chair for the evening with Sparky the Needy (Paul did stay at the office late, so li’l Sparkster was home alone much longer than he usually is, so yes, he has abandonment issues) and catch up on the news. I didn’t work on the book because I was very tired, but I only have to work a few hours this morning and then I get to run a couple of errands before diving headfirst into the book. The house is also a horrible mess…too tired last night to do anything. I probably wasn’t great company at dinner, because I really did hit a wall, and this morning my hips and legs ache. I’m beginning to think I can’t even have a solitary cocktail anymore; I had one with dinner last night and this morning I feel like I’ve been through the wringer. No hangover–it was one drink, after all, a margarita–but the fatigue is here in a very big way. And the house is a mess, mess, mess.

Heavy heaving sigh.

But the coffee and breakfast (yay, caffeine and blood sugar spike!) are starting to kick in and my body is warming/waking up and so is my mind. Huzzah! It also looks like a bright, sunshine day outside; low humidity and sunny and warm, of course.

When Paul got home we watched this week’s South Park, which was hilarious in its ruthless political satire. I’m not sure why or when we stopped watching South Park regularly; probably in the times after Hurricane Katrina, and while I am enjoying watching again–I am not at the point where I would want to go back and watch the YEARS I’ve not seen. I fell asleep in my chair at some point, waking up to go to bed around eleven thirty. I did sleep well last night, so I am not sure where this fatigue this morning is coming from…is it because of the work week, was it the drink I had with dinner, or was it both? I feel it much more this Friday than I did last Friday, so I am going to have to go with the cocktail. I don’t mind giving up alcohol completely; I was already down to the point where I only had alcohol when having dinner with friends, usually even then only white wine as a rule…so it’s not like I’m giving up something I do all the time and enjoy. And let’s face it; I started drinking alcohol when I was sixteen–so yeah, giving it up after almost fifty years of it isn’t really that big of a deal.

There are also a lot of great football games tomorrow, so after I get my writing work done for the day I am going to probably just watch games while cleaning or reading. LSU plays at 2:30, and it’s at Mississippi; I don’t think LSU has won up in Oxford since 2019, but I could be mistaken. I know LSU lost the last time in Oxford for sure–that was that insane game than ended up something like 59-54 or something like that, with Jayden Daniels playing unbelievably well; if we’d only had a defense that year we could have gone all the way, methinks. And of course Alabama-Georgia is tomorrow, too; Auburn is at Texas A&M, and I’ve not really looked at much more than that other than Notre Dame at Arkansas (GO HOGS!). So, today I am going to do data entry, have an on-line team meeting, and then I am going to run my errands before coming home to get the house back under control and write, write, write and edit, edit, edit.

And now, I am going to go get another cup of coffee before getting to work on the laundry and opening my data entry website. Have a lovely Friday, Constant Reader, and I will be back tomorrow morning. See you then!

I will always love Joe Burrow, and will always be grateful for that 2019 LSU championship team. I am also super-grateful that I got to see them play twice in person.