Falling Behind

That ol’ river keeps on rolling, no matter what you do to stop it.

Uh, you wouldn’t really try to stop a river rolling, would you?

Time is a river that also can’t seem to be stopped. Seems like you just finish a brilliant blog post and suddenly it’s a month later and those few people who were reading the blog have moved on to bigger and better things.

So here’s what time has rolled over in my life since we last talked.

My short story “Aphrodite” was published on the net. This is not a mystery story (nor is it a story about Minerva’s daughter), but I entered it in a contest last year. I didn’t win but evidently, I was a finalist and the owner of the website wanted to run it. So I said. Okay. You can read it here: https://jerryjazzmusician.com/aphrodite-a-short-story-by-mark-bruce/

I also published a little essay on one of my pet peeves in lawyer mystery stories. An inexperienced lawyer/writer will have his protagonist meet the client and tell them “don’t let me know if you’re guilty or not.” I explain why this is stupid in the essay. You can find it here: https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=97cdce5fefdce661JmltdHM9MTY3NDg2NDAwMCZpZ3VpZD0xNWM2YjRhYi05ZjZiLTZkNDQtMzcxNC1hNWViOWVkYjZjYTgmaW5zaWQ9NTE5MA&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=15c6b4ab-9f6b-6d44-3714-a5eb9edb6ca8&psq=mystery+readers+journal+winter+2022&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9teXN0ZXJ5cmVhZGVycy5vcmcvam91cm5hbC1pbmRleC9sZWdhbC1teXN0ZXJpZXMtMy8&ntb=1

I also discovered that the agent who so loved Minerva when I met him at the West Coast Writer’s Conference in August was suddenly afflicted with an illness and was unable to help me any further. Which saddens me. Not only did I feel we had a connection and that he saw the same potential in Minerva that I did, but he seemed like a nice guy.

So yeah, I wish him well and a return to good health. But the ill luck that seems to attach to my sorry ass continues.

One more thing. In the last week of 2022, I was asked to interview at a law firm in Upland, about a 90 minute drive from my little house in Barstow. I am 66 years old, friends and neighbors, so I pretty much assumed that nothing would come of the interview. I went anyway.

Turns out the partner in the firm and I had a case together in 2021 and we got along very well in that proceeding. (Ahem. I won.)

So we ended up having a very friendly interview and they offered me a job. The great thing about the job is that I have help! A very good paralegal keeps watch over my cases, so I can concentrate on being a lawyer.

So they hired me. Holding my breath on this one. It’s a good firm and I seem to get along with everyone and can do my cases without hassle.

Still, there’s no such thing as a sure thing in my life. So I’m working and keeping an eye on fate.

That’s my new year so far, friends. How’s by you?