Busy, busy, busy

It has been a busy, busy few weeks. I'm running way behind where I wanted to be in certain things, but I did get the revisions on The Barbed Rose finished and sent back to New York. It's looking good, I think.

Next week, I'll be starting on the last book in The One Rose trilogy, which has no title yet. I have a few things I want to have happen, but beyond that, I'm not clear. Which is why I'm glad I'll be meeting up with my critique partners in Dallas this coming weekend at the Dreamin' in Dallas conference. We always brainstorm for each other when we get together. They helped me with the main plot outline for Barbed Rose, so I know they can help me with this one. And they're a lot of fun to hang out with besides.

I've spent a lot of time out of town over the past month. I went to New Mexico for a week (well, one day going and one day coming home again) taking kids skiing for spring break. It was early here, so we were a week ahead of the big spring snow storm. The weather was fabulous--the boys in the group skied without shirts the last day of the trip. And then we got over a foot of snow after we got home.

Got to go to visit some of the grandboys over the Easter weekend--it was fun, but exhausting. All this traveling has really put me behind in things like updating my website or clearing away the stacks and stacks (and stacks) of "already read" books I need to go through, list in my computer and sort into keeper, trade-in, and library donation stacks. The keepers are the ones I know I want to read again (and have probably read again already). The donations are the ones I think I might want to read again, so I'll let the library keep them on their shelves, since I don't have room, and the trade-ins are the books I'm pretty sure I won't want to read again. Although sometimes I pick them up at a bookstore and buy them again. (sigh) Did that this week with Suzanne Brockmann's Hawken's Heart. I didn't realize it was one I had in the original edition, and bought the reprint--because I didn't even look at the inside. If I had, I'd probably have recognized the story, but I didn't. I did read it again. :) Do any of you do this? Probably all the time. Ah well.

More when I manage to get here.

Back again

I really ought to post on a more regular basis, but... well, I don't even keep up with my journal or "morning pages" (from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way) on a regular basis. And the journal is where I work out problems with the writing.

Hmmm. So does that mean I don't regularly have problems with my writing? Must be. ;)

It's confirmed. The Barbed Rose will be the title of the second book in The One Rose trilogy. I'm working on revisions for it now. Almost halfway through. I ought to be able to finish them by the end of next week. Probably a good thing, because we're going to go visit two of the grandboys (and their daddy) for Easter.

I've got a bazillion other things to do, but first, I need to get past the company coming this evening. We had a big batch of people over for Sunday dinner, now I'm resting up for the next batch. Then I can do my other Tarot readings and work on the website (which has not been updated since the book came out. Did I mention that? The Compass Rose is out and available in bookstores everywhere. And it got some pretty good reviews too.) And I know there's at least another dozen and a half things I need to get done. Ah well. The brain gets lost when I'm working.