The Last Several Months in One Quick List

1. Cast came off. Did physical therapy like a good girl. Behaved myself, took it easy, still limp home after anything more than an easy 30min walk with the dog. I AM LEARNING PATIENCE, UNIVERSE, but it would be easier if I could run some.

2. I went to Sirens and it was awesome and I am so far behind writing back to people from there but I promise I'm working on it. Also I would like to go back, right now, and maybe just stay there, even though I bet I'd hate Vail in the winter. The company would make it worth it.

3. We had a lovely Thanksgiving week at home with lots and lots of friends stopping in. (I stopped counting at 30ish, there were too many children moving fast to get a real headcount.) It was a wonderful reminder of the community we have here.

4. I did Nanowrimo! And won! The WIP formerly known as Auctioneer and now known as Harbinger now has a real live zero draft. There are some seriously holey bits in the plot, especially the late middle, but I think it's patchable. It just might hold together. It also just might be a series, which I had not really intended, but, well, you do what you can.

5. I'm researching and editing in preparation for a sprint through the next draft. This method is working for me, with this book at least. I just need to keep going.

6. M had her first ballet recital last weekend. She was beautiful and focused and my favorite part was the way she stuck her tongue out while on stage. That has been the "thinking hard" face since she was about six months old, and I will cry if she ever grows out of it.

7. I is in that super-helpful toddler stage, where all day we make messes so we can then clean them up. This means I only stop moving at nap time. Which he seems to be growing out of. Send coffee and chocolate, please.

8. This does not bode well for the yearly photo books or the holiday knitting. I am considering declaring defeat in advance on those fronts.

9. I hear a rumor that we will reach 60` and sunshine tomorrow. This is my kind of winter.

10. I realize that means we'll probably have a blizzard and deep freeze next week, but I like that part too.

Inching Forward

I have news! "The Wingie" is slated for The Town Drunk's October issue. I love the timing on this: I wrote this story when Mads was about six months old, and now it's seeing the light of day as Isaac hits the same point.  I'm delighted to have sold it to The Town Drunk. It's one of my favorite short story venues, and I wrote the story with them in mind.

I sent Chapter Two off to the writing group last night, which leaves me feeling like I've accomplished something more than I expected to for the week. It's so rough that I cringed as I sent it, but I needed someone else to look at it before I could go any further. I'm leaving chapter one until I've finished the rest of this draft- the bones are there, but I'll need some of the later details before I'm comfortable adding the flesh.

I kept less than 15k words from the Solace's first draft and while the first third of the book is roughly the same, the rest will be all new. Radical plot and setting changes will do that. I'm struggling with the structure and juggling two very different voices and trying to keep up with research that comes out faster than I can read it. I keep waiting for the bits that render the whole book pointless. Then I can have a good cry and move on to the next one.

I'm still not sure I'm up to this book, yet. AUCTIONEER is looking more and more tempting, and has so much more shiny and so much less hard. That's what's really holding me back with SOLACE. Writing about grief and forgiveness is hard. Writing about art and aliens and flirtation? Not hard. Pure fun.

Next task: Chapter Three, with a cameo and the beginning of the sequel's set up. There is no sequel, but just in case.