Dia de los Muertos

Day of the Dead is a time of reflection after the wild thrills of Samhain both being times when spirits walk the earthly plane. Honoring the dead was my partner, Bo’s idea. Although he looks classically Irish, he is half Mexican by birth. We decided to do the day proper and created a tableaux in the window sill of our relatives that have passed beyond. His idea was spurred by the recent passing of his grandparents in an unexpected and quick succession. The display is cool with small framed pictures, decorated skulls, gourds, marigold flowers, and candles. I have to admit it has a certain power similar to lighting a candle for the deceased at a church or putting flowers on a relative’s grave at a cemetery. Our culture has a fascination and fear of death so it is interesting to explore a perspective of veneration and love.

On writing: This year, 2021, has been a time of slow change—an emergence into the strange, post pandemic world. A lot of alliances have shifted and honestly, I have felt the need to question everything from work environments to unhealthy friendships. Thoughts of mortality are good for restructuring priorities for sure!

Aside from personal reflection, it has also been a good year for taking inventory of my writing. I am experimenting with ads and have released the core of my first wave into hardback this year along with some edits and cover changes on other editions. Basically cleaning house as I prepare to move forward with the second wave of my writing. Currently, I am finishing up my revisions on the third Rebel’s Edge manuscript (the other two are done) and will press on with new submission packets. My true crime, coming of age, horror novel Lane Bowden 1973 has also had a new revision. If I find no other avenue, I may release it on the 50th anniversary of the true crime it is based on—The Houston Mass Murders—sometime around August of 2023.

My next revision is going to be a new draft of Future-Thrill, my cyberpunk novel I finished during lockdown. And I am making progress on my giallo screenplay, The Modulator. I am truly ready to share new stories, it just takes so much freaking time doing it alone. One way or another, I am going to shake things up next year.

DS

Out of respect for the dead, I am only including a portion of the tableaux with my relatives.