I noted that the last correspondence from this venue was sent in November of last year. It's not because you all haven't crossed my mind.
We are remaining steady at 168 members of The Royal Order of Dooryard Visitors. They are (or you are) the folks who regularly contribute to the BuyMeACoffee program. We cannot forget those who support us loyally thoughout the year while not being a member of TROODV. All of you have been so helpful, and I want to send a note of thanks.
The costs associated with the website have risen, but not so much that we are having any trouble at all meeting the expenses. That's because of you. I could not run a blogsite, and write the books and Facebook posts without your assistance. I mean it.
Writing for a living is an interesting chore. You are not providing anyone with life's important necessities, but simply hoping to entertain a bit to make life a little better. I get so many great notes from folks who follow the blog, and it renews your spirit that what you are doing is important to someone.
Again, it could not be done without ALL of you. Thank you.
As for an update on my writing; I am writing the next book. It's locked me down this winter, and I try to focus on that for at least three to four hours a day. Some days the time I need isn't available. I have determined that if I can put at least one-thousand good words down per day, I am happy. I am sure I type at least three thousand words a day, but I edit constantly, and that makes me a slow writer. Over the last couple of weeks, I really can't manage more that five-hundred words that I believe are worth saving. It's a strange space to be in.
It is a fiction book, and dialogue is not something that I have ever written extensively. That makes me slower than I normally am. I can write you a seven-hundred-fifty word essay in about twenty minutes, but it's harder—for me—to do that when working on a book.
I cannot tell you why that is, but that's a fact that I live with. I know my editor is a patient man, but we will see how patient those who are his bosses will be. I really should have been done by now. I'm not.
None of that is your problem, but you have been a big part of the place that I reside and abide; I just wanted you to know.
We went through a deep freeze over the weekend, it was an incredible cold, but today it feels like a heatwave. We are already well above twenty-degrees, so Ellie and I can take another mile-and-a-half jaunt through the woods. The snow pack has firmed up on the trail we walk, and that will keep my feet from post-holing into the drifts. Yes, I know I could wear snowshoes, but the terrain doesn't really call for it for more than a few minutes during each walk. I chose to wear my Red Wings. Ellie is much slower when she is dragging her tummy in the snow. It's been a good break for us from being in the house so much.
I hope to get to the camp in the woods next week, probably to ice fish for a couple of days. I think I can write at the camp as well as I can write anywhere. I'll just need to take the time to stoke the woodstove more often, but it's not a bad problem to have.
From here, that's what I have. If you have not reviewed my books, please take a moment to write something on the sites that allow it. Amazon is a good spot, but I know some don't like to use it. Those reviews make the books move more than all the talk that I do with you. So, if you have a chance, I would appreciate it.
Thanks for your monetary support, and for those who sign on a year at a time to do it. It makes projecting where we need to be so much easier. I hope in the coming year to spend some money to upgrade the website to allow for booksales and tees, but we are not quite there yet.
Thanks for your friendship and support.
Your friend,
Tim
(Ellie, too)
Today's photo was taken by my good friend, Katy England. She's a pal, and a heck of creator. She gave me her blessing to use this photo, taken this week as she drove up the Penobscot River to get to her real job. Thanks, Katy. 