Rain… rain, come again

My name’s Michael Staton and I wrote this post.

I’m on a record-keeping binge.

I’ve been keeping rain records for my little area of the Vegas Valley since July of last year. Raindrops haven’t spotted the driveway since Tuesday, May 9. Not even sprinkles for 66 days. Time for a prayer: Lord, drop a sprinkle or two on my head… please.

Hopefully, he’ll answer my prayer sometime over the next few days. Vegas TV weather forecasters are saying the valley might get thunderstorms this week. Today (Monday) is the best chance with a 40 percent chance. I’ll be stepping out every hour and looking up at the sky, hoping to see those dark, ominous clouds that portend rain. Maybe I’ll hear a peal or two of thunder.

This is what I’m keen to see… some Las Vegas rain. As the Beatles sang, Let It Be.

I’ll even risk Sharon’s ire. She lives on a different timeclock than the other 7 billion people on Earth. When I step outside during the afternoon via the front door, she’s trying to sleep. The valley gets quite windy even on calm days. The swirling breeze sneaks into the house when I open the door and rattles the bedroom door. Be rest assured I’ll hear about it.

I love to walk the neighborhood at night when storm clouds gather in the south sky above the Boulder City area. Lightning crackles inside the clouds, lighting them up. Sometimes I can even hear the low rumble of thunder rolling across the landscape. It’s like I’m experiencing my own symphony.

Nothing like a wild desert rain. Over the last couple of days it has rained in the mountains near Las Vegas, but has mostly shied away from the valley.

Sometimes on lightning-and-thunder nights, the wind will pick up as I walk the streets. The hot wind threatens to blow off my baseball cap. I have to tug the cap against my ears every few seconds. And then I feel a raindrop smack my face, and soon even more raindrops find my skin. The wind becomes noticeably cooler. I wonder: Can I get back to the house before it rains harder?

Sometimes the neighborhood gets no more than sprinkles and I get back to the house without getting a drenching. Other times the heavens open up and I do get a soaking. Either way is fine with me. That’s not entirely true. It’s awfully nice to feel a steady rain on my face, especially after months of no rain.

I hope the local weatherman’s forecast doesn’t change. I’d love to feel raindrops on my face.

Well, this is it… the cover art for my Civil War novel, Blessed Shadows Dark and Deep. What do you think?

Update: As of Sunday night, I see a new online forecast on Weather.com. Monday, 20 percent chance for thunderstorms; Tuesday, 20 percent: Wednesday, 30 percent, and Thursday, 40 percent. Looks like the rain will take a little longer getting here.

By the way, did you see the front cover artwork for my Civil War novel? Just in case you missed, here it is. What do you think? Better than the one I rejected after revealing it on Writing Wranglers and warriors a while back?

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I’m an author with three fantasy novels to my credit – The Emperor’s Mistress, Thief’s Coin and Assassins’ Lair. The books make up a trilogy titled Larenia’s Shadow. A fourth novel, this one a historical romance set during the Civil War, is scheduled for publication in October. It’s called Blessed Shadows Dark and Deep. I’ve begun writing my second Civil War novel – Deepening Homefront Shadows. All my novels can be purchased via the website of my publisher, Wings ePress, as well as the websites of Amazon and Barnes and Noble.