Tues. April 30, 2013: Contests and Writing and Paperwork

Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and cool

My guest on A Biblio Paradise today is Mike Robinson, talking about THE PRINCE OF EARTH. Stop by!

Worked like crazy yesterday, yet feel I got so little done.

On the plus side, I finished Chapter 14 and wrote Chapter 15. Which means I have to dive into Chapter 16 this morning. I have to make a decision by this chapter for the heat level of this book — there are several kinds of ways I could go with it, and I don’t want to lose the light tone I need, but I also want to let my protag go with her desires — that’s part of it. It’s also why it’s not marketed as a “romance”, because I’m giving her options.

My webhost was down yesterday, which hindered my work. I have to take a proofreading test for a big job today — must brush up on CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE — I use Strunk. And I don’t want to do it when I’m too tired, or I’ll make careless mistakes and lose the job.

People are signing up for the free tips — so glad. Had a nice exchange with another writer — we went to each other’s workshops this weekend.

Am finishing up the paperwork for the contest I’m judging — lots of paperwork. But picked my top choices and sent off the recommendations. Yesterday was about rearranging the stacks of books I’d read, comparing them against each other as well as individual stories.

Keyed in some data I needed, worked with students.

This morning, I’ve written a thousand words of a short story that started pulling at me. I hoped it would be only six pages (about 1500 words), but it’s growing like a dandelion and I want to see where it goes.

I need to start setting up my NY appointments for the end of next month, and make sure all my presentations and materials are in good shape. I’m juggling various projects, and need to make sure I don’t drop the ball on any of them, while still hustling enough freelance projects to pay the bills short term. Same old, same old.

But I love the longer days, and I’m definitely feeling more productive and more creative.

Devon

Last chance to sign up for the free Manuscript Preparation Tips in May. Signing up also gets you Devon’s Random Newsletter and a 10% discount off up to 30 pages critique. More information here.

Mon. April 29, 2013: Terrific Weekend and Hitting the Ground Running

Monday, April 29, 2013
Waning Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Cloudy and cool

QUITE the weekend!

Friday was about the final prep for the conference, including re-assembling the inspiration board for TRACKING MEDUSA.

I attended the Arbor Day ceremony, which was a tree planting in memory of one friend’s mother/another friend’s grandmother. It was great fun, and the photos, etc. will be up on the Beautification Blog either today or tomorrow.

Worked on Chapter 14 of the book, worked with students, put everything together for Saturday. Wrote a review, worked on finishing up stuff for the judging.

Did not sleep well Friday night, and had to get up at 5 AM Saturday. Yoga, meditation, walking the property, breakfast, and then it was into the car and up to Burlington, MA for the NECRWA Let Your Imagination Take Flight Conference.

It was a lot of fun. I went to a presentation on making historical characters come alive, I sat outside (It was a gorgeous day) and re-arranged my presentation. We had a good group, and I had stuff to hand out, which is always great — tipsheets and the like. It was a fun, lively presentation — and, of course, they had to write! But people kept coming up to me the rest of the day to tell me how much they enjoyed it.

Corinna Lawson, with whom I’m Twitter pals, and who I met at the Write Angles Conference was there, and we headed off to lunch together. The lunch was a lot of fun, lively conversation at the tables, and Caroline Linden as the speaker.

After lunch, I attended Donna Alwood’s presentation on staying sane in the fluctuations of the business, which got me thinking about a lot of things, and Ella Drake’s presentation on formatting. I went to the signing (I hadn’t signed up to sign), and by then, I was worn out, so I headed back.

Managed to get back while it was still light and relax with a glass of wine on the deck. Love the longer daylight hours!

I certainly slept well Saturday night.

Sunday, I was up early, morning routine, newspapers, off to the garden stores. We got some pansies and marigolds and things for the front urn, and black gloss rustoleum paint for the plant stand I bought a few years ago that needed a touch-up. Managed to get the plants in and the rack painted before jumping in the shower and leaving for yoga.

The Unitarian Church in Barnstable hosted a community yoga day. I went for the first session, Hatha Yoga, which was fun. The teacher’s style was very different than the teachers I usually study with, but I enjoyed it.

The plan was to then go to Nirvana, get some work done, and go back for meditation. Unfortunately, it was lively and noisy at Nirvana, and I couldn’t concentrate, so I went home and sat on the deck working instead.

Made it back for meditation, which was great — using singing bowls and something called “an ocean drum”.

Came home, cooked a great dinner, and relaxed in the evening.

It was a really good weekend.

However, I didn’t do a lot of the traditional work I need to do, so today, I have to hit the ground running, especially on the book, working with editing clients, getting some admin done, and winding up stuff for the contest and Arbor Day.

So I better get going!

There’s still time to sign up for the Manuscript Preparation Tips by emailing manuscript prep – at – fearless ink- dot – com. You get a free tip emailed every weekday from May 1-24, and a 10% discount on up to 30 pages of manuscript critiqued, AND signed up for the newsletter. Don’t miss out!

Devon

Fri. April 26, 2013: Arbor Day!

Friday, April 26, 2013
Last Day of Full Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and pleasantCanon

Yoga class was great yesterday, as I said. I’m not anywhere near as flexible as I’d like, but I notice the improvement I’ve made over the past year or so. The best teachers I’ve worked with promote the “every body is different” and that you do what’s right for YOUR body. When a pose is difficult, they provide a modified version, and then let you grow in to the more difficult version. They encourage your growth, but don’t push you beyond capabilities. I feel very, very lucky in the teachers I’ve found in this area — both Valerie and Maureen are the best teachers with whom I’ve worked.

The rest of the day was a bit frustrating. I couldn’t seem to get going very well. I got some work done with students, but not enough. I fought with Chapter 13 of the book, finally got it into shape, and then moved on to Chapter 14, which is nearly finished. I’ve got to decide which of the next two scenes I want to end the chapter on.

I printed out most of the rest of the conference materials for tomorrow, in spite of the Canon MX860, which not only chewed up my expensive paper, but now the screen is dark, and I can’t track ink levels or put in any specifics for printing or copying jobs. This printer has been a nightmare since the first week I had it. It worked well for about three days, and then caused problems. Too many plastic parts, and Canon’s customer service has just gone down the drain. I have a laser printer (gift from a student) that I can use for black and white printing, but I need the color capability of this one, too. I’m sick of this “disposable printer” theory. I want my electronics to work for YEARS, not just days or weeks. Every time I look at printers, I gravitate back to the Canon, but I’d be an idiot to keep buying them at this point. I don’t like HP, so I’m not quite sure what I’ll do for the next printer.

But conference materials are printed and packed. My presentation is ready. I’d kind of like to put together an inspiration board to use as a visual aid, and will try to do that later today.

I’ve got to do a write up for Confidential Job #1, and wrap up the paperwork for the contest. AND work with students, and finish Chapter 14 and write Chapter 15 of the book.

Had a good garden meditation this morning — I’m doing that with my first cup of coffee in the morning. Walking the property, letting it “talk” to me, seeing what needs to be done, and what’s coming up. Put out the strawberries (which look pathetic — they’re supposed to be perennials, but haven’t come back properly either year), the raspberries, and some of the other plants.

Took the chairs I rescued and put them out on the deck. The rope seat area needs to dry out. I’m going to have to completely strip at least one of the chairs and either figure out the technique myself, or replace it with a board.

I’m off to an Arbor Day Ceremony, in memorium for a friend’s mother. It will be lovely.

And then — it’s back to work!

Devon

You can still sign up for the May Manuscript Prep Tips, which gets you one tip every weekday from May 1-24, a 10% discount on up to 30 pages of manuscript to be critiqued, and a subscription to the newsletter. Information here.

Thurs. April 25, 2013: Still Rainy and Raw

Thursday, April 25, 2013
Full Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Cloudy and cool

Yesterday was no where near as productive as I wished. I was checking on Iris every few minutes, struggling with Chapter 13 of the book, and working with students. I baked brownies, and, in the evening, went to the Volunteer Appreciation dinner at the National Marine Life Center, which was fun. The organization really does honor and respect its volunteers, and it’s a great environment.

This morning, I spent some early morning time outside with Tessa meditating, and then it was off to yoga. Great class, and gave me ideas on layering more yoga into the book (because, after all, my protagonist is a yoga teacher).

Iris is much better this morning, ate a lot, is back to almost-normal — poor little thing!

Have to finalize the last few things for Saturday’s conference, and finish printing materials out.

I heard about a community yoga half-day on Sunday — if I’m not completely wiped out from Saturday, I’d like to do it.

AND, of course, if I’m up-to-date with my deadlines! 😉

Read an interesting book, the first of a new series by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzoni (two writers whose work I like). They have a new series set in SF in 1894 and have wonderful sensory and historical detail and great characters. The first book is called THE BUGHOUSE AFFAIR, the one I read yesterday. There was one choice off adding a recognizable character which didn’t quite work for me, but I liked the rest of it to roll with it anyway.

An interesting opportunity landed on my desk yesterday. It could be a chance to be part of something exciting, but I have to see how it balances out against the rest of my commitments.

Back to the page.

Devon

For more information and to sign up for your free Manuscript Preparation Tips in May, visit http://www.fearlessink.com/manuscript.html. In addition to a free tip each weekday from May 1-24, you get a 10% discount code on a critique of up to 30 pages, and signed up for Devon’s Random Newsletter. Come join the fun!

Wed. April 24, 2013: Storms and Episodes

Wednesday, April 25, 2013
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Rainy and cold

It was a raw, rainy day, but I fought and struggled and finally got Chapter 12 done in the book. I was too tired to move on to Chapter 13, but I got Chapter 12 in decent enough shape where I can now move on.

I also set up a blog for one of the organizations with which I work, and our first post is about our Arbor Day event, here. I did not design the flyer — that was done by a professional designer! But that’s the event.

Meeting went well, came home, did some other work. Worked with students. Talked to some new editing clients to book slots.

I’m delighted by how many people are excited by the May Manuscript Preparation Tips. Keep signing up! Information below.

On the way to the meeting, I saw an ad for free ladder back chairs on Craigslist. I assumed they would be in poor shape, but figured that I could fasten a board over the seat, paint them bright colors, and use them as plant stands on the deck this summer. However, the wood on the chairs is nice and in good shape. The seats — which the ad said needed to be “re-caned” are actually ropes, not cane. While some of them are in bad shape, I may be able to learn how to do it so I can fix the seats myself, and maybe they can be used for seating. If I chose to use them for plants (replacing the seat area with boards rather than re-roping), I’d probably paint and stencil the boards, but keep the wood in its color, just using a weather sealant over it.

Dreamed the book again last night (I’m at THAT stage of the process), so I feel like I haven’t gotten any rest.

I have to bake for tonight’s event, write the next chapter of the book, work on some pitches, work with students, sort out what I need to bring back to the NMLC, etc.

Iris had another “episode” this morning, and is very disoriented. It’s not as severe as previous ones, and she’s resting comfortably; she’s just confused. Poor little thing.

I’ve got a post up on Gratitude and Growth about the tulips with some pictures of the yard. Stop by and leave a comment!

Devon

For more information and to sign up for your free Manuscript Preparation Tips in May, visit http://www.fearlessink.com/manuscript.html. In addition to a free tip each weekday from May 1-24, you get a 10% discount code on a critique of up to 30 pages, and signed up for Devon’s Random Newsletter. Come join the fun!

Tues. April 23, 2013: Writing and Research

This is one of the reasons I live here — isn’t it lovely?

Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Rainy and cold

Please hop over to A Biblio Paradise to welcome this week’s guest, Justin Robinson, talking about his release, Mr. Blank.

Yesterday was a tough writing day. I worked with students, was approached for a small editing job, and am happy by how man people are signing up for the “May is Manuscript Preparation Month” tips. Pat, I saw your comment yesterday — I cover short stories as well as novels and non-fiction in the prep, so they will still be useful.

Struggled with Chapter 12 of the book, mostly because I’m writing about an area with which I’m not as familiar, and had to integrate research along with the plot and story. I had to keep stopping to look things up, and I’m still worried that I haven’t quite captured the emotional geography. I need to layer in more sensory description. I didn’t finish the chapter — I hope to do that today, and move on to Chapter 13. This sequence, set in Nassau, is the most difficult for me to write on a sensory level. But it’s important to get it right,and also communicate some of my character’s sense of wonder at what she’s experiencing.

I also need to layer in a threat — maybe at the Straw Market? Maybe waiting for a water taxi? I’m not quite sure where yet, but I need to ratchet up the tension.

In any case, that chapter needs some more work, and it needs to be right before I can move on. Some of what’s going on in here I can’t fix later, because it’s important to set up what happens next.

We had our “moment of silence” for last week’s bombings at 2:50, and a few minutes later I had to leave for a meeting. I swung by the Sandwich library, which was closed, but I still dropped off some books in the depository. Then, I headed over to the Sandwich Taverna for my meeting. It was a lot of fun AND we got a lot done. Best of both worlds.

I had trouble settling when I got back in last night, and I dreamed about the book all night, so I feel as though I haven’t gotten much rest. Yes, we’re at THAT point of the book.

Today, I’m working on the book, pitching a few projects, preparing more conference materials, getting out a press release, preparing for yet another meeting tonight, doing more wrap-up on the play. I hope to sneak in some work on the non-fiction book and the adaptation, but I ‘m not sure I’ll be able to do so. Also, have to write a review, wrap up stuff for a contest I’m judging, and pick up a few groceries — we’re short on things like milk and eggs. And I have to bake for yet another event I’m attending tomorrow. This is a busy week.

The yard is starting to look really good, in spite of the clean-up that still has to be finished. Things are growing and sprouting and looking good. Hopefully, it will warm up soon and I can put some of these plants I’ve started in where they need to settle.

I hope this will be a good year for lilacs!

Devon

For more information and to sign up for your free Manuscript Preparation Tips in May, visit http://www.fearlessink.com/manuscript.html. In addition to a free tip each weekday from May 1-24, you get a 10% discount code on a critique of up to 30 pages, and signed up for Devon’s Random Newsletter. Come join the fun!

Mon. April 22, 2013: Earth Day, Mansuscript Prep, and Writing

All nice and loamy in the front! 😉

Monday, April 22, 2103
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and cold
Earth Day

What a weekend!

Friday was mostly about the Boston area being locked down in order to find the terrorist. The news coverage was continuous. I don’t know how it was in other areas of the country, but we couldn’t access the national news, they just keep yapping about nothing for an almost twenty-four hour cycle. The coverage was lousy and irritating. I think the media is over-simplifying things and using slogans and sound bytes instead of giving real information. There’s way too much we still don’t know about it all, and, while I’m relieved that the perpetrators of last Monday’s attack seem to be caught, I’m not yet assured that this wasn’t the tip of a bigger iceberg. I’m as disturbed by the questions that aren’t being asked as by the circus aspect to all of this.

Got some work in the yard done, got some reading done, but it was difficult to concentrate with all the sirens (even down here — suspicious packages, the Sagamore bridge closed for awhile, etc.) and the chaos was not conducive to getting much done. I managed to get a nice chunk of the non-fiction book done, which was a relief. Got a mailing out for an Arbor Day event next week. Sat outside for awhile in the afternoon, just trying to get settled a bit. At least I’m back to my daily yoga practice.

Saturday was a rainy, gray day. I spent most of it writing. Not necessarily on the book I’m supposed to be working on, but that’s what it is. I did about 1500 words in longhand on something that’s been tugging at me. I worked on the non-fiction book. I worked with students. An old screenplay of mine that’s been haunting me lately got dug up. I read it and it holds together. While there’s not much I can do with it as a screenplay, I started adapting it to a romantic suspense/adventure novel. In the prose, I have to adjust some things to deepen POVs, but the story itself and the dialogue holds together. The ending needs a boost, but I now have the plotting skills to do that. It’s an old file, so I’m converting sections of the old screenplay that got wonked in the save, and then adapting each section into prose.

I also submitted a backlog of stories — and one of them was accepted within hours of submission. That’s what I call a good day’s work! It will publish in the fall, and is one of my favorite contemporary pieces.

Finished reading material for Confidential Job #1, and started the next assignment. Polished materials for the conference presentation next week, and now have to start printing stuff out. I need information as to how many to expect — I don’t want to print 200 copies of everything if only 60 people are there, but I don’t want to be caught short, either.

Yesterday, I was exhausted. Read the papers. Worked out in the yard for a bit. Came up with a cool event/promotion for May which I will detail a little further into the post, wrote up the promotional aspect, and also all the content for the three weeks’ worth of material. Wrote another chapter in the book I’m supposed to be writing. Took a walk on the beach. Aren’t these piles of shells fascinating? It was cold and windy, but it was a great day to be outside.

May is Manuscript Preparation Month
With all the calls for submission and conferences coming up, May is a great month to prepare manuscripts. If you’re doing a consultation during a conference, you need to get your materials polished and in; if you want to take advantage of a submission call, you need to do the same. With events like BEA coming up at the beginning of June, where lots of deals are made, there’s a need to get going on prepping.

For the month of May, I’m emailing a free manuscript preparation tip every weekday from May 1-May 24 (ending at the beginning of Memorial Day weekend). Yup, a free tip to help you prepare your manuscript.

To sign up, send an email to manuscriptprep-at-fearlessink-dot-com with “Tip” in the subject line.

In addition to the free tip, you get a coupon for a 10% discount on a critique of 30 pages, which must be used between now and the end of the year, and you are automatically signed up for the newsletter.

I only posted the information yesterday afternoon, and I’m thrilled and delighted by how many people have already signed up. I hope you’ll join the group!

Now, I’ve got many pages to write today, so I better get back to it!

Devon

Fri. April 19, 2013: Loam and Lock Downs

Friday, April 19, 2013
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Rainy and cool

The big news breaking all around is the hunt for the alleged Boston Marathon Bombers. Supposedly, one of them is now dead; the other on the run. Towns such as Watertown and its abutting towns are basically shut down; the MBTA is not running for the day. An MIT officer has been shot and killed. People are being told to stay inside. Another “suspicious package” has been found in Kenmore Square. That’s what’s been confirmed at the time of this writing (a little after 7:30 in the morning on Friday). I’m sure there will be more news throughout the day.

I’m over on Write Your Revolution today with an article on creating your jobs. Please stop by and check it out.

Yesterday certainly didn’t unfold the way I expected, but it was a very good day. Yoga was fantastic — I’m so glad I managed to get back to class.

Came home, ate breakfast, took the leaves to the dump. Saw that the loam was available, so went home, stocked the car with buckets, and spent the next five hours hauling loam from the dump home to put on the garden beds. Everything looks awesome, and now I have happy plants. It was hard work, but worthwhile.

It meant very little got done the rest of the day, and I’m sore as all get-out this morning, but it was worth it.

Another disagreement with the Robert Olen Butler writing book. He says that books that start with dialogue don’t work because there’s no context. I vehemently disagree. I prefer to be dropped in the middle of the situation, and, in good dialogue, the context is contained in the dialogue. Good dialogue works on multiple levels simultaneously. I agree with him about the need for sensory detail — in fact, I teach classes on “Sensory Perception”, but we approach the way we work from different angles. Whatever works for the individual, right? I’m sick of books that spend 200 pages to “set up” before they get to the actual story. I want to be dropped IN the story, not wander around waiting for it to start.

The weekend will be busy — lots to write and get straightened out. I’d love to just sleep, but that’s not an option. Today, I’ve got to get out a mailing, write a review, and work on both books.

To work! Have a great weekend everyone!

Devon

Thurs. April 18, 2013: Writing and Talking

Thursday, April 18, 2013
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and cool

If you haven’t hopped over to Beth Barany’s blog to read my article on how my heroine Jain Lazarus personifies karmic return, please do. I’m also on The Writers Vineyard, in my Annabel Aidan persona, talking about the Boston Marathon and how grief can affect writing.

Wrote Chapter 10 of the book yesterday, just over 2300 words. I feel like I’m back in the flow. Did 10 pages on the non-fiction book. I have some questionnaires to complete and get out to artists and holistic therapists, which I will do today. Worked with students. Did an LOI. Had a few ideas percolating on stuff, but not sure how to follow through on them.

Spent part of the afternoon working in the yard. There’s a section on the side that’s overgrown with some prickly briar-type vines that I want to clear out. The forsythia bushes will move to that side eventually, and the owner’s putting some flowering daphne by the garage instead. I also took Tessa out and did some of my reading outside.

I’m reading Robert Olen Butler’s book of lectures on writing. There are some things I totally agree with — his insistence on writing every day, once you start a project, his use of “dreamstorming”, etc. However, his utter contempt for genre/commercial fiction is disappointing — yeah, there’s a lot of crap out there, but genre fiction also is an opportunity to make readers see the world in a way they might not otherwise be open to t he information. He also claims that writers with talent don’t outline, yet advocates the use of index cards to prepare the book — which is a form of outlining. Granted, he is much more successful in his career than I am, so he’s doing something that works for him — but I disagree with a lot of what he advocates.

Writers Night Out was last night. The good friend who’s been their business manager (and in my play) is moving to Amsterdam soon, and I met her replacement, who is a lovely person. I think I’ll enjoy working with her, too, but I’ll miss my friend. However, this is a brilliant adventure for her.

We had a lively table, a mix of people I knew and people I didn’t, so there was lots of good conversation. Four poets read (April is poetry month). Very different styles, so the juxtaposition was interesting. One guy, the youngest of them, reminded me a lot of the poets at the St. Mark’s Poetry Project in the East Village in the 90s. The language is good, what he’s trying to do is interesting, but he read in a monotone, and hasn’t yet learned how to gauge his audience and adjust what he’s doing when they get restless. Since reading is performance, those are important skills to fold into one’s reading repertoire.

Came home, fell into bed early, but had a rough night. Lots of interruptions to my sleep, and then, early this morning, the carbon monoxide detector decided it had low batteries and started to chirp.

At least I’m going back to yoga today. I’ve been away from it for too long.

Must focus on the books today, and on polishing my presentation for next weekend’s conference. Hopefully, I can get some more work done in the yard today. The hyacinths are coming up — very pretty.

Devon

Wed. April 17, 2013: Picking Up Pieces and Moving Forward

Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Rainy and cool

Yesterday was sunny, but much colder and windier than predicted.

It was a sad day, with the aftermath of the Marathon attack. I was weepy on and off all day.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t deal with life. Commitments still had to be met, no matter what I was feeling. I took in the car for its check-up — all good — phew! Went grocery shopping, switched out books at the library. Came home and did some reading.

I’d given myself the day off writing, knowing I was in no state to do it well. I managed to get out two LOIs and work with students.

I read an absolutely brilliant book that I encourage anyone who has a passion for what they do or what they want to do to read. It’s Twyla Tharp’s THE CREATIVE HABIT. Tharp is an icon of a choreographer. Her commitment and her techniques to not only make creative starts but creative finishes are fantastic. This is an extraordinary book, one of the best I’ve read in a long time.

I have an article up on Beth Barany’s blog about Jain Lazarus as the Personification of Karmic Return. Monday’s violence opens up a whole new discussion about the use of violence in fiction. Can’t say I love the timing on the post going live, but maybe it will provoke some interesting discussions. Is violence ever acceptable? is one of the things that I struggle with in fiction. My characters kick ass, and sometimes take violent action. Is that ever okay? The way expectations are set up, it’s expected. But again, is that okay? I don’t have a definitive answer; it’s something I keep exploring.

Excellent first writing session on the new book: just over 2300 words, wrote Chapter 10. Percolating along, and very glad I have a synopsis. This was a case where I had to have a polished synopsis ready for the agent before I’d even done the writer’s rough, working a little backwards for me, but that’s the way it goes. At least I’m back on track, and can see finishing this draft, having a few days to let it rest before ripping it apart for edits, and getting it to my agent on time.

Lots to do today, and I have a massive headache, so I better get going.

Devon

Tues. April 16, 2013: Grief

Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and pleasant

To think, yesterday started so well.

I mean, 3700 words on the new book. LOIs. Follow-up on the LOIs from January (and gaining some immediate positive responses. 10 pages on the next non-fiction book up in the queue (that will be traditionally published). I percolated on the play that’s due at the end of May, and started thinking about the appointments I need to set up in NY.

And then — the explosions at the Boston Marathon. We’ve had non-stop coverage, of course, on all the channels. Which would be great if there was actual news to report, and they didn’t just retread the same ground over and over and over again. There needs to be a limit to how often a piece of tape depicting a disaster can be rolled.

The latest numbers this morning are 3 dead, over 140 injured. It’s just appalling. It reminds me too much of incidents in NY. I’ve been crying off and on since it happened, then feeling guilty about being so upset, because I’m fine out here, and so far, everyone I’ve managed to track down (there are still a few outstanding) are safe, too. There are plenty who are worse off than I am. I alternate between the pain and the numbness of grief, yet I’m also aware that it’s more abstract for me than for people with direct experience, the same way that, when I was directly impacted by other events (losing people I knew and cared about), it was abstract for others. The rational and the emotional sides haven’t aligned yet.

Sat outside this morning, with Tessa and the first cup of coffee, just grateful for the sunshine and the bird song of the moment.

On a completely different topic, Penny Estelle is my guest today over on Biblio Paradise, talking about her latest release, Hike Up Devil’s Mountain. In spite of everything that’s going on, I hope you’ll stop by and drop her a comment — she’s also doing a giveaway.

Devon

Mon. April 15, 2013: Back in the Groove of the Book

Monday, April 15, 2013
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sunny and cold

Ugh. The day we mail our taxes. Hate it. There was an article in the Sunday paper how writing the checks for taxes should be a matter of pride. Honey, when Congress stops pandering to special interests and does the work for which I pay them, I’ll take pride in it. When Congress behaves the way they have lately, especially the GOP and Democrats too cowardly to stand up to anyone, no dice.

Don’t remember much about Friday, except I know I worked and ran errands and dealt with bills and all sorts of other things. I’m trying to wind up the paperwork from the play, but getting what I need from the people who still have stuff outstanding is like pulling teeth. And I’m still waiting on the sign-off for a press release that needs to go out TODAY. Hate that.

Saturday, I got back into the groove on the book, working on Chapter 8. Felt good. Yesterday was all about newspapers and taxes. And four loads of laundry, including show laundry. I’m trying to get stuff from the show sorted out, so I can return what needs to be returned, and properly pack and store the rest for October’s gig.

This morning, I finished Chapter 8 and wrote Chapter 9. Fifteen pages (approximately 3,750 words). The flow is going well, and that’s a huge relief. I have a lot of business and admin stuff to take care off, and to make sure I get the damn taxes mailed and date-stamped properly, but I’m glad to be back in the rhythm of the book, and into the rhythm of other articles I’m working on. Will finish up the contest entry paperwork today and get that off this week, along with some other errands. Time to make a clean sweep/fresh start on the desk, and to go after the next higher tier of client.

Happy start to a productive week, I hope!

Devon

Fri. April 12, 2013: Renewal and Writing

Friday, April 12, 2013
Waxing Moon
Saturn Retrograde
Sleet and cold

Drove to Providence and dropped off Costume Imp. We just missed the really bad traffic in, thank goodness. Lunch at Cooke’s on the way back, always fun.

Tried to get my new phone at Best Buy — y’know, because they advertise “all the phones and all the plans” — liars! They didn’t have the phone I want, only phones that cost 4X more. So I went online to get the whole bundle I wanted, and I can get the phone, but not the cards. Makes me re-think the new carrier I’d chosen.

Stopped at B&N to use the rest of my gift card, and stocked up on some fun books! Went to the various libraries to drop off/pick up books.

Came home and did some work, but also relaxed a bit, refilling the well from the past few draining weeks. Read Sharon Shinn’s latest Shifting Circle novel, STILL LIFE WITH SHAPE-SHIFTER. It’s sad, and I sobbed my way through the second half of it!

Went to bed early, slept in this morning. The weather is nasty, but I have to take care of a few things and get some planting done, then focus on taxes and the book.

Worked with students this morning. Will also polish my presentation for the NECRWA conference this weekend, work on the materials I need to bring with me, and wrap up the paperwork for the play. I’ve been invited to pitch a proposal for another big project internationally, and I’ve also been invited to submit a play for an award, so I have to think about those over the weekend, to see if I can fit them in and what to do for them.

Onward! Have a great weekend.

Devon