It's hard to hold a candle in the cold November rain

Looking back on that last post - so filled with promise! So filled with work! - I guess it's no big surprise it's taken me a week to get around to posting again. My absence hasn't been very interesting from an internet-posting standpoint; indeed, it's exactly what you'd expect: I'm trying to juggle three deadlines and wrap up remodeling on my house before the holidays set in.

It makes for busy times, but not very bloggable times.

That said, the house is as done as it can expect to get, anytime soon - so that's one thing down. We now have a formal dining room, a much cozier living room/den, and a fully remodeled master bath. UNFORTUNATE NO MORE. [:: flings confetti ::]

Now I can stagger my days around the following routine (as required by deadline hierarchy): (1). mornings, get a few words done on Jacaranda, (2). break for lunch, (3). spend all afternoon cleaning up Princess X until such a time as Princess X achieves Draft One status - and then move on to Maplecroft revisions, and bring that one up to Draft Two status.

Present time-table projects this round of Princess X revisions should wrap up by the end of next week, knock on wood. Then it's Maplecroft, which I'd like to hand in around New Year's - and since the revisions aren't too heinous, that shouldn't be a problem. Knock on even more wood. And all the while, I'll spend a couple hours every possible morning working on Jacaranda, producing a full draft by New Year's as well. Knock on a whole damn forest.

I suppose I'll go Christmas shopping when I'm dead, or something.

Anyway, this is how the sausage gets made.
Enjoy.

And on that note ... here's recent progress on my poltergeist-plagued hotel horror story, wherein everyone’s favorite steampunk Texas Ranger joins forces with a goth-as-hell gunslinger-turned-padre who may (or may not) have supernatural powers:
Project: Jacaranda
Deadline: March 31, 2014
New words written: 2719
Present total word count: 5745



Things accomplished in fiction: Met a nun about a thing. Toured awful hotel. Got a glimpse of the insanity just under the floorboards.

Next up: Visit crime scene. Have supper. Meet fellow hotel guests.

Things accomplished in real life: Morning jaunts around the neighborhood with the dog; bathroom remodeling completed; assembled epic solid wood dining room table (LIKE A BOSS); hooked up some old friends with our (not very) old couch that no longer suited our needs; cleaned house top to bottom while the place was partially empty (after one couch departed, and before the massive silver velour sectional and/or dining room furniture arrived); went shopping with husband for odds and ends and groceries; went to the bank; went to the post office; filed a crap-ton of receipts and paperwork; picked up old frames with new glasses lenses in them, and they are marvelous; ordered new contacts; took dog to the dog park a couple of times.

Other: Still enjoying working on Jacaranda quite a lot. It's very different in tone from anything I've done in awhile, and it's smaller...so I can be a little more "macro" with it, if that makes any sense. I wish it didn't get the shortest nub of my work day, but for now, that's just how it's gotta be.

Highly aggravating other: Our brakes are starting to go. Dammit.

Four-legged other: Greyson continues to do gloriously well at the dog park. He has about a half a dozen dedicated dog friends, of whom at least 2-3 are always present in the afternoons. One of his favorites is "Kayak." Kayak is a Newfoundland, and Greyson is basically his Mini-Me. Or Kayak is Greyson's Mega-Me, however you choose to look at it. They are buds, and it is adorable.

Bonus four-legged other: Greyson's car anxiety continues to improve, though incrementally. He will willingly (sometimes, almost eagerly) go to and from the vehicle - but he still acts like he's going to a firing squad, every moment he's actually riding in it. He shivers, shakes, and drools like mad, even though he clearly knows (at this point) that everything will be okay. I don't know. All we can do is keep this up, and hope that in time, the poor little dude can find his zen.

Number of fiction words so far this year: 175,351