And Then...

Sheesh, it's been a while since I've posted an update.

First of all, I took a trip to Old Town in search of chocolate. It was a success, I'm happy to say. And on the way, I came across this man dancing:



Unfortunately, once the song was over, it was time for his break.

I am working my way out of a writing slump. I managed to churn out one short story last week, but I'm not too crazy about it. I'm working on a post-apocalyptic tale right now and having fun with it. I also figured out a solution to a third story's problem. Sadly, it involves hacking off the first 6 pages. Happily, it's shaping up to be a much better story.

Now that TNEO is a week away, I'm really excited! I'm in a flurry trying to get things squared away at work for the week I'm gone in addition to gearing up for the trip itself. And somehow, with all this extra work, I'm being more productive. Go figure.

I blame Facebook. It has sucked me in and made me nearly forget about LJ. Curse you, FB!

On the writing front, I completed my TNEO assignment in the nick of time. I had to leave a few loose ends dangling, but it was that or turn in something incomplete. A couple days ago I wrote the teensiest story I've ever written. It's a whopping 119 words! It's already polished and out the door. I feel so productive. Now to tackle the two short stories sitting on my desk.

I've discovered what works and what doesn't in the garden. The broccoli is growing like crazy. The root vegetables are doing well. The lettuce has become bird food. I'll have to put up some sort of netting so the little terrors leave it alone. Oh, and I have strawberries! Luscious, red strawberries.

I've made myself hungry. Time for lunch!

The agave is officially taller than me:



And its stalk looks strangely like a giant asparagus.

I made my first sale! Woo hoo! My fantasy story "The Secret Ingredient" will be published in the October issue of the anthology Shelter of Daylight. I'm so excited! It still doesn't feel quite real, and I suspect it won't until I'm holding the issue in my grubby little hands.

In other news, our century plant, or agave, is putting out a bloom. The neighbors' agave started about a week or two ago, and I suppose our agave figured it was a good idea and started its bloom also. The cool thing is that the stalk grows at an amazing rate... several inches per day! And the stalk can grow as high as 20 feet. I doubt ours will get anywhere near that tall, though. The sad thing is that once it blooms, the plant dies. I just wish I had a time-lapse camera set up. Anyhow, here's what it looked like yesterday afternoon:



The garden is slowly taking shape. So far I've got romaine lettuce, red onions, leeks, chives, celery, and cilantro growing. I'm waiting on the other lettuce, carrots, and broccoli to start. I talk to the garden. I encourage the plants to grow. Like the neighbors needed another reason to think I'm weird....

And for the big finale... last night I had dinner with Sonny and Cher and Stevie Nicks. We were serenaded by Elvis Presley. And next door some transvestites were having a party. Yep, just a typical Saturday night.

I'm still rewriting the novel I'm turning in for TNEO and am at about 58K with the idea that it'll be about 80K when it's all said and done. That deadline is looming larger every day. I will not jinx myself and say how it's going.

I've got one new short story written and critiques in hand. That one will be out the door in the next few weeks, time permitting for revision. And I've started plotting the next story.

I've done five critiques so far. I'm glad I signed up for the extended novel group. Reading large chunks of other peoples' novels has been quite enjoyable. The only downside is I want to keep reading them. Curse those people for writing interesting stories!

In non-writing news, I planted a square foot garden this year. Here it is, all cute and snuggly in its cedar box:




And, er, obviously I just planted it since there's nothing green in it yet. I hope that changes soon. And I've already caught the dog sniffing at it with way too much interest.

I feel like I've been hibernating and am only now poking my head up to see what's going on in the world.

Speaking of hibernating and such, it snowed here yesterday. I woke up this morning to a mountain covered with the stuff (at least, at 7,000 feet and higher). Where the heck is spring?!? I've actually got plans to start a vegetable garden this year. That's right, I'm going to try my hand at growing my own food. Watch out, stomach.

I've fallen into a rhythm with the day job. I get little writing done those evenings, but I usually get something down on paper, and that makes me happy. Then I make up for it on my days off.

While editing the novel for TNEO, I hit a part that made me go "blech." So I started rewriting from about the middle on. Which means I'm frantically trying to reach the end of this thing by the deadline. And now the first round of critiques is sitting on my desk. Already they're eyeballing me and whispering. You should be reading us. Stop procrastinating. Stop looking at me like that! Aargh, the voices!

I'm okay, really. I've got plenty of chocolate to see me through this.

The Whimsy....

There's an eccentric millionaire who lives in Amarillo, Texas who also happens to dig unusual art. Not buying it, making it. Stanley Marsh has created a multitude of street signs that can be found in people's yards or just willy-nilly along the roadside. They say things like "Innocent lazy frightened and mortal again" or "Undead end." Check it out.

The Silly....

I just came across a bit of dialogue I overheard at the airport in Houston recently. I had jotted it down, and thank goodness, because I had forgotten all about it. This guy was talking on the phone. Apparently he had business in Mexico. I think he was talking to his wife, but I can't be sure. Anyway, he starts talking about kidnapped Americans and says, "If I get kidnapped, don't pay them the full ransom they ask for. Bargain." You really want somebody to haggle over the cost of your life?!?! Sure, the kidnappers will take the asking price down from 50K to 45K. But they'll send you home with one less hand. Or eye. Or testicle. And besides, kidnappings aren't a problem in Mexico. Being caught in the crossfire as drug dealers shoot at one another is.

Today I officially have 8 short stories in circulation. That is the most I've had out at any one time. I also decided to count my rejections after my pity party the other day and discovered the grand total is 73. The triple digits, they are approaching! Don't worry, the pity party is long over.

I've been editing the novel, and yesterday was tough. I had a hard time making myself sit and go through it. I couldn't figure out why, because it hadn't been that hard before. Then I realized I had gotten to the part where I slogged through during the original writing and sometimes wrote crap just so I could keep forward momentum. Much rewriting is about to ensue, and my inner slug is borrowing tips from babarnett's slug.

I've been watching a couple of new shows--new to me anyway--and really enjoying them. One is Life on Mars, the American version. The dialogue is witty, and New York in the 70's is fascinating. I love the contrast between Sam's way of being a cop (from 2008) and the 70's way of being a cop. I've also just started watching Breaking Bad, a show set in Albuquerque (and consequently filmed here). I started watching it for that reason, but it's got some hilarious moments. A chemistry teacher who's a washed-up Los Alamos scientist is diagnosed with lung cancer and decides to start cooking meth to make some extra money for the family he'll soon be leaving behind. So yeah, it's got some dark moments too.

In counting the rejections I've received since the beginning of this year, I realized I'm averaging a little more than one per week. At this rate, I will have more rejections this year than ever before. Of course, there's always the hopeful idea that some stories will actually be bought.... Anyhow, I have one little guy holding on at a market right now. Will he make it? Won't he? Stay tuned, folks.

I'm still searching for that elusive first sale. It's starting to seem like a unicorn. I'd like to believe in it, it sure would be nice if it existed, but deep down I have the sneaky suspicion I'll never spot one. *sigh* Just ignore me, I'm throwing myself a pity party today. That's what I get for actually sitting down and counting rejections.

Two weeks into the day job and I feel like I'm starting to settle in. Steady work + paycheck = happy me. I come home mentally exhausted, and on those days I get very little writing done. A sentence satisfies me. So I spend those evenings mostly reading.

Private investigation class continues to be amazing. This past week we had three guests: a P.I. specializing in surveillance, one specializing in litigation (he basically does the legwork for lawyers), and a crime scene investigator. Something I never considered about surveillance work before is how boring it is most of the time. There are brief periods of action, and there's a lot of decision making involved during those moments, but mostly it's sitting around and waiting. And occasionally convincing the police that you're not a stalker.

So I've been taking a weekly class on private investigation. Tonight we had a guest lecturer. She was a... drumroll, please... psychic detective. Er, ah, first I guess I should mention why I'm taking this class. The protagonist in my next novel is going to be a P.I. All right, back to the psychic. She would interrupt her talk with readings. I kept thinking, Please don't read me, what if I'm giving off freaky vibes and she reads me and screams as she points to me and calls me evil spawn and people start screaming and they all run out the room! Well, she got to me eventually. But apparently life is on the upswing. And I'm not evil spawn. Thank God. Next week we'll have more guest lecturers: a forensics specialist, and three P.I.'s all with different backgrounds and specialties. Is it too much to hope one of them is from Hawaii, drives a red Ferrari, and wears short shorts? *sigh* Probably.

Revisions have been moving along slowly on the novel. I've been trying to revise some short stories and get them circulating. In fact, one went out the door today. I've also been trying to write new short stories.

Day 5 of the Official Novel Revision process and I've realized something about my writing... sometimes I'm annoyingly vague. I'll read a sentence or paragraph and think, What the hell did I mean by THAT? I'm cutting here and adding there, but overall I really need to ADD. I'm a lean writer in my first drafts.

The park across the street is an unending source of entertainment. The other day, a bunch of people show up wearing black. My first thought? The neighbor had died. But then a young woman in white popped out of a car, holding a bouquet of roses. Everybody went to stand under a huge oak tree. Moments later, I hear a bunch of people shout, "Hurrah!" They take some pictures, then get in the cars and get the heck out of there. The whole process might have taken 30 minutes, if that. Drive-by wedding.

Then today, I look out the window just in time to see a woman pulling a baby carriage up the slope on the far side (there are apartments across the park). She falls and lets go of the carriage in the process, and the carriage goes rolling down the slope towards the cement arroyo bed. I gasped and half-rose out of my seat. Then another woman comes running out of nowhere (it seems) to grab the baby carriage just in time. She slaps the one on the ground, and when they both stand up, I realize the first person is not actually an adult, but either a young teenager or an older child. And she's in a lot of trouble.

And on the job front, I officially begin this Monday. So I officially decided to let myself sleep in these next few days.

I have written new fiction the past three consecutive days. Hurrah! Prior to that, it was hit or miss. Mostly miss. And most of what I wrote before these past three days was miscellaneous garbage. Well, maybe not garbage. It was all cathartic, and absolutely unpublishable. But catharsis is a good thing, a necessary thing. My current project? A zombie short story. I am striving for equal parts horror and humor. And this weekend, I tackle the novel I finished in December. Red ink pen? Check! Editing books, worksheets, etc to guide me through? Check! Editor hat? Check! Oh, internal editor, you shall be freed this weekend. Now stop rattling the cage and slink back to your dark corner.

I've been reading The Living Dead, a short story collection edited by John Joseph Adams. There are some heavy hitters in the anthology, including Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Neil Gaiman. And many, many others. I've enjoyed nearly every story with the exception of a couple I found hard to get through. And, I noticed a trend... nearly every author uses the word "shamble." When did the poor zombies get stuck with that word? Why must so many of them shamble everywhere? Why can't they mosey?

see more pwn and owned pictures

Hmm. Children's books sure have changed since I was a kid!



see more pwn and owned pictures

Oh, I know a certain overweight orange tabby who would buy caseloads of this stuff. :) Mmm, tastes like people.

I finished my novel rewrite, beating my self-imposed deadline by a mere 12 hours
and 1 minute!

The story started out as a short story at Odyssey in 2007. It seemed like it was
meant to be longer, so I made a rather vague and general outline and wrote out a first
draft. I wanted it to be done by TNEO 2008, and I was cutting it close, so I sort of
plugged in a quick ending and called it finished.

After mulling over the critiques for a while, I decided a rewrite would be the
best way to incorporate all the changes I wanted to make. So I started that with a goal of
finishing by midnight tonight. *insert victory dance here*

First I took a week and asked myself questions about the world, the
people/creatures inhabiting it, etc. I had done some world building, but it was all in my head
and not well thought out.

Then I came up with some changes to make my main character seem less naive and
more of an outsider. I'm not sure I quite latched onto all the necessary changes, but
writing the ending gave me more ideas.

Then I outlined each scene before writing it. I thought about things like
character motivation and reversals in much more detail than I had before. I'd write the
scene, then outline the next. And so on and so forth until I typed 'the end.' As a result, I
had very few blocks while writing, and none lasted more than a few days. Each outline was so
detailed that I essentially wrote each scene at least twice.

I spent the rest of this afternoon cooking (which helps me to relax), and grooming the dog. She's never looked or smelled so good. She would've gotten the royal treatment yesterday, except for one big problem. I went to run some errands yesterday afternoon. She had this look on her face that said, 'You'll be sorry for leaving me.' Still, I left, hoping for the best. When I returned, she was moving a little slow. I wandered into the living room and found an empty bread bag. It had been nearly full when I left only an hour earlier. All that remained was one end piece. In the kitchen, further evidence...little torn plastic pieces lay on the counter, obviously the work of the cat. I went back to the living room and picked up the bag. When it crinkled, I heard the dog (in the other room) go into her kennel with the click-clack of nails against plastic. She knew I was mad.

They've done this before, where the cat knocks something off the counter and the dog rips it open and they both partake of their spoils. The first time, it was peanut butter. Now bread. What's next? Jelly? Are they trying to hint that they'd rather have PB&J's than kibble?

Have a Happy New Year, everybody!

I just realized, the Green Giant and Santa Claus have similar laughs. Interesting....

Christmas was a quiet day at home with the hubby. I made stew, and we had red wine with it. Then I crashed on the couch and took a nap with the cat cuddled next to me. Hubby got me books AND a gift certificate so I can get more books. A friend got me Princess Tater, which will go quite nicely with the Darth Tater I already have. A quiet day at home with the husband and the animals and gifts that made my geeky heart swell...ah, bliss!

Hubby also announced we will have a new furry addition to the family in a few weeks. We are going to get a Cardigan Welsh Corgi! Now we'll have one of each type of corgi. I can't wait to hold the fluffy little bundle of joy in my hands. I just hope Ruby is healed up enough to play with the pup. The cat is going to have a shit fit, I'm sure.

I've also been writing like a woman possessed. I've still got it in my head that I can make my self-imposed deadline of finishing this novel rewrite by midnight on December 31st. Today I've gotten a little over 1,500 words on paper so far. I'm going to have a sandwich and a Diet Coke, and then try to get some more on paper.

Another 5,929 words tacked onto the novel rewrite this week. I'm at 55K and some change now and gearing up for the climax. I anticipate the finished product will come in at 75K to 80K. This time around, I cut out a flashback that had been in the middle of the first version. I think it's much stronger without it. There's no longer this long lull in the forward progression of the story. Not boring the reader is a good thing. And, if I write like a mad woman for the next ten days, I might make my goal of finishing by midnight on December 31.

I'm reading Thud by Terry Pratchett. Every couple of pages I think, What a great line! This is my favorite in the whole book!, or, What a great description! This is my favorite in the whole book! I have about 100 pages left, and I sorta want to read it again as soon as I'm done. I haven't felt that way about a book in a long while.

Earlier this week, I took Ruby (the dog) back to the vet for a follow-up. About five weeks ago, she broke her little toe in her front paw while we were playing ball in the backyard. For the past couple of weeks, she's been her usual self... bouncing around when it's food time, wanting to run and play (it's been so hard keeping her quiet). So I fully expected to see a healing fracture on the x-ray. I didn't. It's still broken.

The vet called an orthopedic vet to get his/her opinion. That vet opined that Ruby probably had scar tissue building up around the toe and supporting the fracture site. Is it possible for scar tissue to do such a thing? Yes. Do I believe that's what's happening with Ruby's toe? I don't know.

It's not one of the primary weight bearing toes, she's not in any obvious pain, and she's acting like herself. Because of that, the ortho vet didn't want to do anything except have her rest for the next four weeks. My pocketbook and I are fine with that. I was really dreading the words, "Your dog should have a pin surgically inserted into the bone to hold it together. Kiss your savings account good-bye." So I'm trying to come to terms with the possibility that Ruby may no longer be able to run around like she used to. In a few weeks, I'm sure she'll be able to go for walks again, but she's always loved tearing around the backyard or the park.

A while back I posted about how I was nervous that I hadn't heard anything from any market in a while. I have received two rejections in the past 24 hours. It's an affirmation, really, letting me know that I still exist.

And it's really cold. I'm going to light up the fireplace soon. And make homemade mac-n-cheese to comfort myself with.

They've pegged me.

Due to my recent bout of food poisoning and some sort of sinus thing following on its heels, I have been woefully unproductive recently. But finally, today, I got back on track. Phew! I am now at about 44K on the novel rewrite.

My subconscious had a wonderful surprise for me this morning. I dreamed what my next novel-length project will be. When I woke up, I ran to grab paper and pen and write it all down. Thank you, subconscious, thank you! I am pretty excited about this idea, actually. The story wants to be first person POV, which is something I've avoided for a long, long time. And there will be vampires, which is also something I've avoided for a long, long time. Now I'm really motivated to finish the current project so I can get to work on this one.

I haven't received any rejections recently. I feel like they're all hiding around the corner like the bullies they are, waiting for me to innocently stroll past, whistling a jaunty little tune, so they can jump me all at once and leave me with a couple of black eyes. Bastards.

I hadn't heard from one market in a long time. Way past their usual response time. So I sent a query. And then I started looking at all the other markets my stories are with and the average response time on Duotrope. And then I realized how pitiful that was and came over here.

On a productive note, I revised a short story today. I will hand it off to a couple of second readers tomorrow, make some final adjustments based on their input, then figure out where to send it.

I am also stalling the inevitable...cleaning the backyard of doggie poo.

Okay, come on me, post this, get out of the chair, grab the bags and gloves and go. On three. One. Two. Three. Come on! Up and at 'em! Let's go!