The Virus Diaries: Slowing Down
I’ve been blogging daily since beginning self-isolation on March 15th. I’m not technically running out of things to say, but I am running a little lower on the urge to blog. So I’ll stop doing daily blog entries soon.
It will be a long, long time before my kids go back to school. For me, that’s the main thing (assuming my loved ones and I continue to avoid the virus… which is a lot more likely the longer I keep the kids home). Term 2 officially begins the day after tomorrow and I get panicky whenever I think about it. Ugh. And it’s very likely that there will be a second wave of COVID-19 starting exactly 2 weeks after schools open. Yuck.
Anyway, here’s Zipper being annoyed at me for taking a picture.
Don’t panic if I don’t blog tomorrow (or even for the next week or two): it’ll be laziness, not illness, that stops me.
Art of the day: Have you tried interactive fiction? It’s like those Choose Your Own Adventure books from the 80s, but these days it’s usually digital (which gives it a glorious flexibility eg you can choose your gender) and sold as apps. There’s a huge amount of fantastic content available from Choice of Games (and their unofficial label, Hosted Games, which has published me several times).
My stories are the pirate adventure Scarlet Sails, the magical steampunk tale Attack of the Clockwork Army (which happens at the same time as my third steampunk novel, and features some of the characters), and the cozy murder mystery Death at the Rectory. I’ve also been part of two group-written games, the retro scifi comedy Starship Adventures, and the portal adventure Lost in the Pages.
Felicity Banks 
benoitsmithfr said,
April 26, 2020 at 5:23 pm
Thank you for reminding me about Choice of Games! Looks great. I wish my English were good enough to allow me to write one thing or two for them to host…
Felicity Banks said,
April 26, 2020 at 8:23 pm
They are awesome, it is true. (I am not associated or affiliated with them in any way; just a fan and writer.)
benoitsmithfr said,
April 26, 2020 at 5:31 pm
Of the likeliness of a second wave or the inability of some governments (e.g. the French one) to make the right decisions about it, I find it hard to tell what frightens me most.
benoitsmithfr said,
April 26, 2020 at 5:32 pm
Take care.
Felicity Banks said,
April 26, 2020 at 8:23 pm
You too, Benoit.