Small "War to End All Wars" Sneak Peak

So, all the pages have finally been typed up.  I'd say the percentage on the progress bar is pretty accurate and we're a little under 1/3 of the way done with the book.  Also...100k of progress split across 4 projects, not including the outline work I've been doing on THREE super secret projects; nice one, Raley!

Who's been distracted?

This fucking guy!

Anyway, "War of End All Wars" will very much be the longest school story ever told, will be a nice send off to that timeline, and merits it's own novel.  Still a lot of plot to work through, but I'm hopeful.

Surgery is still a go.  Pre-Op on Wednesday.  Also some testing, including a Covid test, so...yay!  So much fun!  Get to have my brain molested by a q-tip.  Have to be at the hospital by 6AM on Friday, so super early fun time for all that.  Paperwork said I should be out in a couple days, but we'll see.  Also they don't seem to want to give me any of the fun pills, so I'm hoping the pain shouldn't be too bad.

Other than that...well, I have all this typed up work, and you've all been very kind and considerate, so I thought I'd throw you some pages, even in a very incomplete state that they are.  All rights reserved by me, Richard Raley.  Please do not copy and paste but link back here.  In a very early draft and subject to change.  Yada, yada, yada, most of you already skipped ahead...

“My name is King Henry Price.  I…am a Hep.  Which means I am in my seventh and last year at this here Institution of Elements, Learning Academy and Nature Camp.  As such, it is my duty to waste a significant amount of time keeping you lot from killing yourself as your student-advisor.  In case it hasn’t been made clear to you, you are Ultra Class 2015.  Which means you’re just a tiny bit special.  Get to live in this nice dorm all together.  Get me cleaning up your mistakes.  Maybe.  No promises.  Probably depends on my mood or how big of an asshole you are.

“See, even if you are a tiny bit specially, you’re still Singles.  Which means you don’t know shit.  Yes, even if your daddy or your mommy is someone important.  You.  Don't.  Know.  Shit!

“Some of you do know me, or at least know of me, I can tell it by your terrified expressions.  I do love making me some juicy rumors, oh yes I fucking do!  Guessing me popping up is a bit of a surprise, ain’t it?  They put the Foul Mouth in charge of us, what were they thinking?!?!

“For you uninitiated in this one-in-a-million world:  yes, you heard right, my name really is King Henry Price.  Yes, my nom de guerre really is the Foul Mouth.  Really tall, blond Nazi Asshole just couldn’t help himself and the title stuck.  Don’t worry, ain’t one of those Voldemort situations like the fucktard on the TV.  I am perfectly fine with you calling me Foul Mouth.  It’s my being.  It’s my mantle.  It’s my fucking crown and a King I am, a King I say, yes I am!"

“So…you can call me King Henry, Foul Mouth, or Your Majesty.  Do not call me Mr. Price or I will punch you in the dick.  Oh…about the curse words.  You’re probably thinking:  adults aren’t supposed to talk like that!  Guess what?  I don’t know about the adult part, but I fucking talk like this.  So get fucking used to it.  I changed a whole lot these last six years, but the curse words ain’t something I’m letting go.”

Class 2015 looked extremely cowed and overwhelmed, even the Old Mancy kids.

So far, so good.

And everyone thought I’d suck at this!

Surgery Coming Up

The Rona might be wrecking face again, but so far it looks like elective surgeries in California might just hold out.  So we're a little under two weeks until my surgery.  Major surgery, obviously, so no idea how long it might take for me to get back and focused, but...I'm feeling more focused than I have in the last couple years, so here's hoping the pain isn't too bad.  Granted they are cutting up and stitching together a bunch of my stomach and intestines so...

Physically, writing is pretty simple, even if I have to lie in bed and scribble on some paper for awhile.  Mentally...well, that's always been the whole ball game, hasn't it?  Never been able to write very well when I was worried or anxious or even when I had a cold or the flu (looking at you, Dread Fortress Flu Ridden Editing Session!).  Like to feel pampered and happy and entertained by copious amounts of good media.  My anxiety problems are, oddly, the best they've been in a long while.  Really feel like I've passed through the eye and I'm out the other side.

Right now, my goal to stay inside and keep safe and also I've just started typing up the last 25 or so handwritten pages I had left on War to End All Wars.  After that, we got surgery, then recovery, then I'm back to writing mad scientist style for the first time in a couple years.  Granddad is gone, I've grieved and grieved for a long while now, so time to take all the emotions and experiences I've endured and put them to good use entertaining people and hopefully touching a few hearts.

If I have to hand write some more then I'll focus on War to End all Wars.  If I can sit at a computer I'd like to take a run at finishing the Vicky novel before the end of the year, although...again:  major surgery so no promises.  Could leak, could get backed up, lot of ways to end up in emergency after this, so...no promises just yet while I figure out my new normal.

If I could do it all over again, I'd probably never let myself take a vacation following FM6.  Or that might have made it worse, since I was already in rough shape following that thousand-pages-in-a-year sprint.  Still...this has all been bungled and, the toughest truth of writing is that nothing happens instantly and it's going to take awhile to unravel the webs and get us back to where we should have gone immediately.  No more side novels after the Vicky one.  No more school stories after War to End All Wars.  Just the main story.  If I go Galactic Brain Mad Scientist maybe I'll work on some other series, but...really want to get back to King Henry in a bad way.

Just typing up these pages I'm already laughing at my own jokes and chuckling at what comes next...