We all fall short

"Men can act brutally under certain circumstances, but their conscience pursues them.Certainly there are men to whom love, sympathy and conscience are alien, but they are mentally ill." (The Biology of Peace and War)

Mental ill or evil? I believe that given the right set of circumstances, anyone of us is capable of behaving in a way which we would not have thought possible. We can't say for sure how we would act if such and such an event happened, or if we were caught in a particular situation. We can suppose and hope for action commensurate with our character, but who knows? People both overestimate and underestimate themselves frequently.

Some people who do bad things are clearly mentally unwell, while others are evidently bad people. We all have the potential for good and evil. How many evil deeds are required for a person to be deemed evil? Do acts of charity and selflessness wipe out the stain of what Christians call 'sin'? Who decides who is a good person and who is a bad person? Who has enough knowledge to make such a judgement?

We have all fallen short of the Glory of God.

Stuck Again

Lovesick is like an old lawnmower: sometimes it fires up quickly and runs efficiently, other times it starts then coughs and splutters into silence, and on occasions it doesn't fire up at all. I'm stuck again at the moment, that is, nearly two weeks now with no time and nothing new to contribute, no spark of desire or imagination. When I eventually finish it, it will be my greatest triumph.

In other news, I had two short stories accepted for publication this week. One of my goals is to hit 50 short story publishing credits in 2015, and perhaps celebrating the milestone by publishing an anthology. What do you think?

A Trip to Somewhere

I started back at work on Monday after a three week break for Christmas/New Year which wasn't quite long enough. That always seems to be the case. I had  numerous family gatherings -my nana and daughter both have birthdays in early January- watched lots of cricket, including going to two games, went swimming often (beach and pool), and I took a trip to somewhere.

I'd like to tell you about the trip which involved flying to a destination, buying a car and driving back, but I am currently plagued with all manner of apprehension vis a vis sharing my personal life online. My online presence has always been about two things: fun and book sales.

Book sales? Still waiting for those. Fun? Some of what I call fun is now being deemed insensitive and offensive which leaves me wondering what to say and what not to say. I have always considered myself to be a very circumspect person; cautious in word and deed, but it seems I have either been deluding myself or I have undergone a radical change. In any case, I find myself bridled, and I fear this is no good thing.

On the book front, my first novel, Devolution, will be re published with a new cover this year, and of course A Muddy Red River is also due for publication in 2015.

W.A.S.

Happy to report a very productive back end to 2014 and marching on nicely into 2015. Lovesick is now 27 chapters strong. I am still, however, wrestling with the story, wondering sometimes what I'm doing, where I'm going. It is much different than anything I have previously written, to the point where I wonder if it will be recognisable as me. Of course it will, and I have high hopes for this one but that's nothing new?