Confessions, indeed

I've been on somewhat of a sabbatical. Not from writing, just posting. For the past month I've diligently plodded along in the next chapter of Maddie's Dress. I'm much later posting the chapter than I'd planned, but life and art have collided, and the result is something I didn't expect.

If you've been with me for a while, you're aware of accounts I've posted of a perplexingly painful rift in my extended family (if not, read this and then this). Well, a week before Christmas, it got uglier. All the silence and avoidance Mrs. DePaul was giving us due to Zelda's letter came spilling out in a rage at Zelda, unfortunately witnessed by Lovett and Dora. The next day, Mr. DePaul let me have it over the phone. According to him, I'm a liar, my principles are based on futile ignorance, I'm too open with my children, and I put myself in the middle of this mess, so if I'm hurt over it, I have no one to blame but myself.

According to me, Mr. DePaul is a bitter, angry old man. So there.

What's this have to do with Maddie, you ask? Well, Maddie, Gary, and the rest of the Perkins are composites of several people I've known, some more than others, if you get my meaning. Given the current state of relational affairs, Maddie has taken an unexpected turn. Her story is a little harsher than when I started it. I have mixed feelings about that. But I am working hard, for anyone who cares. I have 2500 words in the new chapter, and I have at least 1000 more. So be patient, please. Good art doesn't come cheaply.