Yow

I haven't written about Countess for quite awhile because she's been behaving and really does have a sweet temper. Not so yesterday. I knew there was going to be a problem when she danced on my toes in the stall. When we got out into the arena, she tossed her head, tried to bolt, went backwards, and reared. I wasn't so much scared as at a loss what to do and, yes, worried about what she would do next. Marc got on her three times, trying to calm her down, with limited success. In the stall afterward, he put her on shortened cross ties and swore to leave her there all night if necessary. I wasn't to feel sorry for her. He would put a bullet in her head, he said, before he saw her break my neck. I left her trying to kick down her water bucket.

Mind you, none of this behavior was malicious. Rather, she seemed to be intolerably irritated by something. Nothing seemed to be wrong with her bridle, bit, or saddle. She may have been in season, but that's never made her act up so much before. We'll see what she's like on Monday.

Meanwhile, my agent tells me that Baen has already sent in the ms. delivery payment. That was fast. I doubt if Toni has had time to read it yet and may yet have revision suggestions, but apparently she trusts me to have turned in an acceptable story. Now my agent wants an outline for the next one. Eek. I know how it all ends, but not everything that happens before then.

And I may be making a six day road trip in the Canadian Rockies in August. It would be so nice to get away for awhile after the stain of finishing the novel. Too bad it isn't sooner.