Still Hanging!

 April 2022 Blog

Delayed Reaction: A Haiku

I’d put off musing

About the day until it

Improves somewhat, but...

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(3/30/22)

...it may not. And the war and the virus continue. And I’ve come to a conclusion: I am that which is...  and the only one who can “make it so”, as Captain Jean Luc Picard used to say. All is my responsibility (at least in my immediate family), and I do not have the right to consider it onerous. Nor do I have to be happy about it. It is what it is.

“Somewhat Improved” is not something, it seems, I’m going to hear about anything, anytime soon. The virus tapers off, but it continues. The war continues. The Earth’s tipping point looms. And doctors’ diagnoses (at least in my husband’s case) are still “best guess”, and not one of them has found a solution in the last three or four years.

Yet we continue to plod on. And plodding it is. There has been little forward progress in quite a while, and the year is one-fourth gone already. Spring has barely come upon us, and I am little refreshed.

So, we push things back. We wait...  for what, I’m not sure. The end of the pandemic? There is no end in sight. The end of the war? Not on the horizon anytime soon. A breath of fresh air? That would be lovely, but so far only ill-winds are blowing everywhere.

So, I have decided to just do what I can – remembering Yoda’s famous words: “Do! There is no try.” And the old Nike slogan: “Just Do It!” (when that was not mired in controversy)

So, I will go about my daily chores, pay my bills, and write my chapters. But there is little joy in any of it, except maybe in writing my chapters. I will nap as I am able and expend what energy I can garner to improve my little corner of the world.

I am so happy to have you, my loyal friends, in my little corner of the world that I will do my best to make is a brighter corner. Even if that means more murder and mayhem from Marie Delacroix’s ravens (my Sam Rock sequel) and exposing Dhavin’s true origins in my Acqueria prequel.

Those will be still brighter than what’s happening out there in reality.

By the way, it’s a sad thing when the news of war is overshadowed (but for the briefest moment) by the slap seen ‘round the world. And I stand with Will Smith. Okay, he shouldn’t have done that, but I understand why he did it.

And so, I leave you now with this shortest of blogs to delve into another world where I can actually make things happen just by scratching my pen across the page (until the ink runs out and there are no more legible scratchings).

If you need some sweet relief from the the realities that confront us daily, check out my selection on Amazon. There may be something there you have not read yet.

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, this month we can really recover from the woes that plague us, and the following month will find us enjoying a more beautiful, peaceful Spring in anticipation of a stunningly brilliant Summer.

 

 

Hanging by a Thread!

 March 2022 Blog

Standstill: A Haiku

Just when we thought we

Survived pandemic, we yield

Normalcy to war.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(2/28/22)

My mind grows even more tired. My heart grows even more weary. I still see no end in sight. Normalcy is again the victim.

Never, at the beginning of last month, did I ever imagine I would end up writing this. But for the last six days, I’ve had little else on my mind but the insanity that is one man’s megalomaniacal invasion of a sovereign nation in an attempt to rebuild an empire. Every Haiku for the last six days has be on this absurdity, starting with “Rude Awakening” on February 24^th.

Rude Awakening: A Haiku

The world woke to war

This day – another scourge with

Dire consequences.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(2/24/22)

Continuing with “Short Supply” on the 25^th, “Untitled” on the 26^th, and “Inconceivable” on the 27^th. The above mentioned “Standstill” was written on the 28^th.

Short Supply: A Haiku

Peace and love to all

Wounded souls this day; would that

Wars were but rumors.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(2/25/22)

Untitled: A Haiku

I am but cold, and

The world holds no warmth but the

Fire, fury of war.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(2/26/22)

Inconceivable: A Haiku

One man’s hubris could

Render unlivable the

World he would conquer.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(2/27/22)

 

And now continuing with “Odorous Harbinger” today.

Odorous Harbinger: A Haiku

I would Spring be in

The air without the stench of

Missiles and gunfire.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

(3/1/22)

I normally don’t get involved in political matters or what happens on foreign shores, but I cannot ignore what is happening now, even if it is halfway around the world. Lives are being disrupted and people are dying because one man has it in his tiny mind to rebuild an empire that was dissolved half-a-lifetime ago.

And like the pandemic, we have no idea where any of this is heading or when it will end. I’m not even sure if there will be a world left for me to endow with an April Blog (scariest thought ever).

For it seems, this man (whom we’re not even sure is in possession of all his faculties) has his fingers literally on the button that can do more to destroy this world than Mother Nature, mankind as a whole, and the virus-infected bat population combined.

If that finger slips, we can be globally involved in a nuclear winter that will make all else moot.

And for what? To rebuild an empire ala Adolph Hitler (which was tried and failed almost a hundred years ago)?

I know there is nothing I can do or say that will “amount to a hill of beans” or affect what is happening, but I have to say something. I can only hope that the powers-that-be can dissuade this absurdity (or at least lift that finger off the button).

In the meantime, I’ll keep my head down and continue to write, and edit, and publish as if nothing was dangling over all our heads waiting to annihilate us and/or make the world uninhabitable (which amounts to the same thing).

Assuming there is an April, I hope I can write about Spring and the renewal of the earth with only our normal problems of pandemic and global warming. (At this point these are the lesser of the evils that hang over us.)

If you’d like some relief from the current conflict, check out my Haiku offering on the not much happier subject of Climate Crisis:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KWQ6SHK/

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

(

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, this coming month we can recover from the woes that plague us, and the following month will find us enjoying a beautiful, peaceful Spring.

 

 

Two Years and Counting!

 

February 2022 Blog

Stumped: A Haiku

Nothing comes to mind

But the frustrations of life

As we now live it.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

My mind grows tired. My heart grows weary. I’ve been vaccinated and boostered. I wear a mask everywhere I go. I see no end in sight.

I’m not sure we’ll ever be given the “All Clear”, And if we are, I’m not sure there will be a normal life to go back to. (Yep, I ended that sentence with a preposition. Pretty much, I don’t care anymore. It’s how people talk now anyway.)

I Should be used to the solitary lifestyle we now endure. As a writer, I’ve spent a lot of time alone in my own little world. But that was my choice, and I’ve always had the option and privilege to rejoin the human race at any time and share a smile and a hug with a another human being even raise a glass or two at a favorite local restaurant. I’m not doing any of that lately. I’m beginning to miss it.

Also I’ve found that the less social I am, the less inspired I am to explore new avenues of murder and mayhem.             It’s amazing what a chance encounter or new surroundings can inspire. Just seeing an interesting face or  place can lend inspiration to so much of one’s writing, even in the strange stories I tend to spend my ink on.

And I’m still spending ink on my “Sam Rock” sequel as well as my ”Chronicles of Acqueria” prequel. Hopefully they will stay on track to be published this spring and summer respectively.

Once again, Sam Rock will come up against Maerie Delaceroix and her murder of ravens. And in the Acquerian prequel, the birth of Acqueria will be expanded upon.

     The more I think about them, the more anxious I am to get back to work on them, so this will be a very short blog.

I hope with the coming of Spring, we will get back to a normal we can live freely with, if not the normal we were used to. I wish us all a save Winter’s end. I am certainly looking forward to a brighter summer minus the endless precautions we are still encumbered with.

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, this coming month we can recover from the Winter’s bleakness, and the following month will find us looking forward more freely to Spring.

 

 

Cheers To A Happier New Year!

 

January 2022 Blog

Season’s Supplication: A Haiku

I would not only

Pray for world peace, but health for

All this time of year.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Hopefully, we have rung in a happier New Year. We are certainly celebrating the world over. Hopefully, that will not come back to bite us in the end.

We deserve an end to the pain and suffering and dying of the last two years. And I am so tired of the isolation. I would love to hug somebody, see the smile on an unmasked face. At the moment, it seems like only a far flung dreams, and we are mired in an unending nightmare.

I should have written tons on my manuscripts in the year just past, but the inspiration has been little and more than a long time coming. Yet I persist and I will publish what I can this year.

When I do write, I love it because for the time I’m writing I am wrapped in a world where I have the control. I determine who is happy and who is miserable. I decide who lives and who dies and when and how. Even the weather is at my command. Oh, the power! I can feel it even just writing this. It’s wonderful feeling.

But, then I put the pen down and I’m back in the real world, wearing a mask and trying not to touch too many surfaces anywhere.

I haven’t been to a movie theater in two years. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to a restaurant in that time also. My shopping is limited to Walmart, the local grocery store, and Office Depot. The rest of my shopping is on line. Amazing how much you can spend with one click of the finger – and what you can find on Amazon.

We have not had a winter here yet. I’m sure we will have some bad weather in the next few months. We certainly could use the moisture. We’re already considered in drought conditions for the year ahead. Sounds like we are in for another grassless, flowerless summer. More hot and dry times ahead.

Actually, I’ve not heard much encouraging news about the upcoming months of the year we just embarked upon. All my hope is based on the belief that we’ve had enough, and we deserve better – much better.

I guess that makes me somewhat optimistic, which is not a trait I have an over-abundance of. “What could possibly go wrong?” is one of my favorite questions, which serves me well as a writer. It’s amazing what problems I can dream up. Unfortunately, life has thrown in its own answers, and they have not been pleasant.

I’m planning on spending more time with my pen and paper this year. Hope I have enough of life’s memories left that I can keep my writing interesting. I’m certainly not planning on making many new memories anytime soon.

I guess I’ll just hunker down and keep a low profile in the real world. I thank the internet gods for the ability to connect with people all over the world at anytime of the day or night as long as the power doesn’t go down – there’s that “What could possibly go wrong?” again.

Guess I’ll post this and get on with finding dastardly situations to embroil my heroes and heroines in. Smiling at that thought. Writing horror is good.

Here’s hoping again for a brighter and better New Year. Maybe I better light a few candles and say a few prayers.

Happy New Year to one and all!

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, this month we can recover from the holidays and next month will find us looking forward to a less restrictive spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 Tomorrow Has Come!

December 2021 Blog

Tomorrow Has Come: A Haiku

The time to do what

You put off is now. There will

Not be a better.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Today is yesterday’s tomorrow. The day I swore I would do “it”. Time to do “it”.

Starting to work early on my New Year’s resolutions. I feel I need to catch up and get super-organized before I can’t.

The Sam Rock sequel will be published next Spring, but I need to schedule and complete several more following that. I need to have a prolific year.

I also need to get all my pesky personal life in order.  Medical, insurance, financial. You know, all that stuff – just in case.

Time I guess also to start downsizing my possessions. I really, really, really don’t need all this stuff I have accumulated over these many years. I could never move this stuff again – even if I had to move (which I’m not anticipating any time soon).

I have a closet full of stuff I’ll never wear again and drawers full of gadgets I’ve totally forgotten I have.

 There are also boxes that are still packed from my last move (surely full of things I don’t need and will never use again).

Also, I’ve kept receipts and papers well past their get-rid-of date. The only things I don’t want to want to part with are the original drafts from my novels. I’m kind of fond of those pages.

My biggest problem is that I can’t past making plans to get stuff done to actually doing stuff. You know, that old three-step deal; (1) Conceive, (2) Plan (3) Execute. I’m great in the first two – not so hot in the third.

I’m trying to go back to scheduling my time, but I’m having trouble sticking to it. There are always distractions – including not wanting to jump out of bed in the morning to get started.

     Maybe it will help with winter coming on. I won’t be spending so much time outside. Maybe if I’m looking at what needs to be done, I’ll tackle it sooner. And then there’s the storage spaces we’re paying for. It would be nice to be able to save money this coming year.

Perhaps I’ll even have more brain space to write more and get to publishing faster. Sur couldn’t hurt. Maybe even have some fun next year, when the pandemic is finally over and we can all breathe freely again.

Hard to imagine, but we’ve been at this for two long years now. We’re still wearing masks and keeping our distances. And now we even have  a new and possibly more easily contracted variant ”Omicron”. When will it end? Would sure like to see more people embrace the vaccines that are available. It sure couldn’t hurt.

We actually went out the other day to a restaurant to celebrate my birthday and my friend’s . We went to lunch at our favorite place, which used to be packed for lunch every day. Now, it’s nearly empty. They have even down-sized the menu, and it’s printed on one sheet of paper for a one-time only use. Everyone is still friendly, but there are a lot of new faces, and like everywhere else in town, they are hiring.

No one seems to have the staff now-a-days to service even the most limited clientele.

Well, here’s hoping for a brighter and better New Year. We certainly deserve one – world-wide – all we’ve all been through.

Here’s hoping for a milder, gentler winter also. Not looking forward to nasty weather on top of everything else.

Happiest of New Year’s to us all!

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, this month we can enjoy our holidays and next month will find us actually embracing in a great New Year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

With Some Urgency!

 November 2021 Blog

Point of Reference: A Haiku

I have only the

Rest of my life to do what

I want to get done.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

Not that I have anything ominous hanging over my head, I just have another birthday coming up. They seem to be piling up ever more quickly. I’m grateful that they still are, yet wary of their cumulative effect.

In honor of my upcoming birthday and in light of the fact that November is NaNoWriMo month, I will finish my Sam Rock sequel and publish forthwith. There will be some unexpected twists and turns and a lead in to the third and final book in the series.

I’ve done NaNoWriMo for so many years, I’ve lost count. It’s always a good time to start or end a project. For one full month, I can concentrate on little but writing  and not feel guilty about it. Kind of like a busman’s holiday. (Now, that’s an old reference.)

My #NaNoWriMo Mascot "Rhimo":

Not sure what next year will bring, but I just got my Pfizer booster, (got my flu and pneumonia shots last month) so I should be relatively safe from the bugs out there. Hopefully, I can concentrate the whole next year on my writing.  Many more sequels, prequels, and chapbooks to come.

Also thinking about downsizing in the possessions department. I have so much stuff I’ll never use again and certainly wouldn’t move if I ever did that again. Also, I have stuff that’s not worth passing on. So, I’ll be sorting into three piles: Keep, Toss, and Give Away. Hope the last two are way bigger than the first.

As 2021 winds down, I’d love to announce that the pandemic is winding down with it. I guess it is, but I thought we’d be beyond masks and distancing by now. I guess we’re not.

So many things I’m sure will not go back to the way they were. And that’s not all to the good. Don’t know when, if ever, the Supply Chain problem will be solved. I’ve heard also that it’s going to be a cold winter with heating fuels being scarce and expensive.  Guess I’d best stock up on woolies – they will probably become scarce as well.

Wish I could turn the world off and and sit in my garrett (or backyard) and write, bit I do have to deal with the real world occasionally. Maybe I can make it a little less often – although with all the lockdowns and shutdowns, I have been pretty isolated. I should have been able to write a “War and Peace” length novel by now.

I guess it’s a matter of concentration. It’s hard to concentrate on anything these days, and more and more things are flinging about ready, willing and able to distract me.

Too bad I’m not enjoying them all. The one thing that does bring me joy is writing. So, I’m going to check my supply of pens and paper and get at it.

I wish you all a happy holiday season, starting now. Of course, we must be safe and careful, and wary of things we seldom had to worry about about before. But we must surely find some joy in what we do. Or what’s the point?

Okay, so not going down that rabbit hole. Going to  poise my pens for better things.

See you all on the other side of Thanksgiving and before Christmas. Whether you read or write, please enjoy it.

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for my publication announcements:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, this month we can enjoy our Thanksgiving and next month will find us looking forward to a Joyous Noel to be followed by the happiest of New Years.

 

If Not Now, When? If Not Me, Who?

 

October 2021 Blog

Point of Reference: A Haiku

“Strike while the iron is

Hot!” is lost now on those who

Neither brand nor iron.

by Ann Wilmer-Lasky

 

This is my month for old bromides. Along with the title, I’ll add: “Sufficient unto the day are the problems thereof.” To me, that’s far more dire than: “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” My personal short version of them all is: “Now! Before it’s never!”

I probably should put these all on 3x5 cards and post them all over the house, but I never seem to “get around to it”.

I’ve heard these things all my life, and until lately, I’ve just brushed them off. Now, they seem more important and pressing than ever, since my time to “do it later” is becoming more and more restricted. Seems like “I’ve got the rest of my life” isn’t that much time any more.

And in whatever time I have left, I need to publish at least half-a-dozen more novels and an equal number of poetry chapbooks. Guess I better “get cranking”! (OK, we don’t do that anymore, either.)

How about “A stitch in time”? I never could figure out the rest of it – “saves nine” didn’t make much sense to me as a child and still doesn’t all these years later.

Some of these would work well in my Sam Rock novels. That’s the time period I remember them from, but probably not in many of my other novels. I include references to them in my Haiku chapbooks more as explanations to the past than anything.

But for most, I think I should “let sleeping dogs lie”, which is still a good idea for sleeping dogs. They have a tendency to snap when they are startled.

After the Sam Rock sequel is done, I’m thinking of putting together a “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade” chapbook on life as I know it. I’m sure a lot of bromides will find their way in, in some form or other. The more I think about it, the better it sounds. There’s sure been plenty of “Life’s Lemons” these last few years to provide a lot of “Lemonade”. Not much sweetener, though. We just do the best we can.

Hoping already for a better next year, even as I hear news about there being yet another Covid variant discovered. I’m ready for an end to it all already. In the meantime, I’m going nowhere and doing very little, I’ll keep writing. It does “pass the time” or “fill it” as Norman Bates says of his taxidermy. (One of my favorite movies – watching it in the background as we speak)

Think I’ll end this now and enjoy “Psycho” while keeping in mind the immortal lyrics “Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think.”

Until next time, read and write to your heart’s content. My eclectic collection of reading matter may take your mind off things. Enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/author/annwilmerlasky

As always, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there or look for the publication announcement:

https://twitter.com/awlasky

https://www.facebook.com/ann.wilmerlasky

Hopefully, next month will find us on top of this thing, but that’s what I said the last several months, and it hasn’t happened yet. However, I am still hoping...