Smorgasbord Posts from Your Archives – #PotLuck – Bats in the Writer’s Belfry by D. Wallace Peach

Welcome to the new series of Posts from Your Archives, where bloggers put their trust in me. In this series, I dive into a blogger’s archives and select four posts to share here to my audience.

If you would like to know how it works here is the original post: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2019/04/28/smorgasbord-posts-from-your-archives-newseries-pot-luck-and-do-you-trust-me/

I am delighted that fantasy author D. Wallace Peach has given me permission to dive into her archives and I have had a amazing time selecting four posts to share with you. This week back to nature, and if you think you have bats in your belfry… you might not be crazy.

Bats in the Writer’s Belfry by D. Wallace Peach

Image Pixabay

I have a three-season writing room. Four-season, if I light the wood stove and heat the place up. Finishing the roughed-in room over my husband’s workshop was one of the first projects I undertook when moving to the wilderness of Oregon.

Wilderness naturally entails a plentitude of wildlife, and my writing room has endured its share of feathered, winged, and furry visitors.

I love it when the hummingbirds fly in the window and hover over my head before zipping out again.

I didn’t even mind when the walls filled with wasps. The room vibrated with a soft hum while I sat peacefully among them and wrote. After two years of friendly buzzing around my head, they mysteriously moved out all on their own.

Then the bats moved in.

We are a bat-friendly household even though Nature Boy (aka the husband) has watched a few too many Dracula movies. He swears that “Batty” swoops at him as he runs the gauntlet from the door to the car every morning.

For two years, the bats and their buddies have been partying in my writing room, and it didn’t look like they intended to take a hint from the wasps and relocate any time soon. In fact, they were inviting their friends to take up residence. It was getting a little crowded, and though bat poop isn’t horrifyingly gross, it’s still gross.

So, a week ago, it was time for Batty and his buds to git.

The first task was to plug up their access to the room, which meant closing the gaps around the windows and doors, hauling the nail gun and compressor up there and securing the wooden slats on the ceiling. I knew where they were getting in because I could see the grubby mess left by their little hands and feet. Eeek.

Then I needed to find them. In US politics, you follow the money; when seeking bats, you follow the poop.

photo by John Pearce via Flickr

I found two tiny fellows, no bigger than my thumb, hanging behind my picture frames. I opened the door and windows, and fitted with gloves, nudged the little guys from their roosts. That probably wasn’t the best idea, because I found myself in a small room ducking and weaving as two bats flitted, swooped, and dove around my head.

The dummies had no idea where the windows and door were, and all three of us were in a bit of a panic. I considered running out of the room screaming, but I feared they’d simply find a new place to hide. And honestly, I’ve never been particularly scared of wild animals, so I stayed and encouraged them with a kind voice to scram!

Finally, Batty and his cousin flitted out the window and I slammed the thing shut quick! After that, it was a matter of a deep clean, and my writing room is ready for the summer. It’s been a week and no new visitors… yet.

Bat Friendly Facts from the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and me:

• Oregon’s bats do not turn into vampires.
• They eat only insects. An adult bat eats about 1,000 insects every hour!
• Bats hang upside down because it gives them an ideal position for take-off.
• Bats can fly 20 to 30 miles an hour and travel more than 100 miles a night.
• A baby bat is called a pup because it’s so cute and furry.
• Bats are not birds.
• They’re the only flying mammal.

©D. Wallace Peach 2017

About D. Wallace Peach

I didn’t care for reading as a child – I preferred Bonanza and Beverly Hillbillies reruns, Saturday morning cartoons and the Ed Sullivan show. Then one day, I opened a book titled The Hobbit. Tolkien … literally changed my life.

I love writing, and have the privilege to pursue my passion full time. I’m still exploring the fantasy genre, trying out new points of view, creating optimistic works with light-hearted endings, and delving into the grim and gritty what-ifs of a post-apocalyptic world. Forgive me if I seem untethered in my offering of reads. Perhaps one day, I’ll settle into something more reliable. For now, it’s simply an uncharted journey, and I hope you enjoy the adventure as much as I.

A selection of  books by D.Wallace Peach

A recent review for Soul Swallowers on Goodreads

Mar 25, 2019 Jacquie rated it Five Stars

I didn’t know what to expect when I came across this title on D. Wallace Peach’s website, but the title and the cover drew me and after hesitating far longer than I should have, I decided to make the purchase- and can I just say, WOW!

This is the story of three kingdoms and the men and women who rule them, some with deceit more than honor. When heir to the throne Raze Anvrell witnesses the murder of his young wife, he blames his father and disowns his family. He leaves to make his own way and learns over time, with the help of his mentor, that anger and hatred is not the answer to a peaceful soul.

The author has a beautiful, poetic way of writing that drew me right into the story- I couldn’t set it down!  Some of my favorite lines:

“What do you believe?”

“That we are children in a corner of the world trying to draw borders around the universe. We study a drop of rain and think we understand the sea. The only thing we can fully understand is ourselves, and even that task is beyond most.”

“The winter rains had abated, and waves of hammered bronze rolled into the cliffs with the rhythm of a heartbeat. The islands of the Shattered Sea crouched like hunchbacked giants tamed by the evening tide”.

“Traveling to the sea cities was more than a physical journey for Raze. He returned sharper and dirtier with hard black seeds of malcontent like gravel in his shoes. Except they lodged in his skin and eyes and heart. They grew with weedy hunger”.

“Maybe my desires are just poetic dreams pirouetting in the snow”.

Loss, love, war and betrayal- Soul Swallowers is a masterful fantasy novel!

Five+ lovely kisses- A must read!

Read the reviews for buy the books: https://www.amazon.com/D.-Wallace-Peach/e/B00CLKLXP8

And Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/D.-Wallace-Peach/e/B00CLKLXP8

Read more reviews and follow Diana on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7068749.D_Wallace_Peach

Connect to D. Wallace Peach 

Website/Blog: http://www.mythsofthemirror.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Myths-of-the-Mirror/187264861398982
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dwallacepeach
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/dianapeach33/pins/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/activities/d-wallace-peach+0_2F1UmSg–qRIqYJlk2W1Q_?trk=nav_responsive_sub_nav_yourupdates

My thanks again to Diana for letting me loose in her archives and I know she would love your feedback.. thanks Sally

If you enjoy writing short stories, then why not participate in Diana’s Speculative Fiction Challenge each month.. here is May’s prompt: https://mythsofthemirror.com/2019/05/01/may-speculative-fiction-prompt/