K., a friend of mine in San Diego, turned me onto the free writing classes of Brandon Sanderson on YouTube. I've always liked the name Brandon and used that name for the lead character for my audiobook, which needs editing. I'm thinking of turning it into normal book, but to be honest, I'm tired of working on the Transsexual Trilogy. I may just re-label it as an audio drama (that needs dramaturgy). So far I'm loving his classes and they're offered for free here. So, all you creative fantasy authors have no excuse not to learn a thing or two.

Halloween is obviously coming up, and I always honor Mom and Dad (Dad with scotch and Mom with seashells) for every holiday. My cousin, who insults me constantly, but one time I mentioned his teeth and continues to play the victim, said that's because I want to be Chinese. Anyway, these are two of their favorite things.

I'm excited this year as my friend MJ is coming over to read tarot cards. She's really plunged right into the esoteric cauldron and she's a very gifted tarot reader. Apparently, the entire next day (November 1) is also good for readings. So I'll pull out my crystal oracle as there's some things I want to ask about. I wanted to get the French deck (they're not tarot, but an oracle), but I completely forgot to order them so I'm not sure if they'll arrive on time.

When Dad first died, I got a terrible food poisoning. It was a long story. Maybe I'll share it one day on here. But I basically knew the poisoning was from Dad (it was a specific dish that I had given to her when she was "starting over" after her car crash).

I was listening to Coast to Coast AM and one of the usual quirky, fun and interesting guests was a medium who basically said you can protect yourself from the dead, just tell them to leave you alone, which I did and Dad has given me some nice gifts, but has basically left me alone since that announcement (Dad is a good egg, just a little overbearing and has issues with boundaries). I (at least in my heart) "know" the dead are among us and this Halloween of course I celebrate them. And I do honestly miss my parents. However, she did (finally) "speak" to me and I know she needs a memorial of some kind. So that's on the agenda in 2025.

I've been reading about using deities, or saints, or even imagining yourself as someone (let's say you don't know what to wear, so you say, "What would Ralph Lauren wear?") as a creative process. Many people refer to this as co-creation.