Old Hat 2004
Blog entries from the year 2004.

November 2004: First, I must apologize for having made no further headway on the Karns Gray sequel, The Canard Solution. As indicated in the September 2004 entry I am still roughly about 93% into the novel. The delay is the result of my meeting the Publisher's deadline for a "co-authored" novel on which I've spent nearly 2000 hours of the last four or five months working from sunrise until the wee hours of the morning. Don't get me wrong-it was blast! It was a heck of a concept on which I thoroughly enjoyed working. The resulting story isn't the typical "Tolleson" character study, but it is a bang-up plot boiler.

I actually took time away from the keyboard today and stopped in my old high school (R.L. Paschal) to look at the wall mural I painted during the year of (and year following) my graduation. Okay, so it wasn't exactly a vacation, but it was the first time I've been more than two miles from my house in awhile!

Everything else is pretty much the same. I hope to finish up The Canard Solution shortly, and then turn my attention back to efforts regarding The Gray Stopgap movie. In related news, the publisher has incorporated a film rights company called Lighthouse Entertainment, L.C.C., and perhaps that will cross paths with The Gray Stopgap. Stay tuned for more.

With regarding to writing, the Karns Gray Sequel title has changed to The Canard Solution. I'm still projecting a mid-2005 release date, but perhaps a tad latter. In the mean time, if you've seen the Main page of this site, you know that I am now involved in co-authoring the first novel in a new series. I'll have more about this later.

As is obvious, the site has underwent yet another change. What can I say? It is a process of evolution. Drop a line with regard to whether the site is improving.

January 2004: The Gray Stopgap received another "Staff Recommendation" at a third Barnes & Noble bookstore, this one on University Drive in Fort Worth, Texas. If you would like to read the Press Release, there is a link to it in the news feed on the MAIN page of this site and on the NEWS page.

The last year or two has seen MAJOR changes in my life, including my aunt and my mother having passed away. A real estate deal necessitated moving from my 13-year residence and my employment of 13 plus years--along with a relationship of something like 15 years--ALL went the way of the dodo. Throw into the mix that Hollywood has done its share by being coquettish with regard to The Gray Stopgap and you have a minute sample taken from the tip of my iceberg. And so, in the midst of all of this turmoil--and more--I'm having to concentrate on marketing the novel, writing a film treatment, writing a sequel and keeping the wolf away from the door. I enjoy writing, but circumstances aren't always conducive to so doing. In other words, it is NOT always easy, and until recently I never really reflected upon how important "peace of mind" was to my creative process. But still, given the disheveled nature of things, I've managed to remain fairly unflappable. I'm not whining, mind you. Just letting you know why I've been slow in getting new work out.

On The Gray Stopgap movie front, changes continue almost monthly. While there is no news from my L.A. publicist, the publisher is negotiating several Lighthouse titles with a film maker who will be "representing" those titles elsewhere (as I understand it). In relation to this I have just finished creating a three page "movie proposal." Meanwhile, the film treatment is nowhere near finished.

By way of transition, nothing has developed out of the events referenced in the July 2003 entry.