Jungle Ramble

Last month, I posted a few science fiction-y photos from the family meander on the grounds of Myriad Botanical Gardens in OKC, and promised a few more shots.

As I sorted through all the photographs from that day, I realized how easy it is in this digital age, without the built-in guide of a roll of film with finite limits, to forget exactly how many shots one has taken, especially if the day is fine and the venue is pleasant and one has all the time in the world.

Orchid (c2014, KB)

waterfall and palm trees (c2014, KB)

(c2014, Keanan Brand)

(c2014, Keanan Brand)

(c2014, Keanan Brand)

(c2014, Keanan Brand)

coy koi
(c2014, KB)

And here I must end the ramble, but there are many more photos to come. Enjoy!

 

One Step, Then Another

(re-posted from Facebook)

Very few achievements in my life have happened at lightning speed. Most are the result of the slow plod of perseverance and learning.

art & design c2014, Suzan Troutt; background photo c2014, Keanan Brand

This has, at times, made me impatient, even angry. Why must I slog through molasses while others around me sprint like the wind? Why do awards and acknowledgements of my abilities not translate into more steps on the journey? Why do the accolades gather dust while the real goal remains yet to be achieved?

Writing had been the longest plod. Some might ask why I persist in the face of continued disappointment. Good question.

There have been moments of light, those awards, those acknowledgements, those times when someone points to his or her own work and says, “You helped me do that.”

And even when there are no thanks spoken, there is the knowledge inside that I helped make someone’s book better.

As some of you know, Dragon’s Rook has experienced delay after delay. Just when I think the book is ready to go live, something happens to kink the works.

To everything, there is a time and a season. This book WILL happen.

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Join me, if you’d like, on Facebook. My posts there are shorter, of course, but a bit more frequent than they are here. I’m hoping to have good news soon regarding the availability of Dragon’s Rook, the first half of The Lost Sword duology.