The Books Are Arriving

Commenters have commented here that they have received their books. (Thank you very much. It was good to know folks are getting them.)

I have now received my copies. Yes, they are beautiful. I might even read it. I read my very first two books when I got them. (They were short.) I read Compass Rose. I only got about halfway through Barbed Rose. So--given how many times I read Eternal Rose through the revision and re-revision and paring-down-to-size process, I'm not sure I'll be able to get all the way through it. I might go back and re-read Barbed Rose again.

I have found that when I create characters and a story that I like, I still like them when I go back and look at them again, even if it's just a fragment I came up with ages ago that has no business even thinking about publication. I usually pick apart the prose when I read back over the story, but I still like the characters and the story. Or at least the intent of the story. What I wanted the story to be...I might realize how the story ought to be better told.

This is kind of what I'm doing now with Thunder. I came up with the idea so, so long ago--but I still like the idea and the characters and the story. I just know more about story-telling now, so maybe I can do them all justice. I hope. I've done more research, and I'm having a little trouble reconciling the emotional numbing symptoms of a PTSD sufferer with my character's need to locate her family...but an overprotectiveness of loved ones is also a symptom, so maybe I can balance it that way. There's apparently a wide variation in behavior--and given that my character is not so very "post," I think I can make it work. It's some of the hardest writing I've ever done, though.

Oh, there's a nice review of The Eternal Rose if you're interested, and in response to the comment about the bit that left the reviewer scratching her head, let me just say: It's a fantasy. And leave it at that. :)

Nice slow week this week. Not much experimenting in the kitchen (I made Mediterranean Salmon with white beans last week...pretty good, even if salmon isn't a Mediterranean fish--is it?). The steaks were awesome though, and we had leftovers. Then I found some sweet corn in the fridge to have with the leftovers, so they were awesome twice.

No beach visits so far this week--my walks have been around the neighborhood--and I'm going to have to get up earlier and get out the door earlier to beat the heat. But if nothing else gets planned--and if it doesn't rain--I think I want to at least go to the beach to swim for my birthday Saturday. (Dang, but I'm getting old.)

They did call me to interview for the part-time job I applied for, but that's two weeks away. I think it will be an interesting job, and still leave me time to write. Which I need to get busy and do. I need to earn my charm for September. August turned out to be just impossible. I'm probably 6 pages up right now, but that leaves me with 18 to go. I'm having to do as much thinking and researching as writing though... Have a research book I need to go buy.
Better run...