The Dawdling Baby

Caroline "Callie" Jean Wuerfel arrived at 5:35 p.m. on November 19th. She had quite a trip!

Sarah went to her scheduled appointment on the morning of her due date, November 18th. The doc said her blood pressure was a little high and suggested labor be induced. Sarah spent 20 hours in natural labor with the petocin before having the epidural at 8 a.m. the next morning. Eight hours after that, after several pushing episodes, we went in for a c-section. Callie was still tough to get out! Sarah's strong stomach muscles and Callie's stubbornness took several docs to overcome, but eventually she was here and in our arms.

Later in the suite, the first meal I had in almost a day and a half felt like I had won a reward challenge on Survivor!

THE BASEBALL GODS

I just wrapped up the first draft of my second novel, THE MAN IN THE WHITE TUXEDO, and passed it on to my loyal group of beta-readers (I could always use another - e-mail me at jasonwuerfel@hotmail.com).  WHITE TUXEDO is the first novel in a planned series, but I'm taking a break from the characters during the beta-reading process to move on to another novel I've had in mind for a while - THE BASEBALL GODS.

Tagline - "Judas Plotz is getting a second chance at baseball whether he likes it or not."

THE BASEBALL GODS Brief Synopsis - Judas Plotz blew his chance at playing Major League baseball, but he didn't care.  If fact, there wasn't much he cared about.  His biggest vice wasn't drugs or alcohol - it was a miserable, self-loathing sense apathy.

Judas was drafted in the 1st round out of high school and paid the big bucks by the New York Yankees, so he really wasn't bothered by the fact ESPN rated him the #1 Bone-Headed Bust All-Time.  Because of his lowly lifestyle, he was set for life on the interest he pulled off his signing bonus plus the royalties he made from his minor league blooper videos on YouTube.

Ten years later, Judas meets three unsavory characters while waiting tables at Juan's Taco Parlor, the sponsor for his adult league baseball team.  When they arrive unannounced and take the field at Judas's game that night, it becomes clear they are going to give Judas a second chance whether he likes it or not.  They are THE BASEBALL GODS.

Here's to You, Heavy D!

I was shocked to hear Heavy D passed away at just 44 years old.  Here's to you, Hev!

Musical Interlude 11/8/11

My second novel, THE MAN IN THE WHITE TUXEDO, is about 98% completed.  Push through to the end?  Nah!  Musical interlude!

I ran across Reel Big Fish on MTV2 circa 2001.  The video for "Everything Sucks" is so me, I think I wrote and directed in an alternate dimension.

My Favorite Distractions

If you're like me, you probably don't need help with distraction.  The inside of my mind is lined with shiny quarters that pull me away from my work on a second-by-second basis.  Here are some of my favorite places to waste time (other than Facebook and Twitter):

Fictional sports simulation (fantasy baseball with historical peeps): www.whatifsports.com

Stories I've already seen on Sportscenter 15 times:  www.espn.com

"Strumming my Ukulele helps me think" excuse:  www.ukuleleunderground.com

My shameful daily news source:  news.yahoo.com

My day job is also my time waster (independent baseball browsing):
http://www.frontierleague.com/
http://www.americanassociationbaseball.com/
http://www.canamleague.com/
http://northamericanleague.pointstreaksites.com/view/northamericanleague/north-american-league
http://www.atlanticleague.com/

Those definitely aren't the only ways I find to kill time, but they are my favorite.  Send me some of your favorite ways to defend against productivity.

Inspiration for Fellow Dawdlers

The Key to Writing Scene from Finding Forrester Movie (2000) | MOVIECLIPS

Star the clip at 55 seconds. One of my favorite scenes of all-time. You gotta love Sir Sean Connery.

Now go forth, fellow Dawdlers, and "PUNCH THE KEYS!"

Pray for Rain: A College Baseball Story

PRAY FOR RAIN is now available on Smashwords and all other ebook venues.  The ebook version is just $0.99, but if you use the coupon code PM58H, you can download it for free until November 27th, 2011. 

Click here to download PRAY FOR RAIN: A COLLEGE BASEBALL STORY

Musical Interlude of the Day 10/26/11

Musical interlude while I try to figure out the best way to write a scene in my upcoming novel, SUTRADHARA.  Tribe Called Quest, "Can I Kick It?"  I hope you enjoy it as much as me.

Let the Dawdling Begin

Welcome Writers - let the dawdling begin.  We set deadlines and we laugh as they go flying by.  Cheers.