It’s 9:35 PM on Sunday, April 10th, 2011. On the iTunes: Rockin’ the Beer Gut by Trailer Choir. Heather is singing along to the song while she holds Cole, who seems to be having a great time.
Life is good.
Okay, so you guys are probably wondering how my first week of Mr. Momhood went, right? Well, I can sum it up in two words: Worth. It. You could actually add a third word there if you wanted: Totally.
Monday and Tuesday were rough. I can’t lie. Cole and I weren’t quite in sync, and that led to him being awake and fussy almost the whole day. I did manage to get a bit of writing done those two days, but not nearly as much as I wanted. And yes, I was questioning the decision to stay home with him and write.
But by Wednesday, we had a nice groove going, and his afternoon naps left me three hours in which to write each day. To me, that’s a huge luxury. I had been trying to squeeze in two hours every evening and it was a struggle, but three? That’s like giving a guy fifty bucks when he only needs twenty and telling him to keep the change.
In other words, David is happy. So is Cole, as can be seen in this picture.
Cole, for the record, is amazing. At two months old and 11 lbs, 3 oz, he’s average size. Squarely in the middle, actually. He’s in the 50th percentile for weight. He’s only in the 25th percentile for height, but his mother is only 4 ft 10, and I’m not very tall, either, so we kinda figured he’d be smallish in that regard. But the doctor says that his growth is perfect, his skin is perfect, and Cole, himself, is perfect. So no worries.
The doctor also said Cole is ahead of the game when it comes to his manual dexterity and movement. In that regard, he is as developed as a 3-4 month old baby. Not bad, eh? If you’re thinking I sound like I am a proud papa, you’re damn right.
I do have to admit, I miss work. Still. I worked at my last job for nearly seven years. I was very useful and my boss made me feel appreciated every day. It was like family there. I went to visit last Friday and it was great to see everyone. But I know I made the right decision. Cole is going to grow up raised by a parent instead of a day care worker or neighbor, and there is no way that will be a bad thing. Besides, I can still visit my old job and coworkers, so I’ll get to see them again. It’s all good.
On the writing front, I stopped work on Londinium for a little while in order to work on my entry into THE DEAD MAN series. My book is titled THE DEAD WOMAN, and it’s almost done. I had planned to finish it on Friday but family demands prevented it. I will finish it tomorrow, even if I have to stay up till well after Heather and Cole have gone to bed. I really, really enjoyed this project. I liked having the main character fleshed out already, with just a few things to add of my own. It was a nice break and a good time. I just hope Lee and the guys enjoy it. Time will tell. Here’s the cover:
Another bonus is I’ve had a ton of ideas for Londinium while working on THE DEAD WOMAN, so it turns out taking a break from Theron, Taras, and Ramah was a good thing. I think it’ll show in the book, too. When a writer is engaged and having a good time, I believe it shows, and the reader can pick up on it. I think you guys are going to enjoy Londinium.
For the record, the second book in THE DEAD MAN series, RING OF KNIVES, by James Daniels, is AMAZING. Honestly, I read it and I feel a bit inadequate. It really is a fantastic piece of work, and I understand it’s his first book. I can only shake my head in wonder at that. The guy’s a rare talent, and I think he is going to go a long way. The whole series is good so far, actually. If you haven’t read it, do so. You won’t regret it. Start here. As a bonus, the first book is currently on sale for only 99 cents (Kindle Edition), so you can’t miss!
Well folks, Cole and Heather are falling asleep and I’m still blogging, so I think I’m going to finish up for the night and go kiss them both goodnight. I hope you enjoy the picture, and I hope you read and enjoy THE DEAD MAN series.
McAfee Land 
Cole is such a cutie and I have to send him something in the mail. I have been very busy. Tell you later.
The series sounds great and I love that cover. 🙂 I wish you many, many sales. 😉 I’ll help spread the word.
Cool. Looking forward to it, Tyhitia. Hope you guys are doing great!
Congrats David! I quit my job to be a stay-at-homed-dad cartoonist almost a year ago now and it’s still totally worth it! I’m jealous that you are able to do this when he’s so young, I wasn’t able to make the leap until my son was 2 1/2. The daily routines evolve as my son gets older but it’s easy to adapt when you are no longer stuck to an employer’s schedule.
Sweet! What’s your market? Comics? Greeting cards? Single panels? I used to be a freelance cartoonist waaaay back in the day. I never made much money, but I sure loved the work.
My main project is a single panel strip at thebookofbiff.com – it just turned 5 years old on Saturday. I sell ads on the site and self publish the books in print and more recently as ebooks.
I’ve always been interested in freelance cartooning but it seems like the market for that is getting smaller and smaller so I put my efforts into a second strip for myself instead.
This is great, David! I’m working toward the same goal.
And Cole looks just like you. I mean, it’s uncanny.