The month of May, which is only half done, has already been a busy one for me. I’ve been doing edits on the stories for Fungi, and various other things have kept me running as well. Last weekend I took a couple of days off and went on a trip with my wife down to the Flint Hills Scenic Byway, which was a lot of fun. Lots of pretty country, and old towns, as well as a surprisingly good restaurant and a surprisingly good art gallery.

Maybe the most notable thing we saw was a “hermit cave.” (It’s #3 on this list, but unfortunately all the best info isn’t on the website, of course.) According to the historical marker thingy next to it, an Italian priest lived in the cave for roughly five months. Which is pretty cool. But the really good part is that the priest in question was pretty much a character from a Gothic novel. He was the son of a wealthy man who had to leave Europe because he fell in love with a young lady. He traveled around America under several assumed names, living in caves and, at one point, in a hollowed-out tree. He purportedly spoke nine languages, and later he was “mysteriously murdered.” (This is the wording on the marker.)

So that was last weekend. This coming weekend is the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live show. I’ll be there on Saturday, and will be hanging out with folks all around it. I only recently got a chance to take a look at the full exhibitor lineup, and it is, to put it mildly, damn impressive. On top of Mike Mignola, who we all know is a sufficient draw for me by himself, there’s also folks like William Stout and Gary freaking Gianni, among about a billion others. I am going to be hauling around so much stuff to get signed! If you’re going to be there, drop me a line and maybe we can catch up.