A Very Heady Puppet

This week in the Office of Demonology

Puppet Setback

This past week, I completed the head for my puppet build. However, something went wrong. If you have been following this newsletter, you may recall that the first part of the build was the mouth plate. After gluing the mouth plate into the foam head, it didn’t fit correctly, making the face skewed. I could move on and have weirdo puppets—that is my style, but I want them to look as they should before I go weird. It wasn’t intentional to have the face distorted, and although Bob Ross would call it a “happy accident,” I am not happy with this accident. So, I am going to recreate the mouthplates with a thinner material. I believe this will fix the problem. The wood I used for the mouthplates is too thick, distorting the foam head. So next week, I will follow up with my (hopefully) fixed head. Wish me luck.

Short Story

My final draft of my short story is due December 10th (3 days left)…AHHH). I only have a few days to finish my edits, get feedback, and upload the story. I am sure the competition will be fierce, so I am content with completing the story for submission. I do not know when I will have the answer to whether or not my story will be accepted, but if it is rejected, I will post it on this site. Fingers crossed that it gets in.

From Short Story to Short Film

I won’t say much about this except a friend approached me recently and asked if I would collaborate on writing a short film with him. I am very excited about the opportunity because this is someone that I know will finish what he starts. I am excited to share the finished film with you. Stay tuned.

Writing Fiction Podcast

In the most recent episode of the Writing Fiction podcast, Regina and I discuss whether you should be a pantser or a plotter when writing. If you don’t know what a pantser is, check out the latest episode to learn more. Available on all podcast platforms.

Jaws Hot Wheels

I have some fantastic friends. Last night, my friend Jon surprised me with Sheriff Brody’s truck from the movie JAWS. This is a very hard-to-find Hot Wheels that I have been looking for for months with no luck. Jon spotted it in Macy’s and thought of me. It now has a space in my JAWS collection curio cabinet.

Thrift Store Find

Last week, I forgot to post my latest thrift store find. Ladies and gentlemen— the game ACROBATS from 1986. I am a sucker for vintage board games, especially when they have dark themes like bats in a cave. I bring them home to play with my boys.

Something is going on in the bat tower! If you're ready to test your skill as an Acrobat, here's how it's done: Place the magnetic bat on the top of the Bat Tower. Roll the bat die to see what color bat you must add on your turn. You may be lucky and have to place a small one, or not so lucky and have to place the biggest bat of all. As each player goes, the weight of all those bats begins to tug on the top bat, so be careful! If your bat is the one that makes them fall, you get a Bat Token. When a player has 3 Bat Tokens, they're out of the game, and the player with the fewest Bat Tokens at that time wins!

The George Card

I also just remembered that I had to provide you with the latest collector card in the George the Cat series. Here it is, Piper and George: Best Friends.