Trying to look on the bright side

 Okay, before I get to what's been on my mind of late, let's catch up on the great Mickey Visits The Vet adventure.

After some difficulty, we did finally manage to see to it that he received his booster vaccination. I gave him  pills that were supposed to reduce his anxiety in a cascade fashion, whatever that means, but I didn't really see much of that, to be honest.

That was until after his ordeal was over and he was snoring on the couch at home.

Anyway, that's it done for another year or so. Let's hope he doesn't take anything wrong with him before then because I don't think I can handle the stress.

Perhaps I should have taken the pills. And I do think I need them, not simply because of the Mickster's antics.

I've mentioned before that I now have two series to write, my continuing Rebecca Connolly mysteries and a new historical series featuring an adventurer called Jonas Flynt. That means there will be times when I'm juggling not just two plots but also two time periods and two differing writing styles. But hey, that's showbiz, right?

At the moment I'm writing the fifth Rebecca book (the fourth hits the UK in July while the third will be for sale in the USA in the fall. The concludes the word from our sponsor). I'm also researching the second Flynt (the first will be out here at home in September. Another word, another sponsor). While I'm writing that I will be researching the sixth Rebecca. And so on, and so forth for as long each series lasts.

Is it ideal? No, but it's simply the way these particular cookies have crumbled and I am not going to insult writers who may not even have one series on the go by complaining.

There are other projects in which I am involved. A couple of TV documentaries, always stressful to me because I'm neurotic. A podcast. Not to mention the day to day pressures that we all have. And, of course, the situation the world is in, which is very worrying indeed.

Is it any wonder that I take a wee drink now and again? As in right now - and again soon.

But I have a lot to be thankful for. I have a home and I've not been forced from it by an invading army. Energy prices are ballooning but I'm not shivering in a cardboard box under a bridge. I'm healthy, as far as I know (physically, at least. Mentally I'm a mess. Hey, I'm a writer and we're all a little out of kilter). I have good friends. I have Mickey, troublesome though he can be, and Tom, the cat, who listen to my moaning without judgement. Or, if they do, they keep it to themselves because they know I'm the one who dishes out the food.

When times are dark, and they are, we need to look for the light in our lives and hope that it spreads a little.