he incandescent moment that hits without warning.

Just had one.

Was at work the first Monday of March. The work day was through. Was outside my pod, loading my bike for the ride home. Weather was pleasant. Hanging the saddlebags over the bike’s haunch, my fanny pack around my rump. Tossed on my lobster bib. Gloves. Road ID. Sweatband. Helmet. We’re good to

BANG

Right there, an idea, another, and another. I literally rocked back on my heels. A concept erupted in my mind, a wondrous vision of a steampunk world in a unique setting (one I’m not ready to share, not yet, it’s that good). And the subject – nothing less than a rewrite of an early novel, “Tubitz and Mergenstein”, the tale of a mismatched hero/heroine team that have to evade and elude the forces of established power, magnifying their strengths while squabbling over their differences.

I liked Tubitz and Baronette Mergenstein Hippen Von Graftin. I liked their world. I liked a lot of their situations. I didn’t like the length of the thing (a quarter million words). And parts of the book were downright silly. But there was a charm they had, something I’d like to recreate.

Sadly, T&M is the only early novel of mine I don’t think I have (I’ll check storage this weekend to be sure). I think I can actually better the book but I’d really like to have another look at it. There were some plot ideas that were really very clever (and I’ll have to put old puffy Count Ingnatz, with his pompous elitism (he breeds his peasants for stupidity, I remember)). Much of it I remember and the rest I’ll improve. I’ve got thirty years and three published novels to my credit. I can pull this off.

So I have the situation, the characters, the location. I’ve got to rework the conclusion (the idea of slowing down a clock by altering the frequency in the power flow doesn’t seem like it will work in a clock-work steampunk world). But I’ll come up with something. All sorts of somethings. And as I write it, I’ll comment about it here.

Blades up, gentlemen! There is work to be done!

>>>IF YOU CAN’T WAIT FOR THIS ONE TO COME OUT, MAYBE YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT MY SERIOUS WORK (“FIRE AND BRONZE”) OR MY HUMEROUS ONE (“EARLY RETYREMENT”), FOR SALE HERE!<<< 

Postscript – Found the book (two three ring binders, single-space typing), read it, liked it a lot. Now I’m going to love it. Already got a start on it.