Weekend Shots

Time to fess up: all I got done was some rummaging around in QueryTracker and absolutely no editing done at all.

I did sleep a lot this weekend, and last Thursday. I needed it. I'm still sick, but feeling much, much better. And the apple-cinnamon-oatmeal muffins turned out just okay. They really didn't have the flavor I was hoping for, so I may do something different next time. The cranberry-orange ones turned out great though. I did burn the cinnamon-swirl and banana nut bread I made on Saturday so there's no "treats" in the house at the moment.

So my weekend was basically shot when it came to getting writing done. I only did one thing other than bake when I wasn't sleeping and that was going shooting. I'm working towards getting over my fear of guns (have a 22 pulled on you as a kid that is supposedly "unloaded" and you'll understand) and working towards getting my concealed weapons permit.

The guys at the gun shop told me I should try a revolver to back up my mouth as I tend to jam the semi-auto Smith & Wesson that we own when I'm shooting fast and I don't back down from gang bangers (who are notoriously lousy shots). So I tried some 38 specials. Huge kickback on those little pups and I didn't hit the target once. They are only good for short range though, so I may ask for some help next time we're in the shooting range. I'm also going to try out a Magnum to see if I do better with the longer barrels. I hit the bullseye every time when I use our S&W both with 22s and 45s, so it may be an issue of barrel length. Although I'm madly in love with this little Browning 22 revolver that will actually fit in my cleavage; it's adorable!

At some point I'll have to try out a rifle as that's what Jess prefers. Funny how I know that. She makes me laugh a lot as well, especially when she's swearing at men. Merie doesn't like guns, but she prefers them over tasers as all the electronic stuff we use know messes with her abilities. Why I have all female characters in my head I'll never know. Oh wait! I forgot about Paul..he's a main character as well, and now Paxton, Matt, and Stan are chiming in as well. (The guys get cranky when they feel they're being overlooked.) What have I started?

Perhaps it's time to settle into the recliner with some tea and write while watching House. Maybe then they'll quiet down a bit.

Lacking Enthusiasm

I've been sick. In a drawn out, boring kind of way. I hate viruses, especially when I can't get enough time off of real work to rest appropriately. It's been a month already, jeez why can't this bugger move on? If it was a computer virus I'd have already vanquished it, but this one has the stubbornness of the most vile dragon.

Ooo! Dragons! If you haven't already, you must go see "How to Train Your Dragon". Apparently it's not much like the book, but it's a great movie and the animation is awesome. Okay, enough about dragons.

Even gardening hasn't gotten my attention of late, so I'm trying my best to pull myself up by my non-existent boot straps and get that done along with some editing on Jess' story. I really want to get this done and published. Perhaps I'm asking for too much. I haven't gone about this in a "normal" fashion at all. But if you know me, normal is not something I'm much good at.

So I've made two goals for myself for this week. 1) Get back into the QueryTracker system and do some research on agents, and 2) at least get Chapter 1 in Jess' book edited. We'll see how I do. I figure they're small enough goals I should be able to get something done; at least I'm hoping that's how it will pan out.

Although, all I seem to be able to think about today is coming up with a workable recipe for apple-cinnamon-oatmeal muffins. Food usually does trump all for me.

Agents, Editors, and Publishers - Oh My!

Still no word from Agent #2, which is fine. My sister's taking a crack at editing the book for me, so it's just as well I guess.

I've been digging through the various references that MaryJanice wrote about and am finding it a bit overwhelming. So many editors and publishers and agents to try to sift through and take a "best guess" at who to approach next. I'm hoping the Sisters-in-Crime group can give me some tidbits on that. After taxes get paid, I'm paying my membership fees to be a full-fledged Guppy and see if I can get any forward progress on this thing.

I did take some time and do a second go-round on the short stories I have for GlimmerTrain and plan to get them submitted in time for the May contest. I'm not sure my writing is in their style though, so I'll have to wait and see.

My Aunt shared one of her non-fiction pieces with me. I can see we have the same typos style, but our writing is different. Hers is more fluid, and richer in nature, whereas mine is blunt, a bit more quick and not nearly as graceful. Ann Rice has a style that is rich and dense, a type of writing that makes you feel like you're eating the book in a most indulgent style. My Aunt's is a lighter form of rich, more like a nice rich dessert mousse. (I must be hungry for chocolate.)

I'm getting ready to dig back into Collie's book in the never ending round-robin of "tag, you have to write about me next". Maybe Collie will get published first, only God in her infinite wisdom knows for certain. In any case, the girls still clamor for my attention and I feel like I'm really starting to get back into the swing of it again. Perhaps because my workload looks very light for the next few months, so I have more time to dedicate to putting their voices to electronic paper. Oh, and I can't forget the boys as Paul just chimed in that I haven't put nearly enough work into his piece of the story.

Do all writers have characters that talk to them? And I wonder, how many people actually read my ramblings? I was surprised to find that someone I have great respect for has been following a tech blog I work on, and even more so when I discovered several others who read it but don't officially "follow" it.