More Adventure With Kids

Karla has another day of continuing education, so I am home alone with the kids again. On top of that, there is a birthday party for one of Sheridan's friends scheduled for this afternoon, and then the Dallas Cowboys play for first place in their division tonight.

I think it's a safe bet that not a lot of writing is going to happen today. Me efforts will probably be more towards preserving my sanity.

Monday is starting to look pretty good.

I'm way behind in Nanowrimo, but hopefully I can make up at least some of the lost ground over the coming week. I have a lot to do though. After two days with the kids home all day, the house is starting to descend into chaos. So at least part of Monday is going to be devoted to reclaiming that. What happened to the weekend being the time to catch up? Now I'm having to catch up from the weekend?

There were a lot of things about this parenting gig that weren't explained to me.

Done

"The World in Strips" has been edited, and sent back to Pill Hill Press. "The Bitter End" anthology will hopefully appear either later this month or next month. It's a relief to get that out of the way early. My hands are being a pain today, so now I can quit worrying about that and let them relax.

Sigh

I'm going to have to move to my laptop to edit this story because it has a bigger screen than my main computer and it's easier to display two windows side by side on that one.

How sad is that?

Time to start pestering Karla for a new computer.

Saturday Assessment

Shown above are the covers to anthologies that have, or will have, stories of mine in them. Some of them have more than one. Not a bad collection all in all. They represent the successful part of a years work. I can live with that.

This weekend Karla has continuing education, which means I'll be at home alone with the kids all weekend. So I won't be getting a lot done. Oh well, it's all in a good cause. I'll try and keep my goals small. My only goal will be to try and do that edit of "The World in Strips" for Pill Hill Press . . . and try to keep the kids from bringing the house down around my ears, of course. Sounds reasonable.

Because Sometimes I Don't Know When to Stop

Time to Go . . .

and pick up the kiddo. I've managed to get the mess in the house down to the point it only looks like one grenade went off in here. That's an improvement.

I'll also be dropping my contract with Pill Hill Press for "The World in Strips" off in the mail. They sent me a copy for editing, which is no big deal. Almost all of their suggestions make sense, and shouldn't take me long at all to implement.

I think I'll take my new laptop to Denny's tonight.

A Letter to the Manufacturer

Dear Farberware,

I just want you to know I bought your handy heavy duty kitchen shears because I needed something to open exactly the type of ridiculously tough plastic packaging that you chose to put those shears into.

Thanks for that.

#$%@#$%%!!!!!!!!

Inspiration Strikes

So after giving my muse a severe flogging, I now have an idea for a short story. You have to be tough with muses, or they get lazy on you.

It's marketability will be fairly narrow, since it will be written for a specific anthology for Pill Hill Press, but I'm not complaining. At least I have something to write. That makes for a happier, sunnier Nate.

I've got some housework to catch up on today, and I'm just a tad under the weather, so I'll be sticking close to home. That's okay, I could stand to get a few things done . . . or I'll be the one on the end of a flogging.

Sigh, it's a tough world.

Oh yeah . . . I bought Christmas lights while shopping last night. I promised Sheridan last year that we would have them this time, so I'm starting to prepare. They are multicolored icicle lights. I think it's time to start giving the kids more of an idea of the holidays, by decorating and stuff. Since we are hosting Thanksgiving this year, I probably ought to look in that direction too.

I've been thinking about "Argiope" and "The Ways of Khrem" again lately. Pretty soon I'll have to look into getting back into those projects. I'm starting to get a feel about how I might do that.

Since I already have a first (albiet terrible) draft of TWoK already done, I can farm it out for advice while going ahead and picking up and writing Argiope where I last left off. I also have some artwork for a possible book cover for Argiope on order, as an inspirational piece while writing it.

"Flight of the Lark" is way down the road, but the research can be done. I just discovered a steamboat museum in Beaumont that I now absolutely must visit. It could be invaluable for FotL.

Plotting the novels I intend to write in the future makes me feel better about the short stories I'm not writing right now. How's that for logic.