e pluribus haiku the novel

OK here's the plan. I've been writing about a thousand a year, three or four a day. I now have a few thousand, from all fifty states and the district, and what they do is make a background. It's very visual, physical, organized by seasons. So, you start out in Alabama and go summer, fall, winter, spring, and then you go to Alaska, that is, until or unless I organize it some other way.

So here's the question: is it possible to superimpose a novel onto this background? A novel, it would be, with a main character, a love interest, a plot, an ongoing story of some kind? Of course it would be possible, and, such a thing could fit into a single book with, say, five thousand. I've begun plotting it out already.

e pluribus haiku 2018, which will have this year's thousand, is already in the works. With all the other crazy stuff in my life - dad in hospice, wife in repair from knee surgery, four kids, uncertain job picture (though I'm technically a sub in the Alamogordo schools) - the one thing I stick with is my haiku; I've been able to write four a night. Last night, for example, it was South Dakota. I write & publish and I try to keep them coming. I have been developing an obsession with Warhol (see picture above) though I've let go of the idea of actually making money. Money schmoney. When it's all over, the money will be gone, but there will still be 5-7-5, all over the place.

OK OK

It's not a real reason to be absent, I'm aware. I'm an author, and I do all my own publishing, my own publicity, my own everything. Sometimes I slip, or lose my energy; this has happened recently because of two things. First, my dad has been sick, forcing me to drive across the White Sands (see picture below) twice or three times a week; it's a long drive, and quite beautiful, especially this spot where the sand is literally coming right over the fence. I have lots of time to think, but unfortunately, less time to do publicity or write.

Second, of course, is my son's burgeoning fame as a Youtuber. He makes money; he's well known; he enjoys a certain status in a tight community of "content producers." I too am a content producer, but I plug away, and have no niche, only a small following, very few "likes." Some, yes. But I write short stories. Who reads those these days?

And I write haiku. These days, about four a day, and this fills my plate; slowly I'm getting a thousand more for e pluribus haiku 2018. These, I'm thinking, I'll turn into a book. I have a few thousand; I could easily make five thousand, have a plot, and make everything I've done as background. It's a wild and beautiful country, and it's a very agitated times. People are struggling to keep their sanity with an abuser-in-chief and out-of-control foreign policy. Maybe that's my niche - making colorful, lively portraits of parts of the country, with very few words, illuminating its character.

The sand blows over the fence - time marches on. I'll be back. I'm writing a play about Hoover, and have about a dozen projects I'm working on. You'll see some soon, especially if I get some free time.

white sands at night