From a novel called Bob Smith, which is coming as soon as I can whip it into shape and get a cover designed.

It's a comic literary fantasy, if you're into that sort of thing.

#booksky

"One of my first observations about traveling to a mysterious land was that the residents of the mysterious land don’t think anything is mysterious, and that they don’t immediately appreciate how much of a mystery the mysterious things are to someone who isn’t from the mysterious land."

Right on!

At the risk of sounding like my 91-year-old mother, I don’t know how that picture got there.

We could’ve avoided all of this if, back in 2016, enough people would’ve had the critical thinking skills to ask themselves “What does Fox News have to gain by telling me that Hillary Clinton is a bad person?“

I've never punched anyone in all my 65 years but I would make an exception for that asshole.

Bottom of laptop screen showing that I’ve reached 77,777 words on my novel.

#booksky #literaryfiction

I just happened to look down at the word count on my novel in progress:

#Hungary

Can we get JD Vance to go put the Trump kiss of death on Putin next?

#booksky #AImostlysucks

I just wrote the phrase "dying embers in the fireplace" in my work in progress. Word double-blue-lined the word "embers" but I couldn't imagine why.

I clicked. Word said "Double-check that you're using the right noun."

And then suggested "embarrassing."

#8647

"I remain married to a felon who raped American girls and drops bombs on Iranian ones, but MY morality and integrity are above reproach." --complicit liar with a stupid little voice

I can guarantee that if my wrote Senator Chuck Grassley about this, within the week I would receive a 5-10 paragraph email explaining why the F-word is good and why trump’s reference to Allah is just an example of his impish sense of humor that we couldn’t possibly appreciate.

This all could’ve been avoided if, back in 2016, enough people would’ve had the critical thinking skills to ask “what does Fox News have to gain by telling me that Hillary Clinton is a bad person?”

4fuxake speaks the truth.

There's a talking raven in this one, so it's got that going for it.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.

There's mystery and adventure afoot, however, as an unknown faction threatens to disrupt the land's cherished cultural traditions.

Ever since that version back in '83, I've referred to this story as a comic literary fantasy. Which might be why no publishers or agents ever wanted to read it.

In a nutshell: Bob Smith (the title character) is an unssuming young college student who is drawn into a parallel world in which many history's greatest literary figures have been granted immortality.

Previous versions were funny but I could never get the ending to feel anything other than contrived. This time I've discarded 75 percent of the original plot, and that alone is going to make it a much better novel.

(Oh, and I've replaced the discarded part with something better.)

#booksky

Update on my novel in progress: I just passed the 70,000-word mark and expect to have this draft done by the end of April.

I've been wanting to tackle this one for a long time: It's one final shot at rewriting my first novel, Bob Smith, originally written in the summer of 1983.

Back when I was approaching agents cap in hand, I said it was better to have five unpublished novels than five unwritten ones. Hang in there. You can’t win if you don’t play, and by getting your book out there, you’re in the game.

Oh I’ve got tons of ideas already

Thanks kindly!

Dylan at the Orpheum And other thoughts on His Bobness in concert

#bobdylan

open.substack.com/pub/johnmdon...

Speaking as writer who’s still kind of hoping to find his audience on Substack, that tracks.

Tortoise-shell mama cat protecting her sleeping kitten

#cats

Our tortie Etta with a protective paw around one of her new kittens.

Thinking about business names…

In my opinion, there’s a big difference between Chuck Grassley “All I care about is money and people who have it” old and Bernie Sanders “I’m trying to make the country better for everyone” old.

I’m 60,000 words into my work in progress, but I’ve already written this for the copyright page:

“No AI was used in the writing of this novel and honestly it’s a goddamn shame we live in an age where that’s even a possibility.”

I remember that week when Iowa had a film industry.

I’ve read enough James Ellroy to believe in the ruthlessness of powerful scumbags.

Oh, no, sir! Please don't withhold your kiss of death!