Hospital and Presentation

Sorry I haven't been around recently. I got a phone call from my brother last week. He informed me that our dad had been admitted to the hospital (out in Montana where my parents live). He's been released and is home as of yesterday afternoon, but it really brought some emotional stuff home to roost that I refuse to deal with.

It also laid out some practical matters that I'd been ruminating about ever since my parents moved out there. How am I going to be there for them when they're even older and possibly in and out of the hospital more from 2,000 miles away? It had been a worry in theory for some time now, but with this episode, I've got some planning to do.

So suffice it to say, my brain has been elsewhere for the better part of a week. But I can't ignore the presentation that I will be giving on Saturday to the Valley Forge Romance Writers chapter. Here's the blurb.

Inserting Realism into Kick Butt Heroines:
A Look at Basic Female Fighting Styles and Self Defense

Lots of heroines in novels today don’t need a man to fight their battles. They can do it themselves. But how? Former self-defense instructor, Ava Quinn, will discuss and (when possible) demonstrate the basic martial arts elements of body position and strikes, basic self-defense techniques, and the differences between and the pros and cons of male versus female fighting styles. She will also touch on how this training can affect characters and offer tips on how to incorporate these ideas into your story.

I'm looking forward to doing it, which is a far cry from the last time I presented it. I'm calmer for some reason this time around. Maybe it's because I got my annual haircut last week just for the occasion. Can you tell I really want this to go well?

I've tweaked the presentation some and added more on the writing element to it this time. We'll see how it goes.

Until next time, citizens!