Finished, again!
Whew! The revised and now freshly re-revised YA version of Black Dog went back to my agent . . . lessee . . . about five minutes ago. A nice start to the new year! I added about 4000 words — well, more than that, but then I did a little cutting, too, which of course is harder and harder because all the obvious deadwood is long gone from this manuscript.
I did a little of this and a little of that, but mostly what I added are short flashbacks — Caitlin's suggestion, a way of getting more into the characters' heads and developing both plot elements and character arcs just a little more. It was a good idea, now we'll see if Caitlin thinks the stuff I did works the way she thought it should.
Next: a few days off! I want to read Mouse and Dragon by Steve Miller and Sharon Lee. Maybe the rest of my new Diana Wynne Jones books. Maybe a couple other things. But it'd be nice to get a start on a new book before the new semester begins. Which is on the eleventh, so hey, not much time for loafing!
Well, but I have LOTS of cookies in the freezer to fuel the ol' creative urges. You know, I figured out that I made upwards of 1800 cookies and candies between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Really. Thirty-two kinds counting the almond pastry, which is made in a long "S" shape (about 14 inches long), but since you serve it in very small slices, I've decided does reasonably count.
So not going to run out for a few months, I expect, even with the boxes and tins and platters I gave and will still give away.
Though the rest of my cooking had better emphasize light food for those months. Thai and Japanese and vegetarian Indian and no coconut milk, either. I don't have to step on a scale to know that I've put on a few pounds. And I don't think typing even counts as exercise, worse luck.
Okay! Off to dive into a wonderful book and enjoy a chilly evening where I don't have to go anywhere or do anything, other than gaze admiringly at the puppies from time to time. They're starting to show very early play behavior! All very cute. I'm thinking of naming the girl Frivolity and the boy Fiddlesticks — don't have to decide till I register them. I could call the girl Folly, but I don't know about calling the boy Fiddle.
