I've been waiting for her for so long

Today I looked out into the back yard and saw sad-looking hedges, wilting roses, sagging black-eyed-susans, drooping lilies, and an herb garden that was going positively crispy. No great mystery there; it hadn't rained in ages, so I thought I'd tempt fate and run the sprinkler for awhile.

The birds loved it. They bounced around the yard, taking showers and splashing one another like just the cutest little things I swear to God. Seriously, you guys. Cutest. Birds. EVER.

But anyway, you can guess what happened: The sprinkler hadn't been running for ten minutes when the sky clouded up and the bottom dropped out.

In other news, I AM A WIZARD and DON'T YOU FORGET IT.

But never mind the weather. I bet you're asking yourself, "Self, why hasn't Cherie posted any word metrics in like, a week? Or two?" And the answer is simple: Because I haven't written anything.

The reasons for this are twofold. One, I've been in and out of town a lot. This is very disruptive to a writing routine. And two, the pass proofs for The Inexplicables landed in my lap shortly before I left for Detroit - and this became my #1 writer-business priority, as I only had until the 9th to speak up and list my changes, or forever hold my peace.

[Aside: Pass proofs happen when your book has been typeset, at which point you are presented with a PDF (generally) of the "final" product, appearing almost exactly as it will look when it becomes a Real Book in a few months. This is basically the last chance you get to make any changes before things are set in stone - and the changes had damned well better be pretty minor at this point, lest it cost the publisher oodles of money to have everything rejiggered behind your fine-tuning.]

[Aside the second: I say "set in stone," but really, every time you think you're finished with edits, you're wrong. There's always another round of edits. And even once the book is actually out on the shelves you can always keep your eyes open for any tidying up which can take place in the next edition. I always, always, always discover at least one or two errors after the book goes to press ... usually while I'm giving a reading, and therefore I must physically restrain myself from doing a face-palm right there in front of God and everybody.]

So in between the travel I've been giving The Inexplicables one last major go-over, and it's eaten my brain. That's why there hasn't been any new writing.

But that's about to change! Because yes - today I emailed my list of changes back to the Mighty and Powerful Liz! In case you were wondering what I was doing for the Fourth of July, I mean. Now tonight I can drag out my notes and get all geared up to dive back into writing tomorrow, so watch this space for more Actual Writer Progress in the weeks to come.

I hope.