Cherie Priest's Blog: It's awards season, so here comes the shameless self-promotion, page 39

I swim for dry land just like you

Here’s today's progress on my fin de siecle gothic epistolary about Lizzie Borden fighting Cthulhu with her trusty axe, now with Bonus! ghosts, guilt, girlfriends, arcane science, and an accidental villain who's losing his mind and his humanity in tandem:
Project: Maplecroft
Deadline: October 15, 2013
New words written: 10,518 (meh for a week+)
Present total word count: 80,173 words



Things accomplished in fiction: Shit has hit the fan in a number of ways, and it's about to get worse. What does it mean when you don't hold your breath under water...but you don't drown, either?

Next up: Our villain is getting his act together. This isn't good.

Things accomplished in real life: Oh, let's just keep it to the last day or two: daily jaunts around the neighborhood with the dog; went to Walgreens; hung out for awhile with an old friend/coworker, who brought his dog over to play with Greyson; got lunch with the husband; finished up the last of the yardwork; finally got Bioshock: Infinite underway; got a quote back from the roofing guys; went to the historic zoning office to apply for the permit; did lots of laundry; did lots of spring cleaning; signed some contracts; exchanged some phone calls; sorted out some important emails and got down to inbox:0.

Other: Only wrote a few hundred of those words today, as the roofing guy's visit (with the quote and contract and details and whatnot) threw me off. I decided to hit the zoning office this afternoon and try to get the whole thing sorted out in one shot - but it was not to be. The woman who could sign off on the project wasn't in the office today, but I'm assured this shouldn't be a big deal, because we aren't looking to make changes to the house, just restore it. Worst case scenario, we go before the zoning board next month and find out what we need to tweak. We don't mind tweaks. We want to get it right. I just hope we're already good to go, and it doesn't come to that. Ought to know within a few days.

Yardwork-related other: Got some new heirloom tomatoes to replace those which died off during the freeze; added green and red peppers, zucchinis; actually saved some of the onions which Greyson DIDN'T manage to dig up and scatter all over the yard; added two rhododendrons to shady spaces in need of color; added a smattering of lilies and irises (orange/cream/purple/yellow varieties, assorted) in the naked spots; planted two more rounds of ground cover where needed; pruned the dead stuff off the now-formerly-ailing hydrangea, which seems to be coming back with a vengeance, yay; added foxgloves to the bird corner, to camouflage some ugly old bricks; restored several varieties of basil to the herb garden; watered the ever-living crap out of everything; fed the ever-living crap out of everything; added some light metal "decorative" fencing segments here and there - not to create any real mini-fences, but to generally direct Greyson's traffic flow as he tears across the yard. Speaking of, we also added paving stones to his preferred path through the herb garden. If you can't beat 'em, etc. etc. etc.

Pet-related other: In the previous pet-related other, I mentioned that Greyson had destroyed a little lavender plant. Not so! As it turns out, he'd only stomped it into the mud. When I realized this and washed it off, it popped back just fine. Amazingly enough, it has since survived being stomped by my pooch another time or two, plus the stomping efforts of a basset hound, and then a pit bull/Great Dane cross, so that stuff will will FOREVER. I'm pretty sure. I guess that should kind of fall under "Yardwork-Related Other," but we've been quite merrily running a mini dog-park in the back yard these last few days, and Greyson is loving the hell out of it.

TV-related other: Finally caught up on the season's end of Justified - and while I enjoyed the wrap-up, I felt like they really played it safe this round. Not that this is a specific complaint; but the spoilers I'd narrowly avoided on the 'net seemed to imply BIG HUGE AMAZEBALLS CHARACTER KILLOFF or something. Nah. But it remains a wonderful show.

VideoGame-related other: We're late jumping into Bioshock: Infinite, much as we were eager for it to arrive. (Long story. Not worth a dry retelling.) BUT WE'RE ON IT NOW, and merrily tootling around Columbia with Elizabeth. We're not terribly deep into the game yet, but I'm loving what we've seen/done, and looking forward to more. [:: happydances ::]

Number of fiction words so far this year: 76,047

Back in Black

Well, I'm very often in black, anyway - even here in the south. I spent most of my teenagerdom in Florida; I have summer goth nailed down to an art.

Not that this has anything to do with the content of this post, really. It's just a lyrical announcement that I'm back online, having taken a break in order to play catch-up on some non-writer-life stuff. Don't get me wrong, plenty of writer-life stuff has been managed, because it never really goes away; but the focus has been elsewhere. Spring cleaning. More work on the yard. (With tomorrow being the last major push of such activity.) Catching up with friends. Basic maintenance on the house.

Speaking of, the basic maintenance has taken a nasty turn.

Long story short, we need a new roof. It's going to happen sometime in another month or so, if I get my way - and because I'd rather look on the bright side than scream at the thought of the expense, well, here goes the bright side breakdown: (1). it'll add value to the house, and (2). it'll look a hell of a lot better than the shit-show we've got now.

Beyond that, I don't feel like going into it. So I won't.
Anyway.

The work won't happen for another few weeks, regardless of how quickly the permissions and paperwork goes through. Why? Because I am a giant ridiculous sucker for animals (like none of you knew that, or something), and we have an adorable purple finch nest under the eaves of the porch. Inside it are four tiny blue eggs with speckles, and according to my observation and research, those eggs should turn into grown-up birds who don't need a nest anymore within another 3 weeks or so.

The roof has waited this long; it can wait that much longer. Besides, I'll soon have company in town, and there's the work on the garage coming up next week.

Well. It all needs to get done, and it will. Everything will be okay, and we'll be very, very glad when it's sorted out.

So. Yes. I do have word metrics to report - decent ones, if not great ones - but I won't do so right this moment. I'll start that up again on Monday, in accordance with my previous vow to quit bothering with such things on weekends. It's been a long, messed-up day. Therefore, I declare that this totally counts as the weekend, or it will - just as soon as I can make myself some supper and a drink.

But let's end on this on a fuzzy note.
And I'll get everything rolling as usual in a couple of days.

Slow change may pull us apart

This is just a quick note to declare a temporary internet hiatus. Nothing's wrong, no one's sick, all is well with the pets and husband - I just have a lot of work to do...everything from spring cleaning to continuing yard management, on top of the ongoing work of writing three books this year. And oh, hey - Bioshock: Infinite just came out! So there goes any downtime that might be lurking between the cracks.

Anyway, please pardon me if I go a little quiet for the next week or so. I'll be back soon, I promise - with all the critter pictures and word metrics you've come to expect.

Thanks for reading!

The past is gone but something might be found to take its place

Here’s today's progress on my fin de siecle gothic epistolary about Lizzie Borden fighting Cthulhu with her trusty axe, now with Bonus! ghosts, guilt, girlfriends, arcane science, and an accidental villain who's losing his mind and his humanity in tandem:
Project: Maplecroft
Deadline: October 15, 2013
New words written: 2352 (not great for a weekend)
Present total word count: 69,655 words



Things accomplished in fiction: Inspector returned from Boston, with some helpful puzzle pieces regarding the scope of what's at stake. Doctor Seabury realizes he'll have to reveal a small secret to preserve a much larger one.

Next up: The victim of the secret-reveal is none too pleased; but she could be the victim of something much worse, if all parties don't start working together.

Things accomplished in real life: Daily jaunt around the neighborhood with the dog; returned rental car at the airport; grabbed lunch at Taco Bell and ran into an old friend (HI SHANNON!); unpacked; paid some bills; got caught up on email; started laundry.

Other: Had to return the rental car because, well, I had a rental car. I greatly enjoyed MidSouthCon, but the trip home was a mess - flight delays caused me to miss my connection in Atlanta, and it was either wait until well after midnight for a stand-by seat on another flight (and no guarantees) ... or rent a car and drive myself home. I made it back by about 11:30. Not my cheapest work-around ever, but it was worth it to be back in my own bed, rather than on the floor in Hartsfield.

Yardwork-related other: Welp. We planted a bit too soon, it would seem. Weather went badly downhill while I was out of town, and though the husband performed as much management as he could ... it looks like we've lost the basil and tomatoes, so we'll have to try those again later. *sigh* Other than that, everything looks pretty much okay, I think. The camellias look good, the lilac seems fine, and the forsythia is holding up. The baby Japanese Maple is struggling a little, so we're covering it with a sheet at night. (And I mulched the crap out of its base, trying to keep it warm.) If it were just a bit better established, I wouldn't worry about it. But... Anyway.

Bird-related other: My bird-corner of the yard has gone to hell in a handbasket, partly due to Greyson's digging, and partly due to the EPIC wind we've had as of late. I'll clean it up in a day or two, when things get warmer. But in other bird news, we have purple finches building a nest on our front porch! [:: throws confetti ::] They are dastardly cute, and I am delighted to have them.

Pet-related other: So, yeah - Greyson's been on a digging spree again. More holes in the yard, more damage to the garlic. He destroyed my little lavender plant, which was doing just fine, never mind the cold. Dogs, man. The cat, however is lazy and harmless and curled up beside me right now. It's sweet, and I'll take it.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 65,529

Her light like a heavenly finger pointing the way

Here’s today's progress on my fin de siecle gothic epistolary about Lizzie Borden fighting Cthulhu with her trusty axe, now with Bonus! ghosts, guilt, girlfriends, arcane science, and an accidental villain who's losing his mind and his humanity in tandem:
Project: Maplecroft
Deadline: October 15, 2013
New words written: 1810
Present total word count: 67,303 words



Things accomplished in fiction: Finished one short segue, began a new segment when I realized I had a giant plot hole that only needed a few pages to fix it. And since the plot hole had developed only recently, there was no time like the present to see about a bit of LogicSpackle(tm).

Next up: MidsouthCon! I have no idea how much writing I'll get done, if any.

Things accomplished in real life: Daily jaunt around the neighborhood with the dog; jaunt to Walgreens ahead of tomorrow's travel; not much else.

Other: Calling the word count early today, as I must go do laundry and pack for the weekend - and also, I must spend some time in the yard before I go. Tonight we're having a freeze...a freeze which I *hope* will be the last of the year, but you never know. Anyway, I have a baby tree I need to mulch and cover with a pillowcase, and a garden of starters that need some mulch and a sheet, never mind all the watering I need to do. And the list of stuff I need to leave my husband. Woo boy howdy.

Yardwork-related other: I really, really, really hope all the new stuff survives the freeze all right. It's doing so beautifully! Everything is really settling in and opening up! [:: sigh ::] Nothing I can do about the weather, though.

Pet-related other: Nothing to report except extreme adorability.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 63,177

And you thought it was only in movies

Here’s today's progress on my fin de siecle gothic epistolary about Lizzie Borden fighting Cthulhu with her trusty axe, now with Bonus! ghosts, guilt, girlfriends, arcane science, and an accidental villain who's losing his mind and his humanity in tandem:
Project: Maplecroft
Deadline: October 15, 2013
New words written: 1469
Present total word count: 65,493 words



Things accomplished in fiction: Another small segue, and an old friend returns to the doctor - who's having a bit of a breakdown over here.

Next up: the old friend (an investigator from Boston) explains his return, and needs a favor. It'll be a little delicate, but it's worth pursuing.

Things accomplished in real life: Daily jaunt around the neighborhood with the dog; took the cat to the vet to have her fancy purple sutures removed and get her vaccine boosters; did a little minor yardwork. Not much else.

Other: I had a hard time getting started today, a sad reminder that momentum is so damn important to me. All I can do is try to get back on the wagon. This will be somewhat tricky with MidSouthCon looming this weekend, but I'll see what I can do. If I'm presented with the option of Graceland vs. keyboard pounding, well, hail to the king, baby.

Yardwork-related other: As far as yardwork goes - I've decided on two small blueberry shrubs to round out the rear corner, and will be swapping out some scraggly salvia for lavender over by the herb garden. I've also decided on a big red camellia and a fluffy white azalea beside the house, and after that, it'll mostly be fine-tuning and veggie planting. Of course, it looks like we'll have one more freeze tonight, so I don't know. Everything that's been planted is doing quite well, and *should* be all right ... but I'll add heaps of mulch to the baby Japanese maple, and throw a sheet over it anyway. (In accordance with nursery suggestion.) It's so cute! And it's juuuuust starting to throw out pretty red buds. [:: loves it ::]

Pet-related other: Spainy's vet visit took all of five minutes, and she's now back home, sulking in a sunbeam. The dog literally *howled* when he saw me taking her away. God, I wish she loved him half as much as he loves her.

TV-related other: We're all caught up on Ripper Street! Dammit! But it's a wonderful show, and I like the set-up for the next season. And Castle last night...what was that, y'all? Should've saved the corny stuff and Wes Craven for a Halloween episode.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 61,367

Dogs Forever

Haven't gotten a damn bit of writing done these last few days, so I guess that whole "write every damn day" thing is shot all to hell. Over the weekend, my excuse was the yard; the weather was gorgeous, and I had a LOT of work to do outside. Last year we did all this crap in the dead of summer, and I did solemnly vow that THIS year, we'd get ahead of it before it got that hot again.

So that's what I did. For hours, each day. I prepared all the beds, turning and augmenting the soil with good stuff; then I planted forsythia, a white quince, a bunch of iris/lilies, a pair of camellias, a dark purple lilac bush, and I forget what else in the decorative department.

In the delicious department, I rebooted the herb garden with 3 varieties of basil, golden lemon thyme, onions, garlic, and French lavender; I also trimmed back the Monster Rosemary, pruned the oregano, and fed the chives. Then I plotted out and planted part of the vegetable bed - with heirloom tomatoes (as well as a local hybrid), collard greens (for the husband), Brussels sprouts (great roasted with olive oil and dipped in horseradish, yum), and that's all for now. It's a little early for the rest of what I want to add, and that's just as well.

Why? Because it meant I had half a vegetable bed for two dogs to wrestle around in like a mudpit all afternoon.

And why two dogs, you may ask? Because I found this while I was out walking Greyson this morning.




Yes, he was that cute.
(And yes, that's Greyson guarding him - and preparing to snorgle/play with him yet further.)

He had also been on the lam for a couple of days, if the neighborhood email list could be believed; he kept trying to let himself inside people's houses, and no one knew who he belonged to, if anyone. So when he came bounding happily down the street to meet me and Greyson, well, I picked him up and took him home.

He was hungry and dehydrated, and had a bad case of the sniffles. So I made him a vet appointment (because I AM A SUCKER, YES) and until the appointment, he and Greyson ran positively wild in the yard. Both of them were covered in mud by appointment time, but we wiped the little dude down and took him to the office - where we learned he's in generally good health, except for an upper respiratory infection.

And since I'm not the kind of woman to drop off a sick pit-mix puppy to a shelter because I know how that shit works ... we settled in to keep him a few days and hope we could either find his family, or find him a new one.

We really don't have room for two dogs of the size that dude was shaping up to become; Greyson and a kitty are almost more than the square footage will comfortably sustain. But I have the internet! And I put out feelers! And the response was very good, for which I am touched and grateful to all and sundry who spread the message and offered their assistance.

However, as we drove home from the vet, I spied our local mailman - and I remembered that he's basically a super-genius who knows everything about everyone in these-here blocks ... so I pulled up alongside his truck and asked if he knew anyone who was missing a 2-3 month old white puppy with adorable brown eyebrows. And lo and behold, he knew of a family who'd adopted something matching that description a couple of weeks ago.

Then he gave us the address. Off the top of his head.
LIKE A BOSS.

So rather than taking the pup home, since he was happily sacked out in the back-seat on my husband's lap, we drove on over to the address. AND YES. Their puppy "Pepperjack" had gone AWOL a couple of days before, when a neighbor dog dug under their fence and invited him off on a romp.

BOOYAH.

Puppy was restored to his family, now with Bonus! medicine for his upper-respiratory infection and Extra Bonus! stuff for fleas and worms because a pup on his own for a few days gets up to shenanigans, he does.

He'd actually roamed quite a ways - a mile or more, I'd say. Quite a stretch for such a little fellow. His family was stunned that he'd made it that far away; they'd only been asking around the immediate blocks. I have no idea how the cutie pulled it off, but all's well now - and I, for one, am so relieved that I just want to sack out in front of the TV with a drink and wait for the new Castle episode.

What the hell. That sounds like a plan.
[:: collapses ::]

I'm running and I was proud and I wore it like a crown

Here’s today's progress on my fin de siecle gothic epistolary about Lizzie Borden fighting Cthulhu with her trusty axe, now with Bonus! ghosts, guilt, girlfriends, arcane science, and an accidental villain who's losing his mind and his humanity in tandem:
Project: Maplecroft
Deadline: October 15, 2013
New words written: 1784
Present total word count: 64,024 words



Things accomplished in fiction: Tiny segue that isn't a segue so much as new information.

Next up: Another segue. I'm filling in some bits, here and there, with regards to what our villain has been up to while everyone was running around, screaming, back at Fall River.

Things accomplished in real life: Daily jaunt around the neighborhood with the dog; went to the Barn Nursery; spent all afternoon working on the yard.

Other: Added good soil to the feeble soil of our beds, and worked it in. Then I planted (and fed) a forsythia, a lovely little lilac bush, some irises (to fill out some dead patches in an existing bed of them), and a pair of camellias in a semi-shaded corner of the yard that was otherwise empty and sad. All of these plants are basically babies, but they'll grow up and be beautiful. (Greyson helped.)

Other - next up: Re-grade and relocate bird stuff to the shady place near the camellias; take care of the back bed; replant something in the spot at side of the house where a hyacinth died and left a big, sad hole. All I can do is take it a little at a time, or else it's too overwhelming.

Pet-related other: My dog is ridiculously good-looking.

TV-related other: Caught up on Justified last night. [:: fist pump ::]

Number of fiction words so far this year: 59,898

I don't mind the sun sometimes

Here’s today's progress on my fin de siecle gothic epistolary about Lizzie Borden fighting Cthulhu with her trusty axe, now with Bonus! ghosts, guilt, girlfriends, arcane science, and an accidental villain who's losing his mind and his humanity in tandem:
Project: Maplecroft
Deadline: October 15, 2013
New words written: 2436
Present total word count: 62,241 words



Things accomplished in fiction: The doctor and Lizzie were on cleanup duty, and it sucked.

Next up: Emma weighs in on Nance's condition, and the new-found alliance with the doctor. Perhaps some bits and pieces re: what the villain has been up to. He's not speaking for himself right now, but other people are talking about him - that's for damn sure.

Things accomplished in real life: Daily jaunt around the neighborhood with the dog; started some housework; lunch with the husband; little bit of yard clean-up, though the planting I'd planned will wait for tomorrow (it'll likely freeze tonight). Next up: Laundry.

Other: Much better word count today. It catches me up to square one, after the weekend's lost momentum. Happy camper, over here.

Pet-related other: Puppy break.

TV-related other: Six episodes into Ripper Street, and we're still really enjoying it. What a fun show, I swear. (Still haven't started the new Tomb Raider. These two things are not unrelated.)

Number of fiction words so far this year: 58,114

They are merely crying, son

Here’s today's progress on my fin de siecle gothic epistolary about Lizzie Borden fighting Cthulhu with her trusty axe, now with Bonus! ghosts, guilt, girlfriends, arcane science, and an accidental villain who's losing his mind and his humanity in tandem:
Project: Maplecroft
Deadline: October 15, 2013
New words written: 1484
Present total word count: 59,805 words



Things accomplished in fiction: Got most of the way through the monster fight, yay!

Next up: The doctor gets to help with clean-up, and gets a little monster anatomy lesson.

Things accomplished in real life: Daily jaunt around the neighborhood with the dog; made a Target run; went to the pet store; went to the post office; went to the home improvement store and got some supplies; planted a lovely little Carolina Jessamine around the mailbox.

Other: Not a fabulous word count, but I only had a couple of hours to sit down so far today. Might bang out more later on this afternoon, but I'm not holding my breath. There's more laundry to do, and some more housework on deck too. I hate the sleep loss that comes with Daylight Savings Time, but I'm glad that the sun's out later. I'm definitely getting more done.

Pet-related other: Spainy continues to do just fine. She hasn't so much as sniffed at her stitches, so we're skipping the Cone Of Shame. (The doctor suggested that if she left it alone, we ought to let her get on with her life without the impediment.)

TV-related other: Four episodes into Ripper Street, and we really do love it. Two thumbs up thus far!

Number of fiction words so far this year: 55,678