Updates

I've been busy lately. Its that time of year for me at work where we're finalizing a lot of the new products for next year. So I'm getting a lot of testing done and going back and forth with manufacturers overseas on little things like packaging and pricing and artwork. Beyond that, I've got a ton of pokers in the fire that I'm working diligently to try and finish. But here are a few updates on previously mentioned issues...

Kenya - The trip dates are finally set. I'll be leaving here on Friday, February 5th and returning Thursday, February 25th. The cost for the airfare is $1407, of which I've managed to raise $407. So I'm $1000 short. Darn this economy!

Dane - We've resolved many of the technical issues and have been filming three of the past four weekends. This last weekend was our first with sound - and everything not only worked perfectly but looked pretty darn good too. It was the first time that I was able to "see" some of the movie finally coming together. Once we're done filming this current segment (it's a chase scene) we're going to do a rough cut and put it online as a trailer - hopefully on our new website.

Novel - I'm getting really close to finishing up the plot points for the third and final book in the trilogy. I'm doing the main synopsis for each of the two remaining books because the story is so complicated that I want to be sure that I don't back myself into a corner when I start writing the first book. Several things have already changed in the first book as a result of all this plotting (nothing major... just a few minor plot points) with the overall effect being a very strong story for the entire trilogy. I'm now just "casting" the final book, wrapping up some loose plot lines, and then I'll figure out how to make the third book entertaining, as well as devilishly clever. After that, I start writing. I'm only expecting about 120 days to complete a first draft of the first book once I get started (these things practically write themselves ;)

Other than that, I have a few other things to report on this week. I've been reading a great book by Steve Alcorn about the nature of Evil. Very fascinating. I've also been ruminating on the nature of turning 40, the idea of a legacy, and other terribly interesting topics. So come back again later and we can talk of cabbages and kings and other things.