Uncle Eric's Last Jar of Blackcurrant Jelly

Latest story idea, and I think I like it.  A very rich man passes away, and his horrible, money-grubbing relatives are after everything.  He leaves his entire estate to charity, but has given his adopted grandnephew (the son of his dearly departed niece Angelique) a chance to explore the estate to find the one thing that would mean the most to him. 
It's in the works, along with constant work on the ridiculous vampire/hockey tale I'm writing.  So silly, but so much fun.

MADD Canada

MADD Canada has just given me permission to tell the world that I'm donating a dollar for every book sold to their cause.  This is a very important group and message for me, and one day I'll go into detail about it all.  I miss my brother every day, and that's all I'll say about it now.
Thanks, MADD, for everything you do.

Pre-school t-minus: 4 days

My boy's heading off to pre-school very soon, and I am desperately trying to come to terms with it.  We got his haircut for it just yesterday, as per his request, and he looks so much like a little man now I can hardly handle it. 
I'm being ridiculous.  It's two-and-a-half hours two days a week. 
The thing that gets to me is that this is the first step in a long, long road where I don't get to see him all day, every day.  Maybe the stay-at-home dad thing has set me up for emotional turmoil, but I've only been doing it for a couple of months. 
School for 13 years?  At least?  And then society expects them to move out and get on their own two feet.
Who set this up? 
He'll love it.  It's for him, and he is so excited.
I'll just cry in the van and sing 'Cat's In the Cradle.'

What is this life?

I'm writing a tale about a nasty girl named Anastasia who has a very strong dislike for bugs.  She really is a piece of work, and I'm having trouble not wanting her to be devoured by the bugs by the end.  I may have to adjust a few bits here and there.
My vampire/hockey novel, written simply because I thought it would be funny, is taking shape now.  No sultry vampires here, people.  Plus, there's hockey.  You can't go wrong.
On the other side of things, the business side, I'm talking with the Nanaimo public library about doing a book event/reading there.  Very exciting!
Oh poo, Andrew's just ditched a board game all over himself.  Must go.

Writing plans

I'm really trying in earnest to make this writing thing happen now, as you all might have noticed  (it might just be me still, but at least I'm getting some writing practice on this thing) and I've broken down my day into various percentages:

96 % - Kid Watch
1 % - Quality Time with my darling wife
1 % - Blog
1 % - Short Stories
1 % - Novels

As the boys get older, the Kid Watch time will be taken up by them going to school (something I am definitely not ready for yet).  We'll see how this little schedule goes for now.
I'm having a good time with all this so far, and have sold 8 (eight) copies of Seamus & Tessa so far!  Hurrah for everything!
Cheers friends.

5 AM

A plaintive snort echoes throughout the bedroom, and my heart sinks.  Sleep is about to fly away, gone for another 18 hours  A tiny version of myself, maybe a tiny version of my wife, is peering at me through the bars of the crib in which he is SUPPOSED to be sleeping.  Not so.  I roll over, hoping that if he doesn't register the eye contact, he'll go back to sleep until at least 6.  Six is a human hour to wake up.  5 is not.  Five is when Hell wakes up.
Not that I'm calling my son Hell.
It is not to be.  The child has seen me.  He springs to his feet and grabs onto the side of the crib.  Reefing on it with all 24 1/2 pounds of sheer baby power, he's one or two extra-incredible jolts away from ripping the very wall from its hinges.  I have no choice but to hoist the beast from his cage. 
"Daddy?"
The brother of the razorwire has heard the call of the wild, and it's time to head downstairs for peanut butter and Nutella.  I might even make them some breakfast while I'm at it.

Dadhood

As well as being a writer, I'm a dad.  In fact, I'm a dad first, then a writer.  My boys are first and foremost in my mind every minute of every day, and it is because of them that I most want to write.  A job like this, where I can work around their schedules, is the greatest chance I can have to make a life that I would have wanted growing up.  A parent at my beck & call any time of day?  That's the best! 
Right now, my eldest boy is gearing up for pre-school.  On one hand, my heart is breaking because my little boy is already heading off to school, albeit for two-and-a-half hours two days a week.  On the other, he's going to love it so much because he's the coolest kid in town (not even biased a little bit) and can't wait to meet all the other kids.  It's a good thing, but smelly old dad might shed a few when he drops the little man off.
My youngest is currently addicted to blueberries.  I swear to God he threw down a half-pound of blueberries BEFORE dinner.  I'm impressed more than anything.
Let's talk parenthood.  Dads?  Soon-to-be dads?  Mums?  Anyone, really.  Books and kids, that's what this is all about here at Mahervolous Books.
Peace y'all, and talk to you soon.

Book Launch of the Century!

At least, I'd like to think so.  I'm happy and very proud of 4 years of work finally going somewhere.  It is my dearest dream to be able to write from home so I can be here for my boys no matter what they need, whenever they need it.  Oh yeah, and for my wife, too.
Seamus & Tessa: The World is Just the Beginning had been rattling around in my brain for a while, but I never got around to sitting down and writing it.  Pure procrastination there, and no doubt about it.  Something happened that shook me to my very core, and that got me to realize that nothing happens unless you do something about it.  You can live your life, or let it live itself and you just grab on for the ride.
4 years later, Seamus & Tessa (and James AND Andrew) are born. 
I hope that whoever has read it, is going to read it, wants to read it, or just wants to chat feels free to drop me a line anytime.  I'm up at 5 nearly everyday, making coffee, baby cereal and a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich. 
Here's hoping for a long and happy ride!