Dana Rose Bailey she/her

The most devastating screenplay you'll ever write isn't the one that fails—it's the "safe" one you wrote because you were too afraid to fail. Don't let fear steal your voice. Your unique perspective is your competitive advantage.
#scriptsky

Cleaning my porch today, and feel a little guilty destroying this magnificent web. It's fairly big, but my camera would only pick up this end. Don't worry, the spider won't be harmed.

I'm hand writing notes on something and my mind went blank on a word. So, I asked my husband how to spell 'psychic,' and he spelled out, "sidekick." We got a good laugh.

I think that if you're a writer and you don't invent a word every now and then you're missing out on a solid chunk of the fun.

The cover for Uncanny Magazine Issue 57, “Forever Traveler” by Antonio Javier Caparo: In the background, a sky of a light purple color with clouds has a flock of white birds flying by. A tall, majestic tree stands in the middle, trunk thick and illuminated by the sun. A bald man in an astronaut's suit is sitting with his legs crossed and eyes closed. He looks like he is meditating; on his right side, his helmet rests on the ground, and the quote says, "My stitches laddered their way up the split seam, in and out one side, across, and then in and out the other. When you pulled the thread through, if you had done the job right, it closed the seam like it had never been torn at all."

Reading for the Hugo Awards? "Stitched to Skin like Family Is" by Nghi Vo @nghivo.bsky.social is a finalist for a Best Short Story Hugo Award!

It's also a Locus Award finalist! Read it here or in the Hugo Award Packet!

buff.ly/bhzn4PL

I feel very silly. I just got teary when a coworker told me about the new Barbie with type 1 diabetes. My dad had this, so awareness has always been important to me. I love seeing this.

Oh no. There's a whole family. This is my in-laws house down the hill from my house. My dog is going crazy.

Question: do you randomly come across movie trailers? Like they are ads being served to you. Or do you search them out? Or do you rely on organic word if mouth? I'm curious because I rarely see ads. It's more about who I follow. So I sometimes miss them.

Aa someone who has made a career in advertising and marketing, I have to give a shout out to Venmo and Ryze. I can't get the Venmo jingle out of my head. And I'm thinking of trying Ryze because of the cute mushroom mascot.

Last year, I went to a hospice seminar and they talked about how, at the end, people have to give up their dreams. It really got me thinking. Like you, I have a lot I still plan to do. Each day is precious. I wish you the best of luck creating as much as possible.

The neighborhood skunk is back.

Keep it going!!

For anyone curious, he's around 20 or 21 pounds. And even though they say Maine Coons are the dogs of the cat world, he's still very much a cat.

This is the face of a lier. He already got his dinner, but he's staring us down like we forgot. Oh to be a cat in a good home.

I hate getting older. Too many things to think about.

It's weird, it's taken me a year to call my parents' house, my mom's house. Big sigh, I'm not sure I like that. Most days I'm too busy to think about things, but every so often memories gut punch me, and all I can do is to keep from falling to my knees. Not just about my dad, but life.

I should note, it helps that my mom lives at the beach... and we live close to a lake. So we vacation more than some.

I took a break from social media, debating if I need to extend it. I miss conversing with some of you, but I get stressed by the world. I'm going to try to hang in. Hopefully, my posts can be a palate cleansing. Cats, birds, writing, and otherwise simple stuff.

I saw a bear cub at the end of our gravel road and instead of taking a photo, I rolled down the window to talk to it. You know I wanted to bearnap it. But thankfully I have common sense and let it go about it's business. Never saw the mom. It was a bigger cub, but I'm sure mom wasn't far.

We did a Friday to Friday this year because my daughter had to work. It was really nice to have a weekend after vacation. I highly recommend.

Beautiful!

I filled this up Friday evening and now it's empty. I think this is the first time they've drunk it all. Usually, it's about a little less than half full when I refresh. I don't know if it's the heat or if they are all coming by at once.

Sounds fun. I hope Zooks enjoys.

What are you going to see?

Do you have any advice for planning a writing retreat? It'll be a day at the lake. I figure we can write, eat, and swim. But I'm worried we'll get there and not write.

I'm being stalked by mushroom coffee. It apparently is one step away from curing everything.

Instead of working on the front porch today, we decided to hang on the screened in porch. Bogie, likes it better as he's not on a leash. Listen to him chatter at the birds.

I'm working on the front porch and brought my cat and dog out to enjoy the day with me.

I had to self-check out a full basket of groceries last night. I hate doing that. The woman behind me looked so annoyed that I was taking so long. Silly problem, but still. Small batches I don't mind.

That's the important part.