After months in writers' limbo, I finally made some progress on the serial today. Feeling hopeful about moving forward now :)

Suddenly out of nowhere, over the past two or three weeks, likes and kudos have been raining down on The Song Remains the Same I don't know who, but somebody somewhere must have recommended it to their friends to spark this sudden flurry of interest. So, whoever you are, thank you.

For those who are still wondering, and waiting, Episode 7 "Wayward Son", is still in progress, and progress is being made, albeit slowly. It is now several thousand words longer than it was when I last posted. I won't begin posting again until it's finished (or close to finished) and I'm confident I can begin posting regularly again but hopefully that time will be in the not too far distant future.

As always, thank you all for your patience and support.

Just in case there's anyone still out there with the patience and forgiveness of a Sam, who still retains a sneaking fondness for The Song Remains the Same and a sliver of hope that it might continue some fine day, I want you to know that I haven't just abandoned it. In fact, I have actually been writing again over the hiatus and have added almost 10,000 words to "Wayward Son", but progress is still slow and scrappy, so I don't want to start posting again until I have a complete episode ready to go. I don't want to repeat all those times when I posted a small, frustrating morsel, then kept everyone hanging months for the next helping. And I think we're all over me making promises then not delivering. When I get back on the road, I want to have something to offer that I know people can count on. But, in the meantime, I felt I at least owed you all an explanation of where I'm at. I am still, as always, so grateful for all the support I've received in the past.

My thanks to you all.

.  . . why comments, contributions and responses from me are sporadic to non-existent at the moment: I'm in the middle of a house move and life is going to be a bit hectic for a while. I so hope that once I'm settled in the new place I'll be able to restore a little normality to my life and start actually having one! And I just hope, when I do, you'll all still remember who I am! :S

They laid my husband's plaque this week, and I went to visit his 'spot'. It's a very beautiful place, very peaceful. And it was a lovely day. It felt like the close of a cycle that began with the funeral service last year. Some other things that were in the air are reaching a resolution now while, at the same time, some new opportunities are being offered. It feels like a time for new beginnings.

I'm slowly establishing some kind of routine for myself and hoping to have more time for things that have been neglected for a long while. I know I've been absent a lot of the time of late but I hope I can start to be a little more sociable again. I'm starting to think about writing again for the first time in a long while, and ideas are beginning to germinate. I've been thinking I'd like to start writing occasional short stories again and, with that in mind, I've committed to contributing a small offering for the new 'Horror Bang'. And I've been doing prep work for returning to working on the serial. I'm hoping to start making progress on that again very soon.

If all goes well, you'll be seeing a little more of me from now on :)

Dear friends, flisties and followers of "The Song Remains the Same",

I'm sorry for my prolonged absence from my usual communities and comments, and for the lack of updates to the serial, and I just wanted to briefly explain what's been going on with me.

As many of you are already aware, my husband has been very sick for a long while and I'm sorry to say he passed away toward the end of last month. It is, at least, a comfort that the end was quick and he was at home with me when it happened, which is what he wanted.

I am fortunate in having kind friends who are taking good care of me and, at the moment, I'm just slowly getting through the things I have to do and taking each day as it comes. I still have a way to go but I'm slowly moving toward returning to a semblance of some kind of routine, and I hope to start catching up with you all again in the not too distant future. As I've said before, the many happy things you all share have been a great comfort and support to me through difficult times and I'm missing being a daily part of that. I want and need to get back as soon as I can.

To readers, I ask you, please, don't give up on the serial because, I promise you, I haven't. Writing has been a saving grace to me in troubled times before and now, more than ever, I'm going to need the solace of being with my boys and writing their story, and it means so much that you all share that journey with me. Your words of support and encouragement are more important to me than I can express.

I want to thank you all so much for your great support and loyalty and promise that if you can continue your kind patience a little longer, I hope to begin posting again early in the new year.

In the meantime, I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season, and my best wishes for the coming year.

Hi folks

Apologies to serialites who are waiing patiently for the next update. The plan to post more often if not so long , , , well, it hasn't gone to plan :( Unfortunately my husband's health has deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks. He's been in and out of hospital, and he's back in again now. He seems stable at the moment but he needs to rest (something it's hard to persuade him to do).

I haven't given up on the writing - in fact, it's essential therapy for me - but time is limited and it's hard to concentrate. I'll keep chipping away at that elusive next scene whenever I get the chance. Just hope you can all hang in there with me.

I'm not properly keeping up with my friends feed either, I'm afraid, so I'm sorry if I miss things. I know I'm typically a bit sporadic about posting and commenting but I'm generally there semi-lurking around and, even if I don't say so as often as I should, it's important to me to check in on eveything that's going on and I'm really sad when I have to miss out. So can I just take this opportunity to give general encouragement to fellow writers; admiration to artists and vidders; thanks for all those wonderful pics spams and song spams, gigges, dailies, and thoughts of the day; and, of course, all the mini-mayhem. For these and all the other things you all share that brighten my day: my grateful thanks to you all.

. . . you close the file with the scene you've been working on for three hours and for some ungodly reason click "don't save" by mistake.

Monthly community publication done and dusted.

Scene 2, here I come :)

Progress is slow, but it's progress :)