I finished the 8th Loki adventure today, and then I cried.

I should have finished the story yesterday. The end was in sight. I knew where I was going and what needed to be done, but I needed to go shopping. After five hours of driving around town to get all my shopping in as well as a stop to visit friends, I didn’t get back to Loki.

This morning I rushed to it with enthusiasm and got it done. Then I went to write it down on my calendar where I keep track of a few things that aren’t noted in my other tracking spreadsheet. I asked myself what day it was, and realized that it was my dad’s birthday today.

That’s what made me cry.

He loved the Loki series and was always asking when the next one would come out. I’m not sure he got half of the jokes in it because he was very much into history rather than contemporary culture, but the fact that he read them (and re-read them) meant so much to me. He loved to read, but he never understood why I wanted to be a writer.

I finished writing 1-800-IceBaby in the hospital room shortly before he passed away. It always made me sad that I knew he’d never get to read it when it came out. I think he would’ve chuckled. In writing Help Wanted, Call Loki, the grief and turmoil he heard over the phone line when he heard the woman sobbing was no less than my own. Yep, I can admit that I used that book as some of my own therapy to cope with my life at that moment. It really is no wonder that that book is about finding happiness. Probably why it took me so long to write because I had to go through all the stages myself so I could discover the ending.

This eighth short novel had only storytelling behind it. Well, okay, maybe there was some mindset work at the beginning as it starts off with Loki doing mundane tasks and enjoying it. As I recall, I was in a rush that morning and was going through a checklist of things I had to do to get out the door for work, and Loki started harassing me telling me that I needed to slow down and take pleasure in my routine. I could hear his voice so clearly that I jumped in the car and started recording on my way to work.

I’ve been so busy with the Sacred Knight and Onesong that I didn’t get back to Loki for several months after that initial burst. That’s how it goes sometimes.

This story probably needed me to be in space of wonder and curiosity. Otherwise I might have fought the direction it went in. It’s definitely one of the more far-fetched Loki adventures, and I thought that Loki falling out of the sky was pretty out there.

I won’t say any more so I don’t throw out any spoilers. And I’ll end by saying: Happy Birthday, Dad. Here’s to another Loki.