I'm back with a new blog called Donegal Chronicles Redux to address my now living and writing in Provincetown. It seems best to keep them separate but linked since that's how it feels anyhow. The novel I was working on here is finished, sort of, and on the back burner because I moved on to a new one, the third in a series, which I think is will be the first to be published. Please join me by clicking the link, I would love to connect again and see you there!

Still here, still writing, back from my first trip to New York since moving away, interesting to find out that while I desperately miss my friends, I don’t want to be there. Am in the middle of totally rewriting Kitty’s chapters and creating several new ones for her as well. Even worked on it while stuck on the bus somewhere in Connecticut in the middle of a snowstorm.
I’m finding it much harder to focus on the story now that I no longer live there, my real life demands more of my attention I suppose, to be expected, it has been such a big change, or perhaps I’m watching too much television now that I have cable.
But Kitty is definitely in my head the way Danny used to be; I wake up thinking about her and have my notebook wherever I go. Which is good, I wasn’t happy with her tone and content, now she balances the interaction between myself and Danny; all of it will be changing.

Hi there, remember me? Been gone a long time with this move but I’m settled in and back to working on the book. Finished Danny’s last chapter and have a typed version of my character’s last one in the computer now too. May tweak both of them down the road but it is Kitty I’m interested in at the moment.
Had an intriguing interaction with this guy who reminded me of Danny as a young man the night before I left New York. He even helped pack the truck and was the last person to say goodbye as we drove off. The whole thing was quite curious, we’d never spoken before, and I wasn’t sure what to think about it since I’m a good 30 years older than him. Knew it was part of the story, but only this week realize how to use it for Kitty.
He’s going to be friendly with Danny because they’re so similar and she doesn’t like it. He stirs up her old resentments about Danny’s behavior before they reconciled. He also inadvertently brings up a secret she’s kept since she was in jail. So stay tuned, it’ll be worth it.

Checking in, very busy, almost frantic, trying to get moved out by November 1st. Have been in this apartment for 30 years, lots of junk to deal with, getting good and dirty, especially in the room I use as a studio. Threw out so much last Sunday, the super in my building told me to stop until the pile, which looked like a yard sale, got taken away by passerbys.
Have also been busy with the legal aspects of the move, signing the lease on the Cape and sending a deposit, seeing the lawyer here and getting those documents in order. Get my first cut of the money from escrow on Tuesday, and then I get to shop.
In the meantime, I have sold some furniture, still too much left, but I’m working on that. Have a whole section in the living room set up so people can rummage through things and hopefully take some home. Even have a selection of art I’m not in love with, and have already torn up a 6” stack of work on paper I never liked. Written a bit, mostly about the process, in my voice and Danny’s, but I need to stay focused on reality now, I can write all I want once I get to the Cape.

Got a little writing done this morning, Danny's new chapter as the story comes to an end. Already have the first draft of my side of it; how I’m about to move, he has his own opinions.
It’s kind of a relief to start writing again, went at least a week what with the chaotic turn things have taken. Most of the living room furniture is sold, some of it is already gone, and I have thirty years of memories and assorted junk to deal with.
Threw out some photos of the man I thought as the love of my life, such bad taste, and today I came across a bunch mail from him tied up in a ribbon. Really. Didn’t even read them. So much stuff, anyone want twenty-three years worth of National Geographic magazines?

Back from a quick trip to the Cape, where in two days I found a job that is a ten-minute walk from the cute little apartment that will be mine to move into on October 15th. It is very close to the water, not to mention the library and post office, and I have several friends who live in town.
I know, sounds impossible, it’s the final chapter to the story, although I’m on the fence about whether to write it into the book or not. Much like the part where my assailant is paralyzed from the waist down and in a wheelchair, it’s almost too much.
Next on the agenda is to start packing, which really means eliminating practically everything I have accumulated in thirty years of living in this apartment. Daunting task, but have already sold a few paintings, and somebody was very happy to take half of the heap of clothing that was the result of yesterday’s closet purge. She may or may not give me money the next time I see her, but I’m more interested in someone having things than how much I’ll get for them.

I know, it’s been weeks since I posted, total rollercoaster at my house. Have finished most of this go round of editing. Have one more new chapter to write for Danny that will end the book, and then I’m going to edit it in sequence instead of by character.
Big news is, actually I have two big things, but first is I received the transcript from my assailant’s parole hearing and he is in complete and utter denial. But the commissioner who I spoke to first chaired the hearing and beat him up with things that came directly from my testimony. Having been heard, believed and then validated was very rewarding. Made it almost worth going through the ordeal.
But the other big news is, since my financial situation suffered through all this, my landlord has offered to buy me out of my lease as I’ve fallen behind and it is a big enough chunk of money for me to abandon ship and finally move to Cape Cod. Like next month. Paperwork still has to be signed, but I’m going up next week to look at apartments. As they say - don’t quit before the miracle happens.