And if these four walls tumble down I'll see you

I didn't update yesterday, but I did write. Not much, but yeah, well. Yesterday was kind of a mess.

Long story short, right around lunchtime Greyson broke loose, running off to play with a couple of neighborhood dogs. (They live around here somewhere - I've seen them before, and they're quite friendly.) He achieved this free-form party-time by launching himself off a curb and over my shoulder, over/through/past the back yard gate ... when I tried to gently corral the two wandering pooches inside our yard.

All three dogs took off like wildly happy bottle rockets. I went bananas, shouted myself hoarse, and ran so hard/fast/desperately that my whole body aches today. But with the help of the husband, several neighbors, and the landscaping lady - we eventually chased them all down and retrieved Greyson. Thank God.

(We temporarily nabbed one of the other dogs, but she escaped our neighbor's yard and is on the loose once again, now hanging with a new third dog - if neighborhood reports can be believed. Everyone's keeping an eye out for them, and trying to snare the whole batch of wanderers ... and that's one really nice thing about this neighborhood. But the major not-nice thing about this neighborhood: There's a state highway running through it. So I had my reasons for trying to bring the two interlopers in off the street, and for having a good hysterical panic when Greyson took off after them.)

Anyway. I've done literally everything I can to help the loose canons, and Greyson is home safe - and undergoing a fresh round of obedience training. He's never been very good about coming when he's called, and no, I'm not asking for pointers. He's young and stubborn, and highly distracted by other dogs. We know what we need to do, and we're working on it, thanks.*

So. Yeah.

Like I said - not a huge word count yesterday, and the total was basically halved when I sat down to work this morning. However... here’s recent 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: 3243 (2-day total, but not terrible)
Present total word count: 45,846 words



Things accomplished in fiction: The adorable girlfriend has discovered her inner treacherous liar. Well, she's kind of being manipulated by forces beyond her ken or control - so it's really not personal.

Next up: Deciding the adorable girlfriend's fate.

Things accomplished in real life: Daily jaunt around the neighborhood with the dog; went to the post office to mail off contracts re: Jacaranda for Subterranean; drove out to ACE to pick up supplies for the yard; went to drinks/supper last night with old friends, which took the edge off a terrible day.

Other: Quitting the fiction composition early today, partly because it's been an excellent writing day. (About 3k of the net came from today's session.) And partly because I have other things to square away this afternoon. And partly because I'm really tired, and one of those things might turn out to be a nap.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 41,719


* It's worth noting that when I finally located him and caught up, I shouted his name and told him to "STOP." Reluctantly, looking longingly over his shoulder at the other dogs who were running off without him ... he did in fact stop - and let me bring him home. And there, he received many hugs, snuggles, and cookies because coming home should ALWAYS be nice, and not filled with yelling or recriminations.