No, I don’t mean the end of the world, though with the way things are going, that wouldn’t surprise me much. 13 months ago to be exact, I wrote the first words of what would become Molly’s Song. The heavy substantive edits are finished as of a few days ago. I have to make a couple of more passes over the manuscript to clean up a few things, but it’ll be off for the copyedit in September. So it is getting closer to being finished. From this point on, things move fairly quickly. Soon enough, it’ll be time for me to tackle the dreaded query letter/synopsis. I find it amusing that I can rattle off a 104K word novel with ease but suffer paralyzing writer’s block when contemplating a 500 word synopsis.

Looking back over the 13 months that have passed, I have to say quite a lot has happened. Last summer, I lost a cousin in July unexpectedly. In August, I had a flare up of pain that lasted for a couple of months along with some mental health issues. Still, the fall semester was a good one for me, despite all that. I finished the first draft to Molly’s Song the day after Thanksgiving. Christmas Break was good, but then came the spring semester and The Rona. If you followed my “Journal of a Pandemic Year” posts, then you know all the craziness that ensued with us during that time. When I was a kid, my mother once threatened to slap me into the middle of next year. I’m tempted to see if that offer is still on the table.

Now I am going to leave you with some music connected with the novel. The first is a song that I think would make a perfect theme song if the novel is ever made into a Netflix/Amazon/Hulu series.

Molly sings a piece of this song at one point in the novel.

An Irish language song referenced in the book.

Is Molly a Fenian? This song should answer that question.

And here’s one that is a recurring theme, if you will, in the book.

Lastly, though this exact lyrical version of this song wasn’t around in the 1860s as near as I can tell, it still evokes the spirit of the book quite well.

So there you have it, Dear Readers.

Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

L.H.

Dear Readers,

I have a special treat for you today. I was able to conduct an interview with my favorite podcasters, Rachel and David from the All Bad Things podcast. If you like stories about disasters, both natural and man made, you HAVE to follow ABT. They have new episodes out every Monday and also have a lively Facebook Discussion group full of some really cool people.

So lets get to the interview!

(My comments in italics).

Tell us a little bit about yourselves and your feline co-hosts.

. David is from the fine area of Massena, New York, which is basically Canada. In his adult life, he’s lived primarily in both of the Carolinas, with some additional time spent back in New York in Rochester. He works in amino acid production, which is not particularly easy to explain (I still don’t know exactly what he does). I am Miami-born and (mostly) raised, unconventionally homeschooled (read: I didn’t really “school” between elementary school and college) and own my own tax practice, which I started right around the same time as we started the podcast. We both love music; David’s a drummer and I’m a bass player. Our cats are Jesse Pinkman (the elder statesman) and Demetrius. Jesse is a tuxedo-pattern Maine Coon and Demi is a little ginger tabby. I picked out Jesse just after David and I started dating. I went to a local cat shelter, where they put you in a room of cats roaming free so you can see which one you like. Jesse was the only one who kind of ignored me, which I appreciated, because I wanted an independent cat. It was a complete ruse; he follows me into the bathroom and whines when I don’t pay sufficient attention to him. As for Demitrius, we went on vacation during the summer about four years ago, and when we returned – even though we had hired a pet sitter to come around twice a day – it was clear Jesse had been quite lonely. We decided what he needed was a brother (we did not consult Jesse on this, I’m sure he would want that noted). This one would be David’s choice. We went back to the shelter, and the second David sat down in the Room o’ Cats, Demetrius jumped right into his lap, as if to claim him. He continues to do so to this day. We love them both very much, but they are both total brats we affectionately refer to as the “little shittles”.

(note: Demetrius is Anastasia Colleen Hutchison’s long distance boyfriend)

What made you decide to get into podcasting? And specifically disaster podcasting?

We’re both morbidly interested in disasters, so I pitched the idea of doing a podcast to David. At the time, we couldn’t really find many/any disaster-related podcasts (we’re pretty sure Jennifer started Disaster Area a little before we launched, but we didn’t find her pod doing our initial research in spring 2017). There was one (apologies, I don’t remember the name or the person who did it) that was very technical and well-done, but we were looking to do something more in a comedic vein a la The Dollop (which we’re both fans of) and My Favorite Murder (which I’m a fan of). Turns out there’s a reason people don’t generally do a comedy podcast about disasters: we get a lot of shit for it.

(They do get shit for it, but I love hearing them roast 1 Star Reviewers!)

Given that you both have jobs outside of podcasting, what goes in to preparing and producing an episode? Do you record on certain days of the week? How do you decide about which disasters to cover?

. We pound out a new episode every single Monday (at least! we’ve done some minisodes in between), so our research isn’t weeks-long deep dives, especially since this is 100% a hobby. That being said, we do put several hours into it each week. Some episodes we’re prouder of than others, but we’re also proud of our consistency. The research is really the most work-intensive part of the process, as the recording is – especially after three years – just us reading the research and being ourselves. We don’t really put any time into “production”, to be completely honest. Listeners hear 99% of everything we record in the released episode (the 1% being the dead air at the beginning or end we trim off). It didn’t start that way; we edited the hell out of our first episodes . . . that quickly went by the wayside. As for the topics, I’m basically the one who just decides what topics to cover and when. There is a method to the madness; I try to vary the subjects, locations, types of disasters, etc., to keep things interesting.

What’s the favorite episode you have produced? Have you done an episode or episodes that was/were particularly difficult due to the subject matter?

David’s favorite episode is Action Park! because it was a fun, bonkers diversion from the usual mass-casualty, dark topics we cover. I’m a fan of the episodes I know I worked really hard on, like Hillsborough, Grenfell Tower, and the HIV/AIDS series. Most of our topics are difficult on a psychological level (that’s why we do a comedy podcast; we’d get too depressed otherwise), but Hillsborough and the Humboldt Broncos Bus Crash were the saddest to us personally. We do try to find any possible silver lining or lesson learned, if only for our own psyches.

(My favorite episodes they have done were on the Grenfell Tower Fires)

The podcast has a lively following with an active Facebook group. Did or does it surprise you how many people are interested in listening to stories about bad things?

We’re not so surprised that people are interested in disasters, but we are surprised people are interested in hearing about them from us! Disasters seem true crime-adjacent, and true crime is HUGELY popular, so the topic itself being popular isn’t too terribly surprising. Though, admittedly, disasters probably don’t carry as many interested followers because of how grim they get so fast, and how little vindication, justice, or blame there is to mete out. Sometimes an accident is just an accident. I think our Facebook group is pretty active because we don’t worry about censoring too much. Nothing’s really off topic and our only rule is “don’t be a dick”.

(The ABT Facebook Discussion Group is my favorite Group on Facebook.)

What advice would you give someone wanting to start out in podcasting?

That’s a tough one! We don’t monetize, so we don’t have any advice at all for someone wanting to make money. Just do what you want to do; you can run yourself ragged trying to please people, but why? Make it what you want it to be, be good to the listeners who reach out to you, and fuck the haters.

(As an author, I second this. As long as you are happy with your product, then go for it. There’ll always be naysayers, but they can go make their own podcast or write their own book if they don’t like yours).

Are there any podcasts that you recommend (disaster related or not)?

SO many! David’s more a YouTube follower, but here’s a list of two we both like plus a bunch I like: The Dollop, Last Podcast on the Left, My Favorite Murder, Moms and Murder, Factually! with Adam Conover, Criminal, True Crime Island, Sawbones, Code Switch, Office Ladies, Uncover, They Walk Among Us, Swindled, Pretend, and, of course, Civil Wargasms! And, for good measure, David’s YouTube recommendations (sports and politics): FivePointsVids, Urinating Tree, SB Nation, Jimmy Dore, Secular Talk, the Humanist Report, and the Rational National.

So be sure to check out their podcast, friends! And until next time, take care of yourselves, and each other.

L.H.

Dear Readers,

Though I have made posts over the past six weeks, I have not done an actual journal entry, so I figured I would get everyone caught up on the goings on over the past month. My state, Texas, is in the middle of a major outbreak of The Rona, and my county, Harris, is the epicenter of it, so there’s no going outside and doing anything for me, so I have time to write a little. (Not that I was going out or doing much before that. You can count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually been somewhere since March 6th).

When I made my last pandemic year post, you may recall that I said that we had secured the funds to re-wire the house. The job took seven days to do and the master electrician said that we had the toughest house he’s every worked in given its age and the thickness of the walls. Now, all of our wiring and our panel is up to code. Trying to work in the middle of having your house re-wired is challenging. We ended up having to go one night without a/c. I left and went to stay at my mother’s house since I have an auto-immune disease that makes me susceptible to rapid dehydration if I am not careful. Plus, I couldn’t lay on my ice packs either since we didn’t have power. But we survived it, which was the important part.

After the re-wire, we had to do some other work, mostly replacing some sheetrock that was taken down in the kitchen. As of today, July 4th, all major repairs have been completed. Now, we are just slowly getting everything put back where it belongs. The insurance denied our appeal for the roof damage, so we’ll have to get an attorney and file suit. I’m not looking forward to that. But it is what it is.

June passed very quickly, given all the “excitement” we’d had in April and May. I really got very little of value accomplished, which kind of sucks. I admit that I have not made the best use of the all the time at home. It’s been difficult to concentrate and I’ve also dealt with major flare ups in pain too. But now I am deep into edits to Molly’s Song and hope to be finished with the bulk of it in about a week or so. On that note, I have the perfect theme song for the Netflix/Amazon series about her, should she ever appear on screen. You can listen to it here.

I hope to have the next episode of my Civil War podcast out sometime next week. I just have to decide on a topic first. I’m also suffering through major withdrawal having recently given up the cigarettes. When I quit before, in 2012, it was a breeze. I stayed quit for about a year and a half. Now, it isn’t so easy. But it is what it is. I keep telling myself that if Molly can get through all the trials and tribulations that I put her through, then I can get through this.

My son graduated high school on June 1st and they actually had an in-person graduation, though there was at least an attempt at social distancing. My wife and I wore masks and stayed well away from everyone else. The Friday before that, I had an in person doctor appointment and that was my first time out of the house since all this began. I was nervous because it is in a medical office building and I knew there might be sick people there, but I escaped without getting infected. I don’t have another appointment until August, so I really don’t have to leave the house unless it is an emergency until then.

Until next time, friends, take care of yourselves, and each other.

L.H.

Dear Readers,

I struggled to even come up with a title for this post. It’s been a rough two weeks for me. I woke up in the day after Memorial Day and knew right away that I was in for it. Typically, I know how rough a day I’ll have within ten minutes of waking up. For a solid week, I battled horrific back spasms, neck spasms, and pain in my shoulders. It all stems from my injuries, so there is nothing new wrong with me. Friday, I had a toradol shot at the doctor that didn’t even make a dent in it. Then, on Monday, June 1st, I woke up feeling better. Back to normal, really. (My normal pain level is a 4 to 5/10). It was my son’s high school graduation and I made it down for the ceremony and was able to stand for the whole time (because I can’t sit on metal bleachers). I went to bed that night thinking that I’d put the latest flare up behind me. Tuesday started off good too. I was confident that I’d turned the corner.

And then, I reached for something and my entire back locked up again. And on Wednesday, my right knee decided to join the party and it locked up too. I live in constant pain, but I’m used to it being a certain level that I can manage. Protracted flare ups like this scare me because I don’t know if it is the new normal. If so, I don’t know how I can cope with it. It’s the kind of pain that forces everything else from your head. I’m used to working through pain. I’ve written two novels standing up because I can’t sit down, but right when I was wanting to start writing my third, this hit me and I haven’t been able to put so much as a single word on paper yet.

There’s nothing that can be done for me that hasn’t already been done or tried. The damage is too significant to my spine and more surgeries just risk serious complications with no chance of improvement. We all have our crosses to bear, and this one is mine. This is my reality. There is a point in my second and forthcoming novel Molly’s Song where our young heroine says, “The world is just a prison without walls.” I channeled my own frustration into her voice because that’s exactly what it feels like to be me. But that’s life. You hope in one hand and sh-t in another, and see which one fills up first.

L.H.

Friends,

Last week was…crazy. We had the house rewired. They are 98% done and will be out tomorrow to take care of a few smaller things left to do. While that work was going on, we uncovered some interesting things about the house. And did some other restoration work in two rooms. It’ll be a while before we are completely done, but we have some ideas on how to return it to its original 1930s appearance inside. I think when we are done with all the work, I’m going to write the whole story of how we came to buy the house, what work we’ve done to it, and what we’ve learned about it while living here. It’ll be short story length, most likely.

Enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend.

Until next time, take care of yourselves, and each other.

L.H.

Friends,

As those of you who’ve followed the progress of my novel Molly’s Song (hopefully out this winter), you know that it touches on human trafficking in the 19th Century. As a firefighter, of course I knew a little bit about human trafficking, but we weren’t provided with much training at all back then. As a person with an academic background in history, I knew a little bit about the historical context, especially in the 1800s. However, I had no idea how prevalent and pervasive an issue it was until January of 2018. It was my first semester at the college and we had a professional development day prior to the start of the semester. One of the sessions I attended was on human trafficking. I had no idea that the area that I had lived for the past several years was one of the major hubs in the country. It was taught by a colleague who, apart from being a professor and a truly kind and caring human being, is also the President of the Restoration Life Project. You can find more about the organization here. It is dedicated to helping survivors of human trafficking rebuild their lives. This is such an important mission. Survivors need advocates like this who are willing to extend a helping hand.

And lest you think that trafficking is only an urban problem, please understand that it happens everywhere. It happens in rural communities. It happens in upscale neighborhoods. It happens in the suburbs. It is all around us and if we don’t know what to long for, or if we are willing to turn a blind eye, then it will persist forever. The victims are not nameless, faceless entities. They are our sisters, our brothers, our husbands, our wives, our sons, and our daughters.

So what can you do? Get involved. Educate yourself about the issue. Learn the signs to watch for. But how can I do that, you ask? The Restoration Life Project offers awareness sessions that are now online due to the ongoing issue with COVID-19. I’m going to quote from the email below:

“Restoration Life Project is still on its mission!  Sadly, even a pandemic is not enough to put an end to human trafficking. Therefore, we are moving our awareness chat sessions online until at least August 31st, 2020. If any church, community organization, employer or family would like to schedule an online chat session to learn more about human trafficking to be provided by RLP members, please send an email to therestorationlifeproject @ gmail.com (just remove the spaces). Chat sessions are free, but donations are needed and appreciated.  Stay safe and remember the RLP slogan… Love restores!”

So please, friends, consider getting involved in the fight to end this scourge upon society. There are ways to get involved in every community, but it all starts with an email or a phone call. Let’s all work together to make this world a better place. And what better place to start than our own communities.

Until next time, friends, stay safe.

Lee Hutch