Updates and such...

Both Vengeance of the Ghost and kaben nine are progressing well. I've set a personal quota of at least 1,000 words a day for Vengeance. So far, I've been doing well with keeping that goal. kaben nine is the story I intend to finish after the release of Vengeance. There is no quota for it. I work on it when it becomes a distraction. It is a completely different style from the Lord of Chaos Trilogy. There is only one main character and it is a darker tale. The chapters are also much longer. So far, it fits more into the 'Horror/Thriller' genre with a bit of fantasy thrown in for good measure.

Vengeance will explain the origins of Stumpy. Several of the other gods have already been introduced this way in the first book. Some who have not, died before the opportunity to do so presented itself. The trilogy will end with the third book. Although some of the characters may appear in future stories, I'll be taking a break from them at least until kaben nine is complete.

Stamps:
I managed to find an older edition of Michel's Austria Specialized catalog rather cheaply priced and am now the proud owner of it. Mr. Schneider told me that even though it was written in German, it would be a great help in identifying the earlier stamps and their variations. I find this to be very true so far. Besides, Google Translate is very helpful. I've learned that sometimes I have to split the German words to get a translation, and with some fiddling here and there, everything I've encountered in the Michel guide, Google can translate.

I've begun working on a web site for my stamp collection. Part of it includes a cross reference of three of the major stamp guides and their numbering systems. I'm not totally happy with the layout yet, so expect it to change. It is also far from completed, although, the majority of my feeble collection is posted. You can find those pages here.

Autographs:
Slowly but surely, I'm getting my autograph collection scanned and posted to my facebook page. There are over a hundred there already and there will be at least that many more to come. Drop by and check them out!

Chaos randomly revisited

Tonight's images are two of my favorite items in my autograph collection. The top one is a hall of fame program signed by a bunch of baseball hall of famers. The bottom one is a map of Yankee Stadium which is signed by some rather famous Yankees. If you look at the blue signature right above the water, you'll see that it is Mrs. Babe Ruth. Very kewl if I may say so myself.

Autograph collecting is one of my hobbies and over the last thirty or so years, I've managed to acquire quite a few of them. I may share more later.

Today, I revisited my favorite David Bowie CD: Diamond Dogs. I got it when it first came out back in 1974. It was an album back then, but it has always been my favorite. The concept of the album, the musical arrangements, and the lyrics all speak to me in ways none of his other works do. Give it a listen. I'm sure you'll like it.

I'm still reading Ravenshade by C.S. Marks, though I'm almost finished with it now. I'm far enough along to say that it is well worth reading. C.S. Marks is a great storyteller.

Both yesterday and today I worked on knaben nine. I finally finished Chapter 3 which may be cut from the final version. It focuses on one of those attention-demanding children that would not let me progress with the main story line. If it does remain, it does so on the fact that it explains the origin of the bear at the end of Chapter 2. The bear is very important to knaben nine as he works his way through the tasks. It would be a shame if he loses it somewhere.

The 0.99 cent sale of Shadow of the Ghost kindle edition is now over. When last I checked, 49 copies of the kindle edition sold last month. Hopefully, most of those that bought it will enjoy the story. If anyone is interested in winning a signed copy of the paperback edition, check out the contest here.

More later. I hope everyone has a great, virus free, April Fool's Day!