Update #2 - November 2026

 A little progress on chapter 10. This deals with Taliesin's "Dark Path" initiation on Ynys Mon. I've dealt with some of this sort of experience in The Ash Spear, The Well of Wisdom, and The Druid's Son, and to a smaller extent in The King's Druid, but not really from the point of view of the one undergoing it except in The King's Druid's Irish equivalent. Should be interesting!

Frost most mornings now - winter is creeping up on us. Starting a little garden clean up, but no hurry. Need to do some leaf raking first on the back sidewalks. The squirrels have almost finished the pumpkin, and the indoor plants are doing well in the garage. Seems like a long time until spring.

Update #1 - November 2026

 Almost finished chapter #9 - just need to add a little more background description. I should be able to start chapter 10 this week, which will be easier - it's Taliesin's Dark Path initiation. I'm wondering if there should have been an earlier chapter, though, describing some of his journeys with Emrys and Talhaearn that are mentioned in "The Old Gods Endure".

Cold and rain last night and today; probably frost again sometime this week. All the overwintering plants are in the garage, including the nasturtium this time because it's still blooming. It's definitely the beginning of winter. I hope everyone had a good Samhain!

Update #4 - October 2026

 Once again, not much progress on chapter 9, although I did a little more tinkering. I've spent some time reading parts of my second Storyteller trilogy partly to get the flavor of things right, and have changed a couple of bits. I still need to finish that praise poem and add more background details. I was busy parts of the last three days with mundane matters, including vehicle emissions testing and registration renewal.

Today is cold, cloudy, and wet after last night's rain, so I should be able to stay inside and concentrate on writing.  The geraniums are safely in the garage for the winter, and the basil and rosemarys have been coming in and out. The tomatoes are dead and the beans not far behind. Nos Calen Gaeaf - Samhain, "Winter's Eve", will come next Saturday.

Update #3 - October 2026

 Chapter 9 is, alas, still not entirely done, though it's getting close. I still have to write a praise poem for Taliesin to sing to the local prince and fill out a few more visual details. Getting close, though.

Seasons are changing. I had frost two nights last week, and need to finish the geranium migration - I just covered some of them. Gardening season is coming to a close, and needs to be followed by garden cleanup. Probably no frost for another week, but it's hard to tell, as my lows are running several degrees below the forecasts.

Update #2 - October 2026

I'm still working on chapter 9. Most of the outline is in place, but it needs filling out, and I have to think more about Taliesin's thoughts as well as his actions. He is eighteen now and a Master Bard, and is in the process of getting revenge on the master who mistreated him as a boy. His actions are straightforward, but his memories and emotions are complex. This is in a way one of two pivotal chapters in the whole book.

After a warm week with highs in the 80s, the weather is about to change, with a possibility of light frost here Thursday and Friday nights. This will be hard on the remaining marigolds, morning glories, and basil, and it is time to move the geraniums indoors, but the tomatoes are mostly dead, and the beans have finished blooming. By Denver standards this will be a late frost. The ash leaves are turning gold, and the big hackberries to my south are dropping theirs on the wind. Winter is slowly approaching.

Update #1 - October 2026

 Still slow progress on chapter 9, but I know where it's going now. I should finish it this week. The chapter title is now "Justice", and Taliesin says at the end, “There is not much in this world that I hate, other than injustice.” To which the local Prince's lawyer says dryly, “Then you have erased one example.” Things should go faster after this, as the next chapters are centered on stories Taliesin has told Gwernin. 

After a cool week, the temperatures are back to highs in the lower 80s, but this is not bad combined with lows in the 50s or 40s. The last tomatoes are finally getting ripe, although there's no likelihood of frost for at least another week or so. Leaves are starting to turn on some of the trees; we're well into autumn. 

Update #4 - September 2026

 Slow progress on chapter 9, but progress. I've had to think about what needs to happen, and who needs to be involved. At this point, I have part of a chapter and several bits of the rest of it which need to be expanded. This is not the way I usually write, but this is not a usual story. 

Autumn is progressing - overnight lows in the 50s and sometimes in the 40s. The sweet 100s have been getting ripe faster, and now and then one of the Romas. I haven't needed to water every day due to occasional thunderstorms. Looks like we might have another two or three weeks before the first frost.

Update #3 - September 2026

 Still working slowly on chapter 9, adding and occasionally removing bits. Taliesin is conferring with the local Prince's chief lawyer about the details of his acquisition of the local farmstead where he worked as a boy. Emrys has not come along with him on this mission, and I'm not sure if Talhaearn has. He is about to interview someone who can be in charge of the farmstead if he gets it, since he will not be living there himself. He intends to call the farm "Tre Taliesin", the name of an actual village in that area which I visited once.

The seasons are changing drastically. Highs in the low 80s and 70s, overnight lows in the 50s, and this morning 45. We celebrated Equinox yesterday evening, surrounded by thunderstorms but with only a sprinkle of rain. I don't expect to need window fans at night now, though I haven't put them away yet. I'm more likely to be running the furnace instead. There are still green Romas and sweet 100s, but they are not ripening much; I actually bought some at the farmers' market this morning. Definitely autumn.

Update #2 - September 2026

 Very slow progress on chapter 9 - too much else going on last week. I'm rereading some of the earlier books for details. The chapter title has changed to "Repayment" based on something from chapter 5.

Yesterday was like a left-over scrap of August - a high of 90 or so, and a too-warm night. I'm hoping that's over now. Autumn is encroaching on the garden - green sweet 100s and romas, but not much ripening; lots of purple-podded beans, but no scarlet runners; not many marigolds still blooming. The rest of this week should be highs in the upper 70s and low 80s, overnight lows in the 50s or lower. Things are coming to an end.

Update #1 - September 2026

 Slowly working on chapter 9 ("Vengeance"). After winning his Master Bard status, Gwion has changed his name to Taliesin, and asked King Arthur for title to the farmstead where he was living when Emrys and Talhaearn found him. This chapter is all new material, and will show how his plan works out. It's going slow as I have to sort out a lot of things, but I hope to get it done in the next week. After this will come his dark path experience, which will be a mixture of new and older material.

After a few cooler days, it's been a warm weekend - highs in the lower 90s again. The purple podded beans have been setting, but the scarlet runners haven't, partly because the accursed beetles kept eating their flowers. I have some green Romas, which might get ripe this month, and some green sweet 100s as well, but September begins to be chancy for ripe tomatoes. I managed to mow the front yard, or at least the shaggier parts that still had grass. Some of the back needs attention now.