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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/profile/blog/holttaylor/month/1-1-2026
Rated: 18+ · Book · Writing · #2329921

In all fairness, I don't seem to either. Care to go exploring?

         
Through windows closed and shuttered you can see where fun was had,
Where tales were served by a young barkeep, a story-tellin' lad.
The barmaids teased and plied their trade twixt the tables, dark and light,
And the patrons there gave not a thought to the lurking veil of night.
But night did come, as it always must, and the lamps went dark at last,
And the barmaids left, and the patrons, too, and the barkeep's grief was vast.

It's said if you pass on the lonely road where the tavern stands abandoned,
You can still hear, if you strain your ear, the barkeep's pen a'scratchin'.
Some call him a phantom, some call him a fool, but call him what you will,
He'll never give up on the stories he told 'til they're back, his tavern to fill.
So give him a thought on your busy road, and stop for a while as you pass,
'Cause you just never know when the stories will flow, and the thrill will return at last!


         Hello and welcome. My name is Jack, and for around a decade, my "muse," whatever you conceive that to be, has been lying in a coma. I refuse to give up on her, and am currently focused on bringing an old endeavor, "The Orphan PrincessOpen in new Window. to completion. I still love to read, and offer positive reviews for stories that I enjoy. While I'm trying, I keep this blog open to exchange encouraging thoughts with the fine writers found in every corner of this site. I won't give up until the Reaper comes calling, This is where we can talk, and I would love to discuss your thoughts on any subject appropriate for the world's greatest writing site.
         Thanks for your support. You guys are the best!

   Jack... *Suitdiamond*

Merit Badge in WdC Community Hero
[Click For More Info]

For appreciation for your comments in the mystery newsletter. Thank you for your contributions and for your support. Much success in your endeavors!
January 4, 2026 at 1:45pm
January 4, 2026 at 1:45pm
#1105098
         Good morning, friends and followers, and I hope it finds you well. With a title like that, you wouldn't be wrong in guessing that it finds me capricious. You see, I'm not here to offer an exposé on my beloved horror genre. I'm not even offering a story. So, what, you may ask, is coming "up from the grave?"
         Funny you should ask. Back last September, I offered a forum, the idea being that you could talk to me, ask questions, open topics of interest to you, and so forth, and I would reply. That never really took off, and around mid-December I gave it up as a distraction that didn't have a worthwhile payoff, it garnering a single rating of three stars and going weeks between comments. So I marked it private with a view toward deleting it altogether if no one protested its disappearance.
         Well, no one protested and I didn't miss it any more than anyone else did, but there's a little snag in my whole get-rid-of-it program: It's been nominated for a Quill Award in the Best New Forum category. I don't know who nominated it ~ that's forbidden ~ and I don't think it's the sort of thing that will finish in the top ten, but someone does, and what a slap in the face to the nominator to find that they thought something was worthy of a Quill, and my response to that is to delete the item. Add to that the fact that I'm curious as to how it might stack up, and it is, quite literally, coming up from the grave. I think I know how it will fare, but it isn't for us to decide how others view our efforts, so here it is in all it's glory... or something:

 
FORUM
Scribblers' Den Open in new Window. (18+)
A backstreet tavern where scribblers can meet to discuss their Craft.
#2347527 by Jack of Diamonds Author IconMail Icon

         I have two other active projects that I'd like to keep in the public eye. One is that I'm transcribing Book III of Beyond the Rails, which is rapidly approaching completion:

 
BOOK
Beyond the Rails 3: Slayer of Darkness Open in new Window. (18+)
A novel of adventure in the skies of colonial Africa. Work in Progress.
#2347483 by Jack of Diamonds Author IconMail Icon

         Finally, I have a long-unfinished story that I am working on in an attempt to bring my "muse," whatever that is, up from the grave. It's a fantasy with a large nautical component, and some widely-scattered characters who are slowly being brought together for what I hope will be a slam-bang finish:

 
BOOK
The Orphan Princess Open in new Window. (18+)
Politics and Adventure in an Ocean of Fantasy. Current project under construction.
#2350506 by Jack of Diamonds Author IconMail Icon

         And that's 30 for today. Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday. You guys are the best!

Stay inspired,
     Jack *Suitdiamond*

Merit Badge in Reviewing
[Click For More Info]

Ranked # 30   Public Reviewer  for the month of  November 2025 . For more details, please see  [Link To Item #614925] .
January 2, 2026 at 1:20pm
January 2, 2026 at 1:20pm
#1104929
         A very good morning to all my wonderful friends, and I hope it finds you full of hope for the new year. I'm back from my customary Thursday hiatus and hopeful for a few things, but it finds me full of honesty as regards my WdC membership, and that's what I'm here to address.
         The first thing you will have noticed is the new cover. That is a photograph of the design on a jacket that doesn't fit me anymore, but the photograph does. The skull represents my love of the horror genre, and the gears inside and scattered around, my enjoyment of steampunk, the genre where I first achieved some minor recognition. This replaces the plaque I was awarded by "The WDC Angel ArmyOpen in new Window. for being named the WdC Angel of the Month for September. This was a great honor and I displayed it for three months, but it's time to stop resting on those laurels and look to the future.
         Second, I feel the need to fess up: I'm not here to participate in the same way that all of you are. It's been years since I've produced anything original, and it's long past time that I stop pretending that the "muse" is going to come back refreshed from her ten-year vacation. I'm familiar with WdC from previous memberships, and I came here because it seemed a stable site to store all the things I wrote years ago when I was active. That's what you see in my portfolio now. This includes the supposedly "new" work, "The Orphan PrincessOpen in new Window.. I had written the first few chapters of this when the muse quit without notice and moved on to greener pastures. I've been posting a scene per week, and working in the background to continue the story. Hopefully I'll have some new stuff to post when I run out of old stuff, but only time will tell.
         Finally, once I returned, I found a vast universe of your fantastic stories, poems, and even novels to read, and I initiated an award, "Jack's DiamondsOpen in new Window., to offer encouragement to the best of the best. I just gave one this morning, in fact, to a great poem. Go check it out when you're finished here. It's really worth a read.
         So that's the new course I've set to navigate 2026. I once was a writer. I may be again, but I'm going to stop pretending that I currently am. Peruse the port and enjoy the stories. Encouragement and even suggestions for possible ways to take The Orphan Princess wouldn't go amiss, but don't expect to see a lot of new material going up. There's a vanishingly small store of that in the warehouse. But I wish you all the best, and look forward to discovering more and more of your fine writing. You guys are the best!

Stay inspired,
Jack *Suitdiamond*

Quill 2025 Nominee
"Best Reviewer" Category


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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/profile/blog/holttaylor/month/1-1-2026