I had a plan.

The idea was to wait until Spring, then start looking at the rescue sites. By then it would be warmer out and much easier to potty train. I would be able to set out the fencing that we never needed with Tesla because she was so good at staying in our yard (not all yards, but at least ours).

Then the Last Day Dog Rescue Organization posted pictures of a new litter on their Facebook page…

We went at met two of the puppies a week ago. Sunday we had an in home visit. The Mrs, who was hoping for a slightly older dog but was open to the two we had met, was completely won over when the little girl fell asleep in her lap and started snoring.

Needless to say, the bulk of my time lately has been prepping the house for our two new housemates. The plan is to pick them up next Tuesday. They had one more series of shots to go and I’ll be out of town over the weekend, so the delay seemed like a good idea. In the meantime we have ordered collars and tags, set up a large gate thing to block off one portion of the house, and done a ton of research on local vets and puppy training classes.

Sidenote—we continued to use our old vet after we moved because Tesla was familiar with them and they with her. The people at Centerline Animal Hospital are all absolutely wonderful and I highly recommend them. However, it’s about an hour each way, so our new kids will be going somewhere more local.

These two (we have a list of potential names, but haven’t decided anything yet), fall outside of our usual tan/brown dogs with big fluffy undercoats. In fact, we may have to get used to putting coats on them, as they have much shorter fur than we are used to.

All of this means that if you follow me on my socials, get ready for a whole bunch of puppy pics.

Oh, quick request. Some of these have a link at the bottom. If you could click on that I would appreciate it. Each click generates a little revenue for us.

Listening To: I just started The Secret History of Sharks by John Long. I always say that the three things I don’t mess with are sharks, alligators, and crocodiles. They all developed into their current form as apex predators while our ancestors were still swinging in the trees. It will be good to gain some more knowledge on sharks.

Currently Reading: A ton of information on how to introduce puppies to a new home, new family, etc.

Current Obsession: Other than puppies? We caught up on the new season of Alex Cross and started The Copenhagen Test. Interesting concept. We are only a few episodes in so I’m excited to see how they play with it.

We had a great turn out on Saturday for Gator Bait at the Historic Howell Theater. Well mark your calendars now because on 14 March the Midnight Creature Feature Picture Show will be hosting it’s first DOUBLE FEATURE! Arrive at 6pm for Valley of the Dolls and Beyond Valley of the Dolls.

Of course, before that we will have our triumphant return to Pittsburgh, PA and Horror Realm. Visit us and special author guest Peggy Christie all weekend (27 Feb through 1 March) long.

After that, look for Michael at Penguicon, resurrected from the ashes after a year off. This year the convention will be held at the Westin Southfield 27 - 29 March. Dragon’s Roost Press will not be in the Vendors Room, but Michael will be on panels and lurking about in the hallways and the bar.

I just did a quick scan through the previous posts to make sure that I hadn’t covered this topic in the newsletter before. If you have been around long enough to remember They Napalmed My Shrubbery This Morning you will remember a similar post on that blog ages ago. I’ve also discussed this at conventions a few times, but I’m pretty sure that this is a first for your inbox.

I am not an extrovert, as mentioned above. Given my druthers I would never leave the house (and I’m fortunate enough that my a have a lot of druthers because I don’t, go out in public that is).

Sidenote—druthers, n plural meaning preferences, wishes, or choice.

So how do I get through all of these public appearances where I sit at a vendor’s spot and talk to people for 11 hours at a go? Or get up in front of people and read a short story? Or sit on a panel and talk for 50 minutes?

Quite simply, I don’t.

I created a version of myself that doesn’t mind doing these thing and that’s the guy that does all of that. This is the guy who wears the kilt and the bowling shirt (the most recent version of my con get up). He almost always has on a hat. He’s, if not happy to be around all of these people, at least comfortable enough to. I’ve been doing this for so long that just putting on the kilt and the hat makes me feel more relaxed.

Yes, I’ve basically psyched myself out with an extreme version of “fake it ’til you make it.”

Then I decompress. A lot of the conventions I attend now have rooms set aside for just that. They know that a non-zero number of their attendees may need time to get away from the crowds and the people and what not. They have a room set aside where you can go and just enjoy the silence. There is no talking, no phone use, just a spot to relax and recharge. If the Con doesn’t have one of these I will go up to my hotel room for a moment or just take a walk outside to clear my head. I’ve been known to nap in my car for 10 minutes. Just enough to shake off the social anxiety.

I also never schedule anything for the day after the con. I learned long ago (and I know that I have mention this in the newsletter) about the importance of not working on the Monday after a three day convention.

One of the unplanned benefits of an out of state con is that you can always use the drive home to do a little decompressing.

If I am particularly nervous about something, there is always music. But because I am an idiot who does things totally backasswards, I don’t listen to calming music. My go to before a stressful even is Bowling For Soup’s “Choke.”

Seriously, it’s a great song. There’s nothing quite so uplifting a having Jerod laugh and say “They’re going to put you on a milk carton…of people who suck.”

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