The Excuses Abound

It's echoing in here something fierce. I've been hitting it hard in NANOWRIMO and now have over 30K words out of 50K for the month. I'm working on a book called MUDLARKS--a Dickens-style book set along the Thames.

I wasn't going to write this book until I went to London to experience the Thames myself. However it wouldn't wait. Sarah/Molly and Josiah/Joss couldn't wait any longer. The book that WILL have to wait, however, is FORLORN HOPE, a book about a band of people attempting to lift a siege on a castle. Hopefully in May I'll be kicking back in a real castle and can gather an inordinate amount of research...:o)

Anywho, there are all kinds of ways to avoid writing all day and today I used up several. I went and rescued a friend from walking home, had a good-sized chat about all things important, took the dog for a pint-sized run, and fetched the boy home from school. I'm sure tomorrow there'll be another load of excuses. But forcing myself to plant myself on my bed, open my laptop, and plow through my imagination is paying off. 

Anyway, I'm off to bed. I've been writing most of the afternoon/evening/night and I need to regenerate.

Why I'm Late

My blog furniture and invisible books don't 'know' me anymore it's been so long. But I have reasons.

First of all my book is coming out momentarily!!! (I can't keep my pinkie off the exclamation point button. It goes there of its own volition today.) I've seen the last iteration of the cover and love it. I've examined every inch of the inside and the work has passed my strict magnifying glass, even down to kerning. (If there are kerning problems, they had to be there. Kerning is the space between words or letters.)

So here is the cover in all its glory:

I've blacked out a couple of places until I get the news I'm hoping for (hopefully) today. (Can I just say I HATE my paint program? I've used various programs and this one I seem to be stuck with is absolutely wretched. Anywho, back to the party.) I can't wait!!! I can't believe this book is finally coming to fruition. Plus I just got the word that we're going ahead with SUMMERHOUSE for Spring and they want a synopsis of LETTERS FOR STEPS. Finally, the train is pulling out of the station.

So that's the top news. Here are a couple of other things that have kept me from coming to write as much (besides doing massive edits on the book pictured above):

I'm working on a book called MARIN AT THE WELL, researching the Middle East in the time of Christ, plus parts in the New Testament which deal specifically with Christ before He was resurrected, and writing the story of Marin Peregrin.

I've also joined an amazing choir. (They just changed the name to Tucson Interfaith Choir--TIC) The music is, for me, quite difficult since I'm not the world's best sight reader. We're singing about twelve songs, two of them in German, and most with very complex melodies. I love it. Quite the challenge. We'll be performing on the 24th and 25th of October at the Ft. Lowell chapel and East Stake Center in Tucson respectively. We're also probably going to do parts of Bach's Christmas Oratorio for Christmas among other things. At least that's what I believe Brent said.

The last thing that kept me away this last week was a trip North. I'll tell that in another post so this one isn't so long. Plus hopefully I'll have pics by that time. I have some glorious ones of the fall colors and Yellowstone in the mist and of temples (especially the Salt Lake Temple) and the family members who went.

So those things plus driving the kids everywhere (I thought when I had fewer of them home things would calm down. NOT.) and doing Rel. Soc. President-y things and Boy Scout-y things make for a huge pile of excuses. I'm going to take a running start and fling myself into that pile, like landing in a big pile of gold and scarlet leaves, scattering them everywhere.

Anyway, now I've got to go contribute to another couple of blogs and put clothes away and jump around like a crazy person and have breakfast (it's 1:50), and whittle (more like hack at with an ax) my mountainous to-do list. I have not forgotten you...;o)

Excuses

Well. Here comes the litany of excuses for my inattentiveness here. You might as well sit back and have the popcorn ready to hand.

It's summertime--the slack season when I get much less written. My teenagers are home making noise and needing the stiff end of my boot to do anything beyond watching movies and playing video games. For some strange reason, several wasp's nests are daunting enough to them that they feel unable to spend any more than about 2 1/2 minutes cleaning the shed.

So I've been doing battle with said nests with some kitchen tongs and a flyswatter. To date I've stomped two nests and am needing to find the Mother Ship. The busy little stingers try to inhabit all my bird houses too. Stinky wasps. At any rate, I am hoping my example of fearless persistence has been enough to shake the offspring from their torpor.

Right.

Less amusing: on the day of my daughter's promotion, my eldest son's arm began to turn purple. It would have been a lovely color if it hadn't been so alarming. I immediately thought of blood clot but couldn't imagine a person so young getting one. So I had him moving it around and massaging it to no avail. After the promotion I called my hubby who turned out to be on his way home anyway. Lon took Perry in and it did indeed turn out that he had a blood clot in his shoulder.

So while I went to my second son's high school graduation, Lon sat in the ER with Perry. Two days later Perry got out and is now on blood thinners. The strange thing is that I wasn't worried. I know the Lord has a plan and this may have been His way of giving Perry a little honorable reprieve before Perry's mission for our church. Now he needs to go get another job to help pay for it all.

Hunter graduated from high school. His grades weren't stellar but he was quite busy with many good things ie. 3 choirs, several plays, a musical, swim team, and finishing his Eagle project. That last month was chuck full of concerts, awards nights, and parties. I'm so glad he wasn't out getting drunk or stoned or laid. He's a fantastic boy with loads of talent.

Courtney and Jessa play cello and violin in the Tucson Jr. strings and their school orchestras, meaning they had 4 performances. Barret plays tenor sax and he shared one of Jessa's performances. Plus there were rehearsals to take them to. The lovely thing is listening to all that good music. They're finally getting out of the lower symphonias which are much less pleasant to listen to.

Jessa had her Nat'l. Jr. Honor Society awards assembly too. She worked quite hard this year and got wonderful grades. We're so proud of her. It definitely makes up for the many times she brained the boys with their toy trucks. Who'd have thunk it?

We spent hours and hours helping Hunter work on his Eagle Project. He made gates and a fence for Colossal Cave Nat'l. Monument (at least I think it's a monument). I'm so glad that project is done as it is over ten miles away. There were several set-backs and hitches but we were blessed with kind donors and a great amount of help (you reap what you sow). Now he can say to his grandkids, "Look! I built that fence and those gates! (If, that is, they don't get wrecked by having kids swing on them.)

Last but not the least of my excuses, I have been trying to be a good example by not using the computer so much so we can save money. Since it's harder for me to write when my children are awake, I've been spending more time on my manuscripts in the morning and less time here. I have two MS in Beta testing as I write this.

That, my friends, is the whiny set of reasons why my posts have been sparse of late. I shall endeavor to do better. It doesn't look like things will let up any time soon. I know I've forgotten things too. I was supposed to go to cub camp in there somewhere but nobody let me know when, so I think I missed it. Bad dog, no biscuit.

Life is a roller coaster. Sometimes you barf over the side and hope it doesn't hit you on the loop-the-loop. Wheeeeeeee!