A Course in the Bag and the World Has Changed

44 days – this is what passed since my last entry... I was enthusiast about my research for my new project and a discovery that potentially made the universe of the story instantly unique. But the landscape of things has changed a great deal since.

This is what happened:

• I have started and completed a course about the Medieval Icelandic Sagas at the University of Iceland;

• I turned 39 and,

• On my birthday, one of my favourite singers, Mark Lanegan passed away;

• I wrote a song as a tribute for him, but,

• On the previous day the war broke out next door,

• And there has been an ever increasing alarm of a potential nuclear WWIII. This is unfortunately the story of the decade, maybe the century...

Work increased, but I may reach a point soon where I could get back to my main research. However, spring has also broke out and this always means that I am gravitating back to the project that I call "The Desert".

This is a distraction that I love and hate at the same time. I love it because I love to spend time building this alternative present and its history while the story and character development are based on absolutely personal experiences. But I hate it since I know that with the weather getting hotter, my determination to spend time back in Medieval North shrinks.

Maybe I should condition myself through reading, as I assembled a quality reading list for my focus project, however, I am also about turning to John Updike and that is significant since Rabbit, Run has always been a major inspiration for me, and particularly one that inspired some aspects of "The Desert" project.

I am also thinking about writing a short story for this project in order to get it out of the way for now. This approach has worked for me in the autumn. I will come back with an update as soon as I made up my mind – maybe even earlier. Stay around!