HOME STRETCH

Last night, we had the camp Halloween Carnival, and I didn't go. Instead, I took some time to myself, and then I played D&D with the camp staff group until after midnight. The lack of sleep is one thing, but I'm pretty tired apart from that--though I wouldn't yet say I'm running on empty. Last week was a lot--a lot of emotion, a lot of commotion, and a lot of work.

Karate got sick while Kechi and I were out watching Fantastic Four last weekend. We came home to find that he'd made a pretty serious mess in the cabin. I wound up having to throw out my favorite pair of shoes. Karate himself was in pretty good spirits, which was a relief. Last time he was sick enough to go inside, he was clearly scared, ashamed, and in pain. The fact that he was willing to take a walk and sniff around, try and collect pets, as soon as we got home to our gross discovery was an excellent sign.

We switched him to a diet of rice, pumpkin, and canned chicken for a couple days, which he loved, and as of yesterday, his eating was back to normal. The illness was a distraction for him, I think. He'd been getting antsy about cabin life, and it was clear that he felt the place was too small and that he compared it unfavorably to the house in Baton Rouge. Even knowing he wouldn't understand, I explained to him that we don't really live here, and that soon, we'll leave for another house where he'll have a lot more space and there will even be other dogs living right downstairs that might want to be friends.

A large sculpture of wire-rimmed glasses situated across from the Buck’s Rock dining hall.

Karate isn't the only one who's tired. I've reached a point in the Drafting of DEAD END BOYS where I want to do almost nothing else. Of course, I still have my camp duties, even though things at Pub Shop are mostly focused on the yearbook at this point. I wrote some blurbs for that, did a little gophering, and I'm working with some students on their writing one-on-one.

A lot of the kids aren't feeling writing instruction this session because it reminds them too much of school--which is fair. One of the most important aspects of Camp Buck's Rock is that there are no schedules or required activities. The kids are encouraged to go around to shops and practice arts, crafts, and activities of all kinds when they want to. I had a lot more chances to talk to the kids about writing and help them with their projects in the first session.

The camp itself is still lovely. The natural surroundings are beautiful and mostly serene. The main problem for me is that this is a place of transition. It's somewhere I've been for weeks as I wait to head on to a new phase of my life and career. I've gotten a lot (A LOT) of work done here, but I'm anxious to get to the new place in Evanston and start at Northwestern.

A giant metal gong that is rung throughout the day here at camp.

Drafting of DEAD END BOYS is in its final phase. I'm excited about what the story has become. In my younger days, I was suspicious of outlining, but in the crafting of this novel, I've found it quite fun watching how the story differs from the original outline. There were some elements that were a little shaky for me when the outline was approved by the publisher that I knew were going to have to change in the writing, and they very much have. I like how POVs and whole plot lines resolve into view as I draft--it's one of the most pleasurable parts of the work.

I haven't lived with these characters as long as I lived with the kids from BALLAD, but they mean a lot to me. It's going to be hard to move on from them, or maybe they'll stay with me the way the kids have. I still dream of Perry, Brendy, and Peaches, as well as their hometown and the sites of some of their adventures. DEAD END BOYS is darker, inspired by what my friends, loved ones, and family went through during and after the Pandemic, and I still don't know exactly how it's going to end. I think the biggest clue is the turns my own life has taken since the Pandemic began to settle down. I got married, I taught at LSU for a semester, I lost a LOT of weight, and I've been on adventures I never saw coming. So maybe the future will be bright for Paul and his gang.

There's been darkness, though. The evil and hatred that have been active in the world over the past few years. I suffered a loss so great that before it happened I couldn't conceive of it. I know how it sounds, but I didn't think such a thing was truly possible. I've watched the same people who claimed that taking down Confederate monuments was "erasing history" begin dismantling the African American museum and countless other programs and institutions. My own family got hurt in the DOGE bloodbath.... And I have to take all that into account, too. It's becoming very clear that by the time school starts in mid-September, I will either be ready to turn in DEAD END BOYS or in the final polishing stages--and I've already got short story and poetry plans.

I'm working on a review of Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps, and details will follow when contracts are signed, etc. I'm also hard at work on my next CHAPTER AND VERSE column, and I'm so excited about everything I'm reading. I'm even finally going to NYC this Sunday for the first time in literally TWENTY YEARS. I've even learned that Kechi and I will be spending a little time in downtown Chicago when we leave here, and I'm psyched about that, too.

In other news, the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival has been named by National Geographic one of the best book festivals in the world. I've so loved serving on the Writers Circle, and I hope to attend again ASAP. This year, though, I'll definitely be at AWP in Baltimore!

I apologize on the lateness of the update. I've been trying to post it, first in video form and then written, for days. I dunno what's up with the internet here this week!

Love you!