July 2026 News
“I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread" - Bilbo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring
That was essentially the news this month. Now the news is
VIOLENCE & VIGILANCE
IS A FINALIST IN SPFBO XI!!
In the last post I wished for:
- Mad success with The Sandbar and Lake Hartwell Kayak.
- Increased skills, knowledge, experience, and client-base with David Tunes Pianos but I’m okay with 0 progress.
- Great talks and laughs and learns with new and previous guests on the Four Beardsmen of the Bookpocalypse.
- V&V makes semi-finalist and then finalist then wins SPFBO XI.
- Progress of ANY sort on V&V2.
Here’s what I got, in the same order:
- Mad success but somehow even madder chaos with The Sandbar and LHK.
- 0 progress but we have scheduled some tunings for when kayak season’s over.
- Zero talks and laughs with the the 4BofB boys or guests because I’m at the river or delivering kayaks. (max sadness)
- V&V MADE SEMI-FINALIST AND THEN FINALIST SPFBO XI!!!
- No writing progress with V&V2, but a test reader has been reading chapters and giving me helpful feedback.
Writing
SFF Insiders have promoted V&V to finalist in SPFBO XI. Find their announcement on SFF Insiders’ post here. The post briefly discusses all the semi-finalists then makes the announcement then lays out each judge’s thoughts on V&V and you better freaking believe I’m going to be plucking phrases and quotes out of there for some time to come.
V&V is joined as a finalist by:
~OF MAGES AND MAKERS by Rel Carroll
~CARRION SAINTS by Hiyodori
~DOGGED by Michael R. Fletcher
~JESTER by Tim Carter
~NO MORE LEVELS by Benjamin Barreth
~THE HONORABLE CON by Michele C. Shaw
~A LIGHT FROM THE NETHER by Molly Down Sullivan
~TO TOUCH A SLIENT FURY by R. A. Sandpiper
The best way to keep up with the competition is by watching this post on Mark Lawrence’s website, which will be continuously updated finalists scores. So far all finalists have only been judged and scored by the blog that nominated them but for the next few months the graph will fill with numbers. I’m under no delusion that V&V will win the whole contest but this new found attention has been nice and so have the positive reviews. It also buys me time to finish V&V2.
(screenshot from Mark’s website)
Not the most aesthetic but it gets the job done and everything is clickable
Regarding the work on V&V2, it is on hiatus due to kayaking obligations, but since the book is largely written and all that needs doing is clean up, polish, and detail work, this is the perfect time for little golden nuggets of dialogue or plot to occur to me while I’m away from the computer, at which point I save them somewhere, to eventually be applied to the manuscript at my earliest convenience.
Podcast - Four Beardsmen of the Bookpocalypse
The boys showing support in my absence! I feel the love even if it’s all a whole pond away
I’m on hiatus due to kayaking obligations. I hate missing it every time the boys meet. They’re meeting awesome guests and I’m not even able to view and comment while the shows air. I miss these boys.
Band - Something Once Sacred
I’m on hiatus due to kayaking obligations. We have a show in July and a friend of ours is sitting in on bass. I’m glad they are able to go through with playing the show. But I miss these boys too!
Piano tuning
I’m on hiatus due to (all together now) kayaking obligations. But we’re getting requests and I’m putting some September dates together for when the storm of kayaks blows over.
KAYAKING
Ah, my main event of the summer. As you know we own a business called Lake Hartwell Kayak Rental and Delivery, which delivers non-motorized watercraft all around the lake. June - August are our busiest months and we’re rocking out right now despite that we have actually scaled LHK back just a bit this year due to … wait, kayaking obligations? That doesn’t make sense unless ...
THE SANDBAR, BROAD RIVER
Aha. Here’s the culprit. Here’s the obligation. Here is the reason I’m MIA Friday-Sunday, dead to the world Monday, then tied up in admin duties Tuesday-Thursday.
The last news post mentioned that “My household has excitedly taken on the huge responsibility of managing the Sandbar on the Broad River.” Oh, what a simple and innocent young fellow I was then.
While it was a stressful decision and adaptation process, I truly had no idea the weight of it, especially when adding Lake Hartwell Kayak. But we have survived and perhaps even thrived if you look at numbers for 8 weeks. Maybe we can make it 10 more.
I want you to take a minute to follow us on Facebook or Instagram, where I post. I’m doing what I can to preserve the legacy of the place in case it doesn’t open in 2027. If you appreciate the outdoors and nature, it’s for you. Here are some samples pics from those accounts.
Next time
I’m finding it hard to predict the coming days and weeks, nevermind two months from now. But here goes. In the September update Mrs. List and the boys will be back at school and the brunt of the Sandbar work will be behind us, if not done entirely. There will also be new ratings and scores in the SPFBO finalists chart. God only knows what that will do to my mental state. Lake Hartwell Kayak will be cooling off but still rolling for the year. Piano tuning may be in full swing yet again. Hopefully my Something Once Sacred boys and 4 Beardsmen of the Bookpocalypse boys accept their returning prodigal son.
Most importantly progress on V&V2 will have resumed.
Davey, why would you consider writing V&V2 most important when it represents the weakest contributor to your financial income?
Because that’s the wolf I want to win. When the day comes that writing novels or otherwise creating interactive worlds based in Silexare is lucrative enough to cover my expenses, I will rid myself of all obligations that aren’t directly related, be they kayak or piano.
See you then
dtl
