25th Dec: Merry Christmas!
I know not all readers celebrate Christmas. The Internet is vast, and religions vary from country to country. One religion has a celebration today. Nevertheless, I’d like to wish you a safe December wherever you are.
There is another group of people who won’t celebrate much, and it has nothing to do with religion. If they’re suffering silently from a sexless marriage, the end of a year is a sad reminder that another 12 months have passed without physical intimacy. The countdown to the 1st of January is a painful one.
I’ve experienced many Decembers like that. While everyone was smiling and looking forward to a New Year, I was filled with disappointment and heartbreak. There was little hope left after a decade without sex. I wanted Christmas to go away fast. My smiles were used up.
If you’re in a marriage that has no sex, my special message to you is to keep taking deep breaths. Drink plenty of water and go on brisk walks frequently. Keep the depression at bay by staying physically active. It’s too easy to fall into a black pit of despair at this time of year. It won’t make your spouse change, but it’ll help you deal with the situation better, psychologically speaking. If you do that, you might make it to the 1st of February with a stronger mindset.
There are no promises from me; it’s just a well-intended hope that you’ll make it through this Christmas less scathed than the last one.
-M
08 Dec: Hi readers!
I’m nearing the end of this round of blog insertions. Yippee! (It’s been almost a year since that process started)
Each new blog contributes to the information pool, covering six vital areas that support the SEETHINGS novel.
SEETHINGS is dark fiction based on a troubled marriage. The protagonist is a photographer searching for answers about the loss of marital intimacy and finds comfort in the arms of an affair partner. While photographing lightning at night, he believes he witnesses something odd in the darkness. Still, his dismissive wife assures him it’s nothing to worry about, certainly not related to the murders being reported in the news lately.
This single, brief paragraph explains the bulk of the blog content. The sailing and personal components remain.
The personal content concerns me, or what Margo and I have been up to lately. Anecdotes and opinions are included too. The sailing side of the blog accommodates the second novel, which takes to the serene waters of Moreton Bay. It’s darker than the first novel but includes sailing terms, new scenery and characters.
Mitchell Felding finds peace in a new interest: sailing. The following summer arrives, and it’s not too long before the inner demon starts to stir, turning another set of sweltering stormy nights into its macabre playground. This time, it’s not about personal discovery but sport.
There, you have a content collective in one update.
Each time a reader chooses a post to read, another related post will be presented at the end of it. Clues to what the SEETHINGS’ story is about are found throughout them. Links provide directions on where to download a *free copy of the book. (*Limited time)
I hope you enjoy perusing the content behind this site and reading my novel, SEETHINGS.
-M
23 Nov: Things are busy this way.
The days are getting longer again, and daytime temps are rising. I’ve removed the pool cover, cleaned the algae away from the green pond under it, and turned it into the crystal-clear oasis it should be.
Margo and I have our runabout back from the service centre, which means fishing and crabbing season beckons. Since we took delivery of the boat, we’ve had several watery experiences, and the new gearbox is a dream. We’ve had fun catching very few edible fish these last few weeks. (LOL)
The new bikes have also been used extensively. We’ve covered more ground this year than most others. We got a bit slack, but those electric bicycles have allowed us to explore areas in a way we never could before. We can see so much more. And their range is fabulous. Apart from the occasional sore bum at the end of 20 km, they’re a breeze to ride. It’s partly because they are electric and partly because much of our coastline is flat. We can peddle and put 100% effort into the ride or dial up some power to support us.
I’ll use 10-20% per cent electricity on a flat section of a bicycle path. In the wind, while going up a hill, I’ll switch to 90%. (I’m not too shy to get help!)
Electric bikes are seriously heavier than non-electric ones. We’ve got 27 kilograms of frame, battery and motor to peddle across the ground. That’s about three times more weight than a standard bike, so engaging some support power is necessary while riding a level area. Adding extra from the battery makes it much more manageable if there’s an incline or a headwind.
Blogs continue to be added to the content pool, and if you follow the blog button on the menu bar, you’ll see them. One that drew some extra attention this past week was this one. It speaks of the erotic components of my writing and why the aggressive element was added to the SEETHINGS narrative.
-M.
1st Nov: Christmas is around the corner again, and I’ve restored an old Christmas podcast made during the pandemic lockdowns and added some new audio to it.
While normal life returned some time ago, the content in that older podcast still applies to those in sexless, platonic marriages. It’s coming up to Christmas time, and many of us will put on a happy face to make those around us comfortable. While they enjoy meal-sharing, gift-giving and other warm Christmas traditions, we will suffer in silence.
If you haven’t already heard it, the link is here.
The blog pool has now reached a whopping 500 posts. Check them out in the BLOG section you see above. They cover many things, such as anecdotes, personal travel and activities, experiences, ideas, and, of course, the primary topic, sexless marriage.
On a lighter note, we took our boat out for the first time this season. After returning it from the service centre (and the winter break), we set out for our first fishing trip, only to discover that the helm was wrongly configured. Everything was backward! When I turned the wheel left, the boat went right! It could’ve had some tragic outcomes. The service guy was shocked when I called him the following Monday.
We managed to make do with the awful helm to get in some fishing time, staying well clear of navigational markers, other vessels and shallow waters along the way. We survived. Margo caught some decent fish (see Insta), too.
19th Oct: Podcasts are hitting the airwaves everywhere. I don’t remember the number of episodes I’ve recorded in the last six weeks, but it seems like a lot. They were recorded for three blogs to address my novels’ topics. (You’ll have to search to find all three! Here’s one.)
I was listening to one on the train and was surprised at how much background noise still made it into the episode.
The podcasts aren’t recorded in a soundproof studio, so it’s possible the outside world can bleed into the recordings. Apart from the occasional rumbling of a passing bus, the main offender is the local wildlife. We have an extraordinary amount of birds around the property. Parrots, galahs, crows, etc., visit our open feeders. I used to get annoyed and re-record passages containing the bird squawks and trills. These days, I let them stay on the track. They add a certain intrigue and live element to them.
The difference in hearing them on the train was those bird noises were instantly noticeable. It’s hard to tell at home between live background bird sounds and those recorded on the track on the day of recording. Since I record in stereo, every squawk is authentic, live or recorded. However, I don’t expect to hear birds on a train. When they present themselves in my headphones, they stand out immediately!
22nd Sept: Wildflower season is here! We had a short stay, a whip-around of the state’s interior to see the blooming outback in real-time. It was a camping trip decided in a second. Once the forecast promised seven days of clear weather, we hit the road – and we hit it fast.
-M
I can handle three straight hours sitting in a car, but that’s all, so we camped a couple of times on the way out (and back). It takes five hours to reach Mingenew, the hub known for the natural show at this time of year.
I wrote a piece on open marriages and watched the AI engine struggle to summarise the content. It’s a routine process, a tool I activate just before posting. AI reads it and condenses it to 50 words. But whenever there’s a morally edgy topic, it gets offended. If you look closely, it says the request was flagged. It’s not the first time it’s done this. It won’t be the last.
Read the post and decide for yourself. Is this something AI should have an opinion on?
13th Sept: I made a major mess up! A podcast episode was published without first checking the uploaded track from the platform site. It was out there for a few hours before I noticed what I did. What an embarrassment!
Young folks would call me a shidiot. (Yes, this new word is as bad as it sounds)
In all my years, I’ve always looked/listened/watched my digital posts from the platform’s dashboard after uploading them. Some say it’s not required, but I don’t trust technology.
The truth is, I don’t trust the tech-and-human marriage, rather, I don’t trust me. It only takes a momentary distraction to select the wrong box and detonate a digital bomb. Fortunately, my error didn’t explode. All I did was post an unfinished track. At worst, it exposed a few awkward stumbles and flubs.
I uploaded the wrong file to the host. The proper finished file sat beside it.
In a recent post, I spoke of recording stereo audio content to increase listener intimacy. It also mentions how the flubs are edited out before listeners hear it. If anyone heard what went on in those earlier tracks, they’d be surprised or even shocked. Sometimes, a bus passes by my home, and I must stop, wait for the rumble to end, and then continue. (Sometimes, I let the sound stay because I’m pushed for time.)
And then there’s the first cleanup file that removes most of the background sounds. After that, there are progressive saves where I change the filename’s suffixes. There will be A, B, and C versions, etc, until the work is complete. I’ll label the file with an appropriate title, and that’ll become the published one you listen to.
I uploaded the second last file, not the last one and didn’t check what was uploaded.
Lesson learned!
Were you one of those who heard the unedited file?
Drop me a line!
-M
4th Sept: Margo and I have taken the new bikes out as much as practical. The weather hasn’t been great, so we’ve carefully chosen our riding days. (see pics in the insta-feed above)
New posts continue to drop here, and I’ve added a brand new post every day for the last 140 days. The resulting traffic has added new readers to the lists. The latest podcasts have done the same. I’m looking forward to adding another 140 days of posts to the site and new episodes to The Dirty Rabbit Hole Podcast in that time. Keep watching (or listening) for more.
Levi (our cat) has had some major surgery, and we’re thankful he pulled through (he’s not a young cat anymore). After healing for a week, his young personality came through. It’s as though he’s ten years younger. We can’t believe the change!
-M
11th August: I discovered some of my old SEETHINGS notebooks today.
I almost always carry a pocket-sized notebook. If I come up with an idea, I write it down. These notebooks (pic) are part of a collection I used when writing SEETHINGS. Their pages are dog-eared, and the paper is soft. One of the books has smudged words on it, the cover is bent, and the pages are tainted with blue ink because it went through the wash. Some pages are still stuck together.
I prefer making paper notes for some things. Paper is portable and doesn’t require batteries. I believe some things are easier to find when written on paper. (I’m half old-school, half new-tech). If I need assistance to confirm something I wrote in my notes, Google, Google Maps and such are there to support them.
There are also tide charts floating around as part of the SEETHINGS 2 research notes because I remember having to calculate the times between rising and falling tides so I could get a body to float to a certain point at a certain time in Moreton Bay.
That’s what goes on when I write.
-M.
6th July: It’s cold.
Winter has arrived in the southern hemisphere, and with it, so has the Summer/Winter Smashwords book sale. I have one enrolled in the sale. Check it out.
-M
3rd June: I just uploaded this video (below). It’s of a storm off our coast. My dashcam caught the lightning show. It’s not a great resolution, but you get to see how spectacular it was to watch. The best thing was the rain’s timing. It held off until we pulled into our driveway. -M
25th May: Even more content arriving.
I’m powering on, delivering more writing to this site daily. Over the last month, almost sixty new pieces have been added. It’s been rewarding and exhausting, so I’m about to slow down the pace and drop posts once every few days.
Now you’re wondering how to access all that new content (if you’re not signed in to receive updates). It’s simple. I’ve added a new item to the menu above titled “BLOG.” Just click it to see what’s been going on.
As mentioned in my last post, it’s a mix of personal activities, ideas, opinions, fiction, and snippets from my books. This is a vast cross-section of my life in a blog. Some of it is naughty, while other bits are absolutely horrific. There are funny bits and serious things, too. You never know what you’ll find!
-M
12th May: More content pouring in.
The material just keeps on coming, doesn’t it? I bet you’re wondering what’s due to be published next. It’s a mix of everything. There’s music, crime, and shed building… none seem to connect.
This is true, except they’re all connected to me. In some way, they’re part (or have been) a part of my life. Even the fiction is connected to me (I wrote it). What makes the difference is the way readers access and read the posts. At the bottom of every page, there’s a ‘Related Post’ offering. There’s another post that’s tied to the first. Content-specific material keeps presenting itself to the reader to draw them in and keep them on the site. It doesn’t matter whether they found me on a search engine, a Tweet (X), or some other way; they can see lots of similar material in one place and decide to pursue the fiction. Over four hundred new posts are coming online in the next few months. They’ve been written and parked in a holding folder, just waiting for my attention to finish them off and send them. (That’s what my weekends are for!)
Hey! I’ve finally found out what moves faster than the speed of light. It’s the weekend!
Bye.
-M
5th May: Ramping up the content.
Followers may have noticed a sudden flurry of new content added to this site’s backend over the last three weeks. (If you’re a subscribed member, you’d know!). That’s because I’ve been busy writing it!
Some are transferred from the Spotify podcast, but much isn’t. Included, are snippets of our daily life here in Mandurah and anecdotes, experiences, and other updates to my writing you don’t normally see here.
Why?
I have a new writing assistant working with me: Grammarly. It’s amazing! Writing is easy; it’s the editing that’s time-consuming.
Ask anyone who writes, and they’ll tell you the same thing: Editing sucks! Even now, I can read a piece of text I’ve written and checked a thousand times before and then find a better, more succinct way to write it. Up until now, much of the work has been manual. Grammarly is automatic. It’s like a second set of digital eyes that scrutinises the text. It’s fast. That’s why I can process the content faster.
The other thing is deciding to stop editing sooner. I’ll accept a final editing outcome and then leave it alone. I won’t touch it again. I’m working with the idea that if it’s right one time, it’s right for all times and doesn’t need further attention. What’s done is done.
Yeah. Sure. I did that last paragraph a dozen times.
-M.
25th April: So many changes are afoot.
What? Afoot? Who uses that word anymore? Geeze Louise. It reminds me of a word I heard a young fellow say this past week. He said, “Egad!”
Old-world words seem to pop up periodically in modern language for no apparent reason. It’s fascinating, isn’t it? One part of the world rushes on while another drops in to revisit it. Speaking of rushing worlds: Anchor.Fm has officially been taken over by Spotify and Draft2Digital is taking over the publishing side of Smashwords. That means my podcasting and publishing hosts have changed. What does this mean for you?
Nothing.
You’ll listen and read my content from the places you always have. From my side, it means I have to perform some alterations. It’s a niggling thing because every two years something like this happens. There’s a change to a platform in the lineup, and authors who use it must move to keep up. These are the times when Amazon starts looking good. “Egad!”
-M.
26th March: Where does the time go?
My sister (and her husband) dropped in this past week. It was a surprise. It shouldn’t have been because I was told about it last year. She wrote to me from the other side of Australia and I just forgot. Similarly, she forgot to keep me updated. (Clearly, we don’t talk often!)
Her husband and I once were work colleagues when I was a teenager. He’d drop me off at home after work. One day, he dropped me off and picked up my sister. They dated, married, and had two children who have since grown up and left the nest. Now the couple have more time to travel to places like Mandurah on the opposite side of the country.
Seeing and showing them the world I became a part of about a decade ago was a delight. We laughed a bit and lamented over history too. So much has changed. So much has aged.
Just as we got used to having them around they had to go home.
-M.
P.S Sales increased and we’re back on track!
25th Feb: There’s not much to report. Book sales have plateaued. There’s a sale on at smashwords.com.au very soon so I’m expecting that to change.
Someone asked about my Instagram account. They wanted to know why my face rarely appears there. It’s as if my camera points at every other thing but me.
There’s a good reason. I grew up in times when the SELFIE didn’t exist. No one took pictures of themselves. They photographed other things. Between the eighties and the early-naughties, I can count on one hand the number of times I took pictures of myself.
Having said that, I do appear from time to time. If you scroll back far enough, you’ll see me. I’m there. I really am!
On the matter of Artificial Intelligence pictures: Someone sent this AI picture (below) to me. It’s in line with what I was saying about AI images a few posts ago. It gets it wonderfully right and beautifully wrong. When it does that, the results are beyond brilliant. You have to laugh at the artistic absurdity, right? -M
3rd Feb: Going back to go forward.
Subscribers may think I’ve abandoned dark fiction authoring as I chase nostalgia with my last few posts. It’s almost as if I’ve turned to the white side.
I am. But it’s temporary. Don’t worry. I’m loyal to my evil. As you know, SEETHINGS relies heavily on a sexless marriage-driven narrative. Many of my visitors are in one. Most of my readers are also between 30 and 60.
These nostalgia bombs are meant to attract this audience.
Nostalgia. That takes me back.
REMEMBER NETSCAPE and MYSPACE? Nostalgia bombs. Those who do remember them, get them right away: “Oh yeah, I knew about those things! Where did they go?” They might even follow a link from text written about it to feed their curiosity.
That’s why these posts are being sent out. Enjoy the bombs when they speak of your special time! 🙂
-M
14th Jan: New podcasts went out today.
If you click here then you’ve got yourself a free ticket to listen. Once inside, have a look around. You’ll find more podcast tracks (and written content) throughout the pages.
It’s been a busy time. Family came to visit us from the United Kingdom. Between Christmas and early January, we entertained, wined and dined our visitors every day until they were full and sleepy. It was a fantastic opportunity for Margo to reconnect with those she hadn’t seen for quite some time. We were both nervous and excited before they came but everything turned out perfectly. There were lots of photos taken but we withheld them from Instagram (That’s why things on the feed have been quiet).
Thanks to those dropping me comments from the other podcast, The Dirty Rabbit Hole P/Cast. I’m still amazed at its reach and the amount of people who relate to it, those stuck in sexless marriages. Of course, all this content is directly related to SEETHINGS — a sexless-marriage-driven psychological thriller. If you haven’t read it yet, the link is here.
-Michael.
7th Jan: Happy New Year from Western Australia!
This is from Apple Podcasts:
I didn’t see this review out there when it was written but I found it today. I must thank carrblack for taking the time and making the effort to write a review for a podcast. Thank you.
-Michael.