I'm a cup half full kind of guy, so despite the fact that here I am once again, up long before the crack of dawn, fighting off the illness -- there is a silver lining.
The house is silent, except for my own sniffs, snorts and coughs. My wife is sleeping away the last effects of her recent concussion, the boys are slumbering peacefully recharging their super cell batteries that are so on going they make that rabbit's claims pale in comparison.
This is the second day I have crawled out of a nice arm bed in order to breath but it is also the second day I have been able to dance with my keyboard for several uninterrupted hours. AND I FEEL GOOD! Forgive me for forgoing the James Brown trademark splits. A head cold is one thing, traction is another.
I have hammered out the dents in my novel in progress, Plundered Booty. I moved some things around, applied Bondo to others, and then I sanded the whole thing off and applied a fresh coat of glossy paint. I solved my lack of humor problem int he last chapter and now am plunging headlong into the second third of the book.
And that long forgotten women's fiction novel I was also working on? My brain is kicking around a few ideas to breathe a bit of life and effort back into it as well.
So what about my last completed novel, A River Without Water? I have been lazy in querying as of late. I do have a few old queries out, as well as three partials and one complete MS, but they have been out long enough that I give them the same chance of scoring as a die hard Trekkie at a beauty pageant. I'll probably wait until mid December and then send out more queries for A River as well as for a few older short stories of mine.
So what is going on for the rest of you who are writers. Drop a comment and let me know what you are writing now, how you stand on marketing your work, and so forth. There are several of you I have listed in my non writer block of friends. I'm working on getting that changed, but you could help by making it clear in the comments that you do write.
And you non writers? Chime in to. Let me know the general state of affairs in your world. Have you finished you Christmas shopping yet? Started? What is the hard to find present that you are currently scouring the land for?
Speaking of Christmas I know several of you have blogged about the Australian initiative to stop Santa Clause from saying Ho! Ho! Ho! because as they claim it is offensive to women. I don't know about y'all and I'm not a woman but to me as long as Jolly Ol' Saint Nick doesn't follow with a sneered, "Hey little girl come sit on my lap." I don't really see the problem. By the way stay tuned my recounts of my days playing a mall Santa are coming soon. Good Bye, and Feliz Navidad.
29 comments:
Huh. I just read your little "about me" section and realized we're the same height. What are the odds? Actually, as I just typed that, I got the feeling that I'd already typed something similar to you in the past. It's there now though, so too late!
As far as Xmas goes, my kids are taken care of, but it's going to be the usual scramble to find suitable gifts for my wife. Wish me luck!
Am working on an urban fantasy.
If I finish by February, I'll be fortunate.
"The anthology wot has my short story is now in print and on Amazon," she said in a small voice.
Pardon my pimp ( but you did ask.)
Santa Claus can't say "Ho, Ho, Ho" anymore? Does this mean we have to refer to the word "Ho" as the "H-word"? And, while we're at it, what about the gardening implement, the common Hoe? Can I ask for a common hoe to do the weeding at all anymore? And what if it is a really good tool, would I be extra penalized for calling it a crack Hoe?
Seeing as how we have already sidelined the N-word, the B-word, and the C-word, does anyone realize we have only 26 letters in the alphabet? Shouldn't we all get together and decide what 26 words will never, ever been said again since that is the limit on these things.
The only thing I write is my blog, so I'm happy to be listed as a non-writer. I do write the odd grocery list though. HA!
I am almost done the Christmas shopping. One more poke at the big city and I should have it done. Then all I will need is a few stocking stuffers and voila.
The Ho ho ho thing? That's retarded. When will people start getting over their damn selves?!
the title "plundered booty" made me giggle...
i have just finished my first edits on my latest manuscript. i'm gonna let it stwe for a few weeks, readjust, and then send it to an agent who will jump for joy when they see it (yes, they will...).
that's where i'm at.
I'm working on my NaNo novel right now, which I plan to submit to Torquere if it comes together and wraps nicely, and I have a few hundred words of a holiday short story for a promotion the Torquere bosses kinda-sorta mentioned they were thinking about. Nothing concrete yet, but since we're more than halfway through November I figured I might as well start something just in case. :) I'm up at my mom's, though, and I'm not writing all that much. I have a novelette coming out on December 8, and if the holiday short is accepted I imagine it'll be released on or about Christmas-ish.
My mom is reupholstering her dining room chairs, and my baby brother (who's thirty-seven) is in the last stage of Wal-Mart's management training. He actually graduated already (this is just some kind of a wrap-up today) and he was very jazzed about getting his first diploma for the course; he never graduated high school, but he did very well in management training and we're all proud of him.
And my husband's at home with his cat, who's doubtless very happy to have him to herself. [wry smile]
Angie
Christmas is pretty much planned, if not executed yet. I need to update my web site (as do you, dear Travis) I have a short story out making the rounds, a novel at a prestigious house being read, my weekly column for Criminal Brief to write and I am mulling over my next novel's plotline. The best thing is it is only 123 more days to Spring.
Duck - Luck. Duck, luck. I like the ring of that.
Bernita- Yes I did ask. ANd is the name of the anthology wot? Let us know so we can look for it.
Alex - I agree. Me and you could be dangerous togehter. I say we start building our coffers now for a run at the White House in 2012. You can be the man and I'll be your VP. I do hunt but thus far I've never shot anyone.
RocRocks - I'll get your new site linked today.
patti - If the title made you laugh, that is a good start. I'm shooting for something jsut the other side of hilariosu with the actual novel. This is my first go at humor. What genre is your novel?
Angie - You are both ambitious and productive, a deadly combo. WIsh I was just one of the two.
Debbie - My website is crap. I'm in the process of having it link directly to this blog until I get a chance to do it right.
I hope you get over your cold soon - and that your wife feels better - concussions are No fun.
:-(
I'm working on a novella - a romantic comedy. Have to get back to work on it - I've put it on the back burner to promote my publishing company (Calderwood Books) and my 4 e-books that came out this year - so hopefully I'll be able to pay my son's college tuition for his second term (sound of hysterical laughter...)
So I just finished reading the short story of yours that you linked to. I've gotta say that I liked it quite a bit, despite its dark leanings.
I do have one grammatical question for you regarding the story though. At the end of the first paragraph, I would think that the word "vivid" should actually be "vividly" in that context. No?
I'm writing like a maniac on some nonfiction stuff right now, what I've been doing for a couple of years, although I would really like to get free to write the fourth book in the Taleran series. That might happen next summer.
So what is going on for the rest of you who are writers.
Pimping out my blog. And the usual torture, which involves blood letting as I attempt a new novel chapter.
Wait... I hear my protagonist coming up behind me. She's got her hands on my throat. "Write or dieeee!"...
Duck, are you really that tall?
Travis, WHERE is Stephen?
Great with the writing...laughing my head off about Santa asking little girls to sit on his lap!! I'm with you, he can yell "ho" all he wants...but I have this whole icky image now of the "jolly old fat man"...let me tell you when I see them in the malls this season you "know" what's going to be going through my head!! LOL!
just started to think about my christmas shopping.
so who leads when you and your keyboard are dancing?
Ugh, I am far too shatered to even have this discussion.
Hey Travis, We should stop talking on the phone so much..I got that darn cold you have..
I was complaining to you just the other day I believe on how I never get colds, I can get heart problems, respiratory failure, writers block, head traumas, coma's from a night of drinking with you and Alex...
And whammo, the next day. The mother of all head colds...
Go figure.
Oh, and keep the damn ho's in Christmas, what else can they ruin by being PC?
And as for Judas. Marist is kidnapped and unconscious. Maybe I'm projecting too much.
Yours,
Who else?
Sam - I'm gonna have to confes it has been a while since I've checked out your blog. I kinda lost track of you. I'll have to op over and see what you've been up to.
Duck - How shoudl I know? You think jsut becasue I'm a writer I know all the grammar rules. Vivid seems right to me and neither of the two english teachers in my critique group said anything about it and neither did the editor of Underground Voices. But you maybe be right.
Charles - I've never tried any non fiction. It doesn't seem like it would be as much fun to me.
Tena - I swear I have idea of Richard's whereabouts.
Sherry - Beware not all fat men are jolly
Cher- I lead but it sure steps on my toes a lot.
Jay - Welcome.
Bluefingers - Take two steaks and call me in the morning.
Almost done shopping, need 3 more kids toys and I'll get them on line!
Best purchase: Star Wars for the Wii (for hubby)
Ho!Ho!Ho! No? No? No? What the hell is this world coming to! Those Ho!'s are a part of the holiday! Almost as much as the beard and hat!
hee..hee... you said booty
I read somewhere that agents usually start slowing down mid-December and don't ramp back up again until after the new year. I don't know how blanket that statement is, but I'm halting querying until I can be sure they're in their offices and focused on new stuff instead of trying to wrap up the old.
You have my sympathies. I hate being sick. Good thing you have a bright side. Congrats on getting back on track with the books. =oD
Hi Travis,
Hope you're felling better today. Kudos on getting back into the writing. That is aways a great feeling, when I've been away from it a little too long.
Right now I am writing for NaNoWriMo (and doing a dismal job of it.) and preparing queries to send after Thanksgiving, which I'll have to rethink after reading b.e.'s comment.
Most of my writing time is spent on marketing Murder New York Style (and thanks again for your great plug.)Having emailed the Amazon link to everyone I know, I am now handing out bookmarks everywhere I go. Since they are the size of playing cards and have the cover as a face, they catch the eye. I will also put them in Christmas cards, etc. I am stopping short of including them in the envelope with my mortgage payment, although . . . who knows? The person who opens the envelope might be a mystery fan!
I have a reading/signing next week so I have to prepare myself and my give-aways.
I feel as though I am behind in the actual writing process because everything else takes up so much time.
Terrie
Non-writer here.
I won't go shopping until a female forces me to. Otherwise, I'll wait until the last week. :D
I think thats great you have written a book,
is it self published? And how is it doing?
Good for you.
Really? Ho Ho Ho is offensive. Shite!
Congratulations on your partials and full out. You're on the right track....keep going!!!
:-)
I have treid the whole writing thing but always give up, I am trying again but this time I am going to try something smaller. To me writing a novel would be like climbing stairs with only using my lips.
Hey TRavis - hope you feel better! I am in the query stage for my WWII novel and beginning my ancient historical fiction novel based on the Three Kingdoms period of Ancient Korea. yeah research is a bitch for that one.
>>I moved some things around, applied Bondo to others, and then I sanded the whole thing off and applied a fresh coat of glossy paint.<<
Paint. Paint? GLOSSY paint? Ennngh. I thought you were a panhandle MAN. Since when is grey flat primer just not good enough? What are you, some kind of sissified, vegetarian, Honda Insight driving sensitive type that wants glossy paint?
I am crushed!
(kidding!)
I haven't even begun thinking about Christmas, let alone shopping for it. :-(
No, I'm not a writer, so I don't have any excuse for the voices in my head. ;-)
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